Veneration when Genesis was written and this must necessarily be a true and clear Answer because it is expresly said in the forecited text of Exodus that God was not known to the Patriarchs by his Name Iehovah and because also in Exod. chap. 3. v. 13. Moses desired to know God's Name which must have been known to him had it been known to the Patriarchs before him It must therefore be concluded that the faithful Patriarchs were ignorant of this Name of God and that the Knowledge of God is a Gift not a Command It is now time to pass on to the proof of the second Particular That God required from Men by his Prophets no other Knowledge of himself than the Knowledge of his Divine Justice and Love that is those Attributes which Men in a right course of living may in some measure and degree imitate which the Prophet Ieremy in express words declares for chap. 20. v. 15 16. speaking of King Iosiah he saith Did not thy Father eat and drink and do Iudgment and Iustice and then it was well with him he judged the cause of the poor and the needy then it was well with him is not this to know me saith the Lord Nor are those words less clear chap. 9. v. 24. Let him that glorieth glory in this that he understandeth and knoweth me that I am the Lord which exercise loving kindness Iudgment and Righteousness in the Earth for in these things I delight saith the Lord. We have a further proof Exod. chap. 34. v. 6. where Moses desiring to see and know God God revealeth no other Attributes to him but such as declare his Divine Justice and Love. Lastly How express in the point are the words of St. Iohn in the fourth Chapter of his first Epistle because no Man ever saw God he maketh God known only by Love and concludes that he knoweth God and God dwelleth in him who hath Charity We see then that Moses Ieremy and Iohn comprize that Knowledge of God which every Man is bound to have in that only wherein we say 't is comprehended namely in believing that God is superlatively just and merciful and the only pattern of a good life The Scripture doth no where give any express and positive definition of God neither doth it prescribe any other Attributes to be imitated and believed by us but those we have named nor are those expresly commended as Attributes so that from all these things we conclude that the intellectual Knowledge of God which considers God as he is in his own Nature and Essence which Nature no Man can by any certain course of life imitate or take for his pattern doth not at all teach a Man how to live well neither doth it concern a Man's Faith or revealed Religion So that a Man may be infinitely mistaken in it and yet not offend God. Let us not wonder then that God apply'd himself to the Imaginations and preconceived Opinions of the Prophets and that faithful Believers had different Opinions of God as by many Instances we have proved in the second Chapter nor let any Man wonder that the Sacred Volumes do every where speak so improperly of God ascribing to him Hands Feet Eyes Ears Mind Local Motion yea Passions of the Mind saying he is Jealous Merciful c. and sometimes set him out as a Judge sitting in Heaven on a Regal Throne and Christ at his Right hand all which is spoken according to the Capacity of the Vulgar whom the Scripture intended to make Obedient but not Learned Of these things whatever ordinary profest Divines have by Reason and Natural Light discovered to be disagreeable to the Divine Nature they will have Metaphorically Interpreted but that which is above their Capacity must be taken Litterally If all things of this kind we meet with in Scripture must be taken and understood Metaphorically then the Scripture was not written for the rude and ignorant common people but for the Learned and especially for Philosophers and if it should be sin piously and in simplicity of Heart to believe those things of God which the Sacred Volumes have in the Letter ascribed to him the Prophets considering the weakness of the common people's Understanding ought to have been very wary and careful what Phrases and Expressions they used and should have clearly and plainly which is no where done declared those Attributes of God which every Man is bound to believe No Man ought to think that Opinions considered absolutely in themselves without respect to a Man's Works have any Piety or Impiety in them but a Man is said to be Godly or Ungodly in his Faith in respect of those Opinions which incline him to Obedience or those that encourage him to Sin and Disobedience so that if a Man tho' he rightly and truly believe be stubborn and disobedient his Faith is evil and on the contrary if a Man believe that which is false and yet live well his Faith is good for the true knowledge of God is not a Precept but a Divine Gift and God never required from Men any other Knowledge than that of his Divine Love and Justice which Knowledge is necessary only to Obedience not to Science CHAP. XIV What is Faith. Who are Believers The fundamentals of Faith stated Faith distinguish'd from Philosophy or Reason TO understand truly what Faith is 't is very necessary to know that the Scripture was fitted and accommodated not only to the Capacity of the Prophets but also to the Understanding of the inconstant mutable vulgar people of the Iewish Nation of which no person can be ignorant that will but a little consider and observe the Scripture He that will take all things which are promiscuously set down in Scripture to be that universal positive Doctrine whereby God is to be known can never rightly discern what was suited to the Capacity of the Iews but not being able to distinguish between Divine Doctrine and the common peoples Opinions must take human Fictions and Fancies for Heavenly Instructions and consequently very much abuse the Sacred Scriptures Authority Who doth not plainly see that this is the cause we have so many Sectaries who maintain their different and contrary Opinions to be all Doctrines and Principles of Faith which they confirm by many Scripture proofs so that 't is become a Dutch Proverb Geen Ketter sonder letter there is no Sectary or Heretick but hath a Text of Scripture to maintain his Opinion The Sacred Books of Scripture were not all written by one person nor for the people of one Age but by divers persons of different dispositions and for the people of several Ages distant in time from one another almost two thousand years by some computations many more We do not charge these Sectaries with impiety for applying the words of Scripture to their own Opinions as heretofore they were suited to Vulgar Capacities it being lawful for every one to apply Scripture to his own Opinions if he find himself
ignorant that they are false otherwise he would necessarily be disobedient How cometh it to pass that he who is a lover of Justice and studies to obey God reverenceth that as Divine which he knows is no way agreeable to the Divine Nature Men may err in the simplicity of their Hearts and the Scripture as I have already said condemns stubbornness not ignorance which follows from the very definition I have given of Faith every part thereof being derived from the general Foundation before mentioned and from the main end and design of Scripture so that Faith doth not require from Men Opinions absolutely true in themselves but such only as are necessary to Obedience and to confirm a Man in love towards his Neighbour by which Love to use St. Iohn's expression every Man is in God and God in him Seeing then every Man's Faith in respect of Obedience or Disobedience and not in respect of truth or falshood is to be esteemed good or evil and seeing Mens dispositions are so various that none agree in all things but are so diversly sway'd by Opinion that what moves this Man to Devotion begets in another Laughter and Contempt it fâ—llows that to Universal Faith only those Doctrines are necessary concerning which amongst honest Men there can be no dispute those things that are of such a nature that one Man may account them Religious and another Irreligious are to be judged only by Works to Catholick Faith then those Doctrines only belong which beget in a Man Obedience toward God and of which if a Man be ignorant 't is impossible he should obey him in other things every Man according to the knowledge he that of himself may to establish himself in the love of Justice think what to him seemeth best which will take away all occasions of Dispute and Controversie in the Church Now I will not fear to name those Doctrines of Universal Faith or those Fundamentals of Scripture that by what I have proved in these two last Chapters tend all to this that there is a Supreme Being that loveth Justice and Charity to whom all that will be saved must be obedient and worship him in the exercise of Justice and love towards their Neighbour and from hence these several Positions clearly and easily follow First That there is a God or Supreme Being who is most just and merciful by whose Example every Man ought to regulate his life he that knoweth not or doth not believe that God is cannot obey him or acknowledge him to be his Judge Secondly That this God is one which Opinion is absolutely necessary to make a Man adore admire and love God for Devotion Admiration and Love are caused by that excellency which is in one above all others Thirdly That he is every where present or that all things are known to him for if any thing were hidden from him or if Man did not think that he seeth all things we might doubt of his Equity and Justice whereby he governeth all things Fourthly That he hath Supreme Power and Dominion over all things that he doth nothing by compulsion but of his own good Will and Pleasure all are bound to obey him and he no body Fifthly That the worship of God and obedience to him consists only in Justice and Charity towards our Neighbours Sixthly that only they who obey God by such a course of life will be saved and others who live Slaves to their Lusts and Pleasures will be condemned If Men did not firmly believe this there would be no reason why a Man should rather obey God than his own desires and pleasures Seventhly and lastly God pardoneth the sins of those that repent there is no Man living without sin and therefore if this were not an Article of Faith all would despair of Salvation and there would be no reason to believe God merciful but he who stedfastly believes that God through Grace and Mercy whereby he ordereth all things pardoneth Men's offences and is thereby more flamed with love towards God he knoweth Christ according to the Spirit and Christ is in him Every one of these things is necessary to be known that all Men without exception may obey God according to the prescript of the Law which we have already explained If you take away any of the aforesaid Positions or Doctrines there can be no Obedience but what God or what this exemplar of living well is Whether he be Fire a Spirit Light Cogitation c. it concerns not our Faith neither in what notion or respect he is an example for us to live by Whether it be because he hath a just and merciful Mind or because all things subsist and act by him and consequently we by and through him understand what is just and good it matters not what every Man thinks or concludes of these things neither is Faith concerned whether a Man believe that God is in respect of his Power Omnipresent or whether he govern all things by the freedom or necessity of his nature whether he prescribe Laws as a Prince or teach Eternal Verities whether Men obey God as free agents because they have freedom of Will or because they are necessitated by God's Decrees Whether the reward of good Men and the punishment of evil be natural or supernatural Faith is not concerned how a Man understands these things so long as he makes no conclusions whereby he may take a liberty of sinning or lessen his Obedience to God Of these Doctrines of Faith a Man may make such an interpretation as is most likely to make him believe and obey God chearfully without any reluctancy for as we have already shewn Faith was heretofore revealed and written according to the Capacity and Opinions of the Prophets and People of that time so that now also every Man is bound to apply his Faith to his own Reason in such a manner as may make him without the least doubting or reluctancy believe for as we have proved Faith rather requires Piety than Verity and as Faith cannot be pious and saving without Obedience so nothing but Obedience makes a Man a faithful Believer his Faith is not best who can give the best reasons for it but he that hath done the most and greatest works of Justice and Charity A Doctrine which must in all Mens Judgments be very wholsome and necessary in all Common-wealths for taking away the causes of much wickedness and many troubles Before I go further by what hath been said the Objections may be easily answered which were mentioned in the first Chapter where I treated of God's speaking to the Israelites from Mount Sinai for tho' that Voice which the Israelites heard could not give that people any Philosophical or Mathematical certainty of God's Existence yet it was sufficient to make them admire God under that knowledge they before had of him and incite them to Obedience towards him which was all that God purposed and designed in that spectacle it was not God's intention
only and in respect to their Government but eternal they say that the Jews after the loss of their Government tho' so many Years dispersed and divided among all Nations still survive and are yet in being which never happen'd to any other Nation that the Scripture in many places seems to declare that God chose them to be his People for ever and that tho' they have lost their Government and Commonwealth they are still Gods Elect the places of Scripture which they think most clearly prove this eternal Election are chiefly the 36. v. of the 31 Chapter of Jerem. where the Prophet testifies that the Seed of Israel should continue Gods People for ever by comparing them with the immutable and fixed order of Heaven and Nature Thus saith the Lord 〈◊〉 giveth the Sun for a Light by Day and the Ordinances of the Moon and Stars for a Light by Night who divideth the Sea when the Waves thereof Roar if these Ordinances depart from before me saith the Lord then the Seed of Israel also shall cease from being a Nation before me for ever The second place of Scripture is Ezek. Chap. 20. from the 32. Verse onward where God seemeth to declare that tho' the Iews should willfully depart from his Worship yet he would gather them again from all Countries where they should be scatter'd and would lead them into the Wilderness of the People as he did their Fathers into the Wilderness of Egypt and after he had separated from them the Rebels and Transgressors he would bring them into his Holy Mountain where all the House of Israel should serve him there are other places of Scripture cited by the Pharisees but in answering these two I think I shall clear all others which will be easily done after I have proved by Scripture that Gods choice of the Iews was not eternal but on the same Conditions that he before chose the Canaanites who also as we have shewn had a High Priest who Religiously Worshipt God and yet were at last rejected by God for their Luxury Sloth and Idolatry Moses Levit. chap. 18. v. 27 28. warneth the Israelites that they should not pollute themselves with Incest and other Abominations as did the Canaanites least the Land spewed them out as it did the Nations before them and Moses Deut. chap. 8. v. 19 20. in express Words threatens their total Destruction I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish as the Nations which the Lord destroyeth before your Face so shall ye perish because ye would not be obedient unto the Voice of the Lord your God and to this purpose there are other places in the Law which shew that Gods Election of the Iews was not eternal if therefore the Prophets foretold them of a new everlasting Covenant of the Knowledge Love and Favour of God it is manifest that it was promised only to those that were Pious and feared God for in the forecited 20 th Chapter of Ezek. it is expresly said that God would separate from them the Rebellious and Transgressors Zeph. chap. 3. v. 11 12. God saith he would take away out of the midst of them those that were Proud and he would leave an Afflicted and Poor People and because this Election was founded only upon Piety and real Vertue it is not to be imagin'd that it was promis'd to none but those that were Godly and Vertuous amongst the Iews exclusively to all other Nations but we ought to believe that the true Prophets among the Heathen which we have shew'd all Nations had did likewise promise the same to their own People and still comforted them with it this eternal Covenant of the Knowledge and Love of God is Universal as appears Zeph. chap. 3. v. 10. from beyond the Rivers of AEthyopia my Suppliants even the Daughter of my dispersed shall bring my Offerings So that in this particular no difference is to be made between Iews and Gentiles and therefore no other Election was peculiar to the Iews but what I have declared the Prophets in their Prophesies of this Election which only had respect to vertuous living mingled many things concerning the Sacrifices and Ceremonies of the Temple and rebuilding the City and under those Figures according to the Custom and Nature of Prophesy expounded things Spiritual that they might likewise declare to the Iews whose Prophets they were that Restauration of their Government and Temple which they were to expect in the Reign of Cyrus That the Iews should still remain without any Government after a dispersion of so many Years is no wonder seeing they have separated themselves from all Nations and incur'd their hatred not only by external Rites contrary to those of other Nations but also by the sign of Circumcision which they most religiously observe that their being hated by other Nations contributes very much to their continuance is proved by Experience When the King of Spain heretofore compell'd the Iews to profess the Religion of that Kingdom or else to quit the Country many Iews turn'd Papists and because those that changed their Religion became thereby capable of the same Priviledges and Honours which natural Spaniards enjoy'd they were presently mixed with the Natives and in a short time there remain'd none of the race but the contrary happen'd in Portugal where tho' the King forced them to profess the Religion of the Country they still lived apart by themselves because they were declared incapable of all Preferments I am of Opinion that only the sign of Circumcision may be able to perpetuate the Nation and unless the Principles of their Religion Effeminate their Minds they may one time or other when they see a fair opportunity Re-establish their Government and be again chosen by God. Of the like Case the Chineses are a Famous Example who Religiously preserve a particular lock of Hair upon their Heads by which they distinguish themselves from other People and have thereby preserved themselves so many thousand Years that their Antiquity exceeds all other Nations they have heretofore recovered their lost Empire and without doubt will do so again when the Courage of the Tartars hath lain a while longer buried in Wealth Luxury and Sloth Lastly if any Man upon what ground soever will maintain that Gods Election of the Iews was eternal I will not contradict him provided he grant that their Election whether Temporal or Eternal and as it was peculiar to the Iews did only respect their Government and bodily Conveniences which alone may distinguish one Nation from another but that upon the account of Knowledge and Vertue there is no Nation distinguisht from nor any chosen by God before another CHAP. IV. Of the Divine Law. THE word Law taken absolutely signifies That according to which every individual or all or some of the individuals of the same Species do Act by one and the same determinate Rule and that Rule depends either upon the necessity of Nature or the Will and Pleasure of Men the
other Power whatever contrary to Nature that must also be contrary to those first Notions and so be rejected as absurd and against Reason or else we must doubt of our prime Notions and consequently of God and all things else Miracles therefore in what manner soever we apprehend them as they are understood to be Works contrary to the Order of Nature are far from proving God's existence they rather bring it into Question for without Miracles vve may be assur'd of it namely by knovving that all things observe the certain and immutable Order of Nature but granting that to be a miracle vvhich cannot be explained and made knovvn by natural Causes vve ought then either to conclude that it hath natural Causes but such as cannot be found out by Human Understanding or that it hath no immediate Cause but God or his Will but if all things which are effected by Natural Causes are done only by the Power and Will of God we must necessarily at last come to this that whether a Miracle have natural Causes or not it is a Work which cannot be manifested by a Natural Cause that is 't is a Work which exceeds Hnman Capacity and from a Work that exceeds Human Understanding we can understand and collect nothing for whatever we clearly and distinctly understand we do it by the thing it self or some other and that which is clearly and distinctly understood by it self ought to be perfectly known to us therefore by a miracle or any Work exceeding Human Capacity we cannot conceive God's Essence or Existence nor can we absolutely understand any thing of God or Nature but on the contrary when we know all things to be ordained and establisht by God and that the Operations of Nature ncessarily flow from the Essence of God and that the Laws of Nature are the Eternal Decrees and purposes of God it must necessarily be concluded that we so much the better know God and his Will by how much the better we understand and know Natural Things how they depend in their first Cause and how they operate according to the Eternal Laws of Nature So that in Respect of our Understanding with much more Reason are those Works to be called the Works of God and his Will which we clearly and distinctly understand then those of which we are totally ignorant tho' they strangely effect our imagination and cause our wonder because only those Works of Nature which we clearly and distinctly know render our Knowledge of God more sublime and more evidently declare the Will and Decrees of God So that those Men do but trifle who when they do not understand a thing run presently to the Will of God and ridiculously betray their own Ignorance moreover whatever we conclude from miracles yet the Existence of God cannot in any manner be concluded from them for since a miracle is a limited Work and expresseth only a certain and limited Power we cannot from such an Effect conclude the Existence of a Cause whose Power is infinite but only of a Cause whose Power at most is greater then that Effect I say at most because from many concuring Causes there may follow an effect whose Vertue and Power may be less then all the Causes together and yet much greater then the Power of any one of those Causes taken single but because the Laws of Nature As we have already shewn extend themselves to things Infinite being conceived by us under a kind of Eternity and Nature by them proceeds in a certain and unchangeable course so far do those Laws in some measure declare to us the Eternity and Immutability of God and therefore we conclude that neither God's Being or Providence can be known by miracles but may much better be concluded from the fixed and unalterable Course of Nature I speak now of a miracle as it is taken for a Work that is above Human Capacity or believ'd to be so for as it is supposed to be a Work that interrupts or perverts the Order of Nature or is repugnant tc its Laws it is so far from giving us any Knowledge of God that it takes away that which we naturally have and makes us doubt of God and all other things Nor do I know any difference between a thing done contrary to Nature and that which is done above Nature that is as some explain themselves a thing which is not done contrary to the Order of Nature but yet is not effected and produced by Nature for seeing a miracle is not wrought out of Nature but within the Compass of it tho' it be concluded to be above Nature yet it must necessarily interrupt Natures Order which by the Decrees of God we conceived to be fixed and immutable and therefore whatever is done in Nature which doth not follow from the Rules of Nature that must necessarily be repugnant to that Order which God to all Eternity by Universal Laws establisht in Nature and consequently being against Nature and its Laws the believing it must bring all things into doubt and lead us to Atheism So that by what hath been said I hope I have so proved the Second Particular that we may again conclude a miracle whether contrary to Nature or above it to be a meer absurdity and that by a miracle nothing can be understood in Scripture but a Work of Nature which is indeed above Human Understanding or at least believed to be so Before I proceed to the Third Particular I resolve to prove from Scripture that we cannot know God by Miracles indeed the Scripture doth no where Litterally say so but we may conclude it from the 13. Chap. of Deut. Where Moses commands the People to put any Prophet to death who went about to seduce them And tho' the Sign and the Wonder come to pass whereof he spake unto thee an yet thou shalt not hearken to the Words of the Prophet for the Lord your God proveth you that Prophet shall be put to death From whence it clearly follows that miracles might be done by false Prophets and unless men were fortifyed with the true Knowledge and Love of God they might be induced by miracles to worship false Gods as well as the true Moses adds because the Lord your God proveth you to know whether you love him with all your Heart and with all your Soul. The Israelites notwithstanding all their miracles had no right Notions of God which appears by Experience for in the Absence of Moses they called upon Aron to make them visible Gods who to their Eternal shame made them after so many Miracles done a Calf to represent God. Asaph who had heard of so many miracles yet doubted of God's Providence and had he not at last understood what was true Happiness he had gone out of the right Way Psalm 73. Solomon also in whose time the Iews were in their highest Prosperity believed that all things happened by chance Eccles. Chap. 3. v. 19 20 21. and chap. 9. v. 2 3. The
Violence might without danger be practis'd on Subjects which I believe cannot enter into any Mans thoughts so that it must be granted that every Man retains much of his own Right which still depends upon no bodies will but his own Now that it may be rightly understood how far the right of Government extends it self it is to be observed That the Power of Government doth not precisely consist in its being able to compel men by fear but also in all other means whereby it is able to make men obey its Commands for 't is not the Reason of obeying but actual Obedience that makes a man a Subject Upon what account soever a man resolves to perform the Commands of Supreme Power whether for fear of punishment for hope of benefit for love of his Country or any other affection yet still he acts by the Command of the Supreme Power though it be upon deliberation with himself It is not therefore to be concluded That a man who doth any thing by his own counsel and deliberation acts by his own Power and not by the Authority of the Government for being obliged by love or forced by fear he still of his own accord acts to avoid some evil Either there must be no such thing as Authority and Power over Subjects unless it did necessarily extend it self to all things which make men upon deliberation submit to it and consequently whatever a Subject doth agreeable to the Commands of the Supreme Power whether he do it for fear love or which is more frequent for hope and fear together or out of reverence which is composed of fear and admiration on or for any other Reason yet he still acts not by his own Power but by the Authority and Power of the Government And hence it is very evident that Obedience doth not so much respect external Actions as the inward Consent and Submission of the Mind and he is most under the Power of another who with a willing mind deliberately resolves to execute all his Commands That Power is always greatest which reigns over the hearts of Subjects but if they should be accounted most powerful who are most feared how potent must they be who are govern'd by Tyrants who commonly dread nothing so much as their own Subjects Though there cannot be so great a Command over mens Minds as there may be over their Tongues yet the Minds of men are in some kind under the Dominion of Supreme Power because it can several ways bring it so about that a very great part of the People shall believe love and hate whatever the Supreme Power pleaseth And though this be not effected by the direct Commands of the Supreme Power yet Experience tells us 't is often done by the Authority that is by the direction of that Power So that we may without any difficulty conceive how men may believe love hate despise and be carried away with any other Passion to which the Authority of the Supreme Power pleaseth to incline them But though upon this very account we may conceive the Right and Power of Government to be very large yet 't is impossible that any Dominion should be so great and absolute that he or they who have it should be able in all things to do what they please therefore as I have already said it is not my intention to shew how to form a Government that shall be perpetual but my purpose is only to take notice of those things which Moses by Divine Revelation declared were most likely to preserve and perpetuate a Commonwealth We shall then see what those things are which for the benefit and safety of a Commonwealth are to be granted to Subjects by the Supream Power Reason and Experience tell us That the safety and preservation of Government depends chiefly upon the fidelity of Subjects and their Courage and Constancy in executing the Commands of the Supream Power but the way of teaching Subjects to be constantly faithful and couragious is not so easily found out because Governours as well as the governed are Men and not caring for Labour are still prone to Lust. They think securing Government to be an impossible Work who have tried the mutable Humours of the Multitude which is never ruled by Reason but by their own Passions and Affections ready for all rash Attempts easily debauched by Covetousness and Luxury every single man thinks he knows all things and judgeth every thing to be just or unjust right or wrong as it makes for his profit or loss Pride makes him scorn to be governed by his Equals still envying another man's better Reputation or greater Fortune which is never equal desires and rejoyceth in his Neighbours Misfortunes There is no need of more Instances all know how mens Minds are agitated and possest and to what Mischeif men are hurried headlong by dislike of their present Condition by desire of Change by Rage and contemptible Poverty To prevent all these things and to constitute a Government wherein there shall be no place left for fraud and so to order all things that all People of what Disposition soever shall prefer the publick good before their own private benefit is the great difficulty The Necessity of preserving and securing Government hath much busied mens heads but it hath been hitherto impossible to put Supreme Power into a condition of being less in danger or in less fear of Subjects than of Enemies Witness the Roman Commonwealth never conquer'd by its own Enemies but often opprest and overthrown by its own Citizens and especially in that Civil War of Vespasian against Vitellius as may be seen in the Fourth Book of Tacitus where he describes the miserable condition of the City of Rome Alexander the Great saith Quintus Curtius in the End of his Eighth Book did more fear the Fame of a Subject than an Enemy because he was afraid his own People might ruine his Greatness Distrusting his own Fate he thus bespake his Friends Let it be your care only to preserve me from the Treachery and Conspiracy of my own People and then no hazards in the War shall put me in fear Philip was more secure in the Front of Battel abroad than in the Theatre at home he oft-times avoided the force of his Enemies but he could not escape the violence of his own Friends and if you consider the End of other Kings you shall number more that have been slain by their own Subjects than by any Forreign Power See Quintus Curtius lib. 9. § 6. This was the Reason why Kings who were Usurpers to secure themselves and their Dominion endeavour'd to perswade the People they were descended from the Immortal Gods because they thought if their Subjects did not take them for Men like themselves but believed them to be Gods they would be the better contented to deliver themselves up to their Power and Government Augustus perswaded the Romans that he was descended from AEneas the Son of Venus one of their Deities he