a hainous Crime What greater Transgression can a Man commit then to make a shew of being an Enemy to God and his Truth What Torments ought not they to expect who are guilty of such Impiety The Second Reflexion is this That they who dissemble in Religion commit a very great crime against their Brethren for they incite 'em by their own example to Apostacy and make 'em believe that the Religion which they profess is the true Religion So that if they who poison the Body are lookt upon as the wicked'st People in the World How much more criminal are they who poison the Soul who present their Brethren the Mortal Draught and make a shew of Drinking it to the end that others may not be afraid of swallowing it And what Torments ought not they to fear from Him who threatens to punish most severely Lyers and such as give scandal to his little Children This Remark is so much the more necessary because there are several Persons who believe that a Man may abide in a false Religion with a design to make known the Truth to those who know it not wherein they grosly abuse themselves For besides that I would willingly ask 'em whether they can speak it with a safe Conscience that they only stick to the false Religion which they profess on purpose to shew the falshood of it and whether it be not meerly because they find it more advantageous for their Business and for the enjoyment of the Conveniencies of Life I would put this farther question to 'em were the First of these the real Motive that detains 'em Who is he that has enjoyn'd 'em to extend their Charity so far as to expose themselves willingly to Damnation out of hopes to convert others For where is it that God has promis'd to Save those who shall turn Idolaters to Save their Brethren Does not St. Paul expresly say That we ought not to do evil that good may come of it But so far are they from Converting others by adhering to a false Religion that quite the contrary they confirm 'em in their own Opinion and corrupt many by their bad Example They may make good Hypocrites like themselves but very rarely good Christians The Third Reflexion which I add to the two preceding is this That if Dissimulation in Religion be permitted and that it be lawful to embrace that which best agrees with our carnal Interests we must confess that the Martyrs who have laid down their Lives with so much Courage and suffered such cruel Torments were all Fools and Madmen while they rather chose to lose their Lives when there was no necessity for it and perish in the midst of consuming Flames then to condescend to the least complyance thô but in outward shew and buckle to their Persecutors But God forbid we should deprive those Christian Hero's of their merited Honour and look upon as extravagant the wisest of all Mortals Have we not more reason to call our Lukewarm and our fearful Christians Fools who rather chuse to preserve their Wealth and Worldly Advantages then one day to enjoy those Eternal Felicities which God prepares for those that will be faithful to him who are more afraid of the present then the future of that which can Kill the Body then of that which precipitates the Soul into Hell who are more afraid of Death then of the cruel Torments of Hell who prefer the World before God and Time before Eternity To these Three Reflexions I shall add a Fourth which seems to me to be of great Importance that the Inside can never be good when the Outside is evil And that it is not possible for a Man to deny God with his Lips but he must renounce him in his Heart when he has had time to reflect upon what he has done I say when he has had time to consider with himself that I may not oppose the Example of St. Peter whose Fears so far disturb'd his Mind that quite transported beyond himself and only studying which way to avoid the danger that threatned him he neither remembred Jesus Christ nor the Promise which he had made him 'T will be no difficult thing to understand this 4th Reflexion if we consider that 't is in the Heart that Men take that unhappy and cursed Resolution to renounce Jesus Christ with their Lips and that 't is in their Hearts that they meditate an Accommodation with the present Time 'T is therefore to no purpose for 'em to say that they reserve their Hearts for God and that they surrender 'em entirely to him thô they forsake his Truth that they do not renounce him with their Hearts althô they deny him with their Lips To talk in this manner is to deceive themselves and they who discourse after this manner are like a Woman that should say she had bequeath'd her Heart to her Husband and only made her Body common to her Lovers Or to a Man that should rend the Reputation of his Neighbor or Murder him yet pretend that in his Heart he abhorr'd Murder Backbiting and Calumny and that he tenderly lov'd the Person whom he had bereft of Life They who dissemble cannot deny but that the motions of Self-Love prevail over the Impulses of the Love of God because they will neither sacrifice their Wealth nor their Ease to his Glory So that if they were always to be judg'd by the Sentiments of their Hearts they would always deserve no less then Condemnation and Death CHAP. XVI An Answer to some Objections 'T IS but reasonable now to Answer some Objections which they make us The First is drawn from that which Jesus Christ says John 4.24 God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and Truth Therefore say they God is satisfy'd with the Heart and with the inside Worship not requiring exterior Adoration But if this be the Consequence which is to be drawn from the words of the Saviour of the World Why does he exhort us to own him before Men to bear his Cross and to suffer for him Certainly if he required no more then the Heart wherefore does he exact from us an outward Profession which exposes us to a Thousand Disgraces and a Thousand Sufferings Is our Life of so little value that he would have us to be so prodigal of it when there is no occasion But what Man of Judgement is there who does not perceive that his meaning is only to shew us what sort of Worship is most pleasing to God and that it his pleasure that under the Gospel we should pay him a Spiritual Worship abstracted from Matter and all those Observances which were only proper for the Infancy of the Church independant from Circumstances of Time Persons and Places Whether it be that God filling all the World with the Immensity of his Being is no longer to be Ador'd at Jerusalem or Guerezin only or whether it be that being a Spirit he is not rightly Honour'd by
Question must not they be willingly blind who dare presume to number what concerns the Worship which is due to the Deity among things of little Importance Is there any one which is of greater Moment then that which has a regard to the Sovereign Being which all Men ought to adore And is it likely that God should Rule and Govern Monarchies and Republicks and leave Men at their Liberty to serve him according to their Fancies As if it were a thing Indifferent to Him to be ador'd for Example under the shape of the most Vile and worthless Animals as the Pagans painted some of their Gods Is it possible that Men can have such extravagant thoughts of the most perfect of all Beings Where is that King so Negligent as to permit his Subjects the Liberty to act according to their own humours in his Affairs in his Armies in his Exchequer and leaves it to their Discretion to Obey and Serve him as their Capricio's lead ' em How then can they who boast their Wit presume to say of God the Wisest of all Beings what no Man would adventure to say of a Person meerly Mortal Besides were it true that God took no care of things that concern Religion whence comes it to pass that they who are of this Opinion pay some certain Homage to the Deity Wherefore do they sometimes pray to him since God takes no notice of what they do and consequently never troubles himself about their neglect of his Worship Their Actions ill agree with their Belief and cause those that see 'em to believe that they are of another Opinion Therefore it was a good saying of one Diocles who espying Epicurus in the Temple cry'd out What a Feast what a Spectacle is this for me to see Epicurus in the Temple All my Suspicions are Vanish'd Piety reassumes her Seat and I never more clearly beheld the Grandeur of Jupiter then now that I see Epicurus upon his Knees Certainly if this Opinion which we have refuted were true there would be never any more need of paying Worship to a Deity 'T was true that Epicurus confess'd that the Excellency of Divine Nature deserv'd of it self that some Honour should be given to Her tho' she concern'd her self no more with the World then if there were no share of her in it and tho' there were nothing to be expected by it from Her But he only spoke thus in conformity to the Common Sentiments For in short the God of that Phylosopher according to his System was a Piece apart from the Workmanship which a Man might well suppose not to belong to it and yet no change befall it Otherwise it is certain that if he had acted and spoken conformably to his Real Opinions he would have said in plain Terms that Piety was a fruitless thing and he would never have perform'd any act of Religion Cicero therefore rightly understood him l. 1. de Nat. Deor. There are some People says he and have been before now who believe that the Gods never meddle with human Affairs But if that Opinion be true what will become of Piety CHAP. VI. Of the Immortality of the Soul I Come to those who never much torment themselves whither there be any Providence or no because they hold the Soul to be Mortal that it perishes with the Body or at least that there is no farther fear of any thing after this Life that there will be no Judgment that all that has been said of Paradise and Hell are meer Fables such as the Pagan feign'd of their Elisian Fields c. And therefore that all Religions ought to be indifferent to Us since we shall be never the more Happy nor the more Unfortunate whatever Religion we Embrace 'T is a wonderful thing that there should be found among Christians Men that dare deny what the Heathens have acknowledg'd and what the most Barbarous of Nations acknowledge to this Day as we are given to understand by many Relations And this to such a degree that far from believing that the Soul perishes they have rather chosen to hold some of 'em that the Soul was from all Eternity Others that when the Soul took leave of one Body it transmigrated into another or else was re-united to God or that it was transform'd into some Angel or Devil or that it intermix'd it self with the Elements And this Opinion of the Soul 's being Immortal infused that Courage and Undauntedness into 'em which they made appear in Fight as Bartholinus observes of the Danes in his Book of the Antiquity of Denmark 'T is a thing so much the more surprizing because there are an Infinite Number of Reasons that convince us of the Immortality of the Soul I might prove it by the ardent Desires of Immortality and by that Idea which we naturally have of a future Life an Idea which nothing can Eradicate So that there is no person who indepently from all Consideration and from all Education but either fears or hopes something according as he has either led a Virtuous or Vicious Life when he ponders upon that same darksom and gloomy Futurity wherein the Present Life sets from our Eyes But to make out this Truth as clear as day I argue thus If the Soul dy'd such a Death would happen either because the parts of it would come to separate or because it would destroy it self or because some other created Substance would destroy it or because that God himself would annihilate it There can be conceiv'd no other Causes of the Soul 's dying But it is certain that there can nothing like this be said of our Soul 1. It cannot be said that the Parts of the Soul separate from one another because the Soul has no parts It is a Spirit And he must be blind that dares deny it and assert that the Soul is no more then Matter then Wind or a Vapour then a Certain Agitation of subtil Spirits intermix'd with the Blood It is impossible to conceive that a Soul which knows it self and all other Beings that surround it that reaches sublime Truths that knows an Invisible God that reflects with it self upon its own thoughts that measures the Stars the Earlh and Seas that corrects our Senses and Imagination that penetrates into Futurity and discovers the deepest Secrets should be nothing but anagitated Matter because that nothing is more incomprehensible then a Body that thinks that reasons that deliberates and reflects upon it self Which way soever the Parts of a Body are chang'd it can never be brought to that pass by those various Changes or Rangings that if it knew not it self before it should ever come to know it self nor could it ever be made capable of having one single thought With all the Efforts of our Wit we can never comprehend what Epicurus said That our Reasonings and our Idea's are no more then the Agitation of certain Little Bodies and that the Circular Motion of an Atome may be the Vast and Immense
in so many other Things Is it not a Proof that this is one of those Truths of which we come to the knowledge as soon as we begin to make use of our Reason and which we cannot withstand without renouncing the Light of our Intellects It would be no difficult Thing for me to prove this Universal Consent would I but collect together what the Pagans have written concerning the condition of Souls after Death of the Judges before whom they were to appear of the Punishments and Rewards prepar'd for Men in the other World all that Plato believ'd upon this Subject and Particularly the Plat. de Repub l. 11. Recital which he causes one Amnenius to make in his Republic whom he introduces return'd to Earth twelve Days after his Death to make a Report of all that is transacted in Hell and giving an Account that the Judges before whom the Souls of the Departed appear place the Just upon the Right hand and the Wicked upon the Left and cause the Virtuous to ascend to Heaven while the Latter are forced to descend I might add what Strabo relates of the Brachmans among the Indians what is recited to us by those who have Travell'd into Asia Africa and America And I might add to all these Proofs another which might be drawn from the Opinion of almost all Nations that there was a necessary Duty incumbent upon 'em to appease the Deity which prevail'd so far thaâ— many offer'd Human Sacrifices for that purpose I add to all these Arguments this Reflection That if there be no future Judgment Virtue is no more then a Fantom and that 't is a Folly to pursue her Maxims Men may give themselves over to all sorts of Crimes and Impieties without Reluctancy he may be a Traytor Perjur'd Wretch a Knave a Faithless Villain an Adulterer from this time forward he has no more to do but to make himself most powerful in Society and preserve his Life since he has nothing to fear after Death no more then if he had led a Life the most Exact and Virtuous that could be imagin'd But where is that Man to be found that wou'd not abominate an Opinion that favours in this manner the most Horrid of Crimes and most Impious Enormities Or if it were receiv'd what Man would be willing to brook that the World should be no other then a wide Receptacle of only Thieves and Robbers a meer Chaos where there was no Curb upon the Conscience CHAP. VIII Where it is prov'd that altho' we had no certain Proofs of a Judgment to come yet we ought to live in such a manner as if we were assur'd of one LET us press a little closer upon those against whom we dispute and put the Question to 'em whether they are well assur'd that all that is said of the Day of Judgment and Life to come are Fables and Stories as they loudly gave out Do they believe it to be a thing contrary to the Virtue of a most Perfect Being to punish those who have so often Violated his Laws those that refus'd to obey him and whom he spar'd in this Life Is it less becoming God to be Just then to be Merciful I question whether any Body will presume to uphold it tho' there are many who have doubted the Truth of the Day of Judgment and others who upon their Death-beds have said That they were going to be inform'd of three Things whether there were a God whether the Soul were Immortal and whether there were a Heaven or Hell a very Edifying Confession I will grant that our Indifferent-Men may not be absolutely convinc'd by our alledg'd Reasons or by any others which we could produce However they must confess that there is some cause to Question whether the Sentiment which they have embrac'd be true or no. They believe that all Remorse of Conscience proceeds from the Prejudices of Education But I believe they proceed from an Apprehension of being punish'd for what we have committed and from the fear of a Judgment which is not possible for us to avoid They say that I am deceiv'd yet they ought at least to acknowledge that it is not so clear that I am in an Error but that there may be some reason to doubt whether I am or no. This then appears to be their Condition that they know not certainly according to their own Confession whether they shall be Eternally Miserable as it is requisite for 'em to acknowledge that they have deserv'd to be by their Transgressions or whether they shall be annihilated Good God! What an Uncertainty is this Would it not then be better in the midst of this uncertainty to practise that which would gain 'em Eternal Felicity if it be true that there is a Paradise then to do those things that are rewarded with Eternal Pains if there be a Judgment or a Hell In the choice of Opinions which Men know not certainly whether they be true or false sound Judgment and right Reason require that Men should prefer that Steerage that leads 'em to gain if truth be on their side and where there is nothing to lose if they be deceiv'd and on the other hand reject that by which they can gain nothing tho' they were in the Right but much to lose should it prove their Misfortune to be deluded This is now our Case A Man who lives as if he were to be judg'd has nothing to be afraid of supposing he should be deceiv'd but every thing to hope for if he be not in an Error He has nothing to be afraid of if he has been mistaken unless it be that after Death he finds no God no Paradise nor meets any more with himself again I confess that this is to be look'd upon as a great Misfortune but at least he ought no more to be afraid of any suffering or that he shall be more Miserable then he who has liv'd as if there were no Judgment to be expected Both the one and the other must lose their Being and all the Consequences of Being as Pain Pleasure Felicity and Misery This is the greatest Mischief that can befall a Good Christian supposing him to be in an Error But if he be not deceiv'd he may be sure of enjoying Felicity Eternal and Infinite Happiness There is then great Gain attends him if he be not deluded but there is nothing to lose in case he be by the Confession of the ungodly themselves On the other side a Man who believes not a last Judgment and who lives in the unbelief of it has nothing to hope for if he be not deceived because his greatest Felicity is to be annihilated but every thing to be afraid of if he be under a mistake For if at his departure our of the World he finds there is a God that there is a Judgment or a Hell there cannot be imagin'd a Creature more miserable Now let any Man judge whether it be not the Accomplishment of
they study Human Sciences Let 'em consider 1. That the dispute is not here about a Thing of little Importance since it concerns their being Eternally Miserable if they are deceiv'd as we shall make appear in this Treatise 2. Let 'em not reject what we shall say under pretence of meeting with Reasons that are not fully convincing For thô there were but one good Reason in a Chapter 't were enough to oblige 'em to return from their Wandrings 3. That they ought not to despise the Arguments under pretence that they have heard 'em several times but let 'em carefully examine 'em and lay aside their Prejudices 4. Lastly That it is not enough to find some petty fault to reject the Reasons which are produced for that there is nothing so easie as to oppose some little Sophisms to good Arguments But let 'em consult their own Consciences I most Heartily beseech Almighty God to give a Blessing to my weak Endeavours ERRATA PAge 18. Line 18. for Sees read Seems page 30. l. 32. dele All. p. 31. l. ult for in r. with p. 34. l. 12. for no Confusion r. nothing but Confusion pa. 42. l. 33. for King r. Kind pa. 46. l. 22. for the first him r. us pa. 56. l. 31. for Proportions r. Propositions pa. 66. l. 19. for subscribe r. prescribe pa. 69. l. 12. for wearing r. drawing for upon r. from pa. 71. l. 2. for of her r. other pa. 74. l. 6. for has r. is pa. 77. l. 8. Insert Not. pa. 79. l. 18. for Animosity r. Animality pa. 89. Chap. XV. for they make r. they may make pa. 90. l. 8. after strong insert they pa. 93. l. 4. for long r. come pa. 94. l. 26. for the things of Consistence r. Remorce of Conscience pa. 130. l. 32. for assert r. asserts A TREATISE Against those that believe that all Religions are Indifferent CHAP. I. Wherein after we have suppos'd that there is a God we shew that God is most perfect That he is the Author of all the Good which is in the Creatures and that we ought to Fear and Honour him THE Being of a God is a Truth so Evident that no Man can deny it without combating his own Reason There 's no necessity of straining our Endeavours to believe it for that Man must put a Violence upon himself who dares to contradict it For proof of it there is no need of rommaging for Metaphysical high-flown far fetch'd Arguments scarcely within the Reach of most Men's Understanding The Consideration of this same spacious Universe expos'd to our Eyes and all the Creatures we behold within it together with the Correspondency the Symmetry and Relation of the several Innumerable parts to the Whole is sufficient to convince all people that will listen to their Reason For as for those that are not struck with the sensible Marks which the Author of Nature has imprinted on his Works they will never submit to the Force of Dispute The most Eloquent and most Learned of the * Cicero l. 2. Nat. Deorum Romans was so over-rul'd by this particular Proof that he makes no scruple to maintain after a great Philosopher that if Men should of a sudden start up from under the Earth where they had remain'd in Darkness from the Time of their Birth and all at once behold the Land the Sea and Heavens the Beauty the vast Body and wonderful Effects of the Sun they would not fail to acknowledge a Deity and to confess that the whole which they contemplated was the Workmanship of a God In short either we must believe that the Matter is Eternal or that the World is the Effect of Chance or else we must acknowledge that there is an All-powerful Being which made both the one and the other Now it cannot be said that a Dead and Insensible Mass such as was the Matter is an Eternal Being and without any Beginning because it would be the Greatest of all Absurdities to ascribe to the Vilest of all Beings the Chiefest of all Perfections which is to exist of it self Besides in regard that Motion is not Essential to the Matter tho' it should be suppos'd to be Eternal we should be still putting the Question when it began to have Motion Who it was that gave it the first Impressions Who it was that shap'd it into so many various Figures Who made this Motion so just and Regular and who it was that produc'd such an Infinite variety of Creatures out of one and the same Matter So that when all is done we must come to one Sovereign Being which we call GOD. It cannot be said that this Vast Universe is the Effect of Chance or that it was the Accidental Meeting of Certain little Bodies which produc'd it The Pagan Philosopher who maintain'd this Opinion that Nature muster'd together all the Atomes of her Wisdom to compose it seems to me no less Extravagant in this particular then He who beholding several Pictures wherein were to be observ'd all the Rules of Exact and Elaborate Painting and a great Number of Figures curiously drawn should say that it was the Workmanship of Chance or that the Colours mix'd so Artfully together of themselves What Man of sound Judgment can be so vain to think that it was Chance that made the Whole which we Contemplate the Heavens the Earth the Sun the Stars the Plants and Animals That it was Chance that in the Wombs of our Mothers form'd a Piece of Workmanship so perfect as that of our Bodies whose Structure Figure Organs Members their wonderful Symmetry and just Proportion is still the Admiration of Human Wisdom that it was Chance which produc'd our Souls that Soul which thinks which raises it self above our Sences and which corrects and govern 'em that searches after invents and finds out those things that seem'd impossible for Human Reach Lastly that it was Chance which united this Soul so perfectly with the Body that such and such motions of the Body stir up Thoughts in the Soul and such and such Thoughts of the Soul which produce variety of Motions in the Body Certainly we must no longer pretend to make use of our Reason if we once deny these to be the Works of an All-powerful most Wise All-understanding and most Perfect Being So that I shall not undertake to refute those who in defence of Epicurus adventure to bring some Examples of what Chance is able to perform For there is so little proportion between what they alledge and the Creatures which we speak of that 't is a wonder that People who pretend to Wit should employ it in such feeble Proofs I might as easily prove that because it so happens that three or four Letters may be so thrown together by chance as to form a word a Man might as easily make a Poem as accomplish'd as Virgil's Aeneads Nay thô I should grant that Chance might form some one of those Creatures which we every day admire Shall we from thence
God knows who believe that all Religions are Indifferent that the Chief Religion is to be Obedient to the Magistrates that Govern us that God is in truth the Center to which all our Devotion ought to tend but that it is of little Importance which way Men arrive at that Center provided they get thither and that there are several ways to be happy Vno itinere non posse perveniri ad tam grande Secretum according to Symmachus That we ought to be of the Religion of the People among whom we live and not to tye our selves to any one particular manner of serving God but to be initiated into all sorts of Religions Esse totius Mundi Sacrorum Antistitem as a Pagan said They who have given us Relations of the Belief of the Siamois or People of Siam report that they believe That God does not preserve the World but only for the sake of that Divertisement and pleasure which he takes in the Variety of Languages Creatures Habits and Religions that this same Medley produces the same Effect as the Diversity of Flowers in a Garden the difference of Meats at a Banquet or the Distinction of Offices in a Princes Palace for that in like manner God delights himself with inspiring into Mortals several manners of Adoring and Serving him and that we ought to believe 'em all to be good since they have all the same Object and bring Man home to his last End 'T is also said That the King of Siam made Answer to the Person who propos'd to him in the Name of an Ambassador from a Great Prince his turning Christian That he wonder'd the Prince should so much trouble himself in a business relating to God for which it did not appear that God did any way concern himself as having left it wholly to our Discretion For added he the True God who Created Heav'n and Earth and all the Creatures therein contain'd and who has given 'em Natures and Inclinations so different had he so pleas'd at the same time that he gave Men Bodies and Souls alike could have infus'd into 'em the same sentiments of the Religion which they were to profess and have Vnited all Nations under one Law But continued he 't is obvious that Providence permits diversity of Sects and Opinions because that God takes as much delight to be ador'd with different Forms of Worship and Ceremonies as to be glorifi'd by the Prodigious Variety of Creatures whose sundry Beauties publish his Infinite Power Now in regard there are too too many among those who call themselves Christians who with Banners display'd appear in defence of this Opinion concerning the Indifferency of Religion Our design is to Combat 'em in the following Chapters But first of all it behoves us to observe that they who are of this Opinion do not all uphold it after one and the same manner There are some who deny Providence others who will not have it to be concern'd in Matters of Religion There are some who assert the Mortality of our Soul Others aver that to speak properly there is no such thing as True or False Just or Vnjust but that every thing depends upon the Will of Man There are some who believe that Truth lies still in Darkness and that God has not reveal'd it Others that he has reveal'd it but so obscurely that there is no Heresie which may not be prov'd by the Word of God Others maintain that Peace is to be preferr'd before Truth and altogether cry up the great Good which would redound to the World from the Opinion of Indifferency in Religion Were but this Opinion every where receiv'd they say there would be no more Wars about Religion nor any more Contentions about Mysteries of Faith All Men would live together in perfect Unity and this Lower World would be a Little Heaven They extol the first Author of this Opinion as one that never can be too Highly applauded and erect Monuments and Statues to honour his Memory All Men they Cry ought to give God continual Thanks for sending such a Man into the World and at the same time are strangely troubl'd because he was not Immortal Let us now see whether this Opinion merits so many Elogies or rather whether it deserve not publick Execration And to the end that none may have reason to complain let us take all our Indifferents for I beg the favour that I may have leave to call 'em so one after another and let us impartially examine what they hold forth CHAP. IV. Against those who deny a Providence I Shall begin with those who not daring to maintain that there is no God yet presume to deny his Providence and assent with Epicurus that the Supream Deity never concerns himself with what is acted upon Earth That 't is a thing beneath the Grandeur of a Sovereign Being to take cognizance of the Petty Affairs of Mortals here below and so 't is very indifferent to Him of what Religion they are True it is that altho' the Love which it behoves us to have for Truth should always oblige us to tyâ— our selves up to the Belief of that Opinion which is most conformable to our receiv'd Idea's of God nevertheless it must be acknowledg'd that if there were no Providence we might conclude it needless for Man to torment himself about Religion and deem it lawful enough to make choice of that which best agrees with our Interests or with the Society with which we converse But 't is no difficult thing to refute this Opinion which with as good Reason might be call'd The Sponge of all Religions as a Persian Author once said the same thing of the Fatality of the Stoicks Nor shall I make use of any more then two or three Arguments to overthrow it without alledging any passages out of Scripture because I dispute with People that will not acknowledge it to be Divinely inspir'd First it must be acknowledg'd that they who deny a Providence never seriously consider'd what God is The Idea which we naturally have of God instructs us that he is the most perfect of all Beings that exist or may exist as already has been said Now can we believe that a God who should neglect his own Works and should shut himself up in Heaven without taking any care of what he has created can be a perfect Being seeing that among Men themselves those persons have been always look'd upon with the Highest contempt who neglect their own Affairs Fathers for example who never mind their own Children and those slothful Princes who like Sardanapalus abandon the care of their Dominions and leave their Subjects at liberty to do whatever sees good in their own Eyes How can such a sluggish Remissness a Negligence so unbecoming an imperfect Creature be thought to beseem the most perfect of all Beings At least it cannot be deny'd but that if God takes no care of his Creatures there must be a Being more perfect then he But this
Idea of Infinity It is also as absurd to say that a Body knows as to say that a thought is Red or Green that the Act of arguing is Hot or Cold or that a Metaphisical Speculation is round or square 'T is clear then that the Soul is not Material and that by Consequence it has no parts and therefore it cannot dye No Sickness can destroy it because it has no blood nor humour that can feed it Neither Sword nor Fire can kill it because it has no parts that Iron can divide or Fire consume 2. Neither can the Soul be said to destroy it self for Right Reason teaches us that nothing tends of it self to its own Destruction and Ruin that every Being is desirous of it self to remain in the same Condition wherein it is and that every Change that happens to any subject proceeds from an Exterior Cause besides that it can never be conceiv'd how a Soul should destroy it self 3. It cannot be said that the Soul can be deâ—troy'd by other Created Substances because we ought not to assure our selves of what we â—annot conceive unless God reveals it to us Now it is impossible to comprehend that a Creaâ—ed and finite Substance can destroy a Spiritual Nature nor do we know it to be otherwise by Revelation 4. It cannot be said that God destroys and annihilates our Souls For besides that the Annihilation of a Being is one of those things of which there is not any example in Nature we have no Revelation that God designs the Annihilation of Souls On the contrary if they with whom we contend would acknowledge the Divinity of Scripture it would be easie for me to produce 'em proofs which invincibly make out this immortality which we assert This First Argument may be supported by a Second which is this That if the Soul be not immortal and that there be no other Life after this we must then conclude that it was only given to Man to render him more miserable then the Beasts and to be a torment to him For if Man had not a Rational Soul the Remembrance of what is pass'd the Consideration of the Present and the Apprehension of Futurity would never afflict his Mind but he would be like the Beasts which if we may believe the new Philosophers feel no pain or if they do feel any 't is only a present pain If then the Soul be not immortal it would have been better that God had made us walking Machines then to give us a Soul only to make us Suffer 'T is said that Man being so like to Beasts all dies with him as it is with other Creatures But this Objection is unworthy a Rational Man 'T is true that there is some Conformity between a Man and a Beast A Man is Born and is subject to Death he preserves his Life by nourishment and his Kind by Generation and he is subject to the irregularities of Humors All this is common with the Beasts I confess likewise that there is a Conformity which is disgraceful to Man and this is that which consists in the disorders of the Body and Sences and the Predominancy of the Passions 'T is a shame to Man that his Passions over-rule him where Reason ought to Command and that he is not the Master of his own Body nor of all the Motions of it Nevertheless all that can be concluded from hence is that Man is Mortal so far as he has any thing of Conformity with Beasts But we must renounce our Reason if we deny that Man has not an infinite number of things that exalt him above Brutes and in that respect it is that Man is Immortal Althô they who believe the Soul to be Mortal laugh at the Revelation yet there are some who make use of a Passage in Ecclesiastes to confirm their Opinion 'T is in the Chap. 13.19 20 21. The same thing befalls both Man and Beasts the death of the One is like the death of the other both the one and the other breathe the same Breath and Man has no advantage above a Beast for all is vanity All goes the same way All was dust and to dust they shall return Who knows whether the breath of Man mounts upward or whether the breath of a Beast descends downward But if these People who borrow the Authority of Salomon to support their Error had read the Book from which they-fetcht their Argument they would have seen that that same Great and Wise Prince was far from believing the Soul to be Mortal His aim is there only to withdraw the hearts of Men from the Love of the World from their extraordinary Propensity to the Creatures and all things that fall under the Senses On purpose to incline and persuade 'em to Love to Fear and Serve the Lord only And this is the conclusion which he draws at the end of his Book from all the Arguments which he produc'd before The scope of the whole Discourse is Fear God and keep his Commandments for this is the whole Duty of Man Now I leave it to Judgment Whether if Salomon had thought that the Soul did not subsist after death he would have taken so much pains to excite Men to the exercises of Piety for which there was no reward to be expected since the Belief of the Immortality of the Soul is the Foundation of Piety and Religion But for an absolute Conviction that this Great King did not believe the Soul to be mortal there needs no more then to read his Tenth Chapter From the very beginning he threatens Men with a Judgment to come and exhorts 'em to remember God in the days of their youth and not to delay their Turning to God till the last years of their Lives A needless Exhortation if the Soul were to dye For what reason is there that Man should fear any thing after death if All were to dye with him Afterwards in the 9th Verse he tells us in express terms That the dust returns to the earth from whence it was taken but that the Spirit returns to God that gave it Is not this an invincible Proof that he believed the Immortality of our Souls For how could it be said that our Spirit should return to God that gave it if it subsisted no longer after it was departed from the Body which it enlivened Is it possible that a nothing of Soul and Spirit should return to the Bosom of God The wise Salomon so little believ'd our Soul to be Mortal that in the same Chapter ver 17. he says God shall judge the Just and the Vnjust and then shall be the time for all things and over all his Works which he would never have said had he had the least Thought that our Soul died with the Body So that by the Passage which they alledge he meant no other thing but that in respect of the Body the condition of the Beasts was equal to that of Men that the same thing befals him and
that to judge by outward appearances when we see a Man dye it seems as if he dy'd like a Beast and that there was no difference between ' em And this was the Judgment which the Prophane Libertines in Salomon's time made of it But what we have said is certainly the precise sence of the words For if from the saying of Ecclesiastes Who knows whether the breath of a Beast ascends upward and the breath of a Beast descends downward We must conclude that if Salomon was ignorant of that which was to happen he would have spoken against his own knowledge seeing that in the 12th Chapter he says expresly That the Spirit returns to God We must also believe that he questions whether or no the Breath of Beasts descended downward since he makes use of the same Expression who knows whether the Breath of a Beast c. Now is this a thing that so wise a Man as Salomon could doubt of or could he be inclin'd to observe an Error which few believe that the Spirit of Beasts is immortal Thô we must confess there are some people that are of this Opinion if we may believe the Portuguese Relation of the Eastern Aethiopia It will be said perhaps that the Soul being strictly united with the Body it cannot be conceiv'd how the Body should dye and the Soul be Immortal But this Argument is absurd for were the Soul and Body of the same Nature there were some room for this Objection But in regard they are of a different Nature and that the motions of the Soul are absolutely independent from those of the Body As for example when she meditates upon God Why may we not say that it subsists without a Body like the Angels And so much for this subject Let us now examine whether we ought to believe a day of Judgment Of the Judgment to come IT is impossible to reflect upon the Nature of God without being convinc'd of a Day of Judgment The Idea which we have of God obliges him to look upon him as a Being Supreamly Wise most Just most Holy and most Perfect But we can never consider him as a Being most Wise Just and Perfect unless we understand at the same time that he is one day to call Men to Judgment and to reward or punish 'em according as they have lived upon the Earth In short How can it be conceiv'd that a God who made all things who loves Order and Holiness to the highest Degree and who always acts conformably to his Virtues can let go unpunish'd the Contempts which his Creatures put upon his Laws and that he can look with the same Glances of his favour upon those that employ themselves in his Praises and they that Vomit forth Blasphemies against him those that confess his Holy Name and those that abjure it upon Virtuous Men and the most Infamous Debauchees upon St. Peter and a Herod upon St. Paul and a Nero a St. John and a Domitian and yet this is that which we must say of God were it true that there would be no Day of Judgment For that Person must be very Ignorant of the Affairs and Transactions of this World who understands not that Punishment does not always attend the Transgression and that the Wicked are not always Chastiz'd but that the Innocent are sometimes oppress'd and the Guilty justify'd Now can we believe that the Sanctity and Wisdom of God would suffer Virtue to remain without Reward or Vice without Punishment had he not decreed a Day wherein to render unto every Man according to his Works No doubtless God has not suffer'd the Wicked all to go Unpunish'd that Men might not believe there was no Providence nor does he punish all that Men might thence infer there will be a time of Judgment The Invisible Hand of God collects together whatever Man does whatever he thinks and whatever he says all is hoarded up in the Treasure of his Justice But after God has gather'd all his Magazine he will return all back again and cause to Re-descend on Men whatever Men sent up to Heaven To this first Argument in my Opinion another may be added which is taken from the Remorse the Troubles and the Agitations of Conscience when a Man has committed any Crimes tho' secret Transgressions and such are not to be discover'd For from whence proceed those Terrors I beseech ye if it be not from an Apprehension of a Judgment which there is no possibility of avoiding It may be objected perhaps that there are none but the weaker sort that labour under these Disquiets these Turmoils and stings of Conscience little Children poor Ideots and silly Women But where is that Man who having sworn a false Oath committed a Murder or any other Crying Act of Injustice is not sensible of the sharpe Rebukes and Upbraidings of his Conscience 'T is not what Women only or Children do this is a question reaches all that have offended against Heaven It may be also farther said that 't is the Apprehension of the Rigour of Human Laws which causes all those Terrors not the Dread of any Caelestial Tribunal But whence then comes it to pass that those Monarchs who set themselves above the Reach of all Terrestial Justice and boasted of their Abominations were not exempted from these Affrights and Convulsions of self-Conviction such as Nero Tiberius Caligula Caracalla who were flattered every day that they might do what they pleas'd and who never heard a word of the Law of God of the Severity of his Justice or of a Judgment to come Others will alledge that these Commotions are the Effect of our Education But how comes it that we neglect and contemn so many other things infus'd into us by our Education but never can deface these deep Impressions Whence proceeds it that all Mankind with their conjoyn'd Efforts could never calm these Tempestuous Agitations nor dissipate these Fears Whence comes it to pass that upon th' approach of Death the Greatest Libertines and most Prophane tremble at the remembrance of their Impiety and their Horrors still augment the nearer they draw toward their end For if nothing were to follow but Annihilation whence so much Agony Lastly it will be said that there are many People who feel none of these Inward Stings But besides that it would be a difficult thing to name any of those Persons whose Consciences are altogether dead and Insensible and that others might be thought to be void of all Fear because they knew how to conceal it their Inconsiderable Number can by no means weak'n our Argument as it does not follow that the Existence of God is not a Truth beyond Controul because there are some perhaps that do not believe it The Universal Consent in reference to this Point of all Nations that have acknowledg'd a Deity is a sufficiently convincing Proof of the Truth of what we positively assert For how comes it that so many Men agree in this particular altho' they differ
things that concern Philosophy and which are of no use in Reference to Salvation How much more ought we to lave Truth in matters of Religion where our Sovereign Good lies at Stake More especially since God has taught us what is true what is false what pleases and what offends him The Love of Truth seems to be born with us so that even Children love it 'T was so highly esteemed among the Pagans that their Authors make no Scruple to assert that 't is the Richest Present that God ever made Mankind that it renders Mortals equal to God and that if a Soul and Body were to be attributed to the Deity Truth must be allowed him for the Soul and Light for the Body They also deemed themselves so Happy when they found it out that they offer'd Hecatombs to their Gods to return 'em Thanks for the Discovery of so precious a Treasure Who would not be astonished then that in the Christian World there should be persons so daring as to maintain that in Religion Falshood might be sometimes preferr'd before Truth though upon all other occasions of Life they prefer Truth before Falshood and take no delight in being deceiv'd Their Crime is also so much the Greater for that God is the Author of Truth and the Devil the Father of Lyes so that no Man can prefer Falshood before Truth but he must prefer the Devil before God which is not a thing to be thought of without Horror Our Indifferent Men that very well perceive the force of this Argument make use of all their Wit to answer it I. They say in the First place that there is no Religion which has not some Truths and therefore They who upon some occasions and as their Interests require embrace new Religions cannot be said to embrace Falshood before Truth because they always meet with the Choicest and most Essential Truths in all sorts of Religious Societies This first Answer or rather Evasion is very absurd for the preferring Religions where there are some Truths but withal very great and gross Errors before a Religion which is pure and which teaches us all the most necessary Truths is a manifest preferring of a Lye before Truth and this is that which our Indifferent Men do Now that they may see how much they are deceiv'd I beseech 'em to consider 1. That those Truths which are observ'd in all Religions are stifl'd in certain Sects with an innumerable company of Errors which are difficult to be discover'd 2. That those General Truths to speak properly constitute no particular Religion Every Religion if I may be permitted to say so has a Genus and a Difference The Genus of all Religions are those principal Truths which are known to all Men but that which makes the distinction is either the Teaching of other Truths or Errors So that the Principal Truths are not the Reason that a Religion is such a Religion but either Errors and then the Religion is false or other Truths which are not joyn'd to the former and then the Religion is True As that which makes a Man to be a Man is not his Animosity or his being a Creature that 's his Genus but it is his Reason which makes him a Rational Creature So they who prefer a false Religion before a True one cannot excuse themselves by saying That that same very Religion has some Truths because those Truths as I have said already to speak properly constitute no Religion But our Indifferent Men will say that if we ought always to prefer Truth before a Lye we ought then to quit a Religion wherein we find some Errors I answer First That if there be any Religion purer then that which we profess we ought not to be asham'd of quitting our Religion to embrace another But in the second place I say we ought to distinguish between the Errors There are some which are Capital and Mortal which creep into our Worship and our Manners which discompose and overturn the very foundations of Christianity but there are others which are not altogether incompatible with Piety as there are likewise two sorts of Truths the one which are of highest importance of which we cannot be ignorant and yet be Sav'd others which are not so necessary so that without the knowledge thereof we may one day obtain Salvation T is certain that we ought to abandon a Communion which destroys Essentially the Service of God and which continues obstinare in Errors directly opposite to the Salvation of Mankind But we may be stedfast to a Religion wherein are only some scatter'd Errors of small Importance contenting our selves with not approving those Errors as in civil Society we refrain from Familiarity with those persons whom we find to be notoriously vicious because that a Correspondency with such persons would be a â—ain to those that make Profession of Honour and Virtue But with all mildness we bear with the defects of those persons who not being perversly wicked retain the Tinctures only of Human frailty 2. In the second place they say that we ought to prefer Truth before a Lye but that we ought to perfer Peace before Truth This is an Evasion that meets with no better luck then the former 'T is true that God loves Peace but such a Peace as is conjoyn'd with Truth because he is no less the God of Truth then the God of Peace and for that Peace without Truth is a conspiracy against God so that War is to be preferr'd before a Peace that separates us from God This is no more then what the Pagans themselves acknowledg'd and if they have said that Peace is the most excellent Thing in the World they have likewise asserted that we ought never to commit an unjust or base Act for the enjoyment of it The love of Peace ought only to encline us to tolerate those Correspondences that are not guilty of Capital Errors and such as are incompatible with our Salvation And therefore we cannot consent with those ancient Authors who made such a noise about Innocent Opinions as if they had overturn'd all Christianity As Philastius who lookt upon those as very great Hereticks who attributed the Epistle to the Hebrews to St. Clement and St. Barnahas and not to St. Paul and those who did not believe that David compos'd the 150 Psalms We cannot approve Pope Victor who for a Petty Question excommunicated the Churches of Asia by that means dismembring the Great and Glorious Body of Jesus Christ which was very well represented to him by Ireneus and we believe as that Bishop did that for the sake of Peace it is much better to bear with the petty defects of the Church then to violate the Peace of it by correcting the Church in regard the Mischief of the Rupture is incomparably much greator then the Fruit which is to be reap'd from the Censure of such an Error But the love of Peace ought never to oblige us to prefer Communions full of Errors
Sisters yea and his own Life also he cannot be my Disciple And v. 33. So likewise whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all he hath he cannot be my Disciple VI. Wherefore St. Paul calls those Idolaters who committed any one of those Acts which the Pagans practis'd 1. Corinth 10. VII If it be sufficient for a Man to believe in his Heart without making open Profession of the Truth how comes it that the same Apostle Commands us to believe in our Hearts and make Confession with our Mouths unto Salvation Rom. 10.9 10. And that St. Peter would have us Be ready always to give an Answer to every Man that asks ye a Reason of the Hope that is in you 1. Pet. 3.15 VIII If it be true that Man may be faithful and practise a False worship and observe the Ceremonies of a Corrupt Religion then might He Drink the Cup of the Lord and the Cup of Devills contrary to the saying of St. Paul 1. Cor. 10. and have Communion with God yet walk in Darkness contrary to the Precepts of St. John 1 Epist C. 1. v. 6. And a Man may have received the Good Seed of God into his Heart and withdraw himself in time of Persecution contrary to the Doctrine of Christ Mat. 13. IX A Man might be an Idolater and yet be Saved contrary to what the Apostle determins 1 Cor. 6. that Idolaters shall not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven X. He may be register'd in the Book of Life of the Lamb and adore the Beast contrary to what is written by St. John Apoc. 13.8 And all that shall Worship the Beast whose Names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb. XI If the Opinion of those against whom we Combat were true would St. John threaten Eternal Torments to the Adorers of the Beast Apoc. 14. v. 9 10 11. If any Man worship the Beast and his Image and receive his mark in his Forehead or in his hand the same shall drink the Wine of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture into the Cup of his indignation and be shall be tormented with Fire and Brimstone in the Presence of the Holy Angels and in the Presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever c. XII The same beloved Disciple would have placed the Fearful at the head of those for whom the Lake of Fire and Brimstone is reserved Apoc. 21.8 Would Jesus Christ threaten to spue the Lukewarm out of his Mouth Apoc. 3.16 For who are the Fearful and Lukewarm but they who understand the Truth yet fearing the Hatred and Cruelty of the World compose their outward Behaviour in such a manner that they make a shew of approving a Religion of which they acknowledge the Falshood Such as have an Orthodox Soul and Lips of Infidels who will neither be altogether for Jesus Christ not altogether for the World who divide themselves between the One and the Other and would fain be reconcil'd to Both In a word who do that which our Indifferent Men believe may be done without a Crime XIII Whence comes it to pass that the Holy Ghost condemns those that halt on both sides 1 Kings 18.21 Zephan 1.5 and those that worship and swear by the Lord yet swear by Maloham also XIV Wherefore is it that the Two Apostles St. Paul and St. John of which the one had been taken up into Heaven the Other had seen in the Spirit the Heavenly Jerusalem Commands us to come out from among the Unfaithful and from Babylon Apoc. 18.4 Long out of her my People says the Lord by St. John that ye be not partakers of her sins and that we receive not of her Plagues and 2 Cor. 6.14 15 16 17. Be ye not unequally yoak'd with Vnbelievers for what fellowship hath Righteousness with Vnrighteousness and what Communion hath Light with Darkness What Concord hath Christ with Behal or what part hath he that believes with an Infidel What Agreement has the Temple of God with Idols For ye are the Temple of the Living God c. Wherefore come out from among 'em and be ye separate says the Lord and touch not the Vnclean thing and I will receive ye XV. Lastly Wherefore is it that we are commanded to suffer for Righteousness sake and that the Spirit of God makes such large Promises to those that suffer Persecution Matth. 5.10 Heb. 12. James 5.10.11 Phil. 1.29 2 Tim. 2.11 12. I add to all these Proofs those Passages of Scripture where the Apostles command us to offer to God not only our Souls but our Bodies also and to Glorifie him in our Bodies and our Spirit Rom. 12.1 I beseech you therefore Brethren that ye present your Bodies a living sacrifice holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service and 1 Cor. 6.20 For ye are bought with price therefore Glorifis God in your Body and in your Spirit which are Gods Is it not a great piece of Sacriledge to refuse the giving of that to God which belongs to him He created both our Bodies and Souls he has redeem'd 'em both the one in the other Is it not then just that we should consecrate both to him Wherefore should we separate what God has joyn'd and what he has given us to the end we should employ it to his Glory How great a sin it is how great a piece of Impiety to divide our selves between God to whom we owe all things and the World to which we owe nothing To deny our Tongues to God to whom we owe our Lives and to be asham'd of calling our selves the Servants and Disciples of Christ who was not asham'd to call us his Brethren and who for our sakes has suffer'd a most cruel and ignominious death To demonstrate yet more clearly the Falshood of this Opinion which I labour to destroy I think it convenient to make these few Reflexions The First is That it is a strange thing that there should be so many People that make no scruple of Lying in Religion which is a thing of the greatest Importance and the most Sacred in the World in regard that Lying is a Vice unworthy a Man of Honour The greatest Debauchees become sensible of the things of Conscience if they happen to swear a Falshood before a Judge So true it is that we have a natural Aversion against telling a Lye Who would not wonder then that Men who are desirous of Reputation should not be asham'd to lye in a thing that is most grave and serious in the World the Concern of God himself of Truth and our own Salvation If a Subject who gives but the least suspition of an Intention to Revolt from his Prince and who only lets fall some words that will admit of a bad Construction is handl'd with so much severity in regard that Royal Majesty is so Sacred that it is not to be injur'd in any manner whatever without incurring the guilt of
to bid good speed to those that bring not the Doctrine of Christ for it appears that he speaks of the same Seducers who confess'd not that Jesus Christ was come in the Flesh Wherefore is it that he would have us stand so strictly upon our Guards when the business in Dispute is about the receiving a Doctrine or not receiving it if it were sufficient for a Man to correct his Manners to be Sav'd III. I draw a Third Argument from hence that the Doctor of the Gentiles thunders out Anathema's against those that press the observation of the Mosaic Ceremonies thô they carefully enjoyn'd the practise of the Moral Law If it were sufficient to observe the Decalogue would Christian Charity have allow'd St. Paul to Anathematize People who believ'd in Christ only that they were zealous of the Law Acts 21.20 and who were only for joyning Moses to Jesus Christ the Ceremonies of the one to the Gospel of the other IV. If this Opinion which we oppose were true whence comes it that the Scripture condemns the Unbelievers to Eternal Pains Apoc. 21.8 and that it excludes Idolaters out of the Kingdom of Heaven 1 Cor. 6.10 There can be no other Reason given but only because that living Morally well is not sufficient for the obtaining of Eternal Salvation but that it behoves us to believe those Truths which are Taught us Fifthly If Living according to the Rules of Moral Honesty were sufficient to bring a Man to Heaven I would fain know the Reason why the Apostles take so much pains to instruct People in the Truths of the Gospel why do they keep such a stir to prove that Christ is the Promised Messiah that they speak of his Divinity and his Cross two things that equally stumbled both the Jews and the Gentiles Had it not been sufficient to have taught 'em Good Morality Sixthly Whence comes in to pass that Christ and his Apostles so frequently exhort us to suffer for their Truth and that so many persons have suffered Martyrdom in Defence of the Truth of which they might have been ignorant if we may believe our Antagonists without being deprived of Salvation There would have been but very few Confessors and Martyrs had Moral Honesty been sufficient to bring us to Eternal Felicity To all these Proofs I add this Important Reflexion that we draw from the Truths of the Gospel which are propos'd to us to the end we should believe 'em the most powerful Morives that are able to engage us to Holiness There is nothing more prevalent to incline Men to Sanctification then to make known to 'em a God that loves Men to that Degree as to give 'em his only begotten Son a God that abhors and detests Sin to that degree that he rather chose to expose to Death his only Son in whom he is well pleased then to leave Sin Unpunished A God that takes upon him Human Nature and under that Nature suffers a most Cruel Death to make an Atonement for the Sin of Men and to satisfie Divine Vengeance justly provoked against ' em Lastly A God that penetrates into the most secret Folds and Concealments of the Heart who is to raise the Dead and bring 'em to appear before his Throne to give an Account of all their Actions It behoves us therefore to believe if we will live well and to believe and live well if we intend to be Sav'd CHAP. XXI That the Opinion of Indifferenay in Religions has displeased almost all People THere remains nothing more for me but only to Answer an Argument which is attributed to the King of Siam and which we have cited already in the Third Chapter The True God said he who Created the Heaven and the Earth and all the Creatures therein contained and who has given 'em Natures and Inclinations so different had he so pleased by giving Bodies and Souls alike to Men could have inspir'd into 'em the same Sentiments as to what Religion it behov'd 'em to follow and have caused all Nations to agree and unire under one and the same Law But it seems that Providence permits diversity of Sects because God takes as much delight to be honoured with different sorts of Worship and various Ceremonies as to be glorify'd by a Prodigious Number of Creatures the variety of whose Beauty 's set forth and Magnifies his Infinite Power There are some People who suffer themselves to be dazled with this Argument but I beseech 'em to consider that it may be prov'd as well that God takes pleasure in the Sins which Men Commit For it might be said that had God so pleased by giving to Men Bodies and Souls alike he might have infused into 'em the same Sentiments for Virtue but that it seems as if he permitted the one to be Wise and Virtuous the other to be very Vicious because he takes delight in the variety of Humours and Inclinations Now I am apt to believe there are very few that would approve such a Method of Arguing To this first Answer I may add two more The first is That there might be something Plausible in this first Argument of the King of Siam if God had not really made known to Men what it was that he requir'd 'em to believe and what they were to do But we have proved that he has reveal'd it to 'em and that they need no more then read the Scripture with attention and without prejudice to understand which is the True Religion The Second Answer is That this Argument is grounded upon a false Principle that God might have inspired into all Men the same Sentiments of Religion had he not taken delight in Variety For God is not bound to make himself known alike to all Men. He is absolutely at his own Liberty in all his Works They to whom he has reveal'd himself have no more cause to magnifie themselves then others and they from whom he conceals himself have no cause to complain Moreover it is not to be imagined from the Opinion which the King of Siam seems to have concerning Indifferency in Religions that this Sentiment derives it self naturally into the Thoughts of all Men. On the other side it would be easie to prove that the greatest part of Religions have condemned it The thing is clear in respect of the Christian Religion nor is there any need of bringing farther Proofs The Pagans were so fixed to their Old Opinions that one of the most Learned Interpreters of Virgil observes that great Care was taken both among the Athenians and the Romans that no body introduced New Religions For that Reason it was that Socrates was condemned at Athens that the Jews were expell'd Rome and that the Books of Numa were burnt Josephus reports that the Athenians inflicted grievous punishments upon those that introduc'd new Deities and durst presume so much as to speak against their Law Dionisius of Halicarnassus asserts that not only the Greeks but also the Barbarians carefully preserv'd the Religion of their Ancestors and the same thing is reported of the Scythians and Persians Nevertheless we will not deny what Socrates said that it was lawful for every Body to serve the Deity according to the Custom of the Country and that Foreign Gods were often transported to Rome and Athens But give us leave to make these Three Remarks 1. That the Testimony of Socrates is of no Weight because he was Condemned at Athens 2. That the greatest Part of those Deities which were transported to Rome were remov'd out of the Cities which the Romans had Besieg'd and were by the Priest Invited before the whole Army to the Capital of all Italy where they should have as they said more Temples more Sacrifices and more Adorers To which we may add that they were therefore removed because it was an Opinion among 'em that all Places had their Tutelar Deities and that they could not take Cities till after they had removed the Gods that protected ' em 3. That those Gods which were carried to Rome Athens and other Places and those that were there Worshiped under the Character of unknown Gods are sufficient proofs that some Accident fell out of which they believed some Deity that was unknown to 'em to be the Author and make it appear that the Romans were of Opinion that the more Gods they had in their Cities the more Protectors they had But from thence it does not follow that the Athenians and Romans believ'd that all Religions were Indifferent For had they so thought why did they persecute so Cruelly the Christians and the Jews It is certain also that they derided those New Gods that were introduced as appears by the Comedies of Aristophanes To which I may add that the Bramiry among the Indians who are the Ancient Brachmans believe that every Body may be saved in his own Religion provided he follow exactly the way that God has shewed him but that he shall be Damn'd if he pursues any other As for the Mahometans 't is very true that Mahomet seems to favour Indifferency in Religions while he says in his Alcoran that every Man who lives well who Worships the true God and does good Works whether Christian or Jew obtains the Favour of his God Nevertheless 't is certain that in another place he asserts that the Law is the only way of Salvation and ordains his Religion to be established in the World by force of Arms. Indeed it would be a kind of Wonder that the Mahometans should think that the Christians could be Saved seeing that the Christians aver Mahomet to be an Impostor and daily beg of God that that same false Prophet may have no more followers but that his Religion may be rooted from the Earth Moreover 't is well known that the Turks openly condemn the Persians Which they would never do if ' they thought all Religions were Indifferent As for the Jews the Thing is so certain that he who questions it must never have read their Writings For they continually curse the Christians and are so obstinately persuaded of the Truth of their Religion nay more That it is the only True Religion in the World that there have been several who have rather chosen to die then Violate the meanest precept of their Law THE END