and Zeal did visibly decay Not but that Religion may receive and has actually received great Helps from Christian Magistrates they have sometimes contributed very effectually to the promoting of Piety and those who do so deserve immortal Honour But it must likewise be granted that the Vices and ill Examples of Christian Magistrates Corrupt the Church more than if it were under Heathen Governors The Duty of Christian Princes and Magistrates as well as of all the Members of the Church is double They are bound First to serve God and to discharge the Obligations which Religion lays upon all Men and Secondly to take care that God may be served and honoured by all those who are subject to their Authority 1. Every Christian ought to serve God and to live according to the Precepts of the Gospel That very thing then that a Magistrate is Christian obliges him to be a lover of Piety and Virtue It is a Common Notion especially among great Men that Piety and Devotion do not become those who are exalted to Dignities and that publick Persons â—re not to be ruled by the Maxims of Religion But whosoever maintains this Opinion must deny the Principles of Religion and be either an Atheist or a Deist For supposing the Truth of Christianity it is beyond all doubt that a Christian Prince or Magistrate has as much need of Piety as other Men have He is bound to be a good Man by the same duty and interest which engage private Men to be so he has a Soul to be saved as well as they and as he is a publick Person he is to give an account of his conduct to that Judge with whom there is no acception of Persons and before whom the greatest of Monarchs is no more than the Meanest of Slaves If the eminent Station of a Magistrate makes some difference between him and Christians of a lower Order that difference obliges him to a higher degree of Piety The Character he bears requires a great stock of Virtue No small measure of Probity is requisite to acquit himself worthily in that Calling to do no Injustice not to seek in his Dignities the means to gratifie his Interest his Vanity his Pride or his other Passions Without a firm and solid Virtue he cannot withstand those Temptations which offer themselves every minute and which are the more dangerous and subtil because in those exalted Posts ill things for the most part may be done with safety If we add to all this that an ill Magistrate is answerable for the greatest part of the Disorders which happen and of the Crimes which are committed in Society it must be confessed that Magistracy is a kind of Life wherein Piety is extreamly necessary and in which great Circumspection and a sublime Virtue are the only Preservatives against a thousand opportunities of transgressing the Duties of Conscience and violating the most Sacred Laws of Religion and Justice II. It is the duty of Christian Princes and Magistrates to labour for the promoting of Virtue and the suppressing of Vice among Men. We have shewn already that it is their interest to do so since Religion is the surest Foundation of their Authority and of the Fidelity of their People but their Duty does besides indispensably oblige them to this It cannot be denied but that this Obligation lies upon them since every Christian is bound to advance the Kingdom of Christ and to edify his Neighbours as much as he can in that State and Condition he is in The Duty here is answerable to the abilitry so that we may apply to this purpose that Maxim of the Gospel * Luke XII that to whom soever much is given of him much shall be required Private Men cannot do much towards promoting the Glory of God their Zeal and Good intentions are for the most part useless it is not in their power to hinder general disorders this ought therefore to be done by Men of Authority and they may do it easily Besides a Christian Magistrate is to consider that it was Providence which raised him to the Post he is in and that by consequence he is engaged in Justice and Gratitude to use his Authority for the Glory of God Lastly Would it not be a strange thing that Christian Princes and Magistrates should do no Service to Religion when Kings and Princes who are not Christian can do so much hurt to it Now they may advance the Kingdom of God and banish Corruptions these two ways 1. By their Example 2. By their Care 1. By their Example This Method is of great efficacy Examples are very forcible but their effect depends for the most part upon the Quality and Character of the Persons they come from It has been made appear in the foregoing Chapter how much benefit redounds to the Church from the good Lives and Examples of the Governours of it But the example of Kings Princes and Magistrates is in some respects of greater weight When a Church-Man recommends Virtue by an exemplary Life it is often said that his Profession obliges him to live so and this consideration makes his to be example of little force upon worldly-minded Men. But when Princes and Magistrates are pious those Men have no such thing to say The Splendor and Authority which surround Greatness gives much credit to every thing that comes from great Men. They may sometimes do more good with one word than a Preacher can do by many Sermons I have shewed in the first Part of this Work that one of the greatest Obstacles to Piety is a false Shame which restrains Men from doing their Duty for fear of being observed and despised and I am to shew hereafter that Custom has introduced among Christians a great many Maxims and Practices contrary to the Spirit of the Gospel These two things occasion Corruption and till they are remedied Vice and Impiety must still reign But the Example of great Men is sufficient to remove almost intirely both these Springs of Corruption They are the Judges of Honour and Custom it is in their power to make any thing which is reputed shameful to be thought Honourable and to abolish that which is generally received So that how scarce and despesed soever Piety may be an Idea of Honour would be affixed to it if it was favoured and professed by great Men and that would be respected in them which in others is looked upon with Indifference or Contempt That which has happened with relation to Duels is a strong proof of what I say To decline fighting a Duel has been thought for a long time a Disgrace and an Infamy A false notion of Honour did then bear down the strongest Principles of Nature Reason and Christianity and drive Men to that excess of Brutality and Madness that they would cut one anothers Throat for a trifle But in those places where Christian Princes have abolished Dâ—els People are now of another mind and think it no shame to refuse a Challenge And
thus Swearing Drunkenness and the greatest of other clamorous Sins might be suppressed if great Men pleased Is it not observed besides that when a Prince is devout Devotion comes into fashion It may be that this Devotion which proceeds from the Example of Princes is not always sincere but at least it regulates Manners as to the exterior and such an outward Reformation may be a step towards true Devotion However this shews that the opinion and example of Men in Authority has a great power And surely if by their credit they can make Vice it self to be honoured would it not be much easier for them to make other Men honour Virtue since it is honourable in its own Nature I am not able to express of what Consequence the Example of great Men is either for Good or Evil. A Prince who is vicious cruel dissolute artificious or unjust is enough to infect a whole State in a very little time to banish Piety from it and to bring into repute Drunkenness Lewdnese Cheating Indevotion and all the other Vices which he allows himself in This we find by daily experience Such as the Prince is so are those about him and from these the Evil spreads upon the whole People by reason of the Credit and Authority to which they were raised and of the Influence they have upon publick and private Affairs What might not be said here of the Life which is led in the Courts of Princes Excepting some few Courts where Licentiousness is not suffered That kind of Life which is followed at Court for the generality agrees little with the Spirit of Christianity People live there altogether in a loose and worldly manner in Luxury Idleness Pomp and Pleasure There the strongest and the most inticing Temptations are to be met with and the most criminal Intrigues Adultery it self are rather a Matter of Railery than Reproach It is almost impossible for a Man to insinuate himself into the Favour of Princes and to advance his Fortune at Court unless he makes it his Maxim to dissemble his Sentiments and to speak directly against his own Thoughts The worst of it is that from thence Corruption diffuses it self almost every where so that many Disorders which are in Vogue would be unknown or at least very rare in the World if they had not been introduced by that Licentiousness which reigns in the Courts of Princes I come now to the Endeavours which Christian Magistrates ought to use for the Edification of the Church and the reviving of Piety these Endeavours relate either to Civil Matters or to Religion 1. In Civil Matters it is their Duty to restrain Libertinism and Corruption by regulating the Manners of their Subjects either by repealing the Laws and Customs which do not agree with Religion and which engage the People into the violation of the Precepts of the Gospel or by reforming the Abuses which are introduced from time to time particularly those which creep into the Administration of Justice In relation to all these things there are several Faults which the Church cannot provide against and which nothing can remedy but the Magistrates Authority 2. The other Care relates directly to Religion 1. Princes and Kings professing Christianity are bound to procure as much as in them lies the Welfare of the Church They ought to set about the establishing of Truth and Peace provided that in order to that they use no Means but such as are sutable to the Gospel They ought by their Authority to see that the Church and Religion want nothing of what is necessary for the maintaining of Order and Decency that Divine Service be duly performed that there be both Places for that Purpose and a sufficient number of Persons to take care of the Edification of the Church that those Persons may subsist honourably that they do their Duty and keep themselves within the bounds of their Calling They must not suffer Church Goods or Revenves to be applied to uses meerly Civil and when these Revenues are not sufficient it becomes their Piety and Justice to allot some part of the publick Revenues for the necessities of the Church In fine as to Manners I observed before that they may easily give a stop to Vice and Impiety to Luxury Swearing and other Scandals which dishonour the Church And if they can do this they ought to do it every Christian being bound to do all that is in his Power to promote the Glory of God 2. It is certain that Magistrates who are Members of the Church ought to protect it to maintain the Order which God has established in it and not to suffer any breach to be made there So that tho' they may regulate many things which concern Religion and tho' the Church owes them a great Regard yet they cannot without Usurpation and Injustice arrogate to themselves the whole Authority with relation to Ecclesiastical Affairs They are neither the Princes nor the Heads of the Church as they are the Princes and the Heads of Civil Society An Authority superior to theirs has instituted Religion Pastors and Discipline There is a Law enacted by the KING of Kings and the Head of the Church which clearly determines the Rights and Duties both of the Church and of the Governour of it All these are Sacred things which earthly Powers are not to meddle with They are Laws which Princes and Magistrates did submit to when they became Members of the Church with respect to these I mean still essential things appointed by the Word of God they have acquired no Right by embracing Christianity since he who becomes Member of a Society cannot by that acquire a Right to alter the natural Form and Constitution of it The Instance of the Kings of Judah shews that a Prince who professes true Religion may interpose in the Affairs of it But we must take care not to carry this Instance too far as those do who ascribe to the Magistrate a supreme Authority in the Church who allow him a Right to order every thing there not excepting Discipline the calling of Pastors nor even the Articles of Faith For besides that under the Law Kings were by no means the Judges of every thing which concerned Religion we are not to argue altogether about the Christian Religion from what was done in the Jewish Church Among â—â—e Jews the Church and the State were mixed together and in some measure undistinguished from one another That meerly spiritual Society which is called the Church and which is confined to no State or People or any particular Form of Civil Government was properly erected since the coming of Christ God acted among the Jews as a Civil Magistrate The Laws of the Jewish Religion were for the most part external Laws which might and ought to be maintained by Force and Authority The Rights of Divine Service and the Functions of Priests were very different from the Evangelical Worship and from the Office of Christian Pastors After all if we
been betrayed into the Speaking or Writing of such things either through some Prejudice or through the heat of Dispute But after all if these Propositions were strictly taken and set out in their true Colours they could not but be looked upon as false rash scandalous and capable of producing most dismal Effects especially being asserted by Divines and if we did not judge charitably of the Intentions of their Authors we might justly say That those who dare disparage Morality and insinuate that the pressing it is a Mark of Heresy do themselves publish a most pernicious Heresy Can it be a Mark of Heresy to insist upon that which our Saviour has so vehemently pressed which is the only thing he inâ—â—â—â—â—â—s in his Sermon upon the Mount * Mat. 5.6 7. which the Apostles perpetually â—â—ge in their Epistles †1 Tim. â— 5 â— John 3.8 and declare to be the end of our whole Religion and the Character whereby the Children of God are discriminated from the Children of the Devil and without which both Christ and his Apostles assure us * Mat. 7.21 Heb. 12.14 that no Man shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven By this the Truth of Religion is as much struck at and injured as Piety it self It gives one an Indignation to see that the Honour of defending Vertue and Piety should be yielded up to Hereticks To say that for the most part Hereticks are strong upon the Head of Morality is in a manner to give up the Cause it is the ready way to confirm them in their Errors and it does basely to ascribe that to Heresy which belongs to True Religion and is the Glory of it It would be to no purpose to alledge that some Hereticks have writ upon Morality with good Success For granting this to be true it is not a Token of their Heresie on the contrary so far they are Orthodox Some Orthodox Christians have recommended Morality as much and better than the Hereticks because they have established it upon the Foundations and Motives which pure Doctrines afford On the other hand there have always been Hereticks who did subvert and ruin Morality as for instance those who are described by St. Paul in the 2d to Timothy and by St. Peter in his 2d Epistle It is then very unreasonable to say That a thing which neither agrees to all Hereticks nor to Hereticks alone is a Mark of Heresy There is much more reason to charge those who speak so injuriously of Morality with maintaining a Heresy which comes very near that of the Gnosticks who were opposed by the Apostles and Condemned and Detested by the whole Church as Corrupters of the Morals of the Gospel But tho' the greatest part of Christians reject the Opinions I have now mention'd and acknowledge the Excellency of Morality yet they form to themselves too easie a Notion of the Duties of it This is another Prejudice which does not a little contribute to that neglect of Piety they live in The Notion of those who think that the Practice of Piety is easy is true in the main * 1 Jâ—hn 5.3 God's Commandments are not grievous †Mat. 11.30 And Christ's yoke is easy and his burthen light We should therefore always suppose that it is not difficult to lead a good Life and to work out one's Salvation But the Error lies in imagining too great an easiness in this and in not considering aright the Nature and the extent of the Duties of Morality There are but few whose Notions in this Matter come up to the Standard of the Gospel and to that Perfection which Christians are to aim at Few understand to what degree the practice of Vertue is to be carried As for the purpose what sort of Justice Equity Honesty Disinterestedness Purity or Charity becomes a Professor of Christ's Religion Instead of rising up to that high and sublime Pitch of Morality which the Gospel demands and instead of being acted by Noble Views and Designs worthy of Christianity Men commonly take up with mean and slight Apprehensions of it According to the general Opinion a very extraordinary and elevated Vertue is not requisite in order to be a good Man It is enough for a Man if he is not a notorious Villain or a profligate Wretch and if he observe some of those Duties which have a shew of Sanctity Thus Holiness is reduced to the lowest Degree of Vertue or rather to the least degree of Sin it is brought to very little and yet that little is often neglected for Men never go so far in Practice as they do in Speculation they always do less than they think themselves bound to do so that their Actions still fall short of the Idea which they form of their Duty 6. What Judgment then are we to make of Christians now a-days Tho' they should Act suitably to their Notion of Piety and Morality yet they would discharge their Duty but very indifferently because that Notion is but low and defective But yet as mean and imperfect as it is their Practice does not reach it They frequently allow themselves in things which are against their own Conscience and tho' they violate the clearest and the easiest Rules of Vertue yet they fancy those to be Sins from which no Man is free and which will however be forgiven At this rate Corruption must needs be very great But as Men often form to themselves too easie a Notion of Piety so they have sometimes too severe an Idea of it It may perhaps seem at first sight that it is not very necessary to remark and confute this Prejudice The general depravation of Manners seems to make it evident that the Notions which prevail at this time are not the rigid ones and that Men do not much trouble themselves about the Rules of too austere a Devotion or Morality But yet it is usual enough for Men to run into this other extream and such an excessive severity is not so inconsistent as it may be thought with the Corruption of Manner For tho' many frame to themselves too hard and rigid a Notion 〈◊〉 Piety yet they do not think themâ—â—lves bound to live according to it but â—â—ey leave those Maxims to the Devout â—â—d they imagine that so much Piety is â—ot necessary so that they fashion to â—â—emselves a commodious Religion and â—â—ch a Morality as has nothing that is trouâ—â—esom or difficult in it Howsoever there are many who look â—pon Piety as an austere thing they conâ—â—ive it to be an enemy to all Joy and that 〈◊〉 debars Men of all Pleasure so that it â—roduces nothing but Sadness and Meâ—â—ncholy And they are besides possessed â—ith this Error that the Practice of it is â—â—easie and difficult or even impossible â—ut why do Men judge of Piety with so â—uch Prepossession and Injustice This â—roceeds from two Causes The first is their Carnal Disposition They are incapable of relishing any other â—leasures but those of the
of the Efficacy of Christianity or of the sincerity of its Precepts Promises and Threatnings I grant then that Corruption is great that the Course of the World is very bad and that in all probability there will always be Wickedness upon Earth But that this Corruption should be always the same so that no Reformation can be hoped is what cannot be maintained without affronting Religion without introducing Fatality and extinguishing all Zeal among Christians By the Maxims we have hitherto Examined Men endeavour to prove that the practice of Holiness is either of no great necessity or that it is impossible But there are some others which represent the Study of Vertue as dangerous so that here vicious Men do not stand barely upon the defensive part but they attack their Adversaries who recommend the Duties of Holiness 1. They pretend that we cannot insist so much upon Works without obscuring the Glory of the Divine Mercy We must ascribe all say they to Mercy and nothing to our own Righteousness There is no true Christian but acknowledges That our Salvation is entirely owing to the Divine Mercy and rejects the Opinion which attributes any Merit to Good-works It is that Mercy which gave us Christ for our Redeemer and our Salvation is founded upon that Redemption It is that Mercy which pardons the Sins of those who Believe and Repent and which bears with the Infirmities of Regenerate Christians And it is from the same Mercy that we expect that Glorious and un-merited Reward which is laid up in Heaven for Good Men. All these are as many Acts of the pure Mercy of God But as we have shewed that the Mercy which Saves us does not excuse us from Good-works so the necessity of Good-works does not lessen in the least the Riches of God's Mercy Unless we admit that there are Contradictions in Scripture we must acknowledge that the Doctrine of Sanctification does perfectly agree with the Doctrine of Grace And in Truth to say That God gave up his Son to Death in order to Save Men and that he will grant Remission of Sins and Eternal Happiness to every believing and repenting Sinner is as much as can be said to magnify the Divine Mercy Except we should pretend that God would be more merciful if he did indifferently Save all Mankind and Reward Vice and Vertue alike but this would be a horrid Thought and no less than downright Blasphemy Then Sinners might say indeed Let us continue in Sin that Grace may abound Let us suppose that a Prince pardons a Rebellious Subject and that he is ready to confer the greatest Honours and Benefits upon him on condition that this Subject shall accept of the Pardon that is offered him and shall relapse no more into the same Crime Would any Man be so unreasonable as to say that the Clemency of that Prince would be much greater if he did grant his Favours to this Rebel tho' he should persist in his Crime And yet this is the same thing which some Men would have God do It is very strange that any one should think to Honour God by such Conceits as do not only injure his Mercy but his other Perfections too Because God is Merciful must we forget that he is Holy Just and Good It is said that we must ascribe all to the mercy of God what then must we have no regard to his Holiness his Justice and his Truth Must what the Scripture tells of these last Perfections be faintly and tenderly expounded whilst we press and scrue up to the highest pitch what it says of Mercy As to what is added that we ought to ascribe nothing to our own Righteousness it is unquestionably true But do we ascribe any thing to Man when we say that he is bound to do his Duty and to accept the favour which God is pleased to bestow upon him Can any Man say that the Rebel I Mentioned just now is the Author of his own Happiness and that he deserves the Pardon granted him by his Prince because he accepts of it and fulfils the condition upon which it is offered What reason then has a Man to value himself upon his own Righteousness or to arrogate any Merit to himself since he is indebted to the Grace of God both for the beginnings and the progress of his Sanctification In short we should take heed that for fear of ascribing any thing to Man we may not rob the Divine Grace of what belongs to it by not acknowledging its Gifts and Power in a Regenerate Man 2. Here is another Maxim which is alledged in Confirmation of the preceding and which aims at the same Mark It is this That we must not speak so much of Good-works lest we inspire Men with Pride and Presumption And to support this Maxim it is usual to run out upon Mens inclination to Pride and upon the heinousness of that Sin But this Maxim proceeds only from the false and confused Notions which Men have about Religious Matters Either this Maxim has no Sense at all or else it mounts to this That whosoever applies himself to Holiness and Good-works is in danger of falling into Pride and that a neglect of Vertue contains a Man within the Bounds of Humility Which is as much as to say that a Man may be Holy without Humility and humble without Holiness Two Things which are the most ridiculous and contradictory that can be asserted At this rate it would be a dangerous thing to be a Good Man and more safe to be otherwise By pursuing Vertue and Holiness a Man draws near to Sin and to the greatest of Sins I mean Pride and by neglecting Holiness he attains Humility which is one of the chief Christian Vertues If this is true all that we call Vice or Vertue is but an empty sound It is much that Men should not see that there can be no Holiness without Humility nor Humility without Holiness that where there is Holiness there is Humility and Pride is excluded and that where Pride is there is no true Sanctification The holier a Man grows he becomes the more humble and he is so far from coming the nearer to Pride by proceeding in Holliness that on the contrary he removes the farther from it The instance of our Blessed Saviour who was both perfectly Holy and perfectly Humble is a proof that Humility is not incompatible with Holiness But the Nature of Humility is not well understood There are many who conceive no other Humility but that which arises from the Disorders of a vicious and irregular Life So that when they would humble good Men they rank them among the vilest Sinners they make them say that there is nothing but Wickedness and Abomination in them and that they have deserved Eternal Damnation by innumerable Sins which they have committed every Moment of their Lives and even by the best Actions they have done The strongest Expressions and the most excessive Hyperboles are scarce sufficient to
Religion is attended with some difficulty The general Rule is to chuse those which are instructive and edifying Every body will own this to be a good Rule but all Men do not agree in the Application of it What seems edifying to some appears quite otherwise to others In point of Religion all Men should be of the same Mind since they are all bound to believe the same Truths and practise the same Duties but their Tastes are different because many of them have a vitiated Palate To speak my Mind upon this Subject I think that Christians should chiefly stick to those Books which prove the Truths of Religion and which establish by solid Arguments the fundamental Articles of the Christian Faith and to those which give a clear and exact View of the Duties of Morality To these it may be useful to add the Works in which we find the Examples of Persons eminent for their Piety and Virtue Such Examples are very efficacious to excite Men to the Practice of what is good and they prove a great Preservative against the Scandal occasioned by bad Example and against the Corruption of the Age. But not to enlarge further upon the Choice of Books I refer the Reader to what has been said in this Chapter A judicious Choice of Books being once made the next thing is to make a good use of them And here two Rules are to be observed 1. A Man should read with Judgment And 2. he should read in order to Practice 1. What Book soever we read it is absolutely necessary to read it with Discretion and Judgment We are commanded in Scripture * 1 Thes V. XXI 1 Joh. IV. I. To prove all things and to hold fast that which is good to try the Spirits and the Doctrines whether they are of God This Caution is to be used lest we fall into Errors since every Author is a Man and by consequence may sometimes be mistaken The common People do particularly need this Advice because they are very apt to believe that whatsoever is read in Books especially in Books of Devotion is true But tho' a Book should contain nothing but what is good Discretion is necessary to make a just Application of the Contents of it to out selves because that which is proper for some is not sutable to others The not observing this Rule is the Reason why some Readers who have a pure but a timorous and short-sighted Conscience are terrified without Cause and apply to themselves what is said only of wicked Men when on the other hand hardened Sinners deceive themselves with vain hopes by adapting to themselves what related only to good Men. 2. We ought to read in order to practice and that we may grow better this is the more important Rule of the two and that which distinguishes true from hypocritical Devotion Many are very regular and constant in Reading and they seldom fail to do it Mornings and Evenings But the Deportment of those Persons who are so assiduous in the perusing of good Books is not always agreeable to the Rules of Devotion and Piety When they are but just come from their Reading we find them often sowr peevish and passionate after they have read in the Morning they spend the Day in Slandering Gaming or Idleness and they avoid only the grosser and the more noisie Sins There are Readers of another Character they read and even delight in the Reading of Books of Religion They like well enough those Works which prove the Truths of the Christian Religion or treat of Morals they speak of them advantagiously and they will say fine Things concerning the Abuses which are crept into Religion and upon the Necessity and the Beauty of Morals but all this terminates only in a vain and fruitless Approbation which they give to the Truths and Duties of the Gospel for after all they reform nothing in their Lives Such Readings are but meer Amusements and they are good for nothing but to rock Conscience into a most dangerous Sleep The End of Reading as well as that of all Religion ought to be the Practice of Holiness I. shall here observe last of all that Christians have a Book which alone might suffice to preserve them from the Danger of ill Books and to secure them against the Corruption of the Age if they did use it as they ought I mean the Holy Scripture It is the best of all Books a Work divinely inspired which contains nothing but what is most excellent and true and wherein we find every thing that is necessary to instruct and to sanctifie Men. But it were to be wished 1. That the Translations of Scripture which are in the hands of the People should be rendered more perfect so that they might express the Sense of Sacred Authors with all possible Exactness All those who have studied the Original Text of the Bible will own that this is a necessary Work and that the Translations need some Amendments And so we see accordingly that now and then Divines and Translators apply themselves to the correcting of them 2. It would be to no purpose to have exact Translations of Scripture if Men could not read it I have already remarked it elsewhere as a crying and shameful Abuse that a great part of Christians should not be able to read This Abuse should have been reformed long ago and this might easily be done if every Pastor did endeavour it in his own Church and if the Magistrates did lend a helping Hand toward it 3. The Holy Scripture should be read more than it is and Men should make that use of it for which it was given Other Books are only Streams but when we read the Scripture we drink at the very Fountain-head Humane Books have their Faults and therefore they ought to be read with great Discretion But this Divine Book is most perfect it is a Guide to whose Conduct we may give up our selves without fear or danger This being certain is it not strange that the best of all Books should be the most neglected In many Countries the Bible is a Book unknown to the People In other places the reading of it is permitted but with great Cautions as if it were dangerous for Christians to reveal a Book by which God was pleased to reveal his Will to Men. In those places where Christians have an entire Liberty to read the Scripture great multitudes make no advantage of that freedom Many that are addicted to reading leave the Word of God for other Books In a word very few read it with suitable Dispositions and with a sincere Design of learning the Will of God and of growing the better by it And thus the far greater part of Mankind is destitute of the most efficacious mean and remedy which the Divine Goodness has afforded to Men to preserve them from the Contagion of Sin and to make them happy And so we need not wonder that the Corruption of Christians should be such as