whence it follows that whatever Union hath not such an Aim is prejudicial to it It should rather be call'd a Conspiracy than an Vnion since the Name of a Virtue cannot be reasonably given to a thing which prejudices or destroys the Society What has been said of the Civil may be said of the Ecclesiastical Society which can only Flourish by the great number of its Members and by Learning for Learning is in that Society what Riches are in the other and Concord Not to speak now of the Number and Learning of such a Society I shall only observe that the Union of those who govern it ought not to be a tyrannical Conspiracy which destroys it Such is for Example the Union of the Inquisitors in Spain and Italy who perfectly agree among themselves but to do what To hinder Lay-men as they call 'em and Church-men who might discover some Errors introduced into Religion out of Ignorance or Abuses crept into the Discipline through Ambition from proposing at any time a Reformation and consequently to keep every Body in a profound Ignorance or an unlawful Dissimulation and Hypocrisy It were much better for the Church if there were many Disputes rather than a perpetual Tyranny which hinders Men from being instructed in the Christian Religion and convinced of the Truth of it by good Reasons I shall say no more on this Subject because I intend only to treat of the Decay of the Civil Society in several States But I must answer an Objection 'T is said That it is absolutely necessary to suppress Diversity of Opinions in matters of Religion because under pretence of Religion the State is divided into several Factions which are so incensed against one another that they often break into an open War and use one another most barbarously And 't is usual on this occasion to heap up Examples of Disorders and Civil Wars which happen'd in several States under pretence of Religion But what will follow from thence Nothing but that as soon as a Religion whatever it be is established in a Country no Alteration ought to be allowed in it for fear it should cause some Disturbance But such a Principle will justify all the Proceedings of the Heathens Jews and Mahometans against the Christian Religion which they have persecuted to preserve the Publick Peace in the Countries wherein their Religion was the strongest Besides 't is false that the Toleration of several Religions causes any Disturbance On the contrary Persecution necessarily produces all the Disturbances which follow from the diversity of Opinions Were all those who obey the Civil Laws tolerated and were Men persuaded that Humanity not to mention Religion requires of 'em that they should bear with one another they would live most happily in the World tho' they were of different Opinions But when Men are persuaded that the greatest number has the right of deciding what People are to believe and of persecuting all those who will not submit to their Judgment when the strongest Party begins to use ill the Weaker till it he forced at least to dissemble its Belief then Disturbances begin and Persecutors destroy the Civil Society under pretence of Defending Religion In a word they who only desire to be tolerated commit no Disorder and none but those who Persecute them Disturb the State But Church-men say they stir up the People to use one another Ill and Great Men often take hold of such an Opportunity to raise dangerous Disturbances But that very thing shews that it is not Toleration but the want of it which disturbs the State Were Men persuaded as of a Maxim essential to Religion and Policy that they ought to bear with one another as long as they observe all the Duties of the Civil Society the Discourses of Church-men or the Cabals of Great Persons would not be able to disturb the Peace of the State under pretence of Religion But it is not out of Love for the peace of the State or out of a design to do it Good that Church-men have opposed Toleration and established the contrary Opinion as a Religious Doctrine No they have done it out of a desire of Domineering of not being contradicted and of encreasing their Revenues which grow more considerable in proportion to the number of those who submit to their Decisions If Princes encroach never so little on their pretended Privileges they will endanger the Peace and Tranquillity of the State rather than abate any thing If the State enjoys a profound Peace notwithstanding the diversity of Opinions they don't scruple to disturb it that they may oppress such as they do not like If was not for any Sedition that Ferdinand and Isabella expell'd the Jews out of Spain in 1492. The Jews had no Authority in the State and were contented to enjoy the liberty of Trading quietly They were not accused of any illegal Practices against the Government The zealous Inquisitors expell'd them to have an occasion of Enriching themselves with the Spoils of a great many Families and not to do the State a good Service The ill Designs of the Moors might also have been very easily prevented in the same Kingdom after they had been subdued without making Spain a desert Country by driving them out of it I could add more considerable and later Examples of People ill used not for having committed any Disorder but by the Suggestion and Conspiracy of Church-men whose Divisions in matters of Religion have never been so prejudicial to any State as the fatal Union of the greater Number to oppress the lesser One may easily conclude from what has been said that the States the Laws whereof tend to encrease the number of the People and make them quietly enjoy the Fruits of their Labour by requiring of them no more than they are able to pay and where they that command and they that obey make the Publick Good their chief End or do nothing at least but what contributes to it one may I say easily conclude that States which go upon such Principles must needs be Flourishing and on the contrary that they which have opposite Maxims must necessarily fall to Decay Therefore any State which expels Loyal and Faithful Subjects and lessens the Number of them by any means whatever they be any State wherein they are opprest with Tailles and Imposts whereby they are so impoverished as not to be able to exercise their Industry Lastly any State wherein they are not unanimous in procuring the Publick Good contains in itself some Principles which will insensibly destroy it unless such an Evil be timely prevented But the Remedy necessary for the Cure of such a Disease can be proposed only by Men who have nobler Thoughts than the Vulgar For the common sort of People mind only their private Good and are no farther concern'd in what happens in the State than as some few Persons whom they favour get or lose by it for the present without caring for others or for the time to
excessively encrease CHAP. X. Of Mr. Le Clec 's Works NO Body can give a better Account or the Works and Studies of Mr. Le Clerc than I And since it is necessary that the Publick should be inform'd of it because of those who wrote against him I 'll say what I know of it Humane Learning Philosophy and Divinity with their Dependences have been his chief Studies and he has equally applied himself to them from his younger Years so as one of those Sciences succeeded the other by turns according to the Circumstances he was in He does the same still and 't is likely he 'll continue to do so the rest of his Life I cannot tell whether he has well succeeded or no in the Works he has published concerning those three Sciences You know the reason of it But I can tell you with all the Sincerity I am capable of that I am persuaded he searched Truth with great Application without having any other Design but to find it First in what concerns the Christian Religion and then about several Points which concern Divinity Philosophy Church-History and Humane Learning As for the Christian Religion I know not only by what he has written concerning it but also by what he has discoursed on several Occasions that he is fully persuaded of the Truth of it not out of Custom or Weakness or because one may somtimes get something by feigning to be persuaded of it as it seems many do but out of Reason and upon Examination Few Men have more meditated on the Christian Religion than he has done and perhaps there is not one Divine who has a greater Notion of God and Christianity than he has He can't abide that weak or doubtful Arguments should be used in their Defence out of Policy because they work on the Minds of the People and Ignorant Men. He thinks that Men thereby equal Divine Revelation with false Religions which are kept up by such a Method for want of a better Whereas no other Arguments ought to be made use of for the Proof of the Christian Religion but such as are proper to it and wholly distinguish it from Falshood which cannot be defended with the same Arms. He affirms That whoever doubts of the truth of Christianity has not a true Notion of it or cannot Reason well or desires to indulge his Passions But to see the Christian Religion in its due Light he thinks it ought to be considered as it was in its beginning without mixing any Human Doctrin or any Explication of unintelligible Things with it Those Explications and Human Doctrins are as he thinks the cause of most Disputes and Errors not to mention a thousand other Evils which they have occasioned Wherefore he speaks of 'em with as much Contempt as he admires what God has revealed to us by Christ and his Apostles Mr. Vander Waeyen a Cocceian Divine will notwithstanding deprive him of the Title of a Divine in two Libels he wrote against him But he troubles himself so little with it that on the contrary he would be very sorry to be accounted a great Divine by such a Man as that Professor of Franeker Mr. L. C. professes himself to be a Christian and does nothing that contradicts his Profession but he would not be a Divine of Mr. Vander Waeyen's Stamp and he is not the only Man of that Opinion There are very few Reformed Divines but despise that sort of Divinity Mr. Spanheim Professor in the University of Leyden with whom the Professor of Franeker is not at all to be compared has spoken his Mind plainly enough on this Matter and Mr. Vander Waeyen's Indignation against him has not prejudiced his Reputation in the least Mr. L. C. beseeches God That he would teach Mr. Vander Waeyen what the Title of a Divine requires of them who bear it and will not dishonour it Tho' he had early studied the Philosophy of Descartes he follows only his general Principles which he admires and thinks that the only reason why Descartes did not keep to them when he came to Particulars is That he made too much haste desiring to publish a complete System before he died I 'll tell you more of it when I come to Discourse of Mr. L. C s. Philosophical Works The general design of 'em is to form the Minds of Young Men and open them a Way to the search of Truth even in the most important Things For the Author is of Opinion That the true Method of Philosophizing is of very great use to establish the Truth of the Christian Religion and shew the excellency and necessity of its Precepts He thinks that a Man must not part with his Reason or stifle its Light to perceive the Beauty of Christianity Such a Method seems to him to be the infallible way of establishing all manner of Errors On the contrary the better a Man Reasons the more he 'll be convinced of the Truth of the Christian Religion The Study of Languages and Human Learning has taken up part of his Life and is still his greatest Diversion He is persuaded that it is of great use for the understanding of Holy Scripture as it appears by his Works He also believes That that sort of Study is very useful to improve Men's Minds and moderate their Passions if at the same time the Study of Philosophy be joyned with it for they must never be divided A Man enables himself thereby to make his own what he finds in Ancient Authors that deserves it without being in danger of admiring their Faults as it is commonly done by such Criticks as only cultivate their Memory That Reading enables one not only to express his Thoughts agreeably and elegantly but also more clearly and distinctly provided it be attenedd with good Logical Rules which must never be neglected and which the Criticks are most times Strangers to Mr. L. C. is of Opinion That if the three Sciences I have mention'd were joyned together the Knowledge which depends on them would very much encrease and consequently Virtue and Honesty would not be so scarce as they are for he maintains that Ignorance is the Mother of Vice and that true Learning is the Fountain of the most solid Virtue If Divines I say were also good Philosophers there would arise a great Advantage from it they would lay aside all pitiful and childish Arguments which their Books are full of and which they often vent as Articles of Faith whereby they do a great prejudice to Religion They would not betray it without being aware of it by saying that Men must renounce the most certain Knowledge of their Reason to embrace if They would propose their Thoughts in a much clearer and better Order and convince the Minds of their Readers or Hearers after such a manner as would influence their Lives The whole Body of Divinity would be reduced into Maxims or necessary Consequences drawn from them and the necessity thereof would soon appear in order to live
demands a great deal more Virtue from us than will just keep us from being Scandalous or ruining ourselves in the World Thus whatever they allege for themselves the Comic Poets seem to have nothing else in view but to divert the Public and to get Reputation and Mony by diverting them To compass this they were obliged to mix abundance of moral Sentences in the Conversation of their Persons because they frequently hold such sorts of Discourses and because that after they have laughed heartily the Public is diverted with these Sallies of Morality rather for the variety of the Entertainment than for any Instruction A sufficient Proof of this is that they are not a jot the better for it as a †Plautus in Rud. Act. IV. Sec. 7. Comic Poet has very well observ'd in these Verses Spectavi ego pridem Comicos ad istum modum Sapienter dicta dicere atque iis plaudier Cum illos sapientes mores monstrabant populo Sed cùm inde suam quisque ibant divorsi domum Nullus erat illo pacto ut illi jusserunt I have often seen that after the Comic Poets have said good things and that they have been applauded for them while they taught good Manners to the People as soon as they were got home no body was the better for their Advice I don't pretend to prove by this Discourse that we cannot give very useful Precepts in Verse and that they have not been actually given in them All that I wou'd show by it is that whatever has been said of the moral Designs of the finest Compositions of ancient Poetry has much more appearance than Solidity in it when we come to examine it nearly This does not in the least hinder but that a Poet who has tasted the good Maxims of a Philosophy which is somewhat severer than that of the greatest Poets of Antiquity was and who possesseth them as they did the Opinions of their own time may not undertake a Poem with the same Views that have been vainly ascribed to them and by this means re-establish the Honour of Poetry which has been defamed by the Faults we have already taken notice of 'T is of such a Poet that we may truely say what Horace says of him whom he endeavour'd to instruct in his Art of Poetry Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci Lectorem delectando paritérque monendo that Writer gains the good Opinion of the whole World who mixes the useful with the agreeable by diverting his Reader and giving him good Advice at the same time But I am mightily afraid that such a Poet has for a long while been nothing else but a pure Idea without reality CHAP. II. Of True and False Eloquence NOTHING is more esteemed than Eloquence not only among Men of Learning but even the Vulgar However there is scarce any thing of which for the generality we have a wronger Idea 'T is certain that 't is the most useful thing in the World when we really possess it but 't is as certain that when we only believe we possess it and have perswaded the Multitude of it there is scarce any thing so pernicious We not only take a Phantom for something Real but we frequently put off a Falsehood for a Truth or at least instead of illustrating the Truth we lose it in the thickest Darkness I call true Eloquence that the Reader may not be deceived The Art of speaking Truth as we ought to speak it to convince reasonable Men to render them attentive and to affect them if 't is necessary while we speak it On the contrary false Eloquence is an Art if it deserves such a Name of recommending Falsehood instead of Truth and of making the same Respect be paid to the former which is only due to the latter To which we ought to add the want of Address in those that propose Truth itself but do it in so awkward and silly a manner that they make their Hearers doubt of it and that no one listens to them nor is affected by their Discourse altho' in the bottom 't is true To shew the Excellence of true Eloquence and the Disadvantages of the false wou'd take up a compleat Treatise of Rhetoric which is far from my Thoughts at present I will only make some general Reflexions upon the four parts of this Science Invention Disposition Expression and Pronunciation I. INVENTION consists Of Invention as every one knows in discovering all that can be said upon a Subject we have chose to treat of but as we ought not to say every thing that comes into our Heads altho' it belongs to the Subject in hand because then we should never make an end we ought necessarily to make choice of those Thoughts that are proper to the end we propose to ourselves and herein the Art and Address of an Orator consists Unless a Man is perfectly Stupid and has never read in his Life 't is impossible for him to be wholly unprovided of Matter when he has any Truth or historical Fact to discourse upon but then unless he understands the Art of Thinking justly and has often made long and profound Reflexions upon it unless he has a true Relish and Discernment we find that he generally makes an ill Choice of the things that present themselves to his Mind he will enlarge too much upon things of little Importance or dwell upon such as have no connexion with the Subject in hand while he omits those that are more important and Effential or touches them but slightly This is what happens daily but especially to Preachers who without Understanding the Rules of Art learn to preach by Rote and Custom But to talk more particularly upon this Occasion we are apt to commit three Faults principally which don't appear so to the Eyes of those who are not able to distinguish true Eloquence from the false but which are not the less for all that and which for that very Reason produce very ill Effects The first is that abundance of People are of the Opinion That provided they talk a great deal so that their Matter never fails them 't is enough to give them the Character of eloquent Men unless it happens that they are altogether destitute of exterior Talents that relate to the Stile and Pronunciation To be able to talk an Hour or too about a Trifle of no Consequence altho' without Choice and Judgment seems to be the finest thing in the World provided a Man does not hesitate but runs glibly on and moves his Auditors We foolishly perswade ourselves that we acquire the Reputation of Men of Wit in spite of good Sense as if it were possible to be one without the other 'T is the same with Authors as with Orators altho' they ought to be much more severe in the Choice of their Thoughts as a Reader is infinitely harder to please than one that hears However if they can so order Matters as to make a large
declaim against Reason for fear I suppose lest the World should find out their little Sophistry This is one of the most crying Sins of Ecclesiastical Eloquence as 't is managed in those Places where the Fathers are the Copies they write after A Man ought to leave his Reason and Logic behind him in the Church-Porch to be edified with such Preaching Thus these arbitrary Suppositipons and irregular Reasonings have made the Italians say of these sorts of Discourse that il creder è di cortesia they believe them merely out of good Manners and Civility And for this cause when they have any false Point or any unjust Reasoning their Answer is guardate questo per la predica keep this Nonsense to yourself till you are a Preacher They are convinced by Experience that abundance of things which we patiently suffer from the Pulpit wou'd be ridiculous in a serious Conversation of rational Persons On the contrary true substantial Eloquence suffers us to utter nothing for Truth but what we prove in so convincing a manner that the strictest Logicians can have nothing to object against it If we have nothing as I have already said but probable things to propose she will oblige us to acquaint our Auditors with it As she has no other design but to instruct and that in a solid manner so that the Reader shall not only be perswaded upon the spot but retain the Truth which has been demonstrated to him in his Mind she never employs any of those tinsel Arguments that may glitter for a Moment but soon after disappear the only uses the eternal and inviolable Lights of good Sense which appear to be so much the more true the nearer we come to examine them However now and then an occasion presents itself where it is lawful for us to make use of weak Reasonings for a little time And this happens when our Hearers or Readers are more affected by them than by the best Arguments In such a Case we are oblig'd to accommodate ourselves to their Imbecillity in order to gain them over to our side and afterwards to be in a condition to instruct them better when they can hearken to what we have to offer to them without prejudice The Mind of Man is Haughty and Jealous and sometimes he cannot be undeceived but by himself by our making a dexterous use of those Principles which he admits for true ones so that he attributes the change that is made in him to his own Knowlege and not to that of another We must therefore make use of his Principles which are frequently either false or incertain as if they were built upon Truth to make him draw a Consequence from them which be wou'd not otherwise admit If we had only honest sincere Men to deal with who search after nothing but the Truth then we need do no more than propose it clearly to them in order to bring them over to us But we are oblig'd every moment of the day to undeceive People that are govern'd by their Passions and prepossess'd by a thousand Prejudices directly opposite to the Truth and therefore we must as far as 't is possible Reason with such Men either upon common Principles or their own proper Ideas If we let them see that we are at too great a distance from their Opinions or that we look down upon their Errors with contempt they immediately take it for granted that we despise their Persons and this Consideration alone makes them shut their Ears to the Truth Upon this account the Masters of this Art inform those that wou'd perswade others not to advance any thing that may in the least wound the Imagination of their Auditors and make them suspect that we want Respect or Consideration for them We may observe this wise Precaution in the first Discourses which the Apostles heretofore made to the Jews and Pagans whom they managed with as much Address as was possible We may upon this Head consider the Harangue which St. Paul makes to the Athenians in the 17th Chap. of the Acts where he makes use of the Inscription upon an Altar and the Words of a Greek Poet and gives them the best Meaning he cou'd to endeavour to gain these Idolaters as it were out of their own proper Principles We likewise find in his Writings that he managed the Jews with great dexterity before they had constrain'd him by their ill treatment to break off with them and address himself to the Gentiles On these Occasions he says abundance of things which suppose the vulgar Opinions tho' he did not at the same time believe them to be altogether true But we ought never to use this Method but when we are compell'd that is to say when the Truth wou'd be rejected at first sight if it appeared to be such as it is really in itself The third Fault that is to be censured in the Eloquence of several People is that they believe that they ought to be consider'd as Authors or Orators of a good Judgment and Tast when their Reasons are just and concluding tho' they never trouble themselves whether they make for the Subject or at least whether what they propose to prove is precisely the same with what they prove They don't explain the Questions in hand so clearly as they ought to be and the Reasons which afterwards they bring don't direct the Reader or Hearer to find out those Truths that they engage to prove They chuse certain Reasonings which they extend by diverse Reflexions and embellish with several Examples without concerning themselves about any thing else but that what they deliver be true in itself and has some relation to what they treat of Thus they put the change upon their Auditors and if they don't deceive them in the bottom of things they deceive them at least in their expectation The Authors whom I have named are full of this Cheat. The Title of their Works and the fine Promises they make at first to treat of certain Matters draw on the Reader who is desirous to be instructed in them But so soon as he sets himself to read them he perceives that his Author shams him off with something else than what he expected to find in him He cannot then forbear to cry out Quò nunc se proripit ille Whither is the Man a going It seems that so soon as he wou'd enter upon the Matter the irregularity of his Imagination hurries his Reason whither it never intended to go like a restif Horse that runs away with a Man in spite of his Teeth when he has not strength or skill enough to keep him in and govern him He gallops away with mighty speed and does not stumble but goes where no Body expected he should go On the contrary those that know how to speak and write according to the Rules of Art propose at first the Question they intend to treat of with all Perspicuity imaginable so that neither themselves nor those that hear
ought to represent him entire Let not his Respect for his Country hinder him from relating the Losses she has sustain'd or the Faults she has committed for an Historian no more than a Player is to be blamed for the Misfortunes he represents If it were in our power to repair Disorders by disguising them or passing them over in silence Thucydides had not been wanting to have raz'd with a stroke of his Pen the Fortifications of the Enemy and to have re-establsh'd the Affairs of his Country but even the Gods themselves are not able to change whatever is past Therefore 't is the Duty of an Historian to recount all Transactions just as they happen'd which 't is impossible for him to do when he is a Dependant upon any Prince or Republic from whom he has any thing to hope or fear When-ever he is obliged to speak of 'em he ought to have a greater regard for Truth than for his Interest or Passion For she is the only Divinity to whom he ought to Sacrifice without thinking of the rest In short he ought always to have before his Eyes the judgment of Posterity if he wou'd not rather wear the Character of a Flatterer than that of an Historian I wou'd have my Historian zealous to speak the Truth and that he lye under no Temptations to conceal it let him make no Allowances to Fear or Hope to Friendship or Hatred let him not be of any Country or Party and let him call every thing by its true Name without remembring either to offend or please And this continues he is the Method which Thucydides follow'd altho' he saw Herodotus was in so great Esteem that his Books had the Names of the Muses bestow'd upon them It is infinitely better for me said he to write something that will last for ever than only endeavour to please for the present I ought not to take in fabulous Stories but to transmit to Posterity the Truth as it happen'd See now what ought to be the Sentiments of a true Historian These are such evident Truths that 't is impossible to reject them however it may be convenient to enlarge upon them a little more to show the great Importance of them in a more sensible manner I say then that an Historian ought at first setting out to forget that he has any Friends Relations or any Country that he may be able to speak of them with the same disinteressed Freedom as if he had no manner of Engagements to them The Duties of a Friend of a Relation or of a Citizen are one thing and the Duty of an Historian another The former are confined to certain Persons and Places whose advantage we endeavour to procure but the latter concerns all Mankind in general that are able to read History in whatever place or time they are born As 't is but convenient that the Interests of our Friends and Relations shou'd give way to those of our Country because 't is much better to procure the Advantage of a great number of Persons or of a whole Society than that of some few of its Members so in the same manner the present Interest of one's Country ought to be less consider'd than that which is infinitely more extensive the Interest of all Mankind †Lib. I. p. 18. Edit Amstel Polybius speaking of some Historians who had been too favourable to their Country says admirably well That in other Duties of Life this Disposition was not to be blamed For 't is just that a good Man should be a Friend to his Friend and to his Country and bear a Hatred to their Enemies and a Friend to their Friends But so soon as he takes the Character of an Historian upon him that very moment he ought to forget all this An Historian is frequently obliged to speak well of his Enemies and to give them-great Commendations when their Actions deserve it He must often censure his nearest Relations and cover them with Infamy when they have committed such Faults that he cannot speak otherwise of them As a Creature which has lost its Eyes becomes unserviceable in the same manner if you take away Truth from History what remains is good for nothing For this Consideration he shou'd not make any difficulty to condemn his Friends and blame his Enemies He must not be afraid to censure the same Persons upon whom he has bestow'd Commendations since those that are in the Government cannot always succeed nor on the other hand commit Faults perpetually Without having any regard to the Persons he ought to relate things by themselves and to speak of them in his History as they deserve Some one will say perhaps that these are fine words and that they comprehend an excellent Lesson but a Man must be Master of a great deal of Courage and Resolution he must love Truth in an extraordinary manner to observe the Rules which this Historian has laid down These are Qualities that are not easily to be found and has he follow'd the same Precepts himself which he recommends to others But I ask the Gentlemen who start these Difficulties Whether they imagine that to Write a History be an Employment proper for every one that can express himself with Facility Whether they believe that a mean-spirited Wretch that a Flatterer that a covetous interessed Man is fit to instruct all Posterity A Man's Talents ought to answer the Greatness of such an Enterprize and if 't is a rare matter to find Persons that possess them all 't is equally as rare to find Histories that deserve to be read As for Polybius only those that never read him can possibly take him for a Philosopher or Preacher which People often do the quite contrary to what they recommend to others He shows all along that he had a very great Esteem for Aratus the General of the Achaeans However that does not hinder him from censuring in his Conduct with great freedom whatever he thought was amiss in it For instance He describes at length in the fourth Book of his History the Faults which Aratus committed in a Battel against the Aetolians that was purely lost by his means without dissembling any thing of and endeavouring to excuse what wou'd admit of no Apology He knew what difference there is between Pardoning and Justifying and altho' he was of opinion that the Achaeans ought to pardon Aratus for the Faults he had commited upon this Occasion in consideration of the great Services he had done their Republic and the Honesty of his Intentions yet he knew that 't was not an Historian's Business to endeavour to Justifie them But Polybius was by no means capable of betraying the Truth in favour of Aratus he who does in no manner conceal the Faults of Philopoemen nor those of Lycortas the latter of whom was his Father and the former his Friend and Protector This the Reader may easily remark in his †Excerpta Legat. 41. Narration of the Embassy of Lycortas
Writers of France don't think that 't is possible for the Council that governs it to commit the least Indiscretions so high an Idea they have of their wise Maxims and steddy Conduct I will not pretend to oppose this Idea of theirs because in truth it is founded upon diverse weighty Reasons But they should judge of Facts and their Consequences without having any regard to them because the most prudent Councils are not always infallible but are subject to take false Measures altho' this does not happen so often to them It is likewise reasonable that those that admire the Conduct of the other Princes of Europe who join'd against France should remember that the best Heads are sometimes over-seen We ought to do Justice reciprocally one to another and to judge of Faults and great Actions by themselves and by their Consequences and not altogether by Preposession Of Ecclesiastic History THESE Precautions in my Opinion are absolutely necessary for an Historian if he wou'd acquit himself as he ought in his Undertaking We may find as already has been observ'd Examples and Proofs of it in the best Historians of Pagan Antiquity But there is a sort of History among Christians wherein if we must talk Historically that is to say without being byass'd all the above-mention'd Rules that have been prescrib'd for the Writing of History are neglected and violated An Orthodox Author that undertakes to Compose an Ecclesiastic History cannot be too hot-headed and zealous for his own Party nor have too violent an Aversion for the other Sects He must shew this Disposition of Mind all along in his Work for therwise he will be defamed not only for a Man of no Abilities but likewise for an impious Person 'T is but just he should propose to himself as a Recompense for his Labour some Ecclesiastic Dignities if he is of a Profession to pretend to them or some other equivalent if he is a Laic upon condition he all along favour Orthodoxy that is his own Party If he be so ill advised as to speak never so little in favour of the Heretics or such as are opposite to his own side he must expect to be expos'd to the fury of Zealots to their Accusations and perhaps to all the Punishments Ecclesiastic and Civil that are inflicted in the place where he lives unless he will retract these rash Truths which are to be found in him advantageous to Heresy He ought to fore-arm himself with this Prejudice and never lay it aside viz. That all that may be honourable in Heretics is false and that all that is said to their Disreputation is true As on the contrary every thing that can do honour to the Orthodox is undoubted and all that reflects upon them is a downright Life 'T is necessary that an Orthodox Historian should carefully suppress or at least extenuate as far as in him lies the Errors and Vices of those that are respected among the Orthodox altho' they are not well known by them and on the other hand that he exaggerate as much as he can the Mistakes and Faults of the Heretics Besides he ought to remember that any Orthodox may serve as a Witness against a Heretic and ought to be believed upon his word and that on the contrary a Heretic's word ought never to be taken against the Orthodox All the honour that must be allow'd him is to hearken to him when he has any thing to say in favour of Orthodoxy or against himself An Orthodox may be cited as a Witness in his own proper Cause but a Heretic must not be so even in that of another In short there are Maxims which he must not examine but follow if he undertakes to write Ecclesiastic History under pain of Infamy Excommunication Banishment c. After this manner the Centuriators of Magdeburg have written on one side and Cardinal Baronius on the other which has obtain'd both of them among their own Party an immortal Reputation But we must confess at the same time that they were not the first and that they only imitated the generality of those that preceded them in this way of Writing It had been the fashion several Ages before this to search out in Antiquity not what was really there but what we judged ought to be there for the good of the Party which we had espous'd and to represent the Ancients such as we found it for our porpose that they should be for the advantage of the Cause which we have undertaken to defend A Man certainly found his profit in writing after this manner and danger in doing otherwise Sozomen in * Lib. I. c. 1. his Ecclesiastic History after having enumerated the Monuments out of which he compil'd it goes on as follows For fear lest any one should condemn my Work of Falsehood upon my not being sufficiently instructed in Matters as they happen'd because he finds the Relations in other Authors different from mine he must understand that upon the occasion of Arius's Opinions and those which sprung up afterwards the Governours of the Church being divided every one writ to those of his own Opinion concerning those things which he himself had taken to Heart That having assembled Synods a-part they confirm'd whatever they had a mind to and frequently condemn'd their Adversaries in their absence That they made their Court to the Emperors and the Great Men about them and left no Stone unturn'd to gain them over to their side and make them receive their own Opinions That in order to pass for Orthodox in the World each Party took a particular care to collect the Letters which favour'd their Sect and omitted the rest And this says he has given me abundance of trouble in my Search after the Truth But since the Sincerity of History requires that we should do all that in us lies to discover the Truth I thought myself oblig'd diligently to examine these sorts of Writings If I relate the Quarrels which the Ecclesiastics have had among one another about the Preference of their Sects let no one believe that this proceeds from Malice or any sinister Design Besides that 't is just as I have already observ'd that an Historian should prefer the Truth to all things the Truth of the Doctrins of the Catholick Church does but appear the more by it having been several times put to the Proof by the cunning Designs of those that opposed it c. It seems that he durst not speak all that he thought for after he had taken notice of the Quarrels and Ambition of the Ecclesiastics as well as of their Writings and Letters directly opposite one to the other he ought to have told his Reader what Rules he had follow'd in his History to distinguish the Truth from Falsehood Besides he ought to have concluded otherwise than he has done and have said that the vitious Lives and wicked Actions of the Ecclesiastics have no Connexion with the Christian Religion which condemns them and
their Ideas of Justice and Humanity were too limited and narrow and they knew not that all Men are equal in matter of natural Right †See Plutarch in his Life Caesar had no more right to make War upon the Gauls and Germans than the Pirates of Cilicia had to take him Prisoner and sell him for so much Ransom In the mean time these Pirates are never mentioned but with Detestation and the Victories of Caesar are infinitely extolled Christians ought not to imitate the Pagans knowing by the Gospel that all Men are Brothers and are subject to the same Laws one towards another by the Right of Nature proceeding from God himself who is the common Father of all Mankind However when they come to speak of Christians and Turks one wou'd often be tempted to think that the Turks were created by the bad Principle of the Manichaeans whom we were not at all obliged to treat with Humanity but when we cou'd not hurt them with safety to ourselves but that on the contrary the Turks were obliged to observe all the Laws of Justice towards the Christians as if they were the only Creatures of the good Principle The Turks on their side are not much more reasonable towards the Christians but these latter as having received a fuller Light ought to be more Wise and Humane When they speak of the Violences committed by the Knights of Malta upon the Turks they ought to speak of them in the same Terms as of the Robberies of the Pirates of Barbary upon the Christians On the contrary all the Ports of Christendom are full of Groans and Complaints when those of Algiers or Tunis have taken a Christian Prize and all the World rejoyces when the Knights of Malta take any Turkish Vessel The Lives of several grand Masters of Malta and many Knights of that Order are full of that Injustice There is no sort of Punishment which the Robberies of these Turkish Pirates upon the Christians don't deserve there are no Commendations which the like Civilities of the Knights of Malta to the Mahumetans don't challenge If the Turks should endeavour to pervert the Christians in their Empire by Rewards or Punishments by giving Mony to such as wou'd take the Turban and by ill using those that should continue firm to their Religion how shou'd we exclaim against this Barbarity and what dismal Complaints should we hear in all parts of Christendom upon so Tragical a Scene And if the Mahumetans tired out with the Constancy of the Christians who obey'd them should all at once turn them out of their Habitations and oblige them to quit the Dominions of the Grand Signior when we should see all Christendom fill'd with Grecian Refugees all People wou'd Curse the Mahumetan Tyranny and exclaim at such horrid Injustice And no doubt on 't they wou'd have good reason so to do because there is no Authority in the World which has a Right to impose a Religion upon any Man whatever nor to persecute those that are of a different Opinion merely upon that account But when Cardinal †See his Life by M. Flechier Lib. I. Ximenes converted the Moors of Granada with a Purse in one Hand and Chains in the other some People will tell you that the Moors had no Reason to Complain What is a detestable Action in a Mufti or an Alfaqui becomes a meritorious Work when a Christian Churchman does it tho' he cannot produce any Power from Heaven which authorizes him to treat the Mahumetans in a manner which they cannot employ against the Christians without Injustice By what Revelation do we know that God has given certain Rules of Justice to the Christians and Laws altogether different to other People For my part I confess I don't know But if it should be replied That Truth has this right over Falsity that it may persecute those that are in an Errour by those whose Sentiments are true I have two things by way of answer to it The first is That Men still dispute what is true and what false and that the Mahumetans for instance are as fond of their Opinions as the Christians can be perswaded of theirs Thus if you lay it down for a Rule that Truth has a right to persecute Errour you furnish them with Weapons and you cannot complain of their Persecutions For in short so long as they are fond of Mahumetanism 't is a necessary Consequence that they fancy themselves in the right to persecute the Christians The second thing is That altho' I should allow you that the Persons whom you persecute are in an Errour yet I will always maintain that Errour is not a Crime when those that are engaged in it in all other Respects observe the Laws of Civil Society and are not punishable for any breach of good Manners 'T is evident therefore that there is no Power which has a right to ill Use and persecute its Subjects under a pretence of Errour in Religion as there is no Magistrate that can punish a Mathematician for making a Mistake in Calculation It follows from hence that an Historian who ought to ground his Judgment upon Truths that are indisputable and universally received ought to speak with Indignation of the Conduct of Cardinal Ximenes and the Catholic Kings towards the Moors instead of approving or palliating it as some Historians have done They describe Ximenes and these Princes to us as Lovers of Justice yet make them commit a crying Injustice against several thousands of Moors by persecuting them and forcing them out of their Native Country because they wou'd not turn Christians If the Moors that lived on the South-side of the Strait of Gibraltar had used the same Cruelties towards the Christians that had been found among them what horrid Descriptions had they not made of it in Spain 'T is not only the Infidels who have smarted under this sort of Justice which is never good but when it has the stronger side to support it Christians have employ'd it against Christians I mean those whom we call Heretics The Historians of each Party being prepossess'd with this strange Idea have in scandalous manner extoll'd the Justice of Princes who have made use of violent Methods to ruine those that were of their own Opinion and exclaim without Reason against the contrary party when they take the same course Now we must either condemn all those that persecute for the sake of Opinion or equally absolve them When they deposed the Arian Bishops and Priests and sent them into Banishment when they used their Followers ill and took away their Churches from them then they did nothing but Justice and care was taken to suppress all the Complaints which they made of these ill Treatments and of the odious Circumstances that attended them But when the Arians return'd the like Kindness to the Bishop of Alexandria and some others and endeavour'd to oppress their Party then there was a horrible Violation of all manner of Justice
Catholick Church are comprehended under the Name of Hereticks and liable to the Laws which have been enacted against them Haereticorum vocabulo continentur latis adversùs eos sanctionibus debent succumbere qui vel levi argumento à judicio Catholicae Religionis tramite detecti fuerint deviare One needs only read the V. Title of the XVI Book of the Theodosian Code against the Hereticks to see that as it was then the Custom to bestow excessive Praise so they excessively blamed those they did not love The Hereticks are call'd there not only Men fond of erroneous Opinions and obstinate but also Distracted Mad Prophane Perfidious Detestable and Sacrilegious Men who have wickedly conspired against the Deity c. Jacobus Gothofredus has collected all those reviling Words and placed them before the Title I have mention'd Tho' it be as clear as Noon Day-light that the Praises and Censures of that time are most of them strained and excessive yet several People who read the Writings of that Age take no notice of it and the ancient Customs having been changed in these latter Ages they fancy that all those who are styled Saints in those ancient Writings which was only a Title of Honour bestowed upon all Bishops and Priests are really Saints in such a Sense as that Word is now understood that is to say that they enjoy the Glory of Heaven and may be safely prayed to as the Church of Rome holds as being Mediators between God and Men. From whence it follows that their Writings ought to be infinitely more esteem'd than those of the Modern tho' the latter are composed with greater accuracy and according to all the Rules of Art For who durst believe that such Men reasoned ill and wrote carelesly They also conclude from it that Men who are prayed to could be guilty of no dangerous Error and that their Lives ought to be the Pattern of ours Thus they Canonize them together with their Errors and Vices to which they were as subject as those who live now An Order that has one of those Saints for its Patron is always very zealous in the Defence of his Opinions and manner of Life And because those great Saints condemn'd and persecuted as much as they could those who receded from their Opinions they who admire their Writings revile in their imitation and persecute those who differ from them This will always be as long as the Praises and Censures of the Ancient are approved of without any examination instead of comparing them with the unchangeable Rule of Reason and the Gospel CHAP. IX That it is a very difficult thing to Judge without Passion EVERY Body says That an Author who writes with Passion is not to be trusted and it cannot be denied but that it is a very true Maxim and very useful to those who follow It. But to know whether an Author writes with Passion or no one ought to free one self from Passion Otherwise a Man will deceive himself moue than he can be deceived by the most interested Author because every Body mistrusts himself less than others He that will free himself from his Passions must know that he is subject to them for he cannot get rid of a Habit which he thinks he has not contracted But what must one do to know it Men deceive themselves every Day and believe they keep within the Bounds of Moderation and Equity I confess that when we are actually agitated with a Passion we are not capable of judging well of ourselves but there is scarce any Passion but what has some Intervals Then the general Light of Reason and Equity which we have acquired by Study and Experience shines in our Minds because they cease to be fill'd with Fumes of Passions We must then improve that Time take a sound Resolution and form such Maxims as we will always observe as Physicians make use of the Intervals that are between Fits to cure those who are sick of a Fever If they don't prevent new Fits they will at least lessen the Violence of them In like manner some Reflections made whilst the Mind is calm do often prevent violent Passions or at least lessen them in a great measure He who often makes such Reflections will sooner perceive the Effects of 'em as the effects of Remedies are better known when they have been reiterated But there is this difference between a Fever and our Passions that we often recover of the former without using any Remedies whereas we cannot get rid of our Passions without reflecting on then and reiterating our Reflections If a Man therefore never Reflects he is past recovery In some cases every thing contributes to keep up our Passions and hinder us from Reflecting on the State we are in This may be observ'd in what is call'd Zeal for Religion in the Sects that are most remote from Truth That Zeal is nothing else but a vehement Desire of setting up One's Opinions by any means The Divines of those false Religions cry it up as a Virtue without which one cannot be acceptable to God and look upon Peace and Toleration as a detestable Vice Every Body hears this Doctrine from his tender Years reads it in all their Books and sees it practised by the most esteem'd Persons The Zealots get a great Reputation in their Party and obtain all the Rewards but the Admirers of peaceable Equity get nothing by it but Trouble and Contempt Ask therefore no more how it comes to pass that so marry People ire deceived and imposed upon You will say that you easily apprehend that it it is now very difficult to preserve one's self from the Illusions of Passions but that you cannot conceive how rational Men could establish Doctrines so contrary to Truth I answer That Men in Authority who sincerely believed some false Doctrines might have enacted some Laws and introduced some Customs as were fit to Authorize a false as well as a true Doctrine and then it proved a difficult thing to go against the Stream Some Impostors and Politicians might also have had a hand in it so that at last the Assertors of a false Doctrin proved so fond of it that it was a very hard matter to overcome their Prejudices Thus the most ridiculous Opinions of the Heathens and Mahometans were introduced at first and afterwards kept up by such means as I have mention'd Those Nations blindly believe whatever their Writers and Priests tell 'em without being aware that those Men getting their Livelyhood by those erroneous Doctrines will not fail to maintain a Party under whose Ruins they would infallibly sink Would to God they were the only Men whose Interest it is to maintain Errors and oppress the Truth Would to God that none but they were deceived by their own and other Men's Passions But it is a general Evil which in all likelyhood will last as long as there are Men in this World However we must endeavour to oppose it lest it should
Decisions To compleat his Course of Philosophy he wrote shortly after a Natural Philosophy which he published in 1695. and was reprinted two Years after in two Vol. in Octavo So that all his Philosophical Works are contained in four Vol. Whilst I am on this Subject it will not be an unseasonable Digression if I undertake to justify Mr. L. C.'s Method of proving the Immortality of the Soul Being of Opinion that its Essence is unknown to us he thinks that its Immortality cannot be proved by any Arguments taken from its Nature and that we must use such Proofs as the Divine Goodness affords us which has created Men to make 'em eternally happy Some think that the Certainty of the Immortality of the Soul is thereby lessened as if weak Arguments were to pass for good Reasons because we are concern'd in them and as if we had but doubtful Proofs of the Divine Goodness Had we no other Proofs of it but those which the Revelation afford us methinks they were sufficient to satisfy them that are convinced of the Truth of the Revelation A Learned Bishop in England †Mr. Locke's Reply to the Bishop of Worcester's Answer to his Second Letter p. 418. seq having objected to a Gentleman of great Parts that he lessen'd the Certainty of the Proofs which persuade us that the Soul is immortal by saying that its Immateriality cannot be demonstrated he returned him an Answer which I shall make use of against those who have censured Mr. L. C.'s Pneumatology This your Accusation says Mr. Locke of my lessening the credibility of the Immortality of the Soul and the Resurrection of the Body is founded on this That the Immateriality of the Soul cannot he demonstrated from natural Reason Which Argument of your Lordship's bottoms on this That Divine Revelation abates of its credibility in all those Articles it proposes proportionably as Humane Reason fails to support the Testimony of God Does God promise any thing to Mankind to be believed It is very fit and credible to be believed if Reason can demonstrate it to be true But if Humane Reason comes short in the Case and cannot make it out its credibility is thereby lessened Which is in effect to say That the Veracity of God is not a firm and sure Foundation of Faith to rely upon without the concurrent Testimony of Reason i. e. with reverence be it spoken God is not to be believed on his own Word unless what he reveals be in it self credible and might be believed without him What I have above observed is so visibly contained in your Lordship's Argument that when I met with it in your Answer to my first Letter it seem'd so strange from a Man of your Lordship's Character and in a Dispute in Defence of the Doctrin of the Trinity that I could hardly persuade my self but it was a Slip of your Pen. Your Lordship says You do not question whether God can give Immortality to a material Substance but you say it takes off very much from the evidence of Immortality if it depends only upon God's giving that which of its own nature it is not capable of To which I reply any one 's not being able to demonstrate the Soul to be Immaterial takes off not very much nor at all from the evidence of its Immortality if God has revealed that it shall be Immortal because the Veracity of God is a Demonstration of the Truth of what he has revealed and the want of another Demonstration of a Proposition that is demonstratively true takes not off from the Evidence of it For where there is a clear Demonstration there is as much Evidence as any Truth can have that is not self-evident The whole of your Lordship's Discourse here is to prove That the Soul cannot be Material because then the Evidence of its being Immortal would be very much lessened Which is to say That 't is not as credible upon Divine Revelation that a Material Substance should be Immortal as an Immaterial or which is all one That God is not equally to be believed when he declares that a Material Substance shall be Immortal as when he declares that an Immaterial shall be so because the Immortality of a Material Substance cannot be demonstrated from Natural Reason Let us try this Rule of your Lordship 's a little farther God has revealed That the Bodies Men shall have after the Resurrection as well as their Souls shall live to Eternity Does your Lordship believe the eternal Life of the one of these more than of the other because you think you can prove it of one of them by natural Reason and of the other not Or can any one who admits of Divine Revelation in the Case doubt of one of them more than the other Or think this Proposition less credible the Bodies of Men after the Resurrection shall live for ever than this That the Souls of Men shall after the Resurrection live for ever For that he must do if be thinks either of them is less credible than the other If this be so Reason is to be consulted how far God is to be believed and the credit of Divine Testimony must receive its force from the Evidence of Reason which is evidently to take away the Credibility of Divine Revelation in all Supernatural Truths wherein the Evidence of Reason fails Those who have found Fault with what Mr. L. C. said concerning the Immortality of them Soul need only consider those judicious Remarks to be convinced that their Censures were very ill grounded But to return to Mr. L. C.'s Philosophical Works those who read 'em may easily perceive That besides the general Design of that sort of Books the Author endeavours to make the Study of Philosophy profitable by applying its Principles to the most sublime Doctrins of Theology as far as they have a Connexion one with another He shews in a thousand places the Origin of several Errors of School-Divinity which sprung from a false Philosophy and sometimes vice versâ the Errors which a false Theology introduced into Philosophy for those two Sciences have often corrupted one another Elsewhere he lays down a sure Foundation to convince one's self of the Truth of the Christian Religion He proves in his Pneumatology the Existence of a God and all his Attributes as much as it can be done by the meer Light of Reason Whereby one may observe what are the Foundations of Natural Religion on which the Christian is built Mr. L. C. expersses in his Philosophical Works a great Esteem for Descartos whose general Principles he follows but he often departs from his particular Conjectures which he confutes with Reasons and Experiments He often declares in his Pneumatology and Natural Philosophy that he proposes only some Conjectures which might prove false and he frequently says that a Man must suspend his Judgment He carefully distinguishes every where what is demonstrable from that which is uncertain Those who have a great
respect for Truth in general and love a Philosophical Sincerity are obliged to use such a Method and they that are so disposed are better convinced than others of the narrowness of their Knowledge think more modestly of themselves and can more easily bear to be contradicted On the contrary those who distinguish not what is doubtful from what is certain fancy they know much more than they do and being proud of their pretended Knowledge they maintain with the same assurance the most uncertain Things and those which they are most sure of From thence arise a great many hot Disputes about Things which no body knows and wherein they are perhaps mistaken on both sides From thence also arise all the Evils which attend long Disputes Those who are used to distinguish their Conjectures from what they are able to prove may more easily attain to a solid and certain knowledge of Truth than those who believe they know what they know not and so give over the search of that which they think they have already found They substitute an imaginary Knowledge in the room of a real one and so rest satisfied with Phantoms instead of real Things and as they boldly take up Things that have but a slight probability so they are afraid on the contrary to be deceived by Demonstrations and shun them as carefully as they ought to shun Falshood But those who believe not that they know what they know not and are not conceited of their own Merits will be ready to embrace Truth which way soever it comes That which I most wonder at is That some Men are so Conceited that they speak as if they were persuaded that Truth depends not so much on Things themselves as on the manner of defending it One would think they believe That if they stoutly maintain an Opinion it acquires thereby a greater degree of certainty and at last happens to be true Should we grant say they That such a Thing is true we must then give up our Principles 'T is therefore better to argue against it without troubling our Selves whether it be true or not and never to give ground like the Man who being no longer able to reply to what was objected against his Opinion cried out with great Anger If what I say be not true it should be true Of Morery's Dictionary BUT to return to Mr. L. C.'s Studies at the very same time that his Philosophical Works were Composed Printed for the first time and Reprinted he was taken up with the tedious Revision of a Book which gave him a great deal of trouble Some Booksellers of Holland having a mind to Print Morery's Dictionary proposed to him in 1689. to Revise it which he undertook to do supposing That because that Dictionary had been Printed five times in France it wanted but few Corrections But having gone about that Work he soon perceived that he had had a better Opinion of Mr. Morery than he deserved He perceived too late that the Revision of that Dictionary would be a laborious Work of no great Honour and less Profit But he was obliged to go thro' when he had begun One may see what he said about it in the XIV Vol. of the Bibliotheque Vniverselle and in the Preface before the Holland Editions He has in three several Revisions corrected a prodigious number of Faults especially in the Articles which concern ancient History and after a frequent Perusing and a long Examination he found that Mr. Morery was a Man of so little Learning and Exactness that one cannot rely on any thing that he says He that would throughly examine his Dictionary should have almost all the Books which he made use of and it would take up as much time as would be sufficient to make a New one So that Mr. L. C. was forced to pass over a great many Things for want of Books and Time Besides to speak the Truth there are a great many Articles in that Dictionary which deserve not to be corrected by a Man who can spend his Time better Of what use would it be to make a laborious Enquiry concerning so many wretched Authors whom Morery mentions He that began that Work should have been Exact since he undertook it Nevertheless there has been Three Editions of that Dictionary in Holland from the Year 1690. to the Year 1698. and about Seven Thousand Copies have been Sold Perhaps so large a Book did never Sell so well before Indeed it is necessary to a great many People who cannot have Libraries nor read the Original Authors and are contented with a general Knowledge of Things The last Edition of Holland is much more Exact than the other but it is not true That the Publick can now rely upon it as the Booksellers have inserted in the Advertisement of this VIII Edition without Mr. L. C's Knowledge 'T is true That it is more accurate than the former but he that will know something exactly must necessarily have recourse to the Original Authors I hear in 1699. that there is a new Edition of it coming out at Paris and I doubt not but that they have corrected several Faults in the Articles which concern the Modern Authors because they have at Paris all the Books necessary for it the Tenth Part of which cannot be had in Holland because those Books Sell not very well there Of Mr. L. C.'s Commentary on the Pentateuch Mr. L. C. having applied himself chiefly to the Study of the Holy Scripture designed a great while ago to write a Commentary on the Old Testament but being not Master of his Time and Studies he could not do it before he left off writing the Bibliotheque Vniverselle To give a Specimen of his Design he published in 1690. in one Sheet in Quarto the Prophet Obadiah translated by him with a Paraphrase and a Critical Commentary He imparted that Specimen to his Friends and sent it every where to know what the Publick thought of such an Undertaking and having their Approbation he willingly undertook that Work which tho' very great and laborious did not frighten him because he always took great delight in that Study Besides he was persuaded that If he should succeed in his Design it would prove very useful to the Publick He published therefore his Commentary on Genesis in 1693. with a Paraphrase and Critical Notes as he had done the Prophet Obadiah And because he designed his Book for the use of all those who apply themselves to the Study of the Holy Scripture of what Sect or Party soever they be he abstained from all manner of Controversie and enquired only into the Literal Sense without drawing any Theological Consequences from it which might offend any Christian Society He searched Truth as impartially as if he had been the first who undertook such a Work He agrees in most Things with the most Learned Interpreters but he thinks he has made many new Discoveries concerning Things themselves and the manner
of those Sciences and how much they help one another Mr. L. C. expresses as much Sincerity and Fairness in this Work as in all his other Books He dissembles no Truth because in the Judgment of some it may be prejudicial He believes that Dissimulation in Matters of moment is of a most dangerous Consequence and that those who practise it have no great love for Truth and know not how to defend it He can't abide that any one should boast of having Truth on his side and fear at the same time that it will be destroyed by another Truth as if two True Propositions could be contrary to one another In effect when the Unbelievers perceive that a Truth is concealed and a Falshood substituted in its place they never fail to exclaim against such a Pious Fraud and so to bring all the rest into Suspicion 'T is in vain for any one to say that nevertheless he maintains Truth for 't is plain that such a Man does not assert it because he loves and is clearly convinced of it but out of an ill Principle since he maintains a Falshood which he thinks to be useful in the Defence of Truth with the same Confidence and much greater Heat than he is used to maintain Truth it self It is a scandalous Conduct which shews the fâ—ctious Humour of a Man who only regards what is useful to him and could maintain Mahometism in Asia with as great a Zeal as he maintains Christianity in Europe Such a Man knows not what Truth and Falshood are since he believes that the one stands in need of the other and he dishonours Truth by acting as if he were afraid it should destroy it self Such are the Proceedings of some Ignorant Zealots who wrangle as much as they can about some various Readings which Mr. L. C. mentions in the 3d Part of his Ars Critica Sect. III. c. 8. c. 14. A certain English Anonymous Author who styles himself Master of Arts in the Vniversity of Cambridge has maliciously censured Mr. L. C.'s Ars Critica out of the same Principle But Mr. L. C. has already confuted him in a Latin Letter which has been translated into English and is printed before his Additions to Dr. Hammond's Notes on the New Testament I shall speak no more of that Libel because that Letter will be shortly publish'd in Latin Mr. Vander Waeyen who endeavours to find fault with all the Books of Mr. L. C. has likewise censured some Passages of his Ars Critica For instance he blames †Diss de voc 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 164. p. 167. him for having said that the Efficacious and Irresistible Grace taught by St. Augustin is a Thing of which we have no Idea and undertakes †to tell us what it is but he does it so odly that what he says confirms Mr. L. C.'s Opinion Ille actus they are Mr. Vander Waeyen's Words qui conversionis primus est totus tantus quantus liberé exseritur ab eo qui se convertit totus ille actus praestar divina cura providentia gratia ut exseratur adhibitis iis praedicationis seu verbi docendi mediis quae omnes agnoscimus Totus ille actus est Dei est hominis est mediorum effectus qualibet earum causarum operante suo modo ordine GRATIA autem dicitur tum Dei voluntas cujus virtute sistitur effectus qui effectus habet rationem boni citra demeritum praestiti Tum effectus ipse qui multiplex est c. First It is not true That when St. Augustin spoke of the inward and irresistible help which he thought God bestowed on Men for their Conversion he meant thereby the effect of Grace or Conversion it self Secondly I will freely own That Mr. L. C. is to blame for saying that the Word Grace is very obscure if any one that understands Philosophy or Divinity will sincerely affirm that he clearly apprehends Mr. Vander Waeyen's meaning in the Words which I have just now quoted For my part I have no Idea of an Action which irresistibly forces a Man to Will and yet leaves him at liberty not to Will But our Cocceian Divine accuses Mr. L. C. of acknowledging an irresistible Grace in that place of his Ars Critica †Part 2. § 1. C. 4. n. 11. wherein he shews what 's meant by these Words to open the Heart Mr. L. C. maintains That there is no Emphasis in them and that when 't is said Act. xvi 14. That the Lord opened the Heart of Lydia that she attended unto the Things that were spoken of Paul the meaning of it is only That it came to pass by God's Providence that Lydia heard attentively St. Paul whatever means God was pleased to use to that end Because nothing happens in the World without the Divine Providence and we are beholden to God for every Thing St. Luke said That God opened the Heart of Lydia without any Design of teaching us thereby that such a Grace as St. Augustin speaks of wrought efficaciously at that very moment on the Mind of that Woman One may see what Mr. L. C. said in that place of his Ars Critica ' Tis. plain he spoke there of no irresistible Grace Nay to speak in a strict Sense the Conversion of Lydia is not mention'd in that place but only her attention to what St. Paul said which proved afterwards the cause of her Conversion St. Luke says nothing of it because he supposes that to be attentive to the Gospel and to believe it are two Things which commonly go together Those who are not strongly prepossess d against the Gospel and have no Vices that are inconsistent with it need only be attentive to acknowledge love and obey it The Jews themselves used such an Expression as Ludovicus Cappellus has observed on Luke xxiv 45. But the present Question is not about the Thing it self but only about what Mr. L. C. said in his Ars Critica Mr. Vander Waeyen maintains That Mr. L. C. acknowledges in the same Book as well as he that the ancient Jews meant by the Word the same thing with the Christians Let us see what Grounds Mr. Vander Waeyen has for this Assertion Mr. L. C. has a Chapter in his Ars Critica concerning the Language of Sects which often seem to agree but yet denote quite different Things tho' they use the same Expressions He gives a remarkable Instance of it in this Proposition There is but One God The ancient Jews meant by it That there is but one Divine Substance in Number as all Christians understand it now But St. Athanasius and other Consubstantialists if I may so call 'em used the same Words in a quite different Sense only to denote That there was but one Specifick Divine Essence tho' they acknowledged Three Equal and Co-eternal Substances This has been proved by many Learned Men of this Age and amongst others by Dr. Cudworth in his Intellectual System which