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PHILOSOPHICAL PRINCIPLES 
 
 O F 
 
 NATURAL AND REVEALED 
 
 RELIGION 
 
 PART SECOND. 
 
 B Y 
 THE CHEVALIER RAMSAY, 
 
 AUTHOR OF THE TRAVELS OF GYRUS. 
 
 GLASGOW, 
 
 Printed and sold by Robert and andrew fovlis. 
 
 mdccxlix. 
 
)!l 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 IN the foregoing part of this Work, we have aii- 
 fwered the firft objection of the Atheifts, Deills, 
 Freethinkers, and minute Philofophers of all kinds, 
 who pretend, tiiat the principal doflrines of Re- 
 veal'd Rehgion are not only contradidlory to rea- 
 fon, but altogether repugnant to the divine perfec- 
 tions. We come now to anfwer the fecond objecti- 
 on of the incredulous, who maintain, that the facred 
 myfteries of our holy faith are new fi6lions unheard 
 of by the philofophers of all nations; and to iliew, 
 on the contrary, that Chriftianity is as old as the 
 creation. 
 
 Since the refurre6lion of the Sciences in Europe, 
 and the ftudy of the ancients, feveral great and lear- 
 ned men pretend to have difcovered many veftigcs 
 of Re veal'd Religion among the Pagans. VofFius, 
 Bochart, Huet, Kircher and Thomaffm, Cud worth. 
 Gale, Stanley, and Purchas have given hints on this 
 fubjc(5l, which have put men upon the fcent of thefe 
 curious and ufeful refearches. The author of the 
 Travjels of Cyrus, has endeavoured to digeft 
 
 A2 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 them into a regular philofophical fcheme :but with- 
 out doing injuftice to that writer, it muft be allow'd, 
 that he has ftopt in a fair way, and has not puih'd 
 his difcoveries fo far as he might liave done. We 
 hope to extend our views mucli farther than he, and 
 that this will engage others to go much farther than 
 we. We have as yet difcover'd only the coafts, 
 fhoars, and frontiers of this Newfoundland. A fe- 
 rious, exact, and profound ftudy of the ancients will 
 perhaps excite the learned men of the prefent, and 
 following ages, to enter into this country, and to 
 fearch out all the hidden mines it contains. 
 
 In this treatife wc have colle(5led, and digefted in- 
 to one body, under diHerent heads,, the feiitiments 
 of the antient Hebrews, Chinefc, Indians, Perfians, 
 Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, concerning the 
 great principles of Natural and Revcal'd Religion. 
 By this we may judge, that we fliould, no doubt, 
 find veftiges of tbx fame truths among the ancient 
 Gauls, Germans, Britons, and all other nations, if 
 we had any records left of their dodrines, religion 
 and philofophy ; for, as w^e Ihall Ihew, all flowed 
 from the fame fource. 
 
 We are oblieed for all the difcoveries in the Chi- 
 nefe mythology, to fcveral learned Europeans, who 
 have lived many years in China, ftudied the Ian- 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 guage of the country, the original/ canonical books 
 of that ancient nation, and the commentaries made 
 upon them, long before the Chriftian cera, by the 
 Mandarines and fages of that climate. 
 
 In Q-ivinean account of the fentiments of the In- 
 dians, Perfians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, 
 we have faithfully confulted the originals and the 
 fragments that are to be found in the Greek, or La- 
 tin authors, whether facred or profane, Pagan phi- 
 lofophers, or primitive Fathers; as alfo the quota- 
 tions that have been made from them by the mo- 
 dern critics, whether German, BritlHi, or French: 
 but as the moil skilful grammarians, who under- 
 ftand perfectly the genius of the Greek and Roman 
 language, do not always comprehend the phllofo- 
 phy of the ancients; they fometimes omit very im- 
 portant ilrokes, or render them obfcurely; for this 
 reafon, we have not always trufied to their tranfla- 
 tions, but examined the fources. 
 
 Amone all thefe modern critics, there is none 
 we have made more ufe of than the learned D-r. 
 CuDWORTH. As this ereatman had not a fvftema- 
 tic genius, his work is a confufcd heap of pearls 
 and precious ftones, which we have endeavour'd to 
 range under dificrent heads, and digeft all into a re- 
 gular fcheme. 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 We have alfo examined the moft intellieent tra- 
 vellers into Afia, Africa and America; becaufe we 
 fometimes find very valuable hints of the divine 
 philofophy, in the popular traditions of the moft 
 favage countries. 
 
 We leave to others the care of delcribing the 
 laws, arts, and faiences of the ancients, their agri- 
 culture, archlre6]:ure, and military skill ; their aftro- 
 nomlcal obfervations, geometrical difcoveries, and 
 poetical inventions; their ftatues, paintings, gravings 
 and medals; great helps maybe found in fome of 
 thefe curious researches, and they may be fome- 
 times very ufeful in the divine philofophy. We con- 
 line ourfelves to give a faithful account of the fub- 
 limer doclrine of the ancients, of the forms of their 
 mind, of their fyftem of God, and the univ^erfe, and 
 of the moral difpoiitions and fentiments of their 
 heart. This fecond part of our Work then will be 
 properly a hiftory of the human mind in all ages, 
 nations, and religions, concerning the moft divine 
 and important truths. 
 
7 
 
 THE 
 
 PHILOSOPHICAL PRINCIPLES 
 
 O F 
 
 NATURAL AND REVEALED! 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 IN TRODUCTION. 
 
 WE have fhewn In the firfl: part of this Work, that all 
 the great principles of Natural and Revealed Reli- 
 gion may be reduced to fix heads, every one of which may be 
 fubdivided into three parts, or ternaries. ( i .) The cxiftence 
 of God, whofe effential attributes are three, and can be but 
 three, power, wifdom, and goodnefs. (2.) The three per- 
 fons in the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (3.) The 
 three manlfeftations of the Meffiah, pre-cxiflent, fuffering, 
 and triumphant. (4) The three Hates of human nature, ele- 
 vated, fallen, and rc-efliablifhed. (5.) The three Hates of an- 
 gelical nature, uncorrupted, degraded, and reftored. (6.) The 
 three effential, nccefTary means of re-unlting the foul to God, 
 prayer, mortification, and fclf-denial. This facred fexenary 
 contains the whole of Natural and Revealed Religion; and 
 
S INTRODUCTION. 
 
 all the other do6trines of faith are but corollaries from thefe 
 great truths. 
 
 Onrdefigii in this fecoiid partis to fliew, that the fagesof 
 all nations, ages and religions, had fome ideas of thefe fublime 
 doclrines, tho' more or lefs degraded, adulterated, and ob- 
 fcured; and that thefe fcattered hints and vefliges of the mod 
 facrcd and exalted truths were originally rays and emanations 
 ef ancient and primitive traditions, handed down from gene- 
 ration to generation, fince the beginning of the world, or at 
 leafl:, fince the fall of man to all mankind. Before I enter in- 
 to this difcuflion, it is fit to premife thefe remarks. 
 
 1. According to the Mofaic accounts of the origin and 
 ^propagation of mankind, the protoplad had a perfe<5l know- 
 ledge of all the great principles of Natural and Revealed Re- 
 ligion. Adam created in a ftatc of innocence, before fin and 
 padion had darkened his underftanding, who converfed with 
 the Logos in paradife under a human form, muft have had a 
 perfe(5t knowledge of the Deity, and of the love we owed to 
 him. Adam, after the fall, could not but know the miferable 
 ftate, into which he had plunged himfelf, with all his pofleri- 
 ty. Scripture aflures us, and all divines agree, that God, after 
 having banifhed him from paradife, revealed to him the fa- 
 crifice, fufferings, and triumphs of the Mefliah. Thus Adam 
 muft have had a pcrfe<ft knowledge of all the great principles 
 both of Natural and Revealed Religion. 
 
 2, A wife and holy legiflator, who had a perfefl know- 
 ledge of thofe divine truths, muft have had a fincere defire, 
 and neglefted no means, to tranfmit this knowledge to his 
 pofterity. Adam became penitent after his fall, fill'd with a 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 facred horror at his difobedience, and penetrated with grief 
 for the mifery in which he and all his polterity were involv'd, 
 mufl not only have given them temporal and civil laws, to 
 procure the peace of human fociety, during this life, butfpi- 
 ritual divine laws, to help them to recover their primitive hap- 
 pinefs in the next. Yea, he mufl: not only have inftruded his 
 children then exiftent in thefefublime truths, but have given 
 them orders to tranfmit the fame notions to their pofterity. 
 All the holy patriarchs mull: have done the fame, from gene- 
 ration to generation, till the deluge; when Noah, pofTefled 
 with the fame fpirit, had, no doubt, the fame care to hand 
 down, to fucceeding ages, thofe eflential truths. Now, fince 
 the holy patriarchs, before and after the deluge, could and 
 fhould have a6led thus, it is fure they did fo. 
 
 3. It is no ways probable, that fuch a wife man as Noah, 
 who was intruded by, and converfed with the Logos, would 
 have trufted to oral tradition alone, for the prefervation and 
 tranfmiflion of thefe divine lights, and fublime myfteries of 
 faith to his pofterity, and all the nations who were to cover 
 the face of the earth. He, no doubt, took care to have them 
 wrote in fuch chara6tcrs as were then in ufe. All grant that 
 the firft way of writing was by hieroglyphics. Jofephus the 
 hiftorian fays, this method was in ufe before the deluge, and 
 that (a) ' fomeof the fons of Seth knowing the world was to 
 
 * perifh, firft by water, and then by fire, wrote all the difco- 
 ' veries they had made in aftronomy, upon two pillars, one of 
 
 * ftone and another of brick, the firft to refift the water; and 
 ' the other the fire.' He even pretends that the one of ftone re- 
 
 (a) Jofeph. Antl<i. lib. i, cap. 3. 
 
 B 
 
10 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 main'd to his time. If there be any thing true m this flory of 
 Jofephus, it is probable, that he miftook the myfteries of reli- 
 on wrote by fome antidiluvian father upon thefe pillars, for 
 aftronomical obfervations. The fir ft was worthy of their zeal, 
 the laft fcarce deferved their attention, (a) Moreover Porphy- 
 ry fpeaks of fome very ancient pillars preferv'd in the ifland 
 of Crete, upon which were wrote the myfteries of religion, 
 (b) * Laflantius and Theodoret maintain, that Euchmerus, 
 
 * Sanchoniathon, Herodotus, Diodorus of Sicily, and many 
 
 * other authors had profited much by thefe ancient hierogly- 
 
 * phical monuments to compofe their hiftories.' (c) Mane- 
 tho, in a fragment preferv'd to us by Eufebius and Syncellus, 
 fays, * that the fecond Hermes called Trifmegiftes, tranflated, 
 
 * or rather tranfcribed in vulgar alphabetical letters, what the 
 
 * firft Hermes had wrote in hieroglyphical charadlers, upon 
 ' pillars of ftone.' (d) AmmianusMarcellinusfays, ' that the 
 
 * ancients forefeeing a future deluge, and fearing that the 
 
 * myfteries of religion fhould be loft and forgot, cut out fevc- 
 
 * ral caverns in great rocks, and graved thefe myfteries on their 
 
 * walls in hieroglyphical characters which were the figures of 
 
 * animals.' In fine, Jamblichus adds, (e) ' If you propofe any 
 
 * philofophical queftion, we fhall decide it to you, according to 
 « the ancient pillars of Mercury, which Plato and Pythago- 
 
 * ras before him read, and hence compofed their philofophy.* 
 
 4. It is certain, that the word Hieroglyphics, which the 
 Greeks made ufe of to defign thefe fymbolical characters, fig- 
 
 (a) Porphyri. lib. ii. de Abftin. (d) Ammian. Marcell. lib. xiii. 
 
 (b) Laftant. Inftitut. lib. i. et Theodorct, (e) lamblic. de myft. Aegypt. edit, 
 Sermo fecund, ad Graecos. Oxon. 1 67 8. pag. Jt 
 
 (c) Maneth. apud Eufeb. et Syncell, 
 
INTRODUCTION. n 
 
 nifies a facred graving or fculpture, becaufe this way of writing 
 was firfl: confecrated to preferve and tranfmit to pofterity fome 
 idea of the myfteries of religion. The firfl: fages of the mofl: re- 
 mote antiquity made ufe of fenfible figns and images to repre- 
 fent intelle<5lual and fpiritual truths. All the different parts of 
 nature were employ'd in this facred language; the fun, the 
 moon, the planets, and the fixt flrars. As the heavens are a con- 
 tinual objed ofour view, it is poffible that the wife men among 
 the antidiluvian, or pofl:diluvian patriarchs gave names to the 
 luminous bodies that flilne there, relative to the great myfteries 
 of faith, that fo, in feeing them every day and every night, 
 they might recall to our mind, the remembrance of divine 
 truths, and be as a book opened to the view of all mortals, in 
 which they might read at all times. Nothing was more pro- 
 per to perpetuate the memory of facred truths, and tranfinit 
 them to poflerity. Hence may come all the names of the con- 
 ftellations which defign fome property or event attributed to 
 the good and evil principle; as the Lyon, which was one of 
 the fymbols of the Logos humaniz'd, whom the Hebrews 
 called the Lyon of the tribe of Judah ; the Ram or Lamb, 
 the Bull, &c. The evil principle was reprefented by the Dra- 
 gon, or the Serpent, the Scorpion, the Capricorn or wild 
 goat, &c. We dare not venture to explain all the refl, this de- 
 tail might degenerate into fidion and wild conjectures, be- 
 caufe we have loft the alphabet of this hieroglyphlcal lan- 
 guage. Moreover, the figures of birds, animals, infects and 
 vegetables were alfo employ'd in this fymbolical ftyle, becaufe 
 their different properties and natures were look'd upon as em- 
 blems, reprefentations and figures of the qualities, actions and 
 
 Bs 
 
12 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 paflions, of the attributes, virtues and vices of intelligent be- 
 ings. The fource of this primitive hieroglyphical language 
 feems to have been the perfuafion of a great truth which we 
 have demonftrated in the firft part of this work, that the vi- 
 fible world is reprefentative of the invifible; that the proper- 
 ties, forms, and motions of the one were copies, images, and 
 fhadows of the attributes, qualities and laws of the other; 
 and, in fine, that both the material pictures and intelligent i- 
 mages were, in their primitive original ftate, reprefentative of 
 their common archetype. I repeat once more, that as we have 
 no longer any relilh for this fublime analogical philofophy, 
 nor any knowledge of the hieroglyphical characters which 
 depended upon it, we cannot, nor dare not enter into a par- 
 ticular explication of all the fymbols of the ancients. What 
 isfure from the name Hieroglyphics, is, that this ancient way 
 of writing was at firft confecrated to the expreffion of divine 
 things. 
 
 5. All religious and learned nations have by tradition the 
 Idea of a great Man or Legiflator, who was the firft author 
 of thefe facred fymbols and hieroglyphics, of letters and fci- 
 ences, who taught them their original laws, facred myiteries, 
 and religious rites. The Chinefe called him Fohi ; the Indi- 
 ans, Zoroafter j the Chaldeans, Douvanai; the Egyptians, 
 Thoyt; the Phenicians, Taaut; the Latins, Mercury; the 
 Greeks, Hermes; the Arabians, Adris or Edris; the Gauls, 
 Teutatis. Now, upon a ftrift examination and deep enquiry 
 it will be found, that according to aftronomical and chrono- 
 logical calculations, all thefe men Hved fometime before the 
 univerfal deluge; yea, that they were all the fame man, and 
 
INTRODUCTION. i^ 
 
 confequently fome antldiluvian patriarch whom every one- 
 thought to be of his own nation, becaufe being all defcended 
 from him, they look upon him to be their forefather, and to 
 belong to them as their founder, their fage, and their inftruc- 
 tor; juft as they, who look from the circumference to the 
 center, believe that this common point belongs equally ta 
 them all, becaufe their view terminates there by Itreight lines. 
 Some think that this antidiluvian patriarch was Enoch him- 
 felf. Others believe that It was Noah the reftorer of man- 
 kind. Whatever be In thefe conjectures, it is certain from the 
 principles laid down, that the antidiluvian or Noevlan patri- 
 archs ought to have taken fome furer meafures for tranfmit- 
 ting the knovvledge of divine truths to their pofterity, than by 
 oral tradition, and confequently, that they either invented or 
 made ufe of hieroglyphics and fymbols, to preferve the me- 
 mory of thefe facred truths; fince this was Inconteftably the 
 moft ancient manner of writing, according to the fentiment 
 of all learned men. 
 
 6. If this be fb, then k is certain that according as the 
 world increafed and was peopled after the deluge, the fons and 
 grandchildren of Noah who had heard the pious Infl:ru(5tions 
 of their common father, and feen the terrible judgments of 
 God upon the world, ought to have been very careful and foli- 
 cltous to preferve thofe facred monuments and hicroglyphi- 
 cal records of religion, which, for the future, we fhall call the 
 Enochian or Noevlan fymbols. Every head of a family might 
 have had them copied, and carried to the countiy he went 
 to inhabit with his family. Thus the fymbolical chara<5ters, 
 images and reprefentation^ of divine intclle(fiual truths, were- 
 
j^ INTRODUCTION. 
 
 much the fame in all nations. Of this we have uncontcftable 
 proofs, fmce the fymbols of the Chinefe are very oft the fame 
 with thofe wrote upon the Egyptian obelifks yet preferved: 
 for all the Chinefe charafters are hieroglyphics. We find al- 
 fo, that the Gauls, Germans and Britains long before they 
 were conquered by Julius Caefar,had much the fame fymbo- 
 lical reprefentations of their facred myfteries and Deities, as 
 the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Moreover, it is certain, 
 that very oft there is a great refemblance betwixt the Hebraic 
 fymbols and the Pagan hieroglyphics, as will be feen more 
 fully hereafter. Wherefore, we may reafonably conclude, 
 that wherever this fimilitude is found, the fame truths are in- 
 dicated by both ; fuice the original fource of tradition was the 
 fame to all nations. The moft part of the primitive fathers 
 of the church taught expresfly that many of the Pagan fym- 
 bols, fables, and fentiments were relative to, and reprefenta- 
 tive of the divine myfteries of our holy religion, which the 
 firil: heathens had learned from the ancient tradition of the 
 Noevian patriarchs. In fucceeding ages, thefe hieroglyphics 
 were craved upon diiferent ftones, metals, medals, urns, obe* 
 lifks and other materials expofed to public view, in order to 
 recall to the mind the remembrance of thefe fublime myfteri- 
 ous truths. The hieroglyphical language and charaders were 
 at firft invented not to render religion myfterious, and cover 
 it with an impenetrable veil, but, on the contrary, to render 
 its fublime, intellectual, fpiritual ideas fenfible, vifible and fa- 
 miliar to the vulgar. 
 
 7. By fucceffionof time, the true original fenfe of the fa- 
 cred fymbols and hieroglyphics was forgot, men attach'd 
 
INTRODUCTION. t^ 
 
 tliemfelvcs to the letter, and the figns, without underflanding 
 the fpirit and the thing fignlfied. Thus, the Pagans fell by 
 degrees into grofs idolatry and wild fuperftition. They mif- 
 took the original for the picture; the images of the fun, moon, 
 and ftarsjofmenand women, of animals, plants, and reptiles, 
 for facred and divine powers refiding in thefe vifible creatures. 
 Thus, according to the expreiTion of the fublime do6lor of 
 the Gentiles (a) ' they changed the glory of the uncorrup- 
 
 * tible God, into an image made like to corruptible man, and 
 ' to birds, and four-footed beafts and creeping things.' The 
 Pagan priefts favoured all thefe fuperititious and idolatrous de- 
 gradations, to gain money, enchain the people, and inhancc 
 their facerdotal power and prieflcraft. The poets invented 
 fables, obfcured all a-new by their w ild fictions, and degraded 
 the divine nature by underdanding and interpreting in a htc- 
 ral fenfe, all the ancient fymbols. The fabulous age begun 
 among the Greeks, but all the wifer nations and philofophers 
 complain of the abufe they made of the facred hieroglyphics, 
 and the corruptions they introduced into religion. '1 his is 
 plain from a fragment of Porphyry preferved by Eufebius 
 (b). * The way of the Gods is ftecp and very craggy, fays this 
 
 * Pagan philofopher, the Barbarians found out many of its 
 ' paths, but the Greeks wander'd from them, and thofe v/ho 
 
 * kept theni fpoil'd them: but God difcovcr'd thefe hidden 
 
 < ways to the Egyptians, the Phenlcians and Chaldeans, to 
 « the Lydians and Hebrews. For this reafon Apollo fays in 
 « another oracle ;the Chaldeans alone and the Hebrews have 
 
 < got wifdom, purely worfhipping the felf-begotten King- 
 
 (a) Rom. 1,23. (b) Eufeb. Praepar. Evangel, pag. 4 1 2. 
 
i5 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 * God/ It was then in this little corner of the earth called 
 Greece that mythology began. The Egyptians look'd up- 
 on them as always children, notwithftanding of their fine i- 
 magination,and as having no true knowledge of divine things. 
 During this fabulous humour and age, the facred, ancient 
 and primitive fymbols were degraded, obfcured, mifinterpre- 
 ted, difmember'd, mangled and disfigured. The facred be- 
 came profane; the divine, human; and the moft fublimc 
 truths were turn'd into wild fi6lions. Time, like a river, car- 
 ried aloft fome fuperficial, light, imaginary ideas, while it 
 funk to the bottom and plunged in oblivion the moft folid, 
 weighty, and important truths. 
 
 8. As in the hieroglyphical language there are no conju- 
 gations, tenfes, nor modes, the future was oft taken for the 
 paft; thus, all the ancient traditions and fymbols that exprefs'd 
 our Saviours pre-exiftent, fuffering and triumphant ftate were 
 confounded in one, and interpreted of imaginary heroes, or 
 conquerors who had fignaliz'd themfelves in different coun- 
 tries and corners of the earth. When the ancient hierogly- 
 phics reprefented the Son of God, the eternal Logos, and his 
 pre-exiftent humanity, as full of love for his creatures, as pur- 
 fuing them through all the wild mazes of error and vice in or- 
 <ler to cure, purify and reftore them, as the lover of fouls, as 
 jealous of their heart, as fitting upon the tops of high moun- 
 tains, at the gates of great cities, as dcfcending upon earth 
 under a corporeal form, as diffufing itfclf through all nations 
 to make men friends of God; they reprefentthe Deity as co- 
 ming down from heaven to defiiower virgins, commit rapes, 
 adulteries, and incefts. When he was figured in thefe ancient 
 
INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 lymbolsj as a facrifice to expiate the fins of men, as fufFerlng 
 the mofl: cruel agonies, torments and death; they invented 
 the different ftories of the murther of Ofiris, the death of 
 Adonis, the exile of Apollo, and a thoufand other fictions, 
 where tho' the fund bepreferv'd, yetcircumftances are added, 
 which degrade the divine nature. When the God-Guide and 
 the great deliverer was reprefented in that ancient fymbolical 
 language as a conqueror, as the Lord of Hofts, as a ftrong 
 and powerful King who combats every day the invifible 
 powers of darknefs, difpoflefles them of their fpoils, and 
 who will one day come triumphant upon the clouds, full of 
 indignation, to deftroy the wicked, and banifli all moral and 
 phyfical evil from the earth; they confounded the invifible 
 with the vifible, the future with the paft, and forged ftories 
 of the robberies and ftealths of Mercury, of the furies of 
 Bacchus, the labours of Hercules, and the cruelties of Mars. 
 Thus, all the fublimefl: truths exprefled by the fymbolical 
 chara<5lers were changed into wild fi6lions, and impious 
 fables; and the uncorruptible God was changed into the i- 
 mage of corruptible man. 
 
 9. From thefe falfe explications and total oblivion of the 
 true fenfe of the original hieroglyphics, there arofe among 
 the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and perhaps Pagans of all 
 nations, three fort of Interpreters of thofe facred fymbols, 
 hiftorical, phyfiological, and theological. All of thefe feeing, 
 that the fables and fi6tions of the poets could not be undcr- 
 ftood in a literal fenfe, the firft imagined they were allegories 
 which contained the true hiftory of kings, generals and heros 
 who had lived in their country. The fecond finding no vef- 
 
 PART 2. C 
 
iS INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tlges of thefe imaginary events in the trued and moft ancient 
 annals, fancied they were metaphorical expreflions of the 
 different parts, properties and phoenomena of nature. The 
 iafl: more profound and intelleflual explained all thefe fables 
 and fidions of foniething more divine and fublime. What de- 
 ceived the firfc fort of interpreters was this; as Chriftians take 
 the names of faints at baptifm, fothe Pagan kings, princes and 
 heroes affumed very oft the names of their Deities. Thus, the 
 mythologies were filled with many forts of Saturns, Jupiters, 
 Mercuries, Apollos, Gods and GoddefTes of all kinds, and 
 nations. The hiflorians v/ho follow'd the fabulous ages, fer- 
 vilely copied the poets, made the different names and fymbols 
 of the middle God fo many different heros, that had lived in 
 their country and done wonderful fa^s and atchievements 
 before their deification. This was an error that Plutarch re- 
 bukes in Euhemerus (a), ' It would be a dangerous miftake, 
 « fays this philofophical hiftorian, yea a manifeft impiety to 
 
 * interpret v/hat is faid of the Gods as Euhemerus the Mef- 
 « fenian did, who applied all to the ancient kings and gene- 
 
 * rals. This would in the end ferve to deflroy religion, and 
 •^ eftrange mens minds from the Deity.' The phyfiological 
 niythologifls, not knowing what to make of thefe ancient 
 jlymbols, hieroglyphics and traditions, and finding the literal 
 fenfe altogether incongruous, ridiculous, abfurd, and incom- 
 patible with the divine nature, explain'd all the fymbols, al- 
 legories and fables in a phyfical manner, and look'd upon 
 ihem as emblems, images, and reprefentations of material 
 nature and its different parts, qualities and operations, Thus 
 
 (a) Plutarch, de Ifwj. etOfirid, pag. 308. edit. Lut. Par, foL 
 
INTRODUCTION. v; 
 
 Juno was look'd upon as the aether, Jupiter as the air, Nep- 
 tunas the fea, Cybele as the earth, Vulcan as the fire, Apol- 
 lo as the fun, Phoebe as the moon, and all the invifible 
 powers, perfections, and hypoftafes of the divine nature, as 
 fo many members of the vifible creation. Thus, the original 
 fenfe was intirely perverted, the fign became the thing fgni- 
 fied, and the reality was look'd upon as a fymbol. The com- 
 bats of the Gods with the Titans, and all that was faid of the 
 fabulous Deities thus transform'd, crumbled, and diffolved 
 into different parts of the material univerfe, were look'd up- 
 on as fo many allegories to explain the different changes, ir- 
 regularities, phoenomena and combats of the elements. This 
 was the fenfe given to the ancient f}aTibols and traditions de- 
 graded, difguifed and mixed with fables, by Anaximander, 
 Democritus, Epicurus, Lucretius, and all the fe6lof the Ma- 
 terialifts. Nothing is more contrary to the primitive defign 
 of the fymbolical language, than this fy([em of the phyfiolo- 
 gical interpreters. Symbols were at firft invented, as we have 
 already remark'd, to render fpiritual ideas intelligible by fen- 
 fible images, and not to difguife vifible objects, by fpiritual 
 metaphors, which would have rendered the moft common, 
 vulgar, and obvious phoenomena of nature altogether enig- 
 matical and unintelligible. This metaphorical, enigmatical 
 language is quite another flyle, than the hieroglyphical one, 
 whofe firft intention was to give a lively fenfe of divine truths, 
 and not to cover, vail and darken them. The fource of this 
 fyflem was impiety, it's confequences wild fiction, and its end 
 a total contempt of antiquity, as a race of weak mortals with- 
 out reafon, elevation, or fentiment. The diviner and more 
 
 C2 
 
20 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 exalted phllofophers among the Pagans who were, as St. JuA 
 tin Martyr calls them, truly infpired by the Logos, and en- 
 lightned by that eternal Wifdom, which, according to Solo- 
 mon, diffufes itfelf through all nations, and makes friends of 
 God and prophets, faw through the vail, and difcovered in 
 the aneient jfymbols fome faint notices of fpiritual truths. 
 Such were Zoroafter among the Perfians, Trifmcgiftes a- 
 mong the Egyptians, Pythagoras, Socrates and Plato among 
 the Greeks. They looked upon all the fymbolical reprefen- 
 tations, and hieroglyphics, and even the poetical fictions of 
 the ancients as reprefentative of fomething intellectual and di- 
 vine. They defpifed and condemned all the fabulous dif- 
 guifes thatfervcd to degrade the divine nature, and authorife 
 vice; yea, perhaps many of them like Socrates fufFered mar- 
 tyrdom for their oppofition to idolatrous practices, inhuman 
 facrifices, and fuperflitious principles. 
 
 10. We muft not however thiak, that the Pagans alone 
 were guilty of thefe degradations, alterations and falfe expli- 
 cations of the facred fymbols and ancient traditions. As men 
 are much the fame in all nations, ages and religions, and that 
 human nature is an inexhauftible fource of ignorance, felf- 
 love and cupidity, the members of the vifible church both 
 Jewifh and Chriftian fell into far greater tho'very different 
 abufes, and mi/interpretations of aneient tradition, than the 
 Pagans. Tho' the Jews had a law written not in a hierogly- 
 phical ftyle, but in vulgar language, yet they explain'd all the 
 metaphorical defcriptions of the divine nature and attributes 
 in a literal- fenfe, and form'd to themfelves the idea of a 
 partial, fantaftic, furious, wrathful God who loved one nzr 
 
INTRODUCTION. 2r 
 
 tion only and hated all the reft. Becaufe they were chofen to 
 be the depofitarlesof thefacred oracles, and had the external 
 fneans of ialvation, they fancied that the God of the Ifrae- 
 Ikes was not the God of the Gentiles; that he abandon'd all 
 other nations to a total ignorance of his efTcnce, and to inevi* 
 , table damnation. They interpreted all the glorious prophe- 
 cies about the Mefliah and his appearance here below, of a 
 temporal kingdom, when their nation fhould be exalted abovs 
 all other nations, and they become the fole favourites of hea- 
 ven, yea, the conquerors of the earth. They confounded 
 the fuffering ftate of the Meiliah with his triumphant reigiij 
 and fo paved the way for cmcifying the Lord of Hfe. Ths 
 Chriftian mythologies and fchoolmen have difguifed, ob- 
 fcured and adulterated ail the principal- articles of faith by 
 their wild fictions about prefcience and predefHnation, origi- 
 nal (in and eternal pains, vindicflive juftice and fatisfa(5lion to 
 appeafe it; the impoffibility of falvation out of the facred pale,' 
 and the eternal reprobation of the Jews and Pagans that live 
 and die in an invincible ignorance of the hiflorlcal fa*5ls of the 
 New Teftament. They have interpreted dll the glorious pro* 
 mifes about the reign of the Meffiah to the external fplcndor 
 of the Chrifrian hierarchy; changed true, faving,fupernatural 
 faith into a fpeculative belief of the divine myfteries which the 
 devils believe and tremble; fupernatural hope intoa iplritual 
 concupifcence.and pure love intoa refined felf idolatry; and, in 
 fine, they havefublHtuted the Judaical pradiceand obfcrvatioii 
 of the external means, in place of true prayer, inward mortifi^ 
 cation and perfefl: fclf- denial. As there was however, in alt 
 ages and nations, fincc-the fall, holy, clcd: fouls among th& 
 
2^ INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Pagans who did not follow the grofs corruptions of their 
 falfe religions, fo there ever was and will be faithful, chofen 
 fouls among the Jews and Chriftians who have not adopted 
 the abufes of the true religion, and who have been true ado- 
 rers in fpirit and in truth, true Ifraelites and children of Abra- 
 ham, true difciples of Jefus crucified, who penetrated the fub- 
 llme fenfe of all the fymbols, rites and facraments, and con- 
 fequently, who never bowed the knee to Baal, nor worfliip- 
 ped the whore, the beaft and the dragon. 
 
 II. The literal interpreters of the Pagan fymbols and 
 hieroglyphics, religion and mythology, among the moderns, 
 have afFe(5led to degrade them, and thereby to reprefent the 
 Orientals and Egyptians, whom God himfelf commends 
 in fcripture for their fuperior knowledge, as alfo the Greeks 
 and Romans, Avhofe mathematical, moral, hiftorical, poe- 
 tical, and mechanical productions are ftill the objefts of our 
 udmiratlon, yea, all the Pagan nations, whether Europe- 
 ans, Africans, or Americans, as men who had no juft ideas of 
 the Deity, nor of religion ; who believed and adored as my- 
 fterious the groffeft, mod childifh, and moft infipid fables. 
 This mondrous prejudice came originally from the grofs 
 ignorance, religious impofture, and falfe zeal of the Phari- 
 faical and fataliftical do6tors, who imagine they do a great 
 deal of honour to revealedj'eligion by maintaining, that out 
 of the vifible church, there never were nor can be any di- 
 vine lights, faving graces, fupernatural virtues, nor any pof- 
 fibility of falvation. The Atheifts, Deifls, and Free-thinkers 
 take occafion from this odious error to laugh at all religion, 
 as a mere invention of politicians to awe the multitude, and 
 
INTRODUCTlONo 23 
 
 a trick of prieftcrafr to gain money. This falfe idea of the li- 
 teral mythologies makes the ftudy of antiquity a childifh, 
 trifling amufement fit only for fchool-boys, who have not yet 
 attain'd rheageof reafbn, and altogether unworthy of our at- 
 tention and refearch. By the principles above-mentioned, 
 the flrudy of antiquity, of the mythology, fymbols, infcripti- 
 ons, medals, gravings, (tatues, and religion of the Pagans be* 
 comes ufeful, agreeable, and worthy of the moft exalted ge- 
 niufes, fince this ftudy may help us to trace down from the 
 origin of the world to this day, the precious veftiges of the 
 moft admirable and fublirae truths. Thus, the fubaltern fci- 
 ences that appear trifling curiofities in themfelves, will be- 
 come fubfervient to the principal primitive ones, the know-- 
 ledge of God and the human mind. 
 
 12. We mull, however, take care not to fall into the fpu- 
 rious fyftem of fome modern critics who imagine that all the 
 mythology of the heathens was originally derived from the 
 Hebrew writings, and is relative to the fa<51-s and hiftory of 
 that nation: that Ofirk and Jupiter were Adam, Ifis and Ju^ 
 no Eve, Tubalcaia Vulcan, Bacchus, Noah; Apollo, Ado-- 
 nis, Mythras, Mars, Mercury and Hercules were Abraham, 
 Mofes, Jofuah, or fome oth^r holy patriarch of the Hebrew 
 nation, and, in one word, that all the heroes of the Jews are 
 the Gods of the Gentiles. This is the f)'fl:em of Bochart, 
 Vofllus, Huet, Thomaflln, Gale, and almofl: all the antiqua- 
 rians of the laft century ; men otherwife of great learning, but 
 very bad philofophers. This imaginary fyitem appears abfo- 
 lutely falfe for the following reafons; (i.) It is founded up- 
 on certain forced refemblaacesbetwixCthc Jewifh heroes and 
 
24 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the Pagan Deities. It is not enough to prove thatperfons are 
 the fame, becaufe they were born in the fame country, lived 
 in the fame time, and did fome a6lions that refemble each o- 
 ther; this refemblance may be found between the great he- 
 roes of all nations and ages. (2.) If there be any reality in 
 thefe fcanty and defe(5live conje6lures, it muft be only in (6 
 far, as thefe Jewiih heroes themfelves were types of the Mef- 
 fiah and of the defireof all nations, who mufl: have heard of 
 his coming by ancient tradition, fince they all expefted it. 
 Now, to fay that the heathen Deities were only types of 
 types,: is very improbable. (3.) The Jews were generally de- 
 telled from the beginning by the Gentiles. After the death 
 of Mofes, the former made war upon the later, were the 
 fcourge of their neighbouring nations, fpared neither age nor 
 fex, and were known to them only by their hoftillties, and 
 examples of terror. It is no ways probable, that thofe who 
 efcaped from their fword, erefted the legiflator of the Jews 
 into a God, and paid divine homage to the heroes of a nati- 
 on that appeared to them fo fanguinary, efpecially, fince it 
 was a cudom among the Pagans, rather to charge vi^ith im- 
 precations theindigenal Gods of their enemies, than to make 
 them objci^l-s of their adoration and worfhip. (4.) It is cer- 
 tain that the Chinefe who never fo much as heard of the 
 Jews before our Saviour's coming, and never read their wri- 
 tings, had long before the Chriftian aera original books 
 which contain the fame traditions of the facred Sexenary, as 
 •Ihall fully appear hereafter. Weniuft therefore afcend high- 
 er than Mofes and the Hebrew nation, to explain the true 
 origin of the Pagan univerfal fymbols and principles of reli- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 25 
 
 gion. (5.) In fine, there is nothing in the perfons, nor hiflo- 
 ry of the Hebrew patriarchs fince Mofes, that could equally 
 interefl: all nations; whereas, the principal do<5lrines of the 
 facred Sexenary above-mentioned, the ancient traditions a- 
 bout the divine nature, of a Son of God who was to come 
 and deliver them from all moral and phyfical evil, w^ho was 
 to reftore the world to its primitive perfe(5i:ion and beauty, 
 were objects that interefted equally all nations; and therefore, 
 it is no wonder, if fome hints and veftiges of thefe facred 
 truths be found in all their mythologies and religions tho' 
 dilguifed, degraded and adulterated. 
 
 Thisfeems to be a more rational fyftem of antiquity, than • 
 has yet appeared. The moft part of its branches will be ful- 
 ly illuftrated in the following {heets, and the reft will appear 
 convincing to thofe who have carefully perufed and been per- 
 fuaded of the truth of the foregoing part. As thefe twelve 
 remarks however, may appear too complicated and lefs evi- 
 dent to novices in true learning, we Ihall reduce them to the 
 following principles, which none can deny who have a true 
 veneration for the facred oracles, and a tolerable knowledge 
 of antiquity. 
 
 1. Adam, Noah, all the antldlluvlan and poft-dlluvlan pa- 
 triarchs, knew the great principles of Natural and Revealed 
 Religion, and therefore could and iliould have taken allmea- 
 fures pofTible to tranfmit this faving knowledge to their pof- 
 terlty. 
 
 2. It would have been unbecoming the prudence and fanc- 
 tlty of thefe holy patriarchs, not to have chofen fame furer 
 method for tranfmltting thefe facred truths, than by oral tra- 
 
 PART 2. D 
 
26 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 dition, which is much more fubjetfl to falfification than writ* 
 t€P. tradition. 
 
 3. The mofl: ancient, the mofl exprelTive and the moft pal- 
 pable way of writing, was not by arbitrary names, and alpha- 
 betical letters, but by fymbolical gravings, which reprefented 
 intellectual ideas by corporeal images ; and this way of wri- 
 ting was particularly confecrated to the ufe and tranfmiffion 
 of divine things to pofterity, as the word hieroglyphic indi- 
 cates. 
 
 4. According as the world increafed and was peopled af- 
 ter the deluge, the fons and grandchildren of Noah copied 
 and carried thofe facred fymbols of religion to the different 
 places of the earth which they went to inhabit with their fa- 
 milies; thus, thefe fymbolical characters were tranfported 
 from country to country, over all the face of our terreftriai 
 globe : and for this reafon it is, that the fymbols, images, 
 idols, ftatues, reprefentations, traditions, fables, and mytho- 
 logies about the Gods, GoddefTes, and religion are much the 
 fame in all nations. 
 
 5. By {ucceflion of time, the true, original fenfe of the fa- 
 cred fymbols and hieroglyphics was forgot. Men attached 
 themfelves to the letter and to figns, without underftanding 
 the fpirit and thing fignified, and thus fell by degrees into the 
 groffeft idolatry and wildeft fuperilition. They explain'd the 
 facred fymbols according to their fancy; and fo turn'dall the 
 ancient traditions into fables, fi6lions and mythologies,where 
 tho' the circumftances were different, yet the fund was Itili 
 the fame. 
 
 6. Notwithflanding of thefe degradations, adulterations. 
 
INTRODUCTION, 2^ 
 
 ^ndtnifinterpretatlonsof the original fymbolsand traditions, 
 there ftill remains fome hints, rays, and veftigcs of divine 
 truths, and efpecially of the facred Sexenary, in the mytholo- 
 gies, and rehgions of all nations from Eafl: to Weft, from 
 North to South, in Ada, Europe, Africa and America, as 
 will fully appear from the following colle(51ions. 
 
 Thefe fix principles will appear evident to every one who 
 has the leaft tafte of facred and profane antiquity. I know that 
 Athelfts, Delfts, Free-thinkers and Minute-philofophers of all 
 kinds will laugh at thofe preliminary principles, becaufe they 
 have a perfedl contempt for every thing that fhows the leaft 
 veneration for the facred oracles, or the fa<n:s contained in 
 them. The hiftories of Adam, Enoch, Noah and the de- 
 luge are, according to them, as imaginary as the fables of 
 Saturn, Jupiter, Bacchus and Deucalion. But if it can be 
 proven from the records of the ancients, that veftigcs of the 
 moft facred truths are to be found in all nations, ages and re* 
 ligions,then I maintain, that theMofaic hiftory of the origin 
 and propagation of mankind, can alone give a reafonable fo- 
 lutlon of this great phenomenon in the hiftory of the human 
 mind; and that to Imagine this fimllitude and harmony of prin- 
 ciples, to proceed from pure hazard, is as ridiculous and un- 
 phllofophlcal, as to pretend all things to have been form'd by 
 blind chance and fortuitous necefHty. All depends then up- 
 on proving this uniformity and univerfallty of religious fen- 
 timents In all places and times. I fhall begin firft with the 
 moft ancient nations, defcend by degrees, and range my quo- 
 tations under the fix capital articles already mention'd. 
 
 D2 
 
a8 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE 
 
 C H A P. I. 
 
 Of God's existence, and three essential at- 
 tributes, POWER, WISDOM AND GOODNESS. 
 
 I BEG IN firft With the Hebrews, who may be jnftly looked 
 upon as one of the moft ancient nations in the world. 
 Their common father and founder was Abraham, who lived 
 about four hundred years after the univerfal deluge. From this 
 time they began to be a people diftinguifhed from all other 
 nations, and became very numerous long before the legifla- 
 tor Mofes delivered them from their captivity in Egypt, above 
 four hundred years afterwards. I fliall not yet examine, prove, 
 nor fomuch as jfuppofe the divine infpiration of their facred 
 books. I fhall confider them only as a colleclion of very an- 
 cient records, their legiflator as a very great philofopher, and 
 their principal heroes as men who had very fubllme ideas of 
 the Deity. 
 
 The great law-giver of the Jews begins his Cofmogony, 
 or hillory of the origin of the world, by reprefenting God as 
 Tallying, fo to fpeak, out of his fHll eternity to create the hea- 
 vens and the earth, not from any pre-exiftent matter, which 
 was the fubjedt of his operation, but as giving exigence to 
 what bad none before. * In the beginning,' fays he (a), ^ God 
 
 (a) Cen.i. %^ 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 29 
 
 • created the heavens and the earth.' In the beginning of 
 time, when fucceflion, variation, and mutability began, God 
 created the heavens and the earth, intelligent images and ma- 
 terial pidures reprefentative of his divine perfev5lions; and 
 therefore the former were all life, light, and love, and the lat- 
 ter all active, luminous, and beatifying. Since they were cre- 
 ated, they were not emanations of his fubftance, but fimple 
 efFe6ts of his power, their matter was made, as well as their 
 different forms. 
 
 In another place (a) Mofes defines this Creator of all 
 things, THE BEING THAT IS, the felf-exiftcnt Being, the 
 Being to whofe eiTence exiftcnce belongs, whofe exiftence is 
 neceffary and whofe non-exiftence is impoffible. We have 
 fhewn in the firR Part that this felf-exiftence exprelfcs, fup* 
 pofes and includes all other perfeflions; efpecially eternity 
 and immenfity, now what is eternal in all times muft be im^ 
 mutable, and what is immenfe in all places muft be unexten* 
 ded, and therefore is incorporeal and fpiritual. 
 
 Mofes, In his fublime anthem (b), reprefents God not on- 
 ly as infinite in power, in ftrength, in dominio4i and empire, 
 vrho produced the world from nothing, and governs it by gc^ 
 neral laws of unerring wifdom, but as the fovereign mafler of 
 nature who changes, fufoends, and overturns- thefe general 
 laws when he pleafes, to produce particular effects of povvcrj 
 wifdom, and goodncfs by wonders, prodigies and rairaclesi 
 With the fame breath, and in the fame divine fong, he pro- 
 claims God to be not only the Lord glorious in might, hut 
 glorious in holinefs, merciful and gracious, long-fufFcring and 
 
 (a) Exod. iii. 14, (b) Ibid. cap. xviii. 1 1 . 26, 
 
3G OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 abundant in goodncfs, forgiving iniquity, tranfgrefllon and 
 fin to thofe who truly repent, who turn to him, who hearken 
 to the voice of eternal wifdon:i, who defire to imitate his per- 
 fections, and to follow righteoufnefs, juftice and truth ; tho* 
 in other places he declares him Irreconcileable to fin, impuri- 
 ty and injufdce, a confuming fire that mufl: deftroy it, and full 
 of indignation till it be quite annihilated. 
 
 The fame legiflator knowing the abufes which the nations 
 had already made of the hieroglyphical fymbols, and fenfible 
 images of intelle6lual ideas, forbids the Hebrews to reprefent 
 the pure effence of the Deity by any thing corporeal (a), by 
 graven images or ftatues, or any thing in heaven, upon earth, 
 or in the fea, thereby to accuftom them to adore in fpirit and 
 in truth the fupream incorporeal effence, and teach them the 
 perfed fpirituality of his nature. It is true that Mofes fecnis 
 to contradi<n: this fublime idea of the incorporeity of the di- 
 vine effence, finceheflill reprefents the Lord God as appea- 
 ring to Adam in paradife, to the patriarchs, to himfelf, and 
 to the prophets under a vifible form, with corporeal mem- 
 bers, and a human fliape: but we fhall Ihew hereafter, that 
 all thefevifions moit real, tho' fupernatural, mufl be under- 
 ftood of the facred pre-exiflent humanity to which the Logos 
 was united from the beginning of the world, and not of the 
 in vifible, incomprehenfible, unacceflible effence of the pure 
 Deity, which no man can fee during this mortal Hfe. 
 
 Mofes in the next place acquaints the Ifraelites, that the 
 true adoration which the pure Divinity demands, is to be ho- 
 ly (b) as God is holy, and that this holinefs confifls in loving 
 
 (a) Exod.xx. 4, j. (b) Levit. ix. 2, 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. ^t 
 
 the invlfible Deity with all their ftrength. This was always 
 the eternal, Immutable, and univerfal law of all intelligent 
 natures. For this reafon, he reduces all the ftatutes, precepts 
 and commandments to this one great law, (a) ' and now, If- 
 
 * rael, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to 
 
 * love him and to ferve him with all thy heart, and with all 
 < thy foul r 
 
 The book of Job, which is thought to have been wrote 
 by Mofes, is full of the fublim.efl: ideas of the divine unity, 
 immenfity, and fovereign empire over all the creatures, his 
 power in producing, his wifdom in governing, and his all- 
 watchful providence in preferving all things. It feems to have 
 been wrote, not only to give the Ifraelites a model of pati- 
 ence and fan^ity in the perfon of Job, during their flavcry in 
 Egypt, but alfo to fhew that God had chofen elecT: fouls, 
 even in the race of Efau, and in the bofom of Paganifin, ido- 
 latry and fuperfHtion. 
 
 As Mofes knew that man was compofcd of foul and body, 
 and that he wanted external figns and fymbols to excite him 
 to fpiritual, internal adoration, he eftabliflied a public wor- 
 fhip that was all figurative and fymbolical. Indrufted by the 
 patriarchs and the defcendants of Noah in all the great prin- 
 ciples of Natural and Revealed Religion, in the Being and 
 Attributes of God, in the fail of man, in the future advent of 
 the Mefllah in his fuffering and triumphant flate, in the true 
 means of re-union to our great originaljlic eftabhihed a pub- 
 lic worihip, that was reprefentative of thefe falutary truths 
 and divine virtues. All the neceffary and moft vulgar fune- 
 
 (a) Deuter. vi. 5. and x. 12. 
 
32 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 tions of life were confecrated by a divine command, and fo 
 became a6l:s of religious obedience. The external worihip of 
 the Jews was loaded with a great variety and multiplicity of 
 rites, and ordinances, which when praftlfed in the true fpirit 
 of their inftitution, became a fort of continual prayer, their 
 abftlnences a dally mortification, their ablutions and purifi- 
 cations, fymbols of that perfed purity of heart neceflary to 
 ■prepare us for the divine union; the daily, weekly, monthly, 
 and yearly fealls and facrifices, were emblems and fymbols 
 either of the great Vi6llm to be offered up for the fms of the 
 world, or of the internal facrificc of the paflions, fenfual de- 
 fires, orfpiritual vices, which muft be immolated e're we can 
 be reunited to our firft Principle^ If the IfraeHtes had been 
 faithful to this great plan, they would have become a nation 
 of true philofophers and contcmplatives, who would have 
 walked before God, and foon become perfect, like the patri- 
 archs. They would have placed all their felicity in the hopes 
 of a better life, and praflifed all the moral and fociai duties 
 by a principle of divine love. 
 
 In order to hinder this felecV, chofen, holy nation from be- 
 ing invaded, fubduedjdeftroyed, or forced to fubmit themfclves 
 to the idolatrous pradices, wild fuperftitions, and inhuman fa- 
 crifices of other nations, this great law-giver formed his coun- 
 trymen to the art of war; and his fucceffors, Jofuah, Gide- 
 on, the Judges, David and Solomon did the fame. Thus, tho' 
 Mofes had wrought no miracles to prove his fupernatural 
 mlfTion, yet he ought flill to be looked upon as a great philo- 
 fopher, and a divine legiflator, far fuperior to thofe whofe 
 yiews are only to conquer their neighbouring provinces and 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 33 
 
 nations, difturb the peace of manldnd, and invade the rights, 
 properties, and liberty of their fellow-creatures. The view 
 of the Hebrew law-giver was to form a nation of true ado- 
 rers of the fupream God, that fhould deftroy idolatry, en- 
 lighten the world, fubje^l all nations to the empire of the 
 Moft High, and to make them at once happy and virtuous, 
 wife and religious. 
 
 7 his view of theMcfaic oeconomy, inftitution and laws, 
 is fufficient to excite our admiration and efteem, tho' we 
 fhould confider Mofes only as a fimple philofopher and a wife 
 Icgiflator: but if it can befhown, that he proved his fuperna- 
 tural miffion by prodigies which furpafs the force and power 
 of human nature; that they wcrefo public, fo univerfal, and 
 of fuch a kind that they could not be impoftures, nor delu- 
 fions of fenfe ; and in fine, that monuments were ere\5ledand 
 feafts inlHtuted from the time thefe miracles were wrought, 
 to perpetuate the remembrance of them, and render their ve- 
 racity unfufpe(fl:ed to all generations ; then it will follow evi- 
 dently, that the plan of Revealed Religion is altogether wor- 
 thy of God, that his defign in chufing one particular nation 
 of whom JefusChriftdefcended according to the flcfli, was 
 to eftablifli a vifible church to be the depofitary of his facred 
 oracles, the guardian of ancient tradition, and the regifter of 
 heaven till themyfteries fhould be accomplifhed and the pro- 
 phecies fulfilled. 
 
 All the fuccelTors of Mofcs, the good princes, kings and 
 
 prophets of the Hebrew nation give us the fame exalted ideas 
 
 of God and religion, as this great legiflator. The facred 
 
 hymns of the royal prophet David, are full of the highefl: 
 
 PART 2. E 
 
34 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 ideas and noblcft fentiments of the divine power, wifdom, 
 andgoodnefs; of adoration, praife and thankfgiving, of fub- 
 miflion to providence, of an entire rellgnation to his will, of 
 faith, truft and confidence in his fuccours and graces, of hope, 
 defire and expedation of his glorious reign, of the raoft pure, 
 perfect, and ardent love of the creature for the Creator; of 
 continual prayer, fuffering and felf-denial, felf-annihilation, 
 and felf-diffidence. He reprefents God alternatively as all 
 wrath, vengeance, hatred, and indignation againft fin, and, 
 at the fame time, as all love, tendernefs, and compafTion for 
 the finner, full of patience, long-fufFering, and mercy, which 
 will one day triumph over all his w^orks, deliver us from all 
 moral and phyfical evil, and at length reflore all lapfed be- 
 ings to their primitive purity, perfeftion and happincfs, as fhall 
 be fully proven hereafter. His defign indeed in thefe divine 
 anthems, and the principal end of his fongs feems rather to 
 paint forth God's moral and communicable attributes, than 
 his abfolute and incommunicable perfedions; yet he now 
 and then defines the laft by the fublimeft metaphors, and i- 
 mages. Thus he expreffes mod nobly the incomprehenfibi- 
 lity of the divine nature, when he reprefents God as furroun- 
 ded with darknefs impenetrable to mortal eyes, (a) ' Dark- 
 
 * nefs is his fecret place, and thick clouds are his pavilion;' 
 his immenfity, when he calls * the highell: heavens his throne, 
 
 * and the earth his footftool; and this noble image is again re- 
 peated by the prophet Ifaiah (b); his omniprefence, when he 
 fays, (c) ' Whither fhall I go from thy fpirit, or whither fhall 
 
 * I fly from thy prefence ? If I afcend up to heaven thou art 
 
 (a) Pfalm xviii. 1 1. (b) Ifaiah Ixvi. i . (c) pfalm cxxxix. 7; 8, ^, lo, &c. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 35 
 
 * there, if I make my bed In hell, behold thou art there. If 
 
 * I take the wings of the morning, and fly to the nttermofl 
 
 * parts of the fea, even there fliall thy hand lead me, and thy 
 
 * right hand fhall hold me ;' God's omnifcience, when he 
 fpeaks thus, (a) * Thou underftandelt my thoughts long ere 
 
 * they appear, there is not a word in my tongue, but thou 
 
 * knoweftit altogether. Thou art acquainted with all my 
 
 * ways, fuch knowledge is too wonderful for me, it is high, 
 
 * I cannot attain to it.' 
 
 Solomon his fon and fucceffor gives a very noble and ex- 
 tenfive idea of the divine immenfity, when he built the marr- 
 nificent temple of Jerufalem, he warns the people not to 
 think that the Divine Nature could be circumfcribed by 
 walls, (b) ' Behold the heaven, and the heaven of heavens 
 
 * cannot contain thee, how much lefs the houfe that I have 
 
 * built!' The prophet Ifaiah gives us alfo the fame great 
 ideas of the divine Infinity, when he fays, (c) ' He meaf.ires 
 
 * the feas in the hollow of his hand, and the heavens with a 
 
 * Ipan, he weighs the mountains in fcales, and the hills in a 
 
 * ballance. He fits upon the orb of the earth, and looks up- 
 
 * on its inhabitants as grafhoppers, he fpreads out the hea- 
 
 * vens as a curtain, and ftretches them out as a tent to dwell 
 
 * in.' The book called the Wifdom of Solomon o-Ivcs the 
 moft noble definition of divine Wifdom in thefc words, (d) 
 
 * Wifdom, which is the maker of all things, Inflrufled me, 
 
 * for in her is an undcrfi:anding fpirit, holy, one, manifold, 
 
 * fubtil, lively, clear, undefiled, plain, innocent, loving what 
 
 (a) Pfalm cxxxix. i, 2, 3, 4, 5,6. (c) iHiiah xl. 12, 22. 
 
 (b) I Kings viii, 27. (d) Wifdom vii. 22, 22, ^c, 
 
 E2 
 
36 OF GOD^s EXISTENCE, 
 
 * is good, quick and irrefiftible, kind to man, peaceful, ha- 
 
 * ving all power, overfeeing all things, penetrating all intel- 
 
 * ligentjpure and mod fubtil fpirits. She is more acflivethan 
 
 * motion, and pervades all things becaufe of her purity. She 
 
 * is an emanation of the divine adivity, and a pure influence 
 ' flowing from the glory of the Almighty, the brightnefs of 
 
 * the everlafting light, the unfpotted mirror of the power of 
 
 * God, and, the image of his goodnefs.' Solomon reprefents 
 
 * divineWifdom (a)as ' crying upon the tops of high moun- 
 ' tains, in the midft of high ways, and at the gates of great 
 
 * cities, to excite men to the love of juftice.' The book of 
 Wifdom reprefents it (b) as ' difTufrng itfelf thro' all nations 
 
 * to make men friends of God and prophets, as a God who 
 
 * loves all that he has made, and who fpares all,becaufc he is 
 
 * the lover of fouls. 
 
 In fine, all the prophets reprefent the Divine Nature as ali 
 life, light and love, as the father of fpirits, and the fpoufe of 
 fouls, who mourns over their voluntary corruption and dege- 
 neracy, who is vexed and grieved for their obflinacy; who 
 will not force nor deflroy their freedom, but who defires 
 their felicity with as much ardor, as if his own happlnefs de- 
 pended on theirs. Then they reprefent him as all holinefs, 
 and all juflice, irreconcilable to fm, and who will at lafl: total- 
 ly confume, and annihilate it for ever. They are full of pre- 
 diaions either of the fufFering flate of the Mefliah, when he 
 fhall appear here below to expiate fm; or of his triumphant 
 ftate,when he fhall come upon the clouds to exterminate fin,to 
 judge the world, feparate the good from the bad, and recom- 
 
 (a) Proverb, viii. i . 2; 5. (b) Wifdom vii. 11,12. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 37- 
 
 penfe or punifh every one according to their merit or de- 
 merit. Under the metaphors and allegories of the dedruc- 
 tion of Tyrus, Babylon, Egypt, Moab, and all the other 
 Gentile nations, as alfo of the ruin, captivity, mifery, and 
 difperfion of the Jews, thofe divinely infpired men reprefent 
 the punifhmentof the v^^icked and reprobate, whether they 
 be born without, or within the pale of the vifible church. 
 Under the fymbols and types of Ifrael reftored, the glory 
 of mount Zion, and the re-building of Jerufalem, they fore- 
 tell the glorious reign of the Mefliah upon the earth re-efta- 
 blifhed, renewed, and reftored to its primitive, paradifiacal 
 form, where he will converfe with the elefl under a vifible 
 form as heretofore in paradife,'till all impure and reprobate 
 fouls be entirely purified, vice totally exterminated, and all 
 moral evil be for ever confumed by infernal punifhments and 
 hell-flames. Then thofe holy prophets foretell the univerfal 
 refloration of all lapfed beings, and the laft efforts of omni- 
 potence, almighty wifdom, and infinite love to deliver from 
 corruption and mifery, fin and fuffering, all degenerate intel- 
 ligences, of all nations, ages and religions, the inhabitants of 
 Moab and Egypt, of Sodom and Gomorrha, of Samaria and 
 Babylon, as well as of Ifrael and Judah; Pagans and infidels, 
 as well as believers and members of the vifible church; of 
 men and devils, and in one word, of all fallen and rebellious 
 fpirits. * Then all knees fhall bow down before the Lord, 
 
 * all tongues fliall fing his mercies for ever, and all fpirits whe- 
 
 * ther celeftial, terreltrial or infernal fliall be fubducd by love 
 
 * to the empire of the Moft High.' 
 
 Whofocver reads the fcripturcs, with this key, and accor- 
 
38 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 ding to thefe principles, will find that, as St. Paul fays, the 
 promifes made to Abraham and his pofterity, mufl: not beun- 
 derftood of thofc who are his children according to the flefh, 
 but according to the fpirit by a faithful imitation of his divine 
 virtues; that by the land promifed to him mufi: not be meant 
 a little canton of this terreftrial globe but a heavenly Cana- 
 an, and an earth reilored to its primitive paradifiacal form; 
 that all the hiftorical fafts of the Old Teftament tho' true ac- 
 cording to the letter, yet are fymbolical and reprefentative of 
 fomething higher and more fpiritual; that the bondage of the 
 Ifraclites in Egypt, their paflTage through the defert, their 
 combats and conquefts ere they entered into the holy land; 
 are at the fame time figurative of the ftate of fouls here be- 
 low ; that all the prophecies regard either the fuifering flate 
 of the Mefliah to atone for fin, or his triumphant, glorious 
 reign upon earth renewed with his eled, or the total reftitu- 
 tion of all lapfed beings; and in fine, that to apply all thefe 
 predictions to the little temporal, tranfient events, civil or ec- 
 clefiaflical revolutions that happen upon our inferior globe, 
 is a low fcheme, unworthy of the exalted plan of providence, 
 whofe ultimate end and objeft mud be fomething internal, 
 fpiritual and eternal. 
 
 It is then a falfe and abfurd error of the predeftinarian and 
 fataliftical doftors to maintain, that thejewifh difpenfation was 
 only a twilight full of clouds, and darkncfs, without any per- 
 fect light, or cfEcacious graces, full of fhadows and figures 
 without any reality, all fear without any love. Nothing is 
 more injurious to the Divine Nature, nor more deftrucHiive 
 of the whole analogy of faith. The only difference betwixt 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 3'; 
 
 the Old and new difpenfatlon is. i . That the rites, ordinances, 
 and inftitutions of theMofaic law were more numerous, and 
 accommodated to the genius, circumftances and lifuation of 
 one particular people, than thofe of the evangelical law, which 
 are fewer, fimpler, and proportioned to all nations; tho' both 
 be equally figurative and fymbolical, as all external worfhip 
 muft be. 2. That under the old law, the myllcries which re- 
 gard the fuffering MeUiah were foretold as future, whereas 
 under the new law, they are preached as pad and accomplifli- 
 ed. 3. That under the law, the facrifices were only fymboli- 
 cal and reprefentative of the great victim that was to expiate the 
 fins of the world ; whereas under thegofpcl, the facrifice alrea- 
 dy offered up, is efficacious, meritorious, and expiatory. As to 
 the moral precepts of theMofaic law, they were all branches, 
 ''emanations, helps or means to fulfil the great and eternal law 
 of love, which ever was, is, and will be the fame to the Jews, 
 and the Gentiles, to the Pagans and Chriftians, and to all fi- 
 nite intelligences fallen, or unfallen. It is with thcfe difpofi- 
 tions, and fentiments that we ought to road the holy fcrlp- 
 tures ; in order not to be fcandalized with the letter that kills, 
 but edified with the fpirit that enlivens. 
 
 After having examined the ideas that the Hebrews had of 
 the Divine Nature and Religion, we fhall now confider the 
 notices that the Pagans had of the Deity. 
 
 The Chinefe whofe origin goes back very near to the 
 times of the deluge, have five original or canonical books cal- 
 led KING, which in their language fignifics, a fublime, facrcd, 
 immutable do«51rine founded upon unfhaken principles. The 
 names of thefe books are Y-K I NG, chu-king, chi-king, 
 
40 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 TCHUNsioN, and liki. Thefe books were looked upon 
 as of a very remote antiquity, in the time of Confucius who 
 lived about fix hundred years before our Saviour. All the o- 
 ther books of any note in China are commentaries upon thefe 
 five; and thefe five canonical books are honoured in that 
 country with the fame veneration we pay to the holy fcrip- 
 tures. lihall not found any of my reafonings upon the ex- 
 plication of the hieroglyphical Chinefc chara<5lers, in which 
 fome Europeans pretend to find the fublimeft myfteries; I 
 fliall quote only thefe palTages of the original books, about 
 which the Chinefe interpreters agree, confine myfelf as much 
 as poffible to the commentaries made upon thefe facred books 
 before the coming of our Saviour, by Confucius, or his mod 
 ancient difciples, and mention no authors later than the twelfth 
 century, ere Europeans or Chriftians had any communica- 
 tion with China. As the Chinefe books I mention are alrea- 
 dy brought into Europe, and lodged in feveral great libraries, 
 thofe who underftand the language may afcertain the truth 
 of the following quotations. 
 
 In the books called king, God is named Chang-ti, 
 or the Sovereign Emperor, and Tien thefupream Heaven, 
 the auguft Heaven, the intelligent Heaven, the felf-exiftent 
 Unity, who is prefent every where, and who produced all 
 things by his power. Tehu-hi, in commenting upon thefe ex- 
 prclTions, fays, ' The fupreme Unity is raoft flmple and with- 
 
 * out compofition. He lalts from all eternity without inter- 
 
 * ruption. He Is ancient and new; he is the fource of all mo- 
 
 * tion and the root of all action. If you afk what he does, he 
 
 * is eternally active. If you would know where he is, he ex- 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 41 
 
 * ifts everywhere and nourifhes all things.' Kouan-y-antfee, a 
 very ancient philofopher,in commenting upon the famefacred 
 books, fays, ' Heaven and earth, tho' they be of an immenfe 
 
 * extent, have figure, colour, number and quantity. I conceive 
 
 * fomething that has neither colour,number,figure,nor quan- 
 
 * tity ; and therefore I. fay that he who made the heavens and 
 ^ the earth is intelligent and eternal. He who produced all 
 
 * things was not produced himfelf, he who deftroys all things 
 
 * is indeftrucftible : therefore he who made the heavens is 
 
 * not the heavens, and he who made the earth is not the earth; 
 ' the heavens are not felf-exiftent but were produced by ano- 
 
 * ther, as a houfe cannot exift by itfelf, unlcfs it be made.* 
 Herethen is a plain acknowledgment of two great truths al- 
 ready demonftrated in the firtt Part, viz. that there is a real 
 di(Hn<5lion betwixt corporeal and intelligent fubftances, as alfo 
 betwixt thefubflanceof the Creator and that of the creature. 
 Yntchin adds, * If there were nothing in nature but matter 
 
 * and motion, this would not be the fovcreign lord and intel- 
 ' ligent governor of all things.' Hoian-nantfee fays, * If you 
 
 * alk me whence all things come, I will anfwer, that all was 
 
 * made by the great Unity, which is the origin of all things, 
 ^ and the foverelgn power that nothing can refift. He who 
 ' knows this great Unity knows all, he who does not know 
 ' him knows nothing.' Liou-pouci fays, * that the fupream 
 ' Unity comprehends all perfedions in a fovereign degree, we 
 
 * cannot difcover his beginning nor his end, his origin nor 
 
 * his bounds; and all things. flow from him.' 
 
 The fame books of King call God Tao, which figniiics 
 reafon, law, eternal code; Yen, word or fpcech; Tchinc- 
 PART 2. F 
 
42 OF GOD^s EXISTENCE, 
 
 CHE, fbvereign Truth. The philofopher Laotfee, in com* 
 menting upon thefepaflages, fays, ' that reafon which can be 
 ' exprefled is not the eternal reafon. What is eternal cannot 
 ' be changed. He was before the heavens and the earth,with- 
 
 * out beginning. He will lafV after the world without end. 
 ' He cannot be comprehended by thought nor feen by the 
 
 * eye, norexpreffed bywords.' Kouan-y-antfee contempo- 
 rary of Laotfee, in commenting upon the fame paffages, fays, 
 
 * If there were no eternal reafon we could not think, and 
 
 * what cannot be conceived or exprelfed is this fovereign rea- 
 
 * fon. The fupream reafon is not heard by the ear, he does 
 
 * not ftrike the eyes, he cannot be expreffed by words.' Hoi- 
 an-nantfee adds, * this eternal reafon feeds the heavens, and 
 
 * fupports the earth. He is moft high, and cannot be reached 
 ' to; moft profound, and cannot be fathomed; immenfe, and 
 
 * cannot be meafured, yet he exifts entirely every where in 
 
 * the leaft thing.' Thofe great men were far from confoun- 
 ding Infinite Ipace with the divine immenfity. The fame au- 
 thor continues thus, * It is this almighty reafon which pro- 
 
 * duced the mountains and the abyfs,which makes the animals 
 
 * walk, the birds fly, the fun fhine, and the ftars move.' Pao- 
 pout-fee adds, ' this fupream reafon encompaffes heaven, holds 
 
 * the earth in his hands, is ineffable and without any name. 
 
 * If you confider his fupream incorporeity, air and fhadows 
 
 * are fomething grofs, and material. If you confider his ef- 
 
 * fence, all beings are nothings before him.' What would 
 thefe Chinefe philofophers fay, if they heard our European 
 do<rtors maintain that God's omniprefence conftitutes infinite 
 fpace, and that extenfion and thought may be properties of 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 43 
 
 the fame fubftance. To be fure they would have looked up- 
 on us, as an ignorant, barbarous nation that have not yet 
 learned the fir ft elements of wifdom. 
 
 The fame facred, original books reprefent the Chang- 
 Ti, or fovereign Lord, as juft and good, full of mercy and 
 love for his creatures, they fay even expresfly, that his juftice 
 is love, and his punifhments mercies. In the book chi- 
 KING we read thefe words; * Mankind overwhelmed with 
 
 * aifliftions feem to doubt of providence, but when the hour 
 
 * of executing his decrees fhall come, none can refift him. He 
 
 * will then fhew, that when he punifhed, he was juft and 
 
 * good ; and that he never a^led by vengeance, nor hatred.' 
 This is a far more noble idea of vindidlive juftice than what 
 the Chriftian fchoolmen give. How furprized would the Chi- 
 nefe, who underftand this divine paflage, be, if they heard 
 the fataliftical doctors maintain that God has divided man- 
 kind into two maftes, the one deftined by abfolute decrees to 
 eternal happinefs, and the other by direct, arbitrary preteri- 
 tions abandoned to everlafting mifery. To be fure, they would 
 fufpecl that thefe pretended divines were concealed and dlC- 
 guifed atheifts. The philofopher Tehu-fongt-chinor com- 
 ments upon the foregoing paflage thus, ' To render the good 
 « happy and punifh feverely the wicked is the conftant rule 
 
 * of heaven. If we do not fee at prefent the good recompenfed, 
 
 * and the wicked punifhed, it is becaufe the decifive hour is 
 
 * not yet come. Before this laft moment men can, fo to 
 
 * fpeak, vanquiih, or refift heaven, but when the decree fhall 
 ' be pronounced, heaven will triumph. When Tien pu- 
 
 * niihes, he feems to be in wrath, but juftice demands the pu- 
 
 F2 
 
44 OF GOD^s EXISTENCE, 
 
 * nifhmeritof crime, andjuftice is exempt from wrath and 
 
 * hatred, for jufticeis goodnefs.' This doMne is perfedly 
 conform to that of Mofes and the prophets, who ftill repre- 
 fent God as a jealous God, full of wrath and indignation a- 
 gainft fin, but never irreconcilable to the finner, fin ce he is 
 the lover of fouls, and the father of fpirits, full of mercy, 
 long-ftifFering and patient, forgiving iniquities and blotting 
 out.tranfgrefFions. 
 
 Thus the ancient Chinefe books, and the Chinefe com- 
 jnentators who underftand thefe original traditions, reprefent 
 God as eternal, incorporeal, fovereignly one, and fupream- 
 ly Intelligent, thejuft rewarder of the good, and punifher of 
 the bad, whofc jufrice is mercy, and whofe punifhments are 
 cures, • 
 
 We come now to the Indians. As none of their ancient 
 books have been preferved, or at lead come to our knowledge^ 
 we can make no quotations from them. We muft therefore 
 content ourfelves with what we find in the ancient fragments 
 of the philofophers of other nations, or in the extracts made 
 of their doctrine by modern travellers. ' 
 
 Megafthenes, in his third book of the Indian hiflory^ 
 writes thus, according to the teftimony of Eufebius, (a) ' All 
 
 * that was faid of eternal nature, by the ancient Greeks, Is al- 
 
 * fo faid by the philofophers or fages of other nations, as by 
 ' the Bramins of India, and the people called Jews in Syria.* 
 The fame Eufebius alTures us from Numenius, * that the Bra- 
 
 * mins, the Jews, the Magi and the Egyptians had all the 
 
 * fame notions of a fupream God.' Eufebius in the fame place 
 
 (a) Eufeb. Praep* Evang. edilt, Col. 1 688. p. 4 10, 411, 41 2. 
 
^AND ATTRIBUTES. 4s- 
 
 Quotes alfo this pafTage from Porphyry ; * The brazen way to 
 
 * the Gods is ileep and craggy. The Barbarians found out 
 ^ many of its paths, but the Greeks wandered from them and 
 
 * thofe who kept them, fpoiled them by their fi6tions. God 
 
 * difcovcred this brazen way to the Chaldeans^ AlTyrians and 
 
 * Hebrews, as ah'b to the Egyptians, Phoenicians and Ly- 
 
 * dians.' 
 
 Thus according to the teftimony of the ancients, the wii- 
 dom of the Indians, Allyrians and Egyptians is compared to 
 that of the Hebrews, and their theology faid to be the fame, 
 which is no ways improbable, fince thefe ancient nations 
 were peopled foon after the deluge, and fo had the Noevian 
 traditions yet freihand uncorrupted. We fhall now examine 
 what veftiges of facred truths are to be found in the extrafts 
 made by modern travellers of the religion of the Indians from 
 their facred book called the Vedam yet extant, and other au- 
 thors. 
 
 ■ In the Vedam (a^j we find the dodrine of one fupreani 
 God, fuperior to all, the author and governor of the univerfe. 
 In the letters wrote by the Malabarians (b) to. theDanifh mif- 
 fionaries, among many others, we find the following paffage, 
 
 * God alone rules the world, and all that is therein: 'tis he 
 
 * alone who rules the eight hundred and forty thoufand kinds 
 ^ of living creatures; but becaufe of his different and various 
 
 * appearances, he has many different names.— Hence we fay, 
 "> thatBiruma creaLes,Wifchtnu rules,Ifchuren annihilates; all 
 
 * which different exprcilions denote but one fupream BeingV. 
 
 (a) Roger fur les Braoiines. Amfl. 1670. p. 159. 
 Cb) Philips' Malabarian letters. Lond. J 7 1 7 . letter 51, 
 
4t$ OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 * And when we attribute the prote(5lion of towns and villages 
 ' to tutelar Gods, our meaning is, that the great God does 
 
 * mediately protect towns and countries by his vicegerents 
 
 * and governors. For there is neither government, nor the 
 *' leaft motion in the world, without the will of the firft prime 
 
 * Caufe orfupream Being. Indeed there are many Gods, but 
 
 * they of themfelves cannot fo much as move a ftraw out of 
 
 * its place, without the affiftance of the prime Caufe ; there- 
 
 * fore he is juftly called the Lord of the world, for it is his 
 
 * power and excellent majefty that rules all things, and his 
 
 * power is infinite and incomprehenfible.' 
 
 In La Q"oze (a) who had accefs to the original manu- 
 fcripts of the fame miilionaries, we meet with this paffage ta- 
 ken from one of the books of the Bramins : ' The fupream 
 
 * Being is inviiible, incomprehenfible, immoveable, and with- 
 
 * out figure, or outward form. No man hath feen him: time 
 
 * hath not comprehended him: his effence fills all things; 
 
 * and every thing is derived from him. All power, all wif- 
 
 * dom, all knowledge, all holinefs, and all truth dwell in him. 
 
 * He is infinitely good, jufl:, and merciful. He hath created 
 
 * all, heprefervesall, and delights to dwell among men, that 
 
 * he may condud them to eternal happinefs, a happinefs 
 
 * which confifls in loving and ferving him.* In another trea- 
 tife (b) of the Bramins, entitled TchivaVaikkium, the Dei- 
 ty is thus defcribed: * The Being of beings is the only God, 
 
 * eternal, immenfe, prefent in all places, who has neither 
 ' end nor beginning, and who comprehends all things. — — 
 
 (a)HiftoiredeChrifUanirraedesIndes. Haye 1724. p. 452. 
 (b) Idem p. 457. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 47 
 
 * There is no God but him. He alone is Lord of all things, 
 
 * and will be fo through all eternity. — O God ! before I knew^ 
 
 * thee, I was in a perpetual agitation; but fince I knew thee, 
 
 * and have been recolle(5led within myfelf, thou art all my de- 
 
 * fire.' La Croze affures us that thefe fublime ideas of the 
 Deity are expresfly contained in the Vedam, as appears from 
 thofe paflages of it communicated to Ziegenbalg by the Bra- 
 mins themfelvcs. 
 
 The Jefuit miflionaries give us pretty much the fame ac- 
 count of the Indian religion with thofe of the Proteftants. 
 In an Indian book (a) called Panjangan, the Divinity is thus 
 addreffed ; * I adore that Being who is fubje61 to no change 
 
 * or difqulet; that Being whofe nature is indivifible ; that Be- 
 
 * ing whofe fimplicity admits of no compofition of qualities; 
 
 * that Being who is the origin and caufe of all beings, and who 
 ' furpaffes all in excellence; that Being, who is the fupport of 
 
 * the univerfe, and the fource of triple power.' 
 
 The Perfian magi or philofophers had the fame ideas of 
 the Deity as the other ancient nations. Zoroafler's definiti- 
 on of God has been preferved to us by Eufebius. This hif- 
 torian aflures us, that he had read the following words in a 
 book extant in his time, and known by the title of The facred 
 collection of thePcrfian monuments, (b) * God is the firfl 
 
 * of all incorruptible things, eternal and unbegotten. He is 
 
 * not compounded of parts, there is nothing equal to him, 
 
 * nor Hke him. He is the author of all good, and entirely dif- 
 
 * interefbed;' and therefore his defign in creating could not 
 
 (a) Lettrescdifiantes. Paris 1732. Recueil 10. p. 15. 
 
 (b) Eufeb. Prepar. Evangel, lib, ii, p. 42. Edit. Paris. 
 
48 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 be, as our modern doflors feem oft to infinuate, to augment 
 his cilory, but to manifefl: it in rendering created beings per- 
 fect and happy, all life, all light, and all love, as he is in him- 
 felf. Zoroafter continues; * God is the moft excellent of all 
 ' excellent beings, and the mofl: intelligent of all intelligent 
 ' natures, the father of equity, the parent of good laws, felf- 
 ' inftructed, felf-fufRcient, the firft former of nature, and he 
 ' has the head of a Falcon/ This laft exprefTion makes Eu- 
 febius exclaim againfl, and degrade the philofophy of Zoro- 
 after. But if he had confulted Plutarch in his Ifis and Ofiris, 
 he would have been undeceived. This philofophical hiftori- 
 an affures us, that the ancient hieroglyphic by which the ac- 
 tivity and intelligence of the divine nature was reprefented, 
 was a hawk, becaufe of the velocity of its flight and its pier- 
 cing ficrht. Thus the infpired Hebrews themfelves exprefs 
 very oft intelleftual qualities by fenfible images. Jacob in 
 his laft fpeech to his children calls the Meffiah, the Lyon of 
 the tribe of Judah; thus, the evangelifts call him the Lamb 
 who taketh away the fins of the world; thus, in fine, the 
 fame evangeliftsfay, that the Holy Spirit appeared in the form 
 of a Dove. Now to compare the Divine Nature to a lyon, a 
 Iamb, or a dove, is as impertinent as to compare God to a 
 hawk, unlefs thefe fimilitudes be underftood in a figurative, 
 fymbolical and metaphorical fenfe. The Greeks then, if they 
 had underftood the Perfian phrafe of Zoroafter, fhould have 
 tranflated it thus, * and God is reprefented by a hawk:' for it 
 is impofTible, that this philofopher could imagine the Divine' 
 Effence had the form of a volatile, after having faid, that he 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 49 
 
 Is incorruptible, eternal, unbegotten, and uncompounded of 
 parts. 
 
 According to Herodotus (a) ' the ancient Perfians thought 
 ' it ridiculous to fancy, like the Greeks, that the Gods have a 
 
 * human fhape, or derive their origin from men. They chufe 
 
 * thehighell: mountains for the place of their facrifice. They 
 
 * ufe neither libations, nor mufic, nor hallowed bread; but 
 ' when any one has a mind to facrifice, he leads the vidtim In- 
 ' to a clean place, and wearing a wreath of myrtle about his 
 
 * Tiara, invokes the God to whom he intends to offer it. The 
 
 * priefl Is not allowed to pray for his -own private good, but 
 
 * for that of the nation in general.' 
 
 Strabo gives the fame account as Herodotus of the ancient 
 Perfians. (b) ' They neither ere(5led ftatues nor altars, they fa- 
 ' crificed in a clean place and upon an eminence, where they 
 
 * offered up a victim crowned. When the prieft had cut it into 
 
 * fmall pieces, every one took his fhare, faying that God de- 
 ' fires nothing but the foul of the vidim.' The Orientals full 
 of the notion that brutal forms were animated by degraded 
 intelligences, imagined that their expiatory pains were com- 
 pleated by the facrifice. 
 
 Artabanus the Perfian, in his conference with Themifto- 
 cles fpeaks thus, according to the teflimony of Plutarch ; (c) 
 
 * Among many excellent laws of ours, the mofl beautiful is 
 ' this, that the king is to be honoured and worfhipped as the 
 ' image of God who preferveth all things.'^ 
 
 Ofthanes (d) the Perfian philofopher, who attended Xer- 
 
 (a) Herod. Clio. lib. i. pag. 56. fedl. 131. edit. Francof. 1608. (b) Strabo 
 lib. XV. p. 732. edit. Paris, (c) Plutarch de vita Themift. (d) See Arnobius. 
 PART 2, G 
 
50 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 xes in his European expedition, is ranked by Arnobius a- 
 mong the chief of the magi. That father gives him a great 
 chara6ler both for eloquence and adion, and fays he worfhip- 
 ped the true God with due veneration, and entertained juft 
 notions of the government of things. 
 
 Porphyry tells us that Zoroafter aflerted the being of end 
 fupream Deity. * Zoroafter firft of all, fays Eubulus, confe- 
 
 * crated a natural cave beautified with flowers and fountains' 
 
 * in the neighbouring mountains of Perda, to the honour of 
 
 * Mithras the father and maker of the univerfe. This cave 
 
 * was to him an image of the world created by Mithras.' 
 
 The modern writers among the Arabians and Perfians, 
 who have preferved to us v/hat remains of the ancient doc- 
 trine of Zoroafter among the Guebri or woriliippers of the. 
 Fire, maintain that the firft magi admitted only one eternal 
 principle of all things. Abulfeda, quoted by the famous Dr. 
 Pocock, fays, that according to the primitive doctrine of the 
 Perfians (a), ' God was prior to both light and darknefs, and 
 ' exifted from all eternity in an adorable folitiide, without a- 
 ' ny companion or rival.' Here is an exprefs declaration of 
 God's eternity, unity, and even incorporeity; iinceGodwas 
 prior to light, the moft refined of all material fubftancesr Sa- 
 rifthani, another Arabian philofopher, fays, (b) ' that the 
 
 * firft magi did not look upon the good and evil principles as 
 
 * cocternal. They thought indeed that light was eternal, but 
 ' that darknefs was produced in time by the diiloyalty of Ah- 
 
 * riman or Arimanius chief of the Genii.' Now it was ufu- 
 
 (a) Pocock. fpecil. hiflor. Ar^b. p. 1 46* (b) Hyde Rel. ant. Perfar. cap. is, 
 p. j6i. 8c cap. jixl. p> 290^ 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 51 
 
 al among the ancients, efpecially among the Hebrews, to ex- 
 prefs the intelligence of the Divine Nature by light. We 
 have an evident proof that this was the true doftrine of the 
 Perfian magi In the life of Pythagoras by Porphyry (a). 
 
 * Pythagoras learned from the magi that God whom they 
 ' called Oromazis was as to corporeals moft like to llf^ht, and 
 
 * as to incorporeals to truth.' They did not fay that God was 
 a material light, but that if his elTence could be compared to 
 any thing corporeal, it may be fymbolized or reprcfented by 
 that of light. 
 
 The fame Sharifthani tells us, (b) * that God who made 
 
 * light and darknefs, is the only Creator of both. He has no 
 
 * partner, and there is none equal to him, or who can be 
 
 * compared with him.* 
 
 In Tabarl, an ancient Perfian hldorlan, we meet with the 
 following fpeech of Manugjahr the king of Media to his 
 nobles (c). ' The mod holy and high God gave me this klng- 
 ' dom, to thank and praife him, to preferve the (late, to ftu- 
 
 * dy the happincfs of my fubje^ls, and execute juflice amono- 
 « my people. By thefe only, fhall God the greatefl: and beft 
 
 * of beings aggrandize my throne. If I ungratefully negle^l 
 
 * to thank and praife God, he will take my kingdom from 
 
 * me, and punifh me In the next world. Since then, the hiah 
 
 * and holy God hath made me a king, and given me a klno-- 
 ' dom, I fhall never deftroy it.' The fame king's fecond 
 fpeech runs thus (d) ' O men, there is one Creator and Go- 
 ' vernor of that numerous people you fee. All the bleffings 
 
 (a) Porphyr. vita Pythag. p. 191. (b) Hydede Rel. Vet. Pers. p. 299. c. 22. 
 (c)Idemc. 8. p. 156. (d) Idem c. 8. p. 157. 
 
 G2 
 
52 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 ' of mankind flow from him; therefore we ought to ferve 
 ' him, to thank him for his favours, and refign ourfelves to 
 ' his wilL Whatever exifts, muft exid; and nothing is wea- 
 ' ker than the creature : for when the creature feeks any thing, 
 
 * it finds it not. Nothing is ftronger than the Creator. If at 
 ' any time he feeks the creature, he immediately has it in his 
 
 * power. Therefore the Creator is ftronger than any crea- 
 
 * ture. I thank God who from his goodnefs gave me my 
 
 * kingdom, and implore he would guide me in the right way, 
 
 * and fortify my heart with truth. All things proceed from 
 ' him, and all muft return to him again.' 
 
 We find the fame dodrine about the Deity in the fpeech 
 of Lohrafp the king of Perfia to his people, as contained in 
 Ahmed Ibn Jufuph the Arabian hiflorian (a). ' All you who 
 ' are prefent,fear the Almighty God, the moft holy and glo- 
 ' riousofall Beings, who prepared channels for the fea, efta- 
 ' bliflied the mountains, elevated the heavens, and planted us 
 
 * on the the fpacious earth amidll the fpheres.' 
 
 We fhall conclude with a pafFage taken from the intro- 
 du<5lion to the Perfian book called Sad-der (b) ' In the name 
 ' of the Lord of divine elTence and attributes, the Lord of a- 
 
 * bundance, and the God of life; God who created the intel- 
 
 * le6l and the mind, God who framed the body and the foul; 
 
 * the Lord of exiftence and the Lord of life, the only God in 
 ' the whole world; God who of various elements made the 
 ' revolving heaven, and the fixed earth. He hath beautified 
 
 * heaven with the embroidery of the ftars, and raifed the orbs 
 
 * with nine ftories. He planted the earth with the human 
 
 (a) Idem c. 8. p. 15S. (b) Idem c. 33. p. 396. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 53 
 
 * race, and illuminated it by the fun and moon. He made the 
 
 * world of fubflance and accidents, in which man was his 
 
 * chief care. — Turn not away from red:itude and holinefsj 
 
 * for there is nothing elfe in the religion of the blefTed.' 
 
 The Egyptians had much the fame ideas of the fupream 
 God, as the Chinefe, the Indians, the Chaldeans and the 
 Perfians. Nothing is more abfurd than the notions general- 
 ly given of the Egyptian theology (a). * It is hard to believe, 
 
 * fays a modern author, that human nature could ever finkfo 
 *■ low, asto adore infects, reptiles, andplants (which they fee 
 
 * produced, growing and decaying every day) without afcri- 
 
 * bing certain divine virtues to them, or confidering them as 
 ' fymbols of fome invlfible power: but tho' we fhould fup- 
 
 * pofe that there are fome nations In the world funk into lo 
 
 * grofs an ignorance, as to have no notion of a Deity, yet it 
 
 * is certain that Egypt cannot be charged with fuch a degree 
 
 * of ftupidity. All hiflorians, as well facred as profane, agree 
 
 * in fpeaking of this people as the wifeft of all nations. One 
 ^ of the encomiums that the Holy Spirit makes of Mofes, Is 
 
 * that he was learned In all the wifdom of the Egyptians.*^ 
 Moreover, to exprefs the tranfcendency of Solomon's wIA 
 dom, the writer of the book of Kings fays, ' that it excelled 
 ' not only the wifdom of all the children of the Eaft, that is, 
 
 * of the Perfian magi and Chaldeans, but alfo all the wifdom 
 ' of Egypt.' Would the Holy Spirit have fpoken in fuch a 
 manner of a nation fo fenfelefs as to worfhip onions, croco- 
 diles and the moft defpicable reptiles.^ 
 
 (a) Difcourfe upon the theology of the ancients at the end of the Traveb of 
 Cyrus. 
 
54 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 This great principle laid down, let us examine impartially 
 what hints and fragments of the Egyptian philofophy have 
 been preferved by the Greeks or Latins, Pagans orChrifti- 
 ans now extant, (a) Plutarch in his treatife of Ifis and Ofi- 
 ris tells us, * that the end of all the Egyptian rites and myfte- 
 
 * ries, was the knowledge of that firft God who is the Lord 
 
 * of ail things, and only intelligible by the mind ; that the 
 ^ theology of the Egyptians had two meanings, the one ho- 
 ' ly and fymbolical, the other vulgar and literal, and confe- 
 ^ quently, that the figures of animals which they had in their 
 
 * temples, and which they feemed to adore, were only fo ma- 
 ' ny hieroglyphics to reprefent the divine attributes.* After 
 '■ which he declares, ^ that the firft God of the Egyptians was 
 ' a hidden Deity, and that the crocodile was one of his fym- 
 
 * bols, becaufe this animal hid in the water fees all things, and 
 ' is itfelfunfeen, which is a property of thefupream God.' 
 
 Origen,who was contemporary with Plutarch, follows the 
 fame principles in his book againft Celfus a Pagan philofo- 
 pher who pretended to underftand Chriftianity, becaufe he 
 knew fuperficially fome ceremonies of that religion, tho' he 
 had never entered into the ipirit of it. Now Origen exprefTes 
 himfelf in this manner; (a) ' The Egyptian philofophers have 
 ' fublime ideas of the Divine Nature which they keep fecret, 
 
 * and never difcover to the people, but under a vail of fables 
 
 * and ailejTories. Celfus is like a man who has travelled into 
 ^ that country, and tho' he has converfed with none but the 
 ' ignorant vulgar, yet takes it into his head, that he under- 
 
 * itands the Egyptian religion. All the eaftern nations, the 
 (a) Plutarch de Ifid. et Ofirid. p. 354. (a) Origen. contra Cdfum, lib. i. p. 11. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 5s 
 
 * PerfiaiiSj the Indians, the Syrians conceal facred myfteries 
 
 * under their religious fables. The wife men of all thefe re- 
 
 * ligtons fee into the fenfe and true meaning of them, whilft 
 
 * the vulgar go no further than the exterior fymbol, and bark 
 
 * that covers them.' Here then is a demonflratian of one of 
 the great principles we have laid down, that the truly wife in 
 all religions underftood the exterior fymbols, fables and hie- 
 roglyphics in a quite different fenfe from the ftupid, vulgar 
 and impure multitude that turned all into idolatry and faper- 
 ft! tion. 
 
 St. Cyprian fays, (a) * that Hermes Trifmegiftus acknow- 
 ledged one God whom he confeifed to be ineffable and in- 
 efHmablc.' Laclantius maintains (b) that * Thoth or Her- 
 ' mes, a mofl ancient philofopher, inflrucced in all kinds of 
 
 * learning, and therefore called Trifmegifljwrote many books 
 ' concerning the knowledge of divine things, wherein he af- 
 
 * ferts the majcfty of one fupream God, calling him, as we do, 
 ' God and Father; and left any one fhould afkhis name, he 
 
 * faid that he vras without any name, that is, ineffable and in- 
 ' comprehenfible.' Juflin Martyr adds, (c) * Ammon,inhis 
 *■ books, called God the most hidden; and Hermes 
 
 * plainly declares, that it is hard to conceive God, but im- 
 
 * pofliblc to exprefs him.' 
 
 Let us now hear the teflimony of the Pagan wrFtcrs who 
 had fludied the religion of the Egyptians, and underflood it 
 perfe(5lly. Tamblichus is one of the chief He lived in the be- 
 ginning of the third century, and was a difeiple of the famous- 
 
 (a) St. Cyprian, de idol, vanit. (b) Laft. lib. i. p. 3 0. (g) Juftin Martyr^ 
 apol. ad Ant. Pium. 
 
:56 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 Porphyry. This is the account that he gives of the Egyptian 
 theology, (a) * According to the Egyptians Eict on or the 
 ' firfl: God exifted in his Tolitary Unity before all beings. He 
 
 * is the fountain and original of every thing that either has 
 V underftanding, or is to be underftood. He is the firfl: prin- 
 
 * ciplc of all things, felf-fufficient, incomprehenfible and the 
 
 * father of all eflences.' The fame lamblichus in his anfwer 
 tp an epiflle of Porphyry's wrote to Anebo, an Egyptian 
 priefi, gives us a fummary account of the Egyptian theology 
 in thefewordsi * God who is the Caufe of all nature and of 
 
 * all Its powers, is feparated from, elevated above, and ex- 
 
 * panded over all the powers and elements of the world, and 
 ^ tranfcending the fame, yet fo as to be immaterial, incor- 
 
 Vporeal, fupernatural, unmade, indivifible, ruling over all 
 
 * things and containing all in himfelf.' The fame lambli- 
 chus adds; * that as the Egyptian hieroglyphic for material 
 
 * things was muddy and floating water, fo they pi^lured God 
 ' fitting above the Lote-tree, and above the watry mud; 
 
 * which fignifies the tranfcendent emincncy of the Divine 
 
 * Nature above matter, and its intellecflual empire over the 
 
 * world, becaufe both the leaves and fruit of that tree are 
 ' round, reprefenting the motion of intelled.' In the fame 
 book, he anfwers thus to the Porphyrian queries ; ' Accor- 
 
 * ding to the Egyptians, before all entities and principles there 
 ' is one God, who is in order of nature before him who is 
 ' called the Sovereign Lord. This firfl: God is immovable 
 ' and always remaining, in the folitude of his own Unity, 
 ' there being nothing intelligent, nor intelligible complicated 
 
 (a) lambiic. de myft. Aegypt. p. 153. edit. Lugd, 1552. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 57 
 
 with him. This fubHme idea explains the diftirKflion we have 
 made in the firft Part betwixt God in his IHll eternity, abfo- 
 lute nature, and eternal folitude, and God's relative attri- 
 butes as Creator, betwixt the confubftantial idea and the ar- 
 chetypal ideas ; the coeternal Logos and the intelligible world. 
 Proclus, another Platonic difciple of the Porphyrian and 
 Plotinian fchool,- fays, that (a) ' according to the tradition 
 ' of the Egyptians matter was not unmade, nor felf-exiilent 
 
 * but produced by the Deity; for, adds he, the divine lambli- 
 ' chus hath recorded, that Hermes would have materiality to 
 ' have been produced by eflentiality or the Being to whom 
 
 * elTence belongs; and it is very probable from hence, that 
 
 * Plato was alfo of the fame opinion concerning matter, be- 
 ' caufe he is fuppofed to have followed Hermes and the Egyp- 
 ' tian philofophers.' 
 
 We fhall conclude here, with the tclHmony of Damaf- 
 cius in his book of principles, who fpeaks in this manner of 
 the ancient Egyptians. ' The Egyptian philofophers of our 
 
 * times have declared the hidden truth of their theology, and 
 
 * have found in the ancient writings of their fages that there 
 ' was but one principle of all things, praifed under the name 
 ' of the unknown darknefs, and that thrice repeated.' 
 
 I fhall not quote here any of the Trifmegiftic books now 
 extant, bccaufe they are generally looked upon as fuppofitious, 
 or adulterated by thefirfl: Chriftians,efpecially thePoemander 
 and the fermon upon the mount, which are of a far later date 
 than the Afclepius and the other pieces collected and printed 
 by Ficinus. I fhall only give a fhort account of Dr. Cudworth's 
 
 (a) Proclus in Timaeum, p. 1 1 7. 
 PART 2. H 
 
sS OF GOD's EXISTENCE, 
 
 judicious tho' too difFufe and fometlmes confufed reflecflions 
 on this fubjecl. i. It is certain, fays he, by the teftimony of 
 both Pagans and Chriftians, of Plutarch and lamblichus, 
 of St. Clemens and St. Cyril of Alexandria, that there were 
 extant in their times many Hermetic books believed by the 
 Egyptians themfelves to be wrote by Hermes; that they 
 were kept in the cuftody of their priefts as precious monu- 
 ments of antiquity; that many very ancient commentaries 
 upon thcfe original books, were wrote not only in the E- 
 gyptianbut in the Greek language, which became familiar 
 to the learned Egyptians, from the Ptolemaic kings down- 
 wards. 2. Tho' all the Trifmegiftic books now extant had 
 been forged, or at leafl: interpolated by Chriflians, yet this 
 would afford no inconfiderable argument, to prove that the 
 Egyptians afferted one fupream Deity, and many other 
 points of the divine philofophy; bccaufe every impofture 
 muft have fome foundation of truth to ftand upon, and 
 therefore fuch counterfeit writings mull have fomething in 
 them truly Egyptian, otherwife they could never have at 
 firll obtained, nor afterwards maintained their credit.' 
 We may fjperadd to thefe remarks of the learned Doftor 
 two others; I. If the Chriftians by a pious fraud counterfei- 
 ted thefe writings to pave the way to Chriftianity, and gain 
 the Pagan philofophcrs, this proves that in the earlieft times 
 of Chriftianity, the primitive fathers were perfuaded, that 
 there was a great refemblance betwixt what was really good 
 and true in the Pagan religions and the Chriftian doc- 
 trines, and confequently that both flowed from the fame 
 original ancient tradition coniinou to all nations. 2» Two 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 59 
 
 fort of critics deny the authority not only of the Hermetic 
 Egyptian books, but alfo of the Chaldaic, Perfian and Or- 
 phaic oracles preferved to this day. The firft fort are the 
 incredulous critics fuch as Bayle; the others are the gram- 
 matical critics fuch as Scaligcr and Cafaubon ; the firft 
 from a perverfe oppofition to, the laft from a fuperftitious 
 refpeft for the holy fcriptures, and both from a profound 
 ignorance of the great principles of the divine philofophy, 
 pretend that the forementioned monuments are counterfeit, 
 becaufe they fpeak too clearly of what are called the peculiar 
 characleriftic proper doctrines of "Chriflianity: but we ihall 
 fhew hereafter that this is no proof, fince the fame hints of 
 thefe fublimer dogmata, yea much clearer ones, are to be 
 found in the original books of the Chinefe and far more an- 
 cient than thofe of Chaldea, Egypt, Perfia and Greece. 
 
 We come now to the theology of the Greeks and the Ro- 
 mans (a); I fhall fometimes make ufe of the words and re- 
 marks of the author of Cyrus's Travels, and fuperadd many 
 things to the imperfect fketch he has given us of the Pagan 
 theology. It is manifefl: from the Greek monuments them- 
 felves, that the moft famous philofophers of that nation, fuch 
 as Orpheus, Lycurgus, Solon, Thales, Pythagoras, Plato and 
 many others travelled into Egypt and Afia to ftudy wifdom. 
 The traces of the Oriental tradition are now in a manner 
 worn out; but as there are feveral monuments of the theolo- 
 gy of the Greeks ftill preferved, we may judge of the mafters 
 by their difciples. 
 
 (a) The moft part of the quotations from the Greek and Latin poets and philofo- 
 phers are borrowed from Dr. Gudworth's fourth chapter of the Intelleflual Syflem. 
 
 H2 
 
^o OF GOD^s EXISTENCE, 
 
 Ere I fhew that notwithftanding the Polytheifni which 
 reigned among the Pagans, yet they acknowledged only one 
 fupream univerfal Numen, it is fit to premife, that they dei- 
 fied or perfonified four fort of obje(fts. i. The divine attri- 
 butes which they erected into different and feparate Deities, 
 as Eternity, Providence, Wifdom and Love. 2. Thejdifferent 
 parts of Nature which they looked upon as images, fymbols 
 and reprefentations of the fupream God. Thus the fun was 
 called Apollo, the moon Phebe, the earth Cybele, and the 
 feas Neptune, the ether Jupiter, the air Juno, and the fire 
 Vulcan. 3. The gifts and graces of the fupream God. The 
 three divine virtues, faith, hope and charity; yea the focial 
 ones, piety, truth, juftice, clemency; as alfo the gifts, fa- 
 vours and benefits of God, as felicity, abundance, health, 
 peace, honour and liberty. 4. They deified alfo their heroes 
 and great men, the founders of empires, their legiflators, con- 
 querors, and thofe that had done fignal adions of benefi- 
 cence to mankind, as Caftor, Pollux, Quirinus and the like. 
 Notwithftanding this multiplicity of inferior Gods, they ftill 
 retained the notion of one fupream univerfal Numen whom 
 they called the Father of Gods and men. 
 
 In order to prove this, we begin firft with the poets. Tha* 
 there is very oft a great jumble and confufion in their ideas, 
 wild abfurdities in their flections, and an unexcufable indecen- 
 cy in their expreffions, yet they all acknowledged one God 
 fuperior to all the reft. This will appear from the very anci- 
 ent traditions we ftill have of the* philofophy of Orpheus. 
 Tho' this poet was not the author of the works that go un- 
 der his name, yet it is certain that they are older than Hero- 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 61 
 
 dotus and Plato and were in great efteem among the Pagans, 
 I fhall begin with the abridgment which Timotheus theCof- 
 raographer gives us of the docVrine of Orpheus. This abridg- 
 ment is preferved in Suidas, Cedrenus, Eufebius, the author 
 of the Argonautica, and Prochis. (a) There is one unknown 
 
 * Being exalted above, and prior to all beings, (b) He is the 
 
 * author of all things, even of the ether, and of every thing 
 
 * below the ether, (c) This exalted Being is Life, Counfel, 
 
 * and Light, which three names exprefs only one and the 
 
 * fame power that drew all things vifible and invifible out of 
 ' nothing, (d) We will fing that eternal, wife and all-perfeft 
 
 * Love which reduced the chaos into order.' Hence it was, 
 that Ovid the copier of the Greek Theogonifts, diftinguifhes 
 betwixt the chaos and a beneficent God, who brought it out 
 of order into confufion. (e) ^ The univerfe, fays Orpheus, 
 
 * was produced by Jupiter, the empyreum, the deep Tarta^ 
 
 * rus, the earth and the ocean, the immortal Gods and God^ 
 
 * defles, all that is, all that has been, and that iliall be was 
 
 * contained originally in the fruitful bofom of Jupiter. He 
 
 * is the firft and the laft, the beginning and tke end, all be- 
 
 * ings derive their origin from him, he is the primitive Father 
 
 * and the immortal Virgin, he is the life, the caufe, and the 
 
 * energy of all. things. There is but one only Power, one 
 
 * only God, and one fole univerfal King.' 
 
 This laft paflagefeems to confound the fubftantial emana- 
 tions or immanent efFefts of the divine eifence, with the free 
 productions or emanant effecfls of God's power. This the Pa-7 
 
 (a) Suidas de Orpli. p. 350. (b) Cedrenus, p. 47. (c) F-nfeb. praep. Evang, 
 p. 340. Cd) Argonautica, apud Steph. p. 7 1 . (c) Proclus in Tiniaeura. p. 95. 
 
62 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 gans feem to do frequently for want of clear metaphyfical 
 ideas. The primitive traditions began to be corrupted, adul- 
 terated and obfcured by the Greeks and chiefly the poets ; but 
 this is no proof of their atheifm or denial of a fupream God, 
 fince,aswe havefhown in the firft Part, the notion of thefcho- 
 laftics who maintain that the archetypal ideas enter neceffari- 
 ly in to the generation of the Logos, is a far more fubtil intro- 
 dudion to atheifm than this grofs idea of the Pagan poets. 
 It is not atheifm to confound the eflence of the creature with 
 that of the Creator; this many Orientals do, this the Stoics 
 did, this even fome primitive fathers are accufed of: but true 
 atheifm confifls in denying that there is an infinite power that 
 produced the univerfe, an infinite v^ifdom that governs it, and 
 an infinite goodnels that directs all to the final good of his 
 creatures. The errors that tend indirecflly to deflroy the di- 
 vine attributes are not proofs of atheifm, otherwife the Pre- 
 deflinarians might be reputed atheifls. 
 
 It is true that St. Juftin Martyr, Athenagoras and La6]:an- 
 tius affirm that Orpheus afferted three hundred and fixty 
 Gods, declared their generations, gave them names, and told 
 what was done by each of them : but it is plain, that this phi- 
 lofophical poet underftood by this multiplicity only the infe- 
 rior deities, or deified heroes. As he was the firfl inventer of all 
 the religious rites and mythical theology among the Greeks, 
 he fuppofed a God for every day of the year, and this was a fort 
 of Pagan kalender. So old was the notion in all religious na- 
 tions, that calling to remembrance every day fome particular 
 . faint or divinized hero, whofe virtues were to be imitated, and 
 
 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 63 
 
 whofe examples animate to true piety, was a very ufeful prac- 
 tice in facred worfhip. 
 
 The generality of the Greeks looked upon Orpheus not 
 only as a meer poet and a man of a fine imagination, but as a 
 profound philofopher, a myftical divine, and a perfon tran- 
 fcendently wife and holy. They fuppofed all his fables of the 
 Gods to be deep myfteries and allegories, v/hich had a hidden 
 and moft fublime fenfe. Thus Athenagoras writes that he was 
 divinely infpired, and did more truly theologize than all the 
 other Greeks. Cclfus adds, that he was unqueftionably en- 
 dued withaholyfpirir,and that as well as Jefus of the Chrifti- 
 ans he died a violent death, to render teftimony to truth, Pro- 
 clus in his theology of Plato fays ; ^ (a) all the theology among 
 
 * the Greeks is the offspring ofthemy(l:icdo6lrine of Orpheus. 
 
 * Pythagoras was firft taught the orgies of the Gods by Aglao- 
 ' phcmus. Plato next received a perfect knowledge of them 
 
 * from the Pythagorean and Orphic writings.' In another 
 place he adds: ' the Pythagoric principles are the fame with 
 'the Orphic traditions, what Orpheus delivered myftically 
 ' in hidden allegories, thofe Pythagoras learned when he was 
 ' initiated in the Orphic myfteries by Aglaophemus.' Thus 
 we may look upon the Pythagoric, the Platonic, and the Or- 
 phic theology as the fame. 
 
 Homer is thought to have followed the allegorical theo- 
 logy of Orpheus, and to have borrowed all his great ideas 
 from him. If we read his poems with attention, we will find 
 that he acknowledges every where a fupeam God whom he 
 calls the Father and the fovereign Lord of Gods and men, the 
 (a) Procl. thcol. Platon. ed. Hamb, 1618. p. 280 & 291. 
 
•64 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 -archlte<5l of the world, the Prhice and Governor of the uni- 
 verfe, the firft God, the God by way of eminence, the great 
 :God, and the higheft of all the Gods. Ariftotle fpeaks thus 
 of Homer's theology, (b) ' The paternal power over chil- 
 ^ dren is a royal authority, wherefore Homer when he paints 
 
 * forth Jupiter's kingly power over all, calls him the Father 
 
 * of men and Gods; for he who is a king by nature ought 
 
 * both to differ from his fubje<5ts and be of the fame kind 
 ^'with them, as he who begetteth is like to his offspring/ 
 Thus Ariftotle plainly infinuates, that fuperior fpirits and hu- 
 man fouls are congenial and fimilar to the Deity. Plutarch 
 •in his Platonic queftions fays, that (b) * Xenocrates called 
 •^ God Hypaton or the Moft High, but that Homer long be- 
 ' fore him gave God the fame epithet, to fignify, that he was 
 
 * the Sovereign of all fuperior beings, and the higheft of all 
 
 * powers. Homer, adds he in another place, (c) when he 
 
 * calls God Hypaton or the Moft High, denotes his power 
 
 * and fovereignty, but when he names him Wiyi'^codcl, he ex- 
 
 * prcfles his wifdom and knowledge.' Proclus adds (d) ' Ho- 
 
 * mer through all his poetry, praifes Jupiter as the higheft of 
 ' all principalities, the Father of Gods and men, and the uni- 
 
 * verfalreafon of all the demiurgical powers. 
 
 From all this fome conclude with great reafon, that all 
 that Homer fays of the inferior Deities are only images and 
 allegories to exprefs the properties, actions and proteftion of 
 fubordinate Gods or fpirits who are the minifters or inftru- 
 ments of the fupream God ; that the Iliad is not only a poli- 
 
 (a) Ariftot. de republ. lib. i. c. 1 2. (b) Plutarch. Pkton. quaeft. (c) Putarch. 
 de Ifid. et Ofirid. (d) Proelus in Timaeum. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 6s 
 
 deal fable to rcprefent the fatal confcquences of difcord a- 
 mong the little chiefs and heads of Greece, but alfo a fublinie 
 moral allegory to fliew the contraft of pafBons and virtues ani- 
 mated and excited in men by the influence of infpiration of 
 good and evil genii, who dwell in the air, the earth and the 
 heavens; and in fine, that the Odyffey is an allegory to rcpre- 
 fent the labours and toils, hardfhips and combats of the true 
 hero during this mortal life, ere he can arrive to a ftate of dei- 
 fication. ^ 
 
 Whatever be in this, it is certain that themofi: learned and 
 famous Pagans looked upon Homer as a great divine, and a 
 great philofopher, as well as a great poet; which they could 
 not have done unlefs they had underftood his flights and fi Ali- 
 ens allegorically: for furely were all the indecent ideas and 
 defcriptions he gives of the padions and vices of the inferior 
 Deities underftood by them in a literal fenfe, they mult have 
 thought him, in theology, the molt ftupid of all mortals. It 
 is true that Plato and Philoftratus condemn Homer for having 
 degraded the divine nature by his low images, and for repre- 
 fenting fpiritiial virtues and intellecHiual ideas by metaphors 
 and allegories that feem to authorize and recommend vice: but 
 there is a great difference betwixt the different ages wherein 
 Homer lived and thofe of Plato and Philoftratus. In Plato's 
 time mythology was quite degenerated, the ancient hierogly- 
 phical, fymbolical and allegorical language was forgot. Phi- 
 loftratus was a nicer fabulilt and grammarian who knew little 
 or nothing of true antiquity. It was therefore no wonder if 
 thefe two authors inveighed againfl a language that was un- 
 derftood in Homer's time, and quite forgot in theirs. 
 PART 2. I 
 
66 OF GOD^s EXISTENCE, 
 
 • It is a very odd prefumptuous idea of fome moderns to ima-' 
 gine, that before the age of Defcartes, the mofl part of man- 
 kind was deprived of all reafon, that men of the greateft wit, 
 fublimeft imagination and nobleft fentiments fuch as Homer, 
 had no juft ideas of God's exiftence, nature and attributes; that 
 the nearer we afcend to the origin of the world, the more we 
 find men were favages, in whom reafon was not yet unfolded. 
 This wild idea came from a fpirit of impiety among the in- 
 credulous Freethinkers, as the ridiculous opinion that the 
 Pagans had no fupernatural lights, nor divine virtues came 
 from, a fpirit of fuperftition-and bigotry among thejudaizing 
 doflors. Thofe two oppofite fefts of minute philofophers, 
 and pharifaical divines join thus hand in hand without defign, 
 in order to deftroy the Mofaical accounts of the firft origin 
 and propagation of mankind* For, to repeat it once more, 
 this {l^cred hillory alone can explain how the great principles 
 of Natural and Revealed Religion muH: have been univcrfal 
 to wife men of all nations, and ages. To what a miferable 
 pafs muftChriftianitybeatlaft reduced if the incredulous and 
 the believers continue thus united to degrade, extirpate and 
 deny the doctrine of univcrfal tradition and grace 1 
 
 Hefiod thinks as Homer, for his Theogonia regards on- 
 ly the generation or production of the inferior Gods, and not 
 of Jupiter, or the fupream God, whom he calls Zeus, and to 
 whom he attributes the creation of all things: for Mofcho- 
 pulus, a very ancient fcholiaft, in commenting upon thefe 
 pafTages of the Theogonia where Hefiod fays, * that the Gods 
 ' and men were made from the fame root or flock, and that 
 ' firfl of all a golden age of men were made by the immortal 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 6y 
 
 * Gods/ affures us that the poet's meaning is, * that Jupiter 
 
 * or Zeus alone made the firll golden age of men, as may be 
 
 * proved from other places of the fame poet, and tho' he 
 ^ fpeaks of the Gods in general, yet doth he but transfer 
 
 * that which was the work of one to * the Gods of the fame 
 
 * kind.' By '■ the Gods of the fame kind,' is not to beunder- 
 ftood the inferior, generated Deities, but the three hypofta- 
 fes of the Divine Nature, which the Hebrews themfelves 
 ipeak very oft of, in the plural number Elochim, and of 
 which the Orphic, Egyptian, Pythagoric, Platonic, Perfian 
 and Chinefe theology are full, as v/e fhall fhew hereafter. 
 Proclus alfo afTures us that * Hefiod, as v/ell as Homer, at- 
 
 * tribute the creation of all things to Jupiter the felf-exiftent 
 ' and unmade God, by whom all things, and all men were 
 
 * made, and not by chance.' 
 
 The tragic and lyric poets exprefs themfelves after the 
 fame manner as the Epic. Pindar calls the loud founding 
 Jupiter (a) * the moft powerful of the Gods, the Lord of 
 ' all things, the firft caufe, the great artificer and framer of 
 ' the univerfe. (b) It was this fupream God whom Chiron 
 
 * intruded Achilles to honour and worfliip tranfcendently 
 
 * above all the other Gods, (c) If any man is fo foolifh as to 
 
 * imagine any of his a(5tions can be concealed from God, he 
 
 * is greatly deceived.' The fame poet reprefents God as the 
 
 * author, fource and caufe of all good, (d) ' Men become good 
 
 * and wife only by the affiftance of the Deity, (e) The en- 
 ' dowments both of body and mind, wifdom, natural flrength 
 
 (a) Pindar. Nem. od. 6. (b) Ibid. Pyth. od. 6. (c) Olymp. od. I. (d) Ibid. 
 'Od.9. (e)PythiaQd. i. ' 
 
6B OF GOD^s EXISTENCE, 
 
 and eloquence, all are the gift of the Gods, (f) God over- 
 
 * turns the proud but gives immortal glory to the humble, (g) 
 ' We are beings of one day, to-day we are fomcthing^ to- 
 
 * morrov^ nothing. Man is the dream of a fhadov;^: but 
 
 * when God emits his fplendors, a bright light and fvveet life 
 
 * attends us.' 
 
 Euripides expresfly acknowledges the dependence of all 
 beings upon one fole principle as author of life and know- 
 ledge, exiftence and rcafon. (a) ' O Father and King, of Gods 
 
 * and men, why do we miferable mortals fancy that we know 
 
 * any thing, or can do any thing, our fate depends upon thy 
 
 * will.' The fame Euripides fpeaks thus in another place quo- 
 ted by Dr.Cudworth (b). ' Thou felf-fprung Being which 
 
 * contains all things, and embraces the celeftial fpheres, tho' 
 
 * encompaffed with light, yet thou art furrounded with a fha- 
 
 * dy night.' This refembles perfectly the image of the Deity 
 given by the royal prophet David when he fays, that tho' God 
 covers himfelf with light as with a garment, yet he is farroun- 
 ded with darknefs. 1 he fame tragedian fays in another place. 
 
 * I offer to thee. Lord of all, libations of wine and a fait cake. 
 
 * Whatever be thy name, whether that of Dis or Jupiter, thou 
 
 * alone holds the fublime fcepter among the Gods, and thou 
 
 * governs the terreftrial kingdom. Infufe light into the fouls 
 
 * of men, that they may know the root whence all evil fprings, 
 
 * and by what ficrifice they may attain to a true reft from 
 ' their labours.' 
 
 Sophocles reprefents the Deity as a fovereign Intelligence 
 
 (f) Ibid. od-. 2. Cg)Ibid. od. 8. (a) Eurip. Supplic. a<ft. 3.V..734. ed. Csnttah^ 
 (b) Cudworth's Intelle(ft. fjftem page 3 64=. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. ^9 
 
 who IS the wlfdom and the eternal la\vofaIlfpirks(a). * It is 
 
 * not, fays he, to any mortal nature that laws owe their ori^ 
 
 * gin, they come from above, they come down from heaven 
 
 * itfelf, Jupiter Olyrapius Is alone the.fatherof them/ 
 
 St. Juftin Martyr quotes from Sophocles the following 
 maxims (b). ' There is one fovereign power, and one God 
 
 * who created the heavens, the earth, the feas and the force 
 ' of winds ; themoft part of men -deprived of all true under^- 
 *■ (landing confecrate to him ftatues of wood, and ftone, ima- 
 ' gcs of gold and ivory; they endeavour to appeafe him with 
 
 * facrifices, to folemnize feftivals in his honour, and fooll/hly 
 
 * fancy that by this they are pious/ 
 
 , The fame St., Juftin Martyr mentions an ancient oracle 
 of the Greeks which runs thus (c): * God is felf-oripinar 
 ' ted, thrice great, indivifibly one, omnipotent and Invifible, 
 
 * he fees all things and can be perceived by none.' 
 
 Aratus, quoted by St. Paul, calls God, * He of whom all 
 
 * things are full, who penetrates and pervades all beings eve- 
 
 * ry where, whofe beneficence we all conflantly enjoy, for 
 
 * we are his offspring. Therefore he Is always propitiated and 
 *' adored as. the flrft and the laft. Hail unlverfal Father, the 
 ' great wonder of the unlverfe, and the great Intereft of manr 
 
 * kind.' Many fuch paffagcs are quoted by the Greek fathers 
 from Terpander, Arlftophanes, Menander, Hermionax and 
 others. We might multiply volumes on this fubjed. We 
 Ihall therefore fum up all we are to fay of the Greek poets by 
 this alTertion of Dion Chryfoftome (d) : ' all the poets univcr- 
 
 (a)Sophoc. in Oedip. tyran. p. 33. (b) St. Juft. Martyr, de monarchia Dei, 
 p. 104. (c) St. Juft. Martyr, exlwrt, ad Graecos; p. 94. (d) Dio.. Chriibft. 
 orat, jixx\n. p.-447. 
 
70 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 * fally without exception call the fir ft and greatefl: God, the 
 ' Father and King of all the rational kind. Agreeably to this 
 
 * idea men ercd altars to Jupiter King, and call him Father 
 ' in all their devotions.' 
 
 Thus we have fliown that tho' the Pagan poets perfonify 
 very oft the divine attributes, gifts, graces, and virtues, and 
 ercft them into feparate Deities; tho' they divinize their he- 
 roes and call them Gods; tho' they deify fometimes the dif- 
 ferent parts of nature, give fpirit to bodies, and bodies to fpi- 
 rits, tho they exprefs very oft the properties of the one by the 
 qualities of the other; tho' all this occafions a jumble of images, 
 an apparent abfurdity in their fictions, and an indecorum in 
 their expreflions which feem to degrade, humanize, and even 
 corporalize the divine eflence, yet they all agree in the belief 
 of one fupream,eternal,felf-exiflent,omniprefent, incorporeal, 
 intelligent principle, whom they call th^ great God, the fu- 
 pream God, and the Father of Gods and men. It was common 
 to all the ancients both facred and profane to reprefent intel- 
 leftual ideas and perfe6lions by fenfible images and operations. 
 Thus the infpired Hebrews figurevery oftthe divine attributes 
 by hands, feet, and corporeal members ; yea the irreconcilable 
 oppofition of the Divine Nature to fin is figured by anger, 
 wrath, hatred, fury, vengeance, which are all human imper- 
 feclions. Such is the ftyle of all minds exalted by a natural 
 or fupernatural enthufiafm, when they endeavour to paint 
 with fire and life pure intelleftual ideas, and to render them 
 familiar to fouls immerfed In matter. The minute philofo- 
 phers, profoundly ignorant of this great principle, condemn 
 .in the ancient mythologifts thefe ftrong metaphors, allegori; 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. yi 
 
 cal images, and fymbolical reprefentatlons. The pharlfaical 
 doi5tors as ignorant as the incredulous Freethinkers condemn 
 by a notorious injuftice in the profane authors, what they 
 juftify in the facred oracles. Both thofefefls tend equally to 
 favour incredulity and a total contempt of all antiquity both 
 facred and profane. 
 
 Let us pafs from the Greek poets to the philofophers 
 where the primitive traditions are lefs adulterated and lefs dif- 
 guifed. 
 
 I begin with Thales the Mllefian chief of the Ionic fchoolj 
 who Hved in the fiftieth Olympiad, about fix hundred years 
 before the Chriflian aera. We have none of his books now- 
 left, but fome of his maxims have been tranfmitted down to 
 us by the mofl venerable writers of antiquity both facred and 
 profane (a). ' God, according to this philofopher, is the mofl 
 ' ancient of all Beings, he is the author of the univerfe which 
 
 * is full of wonders, (b) He is the mind which brought the 
 *■ chaos out of confufion into order, (c) He is without be- 
 
 * ginning and without end, and nothing is hid from him. (d) 
 ' Nothing can refiftthc force of fate, but this fate is nothing 
 ' but the immutable reafon and eternal power of providence.' 
 It is commonly faid, that Thales looked upon water as the 
 firf} principle of all things: but here there was a double mif- 
 take of ignorant hiftorians. When he fpoke thus, it is plain 
 that he talked of phyfical principles and not of the creating 
 power. Moreover, what they tranflate vv^ater, may be ren- 
 dered FLUID, by which the philofopher perhaps meant the 
 
 (a) Diog. Laert. vita Thalis. lib. i. (b) Cicer. nat. Deor. lib, J. (c) St. C!cm. 
 Alexand. Stroraat. lib. v. (d) Stob, eel. phyfic. c. 8^ 
 
7^ OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 pure ethereal fluid that is the univerfal fprlng of nature, as 
 has been fhewn in the firft Part. 
 
 Pythagoras who lived about the fixtieth Olympiad is the 
 'fecond Greek philofopher after Thales, and the chief of the 
 Italic fchool. Every body knows the abftinence, fiience, re- 
 tirement,and great purity of morals which he required of his 
 difciples. He was very fenfible that the human mind could 
 ^nevcr attain to the knowledge of divine things unlefs the heart 
 was purged of its paflions. Now thefe are the notions which 
 he has left us of thefupream God whom he always diftin- 
 .guiflics from the inferior Deities, fuperior fpirits, and deified 
 •heroes, (a) ' God is neither the obje6l of fenfe, nor fubje6t 
 
 * to paflions, but altogether invifible, purely intelligible, and 
 ■'■ fupreamly intelligent, (b) He is the univerfal fpirit that 
 
 * pervades and diffufcs himfclf over all nature. All beings re- 
 
 * Geive their life from him. (c) There is but one only God, 
 
 * who is not, as fome are apt to imagine, feated above the 
 
 * world, beyond the orb of the univerfe, but being all in 
 
 * himfclf, and exifting only in his own effence, he fees all the 
 
 * beings that inhabit his immenfity. He is the fole principle, 
 
 * the light of heaven, the Father of all fpirits, the author of 
 ' all virtues, the reafon, the life and the motion of all beings. 
 
 * (d) We fee plainly, fays St. Cyril of Alexandria, that Py- 
 'vthagoras maintained there is but one God, the original and 
 *■ caufe of ail things, who enlightens every thing, animates 
 
 * every thing, and by whom all things were brought out of 
 
 * non-entity into being.' 
 
 (a) Plutarch, vita Numae, Diog. Laert. lib.xii. (b) Ladant. lib. v. (c) St., 
 Jullin. exhort, ad Graecos, p. i8. (d) St. Cyril, contra Julian, lib, i. p. 85.. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 73 
 
 After Pythagoras comes Anaxagoras of the Ionic fe6l, 
 torn at Clazomene, and mafter to Pericles the Athenian he- 
 ro, about four hundred years before the birth of our Saviour, 
 
 * This philofopher rejected with contempt (a) and confuted 
 
 * with great ftrength of reafon the doctrine of thofe who held 
 
 * that blind neceflity and the cafual motions of matter had 
 
 * produced the world, and endeavoured to prove that a pure 
 
 * and uncompounded fpirit prefides over the univerfe. Ac- 
 cording to Arillotle the force of Anaxagoras' reafoning was 
 this : (b) * the idea of matter not including that of aftive force, 
 
 * motion could not be one of its properties. We muft there- 
 
 * fore fcek fomething elfe to find out the caufe of its activity; 
 
 * this active, felf-moving principle he called Soul, becaufe it 
 
 * animates the univerfe ; he maintained that this univerfal prin- 
 
 * ciple of motion was alfo a thinking principle called Ny^, or 
 
 * Underftanding. As he faw nothing in matter that had any 
 
 * refemblance to this property, he inferred that there was in 
 
 * nature another fubftance befides matter. He added, that the 
 
 * foul and fpirit were one and the fame fubftanc e diftinguiflied 
 
 * only by its different operations, and that of all elTences it 
 ' was the moft fimple, the moft pure, and the moft exempt 
 
 * from all mixture and compofition.' (c) This philofopher paf- 
 fed at Athens for an atheift, becaufe * he denied that the liars 
 
 * and planets were Gods, and maintained, that thefirft were 
 ' only funs and the laft habitable worlds.' It is the cuftom of 
 fuperftitious minds to look upon all-men as atheifts that de- 
 
 (a) St. Cyril, contra Jul. lib. i. (b) Ariftot. de anima lib. Z. cap. 2. p. 6; 9* 
 edit. Paris. 162$. (c) Plato de leg. lib, x. 
 
 PART 2. K 
 
74 OF GOD^s EXISTENCE, 
 
 ny the vulgar opinions and grofTer abufes introduced Into fa- 
 cred worfhip by prieftcraft. 
 
 Socrates follows clofe after Anaxagoras, being only thir- 
 ty years poflerlor to him. According to St. Juftui Martyr, he 
 was Inlplred by the Logos, and verified that divine maxim,, 
 that * wifdom dlffufes itfeif through all nations, enters into 
 * holy fouls, and makes them friends of God and prophets/ 
 According to the teftimony of his difciple Xenophon, he 
 made little account of barren fpcculations, natural fciences, 
 hiftorical fafis, and all theprodu<ftlons of wit and imaginati- 
 on. His great fludy was to know himfelf, to live from with- 
 in, to fnun all amufemcnts, and public focletics. His life 
 feems to have been a life of conihnt contemplation, abfti- 
 nence and felf-denlal. He never wrote any thing himfelf, 
 and never talked of himfelf but as of a third perfon. He went 
 about doing good, fearching out among the multitude con- 
 genial fouls and upright minds that were fufceptibleof thefe 
 practical truths that purify the heart from all falfe defires, in- 
 clinations, and paflions. According to PlatOj he was the mo- 
 del of a truly juft man who loved virtue for itfeif, and not for 
 the honours, reputation and pleafures that oft accompany it. 
 He was envied, calum.niated and infulted by the minute phi- 
 lofophers and flipcrficial wits of the age, and died at iafl: a mar- 
 tyr for truth. From all which it appears, that St. JulHn had 
 reafon to fay, he v/as truly a Chriftlan, and taught by the Lo- 
 gos, tho' he pafTed for an athcift among the fuperftitious A- 
 thenians. And as Plato tells us in his dialogue upon holinefs, 
 (b) he was put to death not for denying that there were iiife- 
 (a) Plato, Eutyphro. p. 5, & 6. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 75 
 
 Tior Gods, but for declaring hlmfelf openly againll: the poets, 
 mythologies and priefts whoafcribed human pafTions, and in- 
 human vices to thefe fubordinate Deities. It is true that be-- 
 fore his death he ordered a cock to be facrificed to Efculapi- 
 us, but we fhall fliew hereafter, that he looked upon Efcula- 
 pius as one of the names of the fupream God, or rather the 
 fecond hypoftafis of the Orphic, Pythagoric Trinity; and 
 therefore it was no wonder if he offered vi6tlms to this middle 
 God. 
 
 Socrates however,whil{1: he fuppofed feveral inferior Gods, 
 admitted all the while but only one eternal principle. Xeno- 
 phon has left us an excellent abridgment of the theology of 
 that philofopher. It contains the converfation of Socrates 
 with Ariftodemus, who doubted of the exigence of God. So- 
 crates makes him at firfl: take notice of the characters of diC- 
 ifign, art and wifdom that appear all over the univerfe, and 
 particularly in the mechanifm of the human body, (a) * Do 
 
 * you believe, fays he to Ariftodemus, that you are the only 
 
 * intelligent being. You know that you poflefs but a Httle 
 
 * particle of that matter which compofes the world, a (inall 
 
 * portion of that water which moiftens it, afparkof thatflame 
 
 * which animates it. Is underftanding peculiar to you alone? 
 
 * have you fo engrofled and confined it to yourfelf that it is 
 
 * to be found no where elfe? Does blind chance produce e- 
 
 * very thing, and is there no fuch thing as wifdom befides 
 
 * what you have?' Ariftodemus having replied, that he did 
 not fee that wife architeft of the univerfe, Socrates anfwers 
 him, * neither do you fee the foul which governs your own 
 
 (a) Xenophont, memor, Socrat. lib. i- p. 573. ed. Bafil. 1579. 
 
7^ OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 * body, and regulates all Its motions; yon might as well con.- 
 ' elude, that you do nothing yourfelf with defign and reafon, 
 
 * as to maintain that every thing is done by blind chance in 
 
 * the univerfe.' Ariftodemus acknowledging at lad afupreani 
 Being is Prill in doubt as to providence, not being able to com- 
 prehend how the Deity -can fee every thing at once. Socrates 
 replies, ' If the fpirit that refides in your body, moves and 
 ' difpofes it at its pleafure, why fhould not that fovereign wif- 
 
 * dom which prefides over the univerfe be able likewife to re- 
 ^ gulate and order every thing as it pleafes. If your eye can 
 ' fee objects at the diftance of feveral furlongs, why fhould 
 ^ not the eye of God be able to fee every thing at once? IF 
 
 * your foul can think at the fame time upon what is at Athens, 
 " in Egypt, and in Sicily, why fhould not the Divine mind be 
 
 * able to take care of every thing, being every where prefenS 
 
 * to his work.' Socrates perceiving at laft, that the infidelity 
 of Arifl:odemus did not arife fo much from his mind, as from 
 his heart, concludes with thefe words, ' O Ariftodemus, ap- 
 
 * ply yourfelf fincerely to worfhip God, he will enlighten you, 
 ' and all your doubts will foon be removed.' This laft pafTage 
 expreffes all the effential part of practical religion. It mani- 
 fefts a full perfwafion that God alone can enlighten the foul 
 by his fupernatural influence ; that this divine light is only to 
 be acquired by prayer, and that God omnlprefcnt every where 
 hears the defire of upright minds. 
 
 Simmias the phllofopher in Plutarch, when he explains 
 what is meant by the familiar Genius that continually infpi^ 
 red Socrates, fays, that it was no other than the Divine Spirit 
 itfelfj which not wanting the mediation of founds; words, or 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 77 
 
 corporeal organs to make itfelf undcrftood, imparts itfcif to 
 peaceful minds undifturbed by the noife of fenfe and the tu- 
 mult of paflions ; that the foul of Socrates detached from, and 
 void of all fenfual appetites was continually attentive to the 
 celeftial infpirations. Thus this philofopher is reprefentcd as 
 living perpetually in the divine prefence, as walking before 
 God, and becoming pcrfec^l hke the patriarchs. 
 
 Xenophanes the Colophonlan, the head of the Eleatic 
 fe<5l, fays in a verfe preferved by St. Clemens Alexandrinus ; 
 (a) ' there is one God the greateft both among Gods and men, 
 ' who moveth the whole world without any labour meerly by 
 ' mind.* Simplicius, in his commentary upon Ariftotle's phy- 
 fics, fays, (b) * Theophraftus affirms that Xenophanes the 
 ' Colophonian, mafter to Parmenides, made one principle of 
 
 * all things, which is neither finite nor infinitely extended^ 
 
 * neither in local motion, nor in reft, a folitary Being unmade, 
 ' felf-originated, the beft and mofi: powerful of all things, the 
 ' fupream Unity which prefides and rules over all degrees of 
 ' entity.' From whence it is evident, that Xenophanes fup- 
 pofed God to be incorporeal, and that hlsimmenfity was not 
 the fame with infinite fpace. 
 
 Heraclitus, whom St. Juflui Martyr looks upon to have 
 been infpired as well as Socrates by the Logos, lived in a con- 
 tinual retreat, contemplation, and penitence, mournincr over 
 the follies of mankind. As he frequented very little the 
 temples, and lived like an Afcetie, he was accufed of impiety 
 by Euthyclcs, and the faperditious priefls of his country. To 
 
 (a) St. Clem. Strom, quoted by Dr. Cudworth; p. 37 7 . (b) Simplicius in AriiL 
 phyf. p. 6;7. 
 
7S OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 jufiify himfelf he writes thus to Hermodorns: ' (a) O yeiin- 
 ' wife and unlearned, teach us firfl: what God is, then tell us 
 
 * where God is, that fo you may be believed in accufing me 
 
 * of impiety ? Is he fhutup in the walls of temples? Is this 
 ' your piety to place God in the dark, or to make him a ftony 
 ' God and a ftatue ? Know you not that God is not made 
 
 * with hands, and has no fupport to ftand upon, nor can be 
 
 * enlofed within walls. The whole world varied with plants, 
 
 * animals and ftars is his temple. Am I impious, O Euthycles, 
 
 * who alone know what God is? Is there no God without 
 ^ altars, or are flones the only proofs of his exiftence? No, 
 ' his own works give teftimony of him, and principally the 
 ' fun. Night and day bear witnefs of him, the fruitful earth 
 
 * declares his might, and the orb of the moon is an echo of his 
 power.' As he was a great enemy of idols, and declaimed con- 
 tinually againft the horrid abufes of the fymbohcal, hierogly- 
 phical language, he was hated, perfecuted and calumniated as 
 an atheift. This, as we have already faid, and cannot enough 
 repeat, was ever the ftratagcm of priefts of all religions, ages, 
 and nations to brand with impiety thofe who do not adopt all 
 their wild opinions and fuperftitious practices. 
 
 Parmenides, difciple of Xenophanes, called God one 
 AND ALL. Some think moft falfely, that Parmenides con- 
 founded Nature with God by this exprcffion: but Simplicius 
 who was well acquainted with the opinions of the ancients, 
 and who had by him a copy of Parmenides' works, fays, 
 
 * that this exprefTron oneand all muft not be underftood 
 ^ phyfically but metaphyfically, becaufe the fupream, intelli- 
 
 (a) SeeCudwortb, pag. 379. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 79 
 
 ' glble foiirce of all things, of mind and underftanding con- 
 
 * tains and comprehends In himfclf all things compendioufly 
 
 * and by way of unity. This was the Unity, Monade or One 
 ' BeincT of Parmenides whom he called indivifible and immu- 
 
 * table.' Now it Is impoffible, that what is immutable and 
 indivifible can be material, and therefore, the meaning of Par- 
 menides rauft be, that God unites In his fupream unity not 
 the fubilances, but the perfeclions, ideas, and archetypes of 
 every thing exiftentin an immutable, indivifible manner. Sim- 
 plicius has preferved to us fome verfcs of Parmenides which 
 explain fully his fenfe. (a) ' The fupream Deity, fays he. Is 
 ' one, fingular, Iblitary, and mod fimple Being, unmade, felf- 
 
 * originated, and necelTarily exiilent, whofe duration is im- 
 
 * mutable, remaining always In himfelf without flux or fuc- 
 ' ceilion.' What a difference is there betwixt this flill, ftan- 
 ding, permanent eternity, and the flowing, floating fuccefli- 
 on of fome modern Chriftian philofophcrs, who- have cor- 
 rupted and degraded all the natural and fublime ideas we 
 Hiould have of immenfity and eternity! they confound the 
 one with infinite fpace, and the other with infinite time, and 
 fo open the fluices to the Spinofian fyitem. 
 
 Dr. Cudworth, to whom we owe a great many of the fore- 
 going remarks, has demonilrated that Empedoclcs,Melilfus, 
 Archytas,Onatus, Ocellus, TlmaeusLocrus^ A rcheiaus. An- 
 tifthcnes, Diogenes Syropenfis and Euclidcs Megarcnfis,wcre 
 all true ThcKls: but as the fcrapes and fragments of thefe 
 authors, which have been preferved, arc only repetitions of 
 
 Ca)SimpUc.inArift. phyf. fol. 7. 1 7. 31* 
 
So OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 what has been already faid, we proceed to Plato, the great 
 light of Grce.ce. 
 
 Plato, difclple to Socrates, lived about three hundred and 
 fifty years before the Chriftian aera. We dare venture to fay 
 that tho' his works be wrote by way of dialogue, and feem on- 
 ly occafional pieces without any apparent connexion, geo- 
 metrical gradation, or metaphyseal prccifion, yet they are a 
 treafure of all the great principles of natural and even revealed 
 religion handed down from the beginning of the world to his 
 days. He got them from Socrates, Socrates from Pythago- 
 ras, Pythagoras from the Egyptians, the Egyptians from Her- 
 mes Trifmegiftus, and Trifmegiftus from the fird: Hermes, 
 who from a deep and ferious enquiry will be found to be fome 
 Noevian, or perhaps antediluvian patriarch. Thus, excep- 
 ting the imperfed: mixtures which by fuccefllon of time, and 
 the weaknefs infeparable from human nature, have crept into 
 the Platonic philofophy, this great man may be looked upon 
 as the confervator and compiler of all the fcattered rays, and 
 hints of divine philofophy that have been tranfmitted to the 
 Pagan world flnce the deluge. 
 
 Plato in his Timaeus begins by diftinguifhing the Being 
 which was eternally, from the beings which were made. He 
 calls God in the fequel of this dialogue * the archited of the 
 
 * world, the Father of the univerfe, the Creator of Nature, 
 
 * the God over all, the fovereign Mind which orders all things 
 ' and penetrates all things, the fovereign Beauty and the fu- 
 
 * pream Good.' In his Sophift he defines God, * the felf-ori- 
 
 * ginatcd efficient caufe which makes things exift that had no 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. Si 
 
 * being before.' In his Republic, (a) ' He that made the 
 
 * heavens, the earth and the Gods, and that is the original 
 
 * life and force of all things in heaven, upon earth, and un- 
 
 * der the earth,' it is this firft principle v^hich he calls in feve- 
 ral places of the fame book, ' the Being, the Unity, and the 
 
 * Good by excellence, the fame in the intelligible world that 
 
 * the fun is in the vifible world.' He confiders the Deity in his 
 eternal folitude before the producHiion of finite beings, and fays 
 frequently, like the Egyptians, that this firfl Source of Deity 
 is furrounded with thick darknefs which no mortal can pene- 
 trate, and that this unacceflible God is to be adored only by 
 filencc. He afterwards reprefents to us this firft Being as fal- 
 lying out of his Unity to confider all the various manners by 
 which he could reprefent himfelf from without, and thus the 
 ideal world was formed in the divine undcrftandlns. 
 
 Proclus, in commenting upon the Platonic Theology 
 .fays, * the divine philofophy of Plato dcfpifes all corporeal 
 
 * things when compared with what is intelleflual. He de- 
 
 * monftrates that mind is more ancient than matter, and de- 
 ' pends upon an intelligent hypoftafis, that Intelleft was the 
 
 * Caufeof bodies, and the Father of fpirits.' In another place, 
 the fame Proclus adds that (b) ' Plato following the Pytha- 
 
 * goreans, maintains that generated things are many and va- 
 ' rious, but there is one fupream Caufe that connects and 
 
 * joins all the fubordinate caufes, that there may be nothing 
 
 * in vain nor acceffory in the univerfe. There is one King, 
 
 * one Caufe and one Providence. There are befides many a- 
 
 (a) Platon.JRepubl. lib. x. & xvlil. (b) Prodi Theol. Platon. p. 5. 
 
 Cb) Pr,ocluslnTimaeura. p. 80. 
 PARI 2. L 
 
 \ 
 
82 OF GOD's EXISTENCE, 
 
 < gents, different caufes, a multiform providence, and a vari- 
 ^ ous order; but in all, multiplicity muft adhere to unity, va- 
 ' riety to fimplicity, what is multiform to what is uniform, 
 
 * and different particulars to one univerfal, thatfo there may 
 ' be a golden fcries in the whole, and that all things may be 
 
 * regulated with order,proportion and harmony.' It was then 
 with good reafon that Numenius the Pythagorean faid, (a) 
 
 * What is Plato but Mofes fpeaking in the Attic language ?* 
 Eufebius adds, that Plato (b) ' agreeing with Mofes teaches 
 ' in the Timaeus, that as there is but one heaven, fo there is 
 ' but one God; for that which contains all intelligibles can 
 ' never be fecond to any thing.' 
 
 Ariflotle, Plato's difciple and prince of the Peripatetic 
 philofophers, was one of thegreateft, fubtilefl:, andmoftuni- 
 verfal Genius's of his age: but refolved to quit his mailer's 
 footfteps, he defpifed all tradition and all antiquity, and en- 
 deavoured to fpin out of his own brains a perfect fyftem of 
 truth. Like the Arabian philofophers who pretended fince 
 to imitate him, like the Chriftian fchoolmen who borrowed 
 all their philofophy from the Arabians, and like fome modern 
 mctaphyficians fuch as Defcartes, Malebranch and Locke, 
 w^ho by quite different fchemes endeavour to explode the A- 
 riftotelian, Arabian and fcholaftic philofophy; juft fo Arif- 
 totlefeems to have quite abandoned the ftudy of the ancients 
 and applied himfelf only to a fpeculative combination of the 
 natural ideas that prcfent themfelves to all thinking mieds, 
 and of the neceffary confequences that flow from them. By 
 this method he difcovered fome of the greatefl: principles of 
 
 (a) Eufeb. praep, Evang. p. 410. ed. Colon, 1688. (b) Ibid. p. 53(5* 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 83 
 
 Natural Religion and Moral Philofophy ; but we find in him 
 few or no veftiges of the ancient, Noevian, Revealed Religi- 
 on, as in Plato, Socrates, Pythagoras, and in the Egyptian, 
 Perfian, and Chinefe philofophers. 
 
 Ariftotle in his metaphyfics has fomc very fublime ideas of 
 God: he calls him, (a) * the eternal and living Being, the 
 « moft noble of all Beings, a fubflrance entirely diftinfl from 
 
 * matter, without extenfion, without divifion, without parts 
 
 * and without fucceflion, who underftands every thing by 
 
 * one fingle a6t, and continuing himfelf immoveable gives mo- 
 
 * tion to all things, and enjoys in himfelf a perfect happinefs, 
 
 * as knowing and contemplating himfelf with infinite plea- 
 
 * fure.' In another place, he fay that (b) * God is a fupream 
 ' Intelligence which a(5ls with order, proportion and defign, 
 ^ and is the fourceof all that is good, excellent and jufh'Elfe- 
 where he fays,(c) ' the firlt principle is neither the fire, nor the 
 ^ earth, nor the water, nor any thing that is the obje6lof fenfe; 
 
 * but that a fpiritual fubflance is the caufe of the univerfe and 
 
 * the fource of all the order, and all the beauties, as well as of 
 
 * all the motions and all the forms which we fo much admire 
 
 * in it.' Befides this firft and eternal fubftance, he acknow- 
 ledges feveral other intelligent Beings that are the minifters of 
 the firfl and fupream God. (d) * There is,fays he, but one on- 
 ' ly Mover, and feveral inferior Deities. All that Is added a- 
 
 * bout the human fhape of thofe Deities, is nothing elfc but 
 
 * fiction, invented on purpofe to inflru^ the common people, 
 
 (a) Ariftot. Metaph. lib. xiv. cap. 7. pag. 1000. (b) Ibid. Metaph. lib. xiv. 
 cap. 10. pag. 1005. edit. Paris. 1629. (c) Ibid. Metaph. lib, i. cap. 2. p. 844. 
 (d) Ibid. lib. xiv, cap. 8. p. 1003. 
 
 L2 
 
84 OF GOD's EXISTENCE, 
 
 *■ and engage them to an obfcrvance of good laws: all miifl: 
 
 * be reduced to one, only primitive fubftance which governs 
 
 * in fubordination to the firft. This is the genuine doftrine 
 
 * of the ancients which has happily efcaped from the wreck of 
 ' truth, amidft the rocks of vulgar errors and poetic fables/ 
 
 We come now to the Stoics. Zeno, Cleanthes, Chryfip- 
 pusand all their difciples believed that the fupream, felf-exif- 
 tent, eternal Being was material; that his efTence was a pure 
 aether which filled all by local difFufion; that whatever was 
 not extended was nothing; that infinite fpace was the fame 
 with the divine immenfity ; that fpirit is but body rarified, and 
 body fpirit condenfcd ; that intelligence and extenfion may be 
 properties of the fame fubftance, and in fine, that there is, and 
 can be but one fort of fubftance in nature, wliich is matter 
 more or lefs fubtilized. Notvi'ithftanding of thofe falfc, ab- 
 furd, and contradictory ideas, the Stoics were very far from be- 
 ing atheifis. They acknowledged only one fupream God who 
 produced all things by his power, governs all things by his wif- 
 dom,and beatifies all Beings by hisgoodnefs.They endeavou- 
 red to prove the exiftence of this one God whom they called 
 Zeus, Zen, or Jupiter, by feveral arguments, drawn from the 
 orderly fyfiem of the world, and the characters of wifdom and 
 defign therein remarked. Hencethey concluded, (a) ' that it 
 
 * was no more likely that the world could have been made by 
 
 * chance, than that Homer's Iliad could have proceeded from 
 
 * the fortuitous projection of innumerable letters thrown at 
 ' random upon the ground.' They proved alfo the exiftence 
 of an all- perfect Being from the gradual afccnt and fcale oF 
 
 (a) See Dr, Cudworth's Intelleift. Syfteni; p. 421.. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 85 
 
 perfections we obferve In Nature. There mnO; needs there- 
 fore, faid they, be fome moft excellent and perfeiH: Being at 
 tlie head of all. In fine, they endeavoured to prove the exif- 
 tence of a God from this, that the caufe muft be more per- 
 fe<51: than the efFe<n:; and that the whole muft contain all the 
 perfeftlons of the parts, in a moft tranfcendent manner. 
 
 We come now to the later philofophers among the Greeks 
 who lived after the times of Chriftianity. It is certain that 
 all of them whether Pythagoreans, Platonifts, Peripatetics, 
 or Stoics acknowledged one fupream Deity, tho' they admit- 
 ted a plurality of inferior Gods> 
 
 The firft, the greateft and moft moral of all thefe later 
 philofophers is Hierocles, who wrote towards the end of the 
 fecond century a commentary upon the golden- verfes of Py- 
 thagoras, which is a colie(5tion of maxims v/rote by Lyfis 
 contemporary with and difciple of Pythagoras. Thofe verfes 
 are one of the moft ancient monuments of the Pythagorean 
 philofophy, and the commentary upon them may be called a; 
 divine work. There the author gives not only the highcft 
 idea of the fupream God, but of internal religion, and of the 
 true adoration in fpirit, as we ihall fee hereafter. 
 
 Hierocles begins all his theology by diftinguifhing betwixt 
 the fupream God, the created Gods, and the deified heroes. 
 He calls the firft God, the Creator of all things, and fpeaks 
 thus, (a) ' We can only difcover the true grandeur of God, 
 
 * the moft excellent artificer and maker of the world by be- 
 
 * lieving him to be the caufe of the indeviating intelligences,. 
 ' whom the verfes call the immortal Gods, becaufe they 
 
 Ca) Hierocles. ed. Cantab. 1709. p. 14, 
 
M OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 ' conftantly and uniformly contemplate God the Creator, 
 
 * have their thoughts perpetually intent upon his goodnefs, 
 
 * and receive from him compleatly and invariably being and 
 
 * vi^ell-being, as his living images void of paflion and evil.' In 
 another place he calls God, (a) * the firll: fource of all good, 
 ' the fountain of eternal Nature, the everlafling Caufe not 
 \ only of being, but of w^ell-being, who diifufes his benefi- 
 
 * cence thro' the whole univerfe, Hke a pure and intelle^ftual 
 
 * light.' In fine, the fcope, end and defign of all his work, 
 is tofhew, (b) * that human fouls having loft their wings are 
 
 * fallen into a ftate of corruption, degradation and exile; that 
 ' they can never re-afcend to, and re-aflume their primitive 
 
 * ftate, but by continual prayer, flying all terreftrial obje<n:s, 
 
 * in this uncomfortable abode, and even facrificing all the 
 
 * moft fpiritual and refined pafHons, which hinder the wings 
 ' of the foul from growing again, and by this lofs of its wings, 
 
 * it is deprived of an age of blifs.' We fhall fee hereafter, in 
 treating of the means of re-union, all the fablimity and puri- 
 ty of the maxims contained in this divine author. 
 
 Plutarch, who lived much about the fame time, contains 
 this admirable pafTage among many others, (a) * Theanci- 
 
 * ents gave the name of Gods to the various productions of 
 
 * the Deity; care fhould be taken however, not to transform, 
 ' dilTolve and fcatter the divine nature into rivers, winds, ve- 
 ' getables or bodily forms and motions. This would be as ri- 
 
 * diculous as to imagine that the fails, the cables, the rigging, 
 ' and the anchor are the pilot; or that the thread, thefhuttle, 
 
 (a) Hierocles pag. 172. (b) Ibid, pag, 186. (c) Plutarch, de Ifid. & Oflrid. 
 P'''g-373; 374; ^c- 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 8f 
 
 * and the woof are the weaver. Such fenfelcfs notions are 
 
 * unworthy of the heavenly pxDwers, whom men blafpheme 
 
 * when they give the name of Gods to beings of an infenfible, 
 ' inanimate and corruptible nature. Nothing that is without 
 
 * a foul, nothing that is material, nothing that can be percci- 
 
 * ved by our fenfes, can be God. Neither muft we imagine 
 
 * that there are different Gods according to the different coun- 
 ' tries of Greeks and Barbarians, northern and fouthern na- 
 
 * tions. As the Sun is common to all the world, tho' called 
 
 * by different names in different places, fo there is but one 
 
 * fole, fupream Mind or Reafon, and one and the fame Pro- 
 
 * vidence, that governs the world, tho' he is worfhipped un- 
 ' der different names, and has appointed fome inferior powers 
 
 * for his minifters,' This paffage of Plutarch's fhews plainly 
 that the wifer Pagans were rather Polyonomifls than Poly- 
 theifls, and that it is as unjufl and unreafonable in the Chrif^ 
 tian priefls to call them Polytheifts, as it would be in the Pa- 
 gans to call the Europeans fo, becaufe the French call him 
 DiEU, the Englifli God, the Italians Dio, &c. Or becaufe 
 they call God fometimes Life, lometimes Light, fometimes 
 Love, fometimes Juflice, Goodnefs, Mercy, do they erecfl all 
 thcfe attributes into feparate Gods and Deities? We have 
 done and do daily the fame injuflice to the Pagans, and all 
 this to fhow that out of the pale of the vifible church, men 
 never had any jufl: notions of a Deity. This is the high road 
 to the darkeft atheifm,oneof whofe fundamental maxims is, 
 that the mofl part of mankind have no ideas of an eternal prin- 
 ciple, that it is the particular opinion of a little fec% and not. 
 the univerfal fentimcnt of all intelligent minds. 
 
^SB OP GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 Dion Chryfoftome Plutarch's contemporary, tho' he ac- 
 Icnowledged many inferior Gods, yet he alTerts, that (a) 
 
 * there is an opinion common to all the human kind as well 
 ' Barbarians as Greeks; that it is naturally implanted in them 
 
 * as rational Beings, and not derived from any mortal teacher. 
 
 * This opinion is, that the whole world is under the kingly 
 
 * power or monarchy of one fupream God, who is the com- 
 
 * mon Lord of Gods and men, their Governor and Father, 
 
 * -the univerfal Prefident who orders and governs the heavens 
 
 * and the earth as a wife pilot doth a fhip.' 
 
 Alcinous who is fuppofed to have lived towards the begin- 
 ning of the fecond century, fpeaks thus: (b) ' Since thefirft 
 ^ Mind is the mofl: beautiful, he muft have before him the 
 
 * mod beautiful objeft of contemplation: but there is nothing 
 
 * more beautiful than himfelf, he mull then aKvays contem- 
 
 * plate himfelf, and this energy is called his idea. The firft 
 ^ God is eternal, inexpreifible, felf-fufficient, perfect in all 
 
 * times and in all places. He is good becaufe he does good to 
 
 * all, and is the caufe of all good. He is beautiful becaufe by 
 
 * nature he is fuUnefs and order. He is Truth becaufe he is 
 
 * the principle of all Truth, as the fun is the fource of all light. 
 
 * He is the univerfal Father as he is the caufe of all things, 
 
 * and becaufe he adorns the celeftial Mind and the Soul of 
 
 * the world, by exciting them and turning them to himfelf that 
 -^ they may beautify every nature in the univerfe.' 
 
 Galen, in his book of the ufe of human members, fpeaks 
 thus; (e) * I compofe this holy oration as a true hymn to the 
 
 (a) Dio. Chryfoft. pag. 199, 200. 21O. 295.446. (b) AlcinouS; c. X.p. 23. 
 (c) Galen, de ufu partium, p. 402. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 89 
 
 ? praife of him that made us. I conceive that true piety and 
 
 * religion towards God, does not confift in facrificing many 
 
 * hecatombs, nor in burning much incenfe, but in this, that 
 
 * I fhould firft acknowledge myfelf, and then declare to o- 
 
 * thers, how great his power, his wifdom, and his goodnefs 
 ' are: for to adorn the world as he has done, envying to no- 
 
 * thing that good which it is capable of, is a demonflration 
 
 * of the moft abfolute goodnefs; and that he was able to find 
 
 * out how all things ought to be adorned after the beft man* 
 
 * ner, is a fign of the greateft wifdom ; and laftly, to be able 
 
 * to effcd: and bring to pafs all thofe things which he had thus 
 
 * decreed, argues an infuperable power.' 
 
 Maximus Tyrius gives us this noble image of the divine 
 monarchy in the end of his firft differtation. * Imagine a 
 
 * great and powerful Empire In which all confpire freely and 
 
 * with one confent to direct their actions agreeably to the will 
 
 * and command of one fupream King the oldeft and the beft. 
 
 * Then fuppofc that the bounds of this empire are neither the 
 
 * Halys nor the Hellefpont, the Mcotian lake nor the flioars 
 
 * of the great ocean, but the heavens above, the earth below, 
 
 * and the boundlefs expanfe. Here let that great King fit im- 
 ' moveable in himfelf, prefent every where tho'unextended, 
 ' prefcribing to all his fubjefls laws in which confift their fe- 
 ' curity and felicity. Let the conforts of this empire be in- 
 
 * numerable invifible and vifible Gods: thefe that are ncarcft 
 
 * him and immediately attending on him are in the higheft 
 ■■* royal dignity, feafting as it were at the fame table with him) 
 .? others are minifters and attendants, and a third fort arc 
 
 * inferior to them both. Thus you fee how the order ijnd 
 
 PART 2. M 
 
c?o OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 * chain of this government defcends by fteps and degrees 
 
 * from the fupream God to the earth and men. 
 
 The fame author fays, (a) * Amidft fo great a war, conten- 
 
 * tion and difcord of opinions, there is through the whole 
 
 * earth anuniverfal law and fentiment, agreeing that there is 
 
 * one God, the King and Father of all things, and many 
 
 * Gods his children that reign with him. The Greeks and 
 
 * the Barbarians agree in this doctrine, he that inhabits the 
 ' continent and he that lives by the fea, the wife and the un- 
 
 * wife. Now do you imagine that Plato would oppofe thefe 
 
 * fentiments, and not agree with mankind in the moft beau- 
 
 * tiful of all truths, and feel with them the truefl: of all fenti- 
 ' ments. Whatis that? My eye fays it is the fun, my carfays 
 
 * it is thunder ; but what are all thefe things really? My foul 
 ' fays that they are the works of God, itdefires the artift in 
 ' difcovering the art. Tho' there may have arifen fince the 
 
 * beginning of the world two or three atheiftical, low, or ftu- 
 ' pid men that wander with their eyes, are deceived by their 
 ' ears, and maimed in their fouls, irrational, barren, and with- 
 
 * out fruit, like a lyon without courage, or a bird without 
 
 * wings; yet this does not deftroy the univerfal fentiment of 
 
 * mankind concerning the Divinity. Tho' you deny his good- 
 ' nefs asLeucippus, tho' you afcribe human paffions to him as 
 
 * Democritus, tho' you change his nature as Strato, tho' you 
 
 * make him a God of pleafure as Epicurus, tho' you deny his 
 
 * exigence as Diagoras, tho' you fay you know not what he 
 *- is as Protagoras, yet you cannot dcltroy in yourfelf nor in 
 
 * them the natural ideas all have of a Deity, for they, even 
 
 (a) Max. Tyr. edit. Davifii. Cantab, c. i. p. 6. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 91 
 
 * they know and fjjeak of God againft their hiclinations.* In 
 another place he fays, (a) ' The Deity is invifible to the eyes, 
 
 inexpreffible by language, impalpable by fenfe; he cannot 
 be heard of by the ear, but only by the mod: beautiful, moft 
 pure, mofl: intelleftual, and moft ancient powers of the foul ; 
 for the Deity intirely colle6led into himfelf enters into a re- 
 collc6led mind, (b) If you are too weak at prefent for the 
 contemplation of the Father and Creator; letitfufficethee 
 to behold his works, and worfhip his offspring that are ma- 
 ny and various, not as the Beotian poet fays, for there arc 
 not only thirty thoufand Gods, the fons and friends of the 
 fupream God, but an infinite number repienifhing both 
 heaven and ether, (c) The Father and Creator of all Be- 
 ings is more ancient than the fun, older than heaven, grea- 
 ter than time and every flowing nature. A law-giver with- 
 out name, inexpreflible by words, invifible to the eye. In- 
 capable to comprehend his elTence we aflift our weaknefs 
 by words, namcs,lymbols, images of animals, plants, rivers, 
 mountains, fountains, defiring to underftand him. 'This is 
 a plain definition of the ancient hieroglyphical language, and 
 a plain attempt to reduce men to the original fenfe of it with- 
 out ftopping at the fign and falling into idolatry. 
 
 Ariftides the Adrianean fophift and orator, in his firft ora- 
 tion or hymn confecrated to Jupiter, fpcaks thus, (d) ' Jupi- 
 
 * ter made all things, and all things that exift are the work of 
 
 * Jupiter, heavens and earth, fea and rivers, all that is above 
 ' and' all that is below, Gods and men, every thing that has 
 
 (a) Max. Tyrius c. I . p. I 2. (b)Ib, p. i6. (c) lb. c. 3S. p. 402. 
 
 (d) Ariflid. orat. i. 
 
 M 2 
 
5)2 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 * life, whatfoever is perceivable by fenfe or by mind. Jupiter 
 
 * was felf-exiftent. He was not educated in the flowery, odo- 
 
 * riferant caves of Crete, neither was Saturn ever about to de- 
 
 * vour him, nor inflead of him did he fwallow down a ftone; 
 
 * for Jupiter was never in danger nor will he ever be fo. Nei- 
 
 * ther is there any thing older than Jupiter, no more than there 
 
 * are fons older than their parents, or works than their artifi- 
 
 * cers. He is the firft, the oldeft, and the parent of all things, 
 
 * feif-originated, nor can it be declared when he was made, 
 
 * for he was from the beginning. No man can tell the time, 
 
 * fince there was not than any time, and nothing clfe befidcs 
 
 * him.' Thus we fee that the wifer Pagans were far from un- 
 derflanding literally the fables of the poets. But this, prieft- 
 craft conceals expresfly from children, to give them falfe i- 
 deas of the Pagan theology, and make them believe that out 
 of the facred pale, there never was any true lights, virtues nof 
 graces. 
 
 The Emperor Marcus Antoninus calls God, (a) * the ol^ 
 
 * deft of all the Gods, the Nature which governs all things, 
 
 * the mind which produced and pervades the fubftance of aH 
 
 * things; the fupream reafon which orders and difpenfes all 
 
 * according to appointed periods, and the intellectual princi- 
 
 * pie which contains the whole.' The fame emperor fays, 
 
 * that as our bodies breathe the common air, fo fliould our 
 
 * fouls fuck and draw in vital breath from that great Mind 
 
 * which comprehends the univcrfe, becoming as it were, ond 
 
 * fpirit with him.' In other places the fame emperor calls God 
 
 * the Mind and Underftanding of the whole world, the intel- 
 
 (a) Marc. Ant. lib, v, vi, vii, viii, ix. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 93 
 
 * leclual fountain of all Beings, one God through all, one fub- 
 
 * ftance, and one law. Endeavour, fays he, to fecm fair and 
 
 * beautiful in the eyes of God,defire to be pure with thy pure 
 
 * felf and with God.' 
 
 Epi<5]:etus and his true difciples fuch as Arrianus, SImplici- 
 us and many other Stoics arc full of fuch noble fentiments of 
 God; they were fo convinced of his exiftence and omnipre- 
 fence, of his power, wifdom and goodnefs, that it never en- 
 tered into their heads to give fpeculative proofs of fuch plain 
 and univerfal truths. It is true indeed that they called him 
 Nature, and Univerfal Nature, but at the fame time, * Crea- 
 
 * tor, felf-exiilent, the law, the reafon, and the light of all 
 ' intelligent beings, the author of all good, the univerfal Fa- 
 
 * ther of men and Gods, to whom all fubmiffion, refignatl- 
 
 * on, confidence, thankfglving and internal adoration are due.* 
 As we fhall fee more fully hereafter when we talk of the pie- 
 ty, devotion and moral fentiments of the ancients. 
 
 Dr. Cudworth has further demonftrated (a) that this be- 
 lief of a fupream, felf-exiflent Being, was not only the fcnti- 
 ment of the wifer Greek philofophers, fuch as Pythagoras, 
 Socrates, Plato, Antlflhcnes, Xenocrates, Zeno, Clcanthes, 
 Chryfippus, Scaevola the Roman high-priefl:, Varro, Cicero 
 and Pliny, but alfo of the poets; to this purpofe the learned- 
 Do^orquotesapairageofHermefianaxtheColophonianwhd 
 declares, ' that Jupiter, Pan, Apollo, Pluto, Neptune, Mer- 
 cury, Cupid, Ncreus and Triton; Proferpine, Ceres, Venus, 
 Thctys, Juno and Diana were all but one and the fame God 
 under diflerent names. We may then lay down for an un- 
 (a) Cudworth's Intelle<ftualSyftem, page 45^4, 49 j.- 
 
94 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 contefted fundamental principle of the Pagan philofophy and 
 mythology, that notwithftanding the multiplicity of the in- 
 ferior Gods allowed by the Greeks, yet they all acknow- 
 ledged one fupream univerfal Numen, who was called by dif- 
 ferent names, according to his different powers, attributes 
 and efFe<5ls. We beg this principle may not be forgot. 
 
 Let us now proceed to examine the theology of the Ro- 
 mans. Tho' this warlike, political people was lefs addicted 
 to the fublimer fciences than the Greeks, Egyptians and Ori- 
 entals, yet all their wife men and philofophers had the fame 
 notions of one fupream Deity. 
 
 We begin with Numa fecond king of the Romans, who 
 lived more than fix hundred years before our Saviour. This 
 royal philofopher fays expresfly, (a) * that the firft principle 
 
 * of all things is neither fubjcfl to fenfe nor fufFering, but in- 
 ' vifible, uncorruptible, and conceivable only by the mind.' 
 Plutarch afTures us, (b) ' that as the ancient Perfians, fo the 
 
 * Romans, during a hundred and fixty years, had no images 
 
 * nor ftatues of the Deity in their temples, believing that it 
 
 * was a crime to reprefent what is auguft by what is low, and 
 
 * that we could attain to the knowledge of the Deity by mind 
 
 * only.' Numa was a Sabin, and the Sabins pretended to be 
 -a colony of the Lacedemonians. Lycurgus travelled into E- 
 gypt, and there he learned all the fame notions of the Deity 
 that were familiar to the Egyptians, about an eternal, un- 
 made, felf-exiftent Principle of all things. 
 
 Cicero has the fame notions as Numa. This Roman con- 
 ful fays In his book of Divination, (a) ' that the beauty of 
 (a) Plutarch, de vita Numae, (c) Ibid, (d) Cicero de Divin. lib. ii. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. ^5 
 
 * the nnlverfe and the order of the heavenly bodies, compel 
 
 * us to confefs that there is fome excellent and eternal nature 
 
 * to be looked to and admired by mankind.' Tho' he de- 
 claims againft the abufe of priefthood and prieftcraft in ma- 
 ny places, yet he fpeaks thus; (a) * Who is fo mad or fhipid 
 
 when he looks up to the heavens, and is not prefently con- 
 vinced that there are Gods? or can perfuade himfelf that 
 thofe things which are made with fo much mind and wif- 
 dom, that no human fkill is able to comprehend the artifice 
 and contrivance of them, did all happen by chance, (b) 
 No, no, fays he, there is, there is certainly a divine force 
 in the world; neither is it reafonable to think that in thcfe 
 srofs and frail bodies of ours, there fhould be fomethin<:y 
 which hath life, fenfe, and underftandlng, and yet no fjch 
 thing in the whole univerfe: if men will conclude that there 
 is none becaufe they do not fee it, they muft alfo deny the 
 exigence of their own mind which they do not fee, tho' it is 
 by it that we underftand, forefee,and order all that we do.' In- 
 his Tufculan queftions he fays;(c) * that God cannot be un- 
 derltood by us otherwife than as a free mind, difenga^ed and 
 feparated from all mortal concretion, which both perceives 
 and moves all things, (d) Without his government, neither 
 any family, city, nation, nor mankind in general, nor the 
 whole of nature, nor the univerfe could fiibfift: for this alfo 
 obeyeth God: the feas and the earth are fubjccTied to him, and 
 the life of man is difpofcd of by the commands of the fu- 
 prcam law. (e) He rules over all mankind and forbids them 
 
 (a) Cicero Orat. de Harufp. (b) Orat. pro IMilone. (c) (^naeflion. Tafcul. 
 lib. i. & Somn. Scipion. (d) ibid. lib. i. (c) Ibid, de Diviu. 
 
q6 OF god's existence, 
 
 / 
 
 * to depart hence without his leave. He is the fupream God, 
 
 * Lord and Governor, whofe divine power all things obey. 
 
 * (a) The chief and principal God who governs the whole 
 
 * world in the fame manner as an human foul governs thebo- 
 
 * dy it is fet over.' In another place he adds ; (b) * According 
 
 * to the opinion of the wifeft and greateft men, the law is 
 
 * not an invention of human underftanding, nor the arbitra- 
 
 * ry conftitution of men, but it flows from the eternal Rea- 
 
 * fon that governs the univerfe. Its origin is as ancient as the 
 
 * Divine Intelle6l, for the true, the primitive, and the fupream 
 
 * law is nothing elfe but the fovereign reafon of great Jove.' 
 In another place he fays; (c) ' This law is eternal, univerfal, 
 ' immutable; it does not vary according to times and places. 
 
 * It is not different now from what it was formerly ; the fame 
 
 * immortal law is a rule to all nations, becaufe It has no other 
 
 * author, but the one only God, who brought it forth, and 
 
 * promulged it.' 
 
 Terentius Varro contemporary with Cicero, had the fame 
 thoughts of the Deity. We have no works left of him, but 
 fome fragments preferved in the Latin fathers and efpecially 
 b_y St Auguftin, (d) * According to the literal fenfe, fays Te- 
 
 * rentius Varro, the poetical, mythical theology, contains ma- 
 ' ny things contrary to the dignity and nature of immortal 
 
 * beings. It derives the genealogy of one God from the head, 
 ' another from the thigh, another from drops of blood. Some 
 
 * arc reprefented as thieves, others as adulterers; in fine, the 
 ' poets attribute to the Gods all fort of defeats that are inci- 
 
 (a) Cicero, Somn. Sclpion. (b) Ibid, de legib. lib. ii. (c) Fragm. Reipub, 
 Cicero, apud La(^an. lib. vi. c. 8. (d) S. Auguft. de civit. Dei. lib. vi. c 5. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. c^y 
 
 dent not only to men, but to the moll: contemptible men. 
 Thefe alone underftand what God is,who believe him to be 
 a foul governing the world with activity and wifdom.' 
 
 Seneca the Stoic gives us the fame ideas, ' (a) It is oF 
 very little confequence by what name you call the firfl: Na- 
 ture and the divine reafon that prefides over the univerfe, 
 and fills all the parts of it. He is fHll the fame God. He is 
 called Jupiter Stator, not as hiftorians fay, becaufe he ftopr 
 the Roman armies as they were flying,but becaufe he is the 
 conftant fupportofall beings. They may call him Fate, 
 becaufe he is the firfl: caufe upon which all others depend. 
 We Stoics call him Father Bacchus, becaufe he is the uni- 
 verfal life that animates Nature ; Hercules, becaufe his 
 power is invincible ; Mercury, becaufe he is the eternal rea- 
 fon, order and wifdom. You may give him as many names 
 as you pleafe, provided you allow but one fole principle e- 
 very where prefent.Tn another place he fays. ' (b) The an- 
 cients did not think Jove fuch a being as we reprefent him 
 in the capitol and in our other buildings: but by Jove they 
 meant the guardian and governor of the univerfe, the un- 
 derftanding and the mind, the mafl:er and the architect of 
 this great machine. All names belong to him. You are not 
 in the wrong, if you call him Fate; for he is the caufe of 
 caufes, and every thing depends upon him. Would you call 
 him Providence, you fall into no miftake, it is by his wif- 
 dom that this world is govern'd. Would you call him Na- 
 ture, you would not offend in doing fo, it is from him that 
 
 (a) Seneca de benef . lib. iv. pag. 311. edit. Antwerp, a Lipfio 1632. (b) Id. 
 Natural, quaeftion. lib. ii. pag. 7 1 5. 
 
 PART 2. N 
 
98 OF GOD's EXISTENCE, 
 
 * all beings derive their origin, it is by him, that they live and 
 
 * breath. He is the framer and former of the univerfe, the go- 
 ' vernor, difpofer, and keeper thereof, the artificer and Lord of 
 
 * the whole mundane fabric. He is prefent every where, and 
 ' fuftaineth himfclf by his own force, and his power extends 
 ' to all things. He is the greateft and mofl: powerful God, 
 
 * the God of Gods upon whom are fufpended all thefe di- 
 
 * vine powers, whom we fingly worfhip and adore. In fine, he 
 
 * is difFufed thro' all things great and fiiiall " with equal in- 
 " tention." This laft expreilion feems at firfl: obfcure, but 
 when explained it is truly profound, and fliows that in this 
 point, Seneca departed from the falfe notion of the Stoics 
 who believed the divine elTence to be an ethereal fubftance. 
 The Pythagoreans, Platonics, and Immaterialifts diftinguifli- 
 ed two manners of exifting, the one by Extention, the other 
 by Intention, that is, not by a local difFu (ion of parts, but by 
 a total prefence of God's whole indivifible efTence every 
 where. Thus they did not confound the divine immenfity 
 with infinite fpace. Seneca feems to have adopted this fenti- 
 ment. Whatever truth there be in this favourable conjec- 
 ture, it is certain, that Seneca demonftrates by thefe two paf- 
 fages, that the wife Pagans were not Polytheiih, but Polyo- 
 nomifts, that they did not believe a plurality of fupream Gods, 
 but gave the one God only different names, and underftood 
 by all thefe names, one fole principle of all things every 
 where prefent. This,as we have feen,was the do(5lrine of Plu- 
 tarch, and this, as we fhall Ihow hereafter, was alfo the fun- 
 damental do(^rine of all the wifer Pagans both Greek aad 
 Latin; Egyptian and Perfian. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 99 
 
 Apuleius, who was faid to work miracles, has the mofl: 
 noble notions of the Deity, of the love we owe him, and of 
 our degradation. All his fable of Pfyche is only an allegory 
 to exprefs our fall from a pre-exiilent ftate, our purification 
 in this hfe, and our return to the celeftial abodes, as ftiall be 
 explained hereafter. This philofophcr ftill reprefents God, 
 (a) * as the highefl: of the Gods, who not only knows and 
 
 * fees all things by his wifdom, but who penetrates and com- 
 
 * prehends within himfclf the beginning, the middle and the 
 ' end, and intimately prefent to all beings, he governs them 
 
 * by theuniverfal care of his providence.' 
 
 We come now to the Latin poets. Ovid begins his me- 
 tamorphofis thus, (b) * Before there was a fea and an earth, 
 
 * before there was any heaven to cover the world, univerfal 
 
 * nature was but one undigefted fluggifh mafs called a chaos. 
 
 * The feeds of all things jumbled together were in a perpetual 
 
 * difcord, till a beneficent Deity put an end to the difference.' 
 Thefe words fhow plainly, that the Latin poet makes a dif- 
 tin6tion betwixt univerfal nature, and that God who by his 
 wifdom and beneficence brought it out of confufion into or- 
 der. 
 
 Virgil always reprefents Jupiter as omnipotent, felf-be- 
 gotten, the father of Gods and men; and follows his great 
 model Homer in diftinguifhing betwixt the fupream God and 
 the inferior deities. 
 
 Plautus introduceth an inferior Deity fpeaking in this 
 manner, (c) * I am an inhabitant of the celeflial city, of 
 ' which Jupiter the father of Gods and men is the head. He 
 
 (a) Apuleius. (b) Ovid Metam. lib. i. pag. i . (c) Plaut. Rudens. 
 
 N 2 
 
100 OF GOD's EXISTENCE, 
 
 ' commands the nations, and fends ns over all kingdoms to 
 
 * take an account of the conduct and actions, the piety and 
 
 * virtue of men. In vain do mortals endeavour to bribe him 
 
 * vi^ith their oblations and facrifices. They lofe their pains, 
 ' for he abhors the worfhip of the impious.' In another place 
 he fays, (a) ' I come by the order of Jupiter ; my name is 
 
 * Mercury. My father fent me hither to entreat you, becaufe 
 
 * he knew that you w^ould do what was commanded.' He 
 adds in another place, (b) ' My father the King of the Gods 
 
 * is the author of all thefe benefits, but it was never my fa- 
 
 * ther's cuftom to upbraid the good with his bounty to them.* 
 
 (c) ' O Mufe, fays Horace, purfuantto the cuftom of our 
 
 * anceftors, celebratethegreat Jove who rules over Gods and 
 ' men, the earth, the feas, and the whole univerfe. There is 
 ' nothing greater than he, nothing that is like him, nothing 
 ' that Is equal to him.' 
 
 Lucan has a moft furprizing paiTage in his ninth book, 
 when Cato, after crofling the deferts of Lybia, arrives at 
 the temple of Jupiter Ammon, Labienus Is for perfuading 
 him to confult the oracle. Whereupon Cato anfwers, (d) 
 
 * Why do you Labienus propofe to me to afk the oracle, 
 
 * whether we (hould chufe to die in a ftate of freedom, with 
 
 * our fwords In our hands, rather than fee tyranny enflave 
 ' our country ? whether this mortal life be only a remora to 
 ' a morelafting one? whether violence can hurta good'man? 
 ' whether virtue does not make us fuperior to misfortunes? 
 
 * and whether true glory depends upon fuccefs? we know 
 
 (a) Id. Amphytrion lin. i|. (b) Ibid. lin. 44. (c) Horat. ode 12. 
 lib. i. (d) Lucan. lib. ix. 5 66. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. loi 
 
 * thefe things already, and the oracle cannot give ns clearer 
 ' anfwers than what God makes us feel every moment in the 
 ' bottom of our heart. We are all united to the Deity. He 
 
 * has no need of words to convey his meaning to us, and he 
 ' has told us at our birth every thing we have occafion to 
 
 * know. He has not chofen the parched fands of Lybia to 
 
 * bury truth in thefe deferts, that it might be underftood on*- 
 ' ly by a fmall number. He manifefts himfelf to all the world, 
 ' He fills all places, the earth, the fea, the air, and the heavens. 
 
 * Jupiter is wherc-everyou look, and where-everyou move. 
 ' He makes his particular abode in the foul of the jufl:, why 
 
 * then fliould we feek him elfewherc ? ' We have followed 
 the tranflation of a modern author, (a) who has rendered the 
 expreflion ' Jupiter eft quodcunque vides,' by the words Ju^ 
 piter is where-ever you look, becaufe in fome manufcripts we 
 read ' Jupitereftquocunque vides.' Suppofing however, that 
 we adhere to the firft reading, this paflTage (hows that Lucan 
 or Cato, tho' they join with the Stoics in confounding God 
 and nature, yet they acknowledge a fovereign Intelligence 
 that enlightens all mortals, that is prefent everywhere, and 
 that makes his particular abode in the fouls of juft men. 
 
 Perfius has a moft admirable paflage that runs thus, (b) 
 ' O great Father of the Gods^ puniih criminals no otherwifs 
 
 * than by fhowing them the beauty of virtue, that they may 
 
 * languifh with defpair for having abandoned it.' 
 
 Statius, in his Thebaid,calls Jupiter the chief of the Gods, 
 and the father of the world, (c) He reprcfents him in awful 
 
 (a) The theology of the Pagans at the end of Cyrus's travels, (b) Perfius. fat. 3'. 
 lin. 35. (c)Booki.Unei78. 
 
I02 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 niajefty alTembring the Deities in the innemiofl: apartments 
 of heaven, as towering above all the reft, and fhaking the u- 
 niverfe with a ferene countenance. None of the Gods dare 
 fit down in his prefence, till their omnipotent Father give 
 them the fignal with his peaceful hand. When he orders 
 tranquillity, the frighted world is hufhed in filence. WhcN 
 he fpeaks, an immutable force and divine energy attend his 
 facred words and the Fates obey his voice (a). 
 
 Manilius extolls Mercury as the firft who taught men the 
 knowledge of heaven, and the ftars, to dlfplay the beauty of 
 the univerfe, and fhow how venerable the Power who for- 
 med it; that the nations might feel how great that God muft 
 be, who ranged heaven, and its varying fccnes in order, and 
 gave Nature all her force (b). Elfewhere, he dcfcrlbes the 
 Deity as animating and over-ruling the whole world, (c) 
 
 * This vaft fabric of the world, and all the members of nature 
 
 * fo different in their figure, the air, the fire, the earth, and 
 
 * the level fea, are ruled by the force of the divine mind. God 
 
 * breathes within them in a facred way, and fways them by 
 ' filent reafon. To their numerous parts, he gives different 
 ' law^s, that one part ftrengthning and fupporting another, 
 
 * the whole univerfe may be allied by its different forms.' In 
 another place, he teaches the fame truth, (d) * I wdll fing of 
 
 * God who prefides over nature with a filent underftanding, 
 ' who is difFufed through the heaven, the earth and fea; and 
 ' who governs the vaft univerfe by equal laws.' After this, he 
 endeavours to prove, that, the beautiful and orderly appearan- 
 ces of nature, without the all-wife providence of the Deity, 
 
 (a) lb. line 196. (b) Book 1. 1. 33. (c)lb,l. 247. id) Book 2.1. 60. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 103 
 
 would foon be changed,and the univerfe immediately fall into 
 the iitmoftconfufion. 
 
 The Pharifaical bigots, more dangerous than the incre- 
 dulous freethinkers, will perhaps fay, it is poffible, that the 
 wifer fort of philofophical Pagans might, and may ftill, have 
 fome ideas of a Deity: but that the vulgar had no fuch noti- 
 ons. To prove the contrary, we need only quote this remar- 
 kable paffage of MaximusTyrius. (a) ^ If there were a mee- 
 
 * ting called of all the feveral trades and profefFions, a painter, 
 
 * aftatuary, a poetandaphilofopher; if all of them were re- 
 ' quired to declare their opinion about God, do you think 
 
 * that the painter would fay one thing, the ftatuary another, 
 ' the poet another, and the philofopher another? no, nor the 
 
 * Scythians neither, nor the Greeks, nor the Hyperboreans. 
 
 * In other things we find men fpeaking and thinking very dif- 
 
 * cordantly to one another. Neverthelefs, in this fo great 
 
 * war, contention and difcord, you may find every where 
 
 * throughout the whole world one uniform law and opinion^, 
 
 * that there is one God, the king and father of all. 
 
 Let us now examine what the holy fcriptures and the pri- 
 mitive fathers fay of the Pagan theology. 
 
 St. Peter fays, (b) * There was a certain man in Caefarea 
 
 * called Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian band. A devout 
 
 * man and one that feared God with all his houfe, who gave 
 
 * much alms to the people, and prayed to God always. 'Some 
 think that this centurion was a profcly te of the Jews, and that 
 without praftifing the Pagan worfhip, he did not profcfs the 
 Jewifh religion. We fhall fhow hereafter that this a pure 
 
 (a) M-axim. Tyrius. diiTert. i.pag. 4.5.&C. (b) Afts. ch.x.i.2.4. 34, 35-37' 
 
104 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 fuppofitlon. Cornelius was a Gentile in the fervice of the 
 Romans, and therefore, no doubt, frequented their temples, 
 ^Yas prefent at their public worfhip, feared God with all his 
 family ,and lived in a continual practice of prayer and charity. 
 He had a fupernatural vifion, his fuperior faculties were ope- 
 ned, he faw an angel of God who faid unto him, * Thy 
 
 * prayers and thy alms are come up, for a memorial, before 
 
 * God.' It is added, that St. Peter had alfo a fupernatural viii- 
 on to undeceive him of his pharifaical prejudices, which 
 taught, that ' it was an unlawful thing for a Jew, to have any 
 ' communion with the Gentiles.' Then St. Peter opened 
 his mouth and faid, ' Of a truth I perceive that God is no re- 
 
 * fpecler of perfons ; but in every nation, he that feareth him 
 ' and worketh righteoufnefs is accepted with him.' Yea he 
 boldly aflures, that the gift of the holy Spirit may be poured 
 forth upon many Gentiles yet unbaptized: for he adds, ' Can 
 ' any man forbid water, that thefe fhould not be baptized, 
 ' who have received the holy Spirit, as well as we.' Can there 
 be any thing more clear, more exprefs, more convincing than 
 this text to prove,that many Pagans not only worfhipped the 
 fupream God; but that they are acceptable to him, may a- 
 dore him in fpirit and in truth, receive the gift of the holy 
 Spirit, liave fupernatural revelations and vifions, pray conti- 
 nually, and be filled with a fpirit of charity, tho' they be born 
 in the bofom of Paganifm, live and die out of the facrcd pale. 
 Is God's arm fhortned, and is his power diminifhed? may 
 he not by his internal univerfal Grace have many Cornelius's 
 in Africa, Afia, and America who never heard of the hif- 
 torical fafis of the Bible, nor of the vifible church, nor of 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 105 
 
 the facramental figns and fymbols? many Pagans that we 
 have cited, might then have been in the ftatc of Cornelius the 
 Centurion, fuch as Socrates, Heraclitus, Epicletus, and ma- 
 ny others, as St. Juftin Martyr afTures. 
 
 St. Paul, in his epiftle to the Romans, teaches the fame 
 do(5trine, (a) ' The invifible things of God are clearly feen 
 
 * from the creation of the world, and underftood by the 
 
 * things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead 
 
 * fo that the Gentiles are without excufe, becaufe knowing 
 ' God, they glorified him not as God, neither were they 
 ' thankful, but became vain in their imaginations.' It was 
 not then ignorance, that was the fource of their idolatry and 
 fuperftition ; but the corruption of their heart. In another 
 place, the fame apoftle adds, that the Gentiles had not only 
 juft ideas of the divine Nature, but a knowledge of the mo- 
 ral eternal law, that will accufe or excufe them at the laft day. 
 (b) * When the Gentiles which have not the law,' the written 
 law, ' do naturally,' or voluntarily, * the things contained in 
 
 * the law, they are a law unto themfelves, which fhews the 
 
 * work of the law written in their hearts, which will accufe or 
 
 * excufe them in the day,when God fhall judge the fecrets of 
 
 * men by Jefus Chrilt according to the Gofpel/ whofe end, 
 confummation and perfeftion is love, prayer, mortification, 
 felf-denyal, adoration in fpirit and truth. Thefe great laws 
 and principles are writ in the hearts of the Pagans by the 
 Light that enlightens every man who comes into the world, 
 by the holy Spirit who refufcs his graces to none, by the cen- 
 
 (a) Roman, ch. i. 18. 19. 20.21. (b) Roman, ii. 14. 15. 16. 
 PART 2. O 
 
io6 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 tral attractions of the Father, who defires that ^ill mf"*" " M 
 come to the knowledge of truth, and be faveJ. '^ .e 
 
 of univcrfal grace, as we have (hown rife wjierc, aaa vvill 
 fliow hereafter, is the great fco->e, end, and cfTence of all St. 
 Pauls epiftles. If he be alked, how he poves this univeifaUty 
 of divine internal grace to thofethat live without the pale of 
 the vifible church. He willanfwer, (a) ' Glory, honour and 
 ' peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew firft, and 
 
 * then to the Gentile; for there is no re{J3e(5]: ofperfons with 
 
 * God, for he Is the God of the Gentiles, as well as the God 
 
 * of the Jews.' Can there be any thing more exprefs to fliew, 
 that the Heathens had a true knowledge of the Deity, and 
 of the moral eternal law of love. After fuch plain texts, may 
 not the Fataliftical doctors, who deny thefe great principles, 
 beaccufed of error? 
 
 St. Paul inculcates and repeats the fame do6lrIne In the 
 Acts of the Apoflles, when he was at Athens, and preached 
 before the Areopagites. (b) ' Ye men of Athens,' fays he, 
 
 * I perceive that in all things you are very religious, for as I 
 ' pafied by, and beheld your facred monuments, I found an 
 
 ^* altar with this infcriptlon. To the unknown God, where- 
 ' fore I declare unto you, that him whom you worlhip with- 
 
 * out knowing it, is the God that made the world, and all 
 
 * things therein, feeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, 
 
 * he dwelleth not in temples made with hands, but giveth to 
 ^ all life, and breath and all things; for in him we live, and 
 
 * move and have our being.' the words t^im^a.iy.Qvi(jriMc,^ 
 (a)Roman.ch.ii. IQ. II. andch.iii, 29. (b) Ads.ch. xvii. 22. 23. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 107 
 
 as Dr. Cudworth very well remarks, Jfhould be tranflated, 
 
 * more than ordinarily religious' and not fuperftitious; now 
 it is clear from this text, that the apofile fays exprefly, that 
 the God whom the Athenians worfhipped under the name 
 of the unknown God, was the true God, the creator of 
 the heavens and the earth. He does not fay, that he was 
 come to preach to them the exiftence of God, of whom they 
 had no idea, but to inform them that the God they worship- 
 ped under the name of unknown, incomprehenfible, and 
 invifible, was the only true God, the creator of the heavens 
 and the earth, the fource of life, light and love, and the God 
 of the Chriftians. 
 
 The primitive fathers thought as the apoftles, and teach 
 the fame dodrine. Towards thebeginningof the third cen- 
 tury,there was an apocryphal book extant, which then palTed 
 under the name of St. Peter, and fuppofed, that this great a- 
 poftle, as well as St. Paul, had preached at Athens. St. Cle- 
 mens, in fpeaking of this book, fays exprefly, (a) * St. Peter 
 ' in his preaching at Athens, infinuates, that the Greeks had 
 ' a knowledge of the Deity. He fuppofes that they adore the 
 
 * fame God as we do, tho' not in the fame manner. He does 
 
 * not forbid us to adore the fame God, as the Greeks ; but he 
 ' forbids us to adore him after the fame way.' It is furprizing 
 that the Predeftinarian do<Stors did not blot thispaffage out of 
 St. Clement's works. 
 
 Arnobius introduces the Heathens complaining thus of 
 the injuflice of the Chriftians, (b) ' 'Tis mere calumny to 
 
 (a) St. clem. Alex. lib. vi. pag. 63 j. (b) Aenob. lib. i, pag. 19. 
 
 O 2 
 
io8 OF GOD'S EXISTENCE, 
 
 ' charge us with fuch a crime, as the denying of a fupream 
 ' God. We call him Jove, the fupreamly great and fovereign- 
 
 * ly Good. We dedicate our mofl magnificent ftru^lures, and 
 
 * our capitols to him, to fhow that we exalt him above all the 
 
 * other Deities.' 
 
 (a) * The Heathens, fays LaiHiantius, who admit feveral 
 
 * Gods, fay neverthelefs, that thefe fubordinate deities, tho' 
 
 * they prefide over all the various parts of the univerfe, do it 
 
 * in fuch a manner, as that there is ftill but one fole ruler and 
 
 * fupream governor. From whence it follows, that all o- 
 
 * ther invifible powers are not properly Gods, but minifters, 
 
 * and deputies of the one great and almighty God, who ap- 
 ' pointed them executors of his will and pleafure.' 
 
 (c) * Eufebius of Cefarea goes further, the Heathens, fays 
 
 * he, own that there is but one only God, who fills, pervades, 
 ' and prefides over all nature; but they maintain, that as he 
 ' is prefent to his work, only in an incorporeal and invifible 
 
 * manner, they are therefore in the right to worfhip him in 
 ' his vifible and corporeal effecHis.' 
 
 Thus we have endeavoured to prove, by the teftimony of 
 the Heathen poets and philofophers, by the do^rine of the 
 apoftles, andof the primitive fathers, that the Pagans of all 
 nations, ages and religions, the Chinefe, the Indians, the 
 Perfians, the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans ac- 
 knowledged one fupream Deity, whofe efTential attributes are 
 infinite power, wifdom and goodnefs. 
 
 We might now proceed to fhow, that the ancient Gauls, 
 
 (a) LaiSant. lib. i. pag. i6. (b) Eufeb. praep. evang. lib. iii. ch. k. pag. 105. 
 
AND ATTRIBUTES. 109 
 
 Britons and Germans had the fame notions of one fupream 
 God. Nothing is more admirable, than the accounts given 
 us of the Druids, who in thefe three nations worfhipped the 
 fame God under the name of Tau, Taautes, andTeutates, 
 which in their original fenfe, as we fhall fhow hereafter, fig- 
 nifyfome attribute of the fupream eternal mind. As thefe an- 
 cient people defcended from Noah, as well as the other na- 
 tions, the traditions on this head, were, no doubt, the fame: 
 but as they wrote nothing, and learned all by heart in great 
 fecret, we have no fure monuments left of their religion, and 
 fhall not meddle with conjectures. 
 
 We might pafs to the modern Pagans that live this very 
 day, and fhow, that tho'the Siamefe, theGuineans, the Pe- 
 ruvians, Mexicans, and other inhabitants of Afia, Africa, and 
 America worfhip inferior Gods and heroes, yet all the ho- 
 mage they pay to thefe fubaltern deities, is relative to one fu- 
 pream God,whom they call Parmiirer,PetIfro,VitzIIIputzI,&c. 
 all which names In the original language, exprefs fome attri- 
 bute of the Deity. Kertar among the Indians fignifies (a) he 
 who made all things. Serjanhar, the creator of the world. 
 Pachacamach among the Peruvians, fignifys the fupream be- 
 ing, and Viracocha, God the creator. Generally fpeaking, all 
 the American nations fedentary or wandring, give names to 
 God that are very energetical, as the great fplrit, the author 
 and mafter of Ufe, the fovereign creator. This lall: is the 
 name given by the Outaouaes the moft favage of all thefe na- 
 tions. 
 
 (a) See father Lafittau moeurs des favages pag. 1 24. 
 
no OF GOD*s EXISTENCE, Scc. 
 
 It fuffices to have fhown, that fince the Chinefe, the In- 
 dians, the Perfians, the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Ro- 
 mans hadfuchfublime ideas of the Deity, there is no doubt, 
 but the other ancient and modern nations had, and have the 
 fame notions, fmce they all fpring from the fame fource. 
 Let us next examine, if there be any remains, and traces of 
 the fecond Ternary in facred and profane antiquity. 
 
Ill 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 Of the Sacred Trinity. 
 
 \T /"E have fhown in the firft part of this work, that tho' 
 there be nothing in fublime doctrine of the Trinity, 
 that is contradictory to reifon, yet that it is undifcovcrable 
 by reafon; and therefore, if there be any traces of this fun- 
 damental principle of the divine philofophy among the anci- 
 ents, they muft be owing to fupernatural revelation, or origi- 
 nal tradition. TheDeifts, the Soeinians, the Unitarians and 
 the Freethinkers, maintain, that the doctrine of a triplicity in 
 the divine nature is a modern fi(5tion, of which there are no 
 veftiges in facred or profane antiquity. Nothing is more 
 falfe, and in order, to prove the contrary, we lliall begin firO: 
 with the Hebrews, and then pafs to the Gentiles. It is cer- 
 tain that the Holy Scriptures of the Old Teflament ac- 
 knowledge (i) a plurahty in the divine elTence; (2) that 
 theyreftrain this plurality to a trinity; (a) (3)that they talk of 
 three difi:in6tperfons, to whom divine attributes and honours 
 are afcribed, (4) that all the learned Hebrews uninfpired, ac- 
 knowledged this triplicity in the divine nature; and in fine, 
 (5) that our Saviour and his dlfciples did not look upon this 
 as a new doctrine. 
 
 I. Mofcs, in thirty different places of the book of Gene- 
 
 (a) See Dr. Alix's judgment of the Jewifti church againfl: the Unitarians. 
 
112 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 fis, makes ufe of the plural Elohim or Gods, inftead of the 
 (ingular Eloah or God. Thus, he fays m the very firft verfe 
 of his divine cofiiiogony, (a) ' In the beginning Elohim, the 
 
 * Gods created the heavens and the earth, (b) Let us make 
 
 * man after our own image, (c) Adam is become as one of 
 
 * us. (d) Let us go down, and confound their language. 
 
 * (e) When the Gods caufed me to wander from my father's 
 
 * houfe. (f ) Jacob built an altar, becaufe there the Godsap- 
 
 * peared to him.' Moreover, there are more than a hundred 
 places of the law, where we meet with this expreffion Elohe- 
 ka the Lord thy Gods. Yea, through the whole courfe of 
 the Old Teftament, God fpeaks of himfelf, or is fpoken of, 
 in the plural number. Thus, Jofuah fays, (g) * You cannot 
 ' ferve the Lord, for he is the holy Gods ;' and Solomon 
 adds, (h) * Remember thy creators in the days of thy youth.' 
 Thus, the plural word Elohim, when applied to God, is 
 made ufe of, more than five hundred times in the Hebrew 
 text, and always joined with nouns, or verbs in the fingular 
 number, to fignify the plurality of perfons, and unity of ef- 
 fence. 
 
 2. It is certain, that holy writ reftrains this plurality to a 
 trinity of hypoftafes, orperfonalities, that fubfift and acl in 
 the fame indivifible efTence, as if they were three diftin6t 
 agents, the Father, or the fupream God, the Son or 
 Word of God, and the Spirit or breath of his mouth, 
 becaufe it proceeds from the Father by the Son, who is cal- 
 led the mouth of God. Now all thefe three are called equal- 
 
 (a)Gen.ch.i. I. (b) lb. 26. (c)Ib ch. Hi. 22. (d)ch.xi.7. (e)ch. 
 XX. 1 3. (f ) ch. XXXV. 7. (g) Jofuah, ch. xxiv. 1 9. (h) Ecclefiaftes. ch, 
 xii. !, 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 113 
 
 ly JEHOVAH, the Telf-exiilent, or the eternal Being. 
 Thus, the Old TeH-ament afcrlbes the creation of the world 
 to the Word, (a) * O God of my fathers and Lord of mercy 
 
 * who hath made all things by thy Word, (b) I called upon 
 
 * God the Father of my Lord, (c) What is God's name, and 
 
 * what is his Son's name, if thou canfl: tell, (d) Thine almigh- 
 
 * ty Word leaptdown from heaven out of thy royal throne.' 
 The holy oracles call this Word, wifdom, which they define 
 thus (e) * She is the breath of the power of God, and a pure 
 
 * emanation flowing from the glory of the Almighty. She is 
 ' the creator of all things, the brlghtnefs of the everlafting 
 
 * Light, the image of his e(rence;and the unfpotted mirrour 
 
 * of his power.' Moreover, the Old Teftament mentions a 
 third perfon called the Spirit, to whom all the divine perfec- 
 tions are attributed, and quite diftincH: from the Son or Lo- 
 gos, (f ) ' Thou fent forth thy Spirit,and it created all things. 
 
 * (g) The Spirit of the Lord fhall reft upon the Mefliah. (h) 
 
 * The Lord God and his fpirit hath fent me,' fays the Logos, 
 (i) ' The Spirit of the Lord fhall lift up a flandard, and the 
 
 * Redeemer fhall come into Zion.(k) The Spirit of the Lord 
 
 * Jehovah is upon me,'faystheMefIiah,' becaufe the Lord 
 
 * hath anointed me.' In fine, the learned Dr. Clarke, whofe 
 tcftimony ought not to be fufpe(5led in this matter, has produ- 
 ced many texts in his ' Scripture-do(5lrinc,' to prove that the 
 Spirit is a different perfonality from the Father and the Son, 
 Of thcfe we fhall quote fome of the mofl: remarkable. 
 
 (a) Wifdom.ch.xi. I. (b) Ecclefiaftlcus. ch. xxv. lo. (c)Prov. ch. xxx, 4. 
 (d) Wifdom. ch.xviii. 15.. (e)Ib. ch. vii. 25. 26. (f) Judith, ch. xvf. 14. 
 (g)lfaiab.ch.xi. 1.2. (h) lb. ch. xlviii. 16. (i)lb. ch. Ixi. 19. 2Q. (k)cli. 
 Ixi. I. 
 
 P.^RT 2. P 
 
114 OF THESACRED TRINITY. 
 
 (a) ' If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifrs 
 
 * unto your children; how much more ftiall your heavenly 
 
 * Father give the holy Spirit to them that afk him? (b) And 
 
 * I will pray the Father, and he (hall give you another com- 
 
 * forter, that he may abide with you for ever, even the Spirit 
 
 ' of truth. -• (c) The holy Ghoft, whom the Father will 
 
 ' fend in my name, he fhall teach you all things, and bring all 
 ' things tayour remembrance, whatfoever I have faidunto 
 
 * you. (d) But when the comforter is come, whom I will 
 
 * fend unto you from theFather,even the Spirit of truth,which 
 
 * proceedeth from the Father, he fhall teftify of me.' From 
 thefe paffages it plainly appears, that the holy Spirit is a dif- 
 ferent perfonality from the Father ; and from the following, 
 it will be nojefs evident,that he is alfo different from the Son. 
 (e) ' And Jefus being full of the holy Ghoft, ■ was led by 
 
 * the fpirit into the wildernefs.(f )God anointed Jefus of Na- 
 
 * zareth with the holy Ghoft, and with power.(g) For God 
 
 * giveth not the Spirit by meafure unto him. (h) Behold, my 
 
 * fervant whom I have chofen,my beloved, in whom my foul 
 
 * is well pleafed : I will put my fpirit upon him, and he fhall 
 
 * fhow judgment to the Gentiles, (i) He fhall baptize you 
 
 * with the holy Ghoft. (k) The holy Ghoft was not yet gi- 
 
 * ven, becaufe that Jefus was not yet glorified. (l)When the 
 ' fpirit of truth is come,. he fhall glorify me: for he fhall 
 
 * receive of mine, and fhall fhew it unto you. All things that 
 ' the Father hath, are mine; therefore faid I, the fpirit fhall 
 
 * take of mine, and fhall fhew it unto you.' Thus, it is evi- 
 
 (a)Lukech.xi. 13. (b) John ch. iv. i6. (c)Ib, 26. (d) lb. ch.xv. 26. 
 (e) Lukech.lv. i. (f) Ads ch. x. 38. (g) John ch.iii. 34. (h) Matthew 
 ch. xii. 18. 0) lb. ch. iii. 1 1 . (k) John ch.vii. 39. (1) lb. ch.xvi. 13. 14. 15. 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 115 
 
 * dent, that the Spirit is a diftinftperfonality, both from the 
 
 * Father and the Son.' 
 
 3. Through the whole books of Mofes, and the prophets, 
 we ftill fee the number three repeated, and obferved in beg- 
 ging the pardon of fins; in imploring the divine favours; in 
 bleflings conferred upon the people; and in thankfgivings 
 returned to the Almighty.All this fecms defigned to call con- 
 tinually to the remembrance of thelfraelites,this great truth, 
 that there are three from whom all good things come, that 
 have a power of pardoning fins, and that are the obje^s of 
 adoration. If we underftood perfe(ftly the Hebrew text, we 
 would find almofi: in every page of the Old Teftament, proofs 
 of a triplicity in the divine nature called Jehovah ab, 
 or the felf-exiftent Father; Jehovah el or the the 
 irradiator; and Jehovah Ruach, or God the Spirit. 
 The Jews, who tranflated the facred books into Greek, un- 
 der the Ptolemaic kings, had by degrees, itfeems, forgot the 
 ancient dodlrine of the Patriarchs,and fo rendered thefe three 
 different names by the two words Kv^io^ and 0£o$, Lord and 
 God; what cxprcfies God's abfolute elTcnce and immanent 
 a6ls, by the fame two words that may alfo fignify his relative 
 attributes and emanant a(5ls. The Jews, after our Saviour's 
 coming, who taught the primitive fathers the Hebrew lan- 
 guage, were alfo ignorant of the ancient patriarchical traditi- 
 on, and fo did not undcrftand the meaning of the three Je- 
 hovahs. Thus, the Latin fathers, in their verfion, tranflated 
 the Hebrew words Jehovah ab, Jehovah el, and Je- 
 hovah Ruach by the words Dominus and Deus, as 
 the ancient Jews had done into Greek, by the words Lord 
 
 P 2 
 
ii6 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 and God. A 11 other Chriftian nations fince, followed their ex- 
 ample, and made ufe only in their difFerent languages of two 
 words inftead of three, to exprefs the Hebrew text; thus, the 
 great difl:in(ftion of a triplicity in the divine nature was no 
 more perceived in the tranflations.Thus,the Sabelllans of old, 
 and the Socinians of late, by pure ignorance of the original 
 text and ancient tradition, reduced the three hypoftafes to 
 three fimple attributes, and thefchoolmen favoured their er- 
 ror, by making ufe of the equivocal word relations, to 
 exprefs this triplicity in the divine nature, as if they were on- 
 ly three difFerent manners of confidering God relatively to 
 the creatures, as Creator, Redeemer, and Sangti- 
 FiER, and no wife real diftin<n:ions, intellectual agents, and 
 three perfonalities that a<5l and fubfift in the pure and abfo- 
 luteefTenceof God, antecedently to all his emanant efre(5ts. 
 What ob{curities,perplexities,and degradations have not thefe 
 Chriftian mythologifts, and fcholaltic Fabulifts introduced 
 into religion? 
 
 4. Left theexprefllons contained in the facred text be in- 
 terpreted of the divine attributes, favours and graces, and not 
 of three confubftantial hypoftafes and perfonalities, we muft 
 confult the do(5lrine of the ancient Jews in commenting upon, 
 and paraphrafing thefe paffages. (a) ' Philo acknowledges 
 
 * a generation in God from all eternity. He fays in many 
 
 * different places, that God begets the Word in himfelf; that 
 < this Word is wifdom;and that this wifdomis the eternal Son 
 
 * of God; that God is called the God of Gods, not with re- 
 
 * lation to created intelligences, whether human, angelical, or 
 
 (a) See Dr. Alix againftthe Unitarians. 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 117 
 
 *■ feraphical, but in relation to his two confubflantial powers, 
 
 * which are notfimple attributes, but eternal, uncreated, in- 
 
 * finite principles of action, reprefented by the two wings of 
 
 * the Cherubin that covered the tabernacle.' Moreover, Dr. 
 Alix has {hown,that the Chaldee paraphralts, or Targumifts, 
 fpeak in the fame mannerasPhilo ' They afcribe to the Word 
 " the creation of the world, the pardon of fin, the mediating 
 
 * betwixt God the Father and the creatures. Yea, theyattri- 
 
 * bute all the other perfonal characHiers of ailing, fpeaking, 
 
 * anfwering, commanding, giving laws, and receiving fupream 
 
 * worfhip and adoration, to die Son and holy Ghoft, whom 
 ' they call very oft *' the two hands of God." Infine, the 
 cabbaliftical Jews that are of a later date, than the Targumifts, 
 fpeak in the fame manner. * They fix the number of three 
 
 * perfons in the divine effence ; they fpeak of the emanation 
 
 * of the two laft from the firfl:, and fay, that the third proceeds^ 
 
 * from the firft by the fecond. They call the firft perfon En- 
 
 * SOPH, the fecond Memr A, and the third Binah.' The 
 cabbaliRical Jews were called fo from the Hebrew word ca- 
 bal, which fignifies tradition, becaufc they pretend to have 
 collefted into one body, allthe ancient traditions of the Jew- 
 ifh church. Thefe cabbalifts are properly the mythologifts- 
 of the Hebrew nationjand therefore their theology is very oft 
 mixed with, and difguifed under many allegorical images 
 and fables, that fcem as impertinent as thofe of the Pagans, 
 but ftill we may find among this heap of mudd, many preci- 
 ous pearls which feem to be emanations of the patriarchical, 
 Noevian tradition. 
 
 5. It is remarkable, that when our Saviour and the apofi 
 
ii8 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 ties deliver the doftrlne of the Trinity in the New Tefta- 
 ment, they fpeak of it without any apology, explication or 
 preamble, as a doflrine very well known, and believed, not 
 only by the Jews, but alfo by the Gentiles. Now, if this tri- 
 plicity in the divine nature had not been commonly received 
 by the intelligent of all nations and ages, it is impofTible, that 
 our Saviour and his difciples could have fpoke of it, or appli- 
 ed it without preparing their auditors to receive it, as a nev/, 
 unheard of Revelation. On the contrary, they never talked 
 of it as fuch. They fpeak of the doctrine of redemption, and 
 of our Saviour's expiatory facrifice, as a myftery into which 
 the angels themfclves dedre to pry. Our Saviour bleffes the 
 Father,.vvho had revealed the more internal, fpiritual precepts 
 of the Evangelical law to the fmiple and pure in heart, and 
 concealed them from the wife and learned, full of felf-love, 
 vanity and pallion. The Apoftle Paul calls Godlinefs, or 
 the life of God in the foul of man, amyftery which he difco- 
 vers only to the perfect. The fame apoftle calls the wonder- 
 ful conduift of grace and providence, by which almighty wif- 
 dom and love will at laft convert and reftore alllapfed beings, 
 an unfearchable depth or myftery; but neither the mafter, 
 nor the difciples talk fo of the Trinity. They (Ull fpeak of 
 it, as an ancient doflrine knov/n to all nations, and therefore 
 tranfmitted from generation to generation by an uninterrup- 
 ted tradition, fmce the firft origin of mankind. This will 
 plainly appear to all thofe who read the New Teftament with 
 intelligence and application. How oft does our Saviour call 
 God Father, not as the common Father of fpirits, but 
 he adds, ' That his Father and he are one?' In other places, 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 119 
 
 he oft repeats, that after his exaltation, he would fend the holy 
 Spirit or comforter. St. John in his firft catholic epiftle 
 fays, without any preparatory explication, that there * are 
 
 * three that bear witnefs in heaven, the Father, the Son and 
 
 * the holy Ghofl:.' and in the beginning of his gofpel, fays, 
 that xhe Word was God, and yet, that the Word was with 
 God, and therefore, as we have fhown, a din:in61: intellectu- 
 al agent, or perfon. When the Jews accufe our Saviour of 
 blafphemy, they never infinuate, thatit was an impious doc- 
 trine to maintain, that God had a fon, or that the MefTiah 
 was to be a divine perfon; but that Jefus Chriftblafphemed in 
 attributing to himfelf this title. They did not believe, that 
 he was the MefTiah, becaufe not underftanding the Scriptures, 
 they fancied that the great Redeemer of Ifrael was to be a tem- 
 poral prince, and that he would come in great fplendour and 
 power to deliver them from oppreflion, and fubjeft all other 
 nations to theirs. Would it have been worthy of divine wif- 
 dom to have laid a fnare for his creatures, in broaching fuch 
 a new unheard of article of faith, as that of a Trinity, with- 
 out fo much as preparing the minds of men to receive it, or fay- 
 ing any the leafl word to prevent their being fliockcd by it, 
 their fufpetfting him of polytheifm, and thereby degrading 
 the divine Nature? all this feems to fuppofe, that the doctrine 
 of a triplicity in the divine effence was an ancient univerfal 
 tradition, both among the Jews and the Gentiles. To remove 
 all doubts upon this important fubjeft, let us now examine the 
 veftiges, hints, and Iliadows of this great truth preferved a- 
 mong the Pagans. 
 
 We begin firfl: with the Chinefe ; we find in their original, 
 
jizo OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 canonical, and ancient books thefe fLirprlzing pafTages. In 
 the book Tonchu we read thcfc words, * The fource and 
 
 * root of all is one. This felf-exiftent unity produces neccf- 
 
 * farily a fecond ; the firft and fecond by their union produce 
 
 * a third ;in fine, thefe three produce all.' Lopi,in commen- 
 ting upon thefe paiTages, fays, ' That thisunity is triple, and 
 
 * this triplicity one.' Laotfee, in his fourteenth chapter cal- 
 led TsANHUEN, or the elogium of hidden wifdom, fays, 
 
 * He that produced all, and is himfelf unproduced, is what 
 •^ we call HI. He that gives light and knowledge to all things, 
 
 * and is himfelf invifible, is what we call Yi. He that is pre- 
 ■* fent every where, and animates all things, tho' we do not 
 ^ feel him, is called OUEI- Thou wilt in vain interrogate 
 
 * fenfe and imagination about thefe three, for they can make 
 
 * thee no anfwer. Contemplate by the pure fpirit alone, and 
 
 * thou wilt comprehend, that thefe three united are but one,' 
 Li-YONG, in commenting upon this paffage of Laotsee, 
 '/ays, * HI, YI, oUEi have no name, colour,nor figure. They 
 
 * arc united in the fame fpiritual abyfs, and by a borrowed 
 
 * name they are called unity; this unity, however, is not a 
 
 * bare unity, but an unity that is triple, and a triplicity that is 
 
 * one. Tofpeak thus, is to underhand what is moft excellent 
 
 * in the law of wifdom. 'The book Sleeki fays, * The anci- 
 
 * ent emperours facrificed every three years follemnly to hira 
 ^ that is one and three.' Choueven, in commenting upon 
 ^the hierogliphic that expreffes unity, fays that ' In the begin- 
 
 * ning the fupream reafon fubfifted in a triple unity, that this 
 
 * unity created the heavens and the earth, fcparated them from 
 ^ each .other,and will at laft convert and perfe(51: all things. 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 121 
 
 As the Chinefe are one of the mofi: ancient people that 
 Inhabited the earth, and that were formed into a regular go- 
 vernment foon after the deluge, it is no wonder we find a- 
 mongthem fuch venerable traces of the Nocvian tradition. 
 The nearer we approach to the origin of the world, the clea- 
 rer is this tradition concerning a triplicity in the divine effence. 
 Wemufl: not then befurprifed, if we find fome veftigesof the 
 fame truth in the following ages. The Chinefe mythology, 
 or rather theology, is a key to all the others lefs ancient, and 
 moreobfcured by fuccellion of time. If we find fuch clear 
 veftiges of this facred truth in China, fhould we be aftoniihed 
 to difcover the fame in Perfia, Chaldea, Egypt and Greece? 
 
 The Perfian Mythras was commonly called three-fold or 
 triple, T^/7rXa(7/o$. Thus Dionyfius, the Pfeudo-areopagite 
 fays, (a) ' The Perfian Magi to this very day celebrate afefti- 
 
 * val folemnity in honour of the triplafian or three-fold My- 
 ' thras.' Plutarch adds, (b) ' That Oromafdcs thrice aug- 
 ' mented or triplicated himfelf.' From whence it appears, 
 that Mythras or Oromazis were one and the fame numen, or 
 different names to exprefs the two firft hypoflafes of the di- 
 vine eiTence.The third was called Pfyche by the Greeks,who 
 tranflated the Zoroaflrian tradition. But Herodotus calls this 
 third hypoflafis Mythra, and maintains it is the fanie with 
 Urania. In a Chaldalc oracle quoted by Proclus, we read 
 thefe words, * after the mind of the father I Pfyche dwell.' 
 Now the mind of the Father as Pfellus informs us, is ' The 
 
 * fecond God, and the immediate artificer of the world.' 
 
 (a) See Cudworth intellcfl. fyllem. ch. Iv. pag, 288. (b) Plutarch, de Ifid. 
 ct Ofirid. 
 
 PART 2, O 
 
122 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 In the fame magical or Zoroaftrian oracles, we find thefe 
 words, * The Father or firfl Deity perfected ail things, and 
 
 * delivered them to the fecond Mind, who is that whom the 
 
 * nations of men commonly take for the firft.' Pfellus glolTeth 
 thus upon this oracle, ' The firft Father of the Triad, having 
 
 * produced the whole creation, delivered it to Mind or Intel- 
 ' le6l,which mind the whole generation of mankind common- 
 
 * ly call the firfl: God,being ignorant of the paternal tranfcen- 
 
 * dency.' Pfellus takes notice of the difference betwixt this 
 Chaldaic theology, and that of the ChrilHans. * The Chrif^ 
 
 * tian doctrine, fays he, maintains, that the firfl mind or in- 
 ' telle(5l, being the Son of the great Father, made the whole 
 
 * creation, whereas, according to the Chaldaic theology, the 
 
 * firft hypoflafis of the divine Triad was the immediate archi- 
 
 * teftof the world.' He pretends that the Platonic do<5lrine 
 was more conform to that of the Chriftian, when he fays, 
 
 * The Father perfe^ed, or produced freely in his divine un- 
 
 * derftanding the archetypal ideas, and then delivered them 
 ' to the fecond God, to create fubftances anfwerable to thefe 
 
 * models. Wherefore, whatfoever was produced by the fe- 
 ' cond God, owes its original to the highefl Father, accor- 
 ' ding to its intelligible effence. Moflof men take this fecond 
 
 * God for the firfl, looking up no higher, than to the imme- 
 
 * diate archited of the world.' 
 
 The fame Proclus adds, that * The Chaldaic phllofophy 
 
 * divinely infpired affirmeth the whole world to have been 
 
 * compleated from thefe three Zeus or Jupiter, who is above 
 ' the Demlurgus or creator of the world, and Pfyche who is 
 
 * under this mind or intellect of the Father.' To thefe tefli- 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 123 
 
 monies of Proclus, may be fuperadded a Chaldean or Perfian 
 oracle quoted from Damafcius by Patritius. ' In the whole 
 
 * world fhineth forth a Triad or trinity, which is a perfe(5l 
 
 * monad or unity.' 
 
 Thus what the Chinefe called Hi,Yi,andouEi, the Per- 
 fians named Oromazdes, Mythras, and Mythra. The Chal- 
 deans alfo had three names, which the Greeks tranflatedby 
 Zeus, or Life, Demiurgus or intelle<5t, Pfyche or the ani- 
 mator of all things. 
 
 Since we find in thefe fragments called the Chaldaic ora- 
 cles fuch precious monuments of truth, it is fit to fay fome- 
 thing of their authenticity and antiquity. It is certain, that 
 thefe oracles are not fo modern as fome would fufpe<5l, they 
 being quoted by Synefius, Pfellus,Pletho,and Porphyrins. It 
 is true,that tho' Pfellus affirms they contained all the Chalde- 
 an dogmata, yet he does not pretend that thefe very Greek 
 verfes themfelves were fo ancient. Suidas fays, * That Julia- 
 ' nusa Chaldean, in the time of Marcus Antoninus the Em- 
 
 * perour, compiled and wrote the Theurgic and Teleftic ora- 
 
 * cles in Greek verfe.'They were called Theurgical and Tele- 
 ftic, becaufe they contained a divine doftrine, that ferved to 
 render the mind perfed. Now, that they were not forged 
 by the Chriftians, as fome of the Sybillin oracles were, 
 feems probable from hence, that fo many Pagan philofophers 
 make ufe of their teftimonies, and lay no fmall ftrefs upon 
 them. Yea, fuppofnig them to have been forged, or inter- 
 polated, yet they muft contain the fubftanceof the Chalde- 
 an or Perfian do6trine.For as we have already remarked after 
 Dr. Cud worth, there muft have been fome refemblance be- 
 
 0.2 
 
124 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 twixt the counterfeit and the original tradition, other wife the 
 impofture would have been fuperfluous,eafily difcovered, and 
 early rejected by fuch learned Pagans, as the philofophers 
 we have mentioned, and many others that fpeak of thefe tra- 
 ditions, as authentic monuments of the Chaldaic and Perfian 
 theology. Moreover, if the principles laid down be true; if 
 the Noevian patriarchs taught the great myftery of the Trini- 
 ty to their children ; if this fublime truth was tranfmitted to 
 their pofterity by the different heads of the families that peo- 
 pled the various countries of the earth ;if the mod ancient of 
 all nations the Chinefe have fuch plain veftiges of this facred 
 truth in their original books, is itfurprifmg, if we find fome 
 traces of the fame doftrine among the Chaldeans and Perfi- 
 ans, both defcended from the fame fource? Why fhould we 
 then fufpecH: the fragments of the Zoroaflrian and Chaldean 
 theology of falfhood, becaufe we find in them the following 
 expreflions. 
 
 ' The paternal monad multiplying its felf engendred two. 
 
 * This duality fits by him, and fhines in all the intellectual 
 
 * tribes. This triad, of which unity is the principle, mani- 
 
 * feflsits felf thro' the whole univerfe. In this fubfift Force, 
 
 * Wifdom and Omnifcient Truth ; which compofed the 
 
 * link of the triad long before the exiflence of any meafura- 
 
 * bleeffence, whence multiplicity was produced. The Father 
 
 * perfected all things, and gave them to the fccond Mind who 
 
 * unites them all by love, and by this Love, all things fubfifl 
 
 * and perfift for ever.' 
 
 Thefc expreffions do not refemble the ftyle of the Chrif- 
 tian Fathers, neither before, nor after the council of Nice. 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 125 
 
 The ideas are the fame, but the turn is quite different. No- 
 thing can render them fufpe<n:ed of forgery, but incredulity 
 that defpifes thefe truths; or bigotry that denys there can be 
 any divine lights out of the vifible church. 
 
 We may fay much the fame thing of the ancient Sybillin 
 oracles, of which Virgil has preferved to us a wonderful 
 fragment. I do not pretend that thefe now exiftent, and that 
 pafs under that name, are genuine, but thisimpofture proves, 
 that there muftbe fome fmiilitude betwixt the counterfeit 
 and the true. What the poets called the Sybills were nothing, 
 but the ancient traditions handed down from generation to 
 generation. For the word Cabal, which fignifys in Hebrew, 
 Tradition, might have been read Sybil by foreign nations, 
 as well as Cabal, becaufe the Hebrews made ufe, for the 
 mofl: part, of confonants only, and fcldom of vowels. The 
 Mazoretic points, that fupply the place of thefe vowels, were 
 invented long after the difperfion of the Jewifh nation. Thefe 
 ancient oral traditions were at lad: collected by the Greeks or 
 Romans into different hymns or verfes,and as the Greek poets 
 perfonifyed every thing, they fuppofed,that thefe verfes were 
 compofed by propheteifes or infpired virgins called Sybills. 
 
 We come now to the Egyptians, and find among them 
 fome veffiges of the fame great truth, as among the Hebrews, 
 Chinefe, Chaldeans and Perfians. A modern French au- 
 thor has advanced, with a great oftentation of learning, that 
 all the Egyptian mythology, religion and theogony was de- 
 rived from the abufe of the original, fymbolical hleroglyphi- 
 cal charafters, and thus far he is in the right. He pretends, 
 that he is the firft difcoverer of this great principle, but he is 
 
126 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 miftaken. KircherjVofTius, Cudworth, father LaFittau, the 
 authors of the journals of Trevoux, and many travellers in- 
 to China had this idea long before him. His fecond princi- 
 ple is abfolutely falfe, and abfurd, not to fay childifti and infi- 
 pid.He tortures and racks his brain to prove,that all the Gods 
 and GoddefTes, the religious rites and ceremonys, the fym- 
 bolical images, and hieroglyphical chara<flers of Egypt were 
 in their original, primitive inftitution, only poft-figns, to ad- 
 vertife the Egyptians, of the inundations of the Nile, of the 
 feafons of agriculture,of the variations of their climate,and of 
 all the different labours and employments of their hufband- 
 men. Had this author been acquainted with the Chinefe, 
 Indian, Chaldean, Perfian and Greek mythology, philofo- 
 phy and religion, he would never have fallen into this low 
 fcheme. The moft part of the ancient and oriental nations 
 were very little taken up about the periodical inundations of 
 the Nile; and fome of them did not fo much as know, that 
 there was a corner in the world called Egypt. It is reafonable 
 to believe, that the theogony of their Gods, and the fource 
 of their religious myfteries were derived from more fublime, 
 more fpiritual, and more univerfal objecls that interefted e- 
 qually all the human race, as fhall be unfolded hereafter. 
 
 If this good author had followed his firft principle, and 
 then combined it with the analyfis he has given of the He- 
 brew, Egyptian and Phenician names that defign the Gods 
 of the Gentiles, he would foon have altered his thoughts: 
 but blinded, it feems, by his prejudices, he was refolved to 
 fhow, that the Pagans could have no fublime, intelleflual 
 ideas, becaufe according to the fundamental maxim of a nar- 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 127 
 
 rowfcheme, out of the vifible church, there never was, nor 
 could be, any fupernatural graces, virtues nor lights. Thus, 
 allthefymbols, hieroglyphics, Gods, GoddefTes and mytho- 
 logy of the Pagans,niuft be degraded to a phyfiologicalfenfe, 
 and can fignify nothing but the revolutions of the planets, the 
 periodical returns of the fun, the different phafes of the moon, 
 the various combats of the elements,or fome other phenome- 
 na of nature, whether celeitial, aerial or terreftrial. We have 
 already fhown, that this fcheme of the phyfiological inter- 
 preters of fable, came originally from the Atheiftical matcri- 
 alilts, who confounded God with nature, and that it is not 
 only improbable, but ridiculous; we fhall fhow by the fol- 
 lowing fheets,that it is diametrically oppofite to the fpirit of 
 antiquity,and thefentlment of the mod learned ancients. We 
 return to the Egyptian theology. 
 
 In the Pamphylian obelifk, the Deity is reprefented by 
 this fymbol, a winged globe with a ferpent coming out of it. 
 In a Chaldaic fragment imputed to Sanchoniathon, we find 
 this explication of that hieroglyphic. ' The globe fignifys 
 
 * the firfl: felf-exiflent incomprehenfible Deity without begin- 
 
 * ning or end. The ferpent, the divine wifdom and creative 
 
 * power; and the wings fignify that aftive fpirit thatcherifheth 
 
 * and enliveneth all things.' (a) The pyramidal obelifks of E- 
 gypt, with three different faces placed before the temples, 
 was, according to the Pagan philofophers a fymbol of the 
 Deity, not only among the Egyptians, but alfo among the A- 
 mazons, and man}/ other people of the eaf^:. A Bramin of 
 'India, according to father Bouchet, (b) explained this fym- 
 
 (a) See father la Fittau, moeurs des fauvages. pag. 149. (b) Lcttre du pere 
 
128 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 bol ill the fame [en^Cy as the ancients. * We muft, faid that 
 
 * Bramln, believe God and his three different names, which 
 ' anfwer to his three principal attributes, to be reprefented 
 
 * in fome fenle, by thefe triangular pyramids ereded at the 
 ' entry of our temples.' 
 
 Whatever be in this, it is certain, that Jamblichus gives 
 us this account of the Egyptian theology, (a) ' Hermes pla- 
 
 * ces the God Emeph, as the prince and ruler over all the ce- 
 
 * leftial Gods ; the Demiurgic mind and prefident of truth, 
 
 * which produced all things with wifdom. Before Emeph 
 ' however Hermes places one indivifible monad called Eic- 
 ' TON, in whom exifts the firfl: intelligent and the firfl: intel- 
 
 * ligible, and who can be adored only by filence. After which 
 
 * two EiCTON and Emeph he places Ptha, which is a 
 ' Ipirit that animates all things by his vivifying flame.' 
 
 Eufebius informs us from Porphyry, that the Egyptians 
 acknowledged one (b) ' intelle^ual Demiurgus or maker of 
 
 * the w^orld, under the name of Emeph or Cneph, whom 
 ' they reprefented by a (latue of human form of a dark fky- 
 
 * coloured complexion, holding in his hand a girdle and a 
 
 * fcepter, wearing upon his head a princely plume, and thruf- 
 
 * ting forth an egg out of his mouth. This hieroglyphic is 
 ' thus explained by the fame Porphyry, God is reprefented 
 ' with a dark fky-coloured complexion, becaufe the wifdom 
 
 * that made the world is not eafy to be found out, but hidden 
 ' and incomprehenfible. The princely form fignifys, that 
 ' he is the ruler and king of all things. The feathers upon 
 
 Bouchet a Mr. I'Eveque d'Avranches. (a) Jambl. de Myft. Egypt, pag.153. 1 J4« 
 edit. Ludg. 1552.. (b)Eufebprep. evang. lib. III. cap.xi.pag. 115. 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 129 
 
 * his head denote his intellectual aclivity. The egg thrufl: out 
 
 * of his mouth means the world created by him. From this 
 ' Emeph was faid to be generated another God whom the 
 ' Egyptians called Ptha.' St. Cyril quotes feveral parages out 
 of the Hermaic writings extant in his time, to prove, that 
 there was a firft and fupream God fuperior to the Demiurgic 
 Mind, (a) ' The Demiurgic Word or Logos is the firft power 
 ' after the fupream Lord. He looks out from him, is uncre- 
 
 * ated, infinite and the genuine Son of the firft omniprefent 
 
 * eflTence.' Conform to this pafTage of St.Cyril's, Jamblichus, 
 in fpeaking of the myfterys of the Egyptians, fays, (b) * Be- 
 ' fore finite beings, and univerfal caufes, there is one God 
 
 * who is ever prior to the firft King. He remains immoveable 
 
 * in the folitudeof his own unity. No ideas of finite are mix- 
 
 * cd with him, nor any thing elfe.' What a difference is there 
 betwixt this fublime idea of God in his folitude, into which 
 not only no finite beings, but alfo, no finite ideas enter; and 
 the dull notion of the fchoolmen, who make the knowledge, 
 and co-exiftencc of all finite ideas as effential to the divine 
 perfection, as the contemplation of himfelf, and the genera- 
 tion of the Logos? Porphyry continues thus, * He is feated 
 
 * as the exemplar of the fecond God, for there is fomething 
 -' greater and firft the fountain of all, and the root of all in- 
 
 * telligible ideas. From this one, the fecond God fhone forth. 
 ' This one is felf- begotten, the God of Gods, the fuperef^ 
 ' fential monad, and the firft principle of all beings. Thefe 
 
 (a) St. Cyril, contra Julian. lib. i. pag. 53. (b) Jambl. deMyfter. Egyptior. 
 pag. 158. ed. Oxon. 1678. 
 
 PART 2. R 
 
130 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 < two are the moft ancient principles of all, whom Hermes 
 « places before the ethereal, empyreal, and celeftial Gods/ 
 
 Here then is a full acknowledgment of the two firfl: hypo- 
 ftafes of the divine Nature, and if we join this paflage with 
 thofe quoted above from Porphyry and the fame Jamblichiis, 
 we have the Ptha or the third hypoftafis, and fo a full decla- 
 ration of the Hermaic trinity. 
 
 Thus the Egyptians called EictoNjEmeph and Ptha 
 what the Perfians called Oromafdes, Mythras and Mythra; 
 the Chaldeans Life, Intelle(5l and Soul; the Chinefe hi, yi, 
 OUEI; the Hebrews ab, el, and Ruagh. Thefe three hy- 
 poftafesEicTON, Emeph, and Ptha, the Egyptians, ac- 
 cording to the teftimony of Damafcius, * looked upon as one 
 
 * efTence incomprehenfible, above all knowledge, and prai- 
 
 * fed him under the name of the " unknown darknefs thrice 
 " repeated." This, as we have already remarked, was ahb 
 a cuflom among the Jews, to repeat thrice the great name of 
 Jehovah in all their public worfhip, doxologies, andthankf- 
 givings. The original tradition was the fame in both nations, 
 and might have been confirmed among the Egyptians by the 
 long Itay of the Hebrews upon the borders of the Nile. 
 
 Let us now proceed to the veftiges we find of a triplicity 
 in the divine Nature among the ancient Greeks. If we can 
 prove that Orpheus,Pythagoras and Plato had the fame ideas 
 of the Trinity, as the Egyptians, Chaldeans, Perfians, and 
 Chinefe, the additional teftimony of the three firft will con- 
 firm the dodrine of the four laft: for the original fource of 
 tradition being the fame in all, every fucceeding teftimony 
 confirms the precedent, and forms an indilfolvible chain. 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 131 
 
 We begin firfl: with Orpheus. Damafcius in his book not 
 yetpubliftied concerning The pnnciples,gives us this account 
 of the Orphic theology. ^ Orpheus introduced a triform 
 * Deity, which he reprefented by a dragon having the heads 
 ' of a bull and a lyon; and in the raidfl: the face of a God 
 ' with golden wings upon his ftioulders.' Dr. Cudworth ac- 
 cufes Orpheus of a monftrous extravagancy to have thus 
 fymbolized the Deity: but that great man had foregot, it 
 feems, that thecherubin wherein, according to the prophet 
 Ezekiel,the glory of God redded, and from whence the voice 
 of the Lord was heard, is reprefented by the prophet, as ha- 
 ving four faces, that of a man, that of a lyon, that of a bull, 
 and that of an eagle. There is a great parity betwixt the Or- 
 phic and prophetic fymbols. The bull, the lyon and the 
 eagle were the hieroglyphic types and figns of the three ele- 
 ments of fire, light and air, and thefe three elements are the 
 three emblems, by which facred writ paints forth the three 
 hypoftafes of the divine Nature. The Father is called in 
 Scripture a confuming fire. The Logos el, or irradiator, 
 and the light of the world. The holy Spirit, air, breath or 
 wind. We fhall fhow afterwards, that the fourth animal, 
 which in the cherubin had the face of a man, and in the Or- 
 phic fymbol the face of a God, reprefcnts the facred pre-ex- 
 illcnt humanity of the McfUah, received into, and hypoftati- 
 cally united with the divine effence. 
 
 St. Juffm Martyr, in his exhortation to the Greeks, has 
 prefcrved to us this wonderful fragment of Orpheus, where 
 the poet fpeaks thus of the Logos. ^ I fwear by the 
 
 R a 
 
132 OF THESACRED TRINITY. 
 
 ' word of the Father, v/hich went out of his mouth, and be- 
 ' came his counfeller, when he created the world.' Is there 
 any thing that refembles more the defcrlption of Solomon 
 in his Proverbs, when he fays, (a) ' The Lord poffefTed me 
 
 * in the beginning of his ways, I was fet up from everlaft- 
 
 * ing before his works of old. When he appointed the 
 
 * foundations of the earth, when he prepared the heavens I 
 ' was there.' Now if St. Juftin had forged, or adulterated 
 thispaffage, and falfcly attributed it to Orpheus, would not 
 the Greeks have objefled to him this impofture? 
 
 Moreover, Suidas, upon the word Orpheus, fays, this 
 
 philofophical poet declares, (b) * That the higheft of all be- 
 
 ' * ings is called Light, Counsel, and Life, and in fine, 
 
 * that thefe three names exprefs the powers of the fame Dei- 
 
 * ty, who is the maker of all, and who produceth all out of 
 
 * nothing, into being whether vifiblc or invfible.' Timothe- 
 us adds, * The fame Orpheus declared, that all things were 
 
 * made by the fame Godhead under three names called U- 
 
 * RANus, Chronus and Phanes.' Phanes, according to 
 father Kircher, is an Egyptian name which fignifys Love, 
 and accordingly, Proclus, in commenting upon Plato's Ti- 
 maeus,callsPH ANEs a€^o$'''E^o^foft and tender Love, which 
 is the perfonal character of the third hypoftafis. Conform to 
 this Proclus a (Tu res us, that Amelius the Platonic, who was 
 contemporary with Plotinus, makes (c) ' A threefold Demi- 
 
 * urgus,or creator of the world, three minds and three kings, 
 
 * him that is, him that has, and him that beholds; which 
 
 (a) Proverb, ch. viii. 22. 27. 29. (b) See Cudworth. «h. iv. pag. 300. 
 (c) Proclus in Tim. pag. 93 . 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 133 
 
 three minds differ thus, the firft is elTentially he that is; 
 the fecond pofTefTesin himfelf Intelligence, but receives all 
 from the firft, and (6 is fecond; the third poffeffes alfoin 
 
 * himfelf intelligence, but hath what is in the fecond and 
 < looks up to the firft, for all thefe three are the fame effcnce 
 « with their conjoined intelligibles. Amelius therefore fup- 
 
 * pofes thofe three minds and Demiurgic principles to be the 
 
 * fame with Plato's three kings, and with Orpheus his trini- 
 
 * ty.' Damafcius alfo, in his book of principles, aftures us, 
 that Orpheus maintained * a triform Deity'. Thus, according 
 toSuidas, toTimotheus, to Proclus and to Damafcius, the 
 fublime poet and philofopher Orpheus looked upon the tri- 
 plicity in the divine Nature not as three diftindt fubftances, 
 n-or independent minds, nor fimple attributes, but as three 
 intellectual agents or beings that fubfift and ad in the fime 
 elfence. It is therefore no wonder if Timotheus, who was 
 a Chriftian,affirmed, that (a) * Orpheus long ago had dccla- 
 *• red, that all things were made by a co-effential Triad.' 
 
 Pythagoras had the fame ideas of the divine Triad. Since 
 all agree that he borrowed- his philofophy from Orpheus, the 
 Egyptians, the Perfian Magi, and the Chaldean Sages, his 
 notions of a triplicity in the divine Nature muft have been 
 the fame. For this reafon we conclude, that the true mea- 
 ning of this great maxim of the Pythagoric philofophy, 
 
 * God is a monad from whom proceeds an infinite duality,' 
 fignifys, that from the great Unity, monad, or fclf-exiftcnt 
 mind, proceed two other hypoftafes, infeparable from their 
 ielf-originated caufe. Hence Moderatus, in a fragment pre- 
 
 (a) Cedrenus de Timoth. chronog. See Dr. Cudworth pag. 306. 
 
134 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 ferved to us by Simplicius, fays, (a) * according to the Py- 
 
 * thagoreans, the firft one, monad or unity, is above all ef- 
 
 * fence ; the fecond contains all ideas ; and the third which 
 ' is Pfycheor foul partaketh of both, of the firft unity and 
 ' of the ideas.' Numenius, according to Proclus, (b) fays, 
 
 * That the Pythagoreans having praifed the three Gods, 
 ' called them the grand Father, the Son and the grand Son, 
 « thereby intimating, that, as the fecond was the ofspring of 
 ' the firft, fo the third proceeds from the firft by the fecond.' 
 Jamblichus adds, according to the teftimony of Proclus, (c) 
 
 * That there were three Gods alfo praifed by the Pythagore- 
 ' ans.' 
 
 It is true, that Pythagoras did not only call the fupream 
 Deity a monad, and a triad, but alfo a tetrad: for Tetra<flys, 
 in the golden verfes, is called the fountain of eternal Nature, 
 and therefore Hierocles, in commenting upon thefe verfes, 
 fays, (d) * There is nothing in the whole world which doth 
 
 * not depend upon the Tetraclys, as its root and principle. 
 
 * For the Tetrad is the maker of all things, the intelligible 
 
 * God, the caufe and Father of the heavenly and fenfible 
 
 * God.' The latter Pythagoreans and Platonifts endeavour 
 to give reafons why God fhould be called Tetras or Terrac- 
 tys, from certain imaginary myfterys contained in the num- 
 ber four. Some modern critics fancy, that the Pythagorean 
 Tetraftys is the fame with the Hebrew name Jehovah, that 
 conlifts of four letters: but both thefe conje^ures are chime- 
 rical and trifling. It feems lefs hypothetical and imaginary 
 
 (a) Simplicius in Ariftot. phyfic. fol. 50. (b) Proclus in Timaeum. pag. 93. 
 (c) Procli theol. Platon. lib. i. cap. V. (d)'Hierocl. aurea carni. pag. 1 68. Can- 
 tab. 1709. 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. i^^ 
 
 to look upon the word Tetrad as originally derived from the 
 ancient hieroglyphic which almoft in all nations was the 
 fymbol of the Deity, which the Hebrews called Cherubin, 
 and which Orpheus reprefents alfo under a quadruple form. 
 The three firft denote the three confubftantial agents or 
 hypoftafes of the divine Nature, and the fourth having the 
 face of a man is the facred humanity of the Logos, which 
 Hierocles calls the celeftial and vifible God, fon of the firft 
 caufe. This hie roglyphical fymbol called Cherubin wascop- 
 pyed by the Gentiles and called Teraphim, as fhall be ex- 
 plained hereafter. 
 
 We come now to Plato, and that we may not attribute a- 
 ny thing to our perfonal refearches, we fhall give here an ex- 
 a6l and clear abridgment of the profound and judicious re- 
 marks, which the learned Dr. Cudworth has made upon that 
 important (ubjeft, adding now and then fome refle(5lions and 
 quotations that ferve to unfold the beautiful fcheme of that 
 admirable author. 
 
 Plato always diftinguifhes betwixt the fupramundan 
 and mundan Gods, the eternal and the generated Gods, the 
 intelligible and the fenfible Gods. Thus, tho' he fpeaks in 
 the plural, asMofes and the Hebrews, of the divine elfence, 
 yet he reftrains this plurality to three, which he calls Ag a- 
 THON or EN ; Nous orLoGosjPsYCHE or Eros. That 
 is, the fupream good or unity; the mind or word; the foul or 
 love. Thefubitance of all his do6lrine concerning this Triad, 
 may be reduced to the three following heads or principles. 
 
 I. Plato did not underftand by thofe three diftincHiions in 
 the Godhead, three fimple attributes, names, modes or forms 
 
1^6 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 of the Deity, for he calls them not only three prlnclples,three 
 caufes, three agents, three kings, but alfo, three Gods, the 
 firft, the fecond and the third, which fubfifl: and a6b in the di- 
 vine efience, as if they were three diftin6l fubftances, tho', as 
 we fhallfee, he believed them to be one monad. Hence Plo- 
 tinus one of Plato's principal difciples, who lived in the third 
 century of the Chriftian aera, calls this triplicity in the divine 
 Nature three hypoftafes. (a) ' He names the firO: Uranus, 
 
 * the fecond Chronus, the third Zeus.' And concludes in 
 this manner, * Chronus is in a middle degree betwixt his Fa- 
 
 * ther Uranus and his Son Zeus.' In another place, he 
 ipeaks thus of thefe three hypoftafes. 
 
 (b) * The greateft of all things after the moft abfolutely 
 
 * perfed being, is Mind or intellefl, and this is fecond to it, 
 
 * for Mind beholdcth this as its Father, and ftandeth in need 
 ' of nothing elfe befides it, whereas the firft principle ftan- 
 
 * deth in need of no mind nor intelled, w^hich in order of 
 
 * Nature is pofterior to it, as is alfo Pfyche its felf or the firft 
 
 * fouljfor thisisalfo Word or energy of the mind as the fecond 
 
 * principle is the Word or energy of the firft Good.' The 
 fame Plotinus fays, (c) * That this Pfyche or third principle 
 
 * is the fame with Venus or Urania, which was begotten from 
 
 * Chronus or Saturn, that is, from a perfe(51: mind or intelle<5l. 
 
 * This heavenly Venus muft needs be that moft divine foul or 
 
 * Pfyche, which, being immediately begotten pure from what 
 ' is pure, always remains above. 
 
 2.. Tho' Plato and his difciples called thefe three divine 
 
 (a) Plotln. Enn. lib. V. pag. 513. 554. . (b) Plotin. Enn. V. lib. i. (c) Id. 
 Enn. Ill.iib. V. cap. 2. 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 137 
 
 hypoftafes, not only three natures, three principles, and three 
 caufes, but alfo three Gods, yet it is fure, that they always 
 fuppofed, thefe three to be only one Deity or eJGTence. This 
 appears evidently from Plato's fecond epiftle to Dionyfius, 
 where he maintains, that thefe three hypoftafes in the divine 
 Nature are co-eternal, confubftantial and uncreated. ' The 
 
 * mind of man, fays this great philofopher, has an anxious 
 
 * defire to know what this Triad is, and to that end, looks 
 
 * upon things congenial to its felf, which are all infuflicienr, 
 ' imperfect and foreign, but in that King of all things, there 
 
 * is nothing of this kind,and nothing like to what is created.' 
 
 3. The three diftin(5lions of the Platonic trinity are not 
 only all co-eternal, but alfo neceffarily exiftent, and noways 
 free produ(5lions of the divine Will; for the firft of them, fay 
 the genuine Platonifts, can no more exift without the fecond, 
 than original light can exift without its fplendor. Yea there 
 can be neither more of them, nor fewer. For, fays Plotinus, 
 (a) ' We ought not to maintain, that there are any other 
 
 * principles fave thefe three; but having placed firft the fimple 
 
 * good, we ought to fet Mind or the fupream intelled next 
 
 * after him; and then the univerfal foul in the third place. 
 ' This is the immutable order, neither to make more nor 
 
 * fewer diftin(flions in thefovereign intelligible, for he that 
 
 * will contract the number, and make fewer of them, muft of 
 ^ neceflity either fuppofe Soul Ind Mind to be the fame, or 
 
 * elfe JNlind, and the firft Good identical; but we have de- 
 
 * monftrated that thefe three are diftindl: from one another.' 
 
 Thus, we have fhown, that the Platonic,Pythagoric and 
 
 (a) Plotin.Enn. II. lib. ix. cap. i. et 6. 
 PART 2. S 
 
138 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 Orphic fchools were full of this great idea of a Triad in the 
 divine efTence. We might multiply innumerable quotations 
 on this head, but they would only be repetitions of what has 
 been already quoted from Hierocles,Porphyrius, Jamblichus, 
 Plotinus, Proclus, Numenius andDamafcius. ThePharifai- 
 cal bigots, and the incredulous Freethinkers endeavour equal- 
 ly to defpife and difparage thefe venerable channels, and de- 
 pofitaries of the ancient philofophy ;but from diiFerent views ; 
 the fatahftical do6tors from a defign to prove, that out of the 
 vifible church there never were any juft ideas of the facred 
 Trinity; and the minute philofophers, to Ihow, that this 
 great truth is only a modern whim of a particular fe^t, un- 
 known before the Chriflian aera. 
 
 We muft acknowledge however, that there is a great dif- 
 ference betwixt the Platonic and Chriftian Trinity. They 
 both allow the three hypoftafes to be confubflantial, co-eter- 
 nal, and necefTary: but, according to Plato's philofophy, 
 they are not co-equal; they are not only fubordinate to each 
 other by way of felf-origination, generation and procefRon, 
 but by a gradual inferiority and inequality of perfection, as 
 the image is inferior to the original, the rays to the light, 
 and the ftreams to the ocean. This Chriftians cannot allow, 
 and found reafon itfelf, ought to difclaim this idea: for, 
 fince the divine Nature is indivifible, God the Father or the 
 fource and fountain of the Deity cannot communicate him- 
 fclf to thefecond and third perfons of the Trinity by parcels 
 and with bounds and meafure. Therefore, all the three muft 
 have the fame perfections and attributes, and fo be infinite in 
 all fenfes. It is no wonder, that by fucceflion of time, the 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 139 
 
 Greek philofophers departed from the primitive tradition,and 
 erred in a point Co delicate, fo profound, and fo fublime. 
 
 We come now to the poets. Since the philofophers of 
 all nations had fuch clear notions of the divine Triad, is it 
 any wonder the poets had alfo fome ideas of this great truth? 
 a modern author has advanced a very beautiful principle in 
 mythology, (a) it is this, that notwithftanding the innu- 
 merable crowd of the poetical Gods and GoddefTes, yet all 
 the fuperior Deities of the Pagans may be reduced to three, 
 (i) One fupream God whom they confidered as the fourc« 
 and fountain of the Deity, the Father of Gods and men, 
 the omnipotent King, the fovereign Lord, the firfi: God, the 
 highefl: God and the felf-originated principle. (2) A God- 
 defs his wife, daughter, fifter or grandchild, whom they re- 
 prefented as the principle of the divine Fecundity, the com- 
 panion of his eternal folitude, the immortal Virgin and the 
 Mother of nature. (3) A middle God betwixt the two, whom 
 they called the fon of Jupiter, the fecond God, the leader, 
 the God guide, the Demiurgus or creator of the univerfe. 
 
 If it could be demonftrated, that all the names of the firfi: 
 God arefynonlmous and relative to the firft principle of the 
 Deity ; that all the names of the fecond God are the fame,and 
 relative to the Logos; and in fine, that all the names of the 
 GoddefTes are alfo fynonlmous and relative to the third prin- 
 ciple of the Orphic, Pythagoric and Platonic Trinity, this 
 would be a beautiful difcovery in mythology. We would fain 
 attempt this, but we dare not promife it. All we pretend, is 
 to offer feme probable conje6tures on this important fubje^l ; 
 (a) See Ramfay's Mythology at the end of Cyrus's Travels, 
 
 S z 
 
I40 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 and to render thefe conje<n:ures lefs {uCpeOicd of fi^lon, we 
 fhall lay down fome preliminary principles, which no man 
 truly verfed in antiquity can deny. 
 
 1. We have already demonftrated that according to the 
 greateft philofophers among the Pagans, and even many 
 Chriftian fathers, the fupream univerfal Numen of the Hea- 
 thens is polyonomous, and that they made ufe of feveral dif- 
 ferent names to exprefs the fame eternal mind or effence. 
 
 2. We have already remarked, that the Pythagoreans, 
 having praifed the three Gods, called them the grand-father, 
 thefon and the grand-child, thereby intimating, that as the 
 fecond was the ofspring of the firft, fo the third proceeds 
 from the firft, by the fecond. Now if this principle be joi- 
 ned with the firft, it will be found, that all the different names 
 of the fuperior Gods exprefs, either the attributes of th^e 
 great Monad, of the Son of God, or of his grand-daughter. 
 
 3. Notwithflanding the multiplicity of Gods, which we 
 find in Homer, yet, according to the teftimony of Philolaus 
 the Pythagorean, in the Gorgias (a) ' Homer was looked up- 
 * on as the author of the Ternary hypoftafes of creators.' 
 The Pagans, therefore, looked upon all his Gods as reducible 
 to three, Jupiter, Mars, and Minerva, and all the other Gods 
 and Goddeffes werefynonimousor polyonomous expreflions 
 of thefe three principal Deities. 
 
 4. The reafon why the Pagan poets called the Deity fome- 
 times by feminine, and fometimes by mafculine names,feems 
 to arife from raifunderftanding the original hieroglyphical 
 
 (a) Prod, theoli Platon. pag. 13, 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 141 
 
 fymbols, which reprefented the divine attributes and hypof- 
 tafes by the figures of women, as well as by thofe of men. 
 As the Greek poets in the fabulous ages perfonified all thefe 
 fymbols, andere(5led them into different Deities, hence arofe 
 the notion of female Gods or GoddefTes. 
 
 Thefe four principles premifed, we fhall now endeavour to 
 fhow, that all the different names of the fupream Deities may 
 be reduced to three kinds, which exprefs the three different 
 chara^ers of the facred Triad. 
 
 I. There is among the Pagans onefupream,unIverfal Nu- 
 men, defignedby the different names of Uranus, Coelus, Sa- 
 turn, Jupiter Olympian, Janus, and Pan, all which exprefs 
 the attributes, properties and characters of the firfl: principle 
 or paternal Monad. Uranus, as we have feen, was the name 
 of the firft principle of the Orphic Trinity. Coelus is only a 
 Latin tranflation of Uranus, and fo is perfectly fynonimous. 
 '^Ihe word Saturn was derived from the Hetrurian Sathur 
 which lignifys hidden. Wherefore, he was called by the 
 Romans in their pontifical books Deus Latius, or the 
 hidden God, and the firfl inhabitants of Italy were called La- 
 tins, or worfhippers of the hidden God. This is the fame 
 with the firfl principle of the Egyptian Triad called AiMoun", 
 which fignifys hidden, or Jupiter Amnion. Jupiter is vifibly 
 derived from the Hebrew word Jehovah, which was read dif- 
 ferently Jehou or Jou which fignifys the being that is, the 
 felf-exiflent being. To this Jou was added the word father, 
 or pater, and hence came the Joupiter or Jupiter of the Ro- 
 mans. The Greeks tranflated the word Jou by Zeus from 
 TjLOi to live. This word Zeus they changed into Dios, and 
 
J42 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 by adding ttoltyi^ called the fupream God Diofpiter,the father 
 of life. Janus was another name for the firfl: principle, as he 
 by whom all beings enter into exiftence. The Romans firfl: 
 invoked him in all their facrifices and prayers, and he was 
 never omitted, whatfover God they facrificed unto. Martial 
 (a) * calls him the creator of the fair and beautiful world/ 
 and Ovid makes this God fpeak thus, (b) * Whatever thou 
 
 * fees, heavens, fea,airsand earth are all fhut up and opened 
 
 * by my almighty hand. I have alone the government and 
 
 * guardianfhip of the whole world.' St. Auguftin affures us, 
 that Janus and Jupiter were the fame God, (c) * the mind of 
 ' this corporeal world which animateth and filleth the whole 
 ' bulk.' Hence the conjecture of Salmafius feems probable, 
 that the Romans derived their Janus from Zanos the Etolian 
 Jupiter.Others derived the word Janus from the Hebrew word 
 Janah Stabilire, CoUocare, Statuere, the founder, former, and 
 placer of all things. Pan was another name of the firft prin- 
 ciple, or univerfal being, as the Greek word implys. If we 
 derive it from the Hebrew word Panim Orphanim, it fignifys 
 mafked, hidden, and fo is the fame with the Etruvian Saturn 
 and the Egyptian Amoun or Ei(5lon. Socrates, in Plato's 
 Phaedrus, plainly invokes Pan as the fupream Numen. The 
 Arcadians and the Greeks originally looked upon him as the 
 univerfal Harmoftes, orHarmonizer of the world, who, ac- 
 cording to the expreffion of Orpheus, * plays upon the uni- 
 ' verfe as upon a mufical inftrument, who framed it harmo- 
 * nioufly, who regulates all its proportions, and preferves it 
 
 (a) Martial. Nitidique fator pulcherrimi mundi. (b) Ovid, Faftor. lib, I* 
 Cc)St. Auguftin. deciv. dei. lib. VII. cap. x.et xi. 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 143 
 
 * in a continual tune and order.' He was alfo called by Or- 
 pheus, * theuniverfal Paftor and fhepherd of mankind, that 
 
 * feeds and nourifhes all beings by his power and benefi- 
 
 * cence.' Hence came all the fables of Pan as the God of 
 fhepherds. 
 
 2. Befides this fupream God Father of gods and men, the 
 firfl:, hidden, celeftial, and univerfal principle or hypoftafis, 
 the fource and fountain of the Deity, we find a fecond God 
 called the God guide, Jupiter the leader, Phoebus or Apollo, 
 Neptune, Pluto, Mars, Mercury, and Vulcan. It is remar- 
 kable, that the philofophers of all the ancient nations gave 
 names to this fecond God that defign his pure divinity, fuch 
 as mind, reafon, word, intelle6]:, light; but the poets retain- 
 ed the ancient names that regard his manifeftations from 
 without,and hisfacred humanity united to the divine Nature. 
 This will appear from the following analyfis of the etymo- 
 logys of the names given to the fecond God. 
 
 Jupiter condu(5tor was the fon of Saturn or Uranus, and 
 therefore different from Jupiter Olympian. He was the fame 
 as Chronos, the fecond perfon of the Orphic trinity. The 
 word Chronos in the original Greek may fignify, as Dr. 
 Cudvvorth has remarked, eternity, as well as time. This 
 God is called the Nous or intellect by Plato, the fecond hy- 
 poftafis of his triad. And the defcription he gives of this 
 God-guide in the Phaedrus, is very remarkable. * Jupiter, 
 
 * fays he, the great leader in heaven, animating his winged 
 
 * chariot, marches firft: followed by all the inferior Gods 
 
 * and genii; thus, they traverfe the heavens admiring the in- 
 
 * finite wonders thereof. But when they go to the great 
 
144 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 * banquet, they raife themfelves to the top of heaven and 
 ' mount above the fpheres. None of our poets ever yet fung, 
 ' or can ling that fuperceleftial place.It is there that fouls con- 
 
 * template with the eyes of theunderftanding the truly exif- 
 
 * ting elTence, which has neither colour nor figure, nor is the 
 
 * obje^l of any fenfe, but is purely intelligible. There they 
 
 * fee virtue, truth and juftice, not as they are here below, but 
 
 * as they exifl: in him who is Being itfelf. There they fatiate 
 ' themfelves with that fight, till they are no longer able to 
 
 * bear the glory of it, and they return back into the inward 
 
 * fphere of heaven, where they feed again upon nectar and 
 
 * ambrofia. fuch is the life of the Gods.' Can there be any 
 thing more fublime and philofophical, than this defcription 
 Plato gives of the alternate returns of our fupream and accef- 
 fory felicity in the celeftial regions? 
 
 Phoebus was another name of the fecond hypoftads.Some 
 derive it from the Hebrew Pheob which is compofcd of 
 Pheh mouth and ob effluence, to fignify that the fecond 
 principle is an emanation of the mouth of God or his word. 
 Others derive it from Ph eh mouth, and Boun wife, the wife 
 mouth of God; and fo the Word is called in Scripture. As 
 this fecond hypoftafis of the facred Triad w^as called by the 
 Hebrews, The light of the world, and the fun of righteouf- 
 nefs, his fymbol v/as the material fun. The Egyptians called 
 this fecond Hypoftafis Ofiris from the Hebrew word Oh si 
 ERETZ the Lord of the earth; and according to Plutarch 
 and Macrobius, ' the God King, the ruler of the ftars, the 
 
 * God-guide, the foul of the world, the conductor and the 
 
 * infpedor, and fo is the fame with Jupiter the condutflor. 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 145 
 
 The orientals called him Moloch or Molchom the 
 King. The Chaldeans Baal, or Baal Shemim ^ The Lord of 
 ' the heavens.' The Philiftines Marnas the Lord of men. 
 The Tyrians Adonai or Adonis, the fovereign Lord.The 
 Syrians Ad ad or Achad the one, the monad, the unity, 
 as alfo Atysthemofthigh. The Phenicians Helion which 
 fignifys the fame thing. Hence the Greeks Helios. AUthefe 
 different names fignify fome attribute of the fecond God. 
 But the Pagans in latter times transferred the word from the 
 archetype to the image, from the intellectual idea to the vi- 
 fiblefymbol, from the fun of righteoufnefs, and thefubftan- 
 tial light of the invifible world, to the material fun, and fo fell 
 into idolatry. 
 
 Neptune is another name of the middle God, and may be 
 derived from the Hebrew words Nepheth emanation, off- 
 fpring, and Oni grief, afflicflion, forrow, thence Neptoni, or 
 Neptune the fon of forrow, much the fame as Benoni. He 
 is faid to rule over the feas, the ocean, and the abyfs, to calm 
 their rage, and appeafe their waves. Maximus Tyrius fays, 
 (a) * Neptune Is thatfpirit thatpafTes thorough the feas and 
 * caufes its motions and harmony.' Balbus and Cotta in Ci- 
 cero fay much the fame, and (b) * That we rauft defpife the 
 ' poetic fables and look upon Neptune as a mind withun- 
 ' derftanding that commands the feas. 
 
 Pluto may alfo be derived from the Hebrew word Peloutah 
 or Peloutoh the Deliverer. Becaufe it is he that delivers from 
 the infernal regions. According to Plato, (c) ' This God is 
 
 (a) Max. Tyr. difTert. xxx. (b) Cicer. de nat. deor. lib. ii. et iii. (c) Plato 
 in Cratyl. et de legib. lib. viii. 
 
 PART 2. ' T 
 
14.6 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 * nothing elfe, but a name for that part of divine Providence 
 « which detains fouls in a feparate ftate, not by neceHity, but 
 
 * by love or defire; pure fouls are ravifhed with the delights 
 
 * they enjoy in Elyfium, and thefe that are not Co, defire ta 
 
 * be purified and prepared for this felicity.' It is certain, that 
 according to the Pagan theology, Jupiter and his two bro- 
 thers Neptune and Pluto were only different names of the 
 fame God, or the fame hypoftafis of the Deity, all three fons 
 of Saturn, of Uranus or the firft monad and fountain of the 
 Deity. Dr. Cudworth has proven this clearly (a) from Pau^ 
 fanias in his Corinthiacs, and from that paflage of Herme- 
 fionax quoted above. 
 
 Mars was another name of the middle God. It is derived 
 from the Hebrew word Haretz which fignifys the powerful, 
 the formidable. The Syrians foftned the word,and pronoun- 
 ced it Hazes, the Gauls Hezus. The Greeks Ares by re- 
 jecting the afpiration, theSabins pronounced it with a ftrong 
 one Waretz or Warts, and the Latins Mars. Thus 
 the fecond principle was reprefented as a conqueror, the God 
 of war that combats and deflroys the evil principle. 
 
 Mercury is another name of the middle God ; it may be 
 derived originally from the two words Marah, the Lord, and 
 Kur, the fon. God the fon, or from Merchor, Dominus 
 Cordium, the God of hearts. As there is a great refemblance 
 betwixt the Hebrew word Merchor and that of Marcol, or 
 Marcor which fignifys merchandize, the later Pagans or 
 Greeks faid, that Mercury was the God of the merchants, 
 which is a pure fport of words, or a rebus. Their fabulous 
 
 (a) Dr. Cudworth, mtelle(a. fyft.pag. 491, 492. &c. 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 147 
 
 theology is very oft founded upon fuch a miftake of fimilar 
 nouns. He was called by the Egyptians Anubis, from the 
 Hebrew word Hannobeach, the dog-ftar. Taautes which 
 fignlfies the dog, the barker, the monitor, and the dog was 
 in the ancient hieroglyphlcal language thefymbol of fidelity. 
 By the Greeks Hermes or the interpreter of the Gods and 
 by the Latins F atum, from the old Latin word Fari which 
 fignifies the fame thing as verbum, fpeech or word, and 
 feems to be a literal tranflation of the Greek word Logos. 
 The ftatues of this God, in all different country s, are accom- 
 panied with the attribute or fymbol of a ferpent, which figni* 
 fied in the hieroglyphlcal ftyle, life or wifdom. 
 
 Vulcan may be derived from Bul, Colligens, and Chan 
 re(5lus, juftus, firmus; fo thatBuLCHANor Vulcan figniiies 
 originally Colle(5tor juflorum, he that affembles or gather* 
 together the jufl j and this is one of the characters of the Mef- 
 fiah, of whom it is faid, that he will gather the juH: or ele<^ 
 from the four corners of the world. He was called by the 
 Greeks Epheflus from Eph father and Efta, fire, the father 
 of the fire, or fource of light and £0 is the fame with Apollo 
 or Phoebus. He was called Mulciber from Malac or Mul 
 regere,andBer or Beer fubterraneous,and fo is the fame with 
 Pluto. The later Pagans confounded this God with the evil 
 principle, and feigned that Juno not content with him threv?" 
 him down from the battlements of heaven, and that by this 
 fall, he became lame. This belongs evidently to the evil 
 principlecalledby the Greeks Diabolus,orl he thrown down. 
 It is no wonder, the later Pagans gave him the fame name 
 "with the middle God, (ince the Hebrews themfelves called 
 
 T 2 
 
148 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 the fallen Cherubin Lucifer, which is one of the names 
 
 of the Logos. 
 
 We are very far from looking upon this analyfis of the 
 Hebrew names and etymology s as demonftrations: great il- 
 hifions may happen by fuch conjectures, and many critics 
 have gone aftray and bewildered themfelves by this method. 
 We fhould make lefs account of thefe etymology s, if our rea- 
 fonings were not fupported by the principles already laid 
 down in the introduction, and confirmed by many remark- 
 able circumftances that do not feem to be the effeds of fancy 
 or hazard. Of which circumftances wc fhall only mention 
 two. The firfl: is, that in the mythologys of all nations, the 
 fymhols and attributes of thefe different Gods are much the 
 fame. The fecond is, that there is a great referablance be- 
 twixt the combats of My thras, the death of Oiiris, Adonis, 
 Atys, the exile of Apollo, and the defcent of Vulcan, as we 
 fhali fee more fully, when we talk of the facred humanity of 
 the Logos, and his fuffering flate here below, in the third 
 chapter following. 
 
 3. We come now to the fix female Gods or Goddeffes, 
 which feem to be only different names to exprefs the different 
 attributes, and perfonal characters of the third hypoflafis of 
 the Deity. This third hypoflafis was called by the Hebrews 
 * The mother of all things,' and this idea is fo ancient, that 
 according to St. Jerome,itwas the name which the Nazarens 
 gave to the holy Spirit. This third hypoflafis was reprefen- 
 ted by the Pagans, as the wife or fifler of Jupiter the God- 
 guide, of Mars, Apollo, Mercury and all the other Gods of 
 the fecond clafs, and therefore, as the grand-daughter of U- 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 149 
 
 nnus, Saturn or the fupream Monad. This reprefentatlon of 
 the Deity as of two fexes feems, as we have already faid, to 
 come from the figures of women that, with their different 
 fymbols, were employed originally in the hieroglyphical lan- 
 guage, to exprefs fome attribute or hypoftafis of the divine 
 Nature, and fo it is no wonder, when the thing fignified was 
 forgot, if the fign was ere(5ted into a divine power, or perfo- 
 nified as a female Goddefs, by the Greek poets, and later Pa- 
 gans that were become very ignorant of the original primitive 
 traditions. 
 
 Apuleius fays expresfly, that (a) * Vefla was called by the 
 
 * Phrygians Cybele or mother of the Gods; by the Attics, 
 
 * the Cecropian Minerva; by the Cyprlols, the Paphian Ve- 
 
 * nus; by the Cretenfes, Diana; by the Sicilians, Proferpi- 
 ' na; by theEleufinians, Ceres; by the Egyptians and Ethi- 
 ' opians, the Queen Ifis; by other nations, Juno, Bellona, 
 
 * Hecate.' Thus, according to Apuleius, all the names of 
 the Goddefles exprefs one and the fame Deity. Let us now 
 fee if the original etymologys, fymbols given to, and fables 
 made of thefeGoddeffes have any relation to the third hypof- 
 tafis of the facred Triad. 
 
 We begin with Juno. Juno called by the poets Amor or de- 
 licium JovIs,thelove and delight of Jupiter,anfvvers very well, 
 as Voflius has remarked, to the divine fpirit who is called 
 Love in the facred text. Cicero derives the word Juno from 
 Juvando to help, tofuccour: but fome others derive It rather 
 from JuNAH, which in the Chaldaicand Hebrew language 
 fignifys a dove, and all know that this is the fymbol made ufs 
 (a) Apuleius. roctamorph. lib. xiv 
 
150 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 'of in the facred oracles, to reprefent the holy Spirit. When the 
 evangehft makes ufe of this fymbol, he does it, without any 
 preamble or explication, as an ancient hieroglyphic which 
 the Hebrews were accuftomed to. 
 
 Vefta was another name of the third hypoftafis of the Pa- 
 gan trinity. It comes from the Chaldaic word Efta, to which 
 the Latins added V. It fignifys originally fire, flame, ano- 
 ther fymbol of the Holy Spirit. She was called the mother 
 of the Gods, Cybele, which comes from the Hebrew word 
 Cephel which fignifys conjun(5lion, union, love, which is 
 ftill theperfonal chara<n:er of the holy Spirit,according to the 
 facred oracles. She was alfo called Rhea, from Ruach wind 
 or fpirit, or from Rahah the nourifher, and fo is the fame 
 with the Jehovah Ruach. She is reprefented as in love with 
 Atys, which fignifiesthe moft high, and he is called foin ail 
 ancient monument mentioned by Gruter (a). 
 
 Minerva from Min, Donum the gift and Ervah Catara^la, 
 emanation; now the holy Spirit was called by the Hebrews 
 the gift of the moft high, and his emanation. The fame 
 Goddefs was called Pallas by the Greeks, and by the 
 Sabins Pales, both derived from the Hebrew word Pa- 
 LAL judicavit, to fignify, that fhe is the fovereign judge of 
 the world. She is alfo called Athena, from Athenah con- 
 junction, adhefionjpofleffion, the three degrees of love. Pro- 
 clus fays, that fhe is thus defined by all the divines, (b) * She 
 
 * was brought forth from the head of her father, and conti- 
 
 * nues in him. Therefore, Socrates, in the Cratylus, hath 
 
 * celebrated her under the name of Theonoe or God know- 
 
 (a) MriTif! Tuy &UVTUV Van g Ar7<8' v^!ra. See GJruter.infcrlpt. pag. B2, (b) Pro- 
 dus in Timaeum ed. Bafil. 1534. pag- 5 1. 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. lyr 
 
 * Ing. As (be comprehends and loves the Father's wifdom, 
 ^ file is called a Philofopher, and the Goddefs of wifdom. As 
 
 < fhe deftroys and fubdues all oppofition to the divine Na- 
 
 * ture,fhe may be called the Goddefs of war,and therefore,Ho- 
 
 * mer fays, that putting on a coat of mail, flie was dreffed for 
 
 * the battle in the armour of the cloud-compelling Jove. She 
 
 * is an invincible Goddefs, and fights againfl the giants with 
 ^ her father, flie alone brandifhes his fpear, by which fhe 
 ^ vanquifhes the files of the rebellious Genii, with whom fiie 
 
 * is angry. She produces all virtues, and d^rts into fecond 
 
 < beings intelligence and untainted Hfe, and is therefore cal- 
 
 * led the virgin Tritogenes. She makes us partake of undefi- 
 ' led wifdom, fills us with intelle(5tual power, grants us celeA 
 
 * tial gifts, extirpates our grofs imaginations, excites in us pure 
 
 * and unpolluted thoughts, reftores every particular foul to 
 
 * theuniverfal reafon of the father.' How ridiculous were it 
 then, to look upon Minerva as derived from the Hebrew 
 word Manor which fignifies a ihuttle, and upon this God- 
 •defs as a fyrabol of the art of weaving. This ludicrous idea 
 of a modern French author came from his credulous attach- 
 ment to thefablesof thepoetSjWho from afimilitude of names 
 and falfe etymology of the word Minerva, fancied it was de- 
 rived from Manor, and fo made Pallas the Goddefs of Wea- 
 vers, and the rival of Arachne ; but this author had no true 
 principles of mythology. 
 
 Ceres is another name for Pfyche,or the third hypoHafis 
 of the Orphic trinity. It comes from the Hebrew Keretz 
 deftrudtion, or the exterminating fpirit, fo the holy Spirit is 
 tailed; or from Cerefli Solium, throne, the manifeftation of 
 
152 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 the divine glory. This common mother of all things is faid 
 to go about mourning, feeking her daughter Proferpina ra- 
 vifhed by the infernal powers, a fit emblem of the grief of the 
 holy Spirit for the depravation of human nature by the for- 
 bidden fruit. Hence the word Perfephone, which the La- 
 tins called Proferpina may be derived from the two Hebrew 
 words Peri fruit, and Saphan loft, v/andered, ruined, thus 
 Perse PHONEH fignifies loft by thefruit,a compound name 
 that exprefTes very well the ancient tradition concerning the 
 fall of man and its caufe. We muft however remark here, to 
 prevent all cavils ; that as Pfyche was very oft taken for the 
 human foul in general,as well as for the third hypoftafis of the 
 Orphic trinity; fo Proferpina was alfo taken for the third hy- 
 poftafis of the facred Triad, as well as for human nature de- 
 graded by the fruit. Thus Venus was alfo taken for the ce- 
 leftial Urania, and the terreftrial Aphrodite, as we lliall fee 
 below. The daughter was called a Goddefs, as well as the 
 mother. As in the Hebrew language, Elohim was given to 
 kings and princes, as well as to the facred Ternary. To re- 
 turn to Ceres, this Goddefs is called by Balbus in Cicero * A 
 
 * mind with underftanding that pajGTes thorough the earth, 
 
 * fruflifies all things, and produces abundance.' The myfte- 
 ries or ceremonies of Ceres at Eleufis were famous in anti- 
 quity. They all fignify or indicate the means of purificati- 
 on, initiation, or regeneration, to a new life by faftings, 
 chaftity,confefIion, abnegation, and a total detachment from 
 all terreftrial objeds, as we fliall fee hereafter; when we treat 
 of the three means of re-uniting the foul to God. Whence 
 I conclude, that the feafts and myfteries of Ceres were iu 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 153 
 
 their origin inftituted to fignify the pure operations and de- 
 fcent of the holy Spirit in fouls to purify and regenerate them, 
 and much the fame as the Chriftian Pentecofh 
 
 Diana was another name for the Pfyche or third hypof- 
 tafis of the Pagan triad. She was called by the Syrians and 
 lonians Dei, which fignifys God's felf-fufficiency. As alfo 
 Deio, Deione and by the Greeks and Romans Diana. 
 She was called alfo by the Latins Deimeter and De me- 
 ter, the mother of the Gods. She was alfo named Arte- 
 mifa, from the compofition of the two Hebrew words Ar- 
 tom, divina and Eisha Mulier, the divine woman, the 
 Goddefs by excellence, or as others,from Ifhah EiTe, Effen- 
 tia, Virtus, the divine Virtue. Diana, Phoebe, Luna, or the 
 moon, were as Pfyche taken not only for the third hypofta- 
 fis, but alfo for intelleflual nature in a purifying expiatory 
 ftate. Hence in the facred oracles,the church militant is repre- 
 fented as a woman that has the moon under her feet. In fine 
 Diana was called Hecate from the Phenician word Ac- 
 hat a; wife to Achad, the unity, the monad, the only; 
 Phoebe the fifter of Phoebus or Apollon. For the holy Spi- 
 rit, or the third hypoftafis is very oft looked upon, as the wife 
 ofthefecond princlple,becaufe it is the objecft of his love and 
 complacency, or as his fifter becaufe it flows from the fame 
 fource or fountain of theDeity,or in fine as the grand-daugh- 
 ter of the firftGod, becaufe it proceeds from the Father by 
 the Son. All thisTheogony was known to thefirft patriarchs; 
 tho' by fucceflion of time, it was fpoiled, adulterated and 
 mixed with fable by the later Pagans, and efpecially by the 
 Greeks thefe great corrupters of all the divine philofophj. 
 PART 2. U 
 
154 OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 Venus was another name of Pfyche. She is called Venos 
 in a medal of Julia Augufta. (a) It comes from Vcnoth or 
 Benoth, which in the Phenician language, fignifys a virgin, 
 and therefore, fhe was called the immortal virgin. She was 
 named alfo Urania, the heavenly. Euripides, in a fragment 
 preferved by Stobaeus, fpeaks thus of her, * Do you not fee 
 
 * how great a God this Venus is; but we can never declare her 
 
 * greatnefs, normeafure the vaft extent of her goodnefs.This 
 ' is file which nourifheth both thee and me, and all mortals. 
 ? This is fhe which makes heaven and earth friendly to con- 
 ' fpire together.'Orpheus calls her ' the eldefl of all beings and 
 ' the firft begetter of all.' Hence fhe was called by the ori- 
 entals Mylitta, Genitrix, or the fruitful mother of all things. 
 Herodotus fays, that flie is the fame with the Perfian My- 
 thra, or third hypoftafis of the Zoroaftrian triad. Plato calls 
 her ' the firft fair, the caufe of all pulchritude, order and har- 
 
 * mony in the world.' Paufanias diftinguifhes her from the 
 vulgar terreftrial Venus, and fays * That fhe was called the 
 ' heavenly ,becaufe the love fhe infpires is pure and free from 
 ' all corporeal affection.' The Greek philofophers called her 
 Venus Apoftrophia; and the Latins, * Venus Verticor- 
 
 * dia, a pure and chaft love expulfive of all unclean lufts 
 ' anddcfires.' Valerius Maximus tells us, that (b) * The 
 
 * Romans conf crated a ftatue to her, to the end, that the 
 
 * minds of the female fex, by adoring her, might be con- 
 ' verted from luft and wantonnefs tochaftiry.' The Cypriols 
 called her Venus Aphrodite, which came originally from 
 the word Pherudoth, or by adding the article. A, Apheru- 
 
 (a) See the colle£Uon ofmedals by Adolph. Occq. pag. 3 66. (b) Valer. Max- 
 lib. VIII. cap. XV. 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 155 
 
 doth, Grana, fru<flus, the fruits. The facred oracles repre- 
 fent the third hypoftafis under the fymbol of a tree, the tree 
 of life, and his produflions, operations, gifts, and graces, as 
 the fruits of the holy Spirit. The Greek poets imagining that 
 the etymology of the word was Aphros,which in their tongue 
 fignifys Froth, trumped up the wild fable of a fecond Venus 
 that fprung from the froth of the fea. Thus, as we have fcen, 
 their mythology is very oft founded upon puns, a fenfclefs 
 miftake of etymologies, and a meer refemblance of words. 
 
 The fame Pfyche, or third hypoftafis of the Pagan triad, 
 was called by the Egyptians Ids, from Ifhah the divine vir- 
 tue that nouriflieth and animateth all things. The Syrians, 
 Phenicians and other orientals defigned the fame hypoftafis 
 by different names Baal Tis, Belta, Baaleth, the 
 wafe of Baal, the Lord ; and fo fhe was the fovereign Lady, 
 miftrefsandemprefsoftheuniverfe. Baals em in the Queen 
 of heaven. Malgheta the queen by excellence. Am- 
 monia, the wife of Ammon, Asteroth or Astarte 
 the wife of Aster the fliepherd. The queen of the flocks, 
 or the fhepherdefs, bccaufe the celeftial quires are reprefen- 
 ted as a flock fed by the Logos, who is called by the He- 
 brews the great fhepherd, the paftor of fouls, and by the Pa- 
 gans, the great Pan. 
 
 From this identity of the Pagan GoddefTes comes that re- 
 femblance which we remark in their mythologys. Hence 
 we fee the fource of the fimilitude there is in the fable of the 
 Egyptian Ifis, who weeps over the murther of Ofiris, of the 
 Phrygian Cybele that laments the death of Atys; of the 
 
 U 2 
 
is(^ OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 
 
 Phenlcian Venus that deplores the (laughter of Thanmuz or 
 Adonis. 
 
 All thefe GoddefTes had much the fame attributes and or- 
 naments, fo that the etymologys of the primitive names, and 
 the fimilitude of the fables andfymbols feem to indicate, that 
 this female figure in the hieroglyphical language was defign- 
 ed originally toreprefent the fame univerfal numen, or divine 
 hypoftafis, tho' all afterwards was degraded, adulterated, 
 disfigured, difmembred,and turned into wild fables, that dif- 
 honour the divine Nature. I do not therefore pretend, that 
 In later times,and efpecially after the fabulous ages, that the- 
 poets had any ideas of a triad, when they talked of the fu- 
 pream God Jupiter, of the Deities his fons, and the Goddef- 
 fes his grand-daughters: all I pretend is, that in the original 
 inftitution of the fymbolical charafters, this threefold diilmc- 
 tion might have been invented to exprefs the ancient traditi- 
 on of atripHcity in the divine Nature. This conjedure is fo 
 much the more probable, that we find fo many palpable and 
 clear veftiges of this truth among the fages and philofophers 
 of all nations. I do not however give thefe conjectures as de- 
 monftrations. I propofethem only as fubje<5ts of refearch and- 
 refleflion to the learned that underftand the true principles of 
 facred and profane antiquity laid down in the introduflion. 
 
 To prevent many objections that may be made againft 
 this great principle, it is fit to remark, that it is no wonder, if 
 by fuccefiionof time, the Pagans, having no written revela- 
 tion, and no vifible church authorized by heaven to be the de- 
 pofitary, guardian and interpreter of religious tradition, con- 
 founded foraetimes the different fun<5tions,perfonal characters^ 
 
OF THE SACRED TRINITY. 157 
 
 and fpeclfic operations of the three hypoftales, attributed to 
 the fupream Father what belongs to the middle God, to the 
 fecond hypoftafis what belongs to the third, and to the two 
 laft, what is peculiar to the firft. It is thus, that Ifis and Mi- 
 nerva are oft taken for the Logos, or fecond hypofhfis of the- 
 divine triad, Jupiter Condu<ftor, for Jupiter Olympian, and 
 Chronus, for Saturn, or Uranus. 1 his is not all. As cre- 
 ated fpirits are oft called the fons of God, both by the He- 
 brews and Pagans, the names of the fecond hypoftafis are oft 
 given to inferior intelligences, even after their fall. Thus, 
 the evil principle is oft called Moloch, Baal, Lucifer, Vulcan, 
 Pluto, tho' all thefe names belonged originally to the middle 
 God. Thus alfo, the names of the third hypoftafis or female 
 God are oft given to intelle(ftual nature in general, as off- 
 fprings and images of the divine archetype, and even to hu- 
 man fouls degraded.Thus the created is oft confounded with 
 the uncreated, what is made with what was generated, and. 
 the daughter with the mother; the emanation with the 
 Iburce. Hence Pfyche, Diana, Proferpina, Venus, Ceres are 
 given to inferior fpirits, and they are ere<5led into Goddeffes. 
 Thefe are the two fources of great confufion in the mytho- 
 logy of the Pagans, and of a great perplexity in their ideas, 
 images, and expreflions: but ftill the great diftinftion^s of a- 
 God the Father, a God the fon, and a Goddefs the grand- 
 daughter remain untouched. 
 
 We hope that the combination of thefe undoubted fa(5ts, 
 probable conje<5l:ures, and clear reafonings, will one day ex- 
 cite fome learned men to demonftrate more evidently, than 
 we have done, the principles laid down; and draw from 
 thence a new mythology as yet unknown. 
 
158 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Of the three manifestations of the middle 
 
 God. 
 
 IT is a very juft remark of a modern author, that (a) * The 
 ' notion of a fplrit conftituted by the fupream God, to 
 
 * be the head and guide of all fpirits, is very ancient.' The 
 Hebrew do^lors, before the coming of our Savior in the 
 flefh, believed, * that the glorious huuianity of the Logos 
 ' W3iS created from the beginning of the world, and appoin- 
 ' ted to prefide over all the orders of intelligences/ This 
 opinion was founded upon a principle demonftrated in the 
 firftPart, that ' finite natures cannot inceflantly contemplate 
 
 * the brightnefs and glories of the divine eflence; that they 
 
 * muft neceflarily fometimes turn off their view from the di- 
 
 * reCt dazling contemplation of the original, and adore the 
 ' creator in his picStures and images; that at fuch times there 
 
 * mult be an head to lead fpirits thro' all the immenfe regions 
 
 * of nature, to fliow them its beauties and wonders, and the 
 ' numberlefs refemblances betwixt the uncreated archetype 
 
 * and the created reprefentations.* 
 
 (b) Dr. Alix has demonftrated in his excellent work a- 
 gainft the Unitarian s ; that the ancient Jews had a diiHn(5l no- 
 
 (a) Ramfay's difcourfe upon the theology of the Pagans, pag. 15. ed. in 4tO 
 Lond. 1730. (b) See Dr. Alix againll the Unitarians* 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 159 
 
 tion of tbe MeiTiah as a divine perfon, the Son of God, and 
 the true Jehovah. It is alfo certain that they referred all the 
 appearances of God, of the angel of God, and of the angel 
 of the covenant under a human form, fpoken of in the books 
 of the Old Teftament, to the facred humanity of the Logos 
 which was created from the beginning of the world. Let us 
 examine fome of thcfe texts fo remarkable in themfelves, and 
 fo much negle6led by thofe that read the Scriptures without 
 intelligence. 
 
 1. It was the glorious humanity of the Logos that appea- 
 red to our firft parents in Paradife. For it is faid, (a) * That 
 ' Adam and Eve heard the voice of the Lord God, or of the 
 ' Jehovah El walking in the garden in the cool of the day;' 
 that he fpoke to them with an audible voice,that he pronoun- 
 ced fentence againft them under a vifible form. This text is 
 a fubjecl of raillery to the incredulous, and of imagination to 
 the Allegorifts, who both perceive clearly, that thefe expref- 
 fions cannot be meant of the uncreated, eternal, infinite ef- 
 fence which filling all cannot walk in a garden, nor be fhut 
 up in a human form. 
 
 2. It was the fame facred humanity that(b) appeared to 
 Noah and his children; and that under a fenfible form, and 
 with an audible voice fpoke to that holy patriarch and com- 
 manded him to build the ark: for it is faid, that God tausht 
 him firfi: the form of the ark, with all its dimenfions, and the 
 materials it was to be made of; when it was finifhed, that 
 the Lord marked to liim the number and fpecies of the ani- 
 mals he was to take into the ark. In fine, when the waters 
 
 (a) Gen. c1i "i! R. (b) Gen. ch. vi. tochap. x. 
 
i6o THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 began to overflow the earth, it Is faid, that the Lord himfelf 
 fliut up Noah and his family in the ark. All thefe fJDeeches, 
 apparitions, and operations indicate a corporeal form that 
 was the organ of the divinity. All the ancient Hebrevrs be- 
 lieved that thefe corporeal appearances and a6tions were not 
 performed by the pure intellectual operation and infpiration 
 of the incorporeal, uncreated, irivifible cfTence; but by the 
 pre-exiftent humanity of the Logos. The fupcrnatural in- 
 fpiration of the omniprefent mind and eternal word is not ac- 
 companied with corporeal images, fenfible rep refen rations, 
 and material founds. It is a central intelle(n;ual operation of 
 God upon the foul, that enlightens the mind, and enflames 
 the heart with the love of eternal truths. Whereas, all this 
 detail about an ark, its form, bignefs, and materials requires 
 audible founds, and avifible Ihape that is heard and feenby 
 thefenfes. 
 
 3. It was the fame facred humanity of the Logos that ap- 
 peared to Abraham, not only in fupcrnatural vifions, but un- 
 der a vifiblefhape in the plains of Mamre.(c) For it is faid in 
 the mod exprefs words, ' That the Lord the Jehovah el 
 « appeared to Abraham, while he fat at the door of his tent; 
 ' that this Lord was accompanied with two angels; that fo 
 
 * foon as he faw them, the patriarch ran to meet them,bowed 
 
 * himfelf down to the ground and called one of them My 
 
 * Lord and My God.' It is added, that thefe three angels 
 fat down under the tree, and eat of the frugal repaft, Abra- 
 ham had prepared for them. Some fathers thought they on- 
 ly feemed to eat, but did not do fo really : but St. Juftin, Ter- 
 
 (a) Gen. ch. xviii. 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. i6i 
 
 tullian, and St. Auguftin maintain, that they really eat as our 
 Saviour after the refurrection, tho' his body ftript of all mor- 
 tal qualities wanted then no nourifhment to fuftain it. It 
 cannot be faid without blafphemy, that the perfon whom A- 
 braham calls Lord was an angel that appeared under a hu- 
 man form, for this fame perfon is called in the preceeding 
 chapter (a) 'The almighty God;' and in the following con- 
 text of this fame chapter, (b) * The judge of all the earth.* 
 The perfon then that appeared to Abraham, was at the fame 
 time human,fmce he eat, drunk, fpoke and did all the funfli- 
 onsof a created vifible nature; and alfo divine, fince the at- 
 tributes of the Deity are afcribed to him. 
 
 4. The fame facred humanity of the Logos appeared tol- 
 faac in the land of the Philin:ines,(c)fpoke to him with an au- 
 dible voice and renewed the promife made to Abrahani and 
 his pofterity. The fame Logos humanized appeared to Ja- 
 cob on his journey to Canaan (d) at Mahanaim, when he 
 called the name of the place Peniel, becaufe ' he had Ceen. 
 * God face to face.' Thofe appearances of the facred huma- 
 nity to the patriarchs for many years and ages after the deluge 
 were fo frequent,that the facred writers make no preamble to 
 uflicrin this fublime do<5trine. Since thofe manifcflations of 
 the Logos humanized werefo common before the law, who 
 dares fay, that they might not have been vouchfafed both be- 
 fore and under the law to holy fouls of other nations, that 
 were not of the race of Abraham according to the flefli? and 
 this might have been thefource,as we fhall fee afterwards, of 
 
 (a) Gen. ch. xvii. i . (b) Ibid. ch. xviii. 25, (c) Gen. cb. XXvi. 2. 3 . 4. Scc. 
 (d) Gen. xxxii. 24. and 30. 
 
 PART 2. X 
 
i62 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 the mythology of the Pagans concerning a Deity humanized, 
 or the appearances of the Gods under a human form. 
 
 5. It was the fame pre-exiftent humanity of the Logos 
 that appeared to Mofes in the bufh,(a) and who defines hlm- 
 felf,I AM THAT I AMjOr the felf-exiftent Being. He was the 
 fame that defcended upon mount Sinai, for It is faid, that the 
 Ifraelites faw the Lord defcend upon the mount, (b) that 
 God fpoke with an audible voice ; and in another place, (c) 
 
 * that under his feet there was a brightnefs, hke that of a 
 
 * Saphire fl:one,and the body of heaven in Its fplendour.' Mo- 
 fes then faw the facred humanity as the Apoftles, when It 
 was transfigured upon mount Tabor. In all the other appa- 
 ritions to Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, and the patriarchs, 
 he did not fhow his glory. The luminous emanations of the 
 celeftial vehicle were fufpended,as when he appeared here up- 
 on earth under a mortal form. It is further added in the fame 
 chapter of Exodus, (d) that when Mofes defircd to fee God's 
 glory, or his pure divinity, the Lord anfwered him, * that 
 < no man could fee this and live, but that he would make all 
 ' his goodnefs pafs before him, or his facred humanity,' for 
 by this hypollatical union of the human and divine Nature, 
 the incorporeal elTence declares all his love to mankind. It is 
 added, that God promifed to Mofes to fhow hini his ' lefTer 
 * part,' for fo the Hebrew word may be tranflated, this leffer 
 part is alfo called in the fame chapter, his ' back parts,' or 
 what is behind, or below God, and this can be no other, 
 than the facred humanity, which Is faid In another text *to 
 
 (a) Exod.ch.ii'iv. 4. and 14. (b) Exod. ch. xxiv. v. 9. 10. (c) Exod.ch. 
 
 xxiv.v.io. (d)Exod.ch. xxxiii, V. 18. to theend. 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 163 
 
 • have been made a little lower than the Elohim/ as we Ihall 
 fee hereafter. In another place it is faid, when Mofes ente- 
 red (a) into the tabernacle, ' the Lord fpoke with hira face 
 ' to face, as a man fpeaketh to his friend.' I remark once 
 more, that as the particular directions given to Noah about 
 the ark, fuppofe a vifible, human, organized body, fo does 
 the particular detail about the form of the tabernacle, facri- 
 fices, veilments, and all the precepts of the ceremonial law. 
 Thefe are not, and cannot be the objecfts of the pure intel- 
 lectual operation of the holy Spirit to enlighten and fanCtify 
 the foul. 
 
 6. We come now to the prophetical vifions. Micaiah, In 
 Ipeaking to Achab, (b) fays, that his eyes were opened to fee 
 into the invifible world, * and that he faw the Lord, or the Lo- 
 
 * gos fitting upon his throne, and all the hoft of heaven Itan- 
 ' ding by him,upon his right hand and upon his left.' Here Is 
 a vifible human form,finceit is defigned as fitting upon a throne 
 with a right and left hand. Here the fchoolmen and vulgar 
 commentators will cry out, that this is only an allegory, and 
 muft be underftood fpiritually. There is a ftrange repugnan- 
 cy in thefcheme of thefe do<5tors, or Chriftian mythologifts 
 and fabulilts. Sometimes they ftick to the letter that kills, and 
 whatever nonfenfe, contradiction and abfurdity there be in 
 this letter, we muft not depart from it. At other times, they 
 abandon entirely the letter, and allegorize it, without any 
 rcafon. All this comes from their having no juft notions of 
 the true divine philofophy. The heavens where the facred 
 humanity of the Logos refides, is always rcprefcnted by the 
 
 (a) Exod. ch.xxxiii. 910. (b)I.Kingsch. xxii. 19, 
 
 X 2 
 
1^4 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 facred oracles as a definite place in the boundlefs regions of 
 immenfity. The pure uncreated eflence cannot be circum- 
 fcribed; it is equally prefent every where. But the Logos 
 humanized mull: have a fixed determinate fpace called the 
 
 * heaven of heavens,' and ' the higheft heavens/ where he is 
 encompaffed with angelical natures that, according to all the 
 ancient fathers, to the great plan of Providence, and to all the 
 laws of the invifible vv^orld, arc united to ethereal, celeftial and 
 immortal vehicles, fuch as w^e fliall have, after the refurrec- 
 tion. Without this hypoftatical union of the Logos, with a 
 human nature, and of all intelledual beings with fome mate- 
 rial vehicle, to fuppofe heaven confined to a definite fpace, 
 would be mofl abfurd and ridiculous, fince pure fpirits do not 
 fill fpace by extenfion of parts. To this purpofe, Ifaiah has 
 fuch another vifion, as that of Micaiah; for he fays, (a) * In 
 
 * the year that the King Uzziah died, I faw the Lord fitting 
 ^ upon a throne high and lifted up, and his train filled the 
 ' heavens.' It would have been impious, idolatrous and ab- 
 furd to have thus corporalized the Deity, if the Logos had 
 not been embodied, or united to a human form, long before 
 the incarnation. 
 
 7. The Prophet Ezekiel had alfo a vifion of the celeflial 
 regions, where the facred humanity refides under a human 
 form ; (b) ' And it came to pafs,' fays he, ' in the fixth year, 
 
 * in the fixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I fat 
 < in mine houfc, and the elders of Judah fat before me, that 
 ^ the povv^er of the Lord God fell there upon me. Then I 
 
 * beheld, and lo, a likenefs as the appearance of aman,from 
 (a) Ifai. ch. vi. I . (b) Ezek. ch. viii. 1.2. 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. i6s 
 
 * the appearance of his loyns even downward, fire: and from 
 
 * his loyns even upward, the appearance of brightnefs, as the 
 
 * colour of amber.' This was the appearance of his glorious 
 body long before the incarnation, and it Is much the fame, 
 as the defcription given by the apoftles and the evangelifts of 
 his glorious body after the incarnation, (a) ' Six days after, 
 
 * Jefus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and bring- 
 
 * ingthem up into a high mountain apart, he was transfigu- 
 
 * red before them, his face fhoneasthe fun, and his raymens 
 ' was white as the light, (b) His rayment became fhinlng, 
 
 * exceeding white as fnow. (c) The fafhion of his counte- 
 
 * nance was altered, and his rayment became white and glif- 
 
 * tcring.' Thus the glory of his facred celeftial vehicle broke 
 forth, and its rays flione in all their beauty, tho' an hour be- 
 fore they were concentred and fufpended,and he appeared like 
 a vulgar, mortal creature. 
 
 8. Thofe manifcllations of theMcffiah under a human 
 form were vouchfafed not only to the holy patriarchs and 
 the prophets, but even to the worft of kings and idolaters. 
 Nebuchadnezzar faw this divine form walking as a fourth man 
 in the furnace with the three children that were thrown into 
 it, for after having interrogated his counfellers, if they had 
 not cafl three men bound into the midll of the fire, ' he was 
 
 * aftoniflicd, rofe up in hafle, and faid,Lo I fee four men loofe 
 
 * walking in the midfi: of the fire, and the form of the fourth 
 
 * is like theSon of God.' (d) This fecms to infinuate, that 
 he had feen more than once the Son of God under a human 
 
 (a)Math.xvii.i. (b) Mark. ch. ix. 3. (c) Luke ch. ix. 29. (d) 
 Dan.ch.iii. 25. 
 
i66 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 form, or at leaft, that he and all his counfellers were perfua- 
 ded, that the Son of God appeared fometimes under a hu- 
 man form, that diftinguifhed him from all others, otherwife 
 it would have been ridiculous and abfurd in him to havefaid, 
 that the form of the fourth was like the Son of God; for we 
 never compare a new unknown form to fomething we had 
 no idea, fimilitude, or notion of before. This text then feems 
 to demonflrate, that not only the Hebrews but the Chal- 
 deans, Babylonians and other Pagans had a notion, or at 
 Icart a tradition, that the Son of God appeared oft to mortals 
 under a vifibleform, and this was thefourceofthatconftant 
 doftrineof all mythologys, that the Gods defcen ding from 
 heaven vifited oft mortals under a human fhape. I beg my 
 readers may be attentive to this remarkable palTage. It is the 
 great foundation of all the difcoveries we are to make in Pa- 
 ganifm concerning the middle God humanized. Can we have 
 a purer fource for the antiquity of this tradition than the fa- 
 cred oracles themfelves? 
 
 ^. In fine, the fame glorious body which the prophets 
 faw in a pre-€xiftent ftate before our Saviour's incarnation,the 
 evangelifl: faw in a celeftial vifion after his exaltation. The 
 defcription made by St. John in his revelations, is much the 
 fame, as that made by the prophets in their fupernatural vi- 
 fions, when their fuperior faculties were opened to fee into 
 theinvifible world, where the facred humanity refides. The 
 evangelifl: fays, (a) * His head and his hair were white as 
 * fnow, his eyes as a flame of fire, his feet like fine brafs, 
 ^ burnt in a furnace, and his countenance as the fun when it 
 
 (a) Revekt. ch. i. 1 4. 1 5 . 1 6. 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 167 
 
 * fhlnes in its ftrength.' The glorious humanity was the fame 
 in heaven before the incarnation, that it now is, and will be 
 to all eternity; the fource of light and life to all the material 
 pi<51:ures in a glorified ftate; as the Logos is the fource of life, 
 light and love to all the intelligent images of the Deity. Such 
 is the wonderful oeconomy of theinvifible world, according 
 to the facred oracles. 
 
 It is a conftant, univerfal opinion of all the primitive fa- 
 thers and particularly of Tertuliian, Origen, St. Juftin Mar- 
 tyr, St. Ireneus, St. Cyprian, St. Clemens Alexandrinus, St. 
 Hilary, yea all the fathers of the council of Antioch, that 
 the Word, the fecond perfon of the trinity, the Son of God, 
 appeared under a vifible form from the beginning of the 
 world to the patriarchs, and prophets; moreover, the firfl: 
 council of Syrmium pronounced anathema againft all thoic 
 who fhould fay that Abraham and the patriarchs did not fee 
 the Son, the only begotten Son, or fome part of him, which 
 can mean nothing, but his facred humanity; for his divinity 
 is invifible, indivifible, and has no parts. St. Auguftin was 
 the firll: who advanced, that all thefe appearances were made 
 by angels, who took upon them fiftitious bodys: but St. 
 Athanafius confutes this opinion, (a) and fays exprcsfly, that 
 the fimple ambaffadors of princes, kings, and emperors ne- 
 ver arrogate to themfelves the names and titles of their maf- 
 ters. St. Auguftin to juftify his ftrange idea fays, that the 
 Word fpoke in and by the angel, but why have recourfe to 
 fuch a figment unknown to all the fathers before him, fince 
 
 (a) St. Athan. orat. iy. contra Ariaft. pag. 467. 
 
i68 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 the pre-exiftence of thefacred humanity explauis all fo natu- 
 rally? 
 
 It is true, that the fchoolmen in later ages trumped up a 
 new idea, and a meer fable, from a perfedl ignorance of an- 
 cient tradition, and the true fenfe of the Scriptures. They 
 quote many equivocal dark pafTages of the fathers to prove 
 that the bodily form attributed to the Logos in the Old Tef- 
 tament was not a real body, but an aereal fantom, which he 
 alTumed at pleafure. This wild chimera is diametrically op- 
 pofite to many exprefs texts of the New Teftament. 
 
 St. John the Evangelift has prefervcd to us this prayer of 
 our Saviour's in his laft fermon,(a) * And now,0 Father,glo-> 
 
 * rify me with the glory which I had with thee before the 
 ' world was.' The glory our Saviour prays to be reftored to, 
 muft be underdood of that of his human nature: for the eter- 
 nal Logos being immutable and infinite without fucceflion, 
 and without variation, could fufFer no diminution in his glo- 
 ry ,and therefore the glory our Saviour had before the world 
 began, and of which he divefted himfelf at his incarnation, 
 muft relate to the glory of his pre-exiftent humanity, which, 
 as we fhall fee,was the firft-born of all creatures. 
 
 The fame evangelift fays in another place, (b) ' What 
 ' if you fhall fee the Son of man afcend up where he was be- 
 
 * fore,' and elfewhere, (c) * No man hath afcended up to 
 
 * heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son 
 
 * of man.' It is plain, that thefe texts cannot regard the eter- 
 nal Logos, or the divine nature of our Saviour, which being 
 
 (a) St. John Gofp. ch. xvii. 5. (b) St. John ch. vi. 62. Cc)St. John 
 ch. iii. 13. 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 169 
 
 immenfe and omniprefent, can neither move to, nor defcend 
 from a place, and therefore they muft be underflood of the 
 facred humanity which exifled before his humiliation, and 
 incarnation in the womb of the blelTed Virgin. For 
 this reafon it is, that in both thefc texts, the perfon that 
 afcends to, and defcends from heaven, is defigned by his 
 human, and not his divine Nature. . He Is called the Son 
 of man. Thefe texts mifunderdood gave occafion to the 
 Socinians to invent a wild fiction, that our Saviour after his 
 Incarnation afcendcd locally to heaven, becaufe they thought 
 with reafon, that It was abfurd to explain them of the di- 
 vine Nature, whicli can neither afcend nor defcend, fince 
 it fills all, or rather Is prefent every where, according to the 
 totality of its nature. 
 
 St. Paul the Apoftle, teaches the fame doMne with the 
 evangelifl:. He fays, (a) ' That our Saviour being in the form 
 
 * of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, yet 
 
 * he emptied himfelf, took upon him the form of a fervant, 
 
 * humbled himfclf,and became obedient unto death.' By the 
 form of God; [J.oD(pyi 0^8, is meant here the Logos, who is the 
 form, the idea, the confubfi:antial Image of the Father. Our 
 Saviour is faid to be In the Logos, becaufe he was received 
 into the uncreated efifence, hypoftatically united to It, and 
 anointed with the holy Spirit above all meafure and bounds, 
 fothat the fullnefs of the Godhead dwelt In him bodily. It 
 would have been blafphemous In St. Paul to fay, that the 
 eternal Word thought It no robbery to be equal to God, as 
 if he were not God, and had not received all the fubfi:ance 
 
 (a) Philip, ch. ii. 6. 
 
 PART 2. Y 
 
170 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 of theFather.Noperfonis faidtorob,or ufurp upon the rights 
 of another by equalling himfelf to him, but he that is inferi- 
 or to him in nature and dignity. Now to fay, that the Logos 
 thought it no robbery to equal himfelf to God, is fuppofing 
 that the Logos is by nature unequal to God. Neither can it 
 be faid, that the Logos emptied, or humbled himfelf. All 
 thofe expreffions of felf- annihilation, humiliation and evacu- 
 ation, with many others analogous to thefe, cannot be ap- 
 plyed to the divine nature, which is immutable; and there- 
 fore mufl: be underftood of our Saviour's pre-exiftent humani- 
 ty, which being united hypoftatically in one perfon to the 
 confubftantial image of the Deity, thought it, on the one 
 hand, no robbery to equal himfelf to God ; and yet on the o- 
 ther hand, humbled, emptied and divefkd himfelf of his glo- 
 ry, to take upon him the form of a fervant. The fame perfon 
 that equals himfelf to God without ufurpation, and yet that 
 humbles and empties himfelf, mufl: contain two natures, one 
 that is infinite and unchangeable, another that is bounded and 
 mutable. 
 
 Thelafl: anddecifive text is that of St. Paul to the Colof- 
 fians, who fays, in fpeaking of our Saviour, (a) ' That he is^ 
 
 * the image of the invifible God, and the firft- born of every 
 
 * creature.' This is a mofl: perfed definition of God-man, 
 both as to his divine and human nature. In the following 
 verfes, St. Paul narrates the qualities thatbelong to both. As- 
 image of the invifible God, ' all things that are in heaven, or 
 ' in earth, vifible or invifible, whether they be thrones or 
 
 * dominations, principalities or powers, were created by him 
 
 (a) ColofT. ch. i. 1 5. to 22. 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 171 
 
 * and for him. He is before all things, and by him all things 
 
 * fubfilh' Then he defcribes the qualities of his human na- 
 ture. As the firft-born of all creatures, * He is the head of 
 
 * the myftical body of the church militant and triumphant, 
 
 * over whom God gave him thepre-eminence,fuperiorityand 
 
 * government. In him the fuUnefs of the Godhead dwells, 
 
 * and by his pacifying blood, God reconciled to himfelf all 
 
 * things, whether things upon earth, or in heaven.' Wemuft 
 therefore never confound the attributes of his divine, with 
 thofc of his human nature. As confubftantial image of God 
 he created all things. As firft-born of all the creatures, he 
 governs all things. Now, can Jefus Chrift be called the firft- 
 born of all creatures, if he never exifted till the time of his 
 incarnation, or can he be called fuch as eternal Logos? Is 
 his generation of a fimilar nature with that of the creatures, 
 and is not this perfect Arianifm ? To fay with Phiioand ma- 
 ny modern divines, that he is the firft-born of all creatures, 
 becaufe he contained the archetypal ideas of all things, is a 
 moft forced and unnatural explication of this fublime text. 
 Can the mind of an architect: that forms and contains all the 
 models of his works, be called the firft-born and cldeft of his 
 productions. The ideas themfelves may indeed be called al- 
 legorically the firft-born of the architect, but not the mind 
 that contains and produces them. We have already fhown 
 in the firft Part, that the archetypal ideas of finites, and 
 all their combinations are not the fame with the confubftan- 
 tial idea and Logos ; yea, that to confound them into one is 
 the high road to Spinofifm. Moreover, it cannot be faid ot 
 
 Y 2 
 
172 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 the Logos, that God gave him the pre-eminence, fuperiorl- 
 ty, and government of all things, for, as Logos and creator, 
 he is naturally and eflentially invelled with this inherent una- 
 lienable right, property and fovereignty. The Logos is al- 
 ways called in Scripture the only begotten Son of God, but 
 not the firft-born of all creatures. Now this diftinflion of on- 
 ly begotten and firft-born indicates the effential difference be- 
 twixt the confubftantial Logos, and the pre-exiftent humani- 
 ty, Intimately and hypoftatically united in God-man. Our 
 Saviour then cannot be called in any fenfe, the firft-born of 
 the creatures,unl€fs we fuppofe, that his pre-exiftent humani- 
 ty was the firft produ6lion of the Almighty, and that he was 
 conftituted from the beginning the head, governour and high- 
 prieft of all intelligent natures. For this reafon it is, that the 
 Pfalmift fays in a text which St. Paul explains of the facred 
 humanity, (a) ' Thou madefthim a little lower than the Elo- 
 ^ him.* (as it is in the Hebrew, and not angels) ' Thou 
 '" crowned ft him with glory and honour;thou gav'ft him domi- 
 ' nion over all the works of thine hands, and thou haft put 
 
 * all things under his feet.' This cannot be faid of the Logos, 
 for he was generated from all eternity and not made in time, 
 God did not give him dominion over the works of his hands, 
 nor put all things under his feet; for,as fovereign Creator, all 
 finite natures are, and were ever fubjecHicd to his empire. Our 
 Saviour then can * be faid to be a little lower than the Elo- 
 
 * him,' only becaufe his facred humanity, tho' exalted above 
 all creatures,yet being a creature,was inferior to the three hy- 
 poftafes of the facred Ternary,tho' fublimely exalted and hy- 
 
 (a) Pfalra. viii. 5. 6. compared with Hebr. ch. ii. 5. 6. 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 173 
 
 podatlcally united to the fecond pcrfon. It Is remarkable, 
 that the Pfalmifl: does not fay in the future, ' Thoa wilt 
 
 * crown him with glory and honour, thou wilt give him do- 
 
 * minion over all the works of thine hands, thou wilt put all 
 
 * things under his feet:' But he fays in the preterit, ' thou 
 
 * haft already done fo/ 
 
 If the fcholaftic mythologifts, thefe degrad'ers of all reli- 
 gion, object that the Meiliah is called the Lamb flain from 
 the foundation of the world ; the anfwer is eafy. The me- 
 diation of our Saviour was from the beginning of this worM 
 corrupted, fallen, and degenerated. So foon as man finned, 
 his intercefiion began; he offered up himfelf as a vi(5lim in 
 the ccleftial regions, he interceded for his brethcren, amidft 
 the glories of heaven, and fitting at the right hand of the 
 Father, he was penetrated with grief for their offence, inter- 
 ceded for their pardon, and offered himfelf up for the expi- 
 ation of their guilt. 
 
 The pre-exillence of the facred humanity of the MeiTIah 
 is a doctrine yet believed and retained by the Rabbins, as an 
 ancient tradition of their fore-fathers from the days of Noah 
 and Mofes. (a) * They believe, that all fpiritual fubftances, 
 '^ angels, human fouls and even the foul of the Mefliah were 
 
 * created from the beginning of the world. (b)They believe, 
 
 * that the foul of the Mefliah, by his perfeverance in divine 
 
 * love, came to a ftri(5l union with the pure Godhead, and 
 
 * was dcfervedly advanced to be the king, the head, and the 
 
 * guide of all fpirits.' The Helleniftic Hebrews call this union 
 of the Mefliah with the divinity * Hyper-azilutical, which 
 
 (a) Vilio, Ezekieh Mercav.apud Rittangel, torn. iii. pag. 225 .(b) Ibid, pag.226 . 
 
174 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 * fignifys fuper-fubflantlal/ The Rabbins or Hebrew my- 
 thologifts mix here their fi(ftions, as the Chriftian fchoohnen, 
 with the primitive tradition, for (i)Itis falfe, that human 
 fouls were created at the fame time with celeftial fpirits,fince 
 the laft were only made after the chaos and fall of angels. (2) 
 It is falfe, that the facred humanity was created at the fame 
 time with other fpirits, for it is faid, that ' he is the firfl-born 
 ' of all creatures,' and therefore exifted before any finite be- 
 ing. (3) It is falfe, that the foul of the MefTiah was made be- 
 fore his glorious body, fmce the Deity united itfelftothe 
 whole MefFiah, or human nature compofed of foul and bo- 
 dy, and not to a part of it. (4) It is altogether falfe to fay,that 
 the MefFiah was exalted to the hypoflatical union by way of 
 recompence for his fidelity, fmce the Scriptures of the Old 
 and New Teflament call the MefTiah from the beginning, 
 
 * The Lord God, the Jehovah El,the image of the invifible 
 
 * God and the firft-born of every creature,' and therefore 
 this Hyper-azilutical union was antecedent to all merit in 
 the facred humanity. It was then the mixtures, adulterati- 
 ons, and corruptions of the original tradition, concerning our 
 Saviour's pre-exiflent humanity, invented by the Rabbins, 
 thatmade the Chriftian doctors look upon this great article of 
 faith as a Jewifh fi^llon. Yea, if there be any pafTages in the 
 primitive fathers that feem tocontradi(5t this great truth,they 
 muft come from the excefllve diffidence which thefe holy 
 men had of the Jewifh traditions. Our Saviour fays in- 
 deed, that the Scribes and Pharifees had made the law void 
 by their traditions, but this can never authorize us to rejed: 
 without diftin^ion all the traditions of the Hebrew dodprs; 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 175 
 
 for to maintain this, is opening the fluices to all fort of incre- 
 dulity. 
 
 The not underftanding this fublime truth of our Saviour's 
 pre-exiftent humanity, was the fource of Arianifm and Nefto- 
 rianifm in the firll ages of Chriflianity, and of Socianifiii and 
 Unitarianifm in the lafl: ages. The fchoolmen, in the thir- 
 teenth century, having their brains filled with the metaphyfi- 
 cai cobwebs of the Ariftotelian and Arabian philofophy, 
 neither ftudied the Scriptures nor the fathers, nor the tradi- 
 tion of the ancients whether facred or profane. By this pro- 
 found ignorance, they confounded feveral texts that regard 
 the pre-exiftent humanity with thefe that relate to the eter- 
 nal Logos, and fo furnifhed weapons to combat the hypofta- 
 tic union and divinity of our Saviour. There is no poflibility 
 of reconciling thefe different texts, but by the luminous doc- 
 trine above mentioned. 
 
 Thus we have proven, that according to the do<5lrine of 
 the facred oracles and ancient Hebrews, the Logos united 
 himfelf to a human nature from the beginning of the world, 
 and that he would have done fo, tho' man and angels had 
 never finned. This was the firll: manifeflation of the Mefliah 
 in a pre-exiflent ftate. 
 
 We need not infift much to prove, that according to the 
 Chriflian faith, the fame Logos became incarnate in the 
 womb of the Virginjand appeared here upon earth in a fufFe- 
 ring ftate, to expiate the fms of the world. This is the fecond 
 manifefbtion of the MefFmh, and a dodrine contained in the 
 creeds and fymbols of all ChriiHan churches of whatever 
 communion, the Socinians only excepted. We have fhown 
 
iy6 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 in the firft Part, how the fchoolmen had degraded and obfcii- 
 red this facred article of faith, by their falfe ideas of vindic- 
 tive juflice, fatisfa<^ion and fubftltution. We hope thereby 
 to have removed all the difficulties that made the Socinians 
 and Freethinkers blafpheme againft this fublime myftery of 
 our Saviour's incarnation, which is the fecond manifeftation 
 of the Mefliah. 
 
 As to his third manifeftation in a triumphant (late, to 
 raife the dead, judge the world, renew the earth, and banifh 
 from it all moral and phyfical evil, this alfo is a plain article of 
 the Chriftian faith, which all communions equally adopt, 
 without excepting the Socinians themfelves, and this is the 
 third manifcftation of the Mefliah. 
 
 We proceed now to examine, if there be any veftiges of 
 thefe three Hates of the middle God or Meffiah among the 
 Pagans; and we begin with theChinefe, the moft ancient of 
 all nations now exiftent under a regular form of government, 
 uninterrupted almoft, fmce the firfl: times after the univerfal 
 deluge. 
 
 Befides the fupream God called Changti, Tien and Yao, 
 the ancient books of China talk of a minifter of the fupream 
 God, whom they call the Holy or the Saint by excellence. 
 His different names in the Chinefe language are Ven- 
 WANG, or the prince of Peace; Chingin, the divine Man; 
 Changgin, God-man; Tientsee, fonofthe fovereign 
 Lord; KiUNTSEE, fon of the King; Ki gin, fon of heaven. 
 The original books talk of him, as reuniting in one perfon 
 all the divine attributes and human qualities. In the book 
 Y-King, we read thefe expreflions, ' The Saint or the great 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 177 
 
 * Man reunites all the virtues of heaven and earth. The 
 ^ Sahit made the heavens; the great Man created the nni- 
 
 * verfe.' Tchingminghian, in commenthig upon thefe 
 places, fays, * Before the Saint made the heavens, Tien 
 
 * was Lord; when the greatMan made the heavens, he him- 
 
 * felf became Lord.' The book Chuking fays, 'heaven 
 
 * helps the people of the inferior regions; he gives them a 
 
 * guide and a teacher, and therefore he is the faithful minif- 
 
 * ter of the fupream Lord, who gave him out of love the 
 
 * whole univerfe, to govern, the inftru^lions of the Saint are 
 
 * thefe of the fupream God himfelf. Tien is the faint with- 
 
 * out a voice; the Saint is Tien fJDcaking with a human 
 ' voice.' The book Lung hong adds, * The heart of the 
 ' fovereign Lord is in the bread: of the Saint, the counfels and 
 ' the rebukes of heaven are in the mouth of the Saint.' 
 TcHoUANTSEE fays, * That the Saint contains in himfelf 
 
 * the heaven and the earth. He has the form of a man, but 
 
 * the heaven and earth are reunited in him.' The commenta- 
 tor adds ' Since he has the form of a man without the pafli- 
 ' onsof men, he is Heaven-Man.' The book Slang-fang 
 afks, * what has the great Man done? ' he anfwers, ' he made 
 ' the heavens, the earth, and all things.' Koucikoutse 
 fays ' We know in confulting the ancient traditions, that 
 ' tho' the Saint is to be born upon earth, yet he exiftcd be- 
 
 * fore any thing was produced.' All thefe paffages Indicate 
 the pre-exiftent date of the Mefliah, fince they agree, that 
 the great Man,the Chin gin, or divine Man, the Chang- 
 gin or God-man produced all things, and exiited before all 
 things. Are they not perfe^flly fynonimous to that exprefTioa 
 
 PART 2. Z 
 
178 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 of the Apoftle, that our Saviour, according to his human na- 
 ture, was ' the firft-born of all creatures.' 
 
 The fame books talk of his fufFering ftate, and of his in- 
 carnation here below. The book Chi king fays, ' The 
 
 * Saint is the beautiful man of the Weft.' As Jerufalem and 
 the holy Land ly weft from China, this ancient tradition 
 feems to relate to our Saviour's incarnation. La o t s e e fays, 
 
 * Confucius maintained, that the Saint was to come from 
 
 * the Weft; and that upon this proverb, the Emperor Han- 
 
 * M I N G T I fent to the Indies to carry away the idol F S E. 
 The book Tchongyong, wrote by the nephew of Con- 
 fucius, fays, ' that the Saint is the middle betwixt the hea- 
 ' ven and the earth, (that is the Mediator) that he alone can 
 
 * convert the hearts, and that he is the beginning and the 
 
 * Lord of all things. How fublime are the ways of the Saint, 
 ' how extenfive is his do^lrine! if you confider his iiiimenfi- 
 
 * ty, he nourifties and fupports all things. If you regard his 
 
 * fublimity, he touches the heavens. We expe(5l this great 
 ^ Man, and he is to come after three thoufand years.' This 
 proves, that this faying was pronounced by fome patriarch 
 that lived three thoufand years before the Chriftian aera, and 
 therefore is a remnant of the antidiluvian tradition. The 
 book Y-KiNG, contains thefe wonderful expreflions, * By 
 ' the juftice of the Saint, the world {hall be re-eftabliftied in 
 ' the ways of righteoufnefs. He will labour and fuiFer much. 
 ^ He muft pafs the great torrent, whofe waves fiiall enter in- 
 ' to his foul ; but he alone can offer up to the Lord a facrifice 
 * worthy of him.' Laotsee fays, that the Saint pronoun- 
 ced thefe words, * He that takes upon him the filth and duft- 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. i^p 
 
 * of the kingdom fhall be the King of the univerfe.' Tchou- 
 ANTSEE fays more, * The common people facrifice their Hfe 
 
 * to gain bread, the philofopher to acquire reputation, theno- 
 ' bility to perpetuate their family. The Saint dies to fave the 
 ' world. He does not feek himfelf, but the good of others. He 
 
 * enriches others and impoverifes himfelf, that is, according 
 ' to IsE MAKOUANG, he lofes himfelf to fave others.* 
 
 The fame books talk of the triumphant ftate of the Mef- 
 fiah, who is tobanifhfin and fufferings; and to reftore ali 
 things to their primitive perfeflion and felicity. In the book 
 Chuking, we find thefe words, ' we expecH: our King; 
 
 * when he comes, he will deliver us from all our miferys. We 
 
 * expert our King; when he comes, he will reftore us to a 
 
 * new life.' Mengtsee adifciple of Confucius, in fpeak- 
 ing of the Saint, fays, ' That the people expeded him, as 
 
 * the dry grafs expe*5ts the clouds and the rain bow.' For this 
 reafon,the prophet Daniel calls him * The defire of nations.* 
 Now they could not defire what they had not the lead know- 
 ledge of; and therefore,they mufl: have had fome ideas of him. 
 In the third ode of the book Chiking, we read thcfe 
 words, (a) * He that is the only King and fovereign Lord 
 ' fees two fort of creatures, or nations that have abandoned 
 
 * him ; but the moft high will not for ever abandon them. He 
 
 * feeks for a man after his own heart, who can extend his 
 
 * empire. In this view, he turns his eyes towards the Welt. 
 
 * It is there that he fhall dwell, and reign with this new 
 
 * King. The Lord will reftore men to theirprimitive virtue. 
 
 * Heaven has given itfelf an equal.WEKWANG,or the prince 
 
 (a) See Father du Halde's hiftory of China. Vol. II. pjg. 309. 
 
 Z 2 
 
i8o THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 ' of Peace alone knows how to love his brethren. He makes 
 
 * all their happlnefs, and all their glory. The Lord has in- 
 ' riched him with all his riches, and given him the univerfe 
 
 * fora recompence. TheLordfaidto Wenwang, mount 
 
 * up firit to the facrcd mountain, in order to draw all the 
 ' world after thee. See thefe rebels that do not obey their 
 \ fovereign,arm thy felf with my wrath,difplay thy ftandards, 
 
 * range thy troops, reftore peace every where, fix the happi- 
 
 * nefs of thy empire. Suddenly Wenwang gains the top 
 
 * of the mountain. Rebellious fpirits, enter into your caverns. 
 
 * This is the mountain of the Lord, where you cannot be 
 
 * admitted. Thefe living fountains are the pure waters where- 
 
 * in the fubjecls of Wenwang are to quench their thirfl:. 
 
 * Wenwang himfelf has chofen this mountain, hehimfelf 
 
 * has opened the clear flreams. It is hither that all the faith- 
 ' ful nations muft come. It is here that all the kings will 
 
 * meet.' What arefemblance is there betwixt thefe ancient 
 traditions, and the words of the prophet Ifaiah, who ftillde- 
 figns the ftatc of the earth renewed and reftored after the lafl: 
 day, as a mountain, the mountain of the Lord, the moun- 
 tain of Zion? The Chinefe explain all thefe traditions of the 
 glory of their own empire, that is one day to extend over the 
 whole face of the earth ; like the ancient Jews, they look up- 
 on themfelves, as the onlyele6l nation; for this reafon, they 
 will have no commerce with other nations, whom they look 
 upon as profane and wricked. It is thus alfo, that judaizing 
 Chriftians, the Predeftinarian figurifts, and the fanatical en- 
 thufiafts interpret all the prophecys, as relative to their own 
 little particular fe<fls. 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 182 
 
 Thus the canonical books of China contain many fcatte- 
 red fragments of the ancient Noevian, yea, antidiluvian tra- 
 dition concerning the fublimeft myfterys of faith. Some very 
 learned and great men who have lived twenty, thirty and for- 
 ty years in China, fludied the language of the country, feen 
 thefe original books, and read the ancient commentarys up- 
 on them, give us the following fyflem of thefe Chinefe mo- 
 numents. I . They pretend to demonflrate, that all the Chi- 
 nefe characters were originally hieroglyphics, as thofe wrote 
 upon the Egyptian obelifks. This feems fo much the more 
 probable, that there is very oft a great refemblancc betwixt 
 the form of the Egyptian and Chinefe charaflers. 2. Thefe 
 ancient monuments, characters, fymbols and hieroglyphics 
 were originally wrote upon pillars, or tables of flone and 
 niettal, by fome antidiluvian patriarch who forefaw the uni- 
 verfal deluge, who knew all the great my fteries of religion, 
 and who was defirous to preferve the memory of thofe facred 
 truths from fliip wrack. 3.Thattho' thofe hieroglyphical 
 monuments may have been adulterated, interpolated and ill 
 copied in fucceeding ages, yet they ftill contain many veftiges 
 of the mofl: effential do<5lrines of our moil holy faith, as of 
 God and his three elTential attributes; of the facred Trinity ; 
 of the pre-exiflence, fuffering and triumph of the MefIiah,of 
 the fall of angels and men ; and of the true means of reunion 
 to our great original. 4. That the Chinefe, quite ignorant of 
 the true original fenfe of thefe facred monuments, fuppofc,. 
 without any foundation, that thefe books were wrote for 
 their nation only, by a man of their country called Foh r, 
 who lived fome centurys before the univerfal deluge, and 
 
i82 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 whofe antiquity they trace up to the times of that holy patri- 
 arch, whom the Hebrews called Enoch. 5. That In confe- 
 quence of this falfe opinion they interpret all the veftiges of 
 our facred myfteries that are to be found in thefe ancient mo- 
 numents, of feveral little fi(^itious events that happened, or 
 are to happen, in their own country. Thus all the names 
 given to the middle God, the great Hero, the Son of the 
 Lord, the fon of heaven, the God-man fuch asWENWANG, 
 
 ChINGINjChANGGIN, TlENGIN,TlENTSEE,KlGIN, 
 
 and KiUNTSEE are transformed into the names of feveral 
 imaginary heroes and emperors that reigned in their coun- 
 try, many ages before the creation of the world. Thus, the 
 Ef^yptians confounded the different names and the reign of 
 the pre-exiftent humanity in a glorious ftate, before the fall 
 of angels or men, with the names and reigns of feveral ima- 
 ginary kings andpontifes that they fuppofed to have lived In 
 Egypt, long before the fall of man; and this age was called 
 the reign of the Gods, demi-gods, and heroes. 6. That as 
 the hicroglyphical ftyle and language had no conjugations, 
 tcnfes, nor moods, when thefe facred fymbols were explained 
 and exprefTed by vulgar alphabetical charaflers, the future 
 was oft taken for the paft; thus, all that was contained in 
 thefe ancient monuments concerning the Mefliah to come, 
 was oft looked upon, as already accomplifhed. Thus the 
 pre-exiftent, fufFeringand triumphant ftate of theMefIiah,of 
 the Hero, or Ching i N, are very oft confounded in one by 
 the Chinefe Mandarins, and interpreters of their facred mo- 
 numents. 7. The fame thing that happened in China has 
 happened in other nations. The original hieroglyphics tran- 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 183 
 
 fported from nation to nation were by fucceflion of time falCc- 
 lytranflated, adulterated, or mifunderftood, and the truefenfe 
 of the ancient traditions, being at laft forgot, every nation ex- 
 plained them differently according to their fancy, and applied 
 them as fabulous fafts that had already happened, or to fic- 
 titious heroes, that had once lived in their own country. 
 Hence arofe all the different mythologies of the Eaftern and 
 Weftern, of the Southern and Northern nations, where the 
 ground and canvafs is ftill the fame, tho' the colourings and 
 ornaments are different. 
 
 Ifthefefeven principles can be demonftrated, or at lead 
 proved in fuch a manner, as to render them not only pofFible 
 and probable; but even, as unconteftable as any matters of 
 faft can be, then we fee, how fome hints and veillges of the 
 fame divine truths may, and mufl: be found in all learned and 
 religious nations, fince they are fo clear in the ancient monu- 
 ments of China. 
 
 The only obje6lion that can be made, is, that if this fyf- 
 tem be true, then the five canonical books of China would 
 contain clearer revelations concerning the myfteries of our 
 holy religion, than the Pentateuch, or the five canonical 
 books of Mofes. 
 
 1 he learned authors of the fydem propofed anfwer in the 
 firfl: place, that the Hebrew characters were all originally hi- 
 croglyphical, of which we have loft the key ; and fo all our 
 tranflations are very imperfect. This, according to them, is 
 the true rcafon why many paffages of Scripture, taken in a li- 
 teral fenfe, feem fabulous, frivolous, indecent, and not only 
 unworthy of the divine attention but even proper to authorize 
 
i84 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 vice. Whatever be in this; it is certain, that, according to 
 the do»5lrine of the apoftles, primitive fathers and ableft di- 
 vines of all communions, ages and countrys, the Old Tefta- 
 ment, and efpecially the Pentateuch, has a double fenfe, 
 the literal and allegorical. The facred oracles are penned with 
 fuch a divine art and fupernatural wifdom, that at the fame 
 time, the latter indicates the outward fa6ts and prodigies 
 which happened upon the vidble theatre of theworldjthefpiri- 
 tual fenfe contains all the myfleries of religion and providence 
 In the invifible world. Thus, St. Paul fays, that the hidory 
 of Hagar was an allegory ; that Melchifedec, Abraham,Mo- 
 fes, Jcfhua, David and all the patriarchs were types of the 
 Meffiah; that all the rites, ordinances, and facrifices of the an- 
 cient law were fymbolical,either of the inward ficrificeof the 
 pafTions, or of thegreatfacrifice of the Mediator; and in fine, 
 that there is a fpiritual Egypt, a heavenly Canaan and a new 
 Jerufalem reprefented by the terrellrial Egypt, Canaan and 
 Jerufalem. Thus, if we knew the true meaning of the He- 
 braic hieroglyphics,and the etymologies of the names of men 
 and places, we would difcover in the Scriptures many beau- 
 ties, fublimities and depths that are now concealed; and be 
 able thus to flop the mouth of incredulity,and remove all the 
 fcandals occafioned by the letter that kills. I know that the 
 Jewi(h Cabbaliils, the predeftinarian figurifts, and the fana- 
 tical enthufiafts of all fe6ts and communions have much abu- 
 fed this great truth: but the abufes made of a principle 
 are not fufficient to make us reje(51: it. To befure there can be 
 •no danger of admitting the allegorical fenfe of Scripture,when 
 our interpretations are confined to illuflrate fome branch of 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 185 
 
 the facred fexenary, are conform to the great plan of Pro- 
 vidence, to the analogy of faith and tend vifibly to render 
 God amiable, Providence beautiful, and the creatures hap- 
 
 py- 
 
 The defenders of the Chinefe monuments anfwer in the 
 fecond place, that fince the antidiiuvian and Noevian pa- 
 triarchs were fully inftruded in our facred myfteries, they 
 fliould have tranfmitted them to their pofterity;and fince they 
 could and fhould have done it, it is evident that they really 
 did fo. Thus we fee why the mythologys of all nations agree 
 In the fame principal ideas, how all men from the beginning 
 niufl: have had the fame great principles of religion; why 
 thefe traditions are clearer, purer and more intire in the moil 
 ancient nations that firfl: peopled the earth, than in fucceeding 
 gencrations;and why the further we remove from the fource, 
 the rivulets are more impure and muddy. In thefe laft and 
 dangerous times, wherein charity is waxed cold, faith almoll 
 extinguiftiedjhope expired, and incredulity come to its high- 
 efi: pitch, perhaps Providence has opened a communication 
 to China, that fo we might find vediges of our-facred religion 
 in a nation which had no communication with the ancient 
 Jews, and whofe original books, yea, the principal commen- 
 tarys upon them having been wrote long before the coming 
 of our Saviour, cannot be fufpeded of impofture. 
 
 To augment the force of this proof, and carry it even to a 
 demonllrationjet us continue to examine,if there be any fuch 
 vcftiges of this third ternary, or three manifeftations of the 
 Mefliah in other nations. We proceed from China to the 
 Indies. 
 
 PART 2. A a 
 
i86 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 All the ancient writers on the Indian philofophy are now 
 gone; and in the few remains of antiquity concerning the 
 Brachmans, there is much more faid of their life and man- 
 ners, than of their learning and knowledge. But their philo- 
 fophy fubfifts at this very day; and though greatly altered by 
 the addition of new fables, yet its main body and leading prin* 
 ciples feem ftill the fame. In feveral parts of the Eaftcrn 
 world, are yet to be found the defcendants of the ancient 
 Brachmans, who differ from the reft of the people both in 
 their manners and cuftoms, docTtrine and language. They 
 preferve among them a fecret fcience, an arcane philofophy ; 
 and hand it down from father to fon, in a way altogether un- 
 known to the vulgar. Their facred books faid to be fent from 
 God by the prophet Drachma, are undoubtedly very ancient, 
 and wrote in a language peculiar to themfelves, which has 
 greatly contributed to their prefervation. All the modern ac- 
 counts of them arc pretty much agreed, as to the leading ftrokcs 
 of their religion ; and afford us hints more or lefs plain of the 
 different manifeftations of the Meffiah. According to the 
 Danifh miffionaries, the Gods of the Malabarian trinity in 
 India are Biruma, Wifchtnu, and Ruddiren, or Ifuren. (a) 
 Wifchtnu is defcribed by thofe Bramans as a prote<5lor and 
 deliverer, who came nine times into this world to redeem 
 men from deftru(5lion, and reftore them again to purity. In 
 the firft of the thirty four conferences between the fame midi- 
 onaries and the Malabarian Bramans, translated out of high 
 Dutch by Phillips, we find the fame triad of divinities (b). 
 
 (a) An account of the religion of the Malabarians, in feveral letters from the 
 mod learned Indians to the Danifh miHionaries. By Phillips. Lond. 1717. Letter I. 
 page 3. and Letter XX. page 94. (b) London, 1719. 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 187 
 
 There the fecond of themWifchtnu isfaid to have been born 
 a man among the Malabarians to fave them; and has at dif- 
 ferent times undergone a vaft variety of metamorphofes. 
 Henry Lord, (a) in his hiftory of the Ced: of the Banians, ga- 
 thered from their Bramans, as contained in the book of their 
 law called the Shafter,mentions their trinity under the names 
 Bremaw, Vyftney, and Ruddery; and fpeaks of feverai 
 manifeftations of Vyftney to preferve, fupport, and exalt 
 fouls to happinefs. When we confult the miflionaries of the 
 Roman church, we meet with the fame truths. (b) ' Theln- 
 
 * dians have a facrifice called Ekiam, (it is the moft celebra- 
 
 * ted of all thofe in India) they facrifice a ftieep, and repeat 
 ' a kind of prayer with a loud voice, in thefe words. When 
 ' fhall the Saviour be born ? When fhall the redeemer ap- 
 ' pear?' at the fame time that the Bramins teach the do6lrine 
 of the trinity, they ftill maintain the exiftence of one fu- 
 pream Being, (c) ' The three principal Gods of the Indi- 
 
 * ansare Bruma, Vichnou, and Routren. The greater part 
 
 * of the Gentiles fay they are three different divinities, and in 
 
 * reality feparated. But many of the Nianiguculs, or fpiritual 
 
 * men,airure us,that thefe three Gods different in appearance, 
 
 * are really nothing but one God. When this God creates, 
 ' and exerts his omnipotence, he is called Bruma; when he 
 ' preferves created beings, and gives proofs of his goodnefs, 
 
 * he is called Vichnou; and laftly, when he deftroys cities, 
 
 * chaftlfes the guilty, and makes them feel the effefts of his 
 
 * jufl: refentment, he takes the name of Routren.' They tell 
 
 (a) London, 1630. (b) Lettres edifiantes et curieu(es, ecrites des miflions 
 
 etrangeres, parquelques mifljonaires de la compagniede Jcfus. Recueil, 9. Paris, 
 1 7 30. page 33. (c) lb. pag. 50. 
 
 Aa z 
 
i88 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 us that one of thefe Gods frequently made his appearance on 
 the earth, (a) ' All the Indians agree, that God was incar- 
 
 * nate many times; and moft of them afcribe thefe incarnati- 
 ' ons to Vichnoii the fecond God of their trinity. According 
 
 * to them, this God was never incarnate, but in quality of the 
 
 * Saviour and preferver of men.' In another place, the mif- 
 fionaries attefl the fame fa6l. (b) * The Indian books aflure 
 
 * us, that their God Vichnou appeared feveral times on earth 
 
 * for the sood of men, in different forms, and fometiraes un- 
 
 * der the figure of a man.' This' God is alfo reprefented by 
 them as their teacher and inftruflor. (c) * The Votaries of 
 
 * Vichnou pretend,that their God illuminates the fouls of his 
 
 * favourite adorers with a celeflial light, and informs them of 
 
 * the various changes that have befallen them in the bodies 
 
 * they have animated.' (d) Elfewhere the fame Vichnou is 
 called God the preferver of alt beings. We find the follow- 
 ing remarkable pafTage, in an Indian book named Bartachaf- 
 tram, (e) ' At the end of Caliougam, a Braman called Vich- 
 ' nou fhallbe born in the city Shambelam. He (hall under- 
 
 * fland the divine writings, and all the fciences, without 
 
 * fpending any more time to learn them, than is fuiRcient to 
 
 * pronounce one flngle word. Therefore, they fhall give him 
 
 * the name of SarvaBaoumoudou(he who excellently under- 
 ^'ftands all things). This Braman Vichnou, by converfing 
 
 * with thofe of his own race, fhall purge the earth of fmners, 
 
 * a thing impofTible to any other, buthimfelf : he fhall make 
 
 * juflice and truth reign in it, offer facrifice, and fubje6t the 
 
 (a) Ib.pag. 52. (b) Id. Rccuell, 10. Paris, 1732. pag. 404. (c)Id. 
 
 Kecueil 13. Paris, 1718. pag. no. (d) lb. pag. 128. (e) Id. Recu«il 
 
 21. Paris, i7 34-P^g-54- 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 189 
 
 * univerfe to the Bramans. When he arrives at old-age, he 
 
 * fhall retire into the defart to fufFer penance. This is the or- 
 . * der Vichnon fliall efhbiifli among men. He fhall confirm 
 
 * the Bramans in virtue and truth, and keep the four tribes 
 
 * within the bounds of their laws; and then we fhull fee the 
 
 * firit age appear again. That fuprcam King fhall render fa- 
 
 * crifice fo common among all the nations, that the very de- 
 
 * farts fhall not be deprived of it. The Bramans confirmed 
 
 * in goodnefs fhall only employ themfelves in the ceremonies 
 
 * of religion and facrifices. Mortification fhall flourifli among 
 
 * them; all the other virtues fhall march in the train of truth, 
 
 * and the light of the divine writings fhall be diffufed every 
 
 * where. The feafons fhall fucceedone another in an inva- 
 ' riable order; and the rains, in their proper time, deluge 
 
 * the plains. Autumn in its turn fhall furnifli great plenty. 
 
 * Milk fhall flow down in abundance to thofe who receive it: 
 ' the earth, as in the firft age, fhall be inebriated with glad- 
 ' nefs and profperity, and all people enjoy ineffable delights*' 
 The fame doctrine is confirmed to us by Herbelot. (a) ' Bef*- 
 
 * chen, fiys he, is the fecond of all beings, whom God crea- 
 
 * ted before the world, according to the dod:rine of the In- 
 ' dian Brachmans. He is that being whofe name fignifies^^ 
 
 * exiflingin all things, who prcferves the world in its prefent 
 ' flate. He is the being who was feveral times incarnate. In 
 
 * his firfl incarnation, he afTumed the body of a lion ; in the 
 
 * fecond, he entered into that of a man; and in the tenth) 
 
 * which muft be the lafl, he fhall appear Hke a warriour, to 
 
 * deftroy all religions contrary to that of the Brachmans. The 
 Ca) Bibliotheque Orientak. Paris x 697. pag. 203. 
 
ipo THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 « Chriftians, and particularly the miflionaries who have got 
 ' fome knowledge of the Indian rellgionjafHrm that this Bef- 
 
 * chen is the fecond perfon of the adorable trinity, and that 
 ' the Brachmansafcribe to him qualities in fome meafureap- 
 
 * plicable to our Saviour Jefus Chrifl:.' From all thefe ac- 
 counts, it appears evident, that Wifchtnu, Vyfi:ney,Vichnou, 
 and Befchen are all one and the fame God manifefted on dif- 
 ferent occafions for the interefts of mankind. 
 
 We come next to the Chaldeans. We have already feen, 
 that Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon, after he had ordered 
 the three children to be thrown into the furnaccjfaid, that he 
 faw a fourth man walking in the midfl: of the flames, who 
 had a form hke that of the Son of God. It is true, fome fa- 
 thers and fchoolmen. Ignorant of ancient tradition both fa- 
 cred and profane, pretend, that Nebuchadnezzar faidfo,be- 
 caufe he thought him fome fon of Jupiter: but by this fub- 
 terfuge, they confirm the great principle we pretend to de- 
 monftrate. The notion of a Son of God that was to defcend 
 upon earth, and that, in heaven itfelf, had a human form, 
 flowed orisinallv from the tradition of our Saviour's pre-exlf- 
 tent humanity, and fuffering ftate. For this reafon, the fame 
 prophet Daniel calls our Saviour * the defire of all nations;' 
 now, as they could not defire what they had no notion of, 
 they muft have had fome idea of him, fince they defired him. 
 Men that read the Scriptures carelefly fkip over fuch energeti- 
 cal expredions as this, which contain more than numerous 
 volumes. 
 
 The Perfians had alfo the fame notion of a God-man,un- 
 der the name of Mythras. Heis reprefented in the hierogly- 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. ipi 
 
 phical, fymbolical language with the head of a lion and the 
 body of a man, having four wings, two of which mount to- 
 wards heaven, and two defcend towards the earth. The 
 lion was thefymbol of the MefTiah in the Hebrew hierogly 
 phics, and therefore, Jacob, in blefling his fons, fays, (a) 
 
 * Judah,' whom all grant to be the Mefhah, ' thou art he 
 
 * whom thy brethren fliallpraife, thy handfhall be upon the 
 
 * neck of thine enemies, thy father's children (hall bow down 
 
 * before thee. Judah is a young lion, he (looped down, he 
 
 * couched as a lion, and as an old lion, who fhall roufc him 
 
 * up?' (b) ' The lion of the tribe of Judah,' is an exprefhon 
 made ufe of in the Revelations,to denote the Mefliah, whofe 
 invincible force will at lafl: conquer all things. The wings 
 of Mythras, by two of which he mounts to heaven, and by 
 two of which he defcends to the earth, may, in conformity 
 to the other fymbols, fignify his double nature, human and 
 divine. 
 
 In another fymbol, a ferpent twines about the body of 
 Mythras, who is reprefcnted with keys in his hand (landing 
 upon the globe of the earth. The brazen ferpent elevated in 
 the defert was an Hebraic fymbol of the MefTiah, and this 
 reptile was employed in all nations to reprefent both the true 
 and falfe wifdom, the good and evil principle. The Mythras 
 (landing upon the globe of the earth with keys in his hand is 
 another fymbol, very like that ofthefacredoracles,(c) where 
 it is faid, * I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold I 
 
 * am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of hell and 
 
 * death, of heaven and falvation.' 
 
 (a) Gen. ch. xllx. 8.9. 10. (b) Revel, ch. v. 5. <c) Revel, ch. i. 18. 
 
1^1 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 There is another wonderful hieroglyphical ftone, where 
 we fee the God Mythrasreprefcnted with the Tyara, and all 
 the other attributes of a high prieft facrificing a bull. Over 
 his head are feven ftars, and by him all the inftruments of fa- 
 crifice. Some think that this hieroglyphic is altogether mo- 
 ral, and that it reprefents the facrifice of the animal man fi- 
 gured by an ox or a bull; and that this facrifice can only be 
 made by the middle God, one of whofe {ymbols in Scripture, 
 * is to have feven ftars in his hand(a).' It is remarkable, that 
 in all the hieroglyphical ftoncs of Mythras, there are always 
 two men placed upon each fide of the God. The one has 1 
 torch in his hand that flames upwards, while the torch of 
 the other flames downwards, to reprefent ccleftial love and 
 impure luft. In fome ofthefe ftones and medals, it is not 
 Mythras, but the goddefs Mythra which facritices the bull, 
 and we have fhown that Mythra is the fame with Ifis, Ura- 
 nia, Minerva, &c. all different names toexprefs the third hy- 
 poftafis of the facred Triad. 
 
 In another hieroglyphical ftone, Mythras as high priell 
 is reprefented with two torches in his hand.Out of his mouth 
 proceeds not a floating ribbon, but a fort of fword, or war- 
 like inftrument that reaches down to a flaming altar below it. 
 This is another fymbol, or attribute of the Mefliah made ufe 
 of in the holy Scriptures, (b) ' out of his mouth went a fliarp 
 * two-edged fword.' 
 
 If we thus fuppofe a refemblance betwixt the Mythraic 
 or Perfian fymbols, and the Hebraic or Chriftian ones, we 
 
 (a) Revel, ch, I. 5. 16. andch, iii. i. (b) Revel, ch.i. 16. Ibid. ch. ii. II. 
 
 Heb. ch. iv. 1 2. Ifaiah ch. }ilix, 2. 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 193 
 
 find fomething reafonable in them, and fomething worthy of 
 the wifdom of the Eaft fo much praifed in Scripture: but 
 when we apply them all duely to the material fun, and its 
 different operations and influenccs,wefind little or no mean- 
 ing in them at all; or a meaning that is low, pitiful and chil- 
 difh. Moreover, it is very odd the literal mythologifts fhould 
 fancy, that the greatell: genius's and the learnedefl: nations a- 
 mong the ancients fhould have been fo trifling as to figure 
 the vifible body of the fun, fo confpicuous in itfelf, by dark, 
 enigmatical fymbols; to what purpofe difguife thus the com- 
 mon phenomena of nature, of the fun's rifing and fetting by 
 fuch myflerious riddles? the fource of this miflake came 
 from their not knowing, that the fun itfelf, and all the celcfti- 
 al bodys, in the hieroglyphic fl}'le, are but images of fome- 
 thing more fpiritual ; and thus, all the mentioned emblems 
 would be fymbols of other fymbols, which is diametrically 
 oppofite to the firft intention of the hieroglyphical language, 
 and the fpirit of the ancients who invented it. 
 
 The literal or material mythologifts pretend in vain to de- 
 monfl:rate,that the ancient Perflans adored the material fun, 
 moon and fl:ars,becaufe Herodotus and Strabofay fo. Thefe 
 two authors were very bad judges of the true fentiments of 
 the Perflans, and of the fublime fenfe of their fymbols. Yea,. 
 which is more, thefe two authors contradiifl themfelves ia 
 fpcaking thus of the Perflans. They both fay, as we have 
 fecn, * that the ancient Perfians had neither ftatues nor tem- 
 ' ples,nor altars,becaufe they looked upon it as a folly to have 
 
 * any fuch edifices. and images, and think it ridiculous to fan- 
 
 * cy, like the Greeks, that the Gods have a human fliape.' 
 PART 2. Bb 
 
194 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 Now, if the ancient Perfians believed that all thefe exterior 
 fymbols, and reprefentations were ufelefs in divine worfhip, 
 becaufe the divinity was incorporeal,how can we fuppofejthat 
 they adored the fun, the planets and the fire, as the ultimate 
 and fupream objefts of their worlhip ? Is it not far more rea- 
 fonable to conclude, that in the beginning, thefe celeftial bo- 
 dys were only looked upon as images or fymbols of the Dei- 
 ty,efpecially, fmce Zoroafter, the chief of the Perfian Magi, 
 defines God in fuch a fubHme manner,as we have feen. The 
 material my thologifts laid hold upon this falfe idea of Hero- 
 <lotus and Strabo,of Juftin, Quintus Curtius and fome other 
 hiftorians, that were no philofophers, to favour the opinion 
 of the fataliftical do(5tors who maintain, that fince the begin- 
 ning of the world, God never manifefted himfelf, nor was 
 known, but to the members of the vifible church ; and that 
 he left all the reft of mankind in a total ignorance of his ex- 
 iflence and attributes. Such a monftrous idea of God is the 
 high road to Atheifm and incredulity,and tends more vifibly, 
 thanPaganifm itfelf,to deftroy all amiable ideas of the God- 
 head. Since we have fhown, that the Chinefe had fuch clear 
 ideas of the Deity, and of the middle God, why may not the 
 Perfians have had the fame notions from the oral tradition 
 of the Noevian patriarchs, or from the hieroglyphical fymbols 
 engraved by them, and tranfmitted from generation to gene- 
 ration ? 
 
 We have already remarked, and we repeat it again, that 
 nothing is more proper to confute this idea of the Pharifaical 
 doctors, Predeftinarian fatalifts, and Judaizing Chriftians, 
 than the encomiums made in the facred oracles of the wif- 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 195 
 
 dom ofthe Orientals, called in Scripture, the children of the 
 Eafl. Could the holy Spirit exalt fo much the wifdom of the 
 Eaftern nations, if they adored the creatures and introduced 
 into their worfhip figns and fymbols of the material fun, of 
 its operations and influences, as objects of adoration ? all; 
 thefe infipid ideas are tricks of prieft-craft to perfwade men, 
 that out ofthe vifible church, there are, and can be no lights, 
 virtues, nor graces . It is hoped, that the learned world will 
 foon open their eyes, and fee that the material interpreters of 
 the Pagan religion, have degraded It as much, as the literal 
 commentators have obfcured the facred oracles, by adhering 
 to the letter that kills. 
 
 From all this, we may (afely conclude, that the fymbols 
 and hieroglyphics of the God Mythras were reprefentative 
 ofthe Logos humanized, either as Lord and conqueror that 
 flibduesall to the Father's kingdom,or as the fun of righteouf- 
 nefs that enlightens every man that comes into the world, or 
 as fovereign high Prlelt that immolates the animal man, in 
 order to transform and divinize the foul ; according to that 
 fine expreffion ofthe Pythagoreans, ' We muft firfl ceafe to 
 * bebeafls,andthen become Gods.' 
 
 We proceed now to the Egyptians, and hope to find In 
 their fables, hieroglyphics, and monuments, many veftiges of 
 the middle God humanIzed,orof the three flates ofthe Mef^ 
 fiah. 
 
 Ofirls is reprefented as the Son ofthe fupream God, to 
 whom he gave the government of the worlds, long before 
 the origin of Typhon or the evil principle. During the hap- 
 py reign of Ofiris, all is faid to be full of peace, joy, righte- 
 
 Bb 2 
 
196 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 oufnefs and felicity, exemptfrom all moral and phyfical evil. 
 In this ftate, he is reprefented with all the fynibols that 
 denote his two natures human and divine. Sometimes with 
 thehcad of a hawk, by which, as we have feen, the Egypti- 
 ans denoted the omnifcience and aftivity of the divine nature; 
 at other times,he is reprefented by the fun,which, among the 
 Hebrews, was always looked upon as an image, fymbol, and 
 reprefentation of the Logos humanized; who is therefore 
 called the fun of righteoufnefs, the light of the world, and 
 even that of the new Jerufalem, or heaven. Sometimes, he i.s 
 reprefented as a ferpent, out of whofe mouth proceeds the 
 Mundane egg, which fignifys the creating power of the fe- 
 cond principle reprefented by the Hebrews as a brazen fer- 
 pent. All this feems to regard the pre-exiftent ftate of the 
 middle God. 
 
 During the reign of Ofiris, the Egyptian tradition fays, 
 That Typhon revolted againft his empire, tore the body of 
 the God in pieces, mangled his limbs, fcattered them about 
 the world, and filled the univerfe with rage and violence. The 
 death of Ofiris was annually mourned in Egypt for many 
 days, and afterwards great feftivals were celebrated with joy 
 for his refurre<ftion. At thefe anniverfary feafts of the death 
 of Ofiris, which were celebrated under different names in all 
 -nations, there was a myfterious box carried about in their 
 procefTions, which contained many different fymbols. We 
 cannot now explain them all,without fL\llinginto chimerical 
 conje(5lures,becaufe we have loft the true meaning of the hie- 
 roglyphical language;but among thefe fymbols,there are three 
 very remarkable. A young man, a ferpent, and a fan for 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 197 
 
 cleanfing of wheat. The young man reprefented the great 
 Ofiris whom they called the deliverer, the conduftor, the 
 God-guide, and the foul of the world. The ferpent fignifys 
 life,and was in all nations the fymbol of the middle GodThe 
 fan was a fymbol to fhow, that he will thoroughly purge his 
 floor, gather the good wheat into his garner, feparate the 
 true feed from the chaff. This fame fymbol is made ufe of 
 in the facred oracles (a). The bodyof Ofiris is nature which 
 was disfigured,fliattered,and difmembred by the evil princi- 
 ple. 7 hus Nature among the ancients, pafles for the body 
 of the Deity, his fenfible picture or manifeftation, as a picture 
 is oft called theperfon it reprefents.The God Ofiris is alfo ve- 
 ry oft reprefented with acrofsinhis hand, (b) * This facred 
 ' fymbol was common in all the Pagan religions, but efpeci- 
 ' ally among the Egyptians. It was engraved upon all their 
 ' monuments and obelifks, we fee it in the hands of Ofiris, 
 ' Ifis and Orus, hung about the necks of the God Apis and 
 
 * Jupiter Ammon. It is found alfo upon the Thyrfus of 
 
 * Bacchus,aboutthe neck of Veftals, upon the facred veffels, 
 
 * and the cymbals of the Corybantes.lt was alfo a facred fyrii- 
 ' bol among the Phenicians, and the Goddefs of Syria is re- 
 
 * prefcntedas holding it in her hand, or upon her fhoulder. 
 ' Among the Chinefe and American hieroglyphics, this fign 
 / is a fymbol of perfection, as alfo among the Tartars. Their 
 ' Lama or high-priefl: wears this facred fymbol, and his name 
 Lama in the language of Tartary fignifys a crofs.' Thefc 
 ancient cuftoms of nations feem to come from the primi- 
 
 (a) Math. ch. iii. 12. (b) Sec father LaEttau in his manners of the American 
 favages. pag. 441, 442. &c. 
 
198 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 tlve tradition of the firfl: men, that the crofs was to be the 
 means of falvation to mankind, and of a felicity without end. 
 Hence Socrates, Sozomen, Suidas and Ruffinus, who un- 
 derftoodthe hieroglyphical language,maintain, that the crofs 
 was a fymbol of immortality. All this (hows, that the Egyp- 
 tians as well as the Perfians, Indians, and Chinefe had fome 
 notions of the fufFering ftate of the middle God. 
 
 In fine,his triumphant ftate is reprefented by Ofiris crow- 
 ned, with afceptre in his hand, to fhow his total vi<5tory and 
 final conqueft of the evil principle. 
 
 It is no wonder, that we find fuch hints and veftiges of 
 the three manifeftations of the middle God among the Egyp- 
 tians. Mizraim their common father, who foon after the de- 
 luge peopled that country and called it by his name, was 
 grand-child to Noah by Cham. He (aw the holy patriarch 
 his grand-father, converfed with him for many years, and fo 
 was neceffarily inftru<5]:ed by him concerning all the great my- 
 fteries of religion. He might therefore have tranfmitted fome 
 knowledge of them by oral or written tradition, that is, by 
 hieroglyphical charafters, which was then the ufual way of 
 writing or engraving upon ftones and mettals. 
 
 All the fulfom raillerys therefore of the literal mytholo- 
 gifts againft the allegorical fenfe of the Egyptian religion and 
 hierogl)'phics are groundlefs and infipid. To maintain that 
 the firft Egyptians were adorers of ferpents, crocodiles, 
 cats, reptiles and infects, becaufe thefe fymbols aboun- 
 ded in their temples, is as ridiculous, as to maintain, that the 
 Hebrews were idolaters, becaufe they bowed down before 
 a brazen fcrpent in the defert, or that the Chriftians adore a 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 199 
 
 pigeon, becaufe the holy Spirit is reprefented in Scripture by 
 this fymbol. It is true, that in fucceeding ages, when the 
 true fenfeof thehieroglyphical fymbols was forgot, the vul- 
 gar Egyptians looked upon the animals made ufe of in their 
 fymbols, as facred, and having forgot the fpirit, adhered to 
 the outward fign; and fo fell into the groffeft idolatry and 
 wildefi: fuperftition. This however cannot be true of the firfl: 
 Egyptians, fince,as we have already faid, the holy Spirit com- 
 mends them for their fuperior wifdom, which would have 
 been ridiculous and impertinent, if this nation from the be- 
 ginning had interpreted their fymbols in the low, mean, ab- 
 furd, idolatrous fenfe of the literal mythologies. If the mo- 
 dern French author, whom we have mentioned, had reflec- 
 ted ferioufly upon this paffage of Scripture, and thefe elogi- 
 ums made of the firft Egyptians by the holy Spirit,he would 
 never have invented his groundlefs fcheme of the Egyptian 
 mythology. 
 
 The author of Cyrus travels has fliown, that the Phcni- 
 'cians or Tyrians had the fame notions of a middle God, for 
 befides the fupream God, whom they called Bel, which ac- 
 cording to Selden, is one of the Hebrew names given to Je- 
 hovah, or the fupream God, they had alfo the notion of afe- 
 cond Deity humanized; whom they called Thamnuz,Adon, 
 Adonis, which, according to Hefychius, (a)fignifys Lord. 
 The death of Adonis killed by a wild boar, is much the fame 
 with the murther of Ofiris flain by Typhon, Solemn days 
 were inftituted by thePhenicians to bewail the death of A- 
 -donis, and afterwards to fmg his praifes, as rifen again, (b) 
 
 (a) See Scldenus de dils Syrls cap. viii. de Thamnuz. (b) Lucian. de dca Sy- 
 ria. Maciob. faturnal. I. cap. xxi. 
 
200 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 Luclanand Macrobius affurc us, ' That all the people, clad 
 
 * in mourning, went in procedion to a cavern, where the image 
 
 * of a young man was lying upon a bed of flowers and herbs. 
 
 * Nine days were fpent in prayers, lamentations and faftings; 
 
 * after which the public forrow was changed into univerfal 
 
 * gladnefs.Songs and joy fucceeded to weeping,and the whole 
 
 * alTembly fung facred hymns in honour of Adonis rifen 
 
 * from the dead, and reftored to life.' Several primitive fa- 
 thers mention the fame rites, fuch as St. Jerom, (a) St. Cy- 
 ril and Procopius. Yea, fome of them, fuch as (b) Julius 
 Firmicus pretend, that the fable of Adonis was a corruption 
 of an old tradition concerning a fufFering Mefliah, and apply 
 the Tyrian ceremonies to our myfteries. Is it any wonder, 
 that fuch veftiges fhould be found among a people that de- 
 fcended immediately from Noah by Canaan his grand-fon? 
 it is true, this tradition was foon adulterated, mixed with ido- 
 latry, fuperftition, and even abominations ; fo that God, by 
 the mouth of the prophet Ezekiel, (c) reproved the daugh- 
 ters of Ifrael and Judah, for adopting them. ThePharifaical 
 do(5l:ors, literal mythologifts, and predeftinarian fatalifts ftill 
 confound the abufes, with the original fources, and the fabu- 
 lous additions with the primitive traditions. 
 
 We come now to the mythology of the Greeks, which w€ 
 join with that of the Romans, becaufe the laft borrowed all 
 from the firft. Both thefe nations bad, from the remnants 
 of ancient tradition oral, or hieroglyphical, the idea of a fon 
 of Jupiter, who was to defcend from heaven, where he v^as 
 
 (a) St. Hieron. comment. III. in Ezek. vili. St. Cyril, lib. II. corn, in Ifaiara. 
 Procop. comra. in ifaiam. (b) Jul, firmicus de rayfter. pag. 151. (c) Ezek. 
 ch.viii. 14. 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 201 
 
 for many ages before, the God-guide and the conducflor of 
 all the celefl:ialGenii,who was to undergo great toils,labours, 
 and fufFerings here below, and atlaft reftore all things to their 
 primitive perfection, innocence and felicity. It is true, that 
 the lively imagination of the Greeks, mixed thefe facred 
 truths with many indecent fiflions, and miftook the different 
 names of the only fon of Jupiter for different Deities, heroes, 
 or imaginary princes that reigned during the golden age and 
 flnce that happy time : but through the vail of thefe fi6lions, 
 errors and fuperftitions, we may flill difcover the fame fund 
 of doftrine, the fame great principles of truth, and the fame 
 rays of Noevian tradition. 
 
 To fhow, that what I have to fay on this fubjeft, Is not 
 an efFe(5l of meer imagination, but founded upon the dodlrine 
 of the mofl celebrated fathers, I fhall premife here a palTage 
 of St. Juflin Martyr, which I lay down as an authentic text 
 and warrant for all that I ftiall advance. 
 
 This learned father and holy Martyr, In writing to the 
 Emperor Antoninus Pius and the fenate, exprefly teaches, 
 that (a) * all the fables made of, and all the wonders attribu- 
 
 * ted to Mercury, Bacchus, Hercules, Perfeus, Efculapius 
 
 * and Bellerophon, were only difguifes of fome ancient tra- 
 
 * ditions concerning the Mefliah.' Horace and Virgil fay the 
 fame of Apollo, or the fbn of Jupiter who was to reftorethe 
 world to its primitive innocence. We fhall fee alfo, that Mars 
 was another name of the middle God humanized. Here then 
 are three Gods, Apollo, Mars,and Mercury all fons of Jupi- 
 ter, as alfo five demi-gods, Bacchus, Hercules, Perfeus, Ef- 
 
 (a) St. JuIUn. Martyr. Apol. fecunda ad Anton. Piumpag. 6^ , 94 &c. 
 
 Cc 
 
202 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 culapius and Bellerophon, which, as we fliall fhow, are only 
 different names of the middle God, or Meffiah; and their fa- 
 bles are only adulterations of what ancient tradition faid of 
 his fufferings and triumphs. This will appear more than a 
 probable conjefture, from the following analyfis of the ety- 
 mologies, fables and fymbols of thefe eight Gods and heroes. 
 We begin firft with Apollo. 
 
 Apollo, according to Plutarch, was looked upon by all 
 the Greeks, as the fame with the fun. He is reprefented with 
 this fymbol over his head, as alfo with a ferpent by him, a 
 crown of laurel, a lyre, a quiver, a bow, and a tripus. All 
 thefe fymbols and hieroglyphics are perfe<5]:ly applicable to 
 the middle God or Meffiah who was called by the He- 
 brews, The Sun of Righteoufnefs, the Light of the world, 
 the brazen Serpent, an immortal King crowned with glo- 
 ry, the Reflorer of univerfal peace, joy and happinefs, the 
 fovereign wifdom author of all prophefies. The quiver and 
 the bow defign his conqueft over the evil principle called the 
 ferpent Python, and therefore, he was named A-mXXucoi^j 
 the killer or deftroyer. It is added in the fable made of this 
 God, and reprefented in marbles and mettals, that Pan taught 
 him mufic. We have already fhown, that Pan is an univer- 
 fal Numen, and the fymbol of the paternal principle, who 
 taught the Meffiah the fecret of re-eftablifhing one day uni- 
 verfal harmony. He is faid to have been banifhed from hea- 
 ven, and to have lived for many years upon earth, as a fhep- 
 herd, where he kept the flocks of Admetus or Adametus, 
 which may be derived from the Hebrew word Ad am ah 
 that fignifys human nature ; and fo thq flocks of Admetus 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 203 
 
 are the children of men. Thus, the Mefliah Is reprefented 
 in Scripture, as a fhepherd, and the juft, eled:, or chofen fouls 
 as his fheep, and flock; during this exile, he is faid to fall in 
 love with Daphne,which may be derived from Dap hen Op- 
 probrium,Infamia,Degradatio, Corruptio, and fo fignify de- 
 graded intelligences, of whom he is enamoured, and that he 
 purfues by his love, while they fly from him. It is farther ad' 
 dcd, that he flew the fatyr,or faun Marifas or Marfyas, which 
 may be derived from the Hebrew words Ma Ri Rebellio, 
 and Sas Tinea Blatta, Moth, InCeS:, the rebellious infe^l 
 who difputed with him in niufic, emblem of the evil principle 
 "who endeavoured to enchant men with falfe pleafure. Ho- 
 race feems to have had in view this ancient tradition of a di- 
 vine perfon, that was to come down from heaven, when he 
 fays, (a) ' divine Apollo, to whom the great Jupiter has gi- 
 
 * ven thefundion of expiating the fins of the world, come 
 
 * at laft,webegofthee, furrounded with clouds. Alas! wars 
 
 * and flaughter have too long defolated the earth.' Virgil had 
 the fame ideas of a divine Apollo, who was to comedown 
 from heaven, to reftore the world to its primitive perfection 
 and happinefs. (b) ' The laft age fung by the Cumean fybil 
 
 * is come; the great revolution or re-eftablifliment is at hand. 
 
 * Juftice is going to return upon the earth, and the happy 
 
 * reign of Saturn is to be reftored. A divine child is to de- 
 
 * (cend from heaven. So foon as he is born, the Iron age will 
 
 * ceafe,andthe Golden age will be renewed over all the earth. 
 
 * Be favourable to him, divine Urania, that fo thy Apollo 
 
 * may reign every where. Under his empire, all remains of 
 
 <a) Horat.ode a lib. I. (b) Virg. cclog. IV, 
 
 Cc 2 
 
04 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 vice fhall be deftroyed, and the earth be delivered from all 
 fear and remorfes. He will partake of the divine life, fee 
 the heroes affociated with the Gods ; and they fhall fee him 
 
 governing the world in peace, by his father's virtue. 
 
 Then the earth fhall produce all things, of its own accord; 
 all wars fhall ceafe, and everything berertored to its primi- 
 tive felicity. Beloved offspring of the Gods, great fon of 
 Jupiter, fee how the earth, the feas, the heavens and the 
 whole univerfe rejoice at thy coming.' 
 Mars is another name of the middle God humanized. 
 Some derive it from the Hebrew wordARi a lion. Thus 
 the Ifraelites called the MefTiah the lion of the tribe of Ju- 
 dah. It may alfo, as we have faid, be derived from the He- 
 brew word Haritz which fignifys the Powerful, or the For^ 
 midable. The fabulifts fay, that he was born of Juno, who 
 was impregnated by the fimple touch of a flower, without any 
 human commerce. This feems to be a difguife and adultera- 
 tion of the ancient tradition, that a Virgin was to conceive 
 and bring forth a fon, by the power of the holy Spirit alone; 
 for, as we have faid, all the female deities were fymbols of 
 the third hypoftafis. The poets fay alfo, that he fell in love 
 with the terredrial Venus, which we have fhown to be the 
 fame with Pfyche that fignifys, according to Apuleius, * de- 
 ' graded intelligences.' This Venus was ravifhed by Vulcan, 
 and married to him. Now Vulcan, as we have proven, was 
 not only the name of the fecond hypoftafis, but alfo that of 
 the rebellious Seraphim, and they were both called by the 
 fame name Lucifer. Hence arofe the confufion of their 
 different fables. The reft of the fidion is altogether ridicu- 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 205 
 
 lous, and a pure imagination of the poets, I mean that of the 
 iron net,which Vulcan made and caft about Mars and Venus, 
 while they were in bed together. It came, no doubt, from 
 the mifunderftanding of fome myftic fymbols in the hiero- 
 glyphical language. We dare not add fable to fable, other- 
 wife we might fay, that the myfterious net was afymbol of the 
 incarnation, to which the middle God fubjc6ted himfelf, to 
 refcue human nature from the evil principle. What is fure is, 
 that Mars was always reprefented with all fort of warlike in- 
 ftruments, and called the God of War, as the MefTiah was 
 called by the Hebrew^s the God of hosts. We do not 
 venture to give thefe conjectures for demonftrations; all we 
 pretend is, that by the principles laid down in the introdufli- 
 on, and the parallel made of the names, fymbols and fables, 
 others more fkilled than we, may perhaps find a key to my- 
 thology more worthy of the wifdom oftheancients,thanthat 
 which degrades them to the loweft ftupidity,equally unworthy 
 of the divine nature, and all fentiments of common reafon. 
 For to be fure,human reafon was never fo extin^l in any rati- 
 onal beings, as to imagine, that the Deity was fufceptible o^ 
 all the follys, vices, and immoralities which the letter indi- 
 cates. This difparaging idea of the Pagans is raeer prieft- 
 craft, and impofture. This middle God was adored by the 
 ancient Gauls and Bretons, under the name of Efus, long be- 
 fore they were conquered by the Romans. They reprefen- 
 ted him as a warlike God, and under his feet feveral monfters 
 trodden down ; as alfo with the fymbol of the MeiTiah^orthe 
 lion deftroying a monftrous animal, which reprefents the evil 
 principle. Such a fundamental maxim was it in all religions, 
 
ao6 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 to expe^l a deliverer and a conqueror that was to deftroy all 
 moral and phyfical evil. 
 
 Mercury is another name of the middle God humanized. 
 He is called Hermes or Interpreter in Greek, The Word,the 
 univerfal Teacher of men, the MelTenger of the Gods, and 
 the fon of the great Jupiter. He is reprefented with the Ca- 
 duceusin his hand, which istwoferpentsthat twift themfelves 
 about a rod, in order to deftroy each other. They reprefent 
 the combat of the good and evil principle. He is faid to re- 
 condu(5l: fouls to hell, and refcue them from thence. Hence 
 Horace, in fpeaking of him, fays, * Thou recondu(5teft pure 
 ' fouls to joyful habitations. (a)Thou governeft intelligences 
 
 * ftript of matter with thy golden rod, thou art equally agree- 
 
 * able to the fuperior and inferior deities.* The compound 
 ■word Repon IS looks, as if the poet had in view the dodrine 
 of pre-exiftence. In another ode, the fame poet reprefents 
 Mercury, as the great deliverer, (b) * Sonof Maia,hafte,come 
 
 * down upon the earth, and return late to heaven, rejoice 
 
 * thy chofen people the Romans, and let not our vices chafe 
 ' thee away fwifter than the wind, but triumph here below, 
 
 * and delight thyfelf to be called our father and our prince.' 
 The poet applys all the ancient traditions of a God-man to 
 the Roman nation, and its univerfal conquefts, as the Jews 
 did what was faid of the Mefliah, to their temporal glory and 
 empire over all other nations. Mercury is faid to be the God 
 of merchants and robbers, which, as we have remarked, may 
 come from a falfe etymology of the Hebrew word, or, as 
 
 (a) Horat. ode. IX. lib. i. Tu plas laetis anlmas reponisfedibus. &c. (b) He- 
 rat, ode II. lib. i. Serus in caelum redeas &c. 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. :Lor 
 
 fome think, from a higher fource. The Hebrews very oft 
 reprefent fallen angels by the titles of merchants and robbers. 
 Thus, Lucifer is faid to have loft himfelf by his negotiations 
 and merchandizing, and the devil is called in Scripture the 
 great robber, or ufurper of the divine rights. In this fenfe,the 
 Mefliah may be called the God of robbers and merchants, as 
 he that has an abfolute empire over rebellious Spirits. This 
 middle God was alfo adored by the ancient Gauls and Bre- 
 tons,long before they were conquered by the Romans.Thefe 
 three Gods Apollo, Mars and Mercury were looked upon as 
 fupream, and therefore placed among the Dii Confentesto 
 defign the divine nature of the middle God. The other five 
 were called only demi-gods or heroes divinized, and ^o de- 
 fign more immediately the human nature of thefecond hypo- 
 ftafis of the Pagan triad. 
 
 Hercules comes from a compofition of the tvv^o He- 
 brew or Syriac words, Her, the hero, and Keli or Kuli 
 Armatura, the armed hero, which is the name the Chinefe 
 mythologifts give to their Tiengin or God-man. The 
 Phenicians called their Hercules Ben-alcum, or Ben- 
 ALCMEN; the invincible fon. Hence came the fi61ion of the 
 Greeksjthathewasfonof Algumene or ALCMENE.Thus 
 many of the Greek fables turn upon an equivocal interpre- 
 tation of fome Pheniclan, oriental or Egyptian words, which; 
 they did not underfhnd. He is reprefented fomctimes as a 
 little child, that in his cradle crufhes to pieces aferpent, and 
 bruifcs its head, which is the firft predi(fl:ion of the triumph 
 of the Meffiah mentioned in Scripture. When he comes ta 
 a perfe(5t age, he is reprefented, as cloathed witli the fkin of 
 
2o8 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 alien, and a maffy club in his hand, walking up and down the 
 earth, to banifh from it all monfters and crimes, giants and 
 tyrants. His twelve labours, fo much talked of, were in the 
 ancient, primitive, hieroglyphical ftyle, fo many emblems of 
 the conquefts of the great Deliverer: for there never were fuch 
 real beafts and animals, as the Hydra of Lerna, the fiery bull 
 of Marathon, the wild boar of Erymanthus, the ravenous 
 birds Stymphalides, the monfter Gorgon with three heads, 
 nor the dog Cerberus that kept the gates of hell. If we knew 
 the meaning of the original names,and the true fenfe of thefe 
 hieroglyphics, we would fee that all thefe imaginary animals 
 are only different figures, types and fymbols of the evil prin- 
 ciple; and of its different effccfts and operations. This feems 
 clear from fome other of the fabulous atchievments attributed 
 to Hercules; fuch as his defcending into hell torefcue The- 
 feus, Pyrithous and many other heroes therein detained ; his 
 flaying the dragon that kept the golden apples of the Hefpe- 
 rian gardens; and his killing the great robber Cacus, or the 
 wicked one, fon of Vulcan, or the rebellious fpirit thrown 
 down headlong from heaven. Thefe three laft labours of 
 Hercules are keys of all the reft to intelligent minds, that 
 havejuft ideas of the wifdom of the ancients. What confirms 
 thefe conj enures is, that he is reprefented in fome medals, 
 and precious ftones, to be found yet in the clofet of the 
 Great Duke of Tufcany, as a fhcpherd that carries away up- 
 on his fhoulders lambs refcucd from the great robber, and 
 from ravenous wolves. At other times, he is engraved with 
 the morning ftar over his head, or therifing fun, while Love 
 takes from him his club, as become ufelefs, with this infcrip- 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 209 
 
 tion, to ' the invincible God.' All thefe facred fymbols were 
 prcfcrved from generation to generation, and tranfmitted 
 from the earlieft times after the deluge, to the G reeks, whofe 
 poets coined wild fables about them, that had no relation to 
 their original fenfe, and applied all to imaginary heroes, and 
 fafls that never exifted nor happened. 
 
 Bacchus was another name of the middle God, or fon 
 of Jupiter humanized. He is reprefented in his infancy, as a 
 divine child, fitting upon a celeltial globe full of ftars. He is 
 called the God of Wine, and reprefented with a grape in his 
 hand. This is alfo one of the fymbols of the MelTiah, for 
 Jacob in his lad prophecy ,fays, (a) * He wafhed his garments 
 
 * in wine and hiscloaths in the blood of grapes. He {hall be 
 
 * red with wine.' In other places of Scripture,he is reprefen- 
 ted as drunk with the wine of indignation for the breach of 
 eternal order. The prophet Ifaiah afked, as if he faw our 
 Saviour's coming, (b) ' Who is this that cometh from Edom, 
 ' with dyed garments from Bofrah?' TheMeffiah anfwers, 
 
 * This is he that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the 
 
 * greatncfs of his ftrength ; 1 thatfpeak in righteoufnefs,migh- 
 
 * ty to fave.' The prophet then demands ; * Wherefore art 
 
 * thou red in thy apparel,and thy garments like him thattrca- 
 
 * deth the wine fat? ' The Meffiah anfwers, * I have troden 
 
 * the wine-prefs alone, and of the people there was none with 
 
 * me, for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them 
 
 * in my fury ; my blood fhall be fprinkled upon my garments, 
 
 * and 1 will ftain all my raiment, for the day of vengeance 
 ^ is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.' St* 
 
 (a) Gen. xlix. ii. and 12. (b) Ifaiah. ch. Ixiii. 1. 2. 3. 4« 
 
 PART 2. Dd 
 
2IO THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 John,in the Revelations,continues the fame allegory, for he 
 fays,that the Logos (a) ' treadeth the wine-prefs of the fierce- 
 * nefs and wrath of Almighty God.' This ftate of the Mefll- 
 ah, reprefented by the Noevian patriarchs, in the hierogly- 
 phical ftyle,was adulterated, mifunderftood, and totally disfi- 
 gured by the Pagans,vvho fuppofed this demi-god drunk with 
 fury and furious with wine. Bacchus is alfo reprefented as 
 triumphing over tygers and monfters, fubjefting the whole 
 world to his empire. The Thyrfus,which is a military inftru- 
 ment put in the hands of this God, has very oft a vifible crofs 
 put upon it. The ferpent and the lion are his fymbols, as well 
 as thofe of Mythras, Apollo, and Ofiris. At other times,he 
 is figured, as lying in a tomb with a Cornucopia in his hand, 
 to ihow, that his death and fufferings, were a fource of uni- 
 verfal felicity to mankind. Bacchus was faid to be the fon of 
 Jupiter and Semele. Now Semele comes from the oriental 
 wordSEMELEH, which fignifys the Image, or the refem- 
 blance,and the Word is called in Scripture the perfe(5l Image 
 of the father. The Greeks, not underflanding this etymo- 
 logy, feigned Semele to be a woman, and perfonified the 
 word, according to their ufual cuftom; Bacchus is the fame 
 with Ofiris, and in the feafts of Ofiris he was reprefented as a 
 child, and called Ben semele, the fon or perfeft image of 
 the father. He was faid to have been fhut up in the thigh or 
 loins of Jupiter; which fable came from not underftan- 
 ding the meaning of the Hebrew phrafe that exprelTes the 
 generative power, by going out of the thigh, or loins of a fa- 
 ther. 'I his expreflion is frequent in Scripture. He was called 
 
 (a) Revel, ch. xix. 13. J 5. Scc 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. in 
 
 Bacchus, from the word Bacchoth,Lamentari, Lachrymari, 
 to fhow his fufFering ftate. Jag from Jehovah the Being 
 that is;HEVAN and EvoHEjthe Author of Lire;ELELEUs 
 from Eloah, God the Powerful; Ues from Uesgh the 
 Sire; Attes from Atta esch, (a) which fignifys Life 
 comes from thee,Sourceof life. Sabasius from Jo saboi, 
 the Lord our help. Dionyfius from Jo N i ss r , or with a dif- 
 ferent accent, Dio Nr-ssi, the God-guide. Is it pofllble, 
 that all this fimilitude of names, fymbols, and fables has no 
 relation to fomething more real and divine, than an imagina- 
 ry hero? 
 
 Perfeus Is another name of the middle God humanized, 
 according to St. Juftin Martyr, who fays exprefly, that the 
 fable of this demi-God is only a degradation and alteration 
 of the ancient tradition concerning the Melliah mifunder- 
 ftood by the Greeks. The word Perfeus may be derived from 
 the Hebrew Per esch Eques, a horfeman or a warriour, 
 and therefore in the ancient hieroglyphics, he was engraved 
 as mounted upon Pcgafus, or a winged horfe. Thus, thefa- 
 ered humanity is oft reprefented in Scripture,as mounted up- 
 on a red or winged horfe. (b) He is faid to have been born of 
 the virgin Danac by the defcent of Jupiter in a golden fliower. 
 He is very oft painted as Mercury with wings at his feet, and 
 we have already fhown, that Mercury was one of the names 
 of the middle God. He has alfo, for one of his attributes, the 
 Falcon, which was, as we have feen, afymbol of the Deity. 
 Mounted upon his winged horfe he combated and defeated 
 
 (a) Strabo. lib. x. Suidas upon the word Atys. Bochart Canaan, lib.i. cap. 17, 
 
 (b) Zachar. ch. i. 8. 
 
 Dd 2 
 
212 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS 
 
 the three Gorgons fromGoRGos, the crufhed, or Golgol 
 broke upon the wheel,tormented,condemned to punifliment, 
 another emblem of the evil principle. It is faid that Minerva, 
 or the third hypoftafis of the facred Triad, changed the hair 
 of thefe three fifters intoferpents,becaufe they had defiled her 
 temple. The fight of thefe monfters transformed men into 
 ftones, deprived themof reafon, and made them become in- 
 fenfible to all the charms of true wifdom. The laft atchicve- 
 ment of Perfeus, was to deliver Andromeda from a fea mon- 
 fter ready to devour her. Andromeda comes from the Greek 
 v/ord Af^oofjLe^yi Y IK IS imperans, which is thefamewith 
 Pfyche, and fo fignifys, as we have fhown, fallen Intelligen- 
 ces, which the true Perfeus delivered from the evil principle, 
 reprefented, very oft in Scripture, as Leviathan, or a fea mon- 
 fter. 
 
 The fable of Bellerophon, according to St. Juftih, was 
 another fymbol of the MefTiah. The name may be derived 
 from the Hebrew words Belil Pabulum and Rophen 
 Sanans, the falutary food, the living bread, and this is one 
 of the epithets given to the God-man in holy Scripture. O- 
 thcrs derive the word from the Greek (^"^Xy^u (pioav, the bring- 
 er of counfel, the great Counseller ; and thusthe 
 facred oracles call the Melliah. There is a great refemblance 
 betwixt the fable of Perfeus and Bellerophon. The lafl:, like 
 thefirftjis reprefented as mounting a winged horfe to combate 
 the chimera, that was compofed of the head of a lion, the bo- 
 dy of a goat and the tail of a ferpent ; all fymbols of the evil 
 principle, whofe head or origin was divine, but by his fall, 
 he contracted a monftrous ugly form, and became a compo- 
 
OF THE MIDDLE GOD. 2ig 
 
 fitlon of impurity and falfliood figured by the goat and the 
 fcrpent in the hieroglyphical language. All the reft of his (lo- 
 ry is fiction. 
 
 Efculapius, according to the fame St. Juftin, was another 
 type of the McfFiah; or at leaft, the fable of that demi-god 
 was derived originally from an old tradition about a fon of 
 Jupiter, that was to become incarnate and come down upon, 
 earth, to cure human nature of all its difeafes and miferies. 
 Conform to this great idea, Julian the apoftate, in juftifying 
 Paganifm, fays,that (a)' Jupiter the firft of all intelligiblesge- 
 
 * Derated out of himfelf Efculapius, and manifefted him here 
 ' upon earth, by the generative life of the fun, he coming 
 ' down from heaven under a human form, firft about Epi- 
 
 * daurus, and from thence extending his falutary virtue ovec 
 
 * the whole earth.' Efculapius then had a double nature, one 
 divine, that was generated from the fubftance of Jupiter the 
 firft of all intelligibles ; and another human, that was gene- 
 rated by the prolific power of the fun. The word Efculapius- 
 may be derived from the two Hebrew words Eifch and Ca- 
 leph, the dog-man, and fo is the fame with Anubis, the faith- 
 ful barker, or monitor. He is reprcfented with a fceptre in 
 his hand, to fhow his kingly power. This fceptre is oft en- 
 twifted with a ferpent, the fymbol of wifdom. He is called 
 the God of medicine, which is alfo a title of th^Mefliah, as 
 phyfician of fouls. The cock was facrificed to him, to fliow 
 all watchful Providence; for in the hieroglyphical ftylc, the 
 cock fignified vigilance. It is then no wonder, if the great 
 Socrates dcfired whendying,that a cock might be facrificed to. 
 
 (a) St. Cyrill. contra Julian, lib. vi.pag. aoOi 
 
1214 THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS &c. 
 
 Efculapius, fince he looked upon him as the middle God hu- 
 manized, or the fecond hypoftafis of the divine Triad. 
 
 Thus, in conformity to the great principle laid down by 
 St. Juftin Martyr, we have endeavoured to find out the re- 
 femblances there are, betwixt the Greek fables, an<i the an- 
 cient tradition of the Mefliah, handed down from age to age, 
 tho' adulterated, disfigured, and obfcured by fucceflion of 
 time. I fay it once more. Is it pofTible, that all thefe fmiili- 
 tudes in the etymologys,fymbols and fables of the Pagan my- 
 thology, and the Hebraic theology have no foundation, but 
 pure hazard, or that the paritys we have found can be meer 
 fidtions forced and accommodated to our fyftem? This we 
 leave to the criticifm, examination, and fevere cenfureof the 
 learned, without daring to ere^t our conjefturesinto proofs. 
 
21S 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Of the three States of Human Nature 
 
 degraded. 
 
 WE have endeavoured to demonftrate in the firft part 
 of this work, that the original producftlon of the Al- 
 mighty could not be chaos, darknefs, and confufion ; that 
 Nature in its primitive ftate was altogether reprefentative of 
 the divine perfe^ions, and therefore, entirely exempt from 
 all moral and phyfical evil, fin and fuffering. We Ihall now 
 fhow, that this was the conflant do<n:rine of all antiquity, 
 both facred and profane. We begin with the legiflator of the 
 Jews. But before we attempt an explication of his divine cof- 
 mogony, we muft premife the following remarks. 
 
 I. Several great men,both of the Greek and Latin Church, 
 of the Roman and Proteftant communion, think as the fa- 
 mous Sir Ifaac Newton, (a) That we have loft fome books 
 wrote by the patriarchs, both before and after the deluge, 
 concerning the creation, firft origin and primitive hiftory of 
 the world; and that the book of Genefis preferved was ra- 
 ther a fhort extravSt, than an exa(fl: copy of thefe original patri- 
 archal records. It is certain, as Sir Ilaac remarks, that Scrip- 
 ture mentions, in different places, fevcral books loft, fuch.as 
 
 * the book of the generations of Adam: thebookof the wars 
 
 * of God; Thebooks of Enoch.' We do not venture to de- 
 (a) See Sir Ifaac Newton's obfervations upon Daniel, page. 4.5. 
 
2i6 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 clde fuch an important queftion, but leave it to the deciflon 
 of the learned. 
 
 2. If there be any truth in this conjecflure, we muft not 
 be furprized, if the tranfitions from one fubje(5t to another be 
 more rapid in the extracts preferved5than in the originals that 
 are loft, and if many particular circumftancesbeomitted,that 
 would have been very ufeful to illuftratefeveral curious enqui- 
 ries concerning the primitive creation and fall of angels and 
 men, tho' they were not abfolutely neceffary to regulate our 
 faith. Thefe two great principles fuppofed, till they be more 
 fully demonftrated, we come now to the paraphrafeof the 
 three firft chapters of Genefis. 
 
 The facred hiftorian Mofes thus begins his divine cof- 
 mogony. ' In the beginning God created the heavens and 
 * the earth.' In the beginning, that is, from the beginning 
 of time, when God, fo tofpeak, fallied out of his ftill eter- 
 nity to think of finite beings, and to create fubftances an- 
 fwerable to his archetypal ideas. * He made the heavens and 
 ' the earth,' that is, an etherial fluid, and folid matter, an 
 immenfe ocean of light and innumerable fpheres that floated 
 therein ; or,asfome primitive fathers very wifely maintained, 
 the intelligent and material world, the living images and the 
 corporeal picHiures: for, as Mofes fays nothing of the creation 
 of angels, the word heavens or Shemim may (ignify, not 
 only the celeftial fpheres; but alfo theintelleftual inhabitants 
 of thefe etherial abodes. Whofoever underftands the geni- 
 us of the Hebrew language knows, that it is very energetical 
 and Laconic; and that it very oft expreft a great deal in one 
 word. Unlefs then we fuppofe, that Mofes contradicted this 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 217 
 
 great principle admitted by all divines, that the creation is 
 a reprefentation of the divine perfeftions from without, we 
 muft grant, that the true fenfc of this firft verfcis, 'In the be- 
 ' ginning of time, God created a material world replcniftied 
 
 * with intellectual inhabitants; innumerable fphcres of vifible 
 ' pi(5lures and living images that were exempt from all moral 
 
 * and phyfical evil, fin and fufFering, and altogether repre- 
 
 * Tentative of the divine perfedlions.' 
 
 Mofcs, after having defined the primitive pure creation of 
 Nature, in thefirfl: verfeofhis divine cofmogony, paiTes fud- 
 denly in the fecond, to defcribe the ftate of this inferior 
 fphere after the fall of angels, which produced diforder and 
 confufion in the folar fyltem. * And the earth,' fays he, 
 
 * was without form and void, and darknefs was upon the face 
 ' of the deep.' All our miftakes on this head come from a 
 falfe tranflation of the words, ' the earth was without form 
 
 * and void,' which Ihould be rendered thus; 'The earth 
 ' became without form and void,' for the Hebrew word 
 Eithe, which we tranflate was, (ignifys equally became. 
 The Hebrew words ToHUand Bohu, which are tranflated 
 
 * -without form and void,'are made ufe of by the prophet (a) 
 Jeremiah, to denote a country laid wafte, ruined, and rava- 
 ged by enemies. Thus, the meaning of the text muft be, ' But 
 
 * the earth, or the primitive abode of rebellious fpirits became 
 ' by their revolt wafte, ruined, and defolate, a chaos without 
 
 * form, void of light, and furrounded with darknefs, becaufe 
 
 (a) Jerem. ch. iv. 13. 
 
 PART 2. Ee 
 
2i8 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 ' all communication with the luminous centre was flopped 
 
 * and fufpended.' 
 
 In order to difllpate the chaos and confufion introduced 
 into this part of the creation, * The Spirit of God fat brood- 
 
 * inguponthefaceof the waters,' that is,the Jehovah Ru- 
 ACH, or third hypoftafis of the Deity emitted his divine in- 
 fluences into the centre of the abyfs, or chaos, to reftore life, 
 light and order to the dead, dark, and difordercd mafs. The 
 firft day's work was the introduction of light Into the fphere 
 of lapfed intelligences: The Logos acting from the higheft 
 heavens, the feat or abode of the facred humanity, tranfmit- 
 ted light, and, by his all-vivifying Spirit, gave motion and 
 life to the dark orb. Thus, he feparated ' the light from the 
 ' darknefs,' the fuperior regions from the inferior, called in 
 Scripture the Deep, or the Abyfs, where the rebellious chiefs 
 were fhut up in perfect obfcurity, and where all reprobate fpi- 
 rits are one day to be imprifoned. This infernal region is al- 
 fo called the pit, the bottomlefs pit, the Tophet, the lake pre- 
 pared from the beginning of the world for the devil and his 
 angels. We fhall fee after this, that all the rebellious fpirits 
 were not yet fhut up therein; but that many of them were 
 condemned to animate brutal forms, even in Paradife, after 
 the diflipation of the chaos. 
 
 The fecond day the firmament was formed, or theatmo- 
 fphere of the air, by the action of the ethereal fluid, or lumi- 
 nous principle which was created the firft day,before the pro- 
 du^ion of the fun or planets. This luminous fluid was the 
 univerfal agent and primitive fpring of nature, and has conti- 
 nued ever fince to be fo. It was, as we have feen in the firft 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. zi^ 
 
 Part, an image or reprefentatlon of the uncreated eflence, as 
 the folid and tranfparent bodys were in the primitive, original 
 ftate of the creation^ emblems or fliadows of created intelli- 
 gences. This ethereal fluid direcfted by laws quite unknown 
 to us, and perhaps very different from the little mechanical 
 xules, dbferved here below, fince a ftate of degradation, fepa- 
 rated the liquids upon the earth, or under the firmanient, 
 •from the liquids above the firmament, or atmofphere. It is 
 added, * and God faid, let the waters under the heaven be 
 
 * gathered together into one, place, and let the dry-land ap- 
 
 * pear, and the gathering together of the waters called he 
 ' feas/ Some thhik with great reafon, that in the paradifia- 
 cal earth, the feas did not overflow the moft confiderable 
 part of the earth, as now, where there is but a fmall part of 
 dry-land in comparifon of the great ocean; and that then the 
 feas, or gathering together of the waters were at the centre 
 in the abyfs, under the dry-land, or fhell of the earth. For 
 this reafon, the fountains of the deep are faid to be opened 
 .at the deluge, and St. John, in fpeaking of the new heavens 
 and the new earth reftored to their paradifiacal form after the 
 refurre<5lion, fays, * That there was no fea there.' (a) 
 
 Upon the third day was performed the feparation of the 
 terraqueous folids, infeparable monads, or feminal principles 
 which had been mixed and confounded into one mafs, du- 
 ring the chaos. Thus were produced herbs, trees and all fort 
 of vegetables frudified and expanded by the circulation 
 of the aqueous fluids, that infmuated into their flender 
 pipes and channels, by the adion of the ethereal fluid, which, 
 
 (a) Revel, ch. xxi. v. i. 
 
 E C 2 
 
220 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 as we have faid, is the fource of life, light and motion to all 
 
 folid bodys. 
 
 The fourth day's work was the formation of the fim, 
 moon, and planets. Forby the Chubbim, tranflated ftars, 
 are to be underftood the wandering ones, and not the fixed 
 aftral bodys, which, being without the folar fyftem, had fuf- 
 fered no alteration by the fall of angels. To fuppofe, that 
 Mofes meant by the Chubbim the fixed ftars, and that they 
 were raadeonly tofparkle to us in a dark night, is fuppofing 
 him miferably ignorant of the yaft extent of nature, prepof- 
 feffed with very low ideas of the creation, and thereby autho- 
 rizing the fulfom railleries of the incredulous, who cry out 
 with reafon, that the holy Spirit could not be the author of 
 the childifh, unphilofophical fyflem, which the fchoolmen 
 attribute to Mofes. All theMofaical defcription muft then be 
 explained of a new world formed in the folar fyftern, quite 
 different from the primitive, original, uncorrupted, angelical 
 creation-, where, according to the exprefTion of Ecclefiafticus, 
 ' The works of God never ceafe from their operations, none 
 ' of them hindreth one another, nor ever difobey his word.* 
 It is added, ' let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, 
 * to divide the day from the night; and let them be for figns 
 ' apd for feafons, and for days and for years.' This vcrfe 
 f^ems to indicate the revolutions of the planets, and their fa- 
 tellites in elliptical orbits about the fun, and the obliquity of 
 the plan of the ecliptic to that of the equator, which produ- 
 ced upon the terraqueous globe, the alternate returns of 
 day and night, of times and feafons, months and years. All 
 thefe variations, however, are to difappear one day. after the 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 22r 
 
 general re-eflablifliment of all things, as we fliall {how elfe- 
 where. Mofes, after having mentioned the funcftion of the 
 Chubbim, or planets, proceeds to defcribe the creation of 
 the fun and moon, the two mofi: confpicuous luminarys of 
 this terraqueous abode. ' And God made two great lights, 
 
 * the greater light to rule the day, and the lefTcr light to rule 
 
 * the night.' Hence fomc conclude with reafon, that in the 
 paradifiacal earth, the light of the fun and moon were far 
 greater than they are now. The prophet Ifaiah feems to ap- 
 prove this opinion, when he fays, that in the paradifiacal 
 earth reftored and renewed at the fecond. coming, (a) 'The 
 
 * light of the fun fhall be feven times greater than now it is; 
 
 * and, that the light of the moon fiiall be as the light of the 
 ^ fun now is.' This opinion feems alfo evident from theMo- 
 faical context. Could the moon be faid to light the earth in a 
 paradifiacal ftate, if its rays had then been fo languid and 
 dim,asthey noware;and if during the two thirds of its courfe, 
 they did not as now afl at all upon the one half of the hcmi- 
 lphere,and were fometimes fcarce able to penetrate the clouds 
 and thick atmofphere? Thus, God would have created a noc- 
 turnal lamp or light, that did not anfwer his end. Moreo- 
 ver, St. John fays, in the defcription he gives of the earth re- 
 newed, and reftored to its paradifiacal form, ' that their will 
 
 * be no night nor darkncfs there,fuch as now;' and therefore 
 there was none in its primitive ftate, according to the teftimo- 
 ny of the forecited prophet, who fays, that the light of the 
 moon fhall be then as great as that of the fun now is. 
 
 The fifth day's work was the produ6tion of animals in the 
 
 (a) Ifaiah ch. xxx. v. 26.. 
 
222 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 waters and in the air, which are both called Mi M in Hebrew, 
 and which ihould betranflated liquids. Since it is faid, that 
 the waters contained the feminal molds of both fifhes and 
 fowls, of reptiles and volatiles, and of all moving animals 
 that have living fouls. Now we know by philofophical ob- 
 fcrvation and experiments, that the air, as well as the waters, 
 contain thefe primitive feeds, and therefore Mofes calls both 
 MiM or liquids, becaufe they are really fuch. During this 
 day,the univerfal agent of nature, the ethereal fluid,dire(5tedby 
 lihe uncontroulablelaws of a divine mechanifm, gathered to- 
 gether and ranged into different claffesthe feminal principles, 
 and elementary feeds of birds, fifhes, and beads by its diffe- 
 rent adlion upon the homogeneousatoms,or monads of all the 
 animal kind, which had been difperfed, mixed, and difUpated 
 by the chaos, fothat their congenialliquors could not circu- 
 late, flow into, nor expand them. 
 
 The fixth day's work was the creation of man, into whom 
 God breathed immediately a principle of Immortal 
 I.IVES, one for the Hfe of the foul, another for that of the 
 body. The chief of this fpecies contained in his loins, as 
 well as all other animals, the feeds or moulds of all his pofte- 
 rity. It is added, that God faid, ' Let us make man in our 
 * own image, after our own likenefs.' Myflerious truth,little 
 underftood by thefcholaftic divines,thefe Chriftian mytholo- 
 gifh, who have degraded, mifunderftood, and disfigured fa- 
 cred tradition, near as much as the Pagan fabulifts! This fi- 
 milltude to God denotes, not only that his foul was made a 
 living image of the pure incorporeal effenceby itsintellecftual 
 facultys of activity, intelligence, .and.i..avE;i.but 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. t2y 
 
 even, that his corporeal e:{rence, or paradifiacal vehicle was 
 formed after the likenefs of the facred humanity of the Lo' 
 gos, which divine humanity was, as we have feen, created 
 from the beginning,, an-d is the ' firft-born of all creatures.' 
 It is added, * Co God created man in his own image, in the 
 
 * image of God created he him, male and female created he 
 
 * them.' The woman was not yet made, and therefore it is 
 firft faid, ' that God created man ' in the fingular, ' in the 
 ' image of God created he him,' ftill in the fingular to fhow, 
 that God created at firft only one individual, but the plural 
 ifS made ufc of in the next phrafe of the fame verfe, to fhow, 
 that this one individual contained in himfelf originally the 
 two fexes, or both the principles of fecundity. From this an- 
 cient tradition mifunderflood, came the wild, ridiculous fa- 
 ble of the Greeksjthat man was at firft an hermaphrodite, in 
 the grofs fcnie reprefented by their ftatues. Thus, the Pa- 
 gan my thologifts miderftood all in a low,beaftkl, brutal man- 
 ner; and this made tlie Chriftian mythologifts reject the an- 
 cient tradition as a fable. Some modern Chrifti-an fabulifts 
 conclude from this text, that Adam engendred in Paradife, 
 long before the creation of the woman, all the inhabitants 
 of the planets, and a numberlefs multitude of men, that were 
 not the fons of Eve. All this, tho' poffible, yet appears chi- 
 merical,and has no foundation in Scripture, in antiquity, nor 
 in philofophy. We muft guard againft all thefe ficHrions, both> 
 Pagan and Jewifh, ancient and modern ; and admit of no tra- 
 ditions, but what are conform to Scripture, the great plan of 
 Providence, and the analogy of faith ; and therefore we have 
 rejeded all otlier pretended traditions, but thefe of the facred: 
 
224 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 fcxenary already mentioned, and to be explained In the fol- 
 lowing fheets. Mofes at lafl: thus finijfhes his firft chapter, 
 
 * And God faw every thing that he had made, and behold it 
 
 * was very good.' There was therefore nothing in the firfl 
 produ<5lion of the paradifiacal world, that was bad, neither 
 moral nor phyfical evil , neither fin nor fuifering. 
 
 Thefe are the fix days works, the generation of the 
 heavens and the earth, or the formation of the folar fyftem, 
 after the chaos and confufion introduced into material nature 
 by the fall of angels. It is very remarkable, that when the 
 Legiflator of the Jews fpeaks of the firfl: original produ<n:ion 
 of angelical nature, as it came pure from the hands of God, 
 he expreffes it by one fentence, * In the beginning God 
 
 * created the heavens and the earth,'to fhow that this firfl: cre- 
 ation was an infl:antaneous t&S: of his Almighty Power; 
 but when Mofes defcribes the formation of the ' Paradifia- 
 ' cal world' in the folar fyfl:em after the chaos, he divides it 
 into days and intervals, to fignify that it was not an immedi- 
 ate momentary efTecft of the firfl caufe, but produced by a 
 fiicccflive co-operation of fecond caufes and natural powers 
 that aft by gradation. When God fallied out of his flill eter- 
 nity to think of, and produce finite, he formed the idea of 
 the archetypal world,or of all the different manners by which 
 he could reprefent himfelf from without. T hen he willed 
 the exiflence of beings anfvverable to thefe ideas, and by one 
 unfucceflivefimultancous a6t, innumerable worlds of mate- 
 rial pictures, and intelligent images were produced: for when 
 God afts alone, independent of fecond caufes, all fucceffion 
 feems incompatible with the high and jufl ideas we fhould 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 225 
 
 have of his omnipotence. If we confider this great principle, 
 and combine it with another already dcmonftrated, viz. that 
 tlic produ6lions of a God, whofe effence is life, light and 
 love, and who can have no other defign in creating, but to re- 
 prefent himfelf from without,as he is from within,can not be 
 darknefs, confufion, and chaos; the reunion, I fay, of thefe 
 two great principles feems to form a demonftration,that there 
 mufl: be an eflential difference betwixt the primitive, original, 
 uncorrupted, angelical creation, mentioned in the firft verfe 
 of the firft chapter of Genefis, and the paradifiacal world 
 defcribed in the following verfes of the fame chapter. 
 
 In the fecond chapter, Mofes fays, that upon the feventh 
 day God rcfted from all the works that he had made.This muft 
 not be underftood, as if God, whofe infinite a<5livity does not 
 difturb his eternal repofe, totally fufpended all fecundity 
 from without, and remained for ever in a barren inaction, 
 inconfiftent with the free defigns of his infinite love. His 
 unbounded power may difplay itfelf for ever and everjin crea- 
 ting, and multiplying new worlds without end, as we have 
 faid in the firft Part. What the divine Law-giver of the Jews 
 means by this repofe in God, is, that the paradifiacal world 
 was intirely finifhed, fitted up for the habitation of men, and 
 proportioned to the nature and ufe of a new fpecies of beings, 
 that were to pafs thro' a ftate of probation, be elevated by 
 degrees to a higher fclicity,and fill atlaft the places of the fal- 
 len angels. 
 
 In order to have fome idea of this paradifiacal earth, we 
 muft confult the doftrine of the prophets and apoftles,and ex- 
 plain Scripture by Scripturc.The facred oracles always repre- 
 PART 2, F f 
 
226 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 fent to us the ftate of the earth, after our Saviour's fecond 
 coming, as a renovation, a re-eftablifhment, and a reparati- 
 on. Now things are fald to be renewed, repaired, and re-e- 
 ftablifliedjOnly In fo far, as they are reftored to a fir ft ftate of 
 perfe^^ion, which they had loft. Hence the prophet Ifaiah 
 fays, that (a) * at the laft day, the earth fhall reel to and fro 
 
 * like a drunkard, be removed like a cottage, fall and not rife 
 
 * again ; and that (b) God will then create new heavens and 
 ' a new earth, and the former fhall not be remembred, nor 
 
 * called Into mind.' St. Peter continues the fame doi5trine,(c) 
 ' The day of the Lord will come,In which the heavens fhall 
 
 * pafs away with a great noife, and the elements fhall melt 
 ' with fervent heat, neverthelefs,according to his promife,we 
 
 * look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein righteouf- 
 ' nefs dwells.' The Evangelift St. John fumms up all the 
 do6lrinc of the Old and New Teftament In thefe words, (d) 
 
 * I faw a new heaven and a new earth, for the firft heaven 
 
 * and the firft earth were pafTed away; I John faw the Holy 
 ' City, the New Jerufalem, coming down from God out of 
 ' heaven, having thegloryof God, and her light was like un- 
 
 * to a ftone moft precious, clear as cryftal.' Then he de- 
 fcribes this New Jerufalem, as all luminous and tranfparent, 
 ' becaufe the glory of God enllghtned it, and there was no 
 
 * night there.' 
 
 The fchoolmen,iiot underftanding theScriptures,fpeakof 
 the paradifiacal world, as a ftate little different from the pre- 
 fent, and never fo much as hint that it was before the fall, 
 
 (a) Ifaiah. ch. xxiv. 20. (b) Id. ch. Ixv. 1 7. (c) II Peter ch. iii. io» 
 (d) Revel, xxi. I. 2. 10, 1 1. 23. 25. 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 227 
 
 fuch as it will be after the refurredlon. For this reafon, they 
 rack their brains to find out the place where Paradife was 
 fituated. Some have placed it in the third heavens, others in 
 the moon ; others in the middle regions of the air above the 
 €arth ; others under the earth; others upon the globe of the 
 earth ; Some in the North, in that place of Tartary where 
 the Cafpian fea now flows; fome in the South, where is the 
 land of fire; fome in theEaft, on the borders of the Ganges; 
 or in the ifle of Ceylan, or in China; fome in Africa, under 
 the Equinoflial Line; others in Europe ; the moflpart in A- 
 fiajtho' they do not know where, in America, Mefopotamia, 
 Affyria, Babylonia, Arabia, Perfia, or in Paleftine. All ri- 
 diculous fi(5tions and wild conjectures, which fhow, that the 
 Chrif]:ians have quite forgot their religion, as the Jews, and 
 degraded the ancient tradition, as the Pagans! Thefe odd 
 figments, difputes, and uncertainties, have given occafion to 
 the incredulous to look upon the Mofaic defcription of Pa- 
 radife as a fi(5tion,like that oftheHefperian garden. Could men 
 of common fenfe,that rcfle<5ted upon the curfe that happened 
 to the earth fince the fall, which changed its form, and upon 
 the deluge, which opened the fountains of the deep, the cata- 
 racts of heaven, and fhook the pillars of the earth to their ve- 
 ry foundations, imagine to find out the feat of Paradife in any 
 fpotof our disfigured, altered and degraded globe? had they 
 confidcred the doftrine of the prophets and the apoiUes, which 
 flill reprefent the earth after the rcfurre(ftion, as a rcfloration, 
 a renovation, and a re-eltablifliment of all things to their pri- 
 mitive form, would they not have feen that during the flatc 
 of innocence,the whole earth was a Paradife,exempt from all 
 
 Ff 2 
 
228 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 moral and phyfical evil, tho' far inferior to the primitive, ori- 
 ginal, uncorrupted creation before the fall of angels? 
 
 We do not however deny, that in a primitive ftate, there 
 was one particular place upon earth more beautiful than the 
 reft, called the garden of delights, or the garden of Eden, 
 fmce Mofes fays in this fecond chapt-er, ' And the Lord plan- 
 
 * ted a garden Eaft-ward in Eden, and there he put the man 
 ' whom he had formed.' This was the feat and the proper 
 abode of the protoplaft, of the head and chief of the human 
 race. Some think, that this place was a high mountain far 
 exalted above all the other hills, or eminences of our terreftri- 
 al globe. Their conjecture is founded upon this, that in the 
 defcription which facred writ gives us of the earth renewed, 
 and reftored to its primitive paradifiacal form, there is ftill a 
 particular place mentioned as the immediate feat and refidence 
 of the Meiriah,which is called (a) * The Holy Mountain,the 
 ' mountain of the Lord, the mountain of his holinefs and 
 
 * the joy of the whole earth. As alfo, the mountain of Zion 
 
 * comely for its fituation, and the perfection of beauty.' 
 The prophet Ifaiah calls it ' The mountain of the Lord's 
 
 * houfe, which in the laft days fhall be eftablifhed upon the 
 
 * top of the mountains, and exalted above all the hills; and 
 
 * into which all nations fliall flow.' 
 
 To return to the Mofaic narration, this divine cofmogra- 
 pher adds, ' That God made every tree to grow^ there that is 
 
 * pleafantto the fight,and good for food,'efpecially the tree of 
 life and the tree ofknowledge,and that from this place went 
 forth a river, to water the garden, and then divided itfelf into 
 
 (a) Pfalra. xlxviii.i. 2. Ibid, pfalra. 1. 2. 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 229 
 
 four branches or rivers. What a ftrange pother have not the cri- 
 tics made,to find out the known names of thefe four rivers cal- 
 led in Hebrew Phison, Gehon, Hiddekel, and Phe- 
 R AD,which,according to the genius of the Hebrew language, 
 feem all metaphorical names,expre{IIve of the natural qualities 
 andpropertysof thefe paradifiacalriversIOne of the ablefl: and 
 (a) moft learned critics of the age imagines, that thefe four 
 rivers are the Phafis, the Araxis, the Tygris, and the Eu- 
 phrates, andconfequently that Paradifeor Eden was placed 
 in Colchis, now Mingrelia, near the mountains of Turcoma- 
 nia, and that this was what gave rife to the fable of the Gol- 
 den fleece. Whatever truth there be in this conjeclure, it is 
 certain, that by the alterations which happened to the earth 
 degraded fince the fall, and diffolved by the deluge, there 
 was, and could be no refemblance betwixt this climate, that 
 country, and thefe rivers as they now are,and what they were 
 iii a paradifiacal flate. As the Mofaical narration is rapid and 
 fhort, the beft way to form an idea ofParadife, Is to adhere 
 to this great principle already mentioned, that Eden was 
 much the fame before the fall, as it will be after the refurrec- 
 tion; and therefore to obfervethe defcription which the pro- 
 phets and apoftles give us of the river that will run through 
 it. St. John gives us this pompous defcription of that river, 
 (b) * And he {hewed me a pure river of water of Hfe, clear 
 
 * as cryftal, proceeding out of the throne of God, and of 
 
 * the Lamb. In the midft of the llreet, and upon each fide 
 
 * of the river was the tree of life, which bore twelve manner 
 
 (a) Father Calmet a Benedi<Jtia in his commentary upon this text. (b) Re- 
 vel, chap. xxii. i. 2. 3. 
 
230 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 ' of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month ; and the leaves 
 ' of the tree were for the healing of the nations.' This rlvei^ 
 then in paradife, tho' a real river, yet v^^as altogether myfte- 
 rious, emblematical and reprefentative of fpiritual virtues, as 
 all the reft of the creation, and endued with qualities fuitable 
 to a paradifiacal (late. 
 
 After that man was placed in this garden of delights to 
 drefsit, ' The Lord commanded him faying, Of every tree of 
 ' the garden, thou maycft freely eat, but of the tree of the 
 ' knowledge of good and evil, thou {halt not eat; for in the 
 * day thou eatefl: thereof, thou fhalt furely die/ "Wherefore, 
 if man had not eaten of the forbidden fruit, he would not 
 have died. He was to have lived immortal in Paradife, and to 
 have pafTe.d a time of probation in a ftate of delights, till, be- 
 ing confirmed in the habits of pure love, he was elevated to 
 the fupream felicity of his nature, the immediate vifion of the 
 divine eflence.Till then he enjoyed only the acceflbry happi- 
 nefs which confided in the knowledge and enjoyment of pure 
 uncorrupted nature, of the beauties of the material pi6tu res, 
 and the fociety of the living images. During this paradifiacal 
 ftate, the facred humanity of the Logos came down very oft 
 into the garden, and converfcd wath him ' face to face, as a 
 ' man with his friend.' 
 
 As God never afis by arbitrary wills, that have no foun- 
 dation in eternal reafon ; as he gives no pofitive laws, purely 
 and only to try the obedience of the creature; as thefe pofi- 
 tive commands are always means, or helps to procure the 
 obeyer's felicity, and no ways fimple precepts to fhow the 
 creatures dependance upon and fubmiflion to a defpotic Le- 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 231 
 
 giflator ; it may be afked, why God planted the forbidden tree 
 in Eden, if it was noxious; and if it was not fo, why he for- 
 bid the ufe of it. As Mofes fays nothing on this head to fa- 
 tisfy the curiofity of men, it feemsbold to enquire into what 
 God has not thought fit to reveal: but becaufe the incredu^ 
 lous laugh at the ftory of the forbidden fruit, we thought 
 that it was fit to hazard fome conje(5tures upon this impor- 
 tant fubjed, which, tho' they do not amount to proofs, yet 
 they are probable conjcvflures. 
 
 In the firft chapter of Genefis, God, upon the immediate 
 creation of man, gave him an unlimited permillion to eat of 
 all the herbs and fruits of the earth ; for God then faid, ' Be- 
 
 * hold, I have given you every herb bearing feed,which is up- 
 
 * on the face of all the earth, and every tree in which there is 
 ' fruit yielding feed, to you it fhall be for meat.' Here there 
 isnoexclufion, nor exception made of any tree, not even of 
 the tree of Knov/ledge, nor of the trees in the garden of E- 
 den, which, tho' not yet planted in that particular fpot, yet 
 were then exiftent, unlefs we fuppofe a new creation after 
 the fix days works. Upon thefirfl: creation of man, then, the 
 tree of knowledge was not yet forbidden. This is another 
 great Mofaic principle, which the fchoolmen have no idea of. 
 After this, the fruit of this tree w^as prohibited, becaufe the 
 ufe of it became dangerous, for, as we have faid, God never 
 impofes any arbitrary laws,which have no reafon, nor foun- 
 dation in the nature of things. In order to difcovcr the rea- 
 fon of this prohibition, we muit recal an ancient tradition 
 among the Jewspreferved to us by Jofephus the hiftorian,(a) 
 
 (a) Jofeph. antiq. lib. i. cap. 2. 
 
232 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 * That this tree opened the intelleclual faculties, and 
 ' helghtned its natural vigour.' This is a precious monument 
 of antiquity, which ought never to be forgot. Mofes con- 
 firms this idea in the third chapter, when he fays, that the tree 
 ' was good for food, agreeable to the tafl:e,pleafant to the eyes, 
 
 * and defirable to make men wife.' It was a real tree and a 
 real fruit, but a paradifiacal one, which had in it a real virtue, 
 to exalt our natural powers, quicken our imagination, and 
 invigorate our conception. As in this mortal, degraded, de- 
 generate, enfeebled ftate of nature, generous wines,and fpiri- 
 tous liquors contribute very oft, not only to renew and rein- 
 force our exhaufled fpirits, but alfo to heighten imagination, 
 brighten fancy, and poetical enthufiafm; fo this paradifiacal 
 fruit was proper to exalt the intelleftual faculties, give them 
 a more lively concep-tion,wind up the imagination to the high- 
 eft pitch, and thereby fharpen man's curiofity and natural 
 tdefire of knowledge. Now, as the eifentlal duty of man In a 
 paradifiacal ftatewas to love God, which is the eternal law; 
 to live continually in the divine prefence, and to afpire con- 
 ftantly to the immediate vifion of the pure divinity, not yet 
 allowed him, every thing that employed, and abforbed too 
 much his intelle<5lual powers in the contemplation and love 
 of the creatures, was highly dangerous. It feems then, 
 that man by the frequent ufe of this tree had already too 
 much exalted his relifh of, and union wath material objects. 
 This defire of enjoying the pleafures, and knowing the won- 
 ders of the paradifiacal world,had too much engroffed his fa- 
 culties, and thereby fufpended in him the lively exercife of 
 faith, hope and charity. To prevent his total defedion, God 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 233 
 
 but ofmercy forbid him the ufeof this fruit. That man's 
 fuperior faculties were thus declining ah*eady, before he con- 
 fummated his firft difobedience, fecms clear from the follow- 
 ing context, for it is added, ' And the Lord God faid, It is not 
 
 * good that man fhould be alone ;' therefore there was in him 
 fome beginning of declenfion or defe<5l which was not upon 
 'his firft creation ; for it is faid, that God, after having fini- 
 ihed the fix days works, pronounced that ^ all that he had 
 
 * made w^as good, yea fuperlatively good,' he here fays, that 
 
 * it was no longer good that man fhould be alone;' there 
 is then, in the rapid Mofaic narration, a manifeft interval be> 
 twixt thcfe two times. God's defign in placing man thus in 
 Paradife alone, was to confirm him in the fixed habits of 
 pure love, 'ere he procreated any beings of his kind, thatfo 
 they might be born and come Into exiftence, with ftrong ha- 
 bits of good; but man beginning already to decline from the 
 laws of eternal order, God, to hinder him from a further de- 
 clenfion, not only forbid him the ufe of a dangerous fruit; 
 but gave him a help meet for him. 
 
 This was the fecond remedy defigned to hinder man from 
 a total defe^lion. God divided the two fexes, and made the 
 woman of man's effence. The Chaldean paraphraft, accor- 
 ding to Maimonides and Grotius, renders the Hebrew word 
 Zel A tranflated a rib, by a Part. The Septuagint docs the 
 fame in other places of Scripture, (a) All this is perfedly 
 conform to what was faid above, that man was at firft created 
 
 * male and female,' with the principles of the two fexes in 
 
 (a) The Septuagint tranflate the Hebrew word Zela by the word Mffc;. Exod. 
 xxxiv. 26.andch.xxxvi. 37. 
 
 PART 2. G 2 
 
234 OF THE THREE STATES 
 him. Here Zela fignifys the Oviary, where the animal 
 molds or feeds are nourifhed and impregnated, till they come 
 to life. It feems then by the Mofaic narration, Adam lived 
 fome very confiderable time in Paradife before the creation 
 of the woman; viz. from the time God faid, ^ that all he had 
 * made was very good,' till the time that he faid, ' It is no 
 ' longer good for man to be alone.* Then he created the 
 woman as a help meet for him; flic was to be a kind ofvifi- 
 ble Deity and monitor, to awaken his fiiperior faculties, re- 
 mind him of his duty, hinder him from being too much im- 
 merfedinthe contemplation and love of the beauties of na- 
 ture, and thereby relaxing his fuperior facukys in the exer- 
 cife of faith, hope, and charity. 
 
 It is evident by the Mofaical narration, that our firft pa* 
 rents were endowed in Paradife with a divine fecundity alto- 
 gether conform to the innocence and purity of their para- 
 difiacal ftate ; for man immediately upon his creation was 
 ordered to ' be fruitful and multiply,and replenifh the earth;' 
 and tho' we do not fay with fome, that he exerted this fecun- 
 dity before the production of the woman, yet there is no- 
 thing in the facred text that obliges us to believe, that he 
 never did fo till after the fall. Is it probable, that our firll: pa- 
 rents deferred to obey the firfl: great commandment, till they 
 were able to produce nothing,but an impious, corrupt, curft 
 and perfidious race? it is therefore next to a demon ftration, 
 that in this happy ftate, they procreated all the human race 
 that fell afterwards with them, and that were condemned 
 jQnce to pafs thro* a ftate of fufierings and expiation. This is 
 fo much the more plaufiblcj not to fiy evident, that we have 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 235 
 
 ^emonftrated elfcwhere, that under the government of an 
 infinitely good, wife, and jnft being, no creature can be fub- 
 je(fled topunifhment, but what has demerited, and therefore 
 mufl: haveexifted.We (hall fhow very foon,that all antiquity, 
 both facred and profane, is full of this great idea j and that it 
 was aconftant univerfal opinion of all nations, times and re- 
 ligions, that Adam and Eve procreated all the human race, 
 during a ftate of innocence. We cannot now imagine,nor com- 
 prehend the nature of this divine fecundity in our unfallen 
 firft parents; but fure it was conform to the perfeclion of 
 their exalted, uncorrupted nature. Supernatural charity was 
 the fource, meafure, and rule of their chafi: afre(ftIon and 
 pure embraces. They procreated in this immortal ftate from 
 a holy defire of producing numberlefs living images of the 
 Deity, capable to know and love him. 
 
 The Scripture fays nothing of the time that our firfl: pa- 
 rents remained thus in Paradife, and therefore, it was bold, 
 not to fay impertinent, and even Impudent in the fchool- 
 nien, to imagine, that Adam and Eve lived in this happy ftate 
 only an hour, a day, a month, or a year. All thefe old wives 
 fables throw a vail upon the whole condu(ft of Providence, 
 render original fin inexplicable, and pave the way to incre- 
 dulity. 
 
 It is true, that in the rapid narration of the fall, Mofes 
 fays nothing exprefly of this great, ancient,and luminous doc- 
 trine of our co-exiftence with, and procreation from our firll 
 parents, during a paradifiacai ftate; but this doflrlneis infi- 
 nuated, inculcated, and evidently fuppofed in many places 
 
 Gg 2 
 
236 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 of Scripture, and more particularly in the fix following paf- 
 fages. 
 
 I. The holy oracles always reprefent Paradife as our na- 
 tive country, and our prefent life as an exile. Now can we 
 be.faid to have been banifhed from a place,in which we never 
 were? This argument alone would fuiRce to convince us of 
 pre-exiftence, if the prejudices of infancy infpired by the 
 fchoolmen, had not accuftomed us to look upon thefe cx- 
 preflions as metaphorical,and to believe, contrary to Scripture 
 and reafon, that we were exiled from a happy ftate, only for 
 the fault and perfonal difobedicnce of our firft parents. Atro- 
 cious maxim that fullies all the condu61: of Providence, and 
 that fhocks the undcrftandings of the mod intelligent chil- 
 dren of all nations! The anfwers ordinarily made to them, 
 throw into their tender minds, the feeds of a lading incredu- 
 lity, and of this I could give many fatal examples, if this were 
 the proper place for it. I fhall content myfelf to mention 
 one. A great prince of a neighbouring nation equally admired 
 •for his fuperior genius, univerfal learning, and furprizing ta- 
 lents in political and military affairs, but who lived and died 
 in the moft obllinate incredulity, being one day afked, after 
 a, long, ferious, and familiar convcrfation with a friend, what 
 had infpired him with fuch invincible prejudices againfl: revea- 
 led religion ; he anfwered, that he had imbibed them early, 
 yea, from his childhood, when he learned his catechifm. He 
 :faid, that his preceptor having entertained him a long time 
 with the ftory of the forbidden fruit, and the imputation of 
 Adam's {in to all his pofterity, he afked, how a juft and 
 good God could condemn all the human race for the fault of 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 237 
 
 one man, to whofe crime they had never co-operated, and 
 whofe perfon they had never feen. The tutor embaraflcd, 
 made him the common, childifh anfwers of the fchooLiien. 
 Thefe infipid replys augmenting, rather than diminifhingthe 
 difficulties, ' my tender brain,' continued the prince, ' was 
 
 * flruck with horror upon every new repetition of that infipid 
 
 * ftuiF; asT grew up, this facred horror changed by degrees 
 
 * into afhrewd fufpicion, and turned at lafi: into a total con- 
 
 * tempt of a religion, that was founded upon fuch a blafphe- 
 
 * mous tenet.' The fame prince added, that puflicd by his ge- 
 neral curiofity for fciences of all kinds, he had looked into the 
 fcholaftic theology, and that he had never found any books 
 fo proper to nourifhin him Deifm and incredulity,as the ac- 
 counts they give of religion. I d.efy any man to read our vul- 
 gar catechifmSjOn this point,with afprightly fmart fchool-boy, 
 and hint to him its abfurdity, without the child's being flruck 
 with the fame imprefTions, as the great prince mentioned. 
 
 2. T-'o return to Scripture. The wife man fays, in fpcaking 
 of the eternal Logos,and his pre-exiftent humanity, (a) 'The 
 
 * Lord poiTefled me from the beginning of his ways, before 
 
 * his works of old ; I was fet up from everlafting, from the 
 ' beginning or ever the earth was.' All this can be faid only 
 of the eternal Logos. But what follows, may be applied to 
 the pre-exiftent humanity of the Mefliah, ' when he prepa- 
 ' red the heavens 1 was there, when he encircled the face of 
 
 * the deep, when he eflablifhed the clouds above, when he 
 « appointed the foundations of the earth, then I was by him-, 
 « as one brought up with him, and I was daily his delight, rc- 
 
 (a) Proverbs ch. viii. 2.2. to 3 3 . 
 
238 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 ' jolcing always before him; rejoicing in the habitable parts of 
 * the earth, and my delights were with thefons of men.' It is 
 vifible,that Solomon fpeaks here of a time foon after the crea- 
 tion of the world, when the Logos,or God-man,rejoiced in the 
 habitable parts of the earth, and when his delights were with 
 the fons of men, and therefore, of a time when the earth was 
 inhabited only by a pure,innocentanduncorrupted race.Can 
 this be faid after the fall, when the earth wascurfed,and all the 
 thoughts of man's heart were become evil,and evil continual- 
 ly? It is only a profound ignorance of the ancient, primitive 
 tradition of Pre-exin:ence,thatcan make men miftake the true 
 fenfeofthis fublime text. 
 
 3. The author of Ecclefiafticus feems alfo to Indicate this 
 paradifiacal, pre-exiftent (late, when after having defcribed, 
 as we have fhown above, the nature and qualitys of the firft, 
 original, and uncorrupted creation before the chaos and the 
 fall of angels,he adds, (a) ' After this, the Lord looked upon 
 
 * the earth and filled it with his bleffings, and created man 
 ' upon it.' Here the words, ' God created man,' muftbe un- 
 derftood, not only of the head and chief of our fpecies, but 
 of the whole collective body and all the individuals; for it is 
 immediately added in the plural, ' he endowed them with 
 
 * ftrength by themfelves, and made them according to his 
 ' image. He filled them with the knowledge of underftan- 
 
 * ding, and fliewed them good and evil. He fct his eye upon 
 
 * their hearts, that he might fhow them the greatnefs of his 
 
 * works; their eyes faw the majefty of his glory, and their 
 
 * ears heard his glorious voice.' Now, it cannot be faid of 
 
 (a) Ecclefiafticus. ch. xvi. 29. andch. xvii. i. to 13. 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 239 
 
 men In a degraded ftate, * that their eyes faw the majefty of 
 ' the Lord, and that their ears heard the glorious voice of 
 ' the Logos humanized.' Neither is there any reafon to con- 
 fine the plurals THEM and THEIR to the duality of our two 
 firft parents, fince, as we have fhown, that idea obfcures all 
 the condu(5lof Providence, and renders the dotflrine of ori- 
 ginal fin Inexplicable. It was then abfurd in the fchoolmen, 
 to force the natural fenfe of the words, and refi:rain them to 
 a duality, in order to favour the doflrlne of the imputation 
 of original fin. I leave all upright minds void of cavilling, 
 judges of the integrity of this explication ; and to be fure, 
 nothing but the prejudices of education could make us adopt 
 any other Interpretation of this plain, palpable text, which 
 from the beginning to the end is a full expofition of the glo- 
 rious Ihte of mankind in Paradife. 
 
 4. Our Saviour feems to approve the doctrine of pre-ex- 
 iftence. In hisanfwer to the difciples, when they interrogate 
 him thus about the man born blind, (a) ' Mafter, who did 
 
 * fin ? this man, or his parents, that he was born blind.' It 
 is clear,that this qucftion would have been ridiculous and im- 
 pertinent, if the difciples had not believed, that the man born 
 blind had finned before his corporeal birth, and confequent- 
 ly, that he had pre-exifted in another flate, long 'ere he was 
 born upon earth. Our Saviour's anfwer is remarkable, * nci- 
 
 * ther hath this man finned, nor his parents; but that the 
 
 * works of God fiiould be made manifefl in him.' Jefus 
 Chrift could not mean that neither this man, nor his parents 
 liad ever committed any fin, for this can be faid of no mor- 
 
 (a) St. John Gofp. ch. ix. a. 
 
240 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 tal: but the meaning is, that it was neither for the fins com- 
 mitted by this man in a ftate of pre-exiftence, nor for thofe 
 of his parents, that he was born blind ; but that he was de- 
 prived of fight from his birth, by a particular difpenfation of 
 Providence, in order to manifeftone day, the power of God 
 i-n our Saviour^ Our Lord, therefore, far from blaming and 
 redrefling this error in his difciples, as he did thefe concer- 
 ning his temporal kingdom, anfwers in a way thatfeems to 
 fuppofe with them, and confirm them in the do(5lrine of pre- 
 exiftence. If hehad looked upon this opinion as a capital er- 
 ror, would it have been confonant to, and compatible with 
 his eternal wifdom to have pad it over fo flightly, and tacite- 
 iy authorized it by fucha filence ? on the contrary, does not 
 his filence manifeftly indicate, that he looked upon this doc- 
 trine, which was a received maxim of the Jewifli church, as 
 fliall be fhown very foon, as the true explication of original 
 fm? 
 
 5. St. Paul fays, in fpeaking of the origin of moral and 
 phyfical evil, (a) ' By one man fin entered into the world, 
 
 * and death by fin; and deatli pafTed upon all men, for that 
 
 * all have finned:' if all have finned, then all have voluntari- 
 ly co-operated with Adam in the breach of the eternal law: 
 for where there is no deliberate a 61 of the will, there can be 
 no fin. The apofile does not fay, that Adam's fin was impu- 
 ted to all, nor that in confequence of Adam's tranfgreflion, all 
 fouls created immediately and infufed every day into mortal 
 bodys, werefubje6ted to a flate offufFering: but that all have 
 ^nned by following the example of Adam, who firfi: of ail 
 
 (a) Rom. ch. V. 1 2. . ' 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 241 
 
 fuccumbed by the foUicltatlon of the woman, and the wo- 
 man by that of the devil to the temptation of fendble plcafiirc, 
 and an ambitious defire of knowledge. The doctrine of im- 
 putation, by which God attributes Adam's fin, to his inno- 
 cent poflerity, without their co-operation, cannot be the mea- 
 ning of St. Paul; for, befides that this doctrine, as we have 
 fhown, is altogether incompatible with the divine perfecti- 
 ons, the apoftle adds in the fame text, (a) * For as by one 
 
 * man's difobedience, many were made finners, Co by the 
 
 * obedien-ceof one, fliall many be made righteous.' Now it 
 is certain, that men can only be made righteous by their per- 
 fonal, deliberate and voluntary co-operation with the fpirit 
 of grace, or the fecond Adam. Therefore, according to the 
 rules of parity cftablifhed here by St. Paul, all became finners 
 by a voluntary, dcliberate,perfonal co-operation with the dif- 
 obedience of the firfl: Adam. I do not fay however, that all 
 the individuals of the human race eat of the forbidden tree in 
 a literal, material fenfe; for the apofUe affures us in the fame 
 text, (b) * that all did not fin after the fimilitude of Adam's 
 
 * tranfgreflion.' Eden called in Scripture, the holy mountain 
 of the Lord, was properly the feat and abode of the proto- 
 plafl, of the original pair, where the Logos came down 
 and converfed with them under a vifible form. All the race 
 of men pre-exiftent with them, were not admitted to this fa- 
 cred abode ; it could not have contained them ; they lived in 
 the refl: of the glorious paradifiacal earth ; but by the temp- 
 tation of degraded intelligences, that inhabited our terref- 
 trial globe, they all fell into difobedience againftthe eternal 
 
 (a) Romans, ch. v. 19. (b) Rom. ch. v. 14. 
 PART 2. H h 
 
242 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 law, by the falfe love of natural knowledge and fenfibleplea- 
 fure. The beautys of the uncorrnpted creation, and the plea- 
 fures they felt in the enjoyment of paradifiacal objedls, fuf- 
 pended in them the exercife of the fupernatural virtues of 
 faith, hope, and charity. This is original fm, not imputed to 
 innocent fouls that come pure out of the hands of God, when 
 infufed into mortal bodys: 'but this fin was really committed 
 in a pre-exiftent ftate by all the individuals of the human race, 
 that are now condemned to the fufFerings and miferys of a 
 mortal life. The meaning then of thefe words, ' By one 
 ' man fin entered into the world' cannot be, that for the fin 
 of one man, all were condemned, far lefs that this fin was 
 imputed to all Adam's pofterity tho' guihlefs; but the mea- 
 ning is, that the protoplafl: firft, as head of this hierarchy, 
 like Lucifer chief of the rebellious angels, gave the bad ex* 
 ample, and all the human race co-exiflent with him in Para- 
 dife, foon imitated his crime, not by the fame phyfical a«rt, 
 but by the fame moral inordinate principle. 
 
 6. In fine, St. Paul feems to confirm the fame do^rine in 
 the fame epifHc, when he fays, (a) ' For the children being 
 
 * not yet born, neither having done good nor evil, it was 
 
 * faid unto Rebecca, Jacob have I loved, but Efau have I ha- 
 
 * ted.' We have already demonftrated in the firft Part, that 
 by St. Paul's dotftrine, and the whole tenure of the Scriptures, 
 eleftion and reprobation are not eftefts of God's arbitrary 
 defpotic wills, nor a(5ts of his abfolute fovereignty; but that 
 his love and hatred depend upon the moral difpofitions of the 
 creature; not that thefe moral difpofitions arc the firft caufes 
 
 (a) Romans. ch, ix. ix. 12. 13. 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 243 
 
 of his love, which is purely gratuitous and difinterefted, but 
 the occafions and reafons of his preference of one of them 
 to another. All this has been fully cleared up already, and the 
 mouths of the Predefiinarian fataUfls ftopt by reafon, Scrip- 
 ture, and univerfal tradition. To return to our fubjecfl:; fincc 
 God fays, that he loved Jacob and hated Efau 'ere they were 
 born, and before they had done good or evil in this mortal 
 life, fmce God's love and hatred depend upon the moral dif- 
 pofitions of the creature; and in fine, fince there can be no 
 moral, nor immoral difpofitions in the creature, before its 
 exiftence, it follows clearly, that if God hated Efau type of 
 the reprobate,and loved Jacob type of the ele(5l, before their 
 natural birth, they mufl have prc-exifted in another flate. 
 This would have appeared to be the natural fcnfe of the text, 
 if prejudices imbibed from ourinfancy moreorlefs, had not 
 blinded the minds of Chriflian doctors to the fame degree,as 
 Judaical prejudices darkened thofe of the ancient Pharifees; 
 fo that they both read the Scriptures without underflanding 
 them. 
 
 If it be faid, that all thefe texts are obfcure'; that pre-exif- 
 tence is only drawn from them by indu<5tion, and that this 
 opinion is not revealed in Scripture by exprefs words; I an- 
 fvver, that the doctrines of the immateriality and immortality 
 of the foul are no where revealed expresfly in the facred ora- 
 cles of the Old or New Teftament; but becaufe all their morals 
 and doctrines are founded upon, and neceffarily fuppofe thefc 
 great truths : therefore they are as clearly revealed, as if they 
 were literally exprefTcd.We may fay the fame of pre-exiltence. 
 This doi5trine is no where expresfly revealed, as an article of 
 
 Hh 2 
 
244 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 faith, but it is evidently fuppofed in the Wifdom of SolomoiT, 
 by the author of Ecclefiafticus, by our Saviour's filence, by 
 St. Paul's comparifon, and by the facred do^lruie of original 
 fin, which becomes not only inexplicable, but abfurd, repug- 
 nant, andImpo{Iible,if thatofpre-exiftence be not true. The 
 holy Scriptures contain all the neceffary and effential truths 
 of religion, and all the great principles of divine wifdom, that 
 ferve to juftify eternal Providence; but they do not always di- 
 geft thefe fublime truths into a regular philofophical fcheme. 
 
 Thus,we have endeavoured to demonftrate, that the doc- 
 trine of pre-exiftence is perfedly conform to that of the holy 
 Scriptures. It would be eafy to jQiow this luminous do6lrine 
 was a conftant, univerfal, ancient tradition of the Hebrew 
 church before the Incarnation, and that for this reafon. 
 
 (a) Philo fays, * Our foul having loft its heavenly manfi- 
 * on, came down into this earthly body as a ftrange place:' 
 but becaufe little account is now made of the Rabbinical tra- 
 ditions and learning, we fhall fuperfede thefe proofs. 
 
 The fchoolmen will here cry out, that this doctrine of 
 pre-exiftence was condemned by the fifth general council, in 
 the fifth century. I anfwer, that there are two opinions about 
 pre-cxiftence, of which one is highly blameable, and has 
 been juflly condemned: but the ignorance of the fchoolmen 
 is fo great, that they confound the two^ and maintain that 
 both were equally condemned, becaufe they follow each 
 other, and never afcend to the true fources of antiquity. 
 
 The firfl opinion is that of the Origenifts and Prifcillia- 
 nifts. It fuppofes, that the pre-exiflent fouls of men were 
 
 (3)SeeCudwortb. pag. 798. 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 245 
 
 No£^, or pure fplrits, divefted of all matter; that they were 
 not embodied, till they became cold to divine love; that the 
 material world was created only for the punifhmentof lapfed 
 ipirits; that the union of fouls with matter is Incompatible 
 with the beatific vifion ; that this fupream felicity of our na- 
 ture confifts in having no bodies to animate; that pure intel- 
 ligences In a pre-exiftent ftate w^ere a portion of the rebelli- 
 ous angels; that having lo(t the rellfli of the divine union, 
 they were precipitated into the bodies of planets, and men; 
 and that they can never be totally re-eil:ablifhed, till they be- 
 come again pure fpIrits,without any union with matter. This 
 abfurd fyftem deftroys at once three articles of faith ; the doc- 
 trine of the creation of our firfl: parents compofed of foul and 
 body in a paradifiacal flate, after the fall of angels; the hy- 
 poflatic union of the Word v^ith a human nature,that Is to be 
 eternal; andtherefurre<5lion of our glorious bodies, that are 
 to. partake of our everlalling fehcity in heaven. St. Jerom^ 
 St. Gregory of NylTa, St. Auguftin, and St. Cyril of Alex^ 
 andria attacked and confuted this opinion, before the fifth 
 general council held at Conftantlnople. This OEcumenIc 
 council pronounces anathema agalnft all thofe who maintain 
 the fabulous doftrlne of pre-exiftencein the Origenian fenfe. 
 It was not then the fimple do^rine of pre-exiftence, that was 
 condemned by the council, but the fidtltlous mixtures, and 
 erroneous difguifes, by which this ancient tradition had been 
 adulterated by the Orlgenifts. All the fathers that lived af- 
 ter the fixth century, as alfo the fecond council of Prague, 
 condemn this falfe Idea of pre-exlftence^ in the fame fenfe, as 
 the Conftantinopolitan fathers 
 
24<5 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 There IS a fecond opinion about pre-exiflence, that never 
 was condemned by the church ; it fuppofcs, that all the indivi- 
 duals of the human fpecies compofed of foul and body, v^ere 
 procreated by Adam in Paradife ; that they all co-operated to 
 his difobedience,partook of his crime,fmned voluntarily with 
 him, and fo were juftly puniihed for this co-operation. We 
 havcfhown, that this was the conflant tradition of the Jew- 
 ifh church; and confirmed by the doclrine of the Scriptures, 
 both Old and New. (a) This opinion of prc-exiflence was 
 alfo very ancient in the Chriftian church, 'ere the Origenifts 
 fpoiled it with the Pythagorean and Platonic fi(^ions. Cle- 
 mens AlexandrinuSjOrigen's maflier, taught it as a divine tra- 
 dition authorized by St.Paul himfelf in the above-mentioned 
 text. Yea,Ruffinus in his letter to Anaftafius fays,(b) ' That 
 * this opinion was common among the primitive fathers.' It 
 was therefore afupine ignorance,in the fchoolmen, to trump 
 up the pitiful do6lrine of the immediate creation of fouls; 
 which degrades all the divine perfections, and renders the 
 facred doflrine of original fin inexplicable and impodible. 
 
 If it be faid, that the church has adopted the do6brine of 
 immediate creation, as an article of faith. I anfwer, thattho' 
 this were true, as it is not, yet this immediate creation is not 
 to be underftood in the fenfe of the fchoolmen. We grant, 
 in oppofition to the doftrineof fpiritualgeneration,or traduc- 
 tion, that all fouls were immediately created when infufed in- 
 to bodies, and infufed when created: but then this immedi^ 
 ate creation and infufion of fouls,mu(l: be underftood of their 
 
 (a) See Cudworth's intelled.fyft. and Dr, Henry More, of Immortality book II. 
 ch. xii. (b) See Vind. Auguft. by Card. Korris. 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 247 
 
 primitive, paradifiacal, immortal bodies, and no ways of their 
 prefent,mortaI and corruptible machines, which are not their 
 true bodies, but obfcure prifonsin which they are confined, 
 or crufts fuperinduced by the fall. God having given to our 
 firft parents, a pure, unfpotted fecundity, while in a ftate of 
 innocency, he created fouls immediately, toinfufe them into 
 paradifiacal bodies, and fo all the individuals of the human 
 fpecies were procreated before the fall, and exifted with A- 
 dam in Paradife. There is nothing in the fathers, nor coun- 
 cils that contradi6ts this doctrine; yea St. Gregory of Nyffa 
 feems to favour it, when he fays, that God is the creator of 
 fouls, in the fame fenfe, as he is the creator of bodies. Now, 
 as the organical moulds of all the human fpecies were for- 
 med from the beginning, and fhut up in Adam's loyns, Co 
 were their immortal fouls. Thus, the fy ftems of paradifiacal 
 pre-exiftence, and immediate creation may be re-united, the 
 divine wifdom, equity ,and goodnefs jufiified, and original fin 
 iuminoufly explained, without adopting either the Origenian 
 errors, or the fcholaftic fidions. 
 
 This then was the glorious and happy ftate wherein men 
 were at firfl: created, when exempt from all moral and phyfi- 
 cal evil, fin and fufferings, they converfed with the facred 
 humanity of the Logos; when they faw the majefty of God 
 humanizedjand heard with their ears his glorious voice ; when 
 his delights were with the fons of men; when he lived and' 
 reigned with them as God-guide and leader, pafi:or and in- 
 fbudor. After that the Legiflator of the Jews had rapidly 
 defcribed this primitive, pre-exiflent, original flate of men, 
 he proceeds in his facred cofmogony,to explain the caufe and 
 
248 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 fource of their defejftion, degradation and exile from this hap- 
 py abode, which is the fecond ftate of nature. 
 
 Mofes begins thus his third chapter of Genefis. * Now 
 ' the fcrpent was the mofi: fubtle,' or, as the Septuagint ren- 
 ders the Hebrew word,the 010(1 intelligent, * of all the beafts 
 
 * of the field; and he faid unto the woman, What hath God 
 ' laid, you fhall noteat of every tree of the garden?' wefhali 
 fliow afterwards, that by this ferpent mufl: be underftood a 
 degraded, fallen intelligence,which animated the creature we 
 now call a ferpent. Mofes continues, ' and the woman faid 
 
 * unto the ferpent, we may eat of the fruit of all the trees of 
 ' the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midO: 
 ' of the garden, God hath faid, you fhall not eat of it, nei- 
 
 * ther ihall you touch it, left you die. And the ferpent faid 
 ' unto the woman, you fhall not furely die; for God doth 
 
 * know, that in the day you eat thereof, your eyes fliall be 
 
 * opened, and ye fhall be as Gods.' According to the fchool- 
 men, the devil was fet loofe from the abyfs, by an exprcfs 
 permiflion of heaven, to tempt and lay a fnare for our in- 
 nocent parents, entered into the body of a ferpent, and made 
 this beaft fpeak and reafon. We fhall fhow hereafter, that 
 this Is a meer fable, more ridiculous, moreabfurd, more un- 
 natural, and more incompatible with the divine perfc(5lions, 
 than any fidlion of the Pagan mythology. The animal, now 
 called a ferpent, was a paradifiacal animal united to a degra- 
 ded intelligence, as all the other beafts of the field that fpoke 
 and reafoned. He was fubjefted to man to humble his pride. 
 Weary of this fubje(5lion,defirous to fhake off the yoke, and 
 lender human kind unfaithful as himfclf^hc endeavoured to 
 
OF'HUMAN nature. 249 
 
 feduce EvCjto tempt her by the irregular defire of knowledge, 
 and the inordinate love of pleafure, and engaged her to eat 
 of the forbidden fruit,which had in it a natural virtue to aug- 
 ment our intellccftual powers, and heighten our fenfation of 
 material objects, for It is added, * When the woman faw that 
 
 * the tree was delightful to the tafte, pleafant to the eyes, and 
 ' a tree to be defircd to make men wife, fhe took of the 
 
 * fruit thereof and did eat, and gave alfo unto her hufband, 
 ' and he did eat, and their eyes were opened, and they knew 
 
 * that they were naked.' It was not the fimple difobediencc 
 to a pofitive or arbitrary command, that was the fource of our 
 firftparents (in and mifery; but the difpofitions and motives, 
 by which they eat of the forbidden fruit, that is, an inordi- 
 nate ambition of natural knowledge and pleafure. This by 
 degrees infeded and corrupted their fouls, and hurried them 
 at lad: into a formal rebellion and contempt of the divine 
 command. Mofes, in his rapid narration, does not mention 
 all the previous fteps they made, 'ere they ccnfummated their 
 crime ;nor all the efforts of almighty power,wifdom and good- 
 nefs, to flop their total defedion; nor all the effays the devil 
 made, to feduce them : but it is no ways reafonable to believe, 
 that this dcfe<5tion was inftantaneous ;and that two creatures 
 fo perfe(fl gave all of a fudden, like two dupes, into the fnarc 
 of the evil fpirit. Their defedlion was no doubt gradual, as 
 that of the angels. To fuppofe the contrary, is to throw a 
 vail upon all the condu<5t of Providence, and to fancy that 
 God is upon the catch to furprife his creatures, and that he 
 remained a peaceful fpeflator of their beginning declcnfion, 
 without making any efforts to prevent their total defection. 
 
 PART 2. I i 
 
250 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 It is true,that all his condua:, with intelligent natures,is regu- 
 lated by their free determinations, that he never forces them 
 by omnipotent wills, that he proportions and even fubmits, 
 fo to fpeak, his aftion in, and upon them, to their voluntary 
 deliberations: but on the other hand, it is alfo certain,that he 
 refufes them no fiiceours neceffary to prevent their ruin. We 
 mufi: then fuppofe, that God difplayed to men in a primi- 
 tive ftate, as to the fallen angels, all the efforts of his power, 
 all the treafures of his wifdom, all the charms of his good- 
 nefs, to hinder their total apoftacy, without violating their 
 liberty. Notwithftanding all thefe efforts, they yielded by 
 degrees to the weaknefs infeparable from finite. The fhades 
 and gradations of their fall were various, and all this required 
 time and a long fucceffion of infidclitys, tho' not mentioned 
 in the rapid Mofaical narration, which, as fome think, is ra- 
 ther anabridgement,than a full detail of that great legiflator's 
 original w/itings. To look therefore upon the fin, fall and 
 degradation of human nature in a paradifiacal ftate,as inflan- 
 taneous, is the high road to incredulity, and diametrically 
 ©ppofite to all the ideas we ought to have of the divine good- 
 nefs, and the original perfe(51:ion in which he created us> 
 
 Sofoonas men had fatisfied their pafTion, and confumma- 
 ted their crime, their eyes were opened, and they knew that 
 they were naked, they law the fatal effefts of their difobe- 
 dience, the happy ftate they had abandoned, the mifcryinto 
 which they had freely thrown themfelves; they felt too late 
 that they were ftript of their innocence, and that they had 
 difobeyed the laws of eternal order, in hearkning to the evil 
 principle. Soon after their crime, ' They heard the voice of 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 251 
 
 * the Lord God walking in thegarden,in the cool of the day.* 
 This as we have already remarked,cannot befaidof thcpurc 
 incorporeal efTence, who being infinite and immcnfe, cannot 
 move from one place to another; and therefore this mufl: be 
 underftood of the facred humanity who appeared to them un- 
 der a vifible form, not only then, but as he had done, it feemj, 
 many times before, fmce they fhow no furprize at this appa> 
 rition, and therefore wereaccuftomed to it. So foon as they 
 heard this voice, ' Adam and his wife hid thcmfelves from 
 
 * the prefence of the Lord amongfl: the trees of the garden.' 
 They could not be fo flupid and ignorant, as to imagine, that 
 they could fhun the prefence of the omniprefent Being, 
 whofe efTence is immcnfe, tho' unextended, and therefore, 
 this muft be underflood of the corporeal vifible appearance of 
 the facred humanity; and this is fo much the more evident, 
 that the facred humanity fpoke to them with an audible arti- 
 culate voice, and faid, in calling upon x\dam by his name, 
 
 * where art thou?' flruck and confounded by the divine pre- 
 fence of the Logos humanizedjthey acknowledge their crime; 
 but to excufe themfelves, the man accufes the woman, and 
 the woman throws all upon the ferpent. 
 
 Then God-man pronounces fentence of punifhment 
 againft them, and all the human kind. This alone is fufHci- 
 €nt to prove, that all the human race was guilty, and that 
 they all finned voluntarily and deliberately, and therefore, 
 that all pre-exiflcd with their firfl parents in a paradifiacal 
 ftate; for,as we have faid, andean never enough repeat, God 
 could not condemn a numberlefs multitude of innocent fouls 
 for the fin of a man with whom they had no relation^ for a 
 
 li 2 
 
252 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 crime' with which they did not co-operate, and of which 
 they were altogether ignorant, as not yet cxiftent. Adam, 
 according to the ancient tradition of the Hebrews, fignifys, 
 not only the chief and head of the human fpecies,but alfo the 
 colleflive body and all the individuals of our kind. All the 
 human race therefore, co-exifled with Adam in Paradife, fin- 
 ned in,and with their firfl:parents,and co-operated voluntarily 
 with their difobedience,not perhaps by the fame phyficalacH:, 
 but by the fame moral difpofitions,by abandoning themfelves 
 to the irregular love of knowledge and pleafure. Hence it is, 
 that ever fince, the two great fourccs of all the crimes com- 
 mitted upon earth, are the falfe thirft of natural knowledge, 
 which engenders errors, blafphemous fchemes, and incredu- 
 lity ; and the irregular love of pleafure which begets all fort of 
 impure defires, grofs vices, and monftrouspafllons. 
 
 The facred humanity begins firft with the ferpent and 
 fpeaks to him thus. ' Becaufe thou haft done this, thou art 
 
 * curfed above all cattle, and above every beaft of the field.' 
 Therefore all the brutal fpecies was curfed, for the ferpent 
 could not be curfed in a higher degree than his fellow ani' 
 mals, unlefs they had been curfed in a lower dcgree,andcon- 
 fequently, they were alfo criminal. As the word m a n, muft 
 be underftood, in a collecftive fenfe, of all the individuals of 
 the human kind, fo the word serf ENT,muft be underftood, 
 in a colle<n:ive fenfe, of all the individuals of the brutal kind, 
 that is, of all degraded intelligences that imitated the exam- 
 ple of the ferpent, in contributing to the defc<5tion and temp- 
 tation of man. ' Upon thy belly flialt thou go, and duft 
 
 * ihalt thou eat all the days of thy life.' The form of that 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 25J 
 
 animal, which we now call the fcrpent,was then altered from 
 what it was, in Paradife; and inftead of living upon paradi- 
 fiacal fruit, it is condemned to crawl and feed upon ail the 
 filth and purulent matter of the univerfe. * And I will put 
 
 * enmit_y between thee and the woman, and between thy 
 
 * feed and her feed; it fhall bruife thy head, and thou fhalt 
 
 * bruife his heel.' The evil principle is oft reprefented in 
 Scripture by hideous, brutal forms, by the ferpent, the dra- 
 gon, the leviathan, the devouring, roaring lion, not, as we 
 fliall fhow, in a meerly allegorical, typical, and fymbolical 
 fcnfe, but in a real, phyflcal, literal one, becaufe thefe brutal 
 forms are intimately united to, and animated by degraded in- 
 telligences. H his text therefore was looked upon by all the 
 primitive fathers, as a clear predidlion of the fuffering and' 
 triumphant ftate of the Mefliah. The evil principle was to 
 bruife the heel, the inferior part of the facred humanity; 
 but the Deliverer and Conqueror was to bruife the head of 
 the ferpent, that is, the infernal powers. * 
 
 Then God-man pronounces fentence agalnfl Eve, and in: 
 her, againft all the female kind, * and unto the woman he 
 ' faid, I will greatly multiply thyforrows in thy conception; 
 ' in forrow flialt thou bring forth children, and thy defire 
 
 * fliali be to thy hufband,and he fhall rule over thee.' Hence 
 all the fathers fay, that if the woman had never finned, fhe 
 would not have fuffered in child-birth; as fhe would have con- 
 ceived without cupidity, fo fhe would have been delivered 
 without pain. There was then a great change made in her 
 natural conftitution and corporeal fabric, for if it had been, 
 fuch as it now is, child-birth without anguifli, pain and for- 
 
^J4 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 row would be impofTible without a miracle. All thefe fine 
 hints In the rapid narration of Mofes, contain wonderful 
 truths, which common divines overlook and underhand no- 
 thing of. 
 
 The Logos humanized proceeds next to pronounce fen- 
 tence againfl: the man; * and unto Adam he faid, Becaufe 
 
 * thou haft hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and haft 
 
 * eaten of the tree which I commanded thee not to eat, cur- 
 
 * fed is the earth for thy fake,' or becaufe of thee. Theodo- 
 " tion reads, and tranflates this text thus ; * Curfedis the earth 
 
 * becaufe of thy tranfgreflion. In forrow (halt thou eat of it 
 
 * all the days of thy Hfe: thorns and thirties fhall it bring 
 
 * forth, in thefweat of thy face fhalt thou eat of it, till thou 
 
 * return to the ground, whence thou was taken.' Since all 
 the children of Adam were condemned to the fame labour, 
 mifery and punifhment, they muft all have been perfonally 
 guilty, and therefore muft have pre-exifted. By the reft of 
 the curfe'is expreffed the total change, deformity and fterili- 
 ty of phyfical nature by the fall. As the beauty s of the mate- 
 rial world had vitiated and feduced human fouls; as the de- 
 lights of the paradifiacal ftate, which were but their accelTory 
 happinefs, had intoxicated them, and made them forget the 
 fupream felicity of their natures, it was neceftary, in order to 
 reclaim themjto caft a veil upon all thcfe ravifliing and beau- 
 tiful fcenes. 7 he divine aftivity, that manifefted itfelf in na- 
 ture, did not change all, as after the fall of angels, into aper- 
 fc<5l chaos, but it was greatly fufpended, and by this fufpen- 
 fion, the circulation of the a(fiive luminous principle was in- 
 terrupted, the original tranfparency of terreftrial obje(n:s was 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 255 
 
 lofl:, and the whole of matter, in the region which man in- 
 habits, became barren and opake, full of contrary, oppo- 
 fite and felf-deftructive elements. The fituation of the earth 
 was changed with regard to celeftial bodies, and their influ- 
 ences, irradiations, and fplendor became lefs ftrong. The 
 feafons were altered, and all the changes made that could 
 produce the fterility threatned by the curfe. Nature in thefe 
 inferior regions was no longer fuch as in its original ftate, a 
 pi(5lure of the divine perfe(flions,it became a prifon, an exile,a 
 valley of tears, and a place of punifhment, wherein all is 
 adapted to the ftate of fouls that fuffer, and that muft be pu- 
 rified by their fufferings. This is (a) * the curfe under wliicli 
 
 * the whole creation is faid to knguidi and groan, till it be 
 
 * delivered from the bondage, to which it was fubjeftcd by 
 
 * the fall, into the glorious liberty of thefons of God.' 
 
 After man had reduced himfclf to this mifcrable ftate, the 
 Lord God faid, * Alas ! Is man become like unto us by know- 
 
 * ing good and evil?' Forfo the Hebrew words niay, and 
 ought to be tranflated. It is, as if the Logos had faid, I made 
 man after our own image and likenefs, but by his fatal ambi^ 
 tion of knowledge, and his inordinate love of pleafure, how 
 unlike to us is he become! God continues, ' And now left 
 
 * he put forth his hand and take alfo of the tree of life, and 
 
 * cat and live for ever, I will fend him forth from the garden.' 
 That is,left he content himfclf with the accefFory happinefs 
 In a ftate of immortality and delights, and afpirc no longer 
 to the fupream felicity of his nature, which is the immediate 
 vifion and pure love of God; left he become thus immortal ia 
 
 (a) Rom. ch. viii. 20. 21. 23. 
 
256 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 ^aftate of degradation, and live forever therein, Imuftfend 
 him out ofParadife, and reduce him to a mortal ftate, where 
 fufferings and phyfical evil {hall cure him of moral evil, and 
 give him a difgull: at the ftate he has brought himfelf to, and 
 make him feel continually, that he was not made for the 
 enjoyment and love of the creatures, but for me alone. 
 Thus, all God's punifliments are remedy s, and all his judg- 
 ments, mcrcys. 
 
 Mofes concludes his narration of the fall by thefe words. 
 
 * The Lord God drove man out of the garden, and furroun- 
 
 * ded Eden with cherubins and a flaming fword.' The word 
 tranflated Cherubin may be rendered Exterminating Angels, 
 and the words flaming fword or lahat arab fhould be 
 tranflated devouring flame. If we retain the common 
 tranflation of lahat arab, then cherubins with their fla- 
 ming fwords,is an image,like that of the angel whom Balaam 
 faw, with a fword drawn in his hand, or that of the extermi- 
 nating angel that deftroyed feventy thoufand Ifraelites, after 
 that David had numbered them ; and an hundred and eighty 
 Ave thoufand Affyrians In one night. The cherubins then 
 with flaming fwords fcnt to Eden fignify, that God abando- 
 ned this garden ofpleafure to exterminating angels and de- 
 vouring flames, in order to deface and dcftroy all fliadow and 
 appearance of this heautiful abode, which had been the pro- 
 per refldence, feat, and throne ofourfirfl parents or heads 
 of the human hierarchy, during their ftate of innocence, per- 
 fec^tion and paradiflacal glory. Thus the earth being curfed, 
 and Eden deftroyed, our terreftrial globe was changed into a 
 -dcfcrt, an exile, a prifon, a valley of tears where all moral 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 257 
 
 andphyfical evil abound, and this is the fecond flate of the 
 world orof nature lapfed and degraded. 
 
 Let us now fearch the Scriptures, to fee if we can find any 
 vefliges of the third ftate of the world, when the earth (hall 
 be reftored, renewed, and re-eftablifhed in its primitive, ori- 
 ginal, paradifiacal beauty. The prophefies of the Old and 
 New Teftament, are full of this great truth; but the mofl: 
 part of Divines give no attention to them. 
 
 We begin with the prophet Ifaiah. In fpeaking of a glo- 
 rious ftate of the earth, which is to happen after the refurrec- 
 tion, the laft day, and final judgment, he fays, (a) ' The 
 
 * Lord will comfort Zion ; he will comfort all her wafte pla- 
 
 * ces, and he will make her wildernefs like Eden, and her 
 
 * defert like the garden of the Lord.' Ezekiel adds, (b) ' the 
 ' earth that is defolate, will become like the garden of Eden.' 
 Can there be any words more clear and exprefs to denote 
 that one day the earth is to be reftored to its primitive,original, 
 paradifiacal form? The fchoolmen, thefe ignorant fabulifts, 
 and mythologifts, not underftanding thefe fublime texts, ex- 
 plain all, as we {hall fee, of a glorious ftateof the hierarchy, 
 which is to happen before the laft day, and fo fall into 
 Judaifm, while the enthufiafts, and figurifts, underftand all 
 in an allegorical, fpiritual fenfe, without any relation to 
 this glorious renovation of the earth. But to confound all 
 their miferablc commentarys, we fhall fee by the follow- 
 ing prophefys that they can neither be explained of a 
 temporal ftate of the church militant here below, nor 
 
 (a) Ifaiah. ch. Ii. 3. (b)Ezek. ch. xxxvii. 35. 
 
 PART 2. K k 
 
2^B OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 of a purely celeftial ftate after the univerfal reftitutioii of all 
 
 things. 
 
 In the firfl: place, the ftate of the earth renewed is repre- 
 fented as a ftate of univerfal peace, that is to la ft for ever, (a) 
 ' And it fhall come to pafs in the laft days, that the nations 
 
 • fhall beat their fwords into plow-ftiares, and their fpears in- 
 
 * to pruning-hooks. Nation fhall not lift up fvvord againft 
 
 ' nation, neither fhall they learn war any more.' (b) The 
 
 prophet Micah repeats the fame preditHiion, almoft in the fame 
 
 words. It would be ridiculous, to apply this converfion of 
 
 iwords into plovv-fhares, and fpears into pruning-hooks, ta 
 
 a purely celeftial, angelical ftate. It is plain, that by thefe nar 
 
 tural and rural images, is reprefented a ftate, fuch as that of 
 
 Paradifc, when men lived in perfect innocence, peace and 
 
 union; and amufed themfelves with the agreeable exercifes 
 
 of agriculture and gardening. For fo Mofes reprcfents the 
 
 ftate of our firft parents in Paradife. The prophet Ifaiah 
 
 adds, * The whole earth fhall be at reft, and in quiet; and 
 
 ' break forth with finging.' Have we ever yet fcen a time iri 
 
 the church militant, offtich univerfal peace? have there not 
 
 been as many wars among princes, and revolutions in em- 
 
 pireSjfince theIncarnation,as before? Thofeprediftions then, 
 
 have not been yet fulfilled in the church militant upon 
 
 earth, and cannot regard the church triumphant in heaven. 
 
 2. This glorious ftate of the earth in the laft days,is pain^ 
 ted, as a ftate of univerfal, permanent fan(fl:ity and know- 
 ledge, (c) * The earth fhall be full of the knowledge of the 
 
 (a) Ifaiah. ch. ii. 4. (b) Micah. ch. iv. i . 2. 3 . (c) Ifaiah. ch. xi. 9. 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 1^9 
 
 * Lord as the waters cover the fea ; (a) and God will deflroy 
 
 * the covenng cafl: overall people, and the vail that Isfpread 
 
 * overall nations; and the reproach of his people fliall be ta- 
 
 * ken away from all the earth, (b) The glory of the Lord 
 
 * fhall be revealed, and all flcfh fhall fee it. (c) They fliall 
 
 * by my people, and I will be their God: and I will give 
 
 * them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for 
 ' ever, (d) I will pom* out my fpirit upon all flefh. (e) After 
 
 * thefe days, faith the Lord, I will put my law in their in- 
 
 * ward parts, and write it in their hearts : and they fhall teach' 
 
 * no more everyone his neighbour; for they jfhall know me, 
 
 * from the lead to the greateR. (f ) Neither fhall they defile 
 
 * themfelves any more with their idols, nor with their detef- 
 
 * table things, nor with any of their tranfgrellions; but I will 
 ^ cleanfe them, fo they fhall be my people, and I will be theit" 
 
 * God. They fhall have one fhepherd ; they fhall alfo walk 
 
 * in my judgments, and obferve my ftatutes for ever.' There 
 never was fuch a ftate of univerfal fan<5lity and knowledge in 
 the church militant upon earth; and it would be ridiculous^ 
 to explain all thefe prophecys of the church triumphant in 
 heaven, and to fay, that fouls, admitted to the beatific vifion, 
 fhall no more defile themfelves with Idols. In all thefe texts, 
 there is ftill mention made of the earth, of a total fan(5lificati- 
 on to be made of it; allfeems to denote a middle ftate betwixt 
 the prefcnt pollution, corruption, and degradation of this 
 terreftrialmanfion; and that of a total, univerfal reftoratiorf 
 of all things, in a purely angelica!, celeftial, ethereal ftatei 
 
 (a) Ifaiah. ch. xxv. 7. 8. (b) Ibid. ch. xl. 5. (c) Jerem. ch. xxxii. 
 
 5'8. 59. (d)Joel.ch.ii. 28. (e) Jerem. ch.xxxi. 33. 34. (f)Ezekic]. 
 
 ch.xxxvii. 23. 
 
 Kk 2 
 
2($o OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 Now this middle ftate, betwixt thefe two extreams, can be 
 no other, than the paradifiacal ftate of the earth renewed and 
 reftored to its primitive luftre and beauty. 
 
 3. In fine, this ftate of the earth renewed is to be a ftate 
 of univerfal,permanent felicity, where there (liall be no more 
 phyfical evil, nor fufFering; as well as no moral evil, nor 
 corruption, (a) ' In thefe days, God will fwallow up death 
 
 * in victory, and the Lord God will wipe away all tears from 
 
 * their faces, and the rebuke, or punifhment of his people 
 
 * ihall he take away from all the earth, (b) The wolf fhall 
 
 * dwell with the lamb, the leopard ly down with the kid, and 
 
 * the calf with the young lion; and a little child fhall govern 
 
 * them. Theafp, nor the cockatrice, fliall not hurt nor de- 
 
 * ftroy in all my holy mountain,faith the Lord.' * St. Irenae- 
 us explains this text of the re-eflablifhment of the animal 
 kind to their paradifiacal form, when deprived of all their 
 fierce and noxious qualities, they fhall be fubjecfted to man, 
 as before the fall, (c) ' The defert fhall rejoice, and blofTom 
 
 * as the rofe ; the parched ground fhall become a pool, and 
 
 * thethirfty land fprings of water.' By the defert, the par- 
 ched ground, and the thirfty land, are meant here, the 
 whole earth, and not any particular fpot of it; for fuch is 
 our terreftrial globe become, fince the fall, in comparifon of 
 its paradifiacal beauty. The prophet continues; ' No devou- 
 
 * ring lion fhall be there, nor any ravenous beaft fhall go up 
 
 * thereon; but the redeemed fhall walk there; and the ran- 
 
 * fomed of the Lord fhall return, and come to Zion with 
 
 (a) Ifaiah. ch. xxv. 8. (b) Ibid. ch. xi. ^. 7. 8. (c) Ibid, ch, xxxv. 
 
 X. 7 . ^. 10. * S. Irenaeus contra Haerefes.lib. V. cap. xxxiii. 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 261 
 
 * fongs, and everlafting joy upon their heads; and all forrow 
 
 * and fighing fliall fly away.' The prophet gives ns the true 
 reafon of this wonderful change, in thefe words, (a) * For 
 
 * I will create new heavens, and a new earth: and the former 
 
 * fhall not be remembred, nor come into mind. ' He is 
 to create, or to make anew, or to re-efl-ablifh, not only the 
 earth, but the heavens. To underftand this, we mufl: recall 
 the great Mofaic principle,that the pofition of the earth with 
 regard to the celeftial bodies,was changed by the fall of man: 
 and upon the triumph of the Mefliah, or his fecond coming, 
 all is to be reftored to its primitive,paradifiacal form, fituation 
 and fplendor, (b) ' Arife, OJerufalem, and ftand on high, 
 
 * and look towards theEafl, and behold thy children gathe- 
 
 * red from the Weft unto the Eafl:, or rifing fun, by the word 
 
 * of the holy One. They departed from thee, led away by 
 
 * their enemies; but God bringeth them back unto thee, ex- 
 
 * alted with glory; for God hath appointed, that every high 
 
 * hill, and banks that have lafted long fhould becalt down, 
 
 * and valleys filled up, to make even the ground, that Ifrael 
 
 * may gofafelyin the glory of God;moreover,even the woods, 
 
 * and every fweet-fmelling tree, fhall overfhadow Ifrael by 
 
 * the commandment of God ; for God fliall lead Ifrael with 
 
 * joy,inthelightof his glory,with the mercy and righteoufncfs 
 
 * that cometh from him. (c) Every valley fball be exalted, and 
 
 * every mountain and hill fhall be made low, and the crook- 
 
 * cd paths fhall be made flreight, and the rough places plain; 
 
 * and the glory of the Lord fhall be revealed, and all tlcfh 
 
 * fliall fee it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath fpoken 
 (a) Ifaiah. ch. Ixv.i 7. (b) Barrach ch. v., J^6. 7. ^c. (c) Ifaiah, ch. xl.4. i. 
 
^S2 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 * it.' St. Irenaeus fays, that thefe two lafl: texts cannot bcun- 
 derftood of a purely celeftial ftatc ; and fo muft be underftood 
 of a paradlfiacal one, when all the earth was but one plain 
 furface without any fuch ragged, craggy, and wild inequali- 
 tys,as wc now fee, which feem to be the ruins of the ancient 
 world, made by the fall and the deluge. It is true, that fomc 
 explain thefe texts, in a purely fpiritual fenfe, of the divine 
 rectitude and purity ; to which,all the inhabitants of the earth 
 fhall be reltorcd: but the moral fenfe does not exclude the 
 phyfical; fmce,in the earth reftored, the laws of the invifible 
 and vifible world, will be fimilar and analogous. 
 
 The New Teftament confirms the do6trine of the Old. 
 None of the apoftles and difciples looked upon our Saviour's 
 iirft coming and fuffering ftate, as an accomplilhment of the 
 prophefys. On the contrary, they all expe(n:ed his fecond 
 coming, as the completion of thefe magnificent promifes; 
 yea, they feem perfuaded, that his fecond advent was very 
 near at hand, and to happen in their own time. They arc 
 full of thefe exprelTions, (a) * The night is far fpent, the 
 ' day is at hand, (b) The Lord is at hand, (c) Exhort one 
 ' another; and fomuch the more, as the day is approaching. 
 < (d) The judge ftandeth before the door, (e) The end of 
 * all things is at hand.' (f) In fine, St. John concludes hi^ 
 Revelations thus, ' furely I come quickly.' Our Saviour him- 
 felf fecms to have authorized this opinion, among the difci- 
 ples and apofUes, of his fudden return to judge the world, and 
 triumph over all his enemies. St. Matthew fays, that (g) 
 
 (a) Rom. xili. 1^2. (b) Phil, ch.iv, 5. (c) Heb. ch. x. 25. (d) James, 
 ch.v. 9. (e)I. Pet.ch. iv. 7. (f) Rev. ch. Jixii. 20. (g)Matth. ch.xxiv. 
 •g. compared wkhverfe 30. 31. 34. 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 2% 
 
 ^ while our Saviour fat upon the mount of Olives, the difci- 
 
 * pies came unto him privately, faying, tell us, what fhallbe 
 
 * the fign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?' our 
 Saviour declares,thatlt will be after a time of great defolation, 
 famine, pefHlence, earth-quakes, perfecution of the good, 
 great iniquity, fpiritualdarknefs and incredulity, abominati- 
 on in the holy place, wars, plagues, and tribulation of all 
 kinds, fuch as was not from the beginning of the world, no, 
 nor ever fhallbe; afterwardshe adds, ' Then allthe tribesof 
 
 * the earth fhall mounv ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ "Soi^ of iT^^n coming la 
 
 * the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory/ Our 
 Saviour concludes alLby this faying, ' This generation fhall 
 
 * not pafs,tillall thefe things be fulfilled.' St. Peter fays, that 
 fbme took occafion, from this cxpreffion of our Saviour, to 
 feoff, and fay, (a) * where Is the promife of our Saviour's 
 
 * coming? for, lince th^ fathers fell aflcep, all things conti- 
 
 * nue, as they were from tlie beginning.' The apofHe's an:- 
 fvver was; * Beloved, be not ignorant of this, diat one day, 
 
 * with the Lord, is as a thoufand years ; and a thoufand years, 
 
 * as one day.' God docs not judge of time and duration, as 
 we do; and what we think very long, Is buta moment before 
 him. Theapoflles then, were in a continual expeclation of 
 our Saviour's fecond coming; and did not believe, that the 
 magnificent promifcs, and prophefiesof theOld Teftament, 
 could be fulfilled, during this mortal ilate; they always de- 
 clare, like the prophets, that thefe auguft promifcs are to be 
 accompllfhed, only in a (late of the earth re-eftablifhcd and- 
 renewed, after a fudden and general conflagration, yea, a to*- 
 
 (a) II. Peter ch, Ui. 4. 
 
2^4 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 tal defl:ru6^1on of all the prefent imperfe(^ forms, and defe^ls, 
 mces and Irregularltys, both of the material and fpiritual 
 •world, (a) * The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the 
 
 * night; in the which, the heavens fhall pafs away with a 
 ' great noife, and the elements Ihall melt away with a fervent 
 
 * heat, the earth alfo and the works that are therein (hall be 
 
 * burnt np. We look for, and hafteunto the coming of the 
 
 * day of the Lord, wherein the elements, being on fire, (hall 
 ' be difTolved. Neverthelefs we, according to the promife, 
 
 * look for new heavens and a new earth wherein righteouf- 
 ' nefs dwells.' (b) St. Paul fays, *that the earnefl:expe<flation 
 
 * of the creature waiteth for the manifeftation of the fons of 
 
 * God;becaufethe creature itfelf alfo fhall be delivered from 
 
 * the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the 
 ' fonsofGod.'Lefl:menfancy,that this bondage of corruption 
 regards only intelligent beings,theapoftleadds, 'for we know, 
 
 * that the whole creation groaneth, and travellethin pain till 
 ' now; and not only they,but we our felves groan within our 
 
 * felves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of 
 
 * the body.' It is then, not only our fpiritual nature, that will 
 be delivered from the bondage of corruption, or moral evil; 
 but our bodies alfo, that will be fet free from all phyfical fuf- 
 -fering and evil. St. John the evangelift, having amply de- 
 fcribed in his fupernatural vifions, the plagues, defolations 
 and forrows, that are to be forerunners of this fecond co- 
 ming, concludes atlan:,with a defcription of the glorious ftate 
 of the earth, after this fecond advent, (c) ' And I faw anew 
 
 (a) II. Peter ch. iii. lo. 1 1 . 1 2. &c. (b) Rom. ch. viii. 1 9. 20. ^c. (c) Revel. 
 ch, xxi.from the beginning to the end. . > 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 265 
 
 * heaven, and a new earth; for the firft heaven and the firft 
 
 * earth were pa fled away.' Then, he defcribes the earth re- 
 eftablifhed to its primitive paradifiacal form, as all luminous 
 and tranfparent. The images he makes ufe of to defcribe 
 the materials, of which the city and walls of the new Jerufa^ 
 lem are to be compofed, as of pure gold clear likeglafs, jaf- 
 pers, faphires, emeralds, and all fort of precious ftones, muft 
 not be taken in a literal, grofs fenfe; neither are they to be 
 underftood altogether in a fpiritualfenfe, fince material na- 
 ture is not to be defl:royed,but repaired and re-efl:ablifhed;and 
 rince,our bodies are to rife again, and become immortal, glo- 
 rious, celeftial, and endowed with all the qualities proper to 
 fuch a ftate. 
 
 Thefe then are the prophefys of the Old and New TeftaT 
 ment, concerning the glorious reign of the Mefliah. Can 
 any one fay, that thefe magnificent prediftions have been 
 accompli{hed fince our Saviour's firfl: coming? There was 
 never a time of univerfal peace, knowledge, holinefs, and 
 permanent felicity. Neither can thefe predi(n:ions, about a 
 new Jerufalem, and a new earth, be underftood of a purely 
 celeftial blefs,fince,as we havefaid, many of thefe predicflions 
 and promifes indicate events, andcircumftances, that are in- 
 compatible with fuch an angelical ftate. Thefe fublime pro- 
 phefys therefore muft be underftood of a middle ftate, be- 
 twixt that of the church militant here upon earth, and that 
 of the church triumphant in heaven, after the univerfal refti- 
 tutionofall beings ; and confequently, thefe glorious promif- 
 fes can be fulfilled only in the earth renewed, and reftored to 
 its primitive paradifiacal form. 
 
 PART 2^ LI 
 
iU OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 The Judaizing Chriftians, hierarchical high-flyers, and 
 Pharifaical doctors fancy,that all thcfefublime prophefies of 
 the Old Teftament,are to be accomplifhed, before the fecond 
 coming; when the Jews and Gentiles jfhall he converted; 
 when all fliall profefs the Chriftian do6lrine; when popes, 
 prelates, and clergymen, fliall become mafters of the earth, 
 and trample upon the necks of emperors, kings and princes; 
 when Turks, Jews and Pagans, fliall be converted to the 
 external profefllon of Chriftianity; when there fliall be but 
 one fliepherd, and one flieepfold, that is, one univerfal pon- 
 tifex; when all fliall be fubje(5ted to the Papal authority, and 
 Roman communion. The fanatical levellers explain all of 
 converfion to their own little fefts and communions, who 
 pretend to have reformed and reftored the church to its pri- 
 mitive purity. To interpret the glorious prophefies of the 
 Old or New Teftamcnt, of any event, revolution, or change 
 that is to happen before the lafl: judgment, the great confla- 
 gration,and the renovation of the earth, is manifeflly contra- 
 ry to Scripture, which ftill reprefents the times, that are to 
 precede the glorious coming of our Saviour,as a time of defo- 
 lation, plagues and difafters. All thefe wild explications of 
 the literal, Pharifaical, Fataliftical doftors, and figurifts, de- 
 grade the facred oracles, are unworthy of the great plan of 
 Providence, and far below the dignity of God's magnificent 
 promifes. Thus, the carnal Jews of old expected a temporal 
 kingdom of the Meflaah, wherein their nation fliould be exal- 
 ted above all other nations, live in pomp and fplendor, and 
 be the darlings of the moft High ; while all the reft of man- 
 kind fliould be their flaves, Thus, the Pagans imagined, that 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 267 
 
 all the ancient traditions concerning a fon of Jupiter, that 
 was to dcfcend from heaven, conquer the earth, and re-cfia- 
 blifh the reign of Juftice, was to be underflood of fome hero 
 of their own country, that was to fubjedt the world to its em- 
 pire. Thus, the Chinefe fancy, that the Tiengin, or the 
 hero mentioned in their ancient books, is to reign in their 
 country, and bring all nations under the yoke of the Chi- 
 nefe. Thus, Virgil applies to Marcellus,and Horace to Cae- 
 far, all that they had learned from ancient tradition about the 
 great conqueror, that was to bring back Aftrea to the earth. 
 Thus, no doubt, in the time of Cyrus, Nebuchadnezzar, 
 Xerxes, Alexander, and of all the conquerors of the Eaft, 
 there were flatterers, that applied to thefe great princes, all 
 that had been tranfmitted to them, by a confufed oral tradi- 
 tion, concerning the great univerfal Monarch, whofe reign is 
 to extend over all nations. 
 
 Some allegorical interpreters of Scripture, feparating the 
 fpirit from the letter, and rejecting altogether the lafl:, ex- 
 plain all the auguft promifes and prophefies of the glorious 
 kingdom, of a purely celeftial ftate, when the world fhall 
 be reilored to the fame glory, beauty and perfec^lion, which 
 it had before the fall of angels, the confufion of the chaos, 
 and the formation of the paradifiacal world. But they err, 
 not underftanding the fcriptures, which fpeak of a glorious 
 reign of the Melliah upon earth with the ele<5l, during ma- 
 ny ages ; after which, the Son will deliver up the kingdom 
 to the Father, as welliall fee hereafter. They confound this 
 fublimedocflrinc of our Saviour's glorious reign, with the er- 
 ror of the Millenarians, who, like the fchoolmcn, and other . 
 
 LI 2 
 
268 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 Judaizlng Chriftians/mterpreted all the prophefies of the Old 
 and New Teftament concerning this glorious reign, of a 
 ftate, that was to happen before the fecond coming; when 
 Jefus Chrifl: fhould reign corporeally upon earth, in his mor- 
 tal body, as a temporal prince; when the material Jerufalem 
 fhould be rebuilt; and when the ele6l fhall enjoy a fort of Ma- 
 hometan paradife here below. Thus, the Millenarians de- 
 graded and corrupted the primitive tradition, which is far 
 more pure, and which, as (a) St. Irenaeus has preferved it to 
 us, after Papias difciple to St. John the evangelifl:, is altoge- 
 ther worthy of the great plan of eternal wifdom and Provi- 
 dence. This admirable Saint and Martyr, who lived fo near 
 to the times of the apoltles, who converfed with a difciple of 
 St. John, gives many reafons, why this glorious reign of the 
 Me(riah,with the ele6l, upon the earth re-eftablifhed, ought 
 not to be underftood of a purely celeftial, and angelical ftate. 
 Among others, this is a very remarkable one, that the pro- 
 mifes made to Abraham and the patriarchs, relate vifibly to 
 a terreftrial habitation, but renewed, reformed, and reftored 
 to its paradifiacal beauty, (b) * And the Lord faidunto Abra- 
 
 * ham, lift up now thine eyes,and look from the place where 
 ' thou art,northward,and fouthward, and eaftward, and weft- 
 
 * ward ; for all the earth which thou feeit, to thee will I give 
 Mt, and to thy feed for ever.' According to St. Irenaeus, this 
 prophefy was never fulfilled, fince Abraham himfelf, during 
 all his pilgrimage here below, never pofTeiTed a foot of land, 
 and his pofterity according to the flefli,were always faithlefs, 
 
 (a) S. Iren. contra Haerefes. lib. V. cap. xxiet xxxi, fub fine.^ (b) Gen. 
 ch. xiii, 14. 15. 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 269 
 
 or unhappy, and never pofTefTed but a fmall point of the 
 habitable earth; and therefore, this promife, and all the 
 others, where mention is made of pofTefTing the earth, and 
 a land flowing with milk and honey, which is a Hebrew 
 phrafe, to exprefs the greatell: degree of plenty, fertility, and 
 delights, mufl: not be underftood of theprefent earth, nor of 
 any fpot of it; but of the earth renewed, re-eftablifhed and 
 reflored, promifed to the eleft, who are to reign upon it, 
 with the Mefliah, after his fecond coming. Moreover, the 
 fifth commandment, given to the Ifraelites, * Honour thy 
 
 * father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the 
 
 * land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee,' is falfe, if the 
 land, here fpoken of,is to be underftood of this prefent mor- 
 tal life; for it is certain, that longevity is not always a conie- 
 quence, norrecompenceof virtue, and fubmiflion to parents. 
 
 In fine, according to the reafoning of St. Irenacus, if all 
 the promifes made to the father of the faithful, to the patri- 
 archs his children, and to all the ele6l of which they were 
 chiefs, models, and types, are to be underftood of this pre- 
 fent earth, and of a little fpot of it called Canaan, then all 
 the plan of Providence is low, carnal, defpicable, terreftrial 
 and unworthy of eternal wifdom, goodnefs, and fan6lity, 
 whofe promifes are never bounded to any thing finite, nor to 
 perfonsof any one nation or kindred, according to the flefh, 
 but eternal and fpiritual. To think otherwife, is to adhere to 
 the letter that kills,without knowing the fpirit that quickens. 
 
 It is no wonder, that the fathers of the primitive church 
 condemned, in a public council, the doMne of thcMillena- 
 rians, who had degraded, difguifed, and disfigured this apof- 
 
270 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 tolic tradition. Thcfe low, material, literal, grofs interpre- 
 ters of Scripture reprefented the glorious reign of the Mef- 
 fiah, as a terreflrial ilate, a temporal government, and a foit 
 of Mahometan paradife. They confined its duration literally 
 to the fpace of a thoufand years, tho' this be expresfly oppo- 
 fite to the Scriptures, as may be feen, from a thorough con- 
 fideration of the facred text. Tho' it be dangerous to venture 
 upon any particular explication of the myflerious book of 
 the Revelations, or to pretend to penetrate into the hidden 
 fenfe of all the fublime truths therein contained; yet the laft 
 chapters,about the glorious ftate of the ele(5l, and thepunifh- 
 mentofthe damned, during the reign of the Meffiah, after 
 the day of judgment, feem pretty clear, and contain vifibly 
 the following principles. 
 
 I . That at the fecond coming of our Saviour, the devil 
 will be enchained for a certain time, (a) * And I faw an an- 
 ' gel,' fays the evangelifl:, * come down from heaven, having 
 
 * the key of the bottomlefs pit, and a great chain in his 
 
 * hand; and he laid hold on the dragon, that old ferpent, 
 
 * which is the devil and fatan, and bound him a thoufand 
 
 * years, caft him into the bottomlefs pit, {hut him up, and 
 
 * kt a feal upon him, that he fhould deceive the nations no 
 
 * more, till the thoufand years fhould be fulfilled.' All thefe 
 images of keys, chains, and feals, are, no doubt, allegorical: 
 but the truth hereby figured is, that the evil principle will be 
 enchained after our Saviour's fecond coming; fhutupin the 
 abyfs, where all his malice concentred,and turned upon him- 
 felf and his companions, he Vk'ill no longer make the earth a 
 
 (a) Revel, ch. xx. i. 2. 3.. 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 271 
 
 fcene of wickednefs and cruelty, of moral and phyfical evil. 
 It is added, that during thefe thoufand years,the cle<51: will live 
 and reign with Chrift upon the earth re-efbblifhed. * They 
 ' fhall be pricfls of God and of Chrift, and fhall reign with 
 
 * him a thoufand years. The reft of the dead will not rife, 
 
 * nor live again, until the thoufand years be finifhcd/ 
 
 2. It is expresfly added, that when the thoufand years arc 
 expired, (a) ' Satan fhall be loofed out of his prifon,and fhall 
 ' go out to deceive the nations Gog and Magog, which are in 
 
 * the four quarters of the earth, to gather them together to 
 
 * battle; the number of whom is as thefand of thefea; they 
 
 * willcompafs the camp of the faints about, and the beloved 
 
 * city.' It is certain, that this cannot be underftood of a 
 purely ccleftial ftate, fmcethe felicity of the angels can never 
 be interrupted, by a fecond revolt of the devils in heaven. It 
 would be far more abfurd and ridiculous, to explain this of 
 any event, that is to happen, during the prefent ftate of the 
 earth ; fince it is expresfly faid,that this prophecy is to be ful- 
 filled, only after the refurreflion of the eled, the enchain- 
 ment of Satan, and the glorious reign of our Saviour. It muft 
 then be underftood, ofthelaft effort of the devil and his an- 
 gels, 'ere they be totally defeated. The nations called Gog 
 and Magog numerous as thefand of thefea, cannot be the 
 reprobate, finceitisfaid, in the fame text, ' that thefe are not 
 
 * yet to rife from the dead.' Some think, that by Gog and 
 Magog we muft not underftand any beings of the human 
 fpccies, but two forts of degraded intelligences, different 
 from the infernal fpirits fhut up in the abyfs, as we fhall 
 
 (a) Revel, ch. xx. 7. 8. &c. 
 
272 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 explain In the following chapter. It is added, that the devil, 
 with all his forces, will be defeated, * and thrown into the 
 ' lake of fire and brimftone for ages of ages, with the beaft, 
 ' the falfe prophet, and the reprobate who are to rife after 
 ' the thoufand years, to be judged: ' for, it is faid, that ' the 
 
 * fea gave up the dead which were in it, that death and hell 
 
 * delivered up the dead which were in them, that every man 
 « was judged according to his works;' and In fine, ' that death 
 ' and hell were caft into the lake of fire. This is the fecond 
 ' death.' Here then, are two refurredions mentioned, the 
 firft is that of the ele(5l, and the fecond, that of the repro- 
 bate. 
 
 3. The devils, the damned, and all fort of degraded Intel- 
 ligences, diabolicaljhuman, and brutal are then to be thrown 
 into the abyfs and the lake of fire, till they be totally transfor- 
 med and purified, and till all their inveterate malice and cor- 
 ruption be altogether, and for ever eradicated, deftroyed and 
 annihilated by the moft exquifite torments. During this in- 
 terval of the divine juftice, our Saviour is ftill to reign upon 
 earth, with the faints. For St. John, in the two following 
 and laft chapters of his divine Revelations, gives us a defcrip- 
 tion of the paradifiacal earth reftored to its primitive perfec- 
 tion and beauty ; tho' the heavens fliall be diiTolved, the ele- 
 ments melt with fervent heat, the earth and all the works 
 therein fhall be burnt up, yet the fubftance of matter is not 
 to be deftroyed, for all the images made ufe of are material. 
 The cvangelifl: fays, (a) ' And I faw a new heaven, and a 
 * new earth ; for the firfl heaven, and the firft earth were paf- 
 
 (a) Revel, ch.xxi. i. 2. 3. Scc^ 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 273 
 
 * fed away, and there was no more fea.* How ridiculous 
 would it be, to talk of a fea in the ccleflial regions. 1 hen he. 
 continues, * andl John faw the holy city, the new Jcrufalem 
 
 * <:oming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride 
 
 * adorned for her hufband.' In the reft of the chapter, he af- 
 fures us, that all moral and phyfical evil is to be deftroycd up- 
 on earth renewed and re-eftablifhcd; matter is not to be anni- 
 hilated, but matter is to lofe all its irregular forms, all is to be 
 a glorious, luminous, tranfparent and paradifiacal matter. 
 
 * Then there will be no need of the fun, nor of the moon; for 
 
 * the glory of God fhall enlighten it, and the Lamb fhall be 
 ' the light thereof.' As the luminous emanations of the Lo-* 
 gos, arc the light of all intelligences, fo the rays of his glorious 
 body will be the light of the new Jcrufalem. He does not fay, 
 that in this new earth reftorcd to its primitive paradifiacal 
 form, there will be no fun nor moon ; for there v/erc fuch in 
 Paradife, according to the folar fyftem defcribed by Mofes:- 
 but this text fecms to infinuatc, that the place and feat of the 
 divine glory, which will be the garden of Eden renewed, and 
 which is called every where the mountain of the Lord, the 
 mountain of Zion, the holy mountain, the new Jcrufalem,' 
 will, during the reign of the MefFiah, be illuminated by the 
 immediate prefence of thegloriousbody of the Logos, which 
 being material and corporeal, mult have a definite place to re- 
 fide in. This does not prove, that in the renewed ftate of th« 
 earth, thercftof our terreftrial fpherc will not be cnlightned 
 by the fun and by the moon; but all fhall be foenlightned, as 
 that there fhall be no night there,no viciffitudcs of feeble light 
 gnd midnight darknefs, as in our prefcnt Itatci.for. then the 
 
 TART 2. ^^m 
 
274 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 light of the fun will be feven times greater than now, and the 
 light of the moon, as that of the fun. 
 
 4. It is no where revealed, how long this glorious reign Is 
 to laft; and to confine its duration to a thoufand years, is dia- 
 metrically oppofite to the doftrine of the evangelKl: in his Re- 
 velations, For therein we fee, that firft of all, the elect are to 
 rife again, and to reign with Chrift upon earth, during a thou- 
 fand years, while the devil is to be enchained, and thrown 
 into the bottomlefs pit. Then, he is to be let loofe, and con- 
 fpire with Gog and Magog, to make war upon the faints ; and 
 lafl: of all, he is to be totally defeated, and thrown, with all 
 his accomplices, into the lake of fire together with the repro- 
 bate, that are to rife again, and undergo the fame infernal 
 pains for ages of ages, g/$ t5$ cucovcjh rcoi/ alcovojv. But, as 
 we fhall prove in the following chapter, this will not be the 
 end and confummation of all things. There is another glori- 
 ous and univerfalfcene of eternal love, and mercy to be ma- 
 nifefted. 
 
 Thefe, then, are the three ftates of the earth exalted, fal- 
 len, and re-eftablifhed, which are expresfly revealed in Scrip- 
 ture. Let us now fee, if we can find any veftiges of thefe fu- 
 blime truths among the Pagans. We begin firfl with the Chi- 
 nefe, the moft ancient of all nations. 
 
 We have already remarked, that according to the prophe- 
 tic ftyle of the holy Scriptures, the glorious flate of the earth, 
 in Its primitive paradiliacal beauty, is reprefented under the 
 allegory of a facred mountain. This fame term is oft made 
 ufe of in the Chinefe monuments. We find thefe admirable 
 expreflions in an ancient book called Chanhaiking, in 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. ly^ 
 
 defcribing the mountain Kouenlun, which was the mid-, 
 die of the world. * All that could be defired, wondrous 
 
 * trees, marvellous fountains, and flowery (hades were found 
 
 * upon that facrcd hill, or hidden garden. This mountain is 
 
 * the inferior palace of the fovereign Lord, and the animal 
 
 * Kaiming guards the entry of it.' The commentary upon 
 this paffage, calls Kaiming, a celeftial animal, and Pao- 
 pouTSEE,a SPIRITUAL ANIMAL. This isconfotm to the 
 Hebrew prophetic ftyle, which calls the heavenly fpirits, li- 
 ving creatures, or animals; and thus, the Chinefe tradition is 
 perfectly conform to the Mofaic revelation, which teaches, 
 that theCherubins with flaming fwords were fent by God, 
 to guard the entry into the garden of Eden. The word Ka i^ 
 MING fignifys, that which opens the underftanding. Ano- 
 ther author, called Hoi A I NANG WANG, in fpeakingof the 
 firfl earth, fays, * This delicious garden, refreflied with ze- 
 
 * phyrs, and planted with odoriferous trees, was (ituated in 
 
 * the middle of the mountain, which was the avenue of hea- 
 
 * ven. 1 he waters that bedewed it, fiovv^ed from a fource 
 
 * called the Fountain of Immortality. He that drinks of" it, 
 
 * never dies. From thence flowed four rivers, a Golden 
 
 * RIVER, betwixt the South and Eaft; aRED river, be- 
 
 * twixt the North and Eaft; a Peaceful streaivi, be- 
 
 * twixtthe South andWeft;and the River of the Lamb, 
 ' betwixt the North and Wefl. Thefe magnificent floods 
 
 * are the fplrltual fountains of the fovereign Lord, by which 
 
 * he heals the nations, and frudtifys all things.' What a won- 
 derful rcfcmblance is there, betwixt this ancient tradition 
 prefcrved among the Chinefe, and the four rivers, which, 
 
 M m 2 
 
TTjG OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 according to theMofaic defcriptlon, flowed from Eden? I 
 do not know, even, if the four names given to the four rivers^ 
 ofParadife,PHisoN, Gehon, Hiddekel and Pherad, 
 may not be literally tranflated, the Golden river; the Red or 
 fiery river; the Peaceful river; and the river of the Lamb. 
 An exad analyfis of the Hebrew etymologies will, perhaps, 
 confirm this idea. The fame author Hoi ai nang wang 
 adds, ' If you double the height of the mountain Kouen- 
 
 * LUN, it will become the fupream heaven, where fpirits live, 
 *: and the palace of the great Lord and fovereign mafler. An- 
 other author of great antiquity called Lopi fays; * That 
 '. they had learned from their anceflors, that there is really a 
 
 * mountain called KouENLUN;butthat hitherto,none could 
 *finditout.' Tchouangtsee, in fpcaking of this primi- 
 tive ftate, fays, ' that it was the age of perfe^ virtue, and 
 
 * that all places were equally the native country of every man. 
 *:. The flocks wandered in the fields, without any guide; the 
 '•birds filled all with their melodious voices; the fruits grew 
 
 * of their own accord. Men lived with the beafts, and all 
 
 * creatures were members of the fame family. Man, entirely 
 
 * Ignorant of all evil, never abandoned virtue, and lived in 
 
 * perfedl: innocence, with fimplicity, exempt from all cupidi- 
 
 * ty.' Hoainantsee fays, ' that in thefirftageof perfecffe 
 
 * purity, all was in great concord, and the paflions did not 
 
 * occafion theleaft murmur. Man united from within tofo- 
 
 * vereign Reafon, all his a<5lions from without were con form 
 
 * to fovereign Juftice. His foul far from all diflimulation 
 
 * and falfliood, received a marvellous felicity from heaven, 
 
 * and the pureft delights from earth. The feafons observed 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 277 
 
 ' immutable laws; the winds and rains did not diflrurb the 
 
 * earth; the fun and moon filled all with their benign influ- 
 
 * ences, and the five other planets never turned out of their 
 
 * courfes.' The book Sleeki adds, ' thatin this firfl: antl- 
 
 * quity and beginning of the world,the heavens and the eartii 
 
 * correfponded to the defires of men; the feafons were al- 
 
 * ways temperate, without any extreams, and man was cn- 
 
 * dowed with true virtue. Then there were no calamity^, 
 
 * ficknefs nor death; and this was called the great time of 
 
 * nature.' 
 
 We find, in the fame books, feveral vcdiges of the fall af 
 man. In the book Chi king, it is faid, ' Heaven placed' 
 
 * mankind upon a high mountain, but Taiwang made it 
 
 * fruitlefs by his fault. VENWANG,or theKing of Pcace,en- 
 
 * dcavoured to render to the mountain its primitive beauty: 
 
 * but Taiwang contradicted, and oppofcd his will.' The^ 
 fame book fays, in another ode, * Why did Taiwang 
 
 * plunge us into fo many miferys? why was he the caufe of 
 
 * our being banifhed from our native country? he overtur- 
 
 * ned our houfe, he filled our earth with thorns and briars^ 
 
 * and he faid, I am not guilty,! could not do otherwife.' The 
 fame book adds, (a) ' Our mifery has lafled thefe many ages^; 
 
 * the world is lolt ; vice overflows all, as a mortal poifon. We 
 
 * poffefTed happy,fruitful fields, a woman robbed us of them ; 
 
 * all was fubjecledto us, a woman threw us into flavery. She 
 
 * hates innocence, and loves vice. The wife hufband raifed 
 
 * up a bulwark of walls. The woman, by an ambitious dc- 
 
 * fire of knowledge, demolifhed them. Our mifery did nolL 
 ■ (a) See Father dii Haldes defcription of China, vol, II. pag. 313. 
 
^i^ OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 ' come from heaven; but from a woman. She loft human 
 
 * kind; flie erred firft, and then finned. She kindled thecon- 
 ' fiagration, that augments every day. Ah! unhappy Paos- 
 
 * SEE, it was thou that kindled the fire, that confumes us.' 
 The uitcrpreter LoPi fays, * After that nature was fpoiled 
 
 * and degraded, thebirdsof the air, the beafts of the field, the 
 
 * reptiles and the ferpents confpired to hurt man; after that 
 
 * man had acquired the falfefcience, all the creatures became 
 
 ^ his enemies.' 
 
 Thefe books talk of the renovation of the earth by the 
 Saint. We have quoted already, in the foregoing chapter, 
 many admirable pafTages on this head, when v/e fpoke of the 
 glorious reign, or triumphant ftate of the Mefliah. We fhall 
 content ourfelves, to add one pafTage more, on this glorious 
 reftitution of the earth, to its primitive paradifiacal form. 
 
 * The Lord looks with pleafure upon the facred mountain. 
 
 * It is the abode of peace; there grow none of the trees em- 
 
 * ployed to make warlike inftruments. It is an eternal king* 
 
 * dom ; it is the work of the moft High.' In other places of 
 thefe facred books, it is faid, ' that the kingdom of the mid- 
 ' die, is a kingdom,where the holy Son of heaven is to reign. 
 
 * He allows no wicked men to enter there; but he banifhes 
 
 * them into the dark abodes of beafts and monfters. The 
 
 * fubjects of that kingdom are called Tie N-M IN, or heavcn- 
 
 * ly people; Leang-min, upright people; Tsee-iMin, 
 
 * people of the Son, becaufe they are governed by the holy 
 
 * Son of heaven, who perfects them from within, and from 
 
 * without; and nouriflies them by his fupream virtue and ce- 
 ^ leftial doctrine, fo that they cry out vvdth joy, The Son of 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 275^ 
 
 * heaven Is truly the father of his people, and the Lord of the 
 
 * univerfe.' 
 
 The Chlnefe, who have no knowledge of the fublime 
 truths of our holy religion, do not know what to make of 
 all thcfc traditions, about a pre-exifl:ent,paradi(iacal (late; and 
 look upon them, as allegorical images of different revoluti- 
 ons, that happened under certain imaginary kings,empcrors, 
 and heroes of China,far moreancient,than the world. They 
 apply alfo all the traditions, about the glorious kingdom of 
 theMefliah, to their own empire, which is to conquer and 
 fubdue all nations. They look upon themfelves, as the cleft, 
 chofen, peculiar favourites of heaven; for this rcafon, they 
 will have no commerce with other nations; and look upon 
 all the reft of the world, as profane, wicked, and reprobate. 
 
 We findfome veftiges of the fame great truths among the 
 Indians, Perfians and all the other oriental nations; tho' the 
 fall of man and that of angels be oft confounded, and the 
 three ftatcs of the earth, in particular, with that of degraded 
 nature, in general. We have but few traces left of the anci- 
 ent theology of the Gymnofophifts, yetStrabo has preferved 
 to us a very remarkable one, which fuppofes the two ftates of 
 the world, that of nature in Its purity, and that of nature 
 corrupted. He fays, (a) * that Oneficritus being fent hy 
 * Alexander the Great, to inform himfclfof the life,manners 
 
 < and doctrine of the Bramins, or GymnofophKb; found a 
 
 < Bramin named Calanus, who taught him, that in the firft 
 i origin of the world, plenty reigned over all nature. Milk, 
 
 < wine, honey, and oil flowed from fountains; but men ha^- 
 (a) Strabo. lib. XV. pag, 713.714. edit. Lutet. Paiif. 1 620. 
 
28d OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 * ving made an ill ufe of this felicity, Jupiter deprived theiii 
 ' of it, and condemned them to labour, for the fuflenance of 
 
 * their lives.' The Perfian Magi, who followed the doctrine 
 of the Indian Gymnofophids ; and were but defccndants of 
 the fame fchool, maintained, according to the teftimony of 
 Plutarch, that (a) ' the Mundan egg was at fird (hining, and 
 
 * tranfparent; that at length, Arimanius andhiscompanioMS 
 
 * broke thorough this glorious fhining egg, and immediately 
 
 * evil was blended and confounded with good. There will, 
 
 * in fine, come a time appointed by fate, when Arimanius 
 
 * will be banifhed from the earth, which will change its form, 
 ' become plain and even. Then men fliall be happy, their 
 
 * bodies become tranfparent, and they fliall all have one and 
 
 * the fame life, language and government.' The Egyptians, 
 maintained the fame principles, when they talk of the firft 
 happy reign of Ofiris, then of his death; and lafl: of ail, of 
 his triumphs. The eflential ideas are the fame, tho' thenames 
 be different. 
 
 The Greeks and Romans had the fame notions, as the 
 Egyptians, Perfian s, Indians and all the orientals. Heracli- 
 tusfpeaks thus, ' My foul feems to vaticinate and prefage its' 
 'approaching difmiflion from this its prifon ; and looking 
 
 * out, as it were, through the cracks and cranys of this body,- 
 
 * to remember thefe its native regions, from whence defcen-' 
 
 * ding, It was cl oath ed with this flowing mortalbody, made 
 *. upofflegm, choler, blood, nerves, bones and flefli.' The» 
 philofophy of Plato, as v^e have fhown, is an emanation of 
 the Pythagorean doftrine; and wc know, that Py thagoras- 
 
 (,Ti)Plntarcb.dcjrid, etQfirid.pag.jyo. .dii .odflU3 (e) 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 281 
 
 derived his, from the fages of Egypt, the Magi of Perfia, and 
 the Indian Gymnofophifls whofe fentlments and philofophy 
 he had fludied. We may therefore look upon the Platonic 
 leheme, as the quintefTence of all the oriental learning on this 
 important fubjecfl. This philofopher fpeaks thus of the primi- 
 tive earth, (a) ' The ethereal earth, the firft abode of fouls, is 
 
 * placed in thepure regions of heaven,v\'herethe ftars arefea- 
 
 * ted. We that live in this lov/ abyfs, are apt to fancy, that we 
 ' are in a high place, and we call the air the heavens; jufl like 
 
 * a man, that from the bottom of the fea, fhould vievi^ the fun 
 
 * and ftars through the waters, and fancy the ocean to be 
 
 * the firmament itfelf. But if we had wings to mount on 
 
 * high, we (hould fee, that there is the true heaven, the true 
 
 * light and the true earth. As in the fca, every thing is alte- 
 
 * red, and disfigured by thefalts that abound in it; fo, in our 
 
 * prefcnt earth, every thing is deformed, corrupted and rui- 
 
 * nous, when compared with the primitive earth, which was 
 ' immcnfe; whereas now, we know and inhabit, only -a 
 
 * fmallpartofit.' By this, Plato and the ancients feem to be- 
 lieve, that the earth we now inhabit, is only a fmall portion 
 of a luminous ftar detached from the ethereal regions, and 
 changed into a dark, opake, grofs planer. In the fame dia- 
 logue, he gives us this pompous defcription of that ethereal 
 earth, of which ours is only a broken cruft; (b) * In that 
 ' ethereal earth, every thing was beautiful, harmonious and 
 
 * tranfparent; fruits of an excellent tafte grew there naturally^ 
 
 * and it was watered with rivers of neflar ; there men breath- 
 
 * ed the light, as we breathe the air; and they drank waters, 
 
 (a) Platon. Phaedo. pag. 81.82. (b) Platon. Pbaedo. 
 PART 2. N n 
 
282 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 * that were purer than air itfelf/ In the dialogue called Poli- 
 ticus, he names this primitive (hte of the earth, the reign of 
 Saturn, and defcribes it in this manner, (a) ' God was then 
 
 * the prince and common father of all; he governed the 
 
 * world by himfelf, as he governs it now by inferior deities. 
 
 * Rage and cruelty did not then prevail upon the earth ; war 
 
 * and fedition were not fomuch as known. God himfelf took 
 
 * care of thefuftenance of mankind, and was their guardian 
 
 * and fliepherd. There were no magiftrates, nor civil polity, as 
 
 * there are now. All men were governed by right reafon and 
 
 * the love of order. In thefe happy days, the fertile fields 
 
 * yielded fruits and corn, without the labour of tillage. Man- 
 ' kind ftood in no need of rayment to cover their bodies, be- 
 
 * ing troubled with no inclemency of the feafons, and they 
 
 * took their reft upon beds of turf of a perpetual verdure.' 
 
 Plato, in other places, defcribes the manner how fouls 
 fell from the happy ftate, which they enjoyed in this primi- 
 tive, ethereal, celeftial, paradifiacal earth. He imputes their 
 fall (b) ' to their neglecting to follow the God-guide unto 
 the fupra-celcftial place, where they faw truth in its fource; 
 to their taking up with ne^ar and ambrofia, (that is, with 
 the accefTory felicity to be found in the enjoyment of the 
 material pictures.) Thus, they grew heavy and fluggifh, 
 broke their wings, fell down upon the earth, and entered 
 into human bodies more or lefs vile, according as they had 
 been more or lefs elevated. Souls lefs degraded than others, 
 dwell in the bodies of philofophers. The moft defpicable 
 of all dwell in the bodies of tyrants, and evil princes. 
 
 (a) Plat. pol. pag. 53 7. 558. (b) Platon. Phaedrus. pag. 1 223. 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 283 
 
 (a) * It was after this degradation offpirlts, that Saturn, the 
 
 * niafler of the univerfejhaving quitted the reins of his empire, 
 
 * hidhimfelfin an inacceffibleretrcat.The foundations of the 
 
 * world were fhaken by motions contrary to its firft princi- 
 
 * pie, and lafl: end ; and it loft its beauty and order. Then it 
 
 * was that good and evil were blended together.' 
 
 After this, Plato dcfcribes the third ftate of the earth, In 
 the cleareft terms, (b) * In the end, left the world fhould 
 ' be plunged in an eternal abyfs of confufion, God the au- 
 
 * thor of the primitive order, will appear again, and reaffume 
 
 * the reins of empire. Then he will change, amend, embel- 
 
 * lifh and reftorethe whole frame of nature; and put an end 
 ' to decay of age, difeafes and death.' 
 
 It is not only the philofophers, but even the poets that 
 have prefcrved to us the noblefl: ideas of thefe three ftates of 
 the earth. In fpeaking of the Golden age or reign of Saturn, 
 they dcfcribe it to us, as a happy ftate, in which there were 
 neither moral nor phyfical evil, neither crimes nor fuiferlngs. 
 Then they reprefcnt the Iron age, as a time, when vice and 
 calamities began, when all manner of miferys came forth out 
 of Pandora's box, and overflowed the face of the earth; at 
 lafl, they fpeak to us of the Golden age renewed, as a time, 
 when Aflrea is to return upon earth, when juflice, peace, and 
 innocence are to flourifli again, with their original luflre ; 
 and when every thing is to be reflored to its primitive perfec- 
 tion. 
 
 Orpheus the mofl ancient of all the Greeks, fays, In a 
 
 (a) Platon.polit. pag,538. (b)Platon.polit. pag. 539.61 Phaedr.pag. 1223. 
 
 Nn 2 
 
284 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 fragment preferved to us by Proclus, (a) * Under the reign 
 
 * of Saturn, men were immortal, lived without labour, and 
 
 * in a perpetual youth.' The fame poetical philofopher fays, 
 according to the teftimony of Plato, (b) ' that fouls are here 
 
 * in a ftate of punifhment for faults committed in a pre-exif- 
 
 * tent life ; their body being a prifon to them, wherein they 
 
 * are kept in cuftody till their debts and faults be expiated, 
 
 * and this body is therefore called Xw^otoc, or 2>?iwa, a fepul- 
 
 * chre.' 
 
 (c) Hefiod, fpeaking of this primitive earth, fays, * The 
 ' celeftial Gods formed firda golden race of men, who lived 
 
 * like Gods under the reign of Saturn; without toil, or vexa- 
 ^ tion; paflions, or vices. They poflefled all forts of good 
 ' (both moral and phyfical.) The fertile earth,of its own ac- 
 
 * cord, brought forth all kinds of fruits in variety and abun- 
 
 * dance; they enjoyed in pcrfe<ft tranquillity, allimaginable 
 
 * pleafures, according to their wifh and choice. Troublefome 
 
 * old age did not molefl: them ; dear to the happy Gods, they 
 
 * pafled their peaceful days in joys and delights, feeding up- 
 
 * on apples. At length, they were tranflated to a fuperior 
 ' life, as in a fweet fleep.' 
 
 (d) Lucretius himfelf had fome ideas of this happy (late. 
 ' The world, fays he, in its firft infancy, fuffered neither ex- 
 
 * ceUive colds, nor immoderate heats, nor impetuous winds; 
 ^ all was temperate, and a perpetual fpring reigned over the 
 ^ face of the whole earth.' 
 
 (e) Ovid is very full on this head. * The world began by 
 
 (a) Orph. apud Proclura. theol. Platon. lib. V. cap. x. (b) Platon. Cratylus* 
 pag. 400. ed. Steph. (c) Hefiod. opera et dies lin. 108. (d) Lucret. lib. V» 
 
 lin. 698, (e) Ovid. Metajnorph. lib. I. fab. 3. 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 285 
 
 * a Golden age. Men then obferved the principles of fide! i- 
 
 * ty and juftice, without being conftrained by penal laws. 
 
 * Fear was not the motive of their obedience ; punifhments 
 
 * were unknown. Then there were no criminals that trem- 
 
 * bled in the prefence of their judges. The peace and fecuri- 
 
 * ty, in which men lived, w^re not the effecfts of force and 
 
 * authority. The towns without walls or ditches were an af- 
 
 * fiired afylum to all their inhabitants. 1 rumpets, helmets, 
 
 * fvvords and all warlike inftruments were then unknown, 
 
 * and armys wereufelefs to afTure a Tweet and peaceful life to 
 ' the citizens. The earth, untorn by the plough, furnifh- 
 
 * ed all forts of fruits, to the inhabitants thereof. An eternal 
 ' fpring reigned over all the globe. The foft zephyrs enllve- 
 
 * ned, and ripened by their heat, the flowers that grew of 
 ' their own accord. The harveftfucceedcd, without any ne- 
 
 * ceflity of tillage, or fowing. Rivers of milk, ne<5lar and ho- 
 
 * ney flowed every where.' 
 
 (a) Virgil fpeaks much after the. fame manner ; * under 
 
 * the reign of Saturn, before that of Jupiter, the hufbandmen 
 
 * did not till the ground. It was not then allowed to divide 
 
 * the lands in portions, and fct marks to diftinguifti each 
 « man's heritage. All was in common to all, and the earth 
 
 < uncultivated furnlftied abundantly of its own accord, with- 
 « out any tillage. In this iirft age of the world, there were 
 
 < no other days, butthofcofa perpetual fpring, without any 
 
 < fucceflion of feafons.The fpring reigned overall the earth, 
 
 < and the fun fliowed no other weather to happy men. The 
 
 (a) Virgil. Georg.Iib. I. 1. 125. ct lib. II. 336* 
 
iU OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 ' Eaft-wlnd foftened Its murmurs, not to excite any cold 
 ' breezes: fuch were the happy times of the Golden age.' 
 
 According to thefe two poets, the fituation and influen- 
 ces of the celeftlal bodies, mufl: have been quite different 
 from what they are now, with regard to our planet; for 
 othcrwife, fpring could not have been perpetual, nor could 
 nature have produced fpontaneoufly, nor could all have 
 abounded every where, with the moft ufeful and delicious 
 produ6lions, poetically expreffed by rivers of milk, ne6tar,and 
 honey. It was much after the fame manner, that the He- 
 brews defigned the paradifiacal Canaan, or the earth re-efta- 
 biflied. They call it a land flowing with milk and honey. 
 
 (a) Ovid, Horace, and Juvenal defcrlbe the degraded ftate 
 of nature by the moil: odious images, and in the moft lively 
 colours. The firO:, like Hefiod, divides this (late into the 
 rilver,the brazen and the iron age,to fignify the different gra- 
 dations of corruption, from generation to generation; and 
 indeed, nothing is more natural, than to believe, that men 
 did not become all of a fudden fo corrupt, as they are now. 
 
 Ovid fays nothing of the renovation of the Golden age; 
 but Virgil has preferved to us a noble monument of tradition, 
 upon this glorious reign of the Meffiah, which he calls the 
 return of Aftrea upon earth, (b) * The laft age foretold by 
 
 * the Sybils is near. The great revolution is at hand. Aftrea 
 
 * is ready to return to the earth. The happy reign of Saturn 
 
 * is going to be renewed. A child, of a fuperior order, is ve- 
 ' ry foon to defccnd from heaven upon earth. At his birth, 
 
 * the Iron age W\\\ ceafe,and the Golden age will be re-eftabll— 
 (a) Ovid. Metamorph. lib. I. fab, 4.5.6. Juv. Sat. VI. (b) Virgil, ecclog. IV, 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 2S7 
 
 * fhed. Crimes will be banifhed, and the world be delivered 
 
 * from all its fears. Then the earth will become fruitful, as 
 
 * at fird, and produce every thing every where/ Virgil, by 
 meer flattery, applys this ancient tradition, about the Mefli- 
 ah, to Marcellus fon of 0(ftavia, nephew and adoptive child 
 of Auguftus ; and fo mixes the primitive tradition, with fome 
 images that degrade it: but ftill the fubflance is prefcrved; I 
 mean the advent of a Son of God; that was to come down 
 from heaven, and deliver the earth from all moral and phyfi- 
 cal evil. 
 
 Seneca the tragedian had the fame ideas, as Virgil. We 
 change the order of his narration, but preferve all his 
 thoughts. In fpeaking of the primitive ftate of the world, he 
 fays, (a) * Then virgin JufHce, fpoufe of the great God, fent 
 
 * from heaven, with holy Fidelity, governed the earth with 
 
 * fweetnefs. Mankind knew neither wars, nor arms, nor the 
 
 * cruel found of trumpets, nor fortified citys. The high 
 ' ways were open to all; all was in common with every one. 
 
 * The joyful earth, hke a tender mother, difclofed, of her 
 
 * own accord, her fruitful womb, to all her pious children.' 
 I'hen the poet defcribes the ftate of degradation, or the Iron 
 age, under the moft: melancholy images of rapine, wars, dif- 
 cord, paflions, vices, and fufferings of all kinds. In the fame 
 place, hefpeaks thus of the third ftate, ' Hafte and come, laft 
 
 * and great day, when the heaven fhall fall into confufion, 
 
 * and their ruins crufh the impious fet of men, in order to 
 ' bring forth a better race; fuch as they were heretofore, 
 
 * when Saturn reigned over the beginning world.' 
 
 (a)Senec. tragaed. oaaviae.aft. II. 385. 
 
288 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 Thus, all the Greek and Roman poets fpeak, as thelf 
 philofophers: thus, all the fages of antiquity, both facred and 
 profane, Jewifh and Pagan, agree in the fame great ideas, 
 about the three dates of the earth elevated, fallen, and refto- 
 red. It was then great impudence, folly, or ignorance in the 
 ChriRian mythologifls, to make all that we find in the Pagan 
 records, about the Golden age, the Iron age, and the return 
 of Aflrea, pafs for meer fiftions, or at leaft, for degradations 
 of the Scripture doctrine. On the contrary, it is the fcholaf- 
 ticsand Chriftian fabulifts, that have obfcured and adultera- 
 ted the Noevian tradition, and the trueScripture-dodrlne of 
 the three ftates of the earth. They have trumped up many 
 wild fi<5tions on this head, altogether unknown to antiquity, 
 both facred and profane; as for example, that the primitive 
 paradifiacal fbte was enjoyed only by the original pair of 
 the human fpecies ; that Paradife was confined to a little fpot 
 of the earth called Eden j that our firft parents remained 
 therein, only an hour, a day, a month, or a year; that the 
 confritution of the earth in general, and that of the human 
 body in particular, was much the fame, as now; and in fine, 
 that all the human race forfeited this glorious (late, for the 
 fin of a man and woman, to whom their fouls have no more 
 relation, than to thatof Nero orMeffalina. Fables, that have 
 no foundation in reafon. Scripture, nor tradition. 
 
 Before we end this article, we fhall examine what were, 
 are, and will be, the nature and qualities of the human body, 
 during thefe three ftatcsof the earth ;and we fhall endeavour 
 tofhow, that, according to the do^lrineof the Scriptures, and 
 the ancients, our corporeal vehicle was, is, and will be, con- 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. ^^ 
 
 form to the reft of matter, during thcfe three periods of the 
 paradifiacal, degraded, and re-eftablifhed earth. In order to 
 prepare the proofs of this great truth, we muft recall here 
 two principles already demonilrated. 
 
 1 . We have fhovvn in the firft Part,that creation is a repre- 
 fentation of God from without; that he can reprefcnt him- 
 fclf In two manners, by living images and fimple pictures; and 
 in fine, that in the firft conftitution of nature, all the intelli- 
 gent images were full of Life, Light, and Love; and that all 
 the material pictures were luminous, tranfparent and harmo- 
 nious, without any moral, or phyfical evil, fin or fufFerings, 
 Spiritual or corporeal death, darknefs, or dlfcord. 
 
 2. We havcfhownin this chapter, that, according to the 
 Mofaic cofmogony ; man was at firft created in a ftate of im- 
 mortality and delights; that if he had continued in that happy 
 ftate, his body would have been immortal; that its qualitys 
 then, were fuch as they will be after the refurre6tion ; that 
 by the curfe introduced into nature, fince the fall, thephyfi- 
 -cal forms of the material pifturcs were changed, as well as 
 -the moral qualities of the intelligent images. We ftiall now 
 endeavour to lliow, that, according to the Scriptures of the 
 Old and New Teftament, and the conftant doctrine of both 
 facred and profane antiquity, our glorious paradifiacal bodys 
 are, during this mortal degraded ftate, incruftated, veiled, and 
 imprifoned with dark cafes of grofs flcfli. 
 
 The facred oracles ftill reprefcnt the future body of the 
 righteous, as glorious, fplendid, lu<iiform and funlike. (a) 
 * In the time of their vifitation,' fays the author of the book 
 
 (a) Wifdom. ch, iii. 7, 
 
 PART 2. O O 
 
290 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 of wifdom, * The righteous fhall fhine forth, (a) * They 
 
 * that be wife,' fays Daniel, ^ fhall fhine as the brightnefs of 
 ' the firmanent, and they that turn many to righteoiifnefs, 
 ' fhall fhine as the ftars for ever and ever.* This fpiritual 
 body, which we had in Paradife, and which we are to have 
 after the refurreiftion, is what the ancient Hebrews called 
 The angelical cloathing of the foul, and eagles wings. Thus, 
 we read in the Geniara of the Sanhedrin, (b) ' If you afk, 
 
 * what fhall become of the righteous, when God fhall re- 
 
 * new the world ? the anfwer is, God will make them wings, 
 
 * like eagles; whereby they fhall fly upon the face of the 
 
 * waters, in the air, and thro' all the celeftial regions, like the 
 
 * angels.' 
 
 The New Tcflament fpeaks, like the Old: St. Matthew 
 fays, (c) * Then fnall the righteous fhine forth as the f m, in 
 ' the kingdom of their Father.' Thefcholaftic myrhologills, 
 underftanding nothing of the true doftrine of our glorious, 
 paradifiacal bodys renewed and reflored to their primitive 
 form, interpret all thefe texts, both of the Old and New Tef- 
 tament, in an allegorical fcnfe, of the beatitude of our fpiritu- 
 al part, and not of the luminous, glorious, immortal qualities 
 of our material vehicles, before the fall and after the refur- 
 re(5lion. But it is plain that the Scriptures unite both, and 
 flill join the future felicity of fouls, with the refurreftion of 
 their glorious bodies. We muft not feparate what God has 
 united. 
 
 St. Paul preaches this do<5trine in many different places, 
 
 (a)Dan. XU.3. (b)Ccinarach.xI.pag. 92. (c)Matth. chap.xiii. 43. 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 291 
 
 under various, beautiful images. In his epidle to the Corin- 
 thians, he fays, (a) ' For we know, that if this earthly taber- 
 
 * naclewere diffolved, we have a building of God, an houfc 
 
 * not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this 
 ' we groan, earneftly defiring to be cloathed upon with our 
 
 * houfe that is from heaven; not for that w-e would be un- 
 
 * cloathed,' (or quite (Iriped naked of all body) ' butfo cloa- 
 
 * thed upon, that mortality may be fwallowed up of life.' 
 Here then, is an earthly tabernacle, and a celeftlal houfe, or 
 body, which is to fwallow up our mortal crufl, or dark cafe 
 of flefh; and {o to become vital and immortal. Now, as we 
 have faid oft elfewhere, we are to be reftorcd, in a future ftate, 
 to what we were in a primitive one; for what never was be- 
 fore, cannot be called a Reftoration. The fame apoflle fays, 
 in his epilHe to the Romans, that, (c) * the whole creation 
 
 * groans, till it be delivered from the bondage of corruption 
 
 * into the glorious liberty of the fons of God, or angels; and 
 ' that we ourfelves groan, waiting for the adoption, or re- 
 
 * demotion of the body.' Here then, is a bondage of corrup- 
 tion, under which, the whole of nature groans, and even our 
 bodys, till they be delivered from all the noxious qualities 
 contracted by the fall, andbecomelike to the angels, whom, 
 we fhall fliow in the next chapter, to be cloathed upon with 
 glorious, material, immortal vehicles. 
 
 The famcapoftle, in talking of the doiftrine of the rcfur- 
 re(51:ion, fpeaks thus, in his firft epiftle to the Corinthians, 
 (c) ' Some will fay. How are the dead raifcd; and with what 
 
 (a) II. Corinth, ch. V. I. 2. 3. 4. (b) Rom. viii. 2 r. 2 2. 23. (c)I.Coi. 
 ch. XV. 35. to the end. 
 
 Oo 2 
 
292 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 ^ body do they come? Thou fool^ that which thoufovven: is^ 
 ^ notquickned except it die; and that body which thoufovv- 
 ' eft, is not the body that fhall be. God giveth it a body as it 
 ' pleafes him, and to every feed its own body. There are ce- 
 ' leftial bodies,and terreftrial bodies; the glory of the celcftial 
 ' is one, and the glory of the tcrrellrial is another. So alfo is 
 
 * the refurre6lion. of the body, it is fown in corruption, it is 
 ' raifed in incorruption. It is fown in diflionour, it is raifed in 
 ' glory ; it is fown in weaknefs, it is raifed in power; it is fown 
 
 * a natural body, it is raifed a fpiritual body.. There is a na- 
 
 * tural body and a fpiritual body.' Thus, the apoftle com- 
 pares what he calls the celeftial, glorious, immortal, incor- 
 ruptible, Spiritual body to the seed; and what he calls the 
 "terreftrial, inglorious, mortal, corruptible, natural body, to 
 the hufk, that perifhes, and decays, and that is to be deftroy- 
 cd and fwallowcd up by life. Hence, he adds in the fiftieth 
 verfe, * That flefli and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of 
 ' heaven; neither can corruption inherit incorruption.' As 
 if he had faid; It is not this grofs, dark, corruptible cafe of 
 flefh, that fhall rile again, but that glorious feed ot immorta- 
 lity, that is imprifoned in this mortal hufk. It will be die 
 fame n^umerical, celeftial, fpiritual body, that will rife again^ 
 the fame immortal feed, the fame principle of life, the fame 
 paradifiacal body we had in our pre-cxiftent ftate, before it 
 was fhut up, imprifoned and cloathcd upon with mortality, 
 with this dark, opake cruft of flcfli, that decays every day,, 
 and changes every fevea years. St. Paul continues, in the 
 fame chapter,to fpeak thus. * Behold I fliow^ you a myftery^ 
 ' we fhall not all fleep, or die, but we fhall be changed,' 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 29,3 
 
 transformed into a ccleftial, angelical figure. ' In a momenr, 
 
 * in the twinkling of an eye, at the kit trump, the dead fliall ^ 
 ' be raifed incorruptible. The elements fhall melt with fcr- 
 
 * vent heat.' The prefent conftitution of natvirc fhall be dif- 
 folved, and we fliall be changed; they that are alive then, up- 
 on earth, fhali be transformed, their mortal, natural, tcrreltri- 
 al dark cafe fliall become immortal, fupernatural, fpiritual, lu- 
 minous and tranfparcnt, ' for this corruptible mufl put on 
 ' incorruption, and this mortal mull: put on immortality.' 
 All that is terreftrial, diifoluble, corruptible and carnal mufl 
 difappear, be diffolved, be deftroyed, and become celefilal, in- 
 corruptible and immortal. 
 
 In fine, St. Paul diftinguiflies, not only, betwixt the ce-- 
 ieftial body, and the terreftrial cruft; but alfo, betwixt the 
 PURE Spirit, and the celefHal vehicle; the firft he calls 
 Pneuma, and the lad Psyche, (a) 'The word of God,' 
 fays he, * is quick and powerful, and fharpcr than any two- 
 ' edged fword, piercing even to the dividing afunder of the 
 ' foul and fymt,''\vyj,<; n kclI TcmJiuy.rc^, Ani-mae etSpiritus, 
 the foul and fpirit. By the foul, is meant here, the principle 
 of life and motion, or the celcftial, immortal vehicle. Thus, 
 be feems to fuppofe, that man is compofed of three parts, the 
 pure fpirit, or living image of the Deity called Tr^'sJfta; the 
 celeiHal vehicle, or ■'\.u'^^yj ; and the mortal body, or au[j.a.. 
 
 This triple dilHnction of Spirit, Soul, and Body, 
 feems to have been a moft ancient do(5trinc, common to all 
 nations, fromtheearlicft times of the w^orld. We have alrea- 
 dy fhown, that there is apcrfc(5t affinity, betwixt. the Egyp-- 
 
 (a) Hebrews. cli» iv. 1 2i. 
 
^94 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 tlan theology, and that of the oriental nations. We have al- 
 fo fhown, that the Greeks, and efpecially Pythagoras, So- 
 crates, and Plato borrowed all their philofophy from the E- 
 gyptians. Now, if it can be fliown, that this was the doc- 
 trine of thcfe lad philofophers, we may in afcending by de- 
 grees the fird ages of the v/orld, conclude, that St. Paul's 
 doctrine was that of the Noevian patriarchs; becaufe the ori- 
 entals and Egyptians defcended originally from thefons of 
 Noah, who peopled thefe countrys. Now, it is plain from 
 the Pythagoreans and Platonifts, that thefe two great philo- 
 fophers believed man compofed of three parts. Thus, Neme- 
 fiusfays, (a) * 1 here are fome, among others Plotinus, who 
 
 * are of opinion, that the -^^oy^, is different from the voo^, 
 
 * and confequently make men confifl: of three parts, (tco^jlol, 
 
 * ■^f^'Y^, and rou$; whom Appollinaris Bifliop of Laodicea 
 
 * followed.' 
 
 Porphyry fays, (b) ' That the foul is never quite naked 
 
 * of all body ; but has dill fome corporeal vehicle joyned with 
 
 * it, agreeable to its atftual difpofition ; either a purer or im- 
 
 * purer one: but that upon its firfl: quitting this grofs earthy 
 
 * body, the fpiritual body which accompanieth it, as its ve- 
 ' hide, mull: needs go away foul and incraffated with the 
 
 * grofs vapours, and (teams thereof, till the foul aftervv^ards, 
 ' by degrees, purging itfelf, this becometh at length a dry, 
 ' pure fplendor which hath no milty obfcurity. 
 
 Philoponus fays, (c) ' That the foul hath, after death, a 
 ' fpirituous, aerial body, in which it acteth, and which fervcs 
 
 (a) Nemef. de nat. Horn. Graeco-Lat. edit. Oxon. 1671. 8vo. (b) Porphyr. 
 vka Pythag.pag. 77. (c) Philop. proem, in Arid, de anima. 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 295 
 
 * as Its vehicle and fubjecfl.' He adds further, ' what body is 
 
 * that, which Is joined with the foul, after the diflToIution of 
 
 * this terrcflrial body I certainly It can be no other, than a fpi- 
 
 * ritual body. Now the ancients affirmed, that this Pneuma- 
 ^ticalbody, was not organized; but did the whole oFit, in 
 
 * every part, exercifeall the fun«5tIons of fenfc, the foul hca- 
 
 * ring, feeing and perceiving all fenfibles by it in every part. 
 « For which caufc, Ariitotle afHrmcth in his metaphyfics, 
 
 * that there is but one fenfe and one fenfory. By this one 
 
 * fenfory, Ariflotle means the fplritual, fubtile, and acrcal bo- 
 ' dy, in which the fcnfitive power reildes, and immediately 
 ' apprehends through the whole and every part of it all fcn- 
 
 * fiblcs, fo that this fubtile vehicle is all ear, all eye, and all 
 
 * taile.' 7 he fame philofopher adds, ' The foul, after death, 
 
 * continueth in the aerial body, till being fully purged, it be 
 
 * carried aloft and freed from all irafcible and concupifclble 
 
 * paiFions, and then doth it put off, by a fecond death, the 
 
 * aerial body, as it did the terreftrial ; wherefore, the fame 
 
 * ancients fay, that there is another heavenly body always 
 
 * joined with the foul, which is immortal, luminous, and 
 *fbrhke.' 
 
 Proclus, In his commentary upon Timaeus, fays, (a) 
 
 * Whilft we remain above, we have no need of thefe divided 
 
 * organs, which now we have v/hen we defcend into mortal 
 
 * life: but the uniform, lucid, or fplendid vehicle is fuffici- 
 
 * cntjthis having all the fenfes united in every part of it.' The 
 fame author fays elfcwhere, (b) ' the human foul hath fuch 
 
 * an ethereal vehicle- belonging to it, as Plato himfelf intl- 
 (a) Proclus in Timaeura Platon. pag. 1 64. (b) Id. pag. 290,. 
 
296 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 ' mates, when he fays, that the Demlurgus placed firfl: the 
 
 ' foul in a whiged chariot.' 
 
 Hierocles alTiires us, that this docftrine was tranfmitted 
 iiown to his age, from the highed antiquity, and the Chal- 
 daic philofophers: for, fays he, (a) * The oracles call the lu- 
 
 * minous, ethereal body, the thin and fubtile vehicle, orcha- 
 
 * riot of the foul.' By the oracles, he means the Chaldaic phi- 
 lofophers, wlio called the luminous vehicle, the plain even 
 furface. ' Take care not to defile the fpirit, nor to make the 
 ^ plain furface deep, hollow and unequal.' Pfellus gloffeth 
 thus upon that maxim or proverb. ' The Chaldaic philofo- 
 
 * phers called the luciforra, pure, and pellucid veRment of 
 
 * the foul, the even, plain furface.' Hierocles continues thus, 
 (b) ' man is a rational foul, with a congenial, immortal bo- 
 ' dy. This was the docflrine of the Pythagoreans, which 
 
 * Plato explained, comparing every divine and human foul 
 ■' to a charioteer, with a winged chariot. To purify this hi- 
 
 * minous body, we mufl: lay afide the pollutions of matter, 
 
 * betake ourfclves to facred purgations, and the flrength that 
 
 * joins us to God, and excites us to fly from this mortal 
 
 ' abode Since our luminous body is joined to a mor- 
 
 ^ tal body, we ought to purge, and free it from all fympathy 
 
 * with the laH:, .... The purifications of the rational foul 
 
 * are before hand of fervice to the luminous body; that by 
 
 * them, this alio becoming winged, it may not be hindred in 
 ♦"its journey upwards The *' fplendid luciform body," 
 
 (a) Hierocles, aureacarm. Cantab, an. I703.pag. 213. 214. (b) Hierocles 
 ibid-pag. 293. 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. i^y 
 
 ^ lyeth in this mortal body of ours continually infpiring it 
 
 * with life, and containing the harmony thereof.' 
 
 Suidas tells us out of Ifidorus, (a) * That, according to 
 
 * fome philofophers, the foul had a luminous vehicle called 
 
 * ftar-like, fun-like, and immortal, which luciform body is 
 
 * nowfhut up within this terreftrial body, as light in a dark 
 
 * lanthorn.' 
 
 Galen fays, (b) * The foul is an Immaterial fubftance, 
 
 * which has a luciform, ethereal body, for its firfl: vehicle, 
 
 * by which, as a medium, It communicates with the grofs, 
 
 * terreftrial body. Now this lucid, ethereal body is extended 
 ' throughout, and contained in the brain, from which life, 
 ' and fenfe are communicated to ail the members.' 
 
 By thefe quotations it appears, that the Platonifts, Py- 
 thagoreans, Egyptians, Chaldeans, and all the Orientals be- 
 lieved, that the foul had an ethereal, aerial, and terreftrial 
 veftment, cloathing, or tabernacle ; that they put ofFthelafl: 
 by natural death; thefecond by a fupernatural death in afe- 
 parate Oate ; and that they retained the lad for ever. As they 
 were fully perfwadcd of the doctrine of Pre-exIH:ence,that all 
 lapfed fouls fell from the higheft heavens, and that this fall 
 was gradual, from a ccleftial ftate to an aerial, and thence in- 
 to a terreflrial one, they fancied that all fouls had a triple 
 material vehicle conform to thefe three ftatcs. All this pret- 
 ty, ingenious fiction came, from their not underftanding pcr- 
 fedly, or their having adulterated, the true Noevlan traditi- 
 on. The facred oracles teach us, that the ethereal, aerial 
 and terreftrial body are all effentially the fame ; but with dif- 
 
 (a) Suidas in verbo hv^o'lSa, (b) Galen, dogm. Hippoc et Platon. lib. VII. 
 PART 2, Pp 
 
298 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 ferent qualities and forms according to the different flates of 
 the foul. The terreftrial body is that mortal hufk, dark cafe^ 
 and corruptible cruft we have contracted fince the fall. The 
 aerial is the paradiliacal body we had before the fail, and 
 which we ftiall have after the refurreftionjduring the glorious 
 reign of the Meffiah upon earth. The ethereal body is that 
 which we fhall have, upon the general reditution of all be- 
 ings, and when all lapfed intelligences fhall become perfe<5lly 
 ifangelical, both as to their fpiritual qualitys and corporeal 
 forms, as fhall be fhown in the next chapter. 
 
 Our grofs, mortal, fenfible body of fiefh and blood is 
 ibmething purely accidental to our nature; it is always flow- 
 ing like a river. It never continues the fame ; it pafTes away 
 by infenfible tranfpiration, its liquors are in a perpetual flux 
 and circulation. We have not always the fame numerical 
 fluids, norfolids in our infancy, manhood, and old age. It 
 is hot then,thefe grofs elements of flefli and blood that are ta 
 rife again, but that glorious feed of immortality which St. 
 Paul calls the Spiritual Body. 
 
 The Pagan philofophers, as we have feen, believed that 
 the ethereal vehicle followed the foul into another life, im- 
 mediately after death ; and that then we were not quite frript 
 naked of matter. The facred oracles teach nothing expresfly 
 on this head; they feem to infinuate, that after death, human 
 fouls remain in a feparate flate, detached from all matter, 
 purely intellectual, and that the fpiritual body, the immortal 
 feed, the incorruptible Monad will, for reafons known to 
 God, be fown in corruption, remain buried after death in 
 the common mafs of matter, till the refdrrcClion; when the 
 
OF HUMAN NATURE. 299 
 
 lace of the earth will be renewed by purifying flames, and a 
 general conflagration, which will purge our globe of all that 
 dark and earthly drofs, which it has contra(51:ed by the fall. It 
 Is then, that thefe expiatory flames will change, transform 
 and chryftalize our material vehicles, and reflore them to 
 their primitive paradiflacal form, to live and reign with Jefus 
 Chrift upon earth, in his glorious kingdom, till the total re- 
 ftoration of all things. After this general re-eftabliftiment 
 of all lapfed beings, human and diabolical ; our material ve- 
 hicles will be transformed anew into luminous bodies, flilne 
 as the fun, and become altogether ifangelical, or like to the 
 angels, who are all united to fome fort of matter, as fliall be 
 ihown, in the following chapter. 
 
 pp 
 
300 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Of the three States of degraded 
 Angelical Nature. 
 
 IN order to difplay the whole ofthe beautiful plan of Pro- 
 vidence, it is not fufficient, to fhow, that the earth in par- 
 ticular, will be reftored to its primitive paradifiacal form. We 
 muft further prove, that, according to the doftrlne of the 
 ScriptureSjthe whole of degraded nature is to be re-eftablifhed 
 in its original luftre, perfecftion and purity. We have already 
 Ihown in the firfl part of this work, (i) That God's ultimate 
 defign in creating,was to reprefent himfelf from without, fuch 
 as he is from within. (2) That he is in himfelf all life, light 
 and love. (3) That all his material pictures and Hving images 
 muft, upon their firft creation, have been reprefentative of his 
 divine perfedlions : (4) And in fine, that evil whether moral 
 orphyfical cannot be eternal ; it was not from the beginning, 
 and it muft end. We fhall now endeavour to fhow, that the 
 angels were at firft created in a moft happy ftatc ; that they 
 fell from it by their revolt; and that after ages of ages, all 
 lapfed and reprobate fpirits will at laft be reftored, to their 
 primitive perfe<^ion and felicity. 
 
 We have hinted, in the laft chapter, that, according to 
 the Mofaical cofmogony, chaos and darkncfs could not be 
 the firft produ(^ions of the Almighty, and that therefore, 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 30:1 
 
 there is a great difference betwixt the original primitive crea*- 
 tion, as it came pure from the hands of God, and the confufi*- 
 on,diforder,and deformity introduced into the folarfyftem by 
 the fall of angels. As the book of Genefis is probably, but 
 an extracH: and abridgment of the antidiluvian and Noeviaii 
 traditions, concerning the creation, Mofes, in his rapid nar- 
 ration, does not enter into any full defcription ofthe primi- 
 tive ftate of the angelical w^orld, nor fo much as mention the 
 fall of angels, which is only hinted at, by a tranfient v/ord 
 about the chaos. Wemuft therefore fearch the Scriptures, 
 to fee, if we can find any texts, to fupply the want of the 
 precious monuments that are lofl. We happily find in the 
 books ofthe Old Teflament three texts, that v/ill appear ve- 
 ry clear and decifive to any man, that has meditated, digefled, 
 and adopted the four principles above-mentioned. 
 
 I. Job feems to infinuate the glorious happy flate of the 
 primitive creation, when he makes God fpeak thus to him (a), 
 
 * Where waft thou, when I laid the foundations of the earths 
 
 * when the morning flars fang together, and all the fons of 
 
 * God fhouted for joy?'The Hebrew words tranflated,' when 
 
 * I laid the foundations of the earth,' may be rendered, 'ere 
 I laid the foundations ofthe earth, and fo means^ 'ere I for- 
 med the paradifiacal earth, or if we preferve the adverb Q.U a N- 
 Do WHEN, then the meaning is, ' when I created tranfpa- 
 
 * rent, fohd matter.' However this be, it is certain, that this 
 iiniverfal jubilation fuppofes an univerfal felicity, in the in- 
 telligent images of the Deity called 'the fons of God, and the- 
 
 * morning ftars;' and fiace, by the fundamental laws of crei- 
 
 (a) Job. ch. xxxviii. 4. 7» 
 
3t)2 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 tion, there was a perfe^l analogy, betwixt the material pic- 
 tures, and the living images, the firft production of the cor- 
 poreal world muft have been all luminous, glorious and repre- 
 fentative of the divine perfecHiions. 
 
 2. The author of Ecclefiafticus feems alfo to have had in 
 view, this primitive, original, uncorrupted creation, when he 
 fays, (a) ' The works of the Lord were done in judgment 
 
 * from the beginning; and from the time he made them, he 
 
 * difpofed all the parts thereof. He garnifhed his works for 
 
 * ever, and in his hand are the chief of them to allgenerati- 
 
 * ons. They neither labour nor are weary, nor ceafe from 
 
 * their operations; none of them hindereth another and they 
 
 * never difobeyed his Word, or Logos.' It feems infinuated 
 by this text, that in the primitive, original (late of nature, the 
 produ(5lions of the Almighty were free from all moral and 
 phyfical evil; that there was in them, no contradi<ftory, nor 
 felf-deftru6tive qualities, fmce none of them hindreth one 
 another in their operations, andfince none of them difobey 
 the Word of God. This fure cannot be a defcription of the 
 prefent fbte of nature, in our inferior fphere, fince in the 
 phyfical, we fee a continual combat of elements, and in the 
 moral, an univerfal corruption. 
 
 3. The Prophet Ezekiel defines the glorious fiate of the 
 angelical world, and the fallen cherubin,under the type of the 
 King of Tyrus. Tur, or Tyr, in the Syriac Hebrew lan- 
 guage, fignifys a mountain, or high place. Hence, the Greeks 
 derived the word Tvocrl^, and the Latins Tur R is, a tower, 
 and TuRGEo to fwell, or puif up. So the King of Tyrus 
 
 (a) Ecclefiafticus. ch. xvi. 26. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 30J 
 
 fignifys the King of Pride, which was the original (In of the 
 devils. And therefore, Job calls the devil, (a) * The king 
 
 * overall the children of pride.' For the fame reafon, Ifaiah 
 calls the apoftate angels, whom God is to dellroy, and caft 
 one day into the prifon, (b) ' the hofl: of the high ones that 
 
 * are on high.' Some literal interpreters explain this text, of 
 the King of Tyrus, and fo tranflate in the future what fnould 
 be rendered by the preterit. We fhall follow the Hebrew 
 original, and the Greek verfion, as near as we can. The 
 prophet fpeaks thus, (c) ' Thou wall: the fummit of all God's 
 
 * works, full ofwifdom and perfe6l in beauty. Thou lived In- 
 
 * Eden the garden of God. Every precious (lone was thy 
 ' covering, or apparel. All melody and harmony was prepa- 
 
 * red in thee, in the day that thou wafl created. Thou waft 
 
 * the anointed Cherub that protected all the celeftial quires, 
 
 * and 1 fet thee fo. Thou waft upon the holy mountain 
 ' of God. Thou walked up and down in the midfl: of the 
 ' luminous ftoncs. Thou waft perfect in thy ways, in 
 
 * the day that thou waft "created, till iniquity was found in 
 
 * thee.' How ridiculous is it, to apply thofe expreffions of 
 protecling Cherub placed in the garden of God, cloathed 
 with glory, filled with wifdom, perfect in beauty from the 
 day thou waft created, to any mortal, terreftrial king, concei- 
 ved in iniquity, brought forth in fm, and infe<fl-ed with ori- 
 ginal guilt. In this text, the celeftial abodes, primitive feat of 
 the fallen angels are defcribed, under corporeal images, as 
 fhining with precious ftoncs ; and the feraphic fpirits are faid^ 
 to be cloathed with thefe luminous garments, by which is 
 
 (a) Job. ch. xli. verfelaft. (b) ifaiah. ch. xxiv. 20. to the end. (c) EzekleL. 
 ch. xxviii. 12. to 20. 
 
304 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 meant, the luciform, glorious body; for, as we fliall fhow 
 very foon, all finite fpirits, celeiiial, terreftrial and infernal, 
 are, fome how, or other, united to corporeal vehicles, accor- 
 ding to the doctrine of the Scriptures and primitive fathers, 
 yea, all antiquity, both facred and profane. 
 
 The moft part of the Jewifh Rabbins, Hebrew Cabba- 
 lifts or mythologifts, fpcak as Job, the author of Ecclefiafti- 
 cus, and the Prophet Ezckiel, concerning the firO: ftate of 
 the angelical world, before the fall of rebellious fcraphins ; 
 ihey laugh at the Chrlftlan fchoolmen, who pretend, that 
 the {irlt prodndion of the Almighty was darknefs, chaos and 
 confufion. They fpeak of Adam kadmon, or the primi- 
 tive world, as all luminous, tranfparent and beautiful. I 
 could multiply volumes on this head ; but as the Cabballits 
 have loll: all credit among the learned, becaufe of the extra- 
 vagant fi(fi:ions mixed In their mythologies, I fhall fuperfede 
 that vain oftcntatlon of learning; and hafte to the fecond ftatc 
 of the angelical world, or the defection of rebellious fpirits. 
 
 It is a common opinion among men of all countrys, ages 
 and religions, that there are immortal demons, or degraded 
 fpirits, that rebelled againfl: heaven. This is no fpccliic, pe- 
 culiar tenet of Chrlftianlty alone; no fecft, communion, nor 
 party, whether Pagan, Mahometan, Jewlfn, or Chrlftian, 
 doubt of this great truth; fave only the materlahfts, who have 
 Tio notion of the great plan of Providence, and who, like 
 ignorant fchool-boys, fancy that nothing is real, but whatis 
 extended, palpable and material. 
 
 Mofes, in his cofmogony, from the very beginning of his 
 third chapter, fuppofes, that the devil feduced the original 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 305 
 
 pair in Paradife. The author of the book of Job, or Mofcs 
 himfclf, reprefents the rebellious angels, as going to and fro 
 upon the earth. The author of the book of Kings talks of 
 lying fpirits, that go about to feduce and deceive wicked prin- 
 ces. The prophets paint forth the fallen angel, under vari- 
 ous types ; and in the text above-mentioned, Ezekiel fays ex- 
 presfly, that the King of Tyrus or pride, * the protecting 
 
 * Cherub was cafl: out, as profane, out of the mountain of 
 
 * God, bccaufe of the multitude of his negociations,' or con- 
 fpiracies, for fo the Hebrew word may be tranflatcd. * Thy 
 
 * heart, fays the prophet, was lifted up, becaufe of thy beau- 
 
 * ty; thou corrupted thy wifdom, becaufe of thy brightnefs; 
 ' and therefore, I cafl thee down to inferior places.' All the 
 evangelifh and apoftles fpeak, in the fame ftyle, of angelical 
 fJDirits, that rebelled againft heaven ; and therefore were cafl: 
 down into darknefs, and banifhed from the beatific vifion. 
 This, no man can deny, that reads the Scriptures: but few 
 remark, that thefe facred oracles diftinguifh betwixt three 
 fort of degraded intelligences, orlapfed angels. 
 
 I . The firfl: are thefe, that are already fhut up in the abyfs, 
 and that were fo from the beginning of the world. Thus St. 
 Peter fays, (a) * God fpared not the angels that finned, but 
 
 * cafl: them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of 
 
 * darknefs, to be referved unto judgment.' St. Jude adds,(b) 
 ' The angels which kept not their firft efl:ate, or principa- 
 
 * lity ; but lofl their own habitation, he hath referved in ever- 
 
 * lafting chains of darknefs, unto the judgment of the great 
 
 * day.' It is plain, by thefe two texts, that there is a local, de- 
 
 (a) ir. Peter, ch. ii. 4. (b) Jude. verfe 6. 
 
 PART 2. Q q 
 
3o6 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 finite fpace, or, at leafl, a ftate of privation, mifery and dark- 
 nefs called in Scripture, the Abyrs,the Pit, the Deep, where 
 not all, but many of the rebellious fpirits are referved in ever- 
 lafting chains, and darknefs, till the judgment of the lafl: 
 day. It is then, that their torments will be redoubled, and 
 that they will be thrown, (a) * into the lake of fire, ' and 
 abandoned to the devouring flames of divine jufHce, which 
 will penetrate into themoft fecret recelTes of their eflence, in 
 order to extirpate, transform, and annihilate all that is tain- 
 ted, vicious, and radically corrupted in their natures. Thus, 
 their phyfical torments will augment, while their moral evil 
 is confumed. This does not hinder but at prefent, they are 
 cafl: down into the abyfs, bound with chains of darknefs, fhut 
 up with gates of brafs, and thereby debarred from all com- 
 merce with any other fpecies of intelligent natures. This is 
 the Pit, in which they are enchained, till they be thrown in- 
 to the Lake, where they are to be purified. Thefe two pla- 
 ces, tho' metaphorically reprefcnted by grofs, corporeal ima- 
 ges, yet mufl: never be confounded. They denote the two 
 different flates of the feraphic chiefs, that rebelled againfl 
 the moft High. The Pit, the Deep, the Abyfs, the Prifon ex- 
 prefs atotal feparation from all the luminous, beatifying in- 
 fluences of God, and from all the deledlable, amufmgfenfa- 
 tions of nature ; and a total privation of all their effential and 
 acceffory felicity, that can in the leafl mitigate their mifery. 
 ' The lake offire, the furnace of briaiftone, the TophetfuU 
 * of flames,' into which they are to be thrown after the great 
 day of judgment, is the lafl effort of eternal juflice, to puri- 
 
 (a)Rev. ch.xx. 10. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 3^7 
 
 fy and transform them; to annihilate moral evil by phyfical 
 torments. In the firft ftate, they feel the abfolutc impotencCj 
 inexprefTible darknefs, and total mifery of intelligent beings, 
 abandoned to their own folitary eflence, without any faluta- 
 ry communication with the uncreated Original,or his created 
 reprefentations. In the laft ftate, they will feel the efFe<^s 
 of fm-deftroying, foul-purifying, heart-transforming juftice 
 and vengeance, jealoufy and love, (a) * which is ftrong as 
 
 * death, cruel as hell; and the coals thereof as the coals of 
 
 * fire, which have a moft vehement heat.' When we have 
 no juft ideas of the great plan of Providence, many expredi- 
 ons in Scripture, which fignify quite different ideas, and 
 flatcs, appear to us fynonimous and fuperfluous. 
 
 2. The Scripture fpeaks of another fort of demons, that 
 are not ihut up in the abyfs, and that wander through the 
 air, over the earth and in the feas, to execute the defigns of 
 eternal Wifdom and JuiHce. Job contemporary with Mofes 
 fays, (b) ' upon a day when the fons of God came to prefent 
 
 * themfelves before the Lord, Satan came alfo among them. 
 
 * And the Lord faid unto Satan, Whence comeft thou? then 
 ' Satan anfwered the Lord, and faid, From going to and fro 
 ' upon the earth, and from walking up and down therein.' 
 This myfterious text, tho' figuratively and poetically expref- 
 fed, yet muft not be underftood in a purely allegorical fenfe. 
 By the LoR D, in the Old Teftament, is to be underftood al- 
 ways the Logos humanized, the fecond perfon of the trini- 
 ty united to the facred pre-exiftent humanity. By the * fons 
 
 * of God,' the angels cloathed with corporeal vehicles, who 
 
 (a) Cantic. or fongofSolomonch.viii. 6. (b) Job»ch. i. 6. 7. 
 
3o8 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 ferve as his miniftring fpirlts, and are fent thro' all the diffe- 
 rent parts of the material univerfeto execute his commands. 
 They are faid to prefent themfelves before the Lord, in a 
 local definite fpace, where the facred humanity refides: for 
 thisPrefentation cannot be underftood, of a prefentation be- 
 fore the pure divinity, which, being prefent every where, 
 wants no definite fpace to convocate the angels before him ; 
 nor eould thefe celeftial fpirits be faid to affemble in a place, 
 if they were not embodied, as we fhall foon fee. It is added, 
 that * the devil came alfo among them, and that he goes to 
 
 * and fro upon the earth,' and therefore, is not confined and 
 enchained in the pit. Moreover, the author of the book of 
 Kings (a) reprefents ' the Lord as fitting upon his throne, 
 
 * and all the hoft of heaven ftanding by him; and that there 
 
 * came forth a lying fpirit who faid, I will go forth, and I 
 
 * will be a lying fpirit in the mouth of all Ahab's prophets.' 
 Thefe lying, deceitful, degraded fpirits that wander in the 
 air, and over the earth alfo, are called by the Prophet Ifaiah, 
 (b) ' The powers of the air, and the hofts of the high ones 
 
 * that are on high.' Such are the laws of the invifible world, 
 and fuch is the economy of the Mefliah's empire, to make ufe 
 of both good and bad fpirits, to execute his dtfigns, during 
 the reign of evil. 
 
 The New Teftament confirms thedo(5lrine of the old. St. 
 Matthew the evangelift has a remarkable text, which proves, 
 that all the devils are not yet fliut up in hell, fmce they enter 
 very oft into the bodies of men. He fays, that the devils cry- 
 ed by the mouths of the two poffefled men, (c) * Jefus, thou 
 (a) I. Kings ch. xxii. 21 . 22. (b) Ifai. cK. xxiv. 21. (c) St. Mutth, ch. viii. 29. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 309 
 
 * Son of David, art thou come hither to torment us before 
 
 * the time?' The evangcliftSt.Luke adds, (a) * and the de- 
 ' vils befought him, that he would not command them to go 
 
 * into the deep.' Here then are devils, that are not yet fhut 
 np in the deep, in the pit, in the abyfs, and bound with 
 chains of darknefs, as thefe St. Jude and St. Peter fpcak of; 
 lince they beg our Saviour, not to torment them before the 
 time, before the day of the lafl: judgment, when the angel, 
 which St. John fpeaks of in his Revelations, (b) * fhall come 
 
 * down from heaven, enchain the devil and fatan the old 
 
 * ferpent, and cafl: him with all his accomplices into the bot- 
 
 * tomlefs pit, and fhut him up, and feta feal upon him that 
 
 * he fhould deceive the nations no more, till the thoufand 
 
 * years fhould be fulfilled.' The fame St. John calls the de- 
 vil, in his gofpel, (c) ' The prince of this world.' St. Pe- 
 ter adds, (d) * be fobcr and vigilant, becaufe your adverfary 
 
 * the devil walketh about, as a roaring lion, feeking whom 
 
 * he may devour.' St. Paul fays, (e) * We wreftle notagainft 
 
 * flefh and blood, but againfl principalities, againfl: powers, 
 
 * againfl the rulers of the darknefs of this world,, and againft 
 
 * fpiritual wickednefs in high places, or in the air, andtherc- 
 fore he calls thedevil,in another place,' (f ) ' The prince of 
 
 * the powers of the air, that now worketh in the children 
 *- of difobedience.' 
 
 This is the confhntdo(5lrine of the facred oracles, which 
 can alone reveal to us the flate and laws of the invlfible 
 world. Unlefs we attribute omnipotence and omniprefcnce 
 
 (a) St.Lukech. vili. 31. (b) Revel, ch. xx. i. 2.3. Cc)St. John, ch.xiiv 
 31* (d)l.Peterch.v. 8. (e) Ephefians. ch. vi. 12. (f ) lb. cli. ii. 2. 
 
3IO OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 to the devils in hell, or fay, without any reafon, that they 
 are unchained, and let out of the abyfs, tofport and play up- 
 on earth by pofTeiTing, and tormenting of poor mortals; we 
 mufl: allow, that there are two fort of evil demons. The one 
 fhut up in the abyfs, and others that are not yet enchained. 
 The firft are the feraphic chiefs, the mod obftinate demons, 
 the moft vicious, perverfe, cruel fpirlts, who are fhut up in 
 chains ofdarknefs, and there referved to the judgment of the 
 laft day, becaufe their force and malice is fo inveterate, and 
 fo powerful, that, if they were let loofe, they would foon turn 
 the earth into a chaos or hell. Others lefs criminal are as 
 yet unchained, to execute the divine commands. They have 
 a mighty power and empire in all the fphere of degraded na- 
 ture; not by the pure arbitrary inftitution of God, as the 
 fchoolmen fay; but, as a natural and neceffary confequence 
 of the laws of the invifible world ; according to which, good 
 unites to the good, and the impure with what is impure, as 
 neceflarily, as heavy bodys fall to their center, and lighter 
 ones rife upw^ards. Thefe demons are not infpired, predefli- 
 nated, nor excited by God to exert their cruelty upon men ; 
 but he over-rules and dire<5ls their deliberate, voluntary ma- 
 lice, to purify the good, to humble, punifh, and make them 
 fuffer: not to tempt and feduce the bad, but to manifeft, di- 
 rect and govern the outward eruptions of their internal, wil- 
 ful depravity; fo that at prefent, all confplres to contribute 
 atlaft to the manifcftation of God's ultimate defigns, the fi- 
 nal re-eibblifhment of all lapfed fpirits, and their eternal 
 horrour for all the moral and phyfical evil, to which they 
 have been co-operators. Here we may cry out with the 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. sir 
 
 apoftle, O the height! depth and breadth of the divine 
 wifdom, his ways are unfearchable and paft finding out. 
 Minute philofophers, little freethinkers, and dull materialifls 
 that believe nothing real, but what is extended, that the uni- 
 verfe is nothing but a compound of atoms jumbled toge- 
 ther by fortuitous chance ; that there is no difference be-? 
 twixt nature, and God; the uncreated Intelligent archite<n:, 
 and his created material reprefentations, can have no Idea of 
 the fublime beautys, order, laws and flatutes of the invlfible 
 world; of the different flates and government of fallen and 
 unfallen fpirits, ofthemixtureof good and evil blended toge- 
 ther In the fphere of degraded nature, and of the means em- 
 ployed by Omnipotence, to reduce all to order. They judge 
 of nature by a fmall, broken, rufty, fliattercd wheel or chain, 
 that prefentsltfelf to their narrow,bounded,poor,bIind optic: 
 they muft be pitied and referred to another life, where they 
 will be undeceived of all their pitiful fophifms. Thefe who 
 know both facred and profane antiquity will judge other wife, 
 and look upon all the objects of fenfc, as the leaft and moit 
 defpicable portions of nature. 
 
 3. Befides thefe two forts of degraded intelligences, holy 
 Scripture mentions a third fpecies, that are fhut up in, and 
 ferve to animate brutal forms. This Scripture-doiflrine vv'ill 
 at firft fight appear odd to thofe, who have not digefted and 
 incorporated into their fubflance, the great principles laid 
 down in the firfl: Part, and who do not read the Scriptures 
 with intelligence. We fhall endeavour to fearch into their 
 true meaning, without prejudice or prevention. 
 
 Mofes, in the hiftory of the creation, makes ufe of the. 
 
312 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 fame Hebrew word Nephesch, tranflated anima vi- 
 VENS, LIVING SOUL, to exprefs the principle of life in 
 beaftsand mcn.NodlftirKftion is put betwixt the Nephesch, 
 which is faid, in the firft chapter of Genefis, to animate fifh- 
 cs, fowls and animals; and the Nephesch, or breath of 
 life, which God is faid, in the fecond chapter, to breathe in- 
 to man. It is true, that the animals are faid already to pof- 
 fefs this Nephesch, or immaterial principle, whereas God 
 breathed it immediately into man, as anew creation. This 
 makes fome think, that after the fall of angels, they were 
 not all fhut up in the abyfs, as we have faid ; but that fome of 
 them, after the difTipation of the chaos, were condemned to 
 animate brutal forms in Paradife, pafs thro' a ftate of proba- 
 tion, which is always the ultimate end of God's puniihments, 
 be fubjefled to man, who had a fovereign power over them, 
 and that this dominion was the original fource of their envy 
 again fl: man. 
 
 Mofes confirms anew this doiHirine, in the third chapter 
 of his divine cofmogony. He fays expresfly, when he begins 
 the narration of the fall of man, that in Paradife, before this 
 fall, the ferpent was the fubtileft, or as the Septuagint renders 
 the Hebrew word, ' The moft intelligent of all the beafts of 
 * the field.' Therefore, all the beafts were then intelligent, 
 fince whatls now the ferpent, was the moft intelligent of all. 
 This animal had an idea of God, of moral good and evil; he 
 reafoned and he fpoke. All grant, that this ferpent was the 
 devil which animated this beaft. Hence fome conclude, that 
 numbers of fallen fpirits were united to the organized bodies 
 of brutes , even in Paradife, and that Adam knew perfe-flly 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 313 
 
 their efrcncejdifpofitions and characters, ' fince he gave every 
 ' one of them names/ conform to their different natures. 
 Mofes ufhers in this doctrine of beafh that fpokc, reafoned, 
 had notions of God, of moral good and evil, by no pream- 
 bulatory excufe, apology or explication. He fays nothing, to 
 determine ns to look upon all this, as an allegory, or meta- 
 phor ; becaufe in his time, it was a received do(51rine, other- 
 wife it would have been incongruous and abfurd, in fuch a 
 great legiflator, to mention fuch a paradox without preparing 
 themindsof men to receive it, by explaining this wonderful 
 oeconomy of Providence. Tobefure, thisfyftem is far more 
 plaufible and reafonable, than to fuppofc, with the fcholaftic 
 fabullfts, that God opened expresfly the gates of hell by a 
 miracle, rcftored the devils there enchained to their perfect li- 
 berty, gave full fcope to their Infernal malice, and let them 
 out of their dark prifons, to feduceand tempt innocent man. 
 To imagine, that God thus wrought a miracle, to lay a fnare 
 for his harmlefs creatures, to pervert, corrupt, and render his 
 new creation wicked and miferable, is far more repugnant 
 to the infinite goodnefs of the common Father of fpirits, 
 than to believe, that the temptation which mined the human 
 race, happened according to the eftablifhed lav^'S of nature, 
 by degraded intelligences, that were in commerce with man, 
 fubjected to his empire, and that lived familiarly with him In 
 Paradlfe, under quite different forms, than they now have, as 
 appears from the following context. 
 
 Mofes adds, that when God pronounced fentence of con- 
 demnation againft Adam, he inflicted punifhment upon the 
 ferpent, and all the beftial kind, as upon our firft parents, and 
 PART 2. R r 
 
314 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 all the human race. This animal was condemned to lofe its 
 original form, crawl upon its belly, and eat the duft of the 
 earth, all the days of its life. If by this animal is to be un- 
 derwood, the devil in hell, or a fallen angel entirely feparated 
 from matter,how could that criminal fpirit be punifhed by the 
 alteration made in the form of a beaft, with which he has no 
 union, and to which he had no relation rthis text mui\ there- 
 fore either mean nothing,or it muft fignify, thatthefe fallen 
 intelligences, which animated the bodies of beafts in Para- 
 dife, and which contributed to the depravation of human 
 fouls, were puniflied and degraded anew. 1 heir bodies were 
 envelopped as ours, with a grofs, opake, mortal, and corrup- 
 tible cafe, their fuperior faculties were benummed, and they 
 were deprived of the ufe of fpeech, and reafon, which they 
 enjoyed in a paradifiacal itate. 
 
 The author of the book of Job, who was contemporary, 
 with Mofes, or perhaps, Mofes himfelf, feems to teach the 
 fame doctrine ; and therefore it may be looked upon as the 
 univerfai fcntiment of all the oriental nations. In the fourty 
 firft chapter of this ancient monument, mention is made of 
 two forts of beafts, one terreflrial, and another aquatic. The 
 firll: is called Behemoth, and the laft Leviathan. Be- 
 hemoth in Hebrew fignifys, the wild beads in general. 
 Some beheve it is the elephant, others the fea-horfe, an am- 
 phibious animal common heretofore in the river Nile.Othcrs 
 believe, that it is the bull. The word is plural, to (how, that 
 no particular individual bead is denoted here, but the whole 
 fpecies. Leviathan may be derived from the Arabic word 
 Levi, which fignifys foiled, coiled, and full of windings, 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 315 
 
 TincI in a metaphorical fenfe, deceitful, the great impoftor, 
 the cheat or lyar; and the Hebrew word Than fignifys an 
 aquatic animal, or a fifli of the fca. Some think, that this 
 animal is the whale: but the Rabbins and the Talmud call it 
 the crocodile. Whatever be in thefe conjectures, it Is certain, 
 that thcfacred text attributes two fort of qualities to thofe ani^ 
 mals.(i) That they have real, corporeal members and forms ; 
 flcfh, blood, and bones. (2) It attributes to thein a princi- 
 ple of thought and intelligence, for God fays of the Behe- 
 moth, * 1 created him with thee,' or as fome tranflate the 
 Hebrew word, * like unto thee. He is thechief of the ways, 
 
 * or works ofGod;' moreover, the fame Job fays of Levia- 
 than, * he beholds all high things. He is the king over all 
 
 * the children of pride.' Hence, the mod part of interpreters 
 look upon thefe two animals, as types, and fymbolsof the 
 devil, and maintain, without any fliadowof reafon, that the 
 corporeal forms, members, and machines attributed to thefe 
 animals are purely allegorical and figurative of the fpiritual 
 qualitys, vices, and defects of degraded intelligences. Thus, 
 the Predeflinarian Figurifts abandon the letter, and fall into 
 a contrary extream from the Literalifts, who reje(5t the fpiri- 
 tual fen fe. Both are blameable. The two fenfes mud never 
 be fcparated. Without deciding what are the two animals 
 called Be HEiMOTH, and Leviathan, we think that it is 
 more fafe, and more refpec^ful for the facred text, to unite 
 the fpiritual and literal fenfe, to maintain the truth of both, 
 and therefore to fay, that by Behemoth and Levia- 
 than are meant, two fort of degraded intelligences and 
 fallen angels, that arc really united to, and fliutupin the pri- 
 
 Rr 2 
 
3i6 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 fons of corporeal machines, and brutal forms. That they 
 are different fpecies of devils, feems probable; otherwife, the 
 defigning them by different names, would be fuperfluous and 
 a meer tautology, which would be unworthy of eternal wif- 
 dom. Thefe two fpecies of degraded intelligences imprifoned 
 in animal machines, are the mod cruel, the mofl: fierce, and 
 the moft powerful of all the brutal kind. 
 
 This is perfectly conform to the Mofaic theology already 
 explained ; but we fhould fufpcfl, and doubt of our interpre- 
 tation, if Solomon did not teach the fame doctrine in the 
 mofl: exprefs words, which ignorant commentators interpret, 
 as a difcourfe of the wife-man perfonating an impious mind: 
 but the truths eftablifliedby this text are fo great,fo fublime,fo 
 worthy of God, fo conform to the analogy of faith,and throw 
 fuch a divine light upon all the plan of Providence, that we 
 cannot, without impiety, attribute them to an incredulous 
 freethinker, (a) ' I have learned ' fays Solomon, ' that all 
 
 * the works of God will be eternal ; That which is to 
 
 * come, already was ; and God vi'ill re-ellablifh what is de- 
 
 * parted from him. ' Will any incredulous, impious mind 
 grant thefc principles? ' At prefent God trys the children of 
 ' men, and makes them like to beads; for that which befal- 
 
 * leth the fons of men, befalleth beafts, even one thing befal- 
 
 * leth them. As the one dieth, fo dieth the other, they have 
 "* all one breath, fpirit, or foul; fo that man has no pre-emi- 
 
 * nenceovcrabeafl:;they are both equally fubjedled to vanity.* 
 
 This text tranflated from the Vulgate Latin, the Greek 
 verfion, and the Hebrew text, eflablifhes clearly the follow- 
 
 (a)Ecckfiaft. ch.iii. 14 to the end. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 317 
 ing principles, i . That all the works of God will be eternal; 
 the forms may perifh, but the elTences will endure for ever. 
 
 2. That all beings, who have departed from God, will atlaft 
 be re-eftabliflicd in their original primitive Hate of perfection. 
 
 3. That, as the fouls of men are degraded intelligences in a 
 fuffering Itate, fo the fouls of beads are the fame: * they arc 
 ' both equally fubjefted to vanity,' that is, according to the 
 Scripture ftylc, to corruption, death, mifery, fufferings, and 
 tofomething that muft evanifli. Now, could beads be fubjccfl 
 to vanity, if they had no fouls at all, or could they fuffcr, if 
 they were not degraded? it is thus, and thus alone, that this 
 text, which the incredulous abufe, to combate the immorta- 
 lity and immateriality of the foul, proves both. All God's 
 works will be eternal, all lapfed beings will be re-efl:ablifhed» 
 We are in our prefent degraded ftate, but beads of a different 
 kind, when wc abandon ourfelves to the animal life. Thcfe 
 three fublime truths are the ultimate end, objed, and fumma- 
 ry of the wife-man's difcourfc. 
 
 Let uspurfue down the fame tradition from age to age, 
 from Adam to Noah, from Noah to Job, from Job to Mofcs, 
 from Mofes to Solomon, and from Solomon to the prophets. 
 Ifaiah feems toinfinuate the famedodlrine Vv'hen he fays, (a) 
 
 * Theoxknoweth his owner; and theafs his maderscrib ; but 
 
 * Ifrael doth not know, my people doth not condder.' The 
 Prophet Jeremiah adds, (a) ' The dork in the heaven know^- 
 
 * eth her appointed times ; the turtle, the crane, and the fwal- 
 
 * low obferve the time of their coming, but my people know 
 
 * not the judgment of the Lord.' If the prophets believed,. 
 
 (a) Ifai.ch. i. 3. (a) Jeremiah, ch. viii. 7. 
 
niB OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 that the beads were machines, their comparlfon would be as 
 ridiculous, as if we fhoiild fay, a wind-mill knows its owner, 
 and a watch its mafter's pocket. If it be faid, that the prophets 
 fpeak thus, to accommodate themfclves to the vulgar way of 
 talking. This proves at lead, that the animation of brutal 
 forms, by intelligent fpiritual fouls, was a common, univer- 
 fal maxim in their times. The obftinate Cartefians will fay, 
 that this opinion was a vulgar prejudice, to which the infpi- 
 red writers accommodated themfelves,as when they fay, ' that 
 ' the fun ftoodftill.' It is eafy to anfwer, that it may bede- 
 monftrated, that the annual motion of the fun is impoffible 
 and repugnant in the prcfent conftitution of nature, but no 
 fuch thing can be faid of the degradation, and imprifonment 
 of fallen intelligences, in animal machines. The fame Carte- 
 fians will cry out,that they themfelves,tho' fully perfwadedof 
 the mechanifmof bealhjyct fay every day; ' My dog fuffers, 
 * my cat is pleafed;' by which they mean only, that thefe ani- 
 mals cry and leap, as if they had the fenfations of grief and 
 joy ; and therefore that all that is meant by the two texts 
 above-mentioned,is, that the fowls and animals atl, as if they 
 had In them, a principle of intelligence, tho'they really have 
 none. But how do they prove this?Itisa nicer gratuitous fup- 
 pofitlon; which, as we have fhown in the firft Part, has no 
 foundation in rcafon,nor experience,in Scripture nor in tradi- 
 tion: yea, that it is diametrically oppofitc to all thcfe four. 
 
 'T hcevangclKlsfeem to infinuate the fame doftrine, when 
 they fay, (a) That the devils, whom our Saviour call out of 
 the men polTeded, bcfonght him faying, ' If thou caft us out, 
 
 (a) jMatth. ch.viJi. 3 1, compared with Luke ch.viii. 32.33. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 315^ 
 
 * fufFer us to go into the herd oFfwine.' It is added, * Then 
 
 * went the devils out of the man, and entered into the fwine, 
 
 * and the beafts ran violently dov;^n a fteep place into the lake, 
 
 * and were choaked.' I do not fay, with fome, that the mea- 
 ning of this text is; that this precipitation of the fwine, came 
 from a mutual combat, betwixt the degraded intelligences 
 already pofTcffed of thefe brutal forms, and the devils that 
 went out of the men difpoffefled, and who defired to enter 
 into thefe corporeal moulds, to inform, or animate thefe ma- 
 chines, and thereby enjoy the brutal pleafures natural to 
 fwine. All this witty fiction appears too ludicrous, for a com- 
 mentary upon the facred text. The true meaning may be, 
 that the devils exorcized,delighting in malicCjand being flron- 
 ger and more powerful than the degraded intelligences fliut 
 up in thefe corporeal vehicles, defired to torment their wea- 
 ker companions, to chafe them from their natural manfions, 
 to difengage them from the entanglement of matter, and 
 thereby reduce them to the fame ftateof wandering, fcnfibi- 
 lity and mifery, to which they themfclves are condemned, till 
 they be fhut up at the laft day, in the bottomlefs pit. As thefe 
 fuperior cruel devils could not, however, alter the order of 
 nature, without the divine permiffion, they afkcd this from 
 the great Author and Mafterofnature;and having obtained it, 
 they made ufe of their power, only to torment their compa- 
 nions, when that of tormenting men was forbid them. This 
 is a motive far more worthy of malicious apodate fplrits, than 
 to fuppofe, that they defired to enter into the fwine, only to 
 enjoy brtrtal pleafures. According to the principles laid down, 
 this text becomes intelligible, and contains the fublimeit 
 
320 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 ideas; whereas, without thefe principles, itappears to the In- 
 credulous, mere fiction or fable. 
 
 The fublime apoftle of the Gentiles inlinuates the fame 
 do6lrine of degraded intelligences, in his cpiftlc to the Ro- 
 mans, which, when compared with the text of the Eccle- 
 fiafles above cited, becomes very probable. Solomon fays, 
 (a) ' that a man has no pre-eminence over a beafl:, becaufe 
 ' both are equally fubjefted to vanity.' St. Paul fays, ' that 
 
 * the creatures were not fubje<5led to vanity willingly, but 
 
 * becaufe oC him that fubjefted the fame in hope. ' Degra- 
 ded intelligences were not fubjected to vanity by choice; 
 far Icfs by a defpotic aft of abfolute fovereignty, but un- 
 willingly, contrary to God's firft defign, by force and nc- 
 ccIFity, yet in hope, not a fruitlefs hope, but a fure perfuafion 
 and full convi(ftion, that phyfical evil is the only cure of moral 
 depravity. * By the creature fubjeded to vanity,' feems to 
 be meant, degraded intelligences ; fince it is faid, in the verfe 
 immediately preceeding, ' for the earned: expectation of the 
 
 * creature waiteth for the manifeftation of the fons of God.* 
 Can machines expe6l and defire this manifeftation: if it be 
 faid, that the apoftle fpeaks metaphorically, as when we fay, 
 
 * the dry earth experts the rain;'and therefore,that this paftage 
 muft beunderftood only of the material pictures, of the refti- 
 tution of the earth to its primitive glorious and paradifiacal 
 form; lanfwer, that what follows cannot be faid of fimple 
 matter of corporeal beings, and pure machines viz. ' that they 
 
 * will be delivered one day into the glorious liberty of the fons 
 
 * of God.' The material pi(ftures can never enjoy the privi- 
 
 (a) Eccief. ch. iii. 19. (b) Rom. viii. 1 9. 20. Sec. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 321 
 
 ieges, qualities, and perfections of the intelligent images, 
 angelical natures, and fons of God. This text then, mufl: 
 regard the general reftitution of alllapfed fpirits, that will be 
 delivered from the flavery of their corruption,reftored to their 
 primitive flate of perfection, before they rebelled, and were 
 thrown either into the aerial regions, qrfhutup in terreftrial 
 brutal forms, or enchained in the infernal pit; for thefeare 
 the three fort of angelical natures, that were degraded. Left 
 it be faid, that all is meant of the human race in general, and 
 more efpecially of the eleCl, it is added, that * the whole crea- 
 
 * tion, * the whole in our fphere, or folar fyftem, and the 
 whole without any exception, * groaneth and travelleth in 
 
 * pain till now, and not only they, but we ourfelves, who 
 
 * have the firft fruits of the (pirit, even we groan, waiting for 
 ' the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.' Here 
 then are Intelligences, different from ours, that are fubje<fted 
 to mifery and fufFering, that have not received the firft fruits 
 of the fpirit, who groan and travel in pain, till they be delive- 
 red from the bondage of corruption, and who are at lafi: to be 
 re-cftabliihed * into the glorious liberty of the fons of God.* 
 Men alone, during this ihte of vanity, mifery, and corrupti- 
 on, receive the fruits of the fpirit, the divine illuminations 
 and graces. All other degraded intelligences, whether aerial, 
 terreftrial, or infernal are deprived of thefe lights and moti- 
 ons. Thefe imprifoncd in brutal forms have no other ideas, 
 fentiments, nordefires, but what are neceflary to the confer- 
 vation of the machines, which they animate. We have al- 
 ready fhown in the firft Part, that, as God by his divine, vi- 
 vifying adion in fpirits,may fublimateand exalt theirnatures, 
 
 PART 2. Ss 
 
522 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 to any finite degree of perfeftion and intelligence, how great 
 foever; fo he may, by the fufpenfion of the fame activity, re* 
 duce them to any degree of ina<5tion, and infenfibility how- 
 low foever. Thus, the fouls of hearts are reduced to a fort of 
 ftupidity and Infenfibility, as to every thing that does not ire* 
 gard their prefent ftate. Their fuperior facultys arc laid a* 
 fleep. They cannot go beyond the term of action, fenfation, 
 or reflexion, to which Almighty Power has flinted them, 
 Thefe degraded intelligences receive none of the fruits of the 
 divine fpirit. They have no ideas, nor perceptions, but v^hat 
 are relative to the confervation of that parcel of matter, to 
 which they are confined. By all this,their malice is enchain* 
 tdf and their inveterate habits of evil are laid afleep, as we 
 have already remarked, in the firft Part. 
 
 This ancient tradition of brutal forms animated by Intel- 
 ligences that reafoned, and fpoke In a paradifiacal fbte ; and 
 that were afterwards deprived of fpecch, for co-operating to 
 man's firft difobedience, was a common doftrinein the Jcw- 
 ifh church ; before the coming of our Saviour. Jofephus the 
 hiflorian has preferved an ample monument, and teftimony 
 of this, in his Antlquitys, where he fays, (a) in fpeaking of 
 Paradife, ' The hearts lived in perfe<5l concord with each 
 ' other, and with men. They were of the fame mind and 
 
 * fpirit. The ferpent lived familiarly with our firrt parents in 
 
 * Paradife, but envying their felicity, he endeavoured by his 
 
 * Ireafonings to perfuade them to eat of the forbidden fruit; 
 ' having thus deceived the woman, God deprived the ferpent 
 ' of fpeech." The fame tradition was preferved down from 
 
 (a) Jofeph. antiq. lib. I. cap. if. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 3^3 
 
 the firH: times of ChrifHanity, and was believed by fomc of 
 the moil venerable fathers of the primitive church. Hence, 
 St. Bafil fays, after having defcribed ail the bcaiuys of Pa^ 
 radife, (a) ' Then the beafts of the field, and the fowls of 
 
 * the air vi^ere all tame and mild. They heard and fpoke fo 
 
 * as to be underftood, without any difficulty. The ferpent had 
 
 * then nothing that excited horror, but mild and good na- 
 
 * tured, he did npt then crawl upon his belly, with his face 
 
 * bowed down to the earth, in a favage and terrible manner, 
 
 * but walked creeled upon his feet.' St. Ephrem was of the 
 fame opinion with Jofephus and St. Bafil, as appears from ar> 
 extract made from a commentary of his by Mofes Barcepha^ 
 bifhop of Beth-Raman in Syria, who lived in the tea thcen^ 
 tury. This commentary of St. Ephrem tho' now loft, yet was 
 extant in the time of Barcepha,who wrote in Syriac a treatife 
 of Paradife, which was tranflated into Latin by Mafius. 
 Barcepha fays, in fpeaking of the ferpent, (b) * That St. 
 
 * Ephrem believed that the ferpent was not only endued with 
 
 * fpeech, but alfo with reafon and knowledge, otherwife God 
 
 * would not have fpoke to him, as he did.' 
 
 It is eafy to fhow, that from Eaft to Weft, from Nof th tp 
 South; that in Europe, Afia, Africa and America ; that the 
 Chlnefe, the Indians,the Perfians,the Egyptians, the Greek?, 
 the Romans, the Gauls, the Germans, the Britons; theSar- 
 matians, the Scythians, the Ethiopians, the Guineans, the 
 Mexicans, the Peruvians, all the favage and politer nations, 
 believed the do6lrine of tranfmigration, md as Nemefius 
 
 (a)S. BaGl. ed.Parls. 17 21. torn. I.de ftrufturahom.cap.iii. deParadifo. pag. 
 349. (b) S. Ephrem. apud Barcepluni; deParadifp cap, *»y;i. Par^ I. 
 
 S S 2 
 
324 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 fays, (a) ' That all thofe who maintain the foul to be itit- 
 * mortal, afferted alfo its metempfychofis.' I could multiply 
 volumes on this head, to fhow, that this was the univerfalfen- 
 timent of all mankind in all ages, in all places, and in all reli* 
 gions: but to whatpurpofe this vain oftentation of learning? 
 thofe who are not capable to relifh the philofophical proofs 
 of this do(5trine, given in the firft Part; nor the teftimony of 
 the holy Scriptures produced in this, would look upon all 
 thefe quotations from thePagans,as rhaplbdys of idle ficHiion. 
 It is true indeed, that this Scripture-doftrine of degraded 
 intelligences was disfigured by the Greek and Latin poets>, 
 and reduced atlaft, to an impious, ridiculous fable, as if this 
 tranfmigration was univerfal in all fpirits, and eternal in all 
 times. They imagined, that not only the fouls of men, but 
 thofe of all other degraded intelligences, celeftial, terreftrial, 
 aerial and infernal pafs fucceffively into the bodys of other 
 men and other beafts, by a continual circulation without end, 
 during all the periods of eternity ; that the celefiial inhabi- 
 tants themfelves, after having tafted for many ages the joys 
 of heaven, become difgufted with this fupream felicity, dc- 
 fire to enter into mortal bodys, and fo rowl in an everlafting 
 vicifTitude of blifs and mifery. Yea, fbme of the modern 
 Pythagorean and Platonic philofophers feem to authorize 
 this wild opinion. How unworthy is this idea of God ; of his 
 great defigns in creating ; of the original grandeur of fpirits; 
 andof thefublime, permanent happinefs, to which they arc 
 deftined ? Pythagoras had no fuch ideas, and Plato his dif- 
 ciple never maintained any fuch abfurdities. They both 
 (a) Nemefius de nat, Hamin . ed. Oxon. 1 67 1 , pag. 82* 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 325 
 
 looked upon the punifhment of degraded intelligences, as a 
 total, final, efficacious cure, in order to a general, unlverfal, 
 eternal, unchangeable re-eftablifhment, as we will fhow ve- 
 ry foon. 
 
 It is, however, againflrthis impious degradation of the an- 
 cient Mofaical do(5lrine of tranfmigration, that the fathers 
 declaim ; and it is this alone, which the councils condemn, 
 and not the true Scripture-dodrine of degraded intelligence?, 
 that animate brutal forms; which regards only that portion- 
 of angelical fpirlts, that were not fhut up in the abyfs, and 
 that are quite different from human fouls. This the fchool- 
 men confound, as they do almoft every where the ancient 
 Noevian tradition, with the falfe dilguifes and mixtures of 
 the modern Pagans. This great principle is the true key, by 
 which we can underftand the meaning of feveral paffages of 
 the Scriptures, and the fenfe of many fubiime articles of faith. 
 We mufl: never confound the do<5lrine itfelf, with the expli- 
 cations of thefchoolmen; nor theabufes, with the principles. 
 Thus only we can fheltermany do6lrines of faith, from the 
 railleries of the incredulous. 
 
 We come now to the third f^ate of fallen angels, which is 
 their total and final re-eftablifhment. Not only wicked and 
 reprobate fouls are to be fubjefled, purified and reflored ; but 
 the devils themfelves. Then will be the end and confumma- 
 tion of all things; the full completion of the great plan of 
 Providence; which cannot be boundedand partial, it mufl be 
 extenfive and unlverfal; it muft embrace all beings, all times,, 
 and all places. We have already dcmonltratcd this in the firil 
 
325 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 Part by invincible reafons ; we fhall now prove it, by the clea- 
 reft teftimonies of Scripture. 
 
 (a) The Pfalm fixty eight is a hymn, which the church 
 militant was ordered to fing in hopes and expeftation of the 
 glorious coming of the MelTiah, firft to reign with the eleft 
 upon earth, and then tofubdue and reftore all lapfed beings. 
 The Judaizing Chriftians, not underltanding this fublime 
 do6trine, apply all to the Uttle events that happened in the 
 Jewifh church, upon the deliverance of the Ifraelites from 
 their bondage in Egypt, and tathefe that happened to the 
 Chriftian hierarchy, when the church was delivered, upon 
 the converfion of the Roman Emperors, from perfecution. 
 Hence, they have oft made ufe of the preterit, inftead of the 
 future. The hymn begins thus: * Let God arife, let his ene- 
 
 * mies be fcattered, let them that hate hini fly from his face, 
 
 * as fmoke is driven away before the wind ; as wax melts be- 
 
 * fore the fire, fo fhall the wicked perifti at the coming of the 
 ^ Lord.' All this can be faid only of the fecond advent , and 
 the context confirms this explication. * Sing unto God, fing 
 
 * praifes to his name, extoll him, and rejoice before him that 
 
 * rides upon the heavens by his name Jah,' that is, his eternal 
 Word, the Jehovah el, or the Logos; who is reprefen- 
 ted in Scripture at the laft day, as riding upon the clouds. 
 ■* God will place the folitary, in his holy habitation. He will 
 
 * bring out thefe that were bound in the chains' of forrow, 
 croflTes, and fufFerlngs: * but the rebellious fliall dwell in a 
 
 * dry land. O Godi when thou flialt go forth, when thou 
 
 * fhalt march through the wildernefs' of nature degrad€d,ac- 
 
 (a) Pfalm Ixviii. from verfe i. to 20. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 327- 
 
 curfed and become a defert fince the fall; ' The earth fhall 
 
 * fliake, the heavens a Ifo fhall drop, even Smaiitfelf fliallbe 
 
 * moved, at the prefence of the Lord, the God of Ifrael. The 
 
 * hill of God is a high hill, that God defireth to dwell in ; 
 ' yca,the Lord will dwell in it for ever. The chariots of God 
 
 * are twenty thoufand, yea many thou fan ds of angels. The 
 
 * Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.' All 
 thofe defcriptions are very like thefe of the evangelifts and 
 apoftles, when they talk of the fecond advent, when the fa- 
 cred humanity of the Logos ' fhall come upon the clouds 
 
 * furrounded with angels; when the elements fhall melt with 
 
 * fervent heat, when the earth fhall be difTolvedj'and the world 
 be confumed by a general conflagration. Then follows a 
 prophefy of the general Teftitution; * Thou haftafcended on 
 
 * high, thou haft led captivity captive, thou haft received gifts 
 
 * for men, yea for the rebellious alfo, that God might dwell 
 
 * among them.' Here, thePfalmift makes a vifible diftiuifli- 
 on, betwixt two fort of captives, whom our Saviour is to de- 
 liver. He received gifts for men, that were captive, that is, 
 for the ele<n:,who are called the firft fruits of the Holy Ghoft, 
 then for the rebellious, or reprobate fpirits. St. John makes 
 nfeofthe fameexpreflion, infpeakingof our Saviour's trium- 
 phant ftate, (a) ' And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, 
 
 * will draw all men unto me.' Here is no exception. St. Paul 
 alludes to the fame text of the Pfalmift, when he fays, (b) 
 
 * That OUT Saviour afcended up far above all heavens, that 
 
 * he might fill all things.' Now, can he fill all things, if the 
 moft part of lapfcd beings are to be for ever void, and de- 
 
 (a) St. John's Gofpel. ch. xii. 32. (b) Ephef. ch. iv. 8. 9. i o. , 
 
328 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 prived of his luminous, fan(5i:ifying, and beatifying influ- 
 ences? God can never fill all things, ' till he become all in 
 
 * all,' by the confummation of all things, the deftru6lion 
 of all evil, and the reftoration of all beings: vi'herefore, in^ 
 the fame Pfalm above cited, God is called the ' God of falva- 
 
 * tion, becaufe unto God the Lord belong the iffues of 
 
 * death;' the avenues of hell, the efcape from damnation, 
 the delivery of all lapfed intelligences. 
 
 In another place, the royal prophet fays, (a) * The Lord 
 
 * is merciful and gracious, flow to anger, and plenteous in 
 
 * mercy. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his an- 
 ' ger for ever.' Can this be faid of a being that abandons the 
 greateft part of his creatures to eternal damnation and blaf- 
 phemy? it is true, that it is added in the fubfequent verfes, 
 
 * that the mercys of the Lord extend only to thofe, that fear 
 
 * him, keep his covenant, and remember his commandments.* 
 This we grant; fo long as the creature is inconvertible, God 
 will be unappeafable : but when the foul repents,God returns. 
 Now, we have already demonftrated, that God can produce 
 this falutary fear, obedience and love in all lapfed beings, 
 without exception ;and fince he can do it, he will do it, foon- 
 er or later, becaufe he is all Love, and all Sanctity, and all 
 Juftice, and fo rauft at laft deflroy all hatred, all corruption, 
 and all injuftice. Hence, the Pfalmift, in the end of this di- 
 vine hymn, invites firfl the angelical unfallen fpirits and elect 
 chofen fouls to blefs the Lord,and then adds, ' blefs the Lord, 
 
 * all his works, in all places of his dominion.,' as having fore- 
 
 (aXPfalmciii. 8.9. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 3^9 
 
 feen, that all beings, without exception, would one day blefs 
 the Lord, and exalt his name for ever. 
 
 There arc two other pfalms very remarkable, which lite- 
 ral interpreters explain of temporal bleflings, and more en- 
 lightned commentators, of fpiritual graces: but when nar- 
 rowly confidered and examined, according to the true fenfe 
 of the Hebrew text, they mud: be underftood of the univcr- 
 fal extent of our Saviour's redemption, and of a general deli- 
 verance of all lapfed beings. Thefirftof thefe two pfalms be- 
 gins thus, (a) ' Praifc the Lord, for he is good, for his mer- 
 
 * cys endure for ever.' How can his mercys endure for ever, 
 if they are bounded by a moment of time, and confined to 
 a fmall parcel of beings, while all the reft are eternally mife- 
 rable? This pfalm fecms to be a declaration of all the mercys 
 of God to thofc who live within the pale of the vifible church, 
 under the allegory of the miracles wrought in Egypt, to de- 
 liver the Ifraehtes from their temporal bondage, and fo, in a 
 fpiritual fenfe, regards only the redemption of the cleft, and 
 the glorious reign of the MefTiah. 
 
 The following pfalm is of a far more extenfive nature, 
 tind relates to all lapfed and reprobate beings, without excep- 
 tion. It begins, much in the fame manner, as the formcr,(b) 
 ' O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercys 
 
 * endure forever.' The reft of this fublime hymn is an expofi- 
 tion of all the marvellous fteps of divine wifdom, jiifHce and 
 goodnefs to punilli, purify, and rcftoreall lapfed beings, repre- 
 fented by thofe* that fit in darknefs,and in the fliadow of death; 
 < who are bound in affliftions and iron, bccaufe they rebelled 
 
 (a) Pfalm. cvi. i . (b) Pfalm. cvii i . 
 
 PART 2. T t 
 
3SO OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 * againft the Word of God, and contemned the counfel of 
 
 * the Mofl High ;' thofe In fine, * who go down into the deeps, 
 
 * and into the abyfs,' which, in facred ftyle, fignifys always 
 hell, * and whofe fouls are melted with trouble.' The Pfal- 
 mifl: crysout in feveral places of this facred hymn ; * O that 
 
 * men would praife the Lord, for his goodnefs, and for his 
 ' wonderful works, to the children of men.' Can the com- 
 mon acfts of Providence, in the ordinary courfe of life, be 
 called the wonderful works,and the mighty afts of the Lord? 
 The royal prophet, forefeeing the glorious redemption of all 
 lapfed beings, foretells it as prefent. * Then they cried unto 
 
 * the Lord in their trouble, and he faved them out of their 
 
 * diftreiTes ; he brought them out of darknefs, and the fha- 
 
 * dow of death,and broke their bands afunder. He broke the 
 
 * gates of brafs, and cut the bars of iron ; he made the ftorm 
 
 * a calm, fo that the waves became ftill; then they (hall be 
 
 * glad becaufe they are quiet, and arrived to their delired ha- 
 
 * ven.' If this were to be meant, only of a deliverance from 
 common fhipwrack, which the mofl: criminal very oftcfcape, 
 as well as the good, would the divine prophet add, * the 
 
 * righteous fhall fee it, and rejoice; and all iniquity fhall 
 
 * flop her mouth,' that is, blafphemy and defpair fhall no lon- 
 ger be heard? Then the royal prophet concludes this fublime 
 hymn with thcfe words; * who is wife and will obferve, even 
 
 * they {hall underftand the loving kindnefs of the Lord.' 
 None but thofe who are truly wife, who are enlightncd from 
 above, and who have jufl: ideas of the great plan of Provi- 
 dence, can underfl:and this fublime myfl:ery of univerfal refti- 
 tution. All thofe who are refolved to flatter their pailions; 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 331 
 
 that fhun vice only for fear of punifliment, that have no re- 
 lifti of the pure love of virtue, muft be fhocked with this 
 dodlrine, and it is fit they fliould be fo. 
 
 In many other places of thefe divine hymns, the prophe- 
 tic Pfalmift forefeeing what would happen one day,invitesall 
 nations, all tongues, and all kindreds, all the ends of the 
 earth,and all its inhabitants, without exception, * to blefs the 
 
 * Lord and fing hispraifes, bccaufe his mercys have prevailed 
 
 * over ail his works.' Now can his mercys prevail over all 
 his works, if the moft part of lapfcd beings are to be for ever 
 and ever miferableblafpheraers, obftinate and inconvertible? 
 
 The writings of the other prophets abound alfo with the 
 fame predidions, concerning the univcrfal re-eftablifhment 
 of all beings. The evangelical Prophet Ifaiah efpecially, is 
 full ofthcfeglad tidings. In fpeaking of what is to happen 
 at the laft judgment, he fays, (a) * The earth fhall reel to and 
 
 * fro like a drunkard, and fhall be removed like a cottage, 
 
 * and the tranfgrcflion thereof fhall be heavy upon It, and it 
 
 * fliall fall, and not rife again ; and it (hall come to pafs that in 
 
 * that day, the Lord fhall punifli the hoftsof the high ones 
 
 * that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth; 
 
 * and they fliall be gathered together as prifoners are gathered^ 
 
 * in the pit, and fhall be fliut up in the prifon, but after many 
 
 * days they fhall be vifited, when the Lord of holh fhall 
 
 * reign in mount Zion,- and in Jerufalem. By ' the hofts of 
 
 * the high ones that are on high,' are undcrflood the princes 
 of the powers of the air, or th-e devils. By ' the Jungs of the 
 
 * earth upon the earth,' are meant all thofc that fhine, cxccll 
 
 (a) Ifaiah. ch. xxiv. 20. to the end. 
 
 Tt 2 
 
332 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 and abound in terreftrial pleafures and delights. By the vifit 
 here fpoken of, muft be meant, a vidt of mercy ; for after the 
 general judgment of the damned, their being thrown into 
 the pit, {hut up in the prifon, and caft into the lake of fire; 
 this vifit cannot be a new vifitof juftice, unlefswe fay, that 
 befides hell, there is fome other torment for the damned. 
 This vifit therefore muft be a vifit of mercy, and a perfeft 
 deliverance. This vifit is to be made, when the Lord of hofts 
 fhall reign on mount Zion, and in Jerufalem ; that is, during 
 the reign of the Mefllah, in his glorious kingdom upon the 
 earth reftored and re-eftablifhed. ' By many days,' may be 
 underftood, many ages, many thoufands of years, yea, ages 
 of ages, cucoya,^ oucot'coy, as St. John fays in his Revelations, 
 in fecula feculorum ; for, according to the Scripture ftyle, 
 
 * a thoufand years before God are as one day /and therefore, 
 the prophet indicates here, that the univerfal reftitution will 
 happen only after a long period of duration, but hell and 
 death muft be at laft fwallowed up in victory. 
 
 The fame prophet fpeaks thus in another place, (a) ' The 
 
 * voice of the Lord that cryethin the wildernefs,' that is, in 
 the place of defolation and diftrefs, in the defert earth, and 
 all the fphere of degraded intelligences; ^ prepare ye the way 
 
 * of the Lord; make ftreightin the defert a high way for our 
 ' God. Every valley fhall be exalted, and every mountain 
 
 * fhall be made low; and the crooked paths fhall be made 
 < ftreight, and the rough places plain; and the glory of the 
 
 * Lord fhall be revealed, and all flefh fhall fee it together ; 
 
 * for the mouth of the Lord hath fpokcn it.' This text can- 
 
 <a)Ifai.ch.xl. 3.4. J. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 333 
 
 not be explained, in its full extent, of our Saviour's firft co- 
 ming, in a ftate of humiliation, nor even of his fecond ad- 
 vent, to reign glorioufly upon earth ; fince, during that reign, 
 the reprobate are to be throv^n into the lake, and therefore, 
 the glory of God cannot be revealed to them ; fince the glory 
 of God is no other than the nianifeftation of his attributes, 
 of his power tofave, ofhis jufticeto render juft; of his good- 
 nefs to make all happy ; and ofhis wifdom to find out means 
 to accompli/h his great end in creating. Now ^ this glory of 
 
 * God' cannot be revealed to all flefli, and to all creatures, 
 without exception, till the general confummation of all things, 
 the total re-eftablifliment of all beings, and the perfe(ft dc- 
 flru^nion of all moral and phyfical evil. 
 
 The fame prophet fays in another place, (a) * Look un- 
 
 * to mc, and be faved all the ends of the earth ; for I am God, 
 
 * and there is none elfe. I have fworn by myfclf, the word 
 
 * is gone out of my mouth in righteoufnefs, and fhall not re- 
 
 * turn, That unto me every knee fhall bow, every tongue 
 
 * fliall fwear; furely, fhall every one fay, Li the Lord have I 
 
 * righteoufiiefs and flrength ; even to hini fhall men come, 
 
 * and all that are incenfed againft him, lliall be afliamed. ' 
 Here is aperfe(ft univerfality without exception, for it were 
 forcing all the natural fenfe of the word&, to interpret * all the 
 
 * ends of the earth, every knee, and every tongue'of afmall, 
 yea, the very fmalleft part of lapfed beings. T his bowing of 
 the knee cannot be underftood of a forced fubmiffion ; fince, 
 in th'rs fenfe, alj the reprobate and the damned were ever fub- 
 je<n:ed; and it would be unfuitable to our notions of God, ta 
 
 *(a)lfai.ch.xlv. 22. 23. 24. 
 
:3S4 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 ' fuppofe him making fuch a folemn oath, unlefs this bowing 
 were to be undcrftood of a fubmifllon of love, in all thofe, 
 "who are rebellions * and incenfed agalnft him ; ' who are to be 
 alhamed of their long refiflance, and therefore, convinced 
 of their crime, which can never be the cafe of obdurate and 
 impenitent fouls; of reprobate and inconvertible fpirits. 
 
 The fame prophet makes God fpeak thus in another text, 
 (a) ' I will not contend forever, neither will I be always 
 
 * wroth ; for I am the father of fpirits, and it is I that created 
 
 * all fouls ;' as the Greek and Latin verfions render the ori- 
 ginal Hebrew. The reafon God gives here, why he will not 
 contend for ever, nor be always wroth, is founded upon his 
 being the father of fpirits, and the creator of fouls. This 
 reafon is univerfal, and regards all intelligences without ex- 
 ception, and, therefore, his wTath muft ceafe againft all, fince 
 he is equally the father of all. Can a Father that is all Love, 
 immutable in goodnefs, leave his children for ever miferable, 
 fince he created them only to make them happyfCan a tender 
 father, whofe power Is equal to his goodnefs, be eternally 
 frudrated in the defigns of his love? Can a father, whofe juf- 
 lice and goodnefs are the fame perfection, let injuftice and 
 malice for ever triumph, tho' he hates them, and defircs their 
 total dcftruftion? Neither can it be objected, that in thefub- 
 fequent verfcs of the fame chapter, it is added, * that there 
 
 * is no peace to the wicked.' This we grant; for fo long as 
 they remain in their wickednefs and rebellion, they mui\ be, 
 as the fame text adds, ' like the troubled fea, without relt, 
 
 " (a) Ifai. cfi. Ivii. l6. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. ^3r5 
 
 * that cafteth up mire and dirt.' So long as the creature is> 
 iinconverted, God muft be unappeafed. 
 
 The prophet Jeremiah fpeaks in the fame ftyle, (a) God 
 bids him ' take the wine cup of his fury, and make all nati- 
 
 * ons drink of it/ He declares that all nations fhall drink of 
 it, from Eaft to Weft, from North to South ; but that he will 
 begin fird with Jerufalem,or the members of the vifible church, 
 and then the fame cup of God's wrath fhall be drunk by all 
 nations, and that upon a terrible day, (b) * the day of the 
 
 * Lord of hods, a day of vengeance, when God fliall avenge 
 
 * himfelf of all his adverfarys ; when hisfword fhall devour, 
 
 * and be fatiatc, and be drunk with their blood.' By all which 
 cxpreflions are meant, the tribulations, torments, and diffe- 
 rent operations of divine juftice, to purify lapfed beings: but 
 after this terrible day,which muft be the day of judgment,it is- 
 faid in the following chapter, (c) * that God will not only re- 
 ' call the Ifraelites,' or all the members of the vifible church 
 from their captivity, but * that he will bring again the capti- 
 
 * vity of Moab, and Edom in the latter days,' or the moft 
 Pagan and idolatrous nations, in the time of the laft re-efta- 
 blifliment, when all fhall be rcllored. 
 
 The prophet Ezekiel, filled with the fame fpirit, inilnu- 
 ates and paints forth the fame truth,undcr different allegorys.- 
 Jerufalem, and by it, all the reprobate members of the vifi- 
 ble church, is reprefented as an adulterous woman, more un- 
 faithful, and more criminal, than her fiftcrs Sodom and Sa- 
 maria, that is, the moft profligate criminals, and themoft er- 
 roneous heretics. After the moft fevere reproaches, God dc- 
 
 (a) Jercm. ch.xxv. 15. (b) Ch. xlvi. 10. (c) Ch.xlviit47. andch.xHx. 39.. 
 
33^ OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 clares that he will have mercy upon all the three, (a) * When 
 
 * I fhall bring the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, then 
 
 * I v^ill bring again the captivity of thy daughters in the midft 
 
 * of them. When thy fifters Sodom and her daughters fhall 
 
 * return to their former ftate, then thou and thy daughters 
 
 * jQiall return to your former ftate.* One muft have loft all 
 fenfe and judgment, to imagine, that by this former ftate. Is to 
 be underftood literally, a rebuilding of the citys of Sodom, 
 Samaria, and Jerufalem, where vice abounded. This former 
 ftate muft therefore fignify,the primitive Innocence,in which» 
 all finite intelligences were at firft created ; and to which, 
 they are at laft to be reftored. 
 
 The prophet MIcah, In fpeaking of the laft day, fays, (b) 
 
 * who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and 
 
 * pafleth by the tranfgreflion of the remnant of his heritage? 
 ^ he retaineth not his anger for ever, becaufe he delights in 
 
 * mercy ; he will turn again, he will have compallion upon us; 
 
 * he will fubdue our iniquitys, and caft all our fins into the 
 
 * depth of thefea.' The Heathen Is called the Lord's inheri- 
 tance, (c) ' Aflc of me,' fays the Father to the Son, ' and I will 
 
 * give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance, and the out- 
 
 * moft parts of the earth for thy poftefilon.'Can we doubt,but 
 the eternal Word made this requeft to the Father ; and is not 
 Micah's prophefy an accompllftimentof his requeft^ for fin cc 
 God retaineth not his anger for ever, fince he delights in 
 mercy, he muft m the laft day pafs by the tranfgreflion of the 
 remnantof our Saviour's heritage, orthercft of lapfcd beings, 
 that could not be converted, but by infernal torments. 
 
 (a) Ezek. ch.xvi. 5.3. (b)Micah. ch.vii. 18. 19. (c)Pfal. ii. 8. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 337 
 
 1 know, that thefchoolmen and the vulgar interpreters ap- 
 ply all thefe rubllmcprophefys to the publication of the GoC- 
 pel among the Gentiles, and the converfion of the Jews In 
 the laft times. But can thefe partial events, that leave the 
 moll: part of lapfed beings In a ftate of corruption and damna- 
 tion, be called the mighty adtsand wonderful vi^orks of the 
 Lord, that are faid to be univerfal, internal and eternal? by 
 applying ail thefe glorious, magnificent predi(5lions to fuch 
 bounded, tranficnt events, we render the divine oracles hy- 
 perbolical, exaggerating and too emphatical for fuch fmallef- 
 fejfts, that do not anfwer the great ideas we have of Infinite 
 power, wifdom and goodnefs ; and fo expofe them to the con- 
 tempt of the incredulous. 
 
 'Ere I quite the doiflrine of the Old Teflament, I muft re- 
 mark,that this univerfal reftoration of all beings feems to have 
 been figured by the jubilee celebrated every fiftieth year, by 
 the Jews, when all debts were remitted, all flavcs fet free,and 
 every man returned to his firft polfeflion. In one word, this 
 great year, was a time of univerfal joy, liberty, and happi- 
 nefs. We have already remarked, that all the inftitutions of 
 the Mofaical law were reprefentative of fomething fpiritual, 
 Invifible, and eternal. They were fhadows, either of the 
 great facrifice that was to be offered up for the atonement of 
 lin ; orof the total redemption of all finners, or of the purity 
 ncccffary to merit this redemption. All the ceremonies, rites, 
 fcafls, falls, facrificcs, ablutions and purifications were fi- 
 gures of fomething truly divine, and far fuperiour to the little 
 events that have happened or could happen in the Jevvlfh na- 
 PART 2. U u 
 
338 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 tion. Without this great principle, the Mofaical law is un- 
 worthy of God. 
 
 There are many texts of the New Teftament yet more 
 clear, than thofe of the Old; fo that the Gofpel is a commen- 
 tary upon the law. The firft and principal text is that of St. 
 •Paul, in his epiftle to the Romans, where, after he has 
 fhown that God is no accepter of perfons, that he is equally 
 the God of the Jews and the Gentiles, that he has given 
 abundant graces to both, but that both have miferably abu- 
 fcdthem, he adds thefe words, (a) ' For God hath fhut them 
 -* all up in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.' By 
 fhutting up all in unbelief, cannot be underftood, that God 
 voluntarily abandoned all nations, both Jew and Gentile, to 
 a fpirit of incredulity; but that as a punifhment of their dlfo- 
 bedience in a ftateof pre-exiftence, he let all lapfed beings fall 
 intoa ftate of darknefs, and unbelief; he judged them all un- 
 'worthy of his beatific prefence, banifhed them from it, let 
 them feel the effects of this long exile, that fo he might purify 
 all by expiatory pains and juftice,fmally deliver all by fa ndlify- 
 ing love and mercy. For this reafon, theapoftle crys out with 
 cxtafy. * O the depth of the riches both of the wifdom and 
 
 * knowledge of God; how unfearchable are his judgments,and 
 
 * his wayspaft finding out!' The ways God has, for reclai- 
 ming the moft obftinate rebellious creatures,arehidin thetrea- 
 fures of his wifdom and knowledge; they are impenetrable 
 and undifcoverable, but they are ceftain, fure and infallible. 
 The apoflle concludes, by giving the reafon of this univerfal 
 redemption, * for from God' fays he, * and by God, and to 
 
 (a) Rom. ch. xl. 32. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 339 
 
 * God,are all things;' from him all fpirits proceed,by him they 
 fubfifl:, and to him they mufi: all return. Thus, this facred and 
 fublime text,which the Predeftinarians interpret of partial de- 
 crees, and odious preteritions, is a full declaration of the 
 defigns of mercy to all lapfed intelligences. 
 
 The fame apoftle confirms the fame doftrine, in his firfl 
 epiftle to the Corinthians, by the mofl: exprefs terms, that arc 
 fubjecH: to no equivocation,(a) ' As in Adam all die,fo in Chrift 
 
 * fhall all be made alive ; but every one in this order; firfl: of all, 
 
 * Chrifthimfelf ihall appear,aftcr wards thofe that areChrift's, 
 
 * at his coming;lafl: of all,fhall be the cnd,when he will deliver 
 
 * up the kingdom to his Father ; for he mull reign, till he put 
 
 * all his enemies under his feet ; the lail: enemy that fhall be 
 
 * deftroycdjs death;and when all things fliall be fubdued unto 
 
 * him, then fhall the Son himfclf be fubje<5led to him, that put 
 
 * all things under him,that fo God may be all in all. 'This text 
 contains three remarkable truths, (i) that, as in Adam all 
 die, without exception, fo in Chrift, all fhall be made alive, 
 without exception. Firft theelecH:, who are to rife again, as 
 we have fhown; and reign with Chriil:, forages of ages, in 
 his glorious kingdom upon earth renewed and reftored. Af- 
 terwards the reprobate, the devils and all lapfed beings that - 
 will be thrown into the lake of fire, are to be totally purified 
 by infernal flames, reformed, transformed, and made con- 
 formable to the divine image. (2) Death is to be de{lroyed,as 
 the laft enemy. This is faid expresfly of a death, that is to 
 fubfift, after the refurre6lion or laft coming; and fo cannot 
 be undcrftood of the firft or natural death, which, in Scrip- 
 
 (a) I. Cor. ch. xv. 22. to 29. 
 
 UU 2 
 
340 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 ture, is never called God's enemy, but his inftrument; and 
 therefore, this text muft be underftood ofthefecond death, 
 the fpiritual death, or the feparation of the foul from God. 
 (3) There will be an end, or confummatron of all things, 
 when the Son, by whom the Father now governs the world, 
 having fubdued all lapfed fpirits, fhall be fubje«51:ed himfelfto 
 the paternal mind,that fo God may become all in all. How can 
 God become all in all, if innumerable myriads of rebellious 
 fpirits are to remain in their revolt and blafphemy for ever? 
 St. Paul inculcates the fame dot^rine, in hisepiftle to the 
 Ephefians, (a) ' God having made known to us, the myfte- 
 ' ry of his will, according to his good pleafurc, which he 
 
 * purpofedin himfelf before the foundation of the world, that 
 
 * in thefulnefs of time, he might gather together in one, all 
 
 * things inChrift, both the things which are in heaven, and 
 
 * which are in earth, even in him.' This text, by which the 
 Predeftinarians endeavour to prove the doftrine of partial 
 decrees, is diametrically oppofite to their fchemc, and mud 
 be underdood of that eternal decree, by which God purpo- 
 fed, from the foundation of the world, to fave all lapfed be- 
 ings, in cafe they fhould by their free, voluntary choice, fall 
 into defection, to reftore them to their primitive perfection 
 and innocence, and reunite them all in Chrift, in the ful- 
 nefs of time, thatis, in the end, when Chrift will deliver up 
 the kingdom to his Father, when time fhall ceafe, eternity 
 begin, and God become all in all. This decree and purpofe, 
 made before the foundation of the world, was not founded 
 upon an infallible, certain, abfolute prefcicnce, that a great 
 
 (a) Ephef. ch. i. 9. lO. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 341 
 
 part of angelical intelligences, and all the human race, would 
 undoubtedly rebell againfl eternal order ; but this purpofe 
 was conditional, and put no reftraint upon their free natures^ 
 God decreed, that in cafe they fell freely, he would remedy 
 this d€fe(51:, accomplifh atlafl: hi-s great defigns in creating, and 
 finally reclaim, re-eftablifh and re-unite all in Chrifl:. As the 
 eternal Mind, 'ere he created fpirits, faw that they were free 
 and fallible, and all the pofTible abufcs they might make of 
 their liberty, he provided againfl: the total fruftration of his 
 great defigns,that fo they might not become for ever abortive, 
 and formed the great plan of redemption of all beings who 
 fhould fall freely* 
 
 The fame apoftle of the Gentiles preaches the fame doc- 
 trine to the Philippians, when he fays, (a) ' God, becaufe of 
 
 * our Saviour's obedience, humiliation, and fuffering, hath 
 
 * highly exalted him, and given him a name, which- is above 
 
 * every name, that fo every knee may bow before him, of all 
 
 * that are in heaven, of all that are upon earth, and of all that 
 
 * are in hell,and fhould confefs,that Jefus Chri(l is the Lord,. 
 
 * to the glory of God the Father.' The Greek word jcarot^ 
 '^^oi'luu fignifies literally, all thefe that are under the earth : 
 but the Latin verfion tranflates this word infernum, 'thefe 
 
 * that are in kell,' becaufe here the apoflle fpeaks of a rational 
 confefIion,oran aft of intelligent beings, of which, we know 
 none under the earth, but the devils and the damned. It is 
 then certain, that this univerfal genuflexion, adoration, and 
 confeffion, to be made by all beings, celeflial, tcrreftrialand 
 infernal, could not be to the glory of God, if it were to be 
 
 (a) Philip, ch. ii. S. to 1 2. 
 
342 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 made by fpirits, that are to blafpheme for ever againft the 
 
 MoftHigh. 
 
 That none of the Gentiles might be ignorant of this fa- 
 cred doftrine, St. Paul teaches it again, in writing to theCol- 
 loffians, by thefe words, (a) ' For it pleafed the Father, that 
 
 * in him fliould all fulncfs dwell ; and having made peace 
 
 * through the blood of his crofs, by him to reconcile all 
 
 * things to himfelf, by him, I fay, whether they be things in 
 
 * earth, or things of heaven.' By things of heaven, that arc 
 to be reconciled to God, mufi: be underftood, the fallen an- 
 gels, for the unfallen ones wanted no reconciliation. The 
 expredion therefore is univerfal,ALL THiNGs,and includes 
 all fort of lapfed beings, whether terredrial, or angelical, that 
 is, men, or devils. 
 
 In fine, that this doflrine might be tranf-nltted to all ge- 
 nerations, St. Paul orders Timothy to preach it every where, 
 (b) * I exhort therefore,firn: of all, that fupplications, prayers, 
 
 * intercefllons, and giving of thanks be made for all men; 
 
 * for kings, and for all that are in authority ; for it is good 
 
 * and acceptable in the fight of God our Saviour; who will 
 
 * have all men to be faved, and to come to the knowledge of 
 ** truth ; for there is one God, and one Mediator betwixt 
 ■' God and men, the man Chrift Jefus, who gave himfelf a 
 
 * ranfom for all, to be teftified in due time.' The fcope and 
 fum of St. Paul's doflrine, is, that Chriftians ought to pray 
 for all men, without exception, for the Roman Emperors, 
 for the mofi: idolatrous princes, for the greatefi: perfecutors 
 of the church, becaufe God our Saviour loves all, died for all, 
 
 (a) ColofT.ch. i. I9.and20. (b)I.Tim.ch. ii. i. to 7. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 343 
 
 and will have all to be faved. Now, can God will fincerely 
 the falvation of all men, and yet the mofi: part perifh for ever ? 
 Can the final defigns of eternal goodnefs, and the abfolutc 
 will of omnipotence be for ever frultratcd and baffled? Can 
 the fufFerings, and expiatory facrifice of the MefTiah be for 
 ever void, and of no effe<51:, with regard to the greateft num- 
 ber of fallen fpirits r Can the wonderful plan of Providence, 
 all the myfterys of our redemption, all the merits of the Lamb 
 flain from the foundation of the world; terminate in the fal- 
 vation of a little portion of mankind ? No, fays the apoftle, 
 our Saviour gave himfclf a ranfom for all; and this fliall be 
 manifefted in due time, when God fhall become all in all. 
 
 Thus, the Old and New Teftament are full of pafTages^ 
 thatinfinuate, inculcate, orexpresfly teach, the comfortable 
 do(ftrine of univerfal reftitution. In order to feel all their 
 force, let us re-unite them in one continued difcourfe. I fhall 
 only add fome fhort explications that flow from the fenfe of 
 tlie context, and fervc to make the connexion. 
 
 (a) * After the fecond coming, our Saviour will afcend on 
 
 * highjlead captivity captive, receive gifts for the elecft, yea, for 
 ' the rebellious,or reprobate airo,that God may dwell among 
 
 * them, fill all things, draw all unto him, and fhow, that he 
 
 * is the God of falvation, and, that to him belong the ifTues 
 
 * of death, or the avenues of hell, (b) The Lord is merciful 
 ' and gracious, flow to anger, and plenteous in mercy, he 
 
 * will not always chide, nor keep his anger for ever, (c) O ! 
 ' that men would praife the Lord for his goodnefs, and for 
 
 * his wonderful works to the children of men I for he fatisfi- 
 (a) Pfalm. Ixviii. 1 8. (b) Pfalra. ciii. 8. 9. (c) Pfalm. cvii. 8. 
 
344 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 ' eth the longing foul, and filleth the hungry foul with good- 
 
 * nefs ; fuch as fit in darknefs and in the fhadow of death, 
 ^ fuch as are bound in affliction and iron, becaufe they rebel- 
 
 * led againft the Word of God, and contemned the counfel 
 
 * of the Moft High; fuch as go down to hell, and whofe foul 
 
 * is melted with trouble. They will at lafl: cry to the Lord in 
 
 * their anguifh, and he will fave them out of their diftrefs. He 
 
 * will bring them out of darknefs, and the fliadow of death ; 
 
 * he will break their bands afunder; he will fend his Word 
 
 * and heal them, and deliver them from their def1:ru<5tion. 
 
 * (a) At the laft day, the Lord fliall punifh the high ones that 
 
 * are on high, the princes of the powers of the air, (or the 
 ' devils) and the kings of the earth, (or the reprobate) and 
 ' they fhall be gathered together as prifoners, thrown into 
 ' the pit, andfhut up in the prifon ; but after many ages they 
 
 * fhall be vifited,when the Lord of Hofts fliall reign on mount 
 « Sion and in Jerufalem. (b) The glory of the Lord fhall be 
 
 * revealed, and all flefli fhall fee it together; for the mouth 
 
 * of the Lord hath fpoken it; the everlafting God, the Lord, 
 
 < the creator of the ends of the earth, never faileth nor is 
 
 * weary in well-doing, (c) I have fworn by myfelf, fays he, 
 
 < TJie word is gone out of my mouth in righteoufnefs and 
 
 < flrength, and fhall not return; That unto me every knee 
 « fhall bow, (by a fubmiffion of free choice and love) every 
 « tongue fhall fwear; Surely, fhall everyone fay, in the Lord 
 
 < have I righteoufnefs and ftrength; and all that are incenfed 
 
 < a^ainft him fhall be afhamed, (oftheir crimes) and return to 
 
 < the Lord, (d) I will not contend for ever, neither will I 
 .(a)lfai.ch.xx,iv.2i.(b)lfai.ch.xl. 5.28.(c)irai.ch. xlv.23.24.(d)ld. ch,lvu.i6- 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 345 
 
 * be always wroth,forI am the Father of rpirits,ancl it Is I that 
 
 * created all fouls.(a) The cup of God's wrath fhall be drunk 
 ' by all nations, upon the terrible day, the day of the Lord of 
 ^ hon:s,(the day of judgment) a day of vengeance, when God 
 
 * fhall avenge himfelf, of all his adverfarys, when his fword 
 
 * fhall devour, and be fatiate, and be drunk with their blood: 
 
 * but in the latter days, (in the fulnefs of time, at the con- 
 
 * fummation of all things) God will recall the captivity of 
 
 * Jacob, (of the reprobate members of the vifible church) 
 
 * and alfo ofMoabandElam, (of the Heathens and idola- 
 
 * trous nations) (b) when I fhall bring back again the capti- 
 
 * vity of Jerufalem and her daughters; (of all the profligate 
 ' members of the vifible church) then 1 fhall bring again the 
 < captivity of Sodom and her daughters; (or of the mod fla- 
 « gitious criminals) and the captivity of Samaria and her 
 
 * daughters; (or of the mofl: erroneous hereticks) when thy 
 ' fifters Sodom and her daughters, fhall return to their pri- 
 ' mitive flate, and Samaria and her daughters fliall return to 
 'their original flate, then Jerufalem and her daughters fhall 
 ^ return to their firft flate of purity and innocence, (c) Who 
 
 * is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquitys and paf- 
 ' fcth by the tranfgrefhons of rhe remnant of thy heritage; 
 ■' (of the Heathens and infidels). Thou will not retain thy 
 ' anger forever, becaufcthou delightefl in mercy.' 
 
 This is the flyle of the Holy Ghoft in the Old Teflamcnt; 
 but, left fome of thcfe cxprefTions fhould fcem obfcure, am- 
 
 (a)Jerem.ch.xxv. 15. xlvi. 10. 28. xlviii. 47. cmdxlix. 39. Cb)Ezek, 
 
 ch.xvi. 53.54. (c)Micahcb.vii. 18. 
 
 TART 2. X X 
 
34^ OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 biguons,and equivocal, wefhall now fhow, howtheapofties 
 explain, and unfold the doflrineof the prophets. 
 
 (a) * God hath permitted all nations, both Jew and Gen- 
 ' tile to be fhut up in unbelief, that he might have mercy 
 
 * upon all ; (and all without exception) becaufe from him all 
 
 * fpirits proceed, by him they all fubfift, and to him they muft 
 ' all return, (b) As in Adam all die,fo in Chrill:, fhall all be 
 
 * made alive: but every one in this order, firfl: of all, Chrift 
 
 * himfelf fhall appear; afterwards, thefe that are Chrid's, at 
 
 * his coming; (when the eleft fliall rife again to reign with 
 
 * him for many ages in his glorious kingdom upon earth re- 
 
 * newed andre-eftablifhed to its paradifiacal form) laft ofall, 
 ' fliall be the end (or the confummationof all things); when 
 
 * he will deliver up the kingdom to his Father, for he muft 
 
 * reign (his glorious kingdom upon earth muft laft) till he 
 
 * put all his enemys (things) under his feet. The laft enemy 
 
 * that fhall be deftroyed is fpiritual death, and when all beings 
 ' fhall be fubdued unto him (by love), then fhall the Son 
 ' himfelf be fubjefbed to him that put all things under him ; 
 
 * that fo God may be all in all. (c) God has made known to 
 
 * us the myftery of his will, according to his good pleafure, 
 
 * which hepurpofedin himfelf, before the foundation of the 
 
 * world, that in the fullnefs of time, he might re-unite all 
 
 * beings in Chrift, both thefe which fell from heaven, and 
 ' thefe that fell from Paradife. (d) God, becaufe of our Savi- 
 
 * our's obedience, humiliation, and fufFering hath highly ex- 
 
 * alted him; and given him a name which is above every 
 
 (a) Rom. ch. xi. 32. (b) I. Cor. ch. xv. 22. to 29. (c) Ephef. ch. I. 
 
 9.10. (d)Philip. ch. xi. 8.to 12. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 347 
 
 * name, that fo every knee may bow before him, of all that 
 « are in heaven, of all that are in earth, and of all that are in 
 
 * hell, and fhould confefs, that Jefus Chrifl: is the Lord to 
 « the glory of God the Father, (a) For it pleafed the Father, 
 
 * that in him fhould all fulnefs dwell; and having made peace 
 
 * through the blood of his crofs, by him to reconcile all 
 
 * things, unto himfelf, by him, I fay, whether they be things 
 
 * terrefirial, or infernal, (b) God our Saviour will have all 
 
 * men to be faved, and to come to the knowledge of truth ; 
 
 * for there is one God, and one Mediator betwixt God, and 
 
 * men, the man Chrift Jefus, who gave himfelf a ranfom for 
 
 * all, to be teflified in due time, when God fhall become all 
 
 * in all.' 
 
 Thefe fixteen texts of Scripture can never be explained of 
 an external, nor even, of an internal converfion oftheleaft, 
 fmalleft, and moft inconfiderable part of lapfed beings, with- 
 out doing a manifeft violence to the natural fenfe of the 
 words. Here Heave it to the judgment of all honeft, upright, 
 unprejudiced and intelligent minds, if the Holy Ghoft could 
 have chofen any ftronger and more nervous exprellions, to 
 declare the luminous doctrine of univerfal redemption and 
 reftitution, than thefe made ufe of by the prophets and the 
 apoftles, in the fore-mentioned paflages. Now, if it be de- 
 monflrated, that this dodrine is not only confonant to, but a 
 neceflary confequence of the jull ideas we fhould have of the 
 divine attributes; that it flops the mouths of the incredulous, 
 minute philofophers, and that it throws a light upon all the 
 glorious plan of Providence; then it follows plainly, that the 
 
 (a) Coloir. ch. i. 19. 20. (b)I. Timothy ch.ii. 3. 4. 5. 
 
 Xx 2 
 
348 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 univerfal re-eftablifhment of all lapfed beings is an elTential 
 doftrine both of natural and revealed religion. 
 
 I conclude all I have to fay upon the Scripture-do(5lrine 
 of univerfal reflitution, by this one remark. The facred ora- 
 cles call the Gofpel ' glad tidings to all nations,' now if the 
 do6trine of eternal pains were true, this expreffion would be 
 ludicrous,infulting,illufory and'falfc. Forin whatfer-'e could 
 the Gofpel be called ' glad tidings to all nation s/if it ati-noun^jed 
 that (alvation belonged only to thcfmallefl: and naoft incon- , 
 fiderable part of mankind; and that all the reft were to be 
 for ever and ever miferable? It is, as if a tyrannical, barbarous 
 king that hated his fubje(5ls and thirfted after their blood, 
 jliould fend a mefTenger to a prifon, who was to enter with 
 ioy painted in his face, and with all demonftrations of glad- 
 Defs, triumph and tranfport aiTure them, that he brings all 
 the prifoners glad tidings, and after that he had abated their 
 mifery, heightned their expeflations and cheared up their 
 hearts by pleafant hope, hefhould publifh, with a loud foun- 
 ding trumpet, that his mafter's v/ill was, to fave three or four 
 of them, and that all the reft, were condemned to the moft 
 exqui'fite torments.Would not this be the height of barbarity, 
 and the moft cruel manner of infulting thefe poor criminals? 
 'I-hevery thought creates horror, and I cannot but repeat it 
 Qncemore, The do(5lrine of eternal pains feems to have been 
 hatched expresfly by the enemys of revealed religion to ren- 
 d.er Chriftianity odious. 
 
 • Here I fee the fchoolmen and Chriftian mythologifts fall 
 iiito a kind of phrenetical madnefs, and cry out, that the doc- 
 tjriiie of univerfal rcftitution is diametrically oppofite to Scrip- 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 349 
 
 tnre, which afTures us in feveral places, that ' the torments of 
 
 * the devils and damned are to be eternal ; that in the lake, pit, 
 
 * or hell the worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched; 
 
 * that the devils and the reprobate will be cafl: into the lake of 
 ' fire and brimftone, where they will be tormented for ever 
 
 * and ever.' In fine, that our Saviour himfelf fays, (a) ' That 
 'all ma Mier of fin and blafphcmy againfl: the Father and the 
 
 * Son fhall be forgiven to men ; but the blafphemy againft 
 
 * the Holy GholT: fhall not be forgiven, neither in this world, 
 
 * nor in the world to come.' 
 
 I anfwer, in the firfr place, that, according to Scripturs 
 flyle and common language,the words * for ever and eternal' 
 do not always fignify a duration without end ; but a time that 
 lafts, as long as the difpofitions, and nature of the thing fpoke 
 of endures. Thus, in many different places of facred writ, 
 the ceremonial law of Mofes, not the moral precepts, but 
 the external rites are faid to be eternal. Thus, in civillaw, 
 kings are.faid to banifh for ever their rebellious fubjeifts*. and 
 fathers to difmherit for ever their profligate fons: but every 
 one knows, that comminatory pains are not obligatory upon 
 Icgiflators; that they have always a right to pardon, when 
 the reafon of the penal law ceafes. All thefe pafTages then of 
 the holy Scripture, wherein tlie pains of the damned are faid 
 to be eternal, regard only the natural and neceffary confc' 
 qucnces of our rebellion; fo long as our revolt la (Is^our mifery 
 mufi: lafl: but if the creature ceafe its refiftance, then thefe 
 punifhmentsmuftceafe. Now, fince we have proven in ths 
 firfl Part; that, according to all the ideas, we have of thcnarf- 
 
 Ca) Matth. ch. xii. 31.32. 
 
350 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 ture of God and the creature, the one cannot be unappeafa- 
 ble, nor the other unconvertible; it follows plainly, that the 
 words ' for ever, and eternal,' muft not be underftood here, 
 of a duration without end. The univerfal rule of interpreting 
 Scripture, is, that we muft depart from the rigorous, literal, 
 grammatical fenfe of the words, when that fenfe contradi<5ls 
 manifeftly the divine attributes. Now, the docftrine of eter- 
 nal punifhments is altogether incompatible with the divine 
 perfeOions; with his infinite power, that muft have at laft 
 an abfolute empire over all beings free ornecelTary; with 
 the divine wifdom, that can find out means to furmount the 
 refiftance of his free creatures, without violating their li- 
 berty ; with the divine fan(5lity, that tends necelTarily to re- 
 eftablifh order ; with the divine goodnefs, that made intelli- 
 gent beings only to make them happy, and that cannot be 
 eternally fruftrated in his defigns; and in fine, with the divine 
 juftice,that engages him neceflarily to put an end toinjiiftice. 
 When God therefore, to deter men from fm, threatens that 
 his punifliments will be eternal; thofe comminatory pains 
 are not obligatory, as his remunerating promifes. He referves 
 to himfelf always the right of pardoning, and cannot be un- 
 appeafable,fince the creature is not inconvertible. 
 
 I anfwer, in the fecond place, that it is literally and exact- 
 ly true, * that in hell the worm never dies, and the fire is ne- 
 * ver quenched ;' the remorfes, agonysandhorrorsof confci- 
 ence laft as long, as this ftate of punifhment ihall laft; but 
 this does not prove, that hell will laft for ever. So long as 
 reprobate fpirits remain in their obduration, impenitence,and 
 corruption, they muft be necefTarily tormented; but if they 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 351 
 
 can bcreclalmed,their puniflimentmiift ceafe. Now,fince we 
 have deraonftrated, that lapfJ:'d beings cannot be abfolutely 
 inconvertible, that finite impotence, folly, and malice cannot 
 for ever furmount infinite povver^wifdom and goodnefs; it fol- 
 lows necefTarily, that all lapfed beings may be reclaimed, and 
 therefore their punilhments cannot be eternal. 
 
 I anfwer, in the third place, that the words e/$ t8$ oda- 
 v(Li rciv cuuvo)v,{h.o\\\6. not be tranflated by ' for ever and ever,' 
 but ' for ages of ages,' that is, fo long as time lafts ; but time 
 will not lafl eternally, there will be an end, when timefhall be 
 no more, when eternity will begin, and when God (liall be- 
 come all in all, as we have fhown. 
 
 In fine, fmce the holy Ghoft is love, and effential love, 
 the fin again ft the holy Gfeoft, muft be a deliberate, volunta- 
 ry, obftinate, conftant refiftance to all the endearments, at- 
 tra<5lions and infpirations of love. Now, fo long as this re- 
 fiftance lafts, it muft be punifhcd in this world, and in the 
 world to come, that is, during all the time of the glorious 
 reign. It muft be extirpated and deftroyed by hell-flames, 
 and can never be pardoned, but at the general refHtution of 
 all beings. For the world to come, does not fignify here eter- 
 nity, but that interval of duration, after the refurreftion 
 which is to laft till death and hell be fwallowed up in vi<5lo- 
 ry. Love covers a multitude of iniquitys, and expiates all 
 fins, fo that God leaves them in perfe6l oblivion,and puniilies 
 them no more-, but a formal oppofition to, and refufal of all 
 the divine fuccours, makes future punifhments, and hell- 
 flames, in the world to come, abfolutely neceflary. The 
 fin and blafphemys againft the Father and the Son may come. 
 
352 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 from prejudice, and ignorance. We may, as the Predeftina- 
 rians, attribute to God the Father paflions, partialitys and 
 imperfeftions, incompatible with his nature; or^ with the 
 Arians, deny the confubftantiality of the Word and divinity 
 of the Son, and fo blafpheme again ft thefe twoperfons of the 
 facred trinity. All this will be pardoned, if thefe prejudices 
 and miftakes do not deftroy in us a vital principle of love.The 
 falfe and blafphemous ideas of God and Providence, of pre- 
 fcience and predeftination, of original fin and eternal pains, 
 of vindictive juftice and unappcafable wrath, may be pardo- 
 ned and expiated in this life, or in a ftate of purification after 
 death: but final impenitence, the dired, refolute, conftant 
 rejection of, and refiftance to all the efforts and foUicitations 
 of almighty love, during this ftate of probation here below, 
 cannot be expiated, extirpated and deftroyed, but by infernal 
 pains and hell torments. The meaning then of the text is, 
 that a formal, deUberate refiftance to divine love, can never 
 be totally deftroyed, but by hell fires, during all the time of 
 the glorious reign, and at theend of the world to come, when 
 all beings are to be re-eftabliflied. The fin againft the holy 
 Ghoft will thus be punifiied in the next world; but it may, 
 and muft be one day deftroyed, furmounted and extirpated; 
 otherwife, God would be for ever unappcafable, the crea- 
 tures unconvertible, and the evil principle indeftructible, all 
 which are impofilble and blafphemous fuppofitions. 
 
 The fchoolmen, defeated by Scripture and reafon, have 
 no other refource, but to cry out, that this do<5lrine is diame- 
 trically oppofite to the 'formal decrees of the univerfal church 
 in all times, and in all places. This is abfolutely falfe. In 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 353 
 
 the a^ls of the fifth general council, no mention is made of 
 the doiflrine of univerfal refHtution. In the anathematifms, 
 fubjoined to thefe a6ls, and which are to be found at the end 
 of the difcourfe, which the Emperor Juftinian fent to Menas 
 Patriarch of Conftantinople, the true do6lrine of univerfal 
 reftitution is not condemned, but only the adulterations, fic- 
 tions, and errors mixed and blended with this ancient doc- 
 trine. Thefe falfe mixtures are, that by the final confuni- 
 mation of all things, our Saviour's glorious body is to be 
 deftroyed, as well as ours; that all material nature is to 
 be annihilated, and that nothing is to remain in a future 
 ilate, but pure fpirit. Thefe abfurd errors and mixtures have 
 nothing in common, with the pure doflrine of RefHtution, 
 which we have explained, and which the church never con- 
 demned. On the contrary, feveral primitive fathers, fuch as 
 St. Jerom, and St. Auguftin, after having ftrongly com- 
 bated this doftrine, fay, that they will no longer difpute with 
 the merciful docflors who maintain it, but leave all to thefe- 
 cret judgment of God, whofe ways are unfearchable and pafl 
 finding out; and fo exhort to talk cautioufly of this opinion, 
 left it flatter the pafllons; and encourage vice by the hopes of 
 impunity. In conformity to thefe two great lights of the 
 ChrliHan church, the paftoral body never condemned the 
 doflrine of rertitution,as abfolutely falfe, and impoiTible. No 
 general council ever approved, by any univerfal decree, thefe 
 three barbarous impious, manichean,tho' fcholaftic opinions, 
 that the damned are inconvertible,God unappeafablc, and evil 
 inddtrucfliblc. On the contrary, we fee, that in two of the 
 mod: ancient formularys of faith called the apoftolic and Ni- 
 PART -2. Yy 
 
354 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 cene creeds, mention is made of eternal life, but not 
 one word faid of ETERNAL death.* 
 
 This then is the doflrine of the holy Scriptures both Old 
 and New, of Mofes, the prophets, the apoftles and primitive 
 fathers, concerning the three ftates of degraded nature in ge- 
 neral, and of angelical fpirits that fell. Let us now fee, if we 
 can find any velHges of thefe great truths among the Pagans. 
 
 We begin firft with the Chinefe. The ancient books of 
 that nation talk tluis of the angelical fpirits: in the book 
 ■Y-KING we read thefe words, * The rebellious and perverfe 
 
 * dragon fuffers by his pride. His ambition blinded him, he 
 ■*■ would mount up to heaven, and he was thrown down to 
 
 * the earth. At firll-, his abode was in the high places, but 
 
 * he forgot himfelf, he hurt himfelf, and he loft eternal Hfe.' 
 The book TcHUNsiou adds, * In themidft of the night,the 
 
 * ftars fell from heaven, and were feen no more.' Hoai- 
 NANG-WANG and feveral commentators upon him fay, 
 
 * Under the reign of Y AG, or the Moft High, ten funs were 
 
 * feen in heaven, that pretended to enlighten by their own 
 .' light. Yao ordered his fon Y to pierce them with his darts. 
 
 * Y wounded nine of them, and nine ravens that dwelt in 
 
 * them had their wings dipt.' All this feems to be allegorical, 
 and may refer to the nine quires of angelical fpirits, of which 
 many in each hierarchy were feduced by the evil principle. 
 The book Chu-king fays, * It is evident by the ancient 
 ' tradition of our fathers, that Tc H i-y-cou, or the Beauti- 
 ' fuljbecame deformed. Thisfon of heaven was the firft author 
 •< of all revolt; but his rebellion extended at length to all na- 
 
 ♦ See remarks on the condemnation of 0rigen;at the end of this volume. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 355 
 
 f dons, and deluged the world with crimes.' The commen' 
 tator upon this pafTage fays, * thatTcHi-Y-cou is called the 
 
 * Red-king, bccaufe the flames of the Lord furround him.' 
 Chan-kai-king fays, that 'Hoangti, or the fovereign 
 
 * Lord ordered a celeftial fpirit to precipitate Tghi-y-gou 
 
 * into the black valley of miferys.' The other commentators 
 add, * that Tghi-y-gou raifed a great dorm to rob the ce- 
 
 * leftial army of all light; but that Hoangti took him cap- 
 
 * tive,and tycd him to his chariot.' Lopi adds,* that Tghi- 
 
 * Y-cou, having hatched rebellion, went out from the river 
 
 * ofthe Lamb.' 'T he book Koucil-sang adds, ' the great 
 
 * impollor or inventor of all evil Chong-ghong, has the 
 
 * face of a man,the body of a ferpent,thehalr red,and thathe 
 
 * is all deceit and lies. 'Ho- a i- N a N T-s E e fays, that ' Ch o n g- 
 
 * chong, difputed empire with the fovereign Lord of the 
 
 * univerfe, and raging with fury, heftruck his head againfi: a 
 ' mountain. Then the pillars of heaven were broken, the 
 
 * earth fubflded, and its pofition became oblique; Yao preci- 
 
 * pitated Chong-chong into the lower places, and the re- 
 
 * gions of darknefs.' 
 
 Thefe two paffages infmuate the two firfl: flates ofthe an- 
 gelical world; the fame books fpeak very oft of the total re- 
 eftablifhmentof thefe rebellious fpirits, whom the hero, the 
 fon of heaven, the man-God or Chang-gin is to fubdue 
 and to fubje<n: to his empire. Li thefe fame books, it is afked 
 frequently, ' how long this kingdom of the fon of heaven or 
 
 * KiGiN is to laft. Sometimes, it isanfwered, ten thoufand 
 ' years; fometimes, that it will have no end ; and fometimes, 
 ' that it will extend to all places, all ages, and all beings.' Yea, 
 
 Yy 2 
 
35^ OF THE THREE STATES 
 there are fome places, that feeni to diftinguifli betwixt the 
 kingdom of the Ton of heaven, or Ch ANG-GiN,and the em- 
 pire of the father, or C h a N g t i . The firft is to laft only a 
 definite time, or ten thoufand years, and the lad: is to be eter- 
 nal, and extend to all lapfed beings. 
 
 The three ftates of the world are clearly marked In the 
 Vedam,which is the facred book of the Indians, and contains 
 a fummary of the ancient traditions of the Gymnofophifts. 
 (a) * They believe that fouls are eternal emanations of the 
 
 * divine eflence, or at leaft, that they were produced long be* 
 
 * fore the formation of this prefent world; that they were 
 « originally in a Hate of purity, but that having finned, they 
 
 * were thrown down into the bodies of men and beafts, ac- 
 
 * cording to their refpe(5live demerits, fo that the body where 
 ' the foul refides, is a fort of dungeon or prifon. In fine, 
 
 * they hold that after a certain number oftranfmigrations,all 
 
 * fouls fhall be re-united to their origin, re-admitted unto the 
 
 * fociety of the Gods,and be deified.' All the Pagan philofo- 
 phers Oriental, Perfian, Egyptian, and Greek, efpecially the 
 Pythagoreans and Platonifts, believed the doftrine of Pre- 
 exiftencejbut having forgot the primitive, Noevian tradition, 
 they fancied that all fpirits, celeftial, terreftrial and infernal 
 were of the fame fpecies; that the fouls of devils, men and 
 beafts had all been originally inhabitants of heaven ; that 
 fome of them fell into human bodies, others into animal ma- 
 chines, and others into fubterraneous demoniacal forms. 
 Thus, they confounded the angelical world with the paradi- 
 fiacal ftate ; departed from the true do(ftrine of the anci- 
 
 (a) Abraham Roger, relig. of the Bramins.part II.chap.7 . Kircher^Sina il!i»ftrata. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 357 
 
 cnts ; and coined many wild fidions incompatible with the 
 analogy of faith. Amidfl: all thefe alterations, adulterations' 
 and difguifes, the fund of truth was (till preferved. 
 
 The Perfians had the fame ideas about the three ftates of 
 degraded nature in general.Plutarch fays, (a) ' that,according 
 
 * to the Magi, Oromazes is born of the pureft. light, and Ari- 
 
 * manius of darknefs. They continually make war upon' 
 
 * each other There will at laft come a time appointed 
 
 ' by Fate, when Arimanius will be entirely deftroyed and 
 
 * extirpated. ' Theopompus, according to Plutarch, adds^ 
 
 * the Magi believed that Oromazes and Arimanius mufl: make 
 
 * war for nine thoufand years; the one deflroying the other's 
 
 * works, till at laft, Hades or hell fhall be no more. The 
 
 * God who made all things, keeps himfelf concealed till that 
 
 * time; an interval not too long for a God ; but rather like a 
 ' moment of fleep.' Shariftani, an Arabian phllofopher, has 
 prcferved to us many fragments of the ancient tradition of 
 Zoroafter. This author aflures us, (b) * that the firft Mac^i 
 
 * did not look upon the principles of good and evil as co-eter- 
 
 * nal ; but believed, that, light was felf-originated, and that 
 
 * darknefs was produced in time. They account thus for the 
 
 * origin of this evil principle. Light can produce nothing but 
 
 * light, andean never be the origin of evil. How then was 
 ' evil produced? Light created at firft feveral belngs;all of them 
 ' fpiritual, luminous, and powerful ; but their chief, vvhofe 
 ' name was Ahriman or Arimanius had an evil thought con- 
 « trary to the light. He doubted, and by that doubt, he be- 
 
 (a) Plutarch, dc Ifid. et Ofirid. pag. 370. (b) Hyde, Rel. veter. Tcrfar. can. 
 
358 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 * came dark. From hence proceeded all evils, diflenfion, ma- 
 
 * lice, and every thing elfe of a contrary nature to light.' The 
 fame Sharlftani fays in another place, (a) ' the two principles 
 
 * made war upon one another, till at lad: a truce was conclu- 
 
 * ded, upon condition that the lower world fhould be in fub- 
 ' jeftion to Arimanius, for feven thoufand years; after this 
 ' fpace of time,he is to furrender back the world to the Eighty 
 
 * or God of light.' This is the general reftitution of all things; 
 
 The Egyptians had much the fame ideas of the three 
 ftates of degraded intelligences, (b) * They talk of the pre^ 
 
 * exiflent ftate, as the reign of Gods, and demi-Gods, when 
 ' all were happy. Afterwards, Typhon revolted againfl: Ofi- 
 ' risjtore his body inpicces,mangled his limbs; fcattered them 
 
 * about, and filled the univerfe with rage and violence.' Here 
 is the degraded ftate of nature, or of the material world, 
 called by the Egyptians The body of the Deity. * The eter- 
 ' nal and immortal foul of Ofiris, led his fon Orus' (or the 
 facred humanity) * to the (hades below,to the Hades, where 
 ' he taught him how to fight and vanquifh Typhon. Orus 
 
 * returned upon the earth, fought and defeated Typhon,' (by 
 hisfecond advent) ' but he did not kill him; he only bound 
 
 * him' (during the glorious reign) ' and took away his power 
 ' of doing mifchief. The wicked one made his efcape after- 
 ? wards, and was going to throw all again into diforder.' 
 (That is, after the thoufand years mentioned by St. John 
 in his Revelations.) * But Orus fought him in two bloody 
 
 * battels, and deftroyed him entirely.' This is the general 
 reftitution of all things, when hell and death fhall be fwal- 
 
 (a) Hyde, lb. cap, xxii. pag. 294. (b) Plutarch, de Ifid. et Ofirid. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. Z59 
 
 lowed up in victory. The Egyptians, ignorant of the great 
 plan of Providence, and not underftanding the hieroglyphi- 
 'eal language, which has no tenfcs; confounded the future 
 .\vith the preterit, and looked upon thefe events, as already 
 pafl:. Moreover, they mixed, difguifed and adulterated thefe 
 •rays and emanations of the ancient Noevian tradition, with 
 •inany fablcs,that obfcured their beauty: butnotwiihftanding 
 all thefe fophifticationSjthe fubftance of the Noevian docftrine 
 .was ftill preferved, concerning the three ftates of nature exal- 
 .tedj fallen, and re-eftablifhed. 
 
 We come now to the Greeks and Romans, and begin 
 with Plato. His works contain the whole fyftem, of which, 
 the other philofophers give only hints. In order to under- 
 ftandthe following quotations, w^e muft not forget, that the 
 Pagan philofophers believed, that all degraded intelligences 
 were of the fame fpecies, whether angelical, terreftrial or in- 
 fernal, human, brutal, or diabolical. Plato fpeaks thus, in 
 his Timaeus, of the firfl: ftate of nature, (a) * The great ar- 
 
 * chiteft of the world had a model, by which he pi'oduced 
 ' every thing, and this model is himfelf. As he is good, and 
 
 * as what is good has not the leafi: tincture of envy, he made 
 
 * all things, as far as was pofllble, like himfelf. He made the 
 ' world perfect in the whole of its conilitution, perfect too in 
 
 * all the various parts thatcompofe it. They w^ere fubjefl, 
 
 * neither to difeafes, nor decay of age. The Father of all 
 ' things, beholding this beautiful image of himfelf, took a 
 
 * complacency in his work, and this complacency raifed in 
 
 * him, a defire of improving it, to a nearer likenefs to its mo- 
 
 Ca)PlatOD. Timaeus. edit. Steph. 
 
3^0 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 * del.' The fame philofopher, in his Phaedrus, gives ns his 
 notion of the pleafures, which fpirits enjoyed in their pre-ex- 
 iftent ftate. (a) * The great Jupiter animating his winged 
 
 * chariot matched firft, followed by all the inferior gods, and 
 ' genii. Thus they traverfed the heavens, admiring the infi- 
 
 * nite wonders thereof. Then they raifed themfeives to the 
 
 * fummit of the celefHal regions, and mounted above the 
 
 * fpheres. None of our poets ever yet fung, or can fingthls 
 
 * fupra-celeftiai place ; it is there, that fouls contemplate with 
 
 * the eyes of the underftanding, the truly exifting effence, 
 ' which has neither colour nor figure,nor is the object of any 
 ' fenfe, but is purely intelligible. There they fee virtue, truth 
 ' and juftice, not as they are here below ; but as they exift in 
 
 * him, who is Being itfelf. There they fatiate themfeives 
 
 * with that fight, till they are no longer able to bear the glo- 
 
 * ry of it, and then they return back into the interior parts 
 ' of heaven, where they feed upon ne6tar and ambrofia.' Is 
 not this a beautiful definition, and explication of the double 
 felicity of intelligences j the one of which confifts in the con- 
 templation of the divine eifence, or almighty original; and 
 the other, in the knowledge, admiration and enjoyment of 
 his glorious works, and created reprefentations? 
 
 In other places, Plato defcribes the manner how fouls fell 
 from this happy ftate. (b) * Every foul, which follows God 
 
 * faithfully into the " fupra-celeftial place," preferves itfelf 
 ^ pure and without blemifh: but if It takes up with ne61:ar and 
 
 * ambrofia,' (that is, with the acceffory felicity to be found 
 in the enjoyment of the material piftures) ' and doesnotat- 
 
 (a) Platon. Phaedrus. pag. 1216, 1222. (b) lb. pag. 1223. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 3^1 
 
 ' tend upon Jupiter's chariot, to go and contemplate truth,' 
 (that is, if it forgets its fupream felicity, which alone confifb 
 in the knowledge and vifion of the great original) ' then it 
 
 * grows heavy and fiuggifti ; it breaks its wings ; it falls upon 
 ' the earth, and enters into a mortal body, moreorlefs vile, 
 
 * according as it has been more orlefs elevated.' He fays in 
 another place, (a) * that it was after this degradation of fpi- 
 
 * rits,thatSaturn,or the great Father of the Gods,and Mafl:er 
 
 * of the univerfe, having quitted the reins of his empire, hid 
 ^ himfelf in an unaccefTible retreat. The foundations of the 
 
 * world were fhaken by motions, contrary to its firft princi- 
 
 * pic and lad end; it lofl: its beauty andluftre; and then it was, 
 
 * that (^ood and evil were blended together.' 
 
 After this, Plato defcribes the third ftate of the world in 
 the cleared: terms, (b) ' atlaft,lefl: the world fhould beplun- 
 
 * ged in an eternal abyfs of confufion, God the author of the 
 
 * primitive order will appear again, and refume the reins of 
 
 * empire. Then he will change, amend, embellilli andreftorc 
 
 * the whole frame of nature. After ten thoufand years, fouls 
 
 * will be reunited to their origin. During that fpace of time, 
 ' their wings grow again and are renewed.' 
 
 All the Greek philofophers before Plato and Pythagoras, 
 had the fame ideas. Orpheus the mofl: ancient of all the 
 Greeks, and the fomxe of their theology, fays, according to 
 theteftimony of Plato, (c) ' that the foul is here in a ftate of 
 
 * punifliment, for faults committed inapre-exiftcntlife. Its 
 ' body beinga prifon to it, wherein it is kept in cuftody, till 
 
 (a)Pkton.polIt. pag. 538. (b) Id.pag. 539, et Phaed.pag. 1 223. (c)PJaton. 
 Cratylus. pag. 400. ed. Steph. 
 
 PART 2. Z Z 
 
362 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 ' its debts be payed, and Its faults be expiated. And therefore 
 
 * it is called Xwjua, or 2>?//a, a fepulchre.' Empedocles, long 
 after Orphens, had the fame fentimcnts; for he faid, accor- 
 ding to Plutarch and Plotinus, that (a) * fouls were here in 
 
 * a lapfcd (bte, wanderers, ftrangers and fugitives from God; 
 
 * that having finned in heaven, they fell down into mortal bo- 
 ' dys. That the evil demons or lapfed fpirits are punifhed 
 
 * for the faults they committed In a former ftate: firft, the 
 *■ fun precipitates them into the air; the air calls them into the 
 *-deep fea; the fea vomits them up upon the land; and from 
 ' the earth, they are raifed at laft to heaven. Thus, they are 
 
 * tranfported from one place to another, till being in the end 
 
 * puniflicd and purified, they return to their native abode.' All 
 this defcription is an ingenious allegory, to exprefs the diffe- 
 rent gradations, by which fpirits fell from their primitive in- 
 nocence; and by which, they mufl: recover It again. 
 
 The Pythagoreans had the fame ideas, as the Platonlfts, 
 Egyptians, and Orientals, according to the teftimony of Hie- 
 rocles. He fpeaks thus, in his commentary upon the Golden 
 verfes, (b) * as our alienation from God ; and the lofs of the 
 ' wings which we had in a heavenly ftate, have thrown us 
 
 * down into this region of death, which is over-run with all 
 ' manner of evils, fo the revival of virtue in us, makes our 
 
 * wings grow again, and raifesus up to the manfions of life, 
 ' where true good is to be found, without any mixture of 
 ' evil.'- Thefe philofophers were very far from thinking, that 
 hell torments were to be eternal. They looked upon them 
 
 (a) Plutarch, lib. deexilio, pag. 667. et delfid.et Oflride pag. 361. Plot. Enne- 
 ad. IV. lib. VIII. cap. i. (b) HierQC . comment, in aurea carm.pag. 1 8 7 . cd. Caa- 
 «ab. 1709. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 363. 
 as neceflary remedys. (a) ' The judges of the infernal re- 
 
 * glons corre<fl: and cure the foul, by prefcribing punlfliments 
 
 * for the health of nature, juftas phyficians heal the mofl: in- 
 ' veterate ulcers by Incifions. They puniih the crime in or- 
 
 * der to extirpate it; they do not annihilate theeffence of the 
 
 * foul ; but bring it back to its true and genuine exigence; by 
 
 * purifying it from all the paflions that corrupt it. 
 
 The Roman philofophcrs adopted the fame do6lrineof a 
 |5re-exiftent, degraded, and re-eftablifhed ftate. The Orphic, 
 Pythagorean, and Platonic doctrine about the defcent and 
 afcent, firft-life, fall, and rcftoration of fouls, is thus explain- 
 ed by Macrobius in his commentary upon Scipio's dreara.(b) 
 
 * There are two forts of deaths, the one of the animated ma- 
 
 * chine, and the other of the animating principle. The one 
 
 * happens when the foul is fepa rated from the body; the 
 
 * other, when the foul detaches itfelf, from the fimple and in- 
 
 * divifible fountain of nature and falls into a mortal body. 
 ^ Hence the body was called by the Greeks AsfxcLi or the 
 
 * chain ofthefoul; as aKoSS^ita., or X>?]U(X, the tomb of the 
 
 * foul ; and by Cicero both one and the other, being the pri- 
 
 * fon in which the foul is buried The univerfc is divi- 
 
 * ded into two parts ; the immoveable fixed heavens, and 
 ^ the fpherc of the wandering liars. The firlt is named by 
 
 * fome, the ethcrial earth, and the primitive abode of fouls, 
 
 * where they lived happy and free from the contagion of mat- 
 
 * tcr. Souls, who from this high place and perpetual feat of 
 
 * light, look down upon earth with a fecrct, hidden dcfire and 
 ' appetite, are drawn downwards, by the weight of their ter* 
 
 ' (a) lb. pag. 361. (b) Macrob. defomnio Sclpion.lib. I.cap.xi. xii. 
 
 Z Z 2 
 
3^4 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 * reftrial thoughts. Their fplrltual nature, however, Is not 
 
 * all of a fudden cloathed upon with a grofs, clammy, clayifh 
 
 * body ; but by degrees they fall into the planetary regions, 
 ' where they contract in each fphere, etherial vehicles,or ae- 
 
 * rial cloathings, till they be infenfibly reconciled to terreftri- 
 
 * al bodies. Thus, they undergo feveral different deaths, in 
 
 * pafling through different planets, till they fall at laft into 
 ' that death, which upon earth is called life. This dying flate 
 
 * of the foul does not laft always. Its tranfient temporal im- 
 
 * merfion into matter, does not deprive it of the principle of 
 
 * immortality: for fo foon as it deferves to be purged from 
 
 * the contagion of vice, itreturns again to its firll: fhte, and is 
 
 * reftored to the light of eternal life.' 
 
 Thus, we have endeavoured to prove, that the doflrine of 
 the three ftates of the world was believed by the Sages of all 
 antiquity, both facred and profane, Jewifh and Pagan; by 
 the Chinefe, the Indians, the Perfians, the Egyptians, the 
 Greeks and the Romans. We would, no doubt, find fome 
 veftigesof the fame truths among the ancient Gauls, Britons, 
 and Germans, if we had any remains of their ancient books. 
 Before we conclude this chapter, we fhall endeavour to fhow, 
 that, according to the doMne of the ancients, all finite fpi- 
 rits are, fome how or another, united to material vehicles. 
 
 We have already proven,in the firft Part of this work, that 
 no finite fpirits, how exalted fo ever, are capable to fupport, 
 with a direct, immediate, uninterrupted view, the luminous 
 fplendoursof the pure, abfolute, and unvailed eflence of the 
 Deity; that they are obliged fometimes, becaufeof the effen- 
 tial weaknefs, infeparable from finite, to cover their faces. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 3^5 
 
 and turn their views from the bright Original, to contemplate 
 the great archetype, in his created pi^flures, images and re- 
 prefentations; that it was for this reafon, that material nature 
 was created, and that all fpirits celeftial, feraphic, and ange- 
 lical are, fome how or another, united to material, luminous 
 vehicles, by which they communicate with the corporeal pic- 
 tures of the Deity. This do<5trine,founded upon the fublimeft 
 reafon, is perfectly conform to Scripture, to the tradition of 
 the fatherSjand to that of all antiquity , both facred and profane. 
 I fliall not here mention the expreflions made ufe of by 
 the prophets and apoftles, who, in their fupernatural vifions, 
 rcprefent the angels under vifible corporeal forms, as Ipeaking 
 with tongues, mounted upon white and red horfes, having 
 keys and fealsin their hands. I know that all thefe corporeal 
 images and phrafes, are allegorized by the fchoolmen, with- 
 out any folid reafons, or for very abfurd ones ; as we fhall 
 fliow hereafter. I fhall only mention three great principles 
 contained in the facred oracles, and perfe^ftly conform to the 
 analogy of faith. 
 
 1 . It is plain, that the angels appeared to the patriarchs un- 
 der human and corporeal forms, (a) Now, fince we have 
 proven, that the head and chief of all principalities and 
 powers had, from the beginning, a celeftial, glorious body or 
 vehicle; why may not the angelical fpirits have one too? The 
 laws of analogy in the invifible world, feem to demand, that 
 all fpirits fhould be like their head, ruler and model. 
 
 2. If this great principle be combined with the exprefs 
 words of our Saviour, all will become a demonilration. He 
 
 (a) Gen. ch. xviii. 2 ► &Ci 
 
-^U OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 fays, (a) ' they whofliall be accounted worthy to obtain the 
 
 * world to come, and the refurrcdion of the dead, neither ma- 
 
 * ry nor are given in marriage; neither can they die any 
 
 * more, for they are like the angels, and are the children of 
 'God, being the children of the refurreflion.' If the angels 
 were utterly devoid of all bodies, then the fouls of good men, 
 in a ftate of Reparation from sril matter after death, and be- 
 fore the refurreclion, would be rather like toangek, than af- 
 ter the refurreflion. Thus, the reafoning of our Saviour 
 would be Inconfequential, for it would be abfurd to compare 
 fouls re-united to their gloriou^ bodies, unto pure fpirits fe- 
 parated from all matter. 
 
 3. Our Saviour'^ faying to the reprobate, (b) * Go,yecur- 
 
 * fed, into everlafting fire prepared for the devil and his an- 
 
 * gels,' feems to be a full confirmation, that devils are embo- 
 died: for to allegorize this fire into fimpleremorfeof confci- 
 ence, would be denying the refurreflion of the bodies of the 
 damned, and exprefly contrary to the declaration of the pro- 
 phets and apoflles, who fay in many different places, that 
 thefe who ileep In the duft of the earth, fhall awake, fome to 
 everlailing life, and others to everlading fhame; fome fhall 
 ihine, as the brightnefs of the fun, and others be thrown in- 
 to the lake of fire. Now, to fay that purely incorporeal fub- 
 ftances, feparate from all bodies, can be tormented with fire, 
 is to expofe the whole of Scripture to the fcorn of minute 
 phllofophers. It is true indeed, that God might communicate 
 to pure fpirits the fame painful fenfations, as if they had cor- 
 .poreal organs; but this high-flown Malebranchian notion 
 
 (a) Luke. ch. xx. 35. 36. (b)]Matth. ch. xsv. 41. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. s^r 
 
 can never deftroy the eftablifhed do(flrineof all antiquity, that 
 in hell there is really a material fire. 
 
 Thefe three principles founded upon the moft exprefs 
 doMnes of faith, prove that angelical natures both good and 
 bad are united to material vehicles. This was the fentiment 
 of many of the primitive fathers, and firfl: of Origen, who 
 was very far from confounding the ideas of material and im^ 
 material fubflancer for in his book of principles, he fays ex- 
 presfly, (a) * that angels, thrones, and dominations, powers, 
 ' and the governors of the darknefs of this world, yea, every 
 
 * name that is named by St. Paul, are incorporeal fubftances; 
 
 * tho' they are not bodies, yet they ufe bodies, and havecor- 
 
 * poreal vehicles; and in fine, that the holy Trinity alone is 
 
 * neither body, nor in body; but is altogether incorporeal.' 
 
 Moreover, St. Bafil, or whoever was the author of the 
 commentary upon Ifaiah, fays, ' Sacrifices are of no fmall 
 
 * pleafureor advantage to demons, becaufe the blood being 
 
 * evaporated by fire, and fo attenuated, is taken into thefub- 
 
 * ftance of their bodies, the whole of which is nourifhed with 
 
 * vapours, tho' not by eating, drinking, and fuch like organs, 
 
 * as ours.' The reafoning may be falfe,but this proves, that he 
 believed, that the demons were embodied. 
 
 St. Auguflin fays in many places, (b) ' that the bodies, of 
 ' good men, after the refurre<5tion, fhall be ifangelical, or 
 
 * like to thefe of angels. In other places, the fame faintfays, 
 
 * That our bodies, after the refurreetion, fhall be angehcat. 
 
 * bodies,fit for the fociety of angels.' Now this could not be, 
 
 (a) Origen. uipl ttp;(;«».pag. 147, (b) S. Auguft comment, inpfalm.lxxx, 
 pag. 145. 
 
368 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 if the angels were ftript of all matter, and purefpirlts: for a 
 fpirit embodied cannot be proper for the commerce of a fpi- 
 rit altogether incorporeal. According to the rules of analo- 
 gy, fince we are to enter into the fociety of angels, we muft 
 have a nature fimilar to theirs, and fince all blefTed fouls are 
 united to matter, there is no reafon, why there fhould be any 
 exception in the general law, where the fociety is to be mutu- 
 al. The fame St. Auguftin adds, (a) * that the devils, before 
 
 * their tranfgrefTion, had celeftial bodies, as angels have, yet 
 
 * might thefe afterwards, by way of puniiliment, be changed 
 
 * into aerial ones, and fuch as now may fufFer fire.' It is true, 
 that St. Auguflin afterwards retraced this opinion: but he 
 gives no folid reafons for his departing from this ancient tra- 
 dition. It is no wonder that fuch a lively genius fhewed fome- 
 times a fluctuation in his opinions, 
 
 Claudianus Mammeritus writing againfl: Faufl:us,who de- 
 nied the immateriality of fpirits, both angelical and human, 
 writes thuS5(b) ^ the devil confifteth of a double and different 
 
 * fubftance; corporeal and incorporeal. It is manifefl alfo, 
 
 * that the blefl: angels, are of a twofold fubftance. They are 
 
 * incorporeal in that part of theirs, wherein Godis vifible to 
 
 * them, and corporeal in that part, wherein themfelves are 
 
 * vifible to men.' 
 
 Fulgentius writes concerning angels in this manner, (c) 
 
 * great and learned men aflirm angels to confift of a double 
 
 * fubftance, that is, of a fpirit incorporeal, whereby they 
 ' contemplate God; and of a corporeal vehicle, whereby they 
 
 (a) Comment in Genef. lib. iii. cap.s. (b) Gkud. Mammer. lib. iil. (c) Ful- 
 gent, de trinlt. lib. iii. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 3^9 
 
 'i^ecome fometimes viidble to men; as alfo, that they have 
 
 * ethereal, or fiery bodies; but devils aerial.' This was the 
 opinion alfo of John Theflalonicenfis, in a dialogue of his 
 read and approved of in the feventh council, which declares 
 that the Catholic church acknowledges angels to be intellec- 
 tual, tho' not altogether incorporeal and invifible; but to 
 have certain fubtile bodies, either airy, or fiery. 
 
 In fine, Pfellus, who was a curious enquirer into the na- 
 ture of fpirits, declares it not only as his own opinion, but as 
 the univerfal fenfc of all the fathers, (a) * that the demoniac 
 
 * and angelic beings are not altogether incorporeal and body- 
 
 * lefs ; but they are united to material vehicles, and have con- 
 
 * genial bodies belonging to them. The angelical body fends 
 
 * forth rays and fplcndours,fuch as would dazzle mortal eyes> 
 
 * and cannot be born by them: but the demoniac body, tho' 
 ^ itfeemsto have been once fuch alfo, fince Ifaiah calls him 
 
 * that fell from heaven, Lucifer, yet it is now dark and 
 
 * obfcure, foul andfqualid, and grievous to behold, it being 
 
 * deprived of its original light, and beauty.' 
 
 This was alfo the common opinion of all the Pagan philo- 
 fophcrs, both Pythagorean and Platonic ; and therefore of 
 all the Pcrfians, Indians, Orientals and Egyptians, from 
 whom the Greeks borrowed their philofophy.Hicroclcs fays, 
 (b) ' every hero is a rational foul with a luminous body.' By' 
 heroes, this author means the celeftial fpirits that never fell.' 
 Plato alfo compares every divine foul to a winged chariot and 
 charioteer. In fine, all the Pagan philofophers without ex- 
 ception, flill reprefent the dcmi-gods, heroes and inferior 
 
 (a) pfellus. pag. 33. (c)Hierocl. aureacarm. cd. Cantab, an. 1705 pag. 214^ 
 PART 2. Aa a 
 
370 OF THE THREE STATES 
 
 deities, that is, angelical fpirits, as united to corporeal forms, 
 as well as the middle God. Thus facred and profane antiqui- 
 ty agree in the fame univerfal fentiment, that no finite fpirit is 
 altogether feparated from fome material vehicle or other. 
 
 I grant indeed, that the fchoolmen have adopted the opi- 
 nion of thefe vi^ho maintain, that angels are altogether incor- 
 poreal. One of the reafonsmay be, becaufe they adopted in 
 the thirteenth century the Ariftotellc philofophy, which 
 maintained the doftrine of abftrad intelligences diverted of 
 all matter, and admitted only the fimple and unbodied minds 
 of thefpurious Platonifts, as the chief of the generated and 
 created Gods. 
 
 Moreover, the fchoolmen miflook an expreffion of the 
 ancients, and founded all their do6lrine upon it. It was ufual, 
 according to the teftimony of Pfelkis, both with Chriftian 
 and Pagan writers, to call the groffer bodies, corporeal; and 
 thofe which efcapeour fight and touch, incorporeal, byrea- 
 fon of their fubtility. Thus, before Pfellus Joannes Theffo- 
 laniccnfis, in his dialogue approved in the feventh general 
 council, fays, * If you find angels or demons called fometimes 
 
 * incorporeal, you mud: underftand this in rcfpeft only of 
 
 * the tenuity of their vehicles, as not confifting of the groifer 
 ' elements, nor being fo folid,as thefe we are now imprifoned 
 ' in.' All the miftake of the fchoolmen is then founded upon 
 their profound ignorance of the ftyle of the ancients, wha 
 dilVmguilh betwixt folid and ethereal matter, call the one bo- 
 dies or corporeal, and the other incorporeal, or pneumatical. 
 
 1 he fum and fubftance of the great principles contained 
 in this chapter, may be reduced to thefe three. 
 
OF ANGELICAL NATURE. 371 
 
 I. God, long before the creation of men in a paradifiacal 
 ftate, produced innumerable, luminous, glorious, celeftial 
 manfions, replenifhed with myriads of angelical beings, that 
 were, like men, united to etherial vehicles. Thefe feraphic 
 fpirits enjoyed by turns the beatific viHon of the pure divini- 
 ty, which is their eflential felicity, and the delights of the ma- 
 terial world, which is their accelTory happinefs. 
 
 2. All the angelical natures, who were inhabitants of the 
 iolarlyftem, fell from thisfublime perfection, not Hkemen, 
 by abandoning themfelves to fenfible pleafure; but by fpiri- 
 tual ambition, felf- complacency, and an over-weening opini- 
 on of their natural excellency ; and fo reduced the folar lyf- 
 tem to a ftate of chaos, and confufion. Some of the mofl: re- 
 bellious v^^ere fhut up in chains of darknefs ; others wander in 
 the air to accomplifh the defigns of eternal Providence : 
 others are imprifoned in brutal forms. All of them are in a 
 degraded flatc, more or lefs miferable, till the time of the 
 lafl: judgment, when they fhall be thrown into the lake of 
 fire, with the reprobate, there to be tormented for ages of 
 
 ages. 
 
 3. By thefe infernal pains and punifhments, they will be 
 entirely purified, fubdued and transformed. Then will be the 
 end and confummation of all things, when the Son will deli- 
 ver up the kingdom to the Father ; God will become all in all; 
 moral and phyfical evil will be deftroyed, univerfal harmony 
 will be re-eftabUlhied ; all tongues fhall praife the Lord, and 
 ling his mercies for ever ; all fpirits in heaven, on earth and 
 under the earth fhall bow their knees before the Lord, by a 
 fubmiflion of love and obedience ; death and hell fliall be 
 
 Aaa 2 
 
372 OF THE STATES OF ANGEL. NAT. 
 
 fwallowed up in vi<5tory, and through the whole immehfity 
 of theuniverfe, nothing fhall be feen, but God as he is; and 
 nature as reprefentative of him. 
 
 We murtthen, never confound the three ftates of degra- 
 ded angelical natures with thefe of the terreftrial globe. That 
 is, (i) The primitive original creation, as it came firft out of 
 the hands of God, with the chaos introduced into nature, 
 by the fall of angels: (2) Nor the paradifiacal earth formed 
 in the folar fyftem, after the diffipation of the chaos, with 
 the prefent ftate of nature, in this inferior fphere, fmce the 
 fall: (3) Nor the ' eternal empire of the Father' over all cre- 
 ated intelligences fallen and unfallen, with the * glorious 
 * reign of the Son' over the clecfl, chofen race of men, during 
 a definite fixed period of duration. The confounding of thefe 
 different ideas has been a fource of innumerable errors ia 
 theology. We fhall now examine the means of re-union to 
 our great Original, and the extent of univerfal Grace to pro- 
 cure this re-union toall.the lapfed fons of Adaiu. 
 
373 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Of the three Internal, Essential, and 
 Universal Means of Re-union, known to 
 
 MEN of all ages, NATIONS AND RELIGIONS. 
 
 WE have already fhown in the firit Part of this v^ork, 
 that the three cfTential, internal and immediate means- 
 of re nniting lapfed fouls to their great Original,are by prayer, 
 mortification, and felf-denial. We have alfo fhown, that, in 
 all times, all places and all circumftances. Almighty Provi- 
 dence refufes to none of his creatures, fallen or unfallen, all 
 the helps and means neceffary to conduct them to the know- 
 ledge and enjoyment of their ultimate and fupream happinefs. 
 We fhall now examine, what is- the doctrine of the holy 
 Scriptures, concerning thefe univerfal graces granted to all, 
 and then unfold the veftiges of this great truth, which are to 
 be found among the Pagans. 
 
 The Old Tcdament is fulLof pafTages, that fhow God's 
 univerfal love for all his creatures, and his (incere defire to 
 make them all happy. Wifdom is reprefented by Solomon^, 
 (a) ^ as crying upon the tops of high mountains, in the midft 
 
 * of the high ways, and at the gates of the great cities.' It is 
 faid in another place, that (b) ' Wifdom remaining immover- 
 
 * able in herfelf, renews all things, and flowing into fouls. 
 
 0*) Prov.ch. Yui, i. 2. 3. (h) Wifdom. ch. vii. 27. 
 
374 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 * throughout all nations, makes them friends of God and 
 
 * prophets.' In another place, it is faid, (a) ' Bccaufe thou 
 
 * can(l: do all things, thou hafl: mercy upon all; thou lovefl: all 
 
 * the things that are, andabhorreft nothing which thou hafl: 
 
 * made; for never couldftthou have made any thing, if thou 
 
 * hadft hated it; but thou fparefl: all, for they are thine.' The 
 fame writer fays, (b) * Thine incorruptible fpirit is in all 
 
 * fouls, therefore chafteneft thou them by little and little, 
 
 * who oifend, and warnefl: them by putting them in rcmem- 
 
 * brance, wherein they have offended, that, leaving their 
 
 * wickednefs, they may believe on thee ; for neither is there 
 
 * any God but thou that careth for all; thy power is the be- 
 
 * ginning of righteoufnefs, and becaufe thou art the Lord of 
 ' all, it maketh thee gracious to all.' 
 
 Thereafons for univerfal grace are founded upon motives, 
 that are common to men of all nations, ages, and religions. 
 Thefe motives are the divine perfections, infinite power, infi- 
 nite wifdom, and infinite goodnefs, that can furmount finite 
 impotence, folly, and malice. God has mercy upon all, be- 
 caufe he is the Lord and lover of fouls, he is prefent to all, 
 careth for all, and abhors nothing that he has made. Nov^, 
 fince both thefe that are members of the vifible church, and 
 thefe that are not fo, the Jews and Gentiles, the Pagans and 
 Chriftians, are equally creatures of God; it follows necclTari- 
 ly, that he loves all, that he negle<5ls none, and that he refu- 
 fes his faving graces to none of the lapfed fons of Adam. Can 
 the Fatalifts read thefe texts, without conceiving a fecret dif- 
 fidence of their fcheme ? 
 
 (a) lb. ch. xi. 23. 24. 26. (b) lb. ch. xii. I. 2. 13. 1 6. 
 
MEANS OF RE -UN ION. 375 
 
 This clo(5lrineof univerfal grace, given to all men without 
 exception, and even to the Heathens, is fully taught in the 
 book of Efdra-s, (a) ' I Efdras received a charge of the Lord 
 
 * upon mount Horeb,that I fliould go unto Ifrael ; but when. 
 
 * I came unto them, they fet me at nought, and defpifed the 
 
 * commandment of the Lord. And therefore I fay unto you, 
 ' O ye Heathen, that hear and underftand, he fhall give you 
 
 * everlalting reft; for he is nigh at hand, that fliall come in 
 
 * the end of the world. Be ready to the reward of the kinr^- 
 ' dom, for the everlafting light {hall fliine upon you forever 
 
 * more. O! receive the gift that is given you, and thank him 
 
 * that hath called you to the heavenly kingdom : arife-up,and 
 
 * ftand,behold the number of thefc that are to he fealed in the 
 
 * feaft of the Lord. Takealfo thy number, O Sion, and fliut 
 
 * up thofe of thine, that are cloathcd in white, which have 
 
 * fulfilled the law of the Lord.' 
 
 It is evident by this text, that the Heathens and the Jews 
 are both equally called to the heavenly kingdom ; to be fealed 
 at the feafl: of the Lamb ; and to enjoy everlafting reft, at the 
 end of the world. If it be faid, that this text is to be meant 
 only of the Gentiles,or Heathen, that were to hear the exter- 
 nal found of the Gofpel, and become members of the vifi- 
 ble church, upon our Saviour's firft coming; this is plainly 
 contradidlory to the facred text ; for it is clear, that the call 
 here mentioned, is an inward, faving, efficacious call : fincc 
 the prophet fpeaks here of the Heathen that are to be fealed 
 at the feaft of the Lord,that are to receive the gift of the king- 
 dom, and that are to enjoy everlafting light. Now, this can- 
 
 (a) Efdras. II. ch. ii. 33. to 42. 
 
37^ OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 not be faid of all the Gentiles, to whom the Gofpel was 
 preached. It is then abfurd in the fchoolmen, to apply this 
 text to the firft coming, and to the external vocation o£ the 
 Gentiles, Inftead of explaining it of the fecond advent, and 
 the eternal falvation of all the righteous Heathens. 
 
 The New Teftament is yet more exprefs than the Old, 
 npon this important truth, (a) ' Our Saviour declares ex- 
 
 * presfly, that at the laft day, many fhall come from the Eafi: 
 
 * and from the Weft, from the North and from the South, 
 
 * andfhall fit down with Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacobin the 
 
 * kingdom of Heaven; but the children of the kingdom, fhall 
 ' be call: -out into utter darknefs.' Here then is a diftindion 
 made betwixt the children of the kingdom, or members of 
 the vifible church, and thcfe that are not Co. In the lafl: day, 
 many of thefirfl: are to be caft into utter darknefs, and many 
 of the others are to fit down in the kingdom of Heaven. 
 
 The next text is contained in the A<^s of the Apoilles, 
 when St. Peter fays, (b) ' In truth I perceive that God is no 
 
 * refpecter ofperfons; but in every nation, he that fcareth 
 
 * him, and worketh righteoufnefs, is acceptable to him.' The 
 Centurion, whom St. Peter fpeaks of, was a Roman, and 
 confcquently a Pagan. The fchoolmcn will fay, that he was 
 not an idolater; that he was a profelyte of the Jews ; that he 
 had known the true God by his commerce with them at Cae- 
 farea, and that having read the holy Scriptures, he quit with- 
 out noife the fuperditious worfhip of idols, without embra- 
 cing openly the Jewilh religion. All this is a pure romance, 
 
 (a) Matth. ch. viii. 1 1 . 1 2. compared with Luke ch. xlii. 29.. (b) Afls ch. 
 
 2C.1.2.3.15. 34-47- 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 377 
 
 which cannot be demonftrated ; and fecms quite contrary to 
 the text; for when the holy Ghoft fays, * that God is no re- 
 
 * fpefler of perfons; but that in every nation, he that fears 
 ' God, and worketh righteoufnefs, is acceptable to him,' he 
 infinuates plainly, that befides the Pagans who lived in Judea; 
 there might have been many * that lived in every nation who 
 
 * feared God, and wrought righteoufnefs;' tho* they never 
 heard of the Jews, nor of their religion. If the fchoolmen 
 mean by the word Idolater, one that did not beHeve in a fu~ 
 pream Being, that payed divine worfhip to mortal men, with- 
 out any relation to God; and that offered up inhuman and 
 abominable facrifices to devils, we grant that Cornelius was 
 not an idolater: but if the fchoolmen pretend, that this Ro- 
 man Centurion did not frequent the Pagan temples; was not 
 prefent at their public worfhip ; and did not prafVife with fim- 
 plicity of heart, the religious ceremonies of his country, by 
 referring them all to thefupream, or to the inferior deities 
 and heroes whom he thought friends and favourites of hea- 
 ven, this we abfolutcly deny, and they mufl prove it. What 
 is certain is, that Cornelius, before his converfion andbap- 
 tifm, is called a devout man, one that feared God ; that gave 
 much alms to the people, that prayed always, and to whom 
 God manifcfted himfelf by fupernatural vifions. There were, 
 according to the teflimony of Juffm Martyr, many fuch per- 
 fons among the Pagans, yea, in his apology for the Chriftian 
 religion, addrcfTcd to the Roman Emperor and fenate, he 
 fays expresfly, as we fhall fee more fully below, that fuch 
 were Job, Naaman, Pythagoras, Socrates,, Heraclitus, the 
 Eunuch of Candace,who adored the fupream God, and look- 
 
 PART 2. Bb b 
 
378 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 ed upon all the different names of the Pagan deities, as at- 
 tributeSjhypoftafeSjOr friends of the Eternal Being. It is fur- 
 ther added, that St. Peter had then the vulgar prejudices of 
 the Jews againft the Gentiles,and that he looked upon them, 
 as unclean, with whom the chofen nation could have no 
 commerce. To undeceive him of this popular error, he was 
 ravifhed in fpirit, had a fupernatural vifion of a mylterious 
 fheet let down from heaven, and heard a celeftial voice, which 
 faidtohim; * What God has cleanfed call thou not impure;' 
 whom God has purified by his internal operation, and uni- 
 verfal grace, do not call that man impure, tho' he was born 
 without the facred pale. St. Peter went foon after to the 
 Centurion's houfe at Caefarea, and in prefence of many Jews 
 there affembled faid ; ^ you know that it is unlawful for a 
 
 * Jew to have any commerce with flrangers, or even to ap- 
 
 * proach them: but God has fliown me, that I fliould not 
 
 * call any man common, nor unclean.' The Jews prefcnt at 
 this conference, * were aftonifhed to fee, that the gift of the 
 
 * holy Ghofi: w^as poured forth among the Pagans.' Then 
 St. Peter faid, ' Can we refufe the baptifm of water to thefe 
 ' that have already received the holy Gholl:?' Thus we fee, 
 that the baptifm of the Spirit was communicated before the 
 baptifm of water; and that before the outward fymbol was 
 adminiftred, the inward grace, of which wateris butafign, 
 was received. 
 
 This chapter of the A6ls, Is not one fimple text, It is a 
 whole fyftem, a compleatbody of do6lrine, to fliow, that in 
 all nations, ages, and religions, God, by his internal opera- 
 tion, and univerfal grace, can and does produce holy fouls. 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 379 
 
 that are agreeable to him ; who receive the baptlfiii of the 
 Spirit, tho' not that of water; and feel the purifying opera- 
 tions of the eternal Logos, tho' they have not any fpecula- 
 tive knowledge of the hiflorical fa<5ls that relate to his facred 
 humanity. This fublime do6lrine will, no doubt, fliock Ju- 
 daizing Chriftians of the beft kind. They are in the fame 
 cafe, as St. Peter, 'ere he was enllghtned from above; and 
 they will perfift in their error, as he, till they be undeceived 
 by a fupernatnralvifion. They muft be pitied, becaufeofthe 
 fcandal they give againfl: Chriftianity ; but their doiTtrine mufl: 
 be fhunned, as the high-road to incredulity. 
 
 There is another admirable pafTage in Scripture, concer- 
 ning univerfal grace; it is not one fingle text, but a chain of 
 rcafonings made by the apoltle of the Gentiles, in writing to 
 the Romans newly converted, (a) * The wrath of God is 
 
 * revealed from the highefl: heavens upon all iniquity, and in- 
 
 * juftice, in all thefe who retain the truth of God captive by 
 
 * unrighteoufnefs: for what can be known of God, was mani- 
 
 * fcftcd to the Gentiles by God himfelf, who enlightned 
 
 * them. His invifibleperfeflions arc clearly feen by the vifible 
 
 * creation ;yea5his eternal power and God- head by the things 
 
 * that are made. Wherefore they are unexcufable, becaufe ha- 
 
 * ving known God, they did not glorify him, nor were they 
 
 * thankful: but becoming vain in their imaginations, their 
 
 * foolifh heart was darkened, and fancying themfelves wife, 
 
 * they became fo ftupid, as to change the glory of the uncor^ 
 ' ruptible God, into an image made like a corruptible man ; 
 
 * yea, into that of birds, four-footed bcalls, and creeping 
 
 (a) Rom. ch. i. 18 to the end. 
 
 Bbb 2 
 
38o OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 * things; fo that, becaufe of the kifts of theh' own hearts, God 
 
 * gave them up to uncleannefs.' Thus, St. Paul declares po- 
 {itively, that the Gentiles fell into all fort of idolatry, not be- 
 caufe they were abandoned by God, without any knowledge, 
 but becaufe of the pride of their vain imagination. Thefacred 
 fymbols defigned at firft to reprefentthe divine attributes,per- 
 fe6lions,and hypoftafes: they (Vopt at the external lign, with- 
 out rifing up to the thing figniiied ; and fo transformed the di- 
 vine effence into the image of volatiles, animals, and reptiles, 
 and thus fell into the lowefl, and vilcft idolatry, in order to 
 flatter their pallions; and therefore God gave them up to all 
 the vices and impurities, that are the natural and neceflfary 
 confequences of their free, voluntary, deliberate choice of 
 evil, and obftinate adherence to corruption. The Father of 
 fpirltSjthe Redeemer of mankind, the Lover of fouls refufes 
 his firft graces to none, enlightens every man that comes in- 
 to the world, and prevents all the loft fons of Adam by his 
 divine Infpirations. But when they deliberately rejeft his at- 
 tractions, fhut their eyes to his illuminations, and relift all his 
 internal motions, he withdraws thefe falutary operations as 
 ufelefs, and proper only to harden their hearts, and augment 
 their condemnation. He never abandons the creatures, till 
 they abandon him; and becaufe he cannot do violence to 
 their freedom, without deftroying their natures, he never acfls 
 upon lapfed intelligences by omnipotent irrefiftible wills. For 
 this reafon it is, that he allows corrupt reprobate minds to 
 follow the deliberate choice and voluntary bent of their own 
 hearts, till they die impenitent; knowing that it is impoflible 
 to reclaim them otherwife, than by infernal pains, and hell 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 3^1 
 
 torments. This is the terrible and beautiful fyflem of nature 
 and grace, which the Predeftinarians have turned into parti- 
 al preferences, pretcritions, and fatalKHcal decrees, which 
 render vice inevitable, and God the author of all our crimes, 
 as well as of our eternal mifery. 
 
 St. Paul goes on, in the fecond chapter, to fliow, that not- 
 with (landing all the corruptions, idolatries, and abominati- 
 ons into which the Pagans fell, yet the Jews ought not to 
 judge them as intirely forfaken of God, without any law. (a) 
 
 * God,' fays the apoftlc, ' will render to every man accor- 
 
 * ding to his deeds ; life eternal to thefe who by a patient con- 
 
 * tinuance in well-doing afpire to glory, honour and immor- 
 
 * tallty : but unto them who are contentious, and do not fur- 
 
 * render themfelves up to truth, indignation and wrath, tribu- 
 
 * lation and angulili to every foul that doth evil, to the Jew 
 
 * firftand then totheGentile,becaufe with God there is nore- 
 
 * fpe^tofperfons.'He loves all his creatures,he hates nothing 
 that he has made) he made them only to be happy; he rc- 
 je(5ts none but thefe that defpifehis graces and operations. He 
 does not love or hate them according to partial decrees, and 
 perfonal preferences; but he communicates himfelf to them 
 allproportionably to their co-operation and correfpondence 
 to his divine a(5lion. It is this divine action that produces hi 
 them all fupernatural good, all true life, light, and love: but 
 he never forces their liberty by irrefiftible wills, and there- 
 fore, the dI(fm(5tion betwixt them comes from their own vo- 
 luntary adherence to falfe felf-love, or the true love of God; 
 He does not doat upon them, becaufe they arc members cF 
 
 (a) Rom. ch.ii. 6. to the end. 
 
382 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 the vifible church ; nor judge of them by the external advan- 
 tages, graces, and favours that he grants tofome, and refufes 
 to others. * For' continues he, * whofoever have finned v^^ith- 
 
 * out the law, fhall perifh without the law ; and whoever have 
 
 * finned under the law, fhall be judged by the law; finceitis 
 
 * not the hearers of the law, but the doers of the law that 
 
 * fhall be julHficd, Now, when the Gentiles who have not 
 ' the law, do naturally thefe things which are commanded by 
 
 * the law ; they are a law to themfelves, (howing that the 
 
 * worksof the law are wrote in their hearts, fince their con- 
 
 * fcience is a teftimony to them, and will accufe or excufe 
 
 * them in the lafl: day, when God fliall judge the fecrets of 
 ^ men, according to the Gofpel of JefusChrifl:' that is, ac- 
 cording to the eternal law of love, which is the end, confum- 
 mation, and perfedion of the law and the prophets; of the 
 Gofpcl and the apoftles. Here then is a law written in the 
 hearts of the Pagans, which diflinguifhes what is good or 
 bad, not onlyin their anions, but in their thoughts,and which 
 will accufe, or excufe them, in the lafr day. 
 
 After this, the great apoftle of the Gentiles addreffes him- 
 felf to the Jews thus, * If thou who art called a Jew, and reft- 
 
 * eft in the law, and boafteft of God, becaufe thou knoweft 
 ^ his will, art inftru6ted by the law of what is beft, and look- 
 
 * eft upon thyfclf as a guide of the blind, a light to thefe that 
 ' walk in darknefs, an inftru6lor of the foolifli, a teacher of 
 ^ babes, becaufe by the law thou haft an idea of fcience and 
 ' truth, thou boafteft in vain of the law, if breaking the law, 
 ' thou difhonoureft God. Circumcifion verily profiteth, if 
 
 * thou keep the law, but if thou tranfgrefs the law, thou be- 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 383: 
 
 * comeft therebynncircumcifed.If therefore, he that by birth 
 
 * is uncircumcifed, obferve the rlghteoufnefs of the law, will 
 
 * not he be look'd upon as circumcifed, and judge thee that 
 
 * with the letter and with circumcifion tranfgrelTefl: the law? 
 
 * For he is not a Jew that is one outwardly, and the true cir- 
 
 * cumcifion is not that of the flefh ; but the Jew is he, that is 
 
 * fo inwardly, and circumcifion is that of the heart in fpirit, 
 
 * and not in the letter, whofe excellency comes not from 
 ' men, but from God. ' Can there be any thing more ex- 
 prefs than this text, to prove, that the true circumcifion, the 
 true Ifraclite, the true eletfl:, is not he that profeiTeth the law 
 outwardly, but he that is filled with the fpirit of the law, by 
 the circumcifion of the heart; and that a man may be born 
 uncircumcifed, or out of the pale of the vifible church, and 
 yet obferve, by the internal efficacy of univerfal grace, all the 
 rlghteoufnefs of the law ? Now, what the apoftle fays here of 
 outward circumcifion, and the literal knowledge of the Mo- 
 faical law,mufi: be true of baptifm, and the ipeculative know- 
 ledge of the evangelical law : for to be fure, God's power, wif- 
 dom, and goodnefs are not more barren, nor lef&extended 
 under the new law, than under the old. 
 
 St. Paul, in the beginning of the third chapter, makes aa 
 obje(5lion againfl: this do(5lrine of univerfal grace, which fcan-^ 
 dalizedthe Jews then, and willfcandaHze Judaizing Chrilii- 
 ans now. (a) * What advantage then have the Jews over the 
 
 * GentileSjOr what profit is there in circumcifion? ' The apof- 
 tle anfwers; ' much every way, becau feu n to them werecom- 
 
 * mitted the oracles of God.* The Jews were depofitarys o^ 
 (a) Rom. ch. iii. 1.2. 
 
^84 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 all thefacred doctrines of faith ; of the original traditions of 
 the patriarchs, of thegreatideas wefliould have of the divine 
 nature, attributes and conducl. They were, {o to fpeak, the 
 regiftcrs of heaven. We muft fay the fame of the ChrifHan 
 church, under the Gofpel. All other nations have onlyim- 
 perfe<n: glimpfes, rays and veftiges of true wifdom, and of the 
 hidden fcience of the faints : but in the pale of the vifible 
 church, and in the facred oracles entrufted to its confervati- 
 on, are to be found, the intire compleat knowledge of God 
 and Providence; of man's primitive innocence, and prefent 
 degradation; of the ©economy of the invifible world; of God- 
 man head, and high prieft of all intelligent natures; of the 
 neccffity, efEcacy, and extenfion of our Saviour's death and 
 fufFcrings ; of the true means of re-uniting the foul to God 
 by prayer, mortification and felf-denial ; of the divine virtues, 
 faith, hope and charity, which cannot be produced in the 
 foul, but by the immediate operation of the eternal Word; 
 of the fublime happinefs deftined for us in a future ll:ate;and 
 of the reflitution of all beings to their primitive innocence, 
 purity, order and perfection ; and in fine, of the facred fex- 
 enary fo fublime, fo reafonablc, fo luminous in its principles, 
 fo ancient in its origin and fo beautiful in its confequences. 
 Tho' thefe facred truths have been degraded, altered, obfcu- 
 red and disfigured by the fchoolmen, or the Chriftian my tho- 
 logiflsjand tho' fome faint vefliges of them, may be difcovered 
 in the tradition of all nations, yet they are to be found no 
 where pure, intire, and uncorrupted in any fyftem of philo- 
 fophy, in any plan of Paganifm, in any ancient books, but 
 in thefacred oracles of the Old and New Teftament, depo- 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 385 
 
 lited in, cntruded to, and preferved by the true Chriftian 
 church, whofe advantages and privileges are, therefore, far 
 fuperior to thefe of any other communion. God, how^evcr, 
 is ftill the common Father of fpirits, and has left no nation 
 without an inward teftimony wrote in their hearts; by which 
 they may know and praftife the eternal law of love, order, 
 and juftice, prayer, mortification and felf-denial, fupernatii- 
 ral faith, hope and charity alone necelTary tofalvation. 
 
 This doctrine is further explained, in the tenth chapter 
 of the fame epiftle to the Romans, which the fchoolmen in- 
 terpret in favours of their Judaical prejudices, tho'it diame- 
 trically combats and dcftroys them all. St. Paul fays, (a) 
 
 * There is no difference betwixt the Jew and the Greek; for 
 ' God is the God of all, and rich to them that call upon him. 
 
 * Whofoever fhall call upon the name of the Lord fliall be 
 
 * faved.' This falutary calling upon the name of the Lord, 
 or the eternal Word, cannot be undcrfiood of the outward 
 bawling of the lips and roaring of the voice, but of the in- 
 ward cry of the heart, which is true faith. This true faith 
 may beproduced by univerfal grace, and the inward opera- 
 tion of the holy Ghofl:, upon both Jew and Gentile, lince 
 God is the God of all; and fince there is no difference be- 
 twixt the Ifraelite and the Greek, thefe within and thofe 
 without the pale of the vifible church, as the context fully 
 •declares: for the apoftlc adds, ' How then fhall they call up- 
 ' on him, in whom they have not believed ; and how fhall 
 
 * they believe in him of whom they have not heard ; and how 
 ' fhall they hear without a preacher; fincc faith comes by 
 
 (a)Rom.x. 12. 13. 5cc. 
 
 P A R T 2. dec 
 
386 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 « hearing, and hearing by the Word of God?' The Judaical 
 and fataliftical doctors underftand all this of an hifl:orical,fpe- 
 culative faith, as if the internal divine graces and operations 
 were confined to the outward ordinances,and outward helps 
 of churches, Scriptures and facraments, quite contrary to the 
 fequel of the apoftle's difcourfe, who adds ; * But have they 
 
 * not heard? Yes,' anfwers he in the words of the Pfalmift, 
 
 * The found of their voice is gone forth unto all the ends of 
 
 * the earth.' The fchoolmen interpret this fublime text of the 
 external predication of the Gofpel, that was to be preached 
 every where by the apoftles and their fucceffors. But St. Paul 
 fpeaks of a predication, that has already been, and that was 
 univerfal overall the face of the earth; and no ways of a pre- 
 dication that was to come, and that has not yet happened, 
 but in fome countrys, and only in certain ages. Moreover, 
 it is plain, that the great apoftle of the Gentiles fpeaks here 
 of that true living, faving, fupernatural faith, that comes by 
 hearing the inward voice of the eternal Word; for the di- 
 vine hymn of the royal Pfalmifl: quoted by the apoftle, men- 
 tions tw^o ways, by which God manifefts himfelf to, and ope- 
 rates in all creatures. The one, by the wondrous conftitu- 
 tion of nature, which fhows forth the divine power and wif^ 
 domfrom without; and the other, by the vi^onderful opera- 
 tion of internal grace, which Ipeaks continually from with- 
 in. The Pfalmift's words are beautiful and fublime. (a) 'The 
 
 * heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament fhew- 
 
 * eth the work of his hands. Day fpeaks unto day, and night 
 
 * unto night fheweth knowledge. There is no tongue, nor 
 
 <a) Pfalm, xix. i . 2 . 3 . 4. to 8» 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 387 
 
 * country that have not heard their fpeech ; the found ofthelr 
 
 * voice is gone forth unto all the earth, and their words un- 
 
 * to the end of the v^orld.' The wonderful works of themoH: 
 High are then the apoftles, the meffengers, and the heralds, 
 that the royal prophet fpeaks of. Moreover, he talks of the 
 internal voice of the divine, purifying, illuminating, univer* 
 fal grace, refufed to no mortal; and this grace he calls the law 
 of God; the eternal, immutable law of love, heard by all in- 
 telligent natures, that open their intelle<5lual ears to the foft 
 whilpers of its divine inlpiration. ' The law of the Lord, 
 
 * that is perfe(ft,converts the foul; the teftimony of the Lord, 
 
 * that is pure, gives wifdom to the fimple, the ftatutes of the 
 
 * Lord, that are upright, rejoice the heart; the precept of the 
 
 * Lord, that is luminous,enlightens the eyes/ By the Lord, 
 in the Old Tcftament, is always meant the eternal Word,that 
 enlightneth every man, that comes into the world. When 
 we underftand and compare thefe two texts of the Pfalmift, 
 and the apoftlc, it is plain as fun-fhine, that the reafoning of 
 St. Paul may beparaphrafed thus. 
 
 * 7 here is no difFerence,before God, betwixt the Jew and 
 
 * Gentile; for God is the God of all. He is the Father of 
 
 * fpirits, theloverof fouls; he defires the falvationof all; he 
 
 * makes no partial preferences; he is no refpe61:er of per- 
 
 * fons; Wifdom crys upon the tops of high mountains, in 
 
 * the midft of high-ways; at the gates of great citys ; re- 
 
 * maining immoveable in herfelf, flie renews all things; 
 ' and flowing into fouls thro' all nations^makcs them friends 
 
 * of God and prophets. She enlightens all men that come 
 
 * into the world ; flie careth for all ; fhe healeth all, thac 
 
 C c c 2 
 
388 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 ' call upon her. Whofocver fhall call upon the name of 
 
 * the Lord, fhall be faved, in whatever age, country, or re- 
 
 * llgion; for in every nation, hethat fearcth God, and work- 
 
 * eth righteoufnefs, is acceptable to him. How fliall the Pa- 
 
 * gans, Turks and Jews call upon him, in whom they have 
 ' not believed; and how fliall they believe in him, of whom 
 
 * they have not heard ; and how fliall they hear, without a 
 ' preacher; fince faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the 
 
 * word of God? How fliaUPagans, Turks, and infidels call 
 ' upon the eternal Logos; if they have no ideas of him ; if 
 
 * they never heard of his life, death and crucifixion; if they 
 
 * have never had any meflengers and preachers, to announce 
 
 * to them, the hiftorical fa6ls of theGofpel; for hiftorical 
 ' faith comes by external hearing, and this outward hearing 
 
 depends upon reading the letter of the law? Miferable jar- 
 
 * gon,' adds the apoftle; * Have not the Pagans heard,notth^ 
 ' external voice of the prophets and apoftles, but the true 
 
 internal faving, falutary voice of the eternal Logos? Yes, 
 they have, for, as I have faid, continues St. Paul ; what can 
 
 * be known of God, was manifefted to the Gentiles, by God 
 
 * himfelf, who enlightned them. His invifible perfections are 
 
 * clearly ^ccn by the vifible creation, yea, his eternal power 
 
 * and Godhead,by the things that are made. Wherefore, they 
 
 * are unexcufable, becaufe having known God, they did not 
 glorify him, love him, and adore him alone. This doMne 
 is not new; the royal Pfalmifl taught it long before me, 
 
 'when he faid, that the heavens declare God's glory, and the 
 
 * firmament fliows the work of his hands. There is no 
 
 * tongue, nor country, that have not heard their fpeceh ; the 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 389 
 
 « found of their voice is gone forth unto all the ends of the 
 « earth. This is not all, adds the Pfalmifl : befides this exter- 
 
 * nal voice and predication of nature, the inward voice of the 
 
 * eternal Logos, fpeaks to all hearts, converts the foul, gives 
 ': wifdom to the fimple, and enlightens the eyes of every man 
 
 * that comes into the world. Whofoever then, calls upon the 
 
 * name of the Lord, upon the eternal Word, by the inward 
 
 * cry of the heart, which is true faith, fhall be faved ; what- 
 
 * ever age, nation or religion he be of. This truefaving faith 
 
 * comes from hearing the voice of the eternal Word, who 
 
 * fpeaks to all creatures,cither by the vifible works of the crea- 
 
 * tion, or by the foft whilpers of his eternal wifdom, and uni- 
 
 * verfal grace.' 
 
 I conclude by a textof the Revelations, which becomes 
 intelligible by the foregoing pafTages. The evangelift fpeaks of 
 an angel, that is to be fent at the lafl day, with the feal of the 
 living God, to feal the fervants of God on their fore-heads; 
 after he had fealed an hundred and fourty four thoufand of 
 all the tribes of the children of Ifrael, or members of the vi- 
 fible church, the evangelifts add, (a) ' After this I beheld, 
 
 * and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of 
 « all nations, and kindreds, and people and tongues, ftood 
 ' before the throne, and before the Lamb, cloathed with 
 ' white robes, and palms in their hands.' The literal, Ju- 
 daical, Fataliftical do(5tors fay, that this text relates only to 
 the Gentiles, that were received into the communion of the 
 vifible church: but this is diamelrically oppofite to all the 
 
 ^ texts mentioned, to the whole fpirit of the Old and New Te- 
 
 ^a) Revelat. ch. vii> 4, and 9. 
 
390 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 {lament, to the divine attributes, to natural and revealed re- 
 ligion ; yea, to the exprefs words of our Saviour himfelf alrea- 
 dy quoted, where he fays, that * at the laft day, many fhall 
 
 * come from the four corners of the earth, and fit down in 
 ^ the kingdom of heaven, while the children of the king- 
 
 * dom fhall be fhut out.' 
 
 All our difpute, then, with the Judaical do(5tors, may be 
 reduced to the four following propofitions and queflions. 
 I. It is certain that without prayer, mortification, and fclf- 
 denyal, fupernatural faith, hope and charity, none can be 
 faved; becaufe thefe are the immediate, effential, and ne- 
 cefTary means of re-uniting lapfed beings to their almighty 
 Original: butthe queflion is,if God, independent of all out- 
 ward means, cannot operate thofe divine virtues in fouls, to 
 whom he has not thought fit to communicate the letter of 
 the law. 2. It is certain, that there is no name under heaven, 
 by whom we can be faved; but by the name of Jefus; for 
 whofe merits and facrifice alone, God a<5ls in and upon all 
 lapfed beings; but then the queflion is; ifallthtfe, for whom 
 our Saviour died, are excluded from the participation of his 
 meritorious facrifice, unlefs they be members of the vifible 
 church. 3. It is certain, that the privileges,, helps and prero- 
 gatives of thofe who live within the facred pale, are far fupe- 
 riortothefc of Pagans, Mahometans, and infidels: butthe 
 queflion is, if the true converfion of the heart depends fo ef- 
 fentially upon the fpeculative knowledge of the underOan- 
 ding, that the one cannot be without the other. 4. In fine, 
 it is certain, that v/ithout the divine grace, and operation an- 
 tecedent to all merit and co-operation in the creature, no lap- 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. J91 
 
 fed being can be reftored to its primitive perfcifHon, and pu- 
 rity; biitthe qucfllon is, if by virtue of divine univerfal grace; 
 of the attraction of the Father, the illumination of the 
 Word, and the infpiration of the holy Ghofl:, there are not, 
 in ail countrys, religions and ages, hidden fouls, who have 
 heard the voice of eternal wifdom, obeyed that pure, pcrfecfl, 
 upright, luminous law, teftimony, ftatuteand precept of love 
 that converts the foul, gives wifdom to the firaple, rejoices 
 the heart, and enlightens the eyes; who, Hke the Centurion 
 Cornelius, fear God, work righteoufnefs ; give alms; pray 
 continually; who have received the baptifm of the fpirit,. 
 tho' they have not received that of water; who are con- 
 tained in the myfterious fheet; whom God hath cleanfed 
 by his internal, all-powerful, univerfal grace, tho' they lived 
 and died in the bofom of Paganifm; who are to come at the 
 lafl: day, from the Eaft and from the Weft, from the North; 
 and from the South, from China and Peru, from Lapland 
 and Guinea, and fit down in the kingdom of Heaven with 
 Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob; while the children of the king- 
 dom jQiall be fhut up in utter darknefs ; and in fine, who* 
 are to be fealcd among the numberlefs multitude of all nati- 
 ons, kindreds, and languages, after that the angel hasma^rked; 
 all theele^fl fouls of the vifible church. This no man can doubt 
 of, that reads and underitands the texts above-mentioned. 
 
 Here I fee the Judaizing Chriftians and the Fataliftical 
 dolors fall into a kind of frenzy, and cry out with rage;. 
 What? Is it pofiible that men of all fec^ls, herefys and religi- 
 ons, can partake of the efficacy of our Saviour's death and fuf- 
 ferings; that fouls loft in the bofom of Paganifm, andMalio^ 
 
392 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 •metifm, can partake of the divine illuminations; and in fine, 
 that men who authorized by their religion the mofl: idola- 
 trous, fuperftitious rites, the moft inhuman facrifices, and 
 the moft immoral practices, can be faved ? I anfwer boldly, 
 that, according to the dodlrine of the Old and New Tefta- 
 ment, and feveral primitive fathers, all thefe that are born, 
 live, and die in ignorance of revealed religion, are and will be 
 faved, if they are faithful to the internal operations of divine " 
 "race refufed to none. All our doubts concerning this fublime 
 do^lrine will quite evanifh, by the following confiderations. 
 I . No errors of the underftanding are damnable,but thefe 
 which deftroy the divine life in the foul, and which hinder 
 the central converfion of the mind to its firft principle, by the 
 cxercifeoffupernatural faith, hope, and charity explained in 
 the firft Part, All other fpeculative notions, how foever ab- 
 furd and falfe, concerning the nature of God; his attributes 
 and operations, are not damnaljle, tho' they may be dange- 
 rous. There never was in the wifer and true fyftem of Pa- 
 ganifm, any errors more monftrous, than thefe of the Prede- 
 ftinarian and Fataliftical do6lors, concerning prefcience and 
 reprobation; irrcfiftible grace, and free-will; original fin, 
 \'indi(5livejufticeand eternal pains. Thefe, however, are not 
 damnable; tho' their confequences be pernicious to incre- 
 dulous minds, that take from thence occafion to difparage 
 Chriftianlty; yet, as thefe confequences are not perceived, 
 nor maintained by the feftarys of this wild fyftem, they do 
 •not dcftroy in them, the true love of God, nor the prat^ice 
 of theneceffary, immediate and effcntial means of falvation-. 
 Our Saviour fuffered while upon earth, feme grofs, fpccula- 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 393 
 
 tive errors in his dlfclplcs, who thought, till the defcent of the 
 holy Ghofl, that his kingdom was to be temporal. We find 
 in the firft fathers, both Greek and Latin, many falfe ideas, 
 about the Millennium, about prcfcience and predelHnation, 
 about the nature of the foul and its propagation, all which 
 abfurd ideas were believed by fome members, yea, great men 
 of the church in primitive ages; becaufe fhe was not yet be- 
 come minute, in deciding about metaphyfical queflions, and 
 fpeculative explications of the myfteries of faith. Nothing in- 
 deed contributes more naturally to the love of God, than high 
 and noble ideas of his being and condu(5t: but the internal 
 operations of divine grace upon the heart, which God alone 
 demands, are independent of all thefe philofophical (pecula- 
 tions. It is not the theoretical knowledge of the fublime 
 truths of the Chriftian religion, that produce the love of God; 
 nor is it the falfe, lame, and imperfcift Ideas, we have of thefe 
 myfterles, that hinder true fupernatural faith, hope and love ; 
 nor the exercife of prayer, mortification and felf-denial,alone 
 neceffary to falvation. To convince us of this truth, we need 
 but confider the poor ideas, that the moft part of peafants, 
 craftefmen, citizens, and even men of fuperlor birth, in all 
 fecfts of Chrillianity, have of the trinity and incarnation, of 
 Paradifc and original fin, of heaven and hell; of the divine 
 attributes and Providence. What a flrange, abfurd and inco- 
 herent fcheme would they give of thefe myftcrys? we fay the 
 fame of the errors and falfe ideas entertained among the up- 
 right, moral, dcvoutPagans, Turks,and heretics. God over- 
 looks all thefe imperfe^tlonSj and demands only the heart. 
 All men are capable of love ; and love is the end and confum- 
 PART 2. Dd d 
 
394 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 mation of the law. God operates this pure love in all fouk, 
 that hear his inward infpiration, whatever be the errors of 
 their underftanding; providing thefe errors do not deftroy in 
 them, true, vital, faving faith, which is the cry of the foul to 
 God, that he may deftroy, purify and deliver it from its cor- 
 ruption ; true fupernatural hope, which is a continual afpi- 
 ring to a celeftial, pure, innocent future life, where all is con- 
 form to order j and true charity, which is the love of God for 
 himfelf, and of all things for him. Now, that the Pagans felt 
 the necefTity, and had the knowledge of thefe three divine 
 virtues, we fhall very foon fhow. 
 
 2. Idolatry flgnifies properly and originally, reprefenting 
 invifible beings by vlfible images, and fpiritual properties by 
 fenfible pictures. This cannot be a crime, fince God himfelf 
 has done fo, in creating, which is efTentially and properly a 
 reprefentation of God from without, by fenfible pi(5turesand 
 images; and fince he allowed corporeal reprefentations and 
 hieroglyphics, in the Jewilli worfhip. The Iconoclaftic Ma* 
 hometan averfion for all images, ftatues, an-d fimilltudes of 
 divine things, is an extravagant weaknefs unworthy of a phi- 
 lofopher. True criminal idolatry, is loving any thing more 
 than God, as much as God; and without any relation to God. 
 It is attributing to finite, what belongs to infinite; it is ado- 
 ring and efieeming the creature for itfelf, v/ithout referring 
 it to the Creator; it is, in one word, attaching OLU'felves to 
 the image, the fhadow, and the picfture, without rifmg up to 
 the original archetype. This is indeed damnable, and this fort 
 of idolatry is as common among the Chriftians, as among the 
 PaganSx. All principles and pra^iccs, that favour this ufurpa- 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 395 
 
 tion upon the rights of the drvinity, are pernicious and dam- 
 nable: but to pay fubordinate homage to a creature, whom 
 we look upon, as a friend of God; or to fhow an external 
 refpeft to a fign, fymbol, or ftatue that calls to our mind, the 
 •remembrance of God ; Is not Idolatry, even tho' we be mlfta- 
 ken, in Imagining thatperfon or thing to be holy and facred. 
 This is an ignorance, and not an Impiety; an error in fa6l, 
 and not In right. We may fay the fame of the Pagan fupcr- 
 ftitions. Superftition Is properly adding fome external figns, 
 fymbols, and practices to facred worfhip, that are not ordain- 
 ed by God. If thefe fuperftltions ferve to excite divine fenti- 
 ments, and do not encourage the falfe love of the creatures, 
 nor contribute to favour the corruption of the heart, they 
 are innocent miftakes, and no ways damnable abufes. Ori- 
 gen, Clemens of Alexandria, St. Juftin Martyr, and many 
 other Chriftian fathers, as well as feveral Pagan philofophers, 
 fuch as Plutarch, Hierocles, Porphyry, Jamblichus, and 
 Plotinus, give us quite other ideas of the Heathen worfhip, 
 than fome Greek and Latin authors, who judged of things 
 by the outfide, as men of wit, and imagination, without pe- 
 netrating the allegorical fenfe of the fymbols, and the pri- 
 mitive fourcc of their inititution. Superficial wits and unen- 
 iightned minds, to favour incrednlity, may fancy, that the 
 Pagans worfliipped onions, crocodiles, ferpents, beads and 
 ■infcds; but the truly learned know, that all thefc fenfiblere- 
 prefentations were originally fymbolical and hieroglyphical. 
 Mankind were never fo fhipid, ignorant and fenfclefs, as to 
 look upon vegetables, reptiles and infers, that are born and 
 perifh every day, as the fupream uncreated and eternal ef- 
 
 Dd d 2 
 
396 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 fence. They forgot, indeed, at la ft the thing fignified, and 
 ftoptat the outward image, figure, and fhadow; and all thefe 
 who did fo, were true idolaters; but who dares fay, that all 
 the Pagans, without exception, fellinto the fame crime? we 
 havefhown, that the contrary is plain, from the dodrine of 
 the philofophers and wife men of all nations, religions, and 
 ages; asalfo, that all the different names of the Pagan deities 
 fignify the fame invifible, eternal,infinite Being; or attributes 
 powers, and hypoftafes ofthefupream Being; and in fine, 
 that all the principal rites, fymbols, ablutions, purifications 
 and initiations of the Pagan worfhip, were originally rays 
 and emanations of the primitive, ante-diluvian, and Noevian 
 religion;tho' in progrefs of timeadulteratedjdegradedjandob- 
 fcured. Tho' it be certain then, that the Pagan worfhip was 
 full of material idolatry, yet all thofe that were prefent at it, 
 were not idolaters. Thus, Naaman Prince of Aflyria was 
 allowed by the prophet Elifhah to go to, and bend down in 
 the temple of Rimmon, (a) bccaufe he referred to the God 
 of Ifracl alone, the worfhip he performed therein, and fo 
 pra»^Hfed all the ceremonies of the Pagan religion, in the pri- 
 mitive fpirit of their original inftitution. Thus, the Roman 
 Centurion Cornelius frequented the Pagan temples, and was 
 prefent at their idolatrous worfliip ; but in llmplicity of heart, 
 he thought them of divine inftitution, and fo referred all to 
 the fupream God; and therefore, even before his converfion 
 St. Luke fays, that he was a devout man, fearing God, gi- 
 ving much alms and praying continually. Thus, according 
 to St. Auguftin, Job and his friends were chofcn veflels, tbo* 
 
 (a)II.Kmgs.ch. V. j8. 19. 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 397 
 
 they were not outwardly clrciimcifed, and in communion 
 with the Jewifli church. We are very far, then, from deny- 
 ing, or juftifying the idolatrous, fuperftitious praftices that 
 were introduced by degrees into the Pagan worfhip. All we 
 maintain is, that fuch is the almighty, power of divine, uni- 
 verfal grace, that it preferved all the upright good Pagans, 
 that followed the attractions of the Father, the voice of eter- 
 nal wifdom and the infpirations of the holy Ghofl:, pure and 
 imftained from the contagion of their country, and the hor- 
 rible abufes introduced into their religion. Whoever denies 
 the pofTibility of thefe miracles, denies the divine omnipo- 
 tence, wifdom and goodncfs, contradicts the exprefs texts of 
 Scripture already explained; and opens the fluices to the mofl 
 impious incredulity, by making God partial, and fo intirely 
 dependent upon the outward means eftabliihed, that he can- 
 not operate without them. 
 
 3. One cannot read, without horror, the inhuman facri- 
 fices offered up to Moloch by the Canaanites, to Saturn by 
 the Phenicians, Carthaginians, Africans and the moft pars 
 of the ancient Europeans, efpecially the Gauls and Britons; 
 to Pachatamac by the Peruvians, to Vitziliputzly by the 
 Mexicans, and to the firft: principle, under different deno- 
 jninations, by the moft part of the Americans, even to this 
 day. We are far from juflifying thefe horrid abufes. All we 
 pretend is, that divine grace might, and may preferve fouls 
 pure, upright and unflained amidft thefe execrable abomina- 
 tions. If the Pagans, from invincible ignorance, were real- 
 ly perfuaded, that thefe facrifice^, were ordered by the fur 
 preara God ; that the privation of life, was falutary to the 
 
398 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 fouls of the vi6lims,and ufeful to all their family;or nat'ion,they 
 erred in believing what is falfe, but their fubmiffion to what 
 they thought a divine commatid, was not damnable. I do 
 not compare the odious immolation made by the Canaanites 
 of their eldefl: fons, and mod beloved children to the holy 
 facrifice offered up by Abraham of his only fon Tfaac, after 
 an exprefs command of God: but who dares fay, that it is 
 impoffible, that there might have been, among the Pagans, 
 ^fome pious fouls, that by invincible ignorance, and prejudice 
 of education, acted from a full perfuafion, that the fupream 
 God demanded of them fuch facrifices. We are far from juf- 
 tifying thefe lamentable abufes, and horrid praftices fuppor- 
 ted and encouraged by the priefts, who are generally the 
 fame in all religions, themoft corrupt, degenerate, cruel, and 
 impious fet of men: but frill we maintain, that omnipotent 
 grace, all watchful Providence, and the univerfal love God 
 has for all fimple, honefl: and upright minds, may preferve 
 them fpotlefs and innocent^ amidft all the dangers, contagi- 
 ons, corruptions, and abufes introduced into their refpeftive 
 religions ; infpire them to make a right ufe of thefe injufHfi- 
 able principles; and dircvfl their minds fo, that what is poi- 
 fon to fome, may become falutary to others. Neither can 
 it be faid, that aflifHng at thefe inhuman facrifices, renders 
 men neceifarily cruel, inhuman and barbarous; and that 
 none can beprefent at them, without adopting thefe paflions 
 and fentiments. When the Jews believed that God ordered 
 their Icgiilator Mofes, to deftroy whole nations, ravage their 
 countrys, and put all to death who oppofed their conquefts, 
 were they inhuman, cruel, and void of all fentiments of com* 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 399 
 
 paflion? we grant mofl: willingly, that fuch inhuman facri/i- 
 ces tend to make men cruel, barbarous and favage; that they 
 are in themfelves, horrible, impious, and unworthy of the 
 Deity ; but we do not fpeakhere of the natural effects of this . 
 execrable werfhip ; butof the fupernatural efFcels, which di- 
 vine grace may produce in chofen fouls, who aflift at them, 
 from a falfe perfuafion, that they are divinely commanded. 
 Thofe fouls may be in the fame difpofitions,, as the Jews, . 
 when they became the exterminators of the nations. There 
 IS, I grant, no comparifon betwixt the Pagan facrifices, and 
 the Jewifh flaughters; becaufe thefirfl: were encouraged by a 
 falfe idea, that thefc facrifices were agreeable to the Gods, 
 whereas, the lafl: were pofitive commands of God, proven 
 to be fuch by the miraculous power entrufled to the Jewifh 
 heroes that executed thefe commands of the father of {pirits, 
 who ordered thefe flaughters and defolations of countrys, 
 not from the little, narrow, bounded defign of eOablifliing 
 the Jewifh nation in thefe defolate countrys; this was too 
 low a view for almighty wifdom and goodnefs ; which always 
 aft from far higher and nobler principles; God makes ufc 
 very oft of phyfical evil, fufferings and death to procure mo- 
 ral good, eternal happinefs, and everlafi:ing hfe to thefe that 
 feem his vic'lims. This is the fublime idea we ought to have 
 of the conduft of Providence, mentioned in Scripture, with 
 regard to the nations exterminated by the Ifraelites. Now, 
 if the conviftion was equal on both fides, in the Hebrews 
 and the Heathens; the lafl that afted from a full, tho' falfe 
 perfuafion of the divine order, were as excufable as the firff-. 
 It is not always the adion that makes us criminaJ.; but the 
 
400 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL. 
 
 motive by which we a6l. In fine, are thefe Pagan facrifices 
 more odious in the fight of God, than thefe pra^tifed every 
 ^^y? t)y Chriftian princes and prieds, who, under pretence 
 of religion, converting their fubjefts, and fubduing far diftant 
 nations to true faith, raife armies, and ramble from one he- 
 mifphere to another, to deftroy Turks, Pagans and heretics, 
 ravage their countrys, enflave their perfons, burn, rack and 
 torture their bodies; and notwithftanding of all thefe barba- 
 rities, preach, that they are agreeable facrifices to the God of 
 love and peace? We muft not be ftartled at names,but examine 
 things. Is it not a far greater inhumanity to facrifice millions 
 of our fellow creatures, in religious wars, than to immolate 
 Ibme dozens of men upon an altar? the only difference is, 
 that the one is done in an open field, with military weapons 
 and artillery; and the others in a temple, with a facrificing 
 knife;,and facerdotallnflruments. As every foldier cannot be 
 accufed of inhumanity, when he obeys his fovereign, in go- 
 ing tofuch religious, impious wars, fo neither can all the Pa- 
 gans prefent at their inhuman facrifices, be accufed of appro- 
 ving them. The ambitious princes and butchering prieds 
 among the ChrifHans and Pagans, that authorize fuch acti- 
 ons in religion, and order fuch pra^lices in worfliip ;mufi: an- 
 fwcr for it one day before the great tribunal: but the inno- 
 cent fouls that are prefent at thefe impious immolations 
 againft their wills, or from a falfe perfuafion, that thefe facri- 
 fices are ordered by God, or from an invincible ignorance of 
 revealed religion, cannot be faid to authorize them, nor will 
 ihey be condemned for afilfting at them. 
 
 4. It is certain, that pure and upright minds could not be 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 401 
 
 prefent at, nor partake of the abominable vices, which enter* 
 edinto the Pagan worfhip; they could not approve the im- 
 purities committed in the temples of Venus, nor the revel- 
 lings prac^ifed at the feafts of Bacchus ; they had, no doubt, 
 a facred horror at all thefe deteftable crimes and abufes. They 
 cried out againft them, yea, fome of them even fuffered mar- 
 tyrdom to reclaim men from thefe horrid degradations. Such 
 was Socrates ; Dare we fay, that he was the only fage among 
 the Pagans, that rebuked and reproved the fcandalous abufes 
 authorized and tolerated by the Pagan priefts? Moreover, 
 ought we to look upon the crimes committed by the Hea- 
 thens upon their folemn feftivals, as elfential parts of their 
 worfliip? If this were fo, what might not be faid agalnil: 
 Chriltlanity? Did the moll holy fouls that ever were among 
 the Chriftians, approve the debaucheries committed in the 
 ancient, nocturnal pilgrimages to facred wells, monuments 
 and churches? Do pious and fober Chriftians juflify theran- 
 tings and excefles, that the vulgar fall into, upon the moft fo- 
 lemn feafts and holy-days of the churchjin all feds and coun- 
 try s of Chrlitcndom? fhould we look upon thefe abufes and 
 practices, as principles of the Chriftian religion? Since the 
 different feds and contending parties of Chriftianity revile, 
 impeach, and accufe each other with the highelt injuftlce, 
 and endeavour to make the abufes among their antagonlfts 
 pafs for principles, it Is poffible, that Chriftians in general 
 may have judged too harfhiy of the Pagan practices, and en- 
 deavoured to make them pafs for articles of faith, and vices 
 authorized by their worfliip: If we compare the abominations 
 committed at the feafts of Venus and Bacchus, with the de- 
 TART 2. Eec 
 
402 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 baucheries which happen upon the great feftivals of the 
 Chriftian church, we will find, that men of all nations and 
 religions are much the fame; but mufl: we look upon thefe 
 common abufes,as principles of the primitive Pagan or Chrif- 
 tian religion. In fine, we fliall fuppofc, that the natural cu- 
 pidity of the Pagans, the impious trade of prieft-craft, and 
 the falfe politics of their princes, had authorized fiich pra<n'i- 
 ces; that the ftupid ignorance, into which the vulgar Hea- 
 thens fell, about the true fenfe of their allegories, made them 
 believe, that they might imitate the incefts, vices and paflions,. 
 which the poets afcribed to the Gods; yet this does not prove, 
 that the fame God who preferved Job,Naaman, and Corne- 
 lius from theinfedion and abufes introduced into the religi- 
 on of their country, tho' they were not members of the Jew- 
 ifli church, might not, and cannot to this day, preferve in- 
 numerable others from the fame contagion, tho' they be not 
 members of the Chriftian church. Is his arm fhortned, and 
 his power diminifhed? It is to thefe unknown fouls hid in the 
 bofom of Paganifm, that we may apply thefe words of the 
 Pfalmifl:. (a) * God covers them under the fhadow of his 
 ' wings; his truth is their fhield, and their buckler; they are 
 ^- not afraid of the peftilence (of error) that walketh in dark- 
 
 * nefs; nor of the deftruftion (of impiety) that wafteth at 
 
 * noon. A thoufand fall at their fide, and ten thoufand at 
 ' their right hand, for God gives his angels charge over them, 
 
 * to guard theiji in all their ways, and to bear them on their 
 ^ wings ; left they dafh their foot againft a ftone. They 
 '> tread upon the lions (of idolatry), trample upon the adders 
 
 0i)PfaImxci.4. to 14, 
 
MEANS OF RE -UN ION. 403 
 
 '* (of fuperftition), and the dragons (of impurity).' It is thus, 
 that amidll: the greatefl: pollutions, they remain unpolluted; 
 and as the holy and piousminds among the Chriftians remain 
 |)ure and unftained, notwithftanding of the fcandals, impuri- 
 ties, vices, and odious crimes that prevail very oft among 
 popes, prelates, priefts and clergymen of all fe<n:s, denomina- 
 tions and communions; fo the pious and upright fouls,among 
 the Pagans, are preferved pure and untainted, notwithftan- 
 ding the abufes authorized by their priefts and facrificers. 
 This is one of the miracles of Grace, that is to be manifefled at 
 the laft day, * when many (hall come from the Eafl:,and from 
 
 * the Weft ; from, the North, and from the South, and fit 
 
 * down in the kingdom of heaven, while the children of the 
 
 * kingdom fhall be fhut out,' becaufe of their real, formal 
 idolatry and impurity, in pr-eferring the creatures to Godjand 
 loving them more than God, tho' thefe nominal children of 
 the kingdom, and members of the vifible church were other- 
 wife fcrupulous obfervers of all the ceremonies, and facra- 
 ments of the Mofaical and evangelical law. 
 
 5. We mufl: always diftinguifh, betwixt the internal ftate, 
 fcntimcnts, and lights, of the pure, fimpler upright minds 
 that lived and died in the womb of Paganifm, and the fpccu- 
 lative fy items of religion, given by the incredulous wits, or 
 the credulous priefts among the Heathens. Thefe rwo forts 
 of men have, without any connivance; and from verydifie- 
 rent motives, disfigured religion, and given very falfe notions 
 of it, in all countries and ages. What itrange ideas would an 
 Indian, or a Chinefe philofopher have of our holy religion, 
 if they judged by the fchemes given of it by our modern frco 
 
 Eee 2 
 
404 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 thinkers and Pharlfaical do6tors of all fe(fls : According to the 
 odious and too vulgar fyftem of thefe incredulous fcoffers, 
 and credulous fcribblers, * The God of the Jews is a moft 
 
 * cruel,unjuft,partial and fantaftical being. He created, about 
 
 * fix thoufand years ago, a man and a woman, and placed 
 
 * them in a fine garden of Afia, of which there are no re- 
 
 * mains. This garden was furnilhed with all fort of trees, 
 
 * fountains, and flowers. He allowed them the ufe of all the 
 
 * fruits of this beautiful garden, but of one that was planted 
 
 * in the midft thereof, and that had in it a fecrct virtue of pre- 
 
 * ferving them in continual health and vigour of body and 
 
 * mind; of exalting their natural powers, and making them 
 ' wife. The devil entered into the body of a ferpent, and fol- 
 
 * licited the firft woman, to cat of this forbidden fruit; fhe 
 
 * engaged her hufband to do the fame. To punifh this flight 
 
 * curiofity, and natural defire of life and knowledge, God 
 
 * not only threw our firft parents out of Paradife,but he con- 
 ' demncd all their pofterity to temporal mifery, and the moft 
 
 * part of them to eternal pains, tho' the fouls of thefe inno- 
 ' cent children have no more relation to thefe of Adam, than 
 
 * to thofe of Nero and Mahomet; fince, according to the 
 
 * fcholaftic drivelers, fabulifts and mythologies, all fouls are 
 
 * created pure, and infufed immediately into mortal botliesj 
 ' fo foon as the foetus is formed. To accomplifh the barba- 
 
 * rous, partial decrees of predeftination and reprobation, God 
 
 * abandoned all nations to darknefs, idolatry and fuperftiti- 
 
 * on, without any faving knowledge orfalutary graces; un* 
 
 * lefs it was one particular nation, whom he chofe as his pe- 
 
 * culiar people. This chofen iiation was, however; the mo(^ 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 405 
 
 * ftiipid, ungrateful, rebellious, and perfidious of all nations. 
 ' After God had thus kept the far greatcftpart of all the hu- 
 ' man fpecies, during near four thoufand years, in a reprobate 
 ' ftate, he changed all of a fudden,and took a fancy for other 
 ' nations, befides the Jews. Then he Tent his only begotteii 
 
 * Son to the world,under a human form to appeafe his wrath, 
 ' fatisfy his vindictive julHce, and die for the pardon of fin; 
 ' Very few nations have, however, heard of this Gofpel, and 
 
 * all the reft, tho' left in invincible ignorance, are damned 
 
 * without exception, or any poffiblllty of remldion. llie 
 ' moft of thefc who have heard of it, have changed only 
 
 * fome fpeculative notions about God, and fome external 
 ' forms in worfhip ; for other\vife,the bulk of Chriflians have 
 ' continued as corrupt, as the reft of mankind, in their mo- 
 ' rals,yea, fo much the more perverfe and criminal, that their 
 
 * lights were greater. Unlefs it be a very fmall/clca number, 
 
 * all other Chrifl:ians,HkethePagans,will be for ever damned; 
 ' the great facrifice offered up for them, will become void and 
 
 * of no effed. God will delight forever in their torments and 
 ' blafphemies; and tho' he can by one fiat, change their 
 
 * hearts,yet they will remain for ever unconverted and uncon- 
 
 * vertible, becaufc he will be for ever unappcafable, and ir- 
 
 * reconcileable.lt is true,thatall this makes God odious,a ha- 
 
 * ter of fouls, rather than a lover of them; a cruel, vindiftive 
 
 * Tyrant,an impotent, or a wrathful Demon, rather than ark 
 
 * all-powerful,beneficentFather offpiritsryetall this is amy* 
 
 * ftery. He has fecret reafons for his conducT:, that are impe- 
 
 * netrable; and tho' he appears unjull, and barbarous, yet 
 « we muft believe the contrary,becaufe what is injuilicCjCrimcj 
 
4o6 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 ' cruelty and the blackeft malice inus/is in him juftice,mercy, 
 * and fovereign goodnefs.' 
 
 Thus, the increduloas freethinkers, the Judaizing Chrif- 
 tians,and the fataliftical dodors have disfigured and difhonou- 
 red the fublitne myfteries of our holy faith; thus, they have 
 confounded the nature of good and evil; transformed the 
 moft monftrous paflions into divine attributes, and furpaffed 
 the Pagans in blafphemy,by abfcribing to the eternal Nature 
 as perfedlions, what makes the mod horrid crimes among 
 men. The groffer Pagans contented themfelves to divinize 
 luftjincelt, and adultery ; but the Predeftinarian doctors have 
 divinized Cruelty ,Wrath,Fury,Vengeance,and all the black- 
 eft vices. Is it any w^onder, if the fober Deifts, and profound 
 philofophers rejeifl: the baflard fchemes of Chriftianity, as 
 incompatible with the divine perfections? It is much in the 
 fame nianner,that the incredulous wits, and idolatrous priefls., 
 among the Pagans, degraded, adulterated, and transformed 
 the original principles and emanations of the antediluvian 
 andNoevian tradition: but there were ftill among them ma- 
 ny chofen eleSi fouls, that feparated the pure from the im- 
 pure, and pra6lifed the ceremonies of their external worfhip, 
 in the true fpirit of their primitive infl:itution,by the pure effi- 
 cacy of internal, univcrfal grace. 
 
 6. In order to judge of the miraculous effeds of thefe hid* 
 den operations of omnipotent, all-comprehenfive grace, it 
 would be neceffary to have authentic records of the moral 
 flateof the human mind in all ages and countrys, fince the 
 fall : but we have few or none of fuch monuments left. No 
 hiftories have been preferved of the numberlcfs nationSj that 
 
MEANS OF RE -UN ION. 407 
 
 covered the face of the earth; unlefs it be of the four great 
 empires, which, however extenfive, yet when compared with 
 the reft of the habitable world, were but the fmallcft portion 
 of our globe. Among thefe numerous nations, w^hofe names 
 are known to us, we havefcarce a;ny writings preferved, but 
 of the Greeks and Romajis. We have no original books 
 left of the AfTyrians, Indians, Medes, Perfians, Scythians, 
 Egyptians, Celtes, Gauls, and Britons, ancient Europeans, 
 Africans, and Americans. Moreover, the hiftorians, poets, 
 orators, philofophers, and learned men of all kinds, are not 
 always the men of the pureft hearts and morals. They are, 
 generally fpeaking, full of impure paffions, wild imaginations, 
 or falfc felf-love; and fo are not flandards by which we ought 
 to judge of the internal difpofitions of fouls hid in the croud, 
 who cannot exprefs, far Icfs pen their inward fentiments. 
 'llio', therefore, we had preferved all the niraierous volumes 
 loft by the burning of the ancient librarys mentioned in hif- 
 tory, yet they would not difcover to us the interior moral 
 ftate of thefe pure, upright, and flmple minds that make a 
 good ufeof the foeculative errors, material idolatries, and fu- 
 perftitious rites, to which they are expofed, by the invincible 
 ignorance of revealed religion. He, that is the fearcher of 
 hearts and tryer of reins; He, before whom all things are na^ 
 kedand bare,has declared to us,That he is' the lover of fouls; 
 
 * that he careth for all; that he cureth alt; that his wifdoni 
 
 * flows forth into all nations, and makes friends of God ; that 
 
 * his eternal. Word enlighterts every man that comes into the 
 
 * world; that the Lamb flain from the foundation of the' 
 *■ earth died to fave all ; that he deflres that all fliould beJa- 
 
:p8 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 ' ved, and come to the knowledge of truth ; that he makes no 
 ' exception of perfons ; that he is equally the God of all,both 
 * Jews and Gentiles ;' and therefore, that he denies to none 
 the eifential means of falvation ; For, othcrwife, thefe Scrip- 
 tural declarations of his univerfal beneficence would be hy- 
 perbolical,fallacious, and illufory. This is a more faithful ac- 
 count of the internal, hidden, moral ftate of mankind; than 
 all the hiftoriesand volumes that mortals can pen. 
 
 To prove this doctrine by authentic fads, almighty Pro- 
 vidence has preferved fuch vcftiges of divine light and virtue 
 amon^ the Pagans, and in the writing-s that have been faved 
 from the fliipwrack of antiquity, that no doubt can be made 
 of the boundlefs extent of univerfal grace. This we fliall de- 
 raonftrate from fome fragments contained in the Greek and 
 Latin authors, in the works of the primitive fathers of the 
 church, and in the obfervations made by fome travellers into 
 Afia, Africa and America. 
 
 We begin fird: with the Chlnefe. Their original books 
 fpeak very oft of the three necelTary means of re-uniting the 
 foul to God by contemplation, or prayer ; by the facrifice of 
 the padions, or mortification ; by humility, or felf-denial. In 
 the bookCHU-KiNG, we find thefe expreflions, * The Ti- 
 ' EN, or fovereign Lord of heaven produced all the nations 
 
 * of the world, and reigns over them; but he efteems virtue 
 
 * alone. He makes no exception of perfons, and loves them 
 
 * only in fo far, as they adore him attentively. We mufl afk 
 
 * from him immortal life, he hears the prayers of the merci- 
 
 * ful, but he deftroys the wicked. Meng-tsee, in com- 
 ^ menting upon this facredbook,faySjTruthJufliccand Cha- 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 409 
 
 * rity are the titles which make us approach to heaven, and 
 
 * which heaven alone confers. To watch over our heart, and 
 
 * to nourlfh our minds, is the true worfhip that heaven de- 
 
 * mands.' We find in thefame bookCnu-KiNGjthefe admi- 
 rable maxims, ' fovcrcign perfe<n:Ion confifts In being rc-uni- 
 
 * ted to the fupream Unity. The foul was at firfi: all luminous, 
 
 * but It was obfcured at laft. We muft labour to refiore It to 
 
 * its primitive light. Now it Is only by deftroying all falfe de- 
 ' fires and felf-love, that we can difcover the celeftlal reafbn.' 
 In the chapter Ki ang-hio of thefame book Chu-king, 
 thefe words are found, (a) ' What is called reafon, is pro- 
 ' pcrlyan attribute of Tien, or of the fupream God. The 
 
 * talents and the lights which he communicates to men, are a 
 ' participation of this reafon. What is called reafon In the 
 
 * Tien, Is in man, virtue; and when he reduces It into prac- 
 
 * tice, It Is called jufticc. Our own will and the corruption 
 
 * of the heart very oft darken this reafon ; when it is once 
 
 * obfcured, the virtue of the heart Is mixed and adulterated. 
 
 * When the Internal virtues are no more pure, we foon aban- 
 
 * don juftlce from without; wherefore, the truly wife-man 
 
 * remains within himfelf, and piety rules all his conduct.' 
 Here then Is a Hate of perpetual. Inward recolle(ftion. In the 
 fame book of Chu-king, we find thefe w^ords, ^ To fancy 
 ' that we have virtue, is to have very little of It. The ftudy 
 ' of wifdom confifts In being very humble, as If we were In- 
 
 * capable of every thing; and yet be ardent, as'if we could 
 < do all." In the bookCniKiNG, we read thefe words, * The 
 
 * fovcrcign Lord faid to Venwang, or the prince of Peace 
 
 (a) See father du Haldes' hiftorical account of China vol. ii. page 276. Sic. 
 PART 2. Fff 
 
4IO OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 * I love a pure and fimple virtue like thine. It makes no noife, 
 
 * it does not dazzle from without. It is not forward, nor 
 
 * proud. In feeing thee, one would fay, that thou had no 
 
 * light, nor knowledge; but to conform thyfelf to my or- 
 
 * ders. The fupreamTiEN hates the proud, and loves the 
 ^ humble. There is not one inftant, wherein I cannot of- 
 
 * fend TiEN; how then can we have one moment's joy in 
 ' this miferable life? the augufl: heaven loves only thofe who 
 ' declare themfelves lovers ofjuftice, and virtue. Watch con- 
 ^ tinually over the leafl things. When thou art in. the fecret 
 ' of thy houle, do not fay. None fee me, for there is an in- 
 ' telligent fpirit that fees all. Tien pierces into the bottom 
 
 * of the hearts, as light into a dark room. We muft endea- 
 ' vour to correfpond to his lights, as a mufical inftrument per- 
 ' fe6lly tuned. We muft unite ourfelves to him, as two mar- 
 
 * bles, that feem but one. We mufl: receive from his hand, 
 ' fo foon, as he opens it. He enlightens us continually ; but 
 ' by our diforderly paflions, we fhut up the entry of our 
 
 * fouls. Tc H u c H I ,in commenting upon thefe paffages, fays, 
 ' That it is not fufficient to regulate the outward man, but 
 
 * that we mufl: watch over the leafr motions of the inward 
 ' man.' Here is great purity of heart, fynonimous to inward 
 recollection, and Chrifl:ian vigilance. A commentator upon 
 TcHUCHi, and one of his difciples defines thus the perfcvft 
 fage, ' He is full of fweetnefs and condefcenfion. He is hum- 
 
 * ble, and ajways ready to yield to others. One would fay 
 ' in hearing him, that he knows nothing and is capable of 
 
 * nothing. The fublimeft virtues are founded upon humility; 
 ^ and there is no man fo enlightned, as he that believes his 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 411 
 
 * lights very bounded.' The book TuHio wrote by Con- 
 fucius, and commented on by his difciple Tseng t-see, 
 fpeaks continually, * of reftoring in us that primitive light 
 
 * and purity, which the foul received from heaven, upon its 
 
 * firfl: creation,which it has loft by fin, and which heaven alone 
 
 * can render to it, by its internal irradiations,and influences/ 
 The canonical books of China, and the moft ancient com- 
 mentators upon them, who lived long before the Chriftian 
 aera, are full offuch pafTages, in commendation of internal 
 prayer, purity and humility, inward recolle(5lion, continual 
 vigilance and true fclf-denial. 
 
 We have no books left of the ancient Indians, Perfians, 
 and Egyptians; yet we find fome fragments of their moral 
 do(5lrines among the ancients. 
 
 Strabo gives us a fine defcription of the Gymnofophifts 
 taken from Megafthenes, Nearchus, Oneficritus, Ariftobu- 
 lus, and others, (a) * There are two kinds of philofophers 
 ' among the Indians, the one called Brachmans, and the 
 ' other Germans. The Brachmans excell, and their dodlrines 
 ' are more confiftent. They have learned men to take a care 
 
 * of them from their birth, who come to the mother and in- 
 
 * fant on pretence of wifliing happinefs to both ; but in rea- 
 
 * lity to give them moral precepts for temperance. After their 
 
 * birth, different teachers fuccecd one another in the care of 
 
 * them, and ftlll thofe more elegant, as they advance in years. 
 
 * Thefe philofophers dwell in a grove with a fmall inclofure 
 
 * before the city; and live frugally, lying on mats and fkins, 
 < abftaining from flefh and venereal pleafures, hearing good 
 
 (a)Strabo. Lutet. Par. typ. reg. 1620. p. 7 12. 
 
 Fff 2 
 
412 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 * difcourfes, and communicating them to all willing to hear 
 
 * them. The hearer mult neither fpeak, nor hawk,nay, nor 
 
 * fpit; elfe he is for that day excluded the meeting, as intem- 
 
 * perate. Moftof their difcourfes are concerning death.They 
 
 * imagine this prefent life, the infancy, as it were, ofourbe- 
 ' ing; and that death is an entry to a truly happy life for 
 
 * thofe who philofophize : therefore they make the greatefl: 
 
 * preparation for it. They maintain that God who made and 
 ' governs the world, pervades the whole. Theycompofe fa- 
 
 * bles, like Plato, about the incorruptibility of the foul, and 
 
 * the judgments in Hades, all tending to piety and holinefs.' 
 
 (a) ' Among the Ba(n:rlans and Indians, fays Bardcfanes, 
 
 * there are many thoufinds of thofe called Brachmans, who, 
 
 * according to their laws, and the tradition of their anceilors, 
 
 * neither commit murder, nor worfliip images, nor eat any 
 ' animal food. T hey never tafte wine ; nor any ilrong drink; 
 
 * and fhare in no vice, but adhere to God.' 
 
 According to Porphyry, (b) ' The Gymnofophlfts are 
 
 * compofed of two fe<5ls, the Brachmans, and the Samaneans. 
 ' The Brachmans fucceed one another by birth, in their di- 
 ' vine philofophy, as well as the priefthood: but the Sama- 
 ' ncans are all elefted, and conliftof fuch as incline to philo- 
 
 * fophize in this way. Bardcfanes the Babylonian fays, the 
 
 * Brachmans are not fubjeft to the laws of the ftate, and have 
 
 * no commerce with others. Some of thefe philofophers 
 t dwell on the mountains, and others on the river Ganges. 
 < Thofe on the mountains feed on fruit, and cows milk con- 
 i gealed with herbs ; but thefe at the Ganges live on fruit 
 
 (a) Eufebij praep evang. Paris 1628. p. 275, (b) De Abftinentia lib. 4. 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 41^ 
 
 only, that grows in great plenty along the river. The conn- 
 try almoft always produces new fruit and large quantities 
 of wild barley, which they ufe when their fruit fails. They 
 reckon it the utmoft uncleannefs and impurity to tafleany 
 other thing, or fo much as to touch any animal food. This 
 is their opinion. They worfliip the divinity, and ferve him 
 with true piety. Each in his own apartment, and in private 
 by himfelf, fpends the mofl: part both of the night and day 
 in prayers and hymns to the Gods ; for the Brachmans can- 
 not endure.to live in common. And if at any time they are 
 obliged to It, they retire afterwards, and fpeak not for ma- 
 ny days ; and fall: very frequently. The Samaneans, we 
 told, are elected. When any one is to be lided in their fo- 
 ciety, he goes to the governors of the city, or village, and 
 ftrips himfelf of all his wealth and poiTeflions. He fhavcs all 
 the fuperfluous ornaments of the body, puts on the robe, 
 and immediately departs to the Samaneans, without fpeak- 
 ing either to his wife or children, if he has any, or expref-' 
 fmg the Icafl: regard for them. The king provides his chil- 
 dren in the neceiTaries of life, and his friends take a care of 
 his wife. The Samaneans live thus. They lodge without 
 the city, and fpend the whole day in difcourfing about the 
 Deity. They have houfes and temples built by the king, 
 in which there are ftewards who receive fome allowance 
 from the prince to entertain all thofe who refort to that 
 place. Their food is barley, bread, fruit and pot-herbs. 
 When they enter the houfe, at the found of the bell, every 
 body elfe departs, and the Samaneans pray. After prayers, 
 the bell rings a fecond time, and the fervants give a plate of 
 
414 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 * barley to each ; for two of them never eat out of one difh. 
 
 * They give a few pot-herbs, or a little fruit to him v^^ho de- 
 
 * fires a variety. The meal is foon over, and each returns to 
 
 * his own apartment; and all of them live without either 
 
 * riches or wives. Both they and the Brachmans are held in 
 
 * fo great a veneration by the reft of their countrymen, that 
 
 * the king himfelf often vifits them, afks their advice, and in- 
 
 * treats their prayers in every publick calamity. Such are their 
 
 * views of death, that with reluctance they endure life, as a 
 
 * piece of neceflary bondage to nature, and hafte to fet the 
 ' foul at liberty from the body. Nay often, when in good 
 
 * health, and no evil to difturb them, they depart life, adver- 
 
 * tifing it before hand. No man hinders them, but all reckon 
 
 * them happyjand fend commiflions along with them to their 
 ' dead friends. So ftrong and firm is their belief of a future 
 
 * life for the foul, where they fliall enjoy one another. After 
 
 * receiving all their commands, they deliver themfelves to the 
 
 * fire, that they may feparate the foul as pure as pofFible from 
 
 * the body, and expire finging hymns. Their old friends at- 
 
 * tend them to death with more eafe, than other men their 
 ' fellow-citizens to a long journey. They deplore their own 
 ' ftate for furviving them, and deem them happy in their im- 
 ' mortality.' 
 
 We fliould form a very high idea of the fpirit of the Brach- 
 mans, and the genius of their philofophy, were we to credit 
 their conferences with Alexander the King of Macedon, as 
 defcribed by Palladius, St. Ambrofe, and the anonymous au- 
 thor on that fubjed. Though thefe are' all romances, yet as 
 they agree in the principal fads,they may befuppofed to write 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 415 
 
 in charaifler, and to reprefent thefe philofophers, according 
 to the notion the world then entertained of them, (a) ' The 
 
 * Bragmans, fays Palladius, renounce fociety,not from choice 
 
 * like the monks, but by the orders of God. They dwell by 
 
 * the river Ganges, and live naked following nature. They 
 
 * have neither beads, inftruments for hufbandry, houfes, fire, 
 ' bread, wine, clothes, nor any thing elfe tending either to 
 ' ufe or pieafure. They live in a pleafant, temperate, and 
 
 * beautiful climate. They know, and worfhip God. They 
 ' pray incelTantly, but cannot reafon accurately concerning 
 
 * Providence. In prayer, they lift their eyes to heaven, and 
 ' difregard the ceremony of turning to the EaPc. They feed 
 
 * on acorns, wild herbs, and whatever elfe the uncultivated 
 
 * earth produces. They drink water, lodge in the woods, and 
 
 * make their bed on the leaves.' In the fame treatife, they are 
 reprefented as addrefling Alexander in the following terms, 
 making their own life a contraft to his. (b) * We Bragmans 
 
 * ftrengthen ourfelves, by quelling the diforders within ; we 
 
 * rcpofe ourfelves contemplating the woods and heaven; we 
 
 * liften to the melodious accents of the birds, and the found- 
 
 * ing flight of the eagle; we clothe ourfelves with leaves, live 
 ' in the open air, feed on fruits, drink water, fing hymns to 
 
 * God, acqulefce in whatever happens, and hear nothing but 
 
 * what profits us.' We have a fpecimen of their devotion in 
 that fhorthymn of Dandamis to thefupream Being, (c) ' Im- 
 ' mortal Lord, I thank thee in every thing. Thou alone ru- 
 
 * left over all, and richly fupplieft all thy creatures with food. 
 
 (a) Palladius de Gentlbus Indiae et Bragmanibus Lond. 1668. P. 7. (b)Iden)j 
 p. 15. (c) Idem, p. 39. 
 
4i6 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 ' Thou haft created this world, and ftill fupporteft it, waiting 
 
 * for the fouls thou haft fent hither, that in a manner worthy 
 
 * of God, thou mayft reward the virtuous, and punifli the 
 
 * difobedient to thy laws. Every juft judgment is with thee, 
 ^ and at thy right hand is life eternal. Thou pitieft all men 
 
 * with everlafting goodnefs.' 
 
 There is, perhaps, no part of learning more buried In the 
 ruins of time, and more difficult to be dug up again, than the 
 whole of the Oriental philofophy ; but cfpecially that of the 
 Magi. The only remains of it now extant have been tranf- 
 mittedto us by the Greeks; and that in a very imperfect and 
 obfcure way. We are well afTured, that Pythagoras, and 
 others of their great men, borrowed from it what they found 
 for their purpofe; but havefo mixed it with their own philo- 
 fophy, that it Is often ImpofTible to diftinguifli between them. 
 (a) Porphyry fays it was a report in his time,that ' Pythagoras 
 
 * had receis'ed what concerns the worfliip of the Gods, and 
 ' the other ftudies relating to the conduct of hfe from the 
 
 * Magi.' (b) The fame author cites Diogenes as aflerting In 
 -his book on the wonders beyond Thule, that * Pythagoras 
 ' eonverfcd with Zabratusand other Chaldeans at Babylon, 
 
 * who purified him from tlie polkitions of his former life, 
 ' and taught him what things good men fhould abftain from. 
 ' There he heard difcourfes concerning nature, and the firft 
 
 * principles of all things.' (c) Jamblichus fays, ' He fpent 
 
 * twelve years at Babylon, freely converfing with the Magi, 
 
 * was InftruiHied in every thing venerable among them, and 
 
 (a) Porphyrius de vita Pythagorae, Kufteri. (b) Idem ibid. p. 15. (c) Jam- 
 blichus de vita Pythag. Kufteri. p. 15. 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 417 
 
 ■* learned the moft perfed worflilp of the Gods.' (a) In ano~ 
 ther place, he alleges, that Pythagoras had borrowed his di- 
 vine phllorophy,and the worfliip of the Gods, from the Chal- 
 deans and the Magi. 
 
 Pliny afcribes to Zoroafter a life of great temperance in 
 the deferts for twenty years (b). Plutarch informs us that he 
 taught the Perfians to offer to the God Oromafdes fuch fa- 
 crifices as were expreflive of prayer and thankfgiving, (c). Ac- 
 cording to Suidas, the Magi among the Perfians the difciples 
 of Zoroafter were devoted to the Itudy of philofophy, and 
 the love of God. Xenophon fays the Magi were appointed 
 by Cyrus to-fing hymns and facrifice to the Gods every day 
 (d). * The Magi, fays Clitarchus in Laertius, fpend their 
 
 * time in the worfhip of the Gods, in facrificing and prayer, 
 
 * as if they alone were heard. They condemn images, and 
 
 * efpccially thofe people who fay the Gods are male and fe- 
 ' male. They difcourfe on juftice' (e). Solion afcribes to 
 them a hardy and frugal life ( f ). Philo fays they fearch the 
 works of nature for the difcovery of truth, and are gradually 
 initiated in the divine virtues (g). We are told by Serinus in 
 Stobaeus, that the kings of Perfia difcourfed of ' piety bc- 
 
 * fore their facrifices; of temperance, before drinking; and 
 ' of valour, when about to war (h).' And we learn from Sui- 
 das, that no man could be initiated in the worfhip of the God 
 Mithras, till he had given the ftrongefl: evidences, that he was 
 holy, and fuperior to all thepaffions. 
 
 (a) Id. Ibid. p. 127. (b) Plln.lib. II. c. 42. (c) Plutafch de ifid. et Ofirld. 
 (d) Xenophon Cyrop. lib. 8. (e) Laertius de vitis pliilofoph. edit. Menag. Am- 
 ftel. 1692.P. 5. (f)ldem,ibid. (g)Philonis opera. Paris. 1640. p. 876. (h) 
 Stobaeus p. 294. 
 
 PART2. ^g§ 
 
4i8 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 The Eaftern nations feem to have been much more fond 
 of concealing their knowledge, than the Europeans. How- 
 far this was owing to the grave, flow genius of that people, 
 and the form of their government, would be a curious enqui- 
 ry. It is very certain, that the methods ufed to improve the 
 fciences, and hand them down to future ages, w^cre pretty 
 much the fame, through all the Eaft. So far as we can judge 
 of them, both from their ancient and modern hiftory, they 
 have been every way more uniform, and more confident 
 with themfelves, than the reft of the world. Moil of their 
 learned purfuits were rather intended to preferve the doc- 
 trines of their forefathers, and tranfmit their traditions incor- 
 rupted through the pure channel of the initiated to the lateft 
 generations; than to new-model the fciences by the force of 
 genius, or refine their ancient (lock. Accordingly, we fee the 
 fciences were often confined to certain families; and not, as 
 in Greece, communicated by public teachers promifcuoufly 
 to every hearer. And hence it is, that the favourite principles 
 of their ancient philofophy as defcribed by the Greeks, con- 
 tinue to prevail in moft eaftern countries at this very day. 
 Hyde, in his book de Religione Veterum Perfarum, endea- 
 vours to fhow, that in the devoutefl manner, the Perfians ul- 
 timately worfhipped the true God alone as the all-powerful 
 former of heaven and earth, and excelled mofl nations of the 
 world in piety, and the exercife of all the divine virtues. We 
 may form an idea of their devotion, from the introdu»5lion to 
 the Perilan book called Sad-der, where the author addreffes 
 the fupream being in a few pious foliloquies. (a) ^ O God, 
 (a) Hyde derelig. Vet. Perf, cap. 33. p. 397. 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 419 
 
 * enlighten my heart ; I am poor, enrich me. I am fallen in- 
 
 * to a corner of obfcurity, and funk in numbcrlcfs evils by 
 
 * vice. Free my heart from impurity, and direct me in my 
 
 * way. Remove evil far from me, and irradiate my heart and 
 
 * countenance with thy light. Let not vice gain the afcendant 
 ' over my body; but lead me by the hand, O my Creator. 
 
 * Wean my heart from avarice and ambition ; alTifl: me by 
 
 * thy favour and beneficence. Make my foul capable of a 
 
 * fecret,and open the gates of plenty before my face. O God! 
 ' thou knowefl: my poverty: I am ftill in the net of vice and 
 
 * impurity. Rcfcue me from the fnares of thefe furies; for 
 
 * thou cheriftiefl: and forglvefl: me. O God! thou areconfci- 
 ' ous of what I do, thou knowefl: my affairs, and all my fe- 
 
 * crets. I have girt myfelf in the way of thy religion, and 
 
 * broke off all my dcpcndance on the creature. I will truft in 
 ' thee, O thoumoftjull:.' 
 
 The Chaldean oracles, which contain, as we have faid, 
 fome fragments of the true genuine fentlments of the Orien- 
 tals, reprefcnt piety and virtue, as the only proper (leps for 
 the foul's afcent to her ancient abode, (a) ' Search thou the 
 
 * path of the foul whence flie came ; or what way, after fer- 
 
 * ving the body, by joining work with facred fpcech, thou 
 
 * fhalt raife her again to the fame (late whence fhe fell.' This 
 oracle is thus explained by Pletho In his commentary. * The 
 ' Magi Zoroafler's followers, with many others, believe the 
 
 * immortality of the human foul,and that flie defcended from 
 
 * on high to fcrve a mortal body, to labour with It for fome 
 
 * time, to animate and adorn it as much as fhe can, and then 
 
 (a) Oracula Magica Zoroaftris cum fcholiis Pkthonis et Pfelli, (ludio Opfopoei. 
 
 Ggg 2 
 
420 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 * return again. The foul when above has feveral abodes, one 
 
 * himinous, another dark, and fome filled with an equal mix- 
 
 * ture of light and darknefs. Sometimes fhe fmks into the bo- 
 
 * dy from the luminous abode,and after a virtuous behaviour, 
 ' returns again to the fame place; but if evil, fhe retires to a 
 
 * worfe place, in proportion to her condu(fl: in life. There- 
 ' fore the oracle fays, " Search thou the path of the foul, " 
 ' that is, the way that the foul fell; " whence, or by what 
 *' conduft, " that is, of life, " after ferving the body, thou 
 *' fhalt raife her again to the fame (late, whence fhe fell," that 
 < is, in the fame path, " by joining work with facred fpecch." 
 
 * By facred fpecch, he means piety; and by work, facrifice. 
 
 * The oracle then fays, that piety and facrifice are nccefTary 
 
 * for theafcent of the foul.' In this our return to heaven, the 
 oracle advifestolay afide all anxious pafTionate concern about 
 life and death, and every thing elfe; and entirely deliver the 
 foul to the condud: of fupream Wifdom. ' Force not forth 
 
 * the foul, left (he depart with fome incumbrance.' Accor- 
 ding to Pfellus^ ' This oracle orders man not to concern 
 ' himfclf about the departure of the foul,or be follicitous hov/ 
 ' fhe leave the body; but to yield to the natural law of difTo- 
 ' luiion. Anxiety about the diffolution of the body, and the 
 
 * departure of the foul, diverts and withdraws the intelle^ 
 
 * from fuperior concerns, and retards the perfe6l purification 
 
 * of the foul. Her departure is not abfolutely frce,but ftill en- 
 
 * tangled with fome fhare of paflion, if we are in the leaft 
 ' concerned about our feparation at the approach of death. 
 ' One ought,fays the Chaldean,to be anxious about nothing, 
 
 * except the fuperior illummations, or rather, not even about 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 421 
 
 * thefe; but furrender himfelf to the angelical and divine 
 
 * powers that tranrport us to heaven, and follow God his 
 
 * leader without care or thought, after filencing the fenfcs 
 
 * both of foul and body.' At the fame time, the oracle en- 
 joins us a fpeedy return to our celeftial Parent. ' Thou mult 
 
 * haftc to the light and fplcndors of the Father, whence thy 
 ' foul was fent hither clothed with much intelligence.' In ex- 
 plaining this, Pletho fays, * The light and fplendors of the 
 ' Father are the luminous place of the foul, whence clothed 
 
 * with much intelligence it was fent hither. We muft then 
 
 * hafte back again to this light.' It v/as underftood in the fame 
 fenfe by Pfellus. * Since the foul came dovi'n from God, let 
 
 * it return to him again, and afcend to the divine light. It 
 
 * came hither clothed with much intelligence; that is, v/hcn 
 ' itdefcended into this earth, the Creator and Father implan- 
 
 * ted in it fome remembrance of a more divine ftatc, and by 
 
 * this it afcends thither again.' They exprcsfly declare that a 
 true union with God, muft arife from divelHng the foul of 
 every thing mortal. ' The human foul who has nothing mor- 
 
 * tal within her,will affedionately embrace God,and be whol^ 
 
 * ly inebriated with him: then Ihe boafls of her union with the 
 
 * mortal body.' It is thus paraphrafed by Pletho. ' The hu- 
 
 * man foul who has nothing mortal within her, by a ftrong 
 
 * union will affecflionately embrace God her perpetual gover- 
 
 * nor, and refemble him as much as fhe can. Then flic is al<- 
 
 * together inebriated with God,and filled with divine virtues. 
 
 * Though then chained to a mortal body, yet flie boafls of 
 
 * her union with it, that is, fhe is not afhamcd, but rather ela^ 
 
 * ted, as if fhe were fo far fubfervient to the univerfe, as. to 
 
422 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 * unite things mortal to things immortal by man, and thus 
 
 * harmonioufly to connect the whole' Pfeilus underftood it 
 in the fame light. ' The foul, fays the oracle, embraces God, 
 ^ that is, forces the divinefireintoherfelf by her immortality 
 
 * and purity. Then fheis wholly inebriated, that is, filled 
 
 * with afuperior life and illumination, and, as it were, tran- 
 
 * fportedoutof herfelf.' 
 
 The modern Perfians and Turks, have the grandeft and 
 nobleft ideas about internal piety, true felf-denial, and felf- 
 annihilation before God; as appears from the following ex- 
 trads outoffome of their principal writers, as tranflated by 
 Herbelot in his Bibliotheque Orientale. 
 
 * Prayer conduds us the half of the way to God, fading 
 ' leads to the very gate of his palace, and charity gives admif- 
 ' fion (a). Thofe who perfevere in prayer, are truely in queft 
 
 * of God ; and fhall infallibly be united to him. This is to 
 ' feek his face (b). But he from whom God conceals him- 
 
 * fclf, can have no knowledge of him. Till he lift the veil 
 
 * that covers his countenance, no creature can remove it; and 
 ' though the whole univcrfe fhould ferve as a veil to hide him, 
 
 * they to whom he unveils himfelf can have nothing to fear 
 '*■ (c). Thofc who fhall perform all their a<5lions in the pre- 
 
 * fenceof God, thofe who are conftant in prayer, thofe who 
 ^ beltow their goods on the poor, and thofe who return good 
 ■* for evil, ihaJl all have a fure abode in heaven (d). Afk of 
 ^ God neither riches nor honours; but petition him forpuri- 
 
 * ty of mind, that thou mayftfeek nothing but him. A true 
 ^ purity of mind makes our indifferent adlions, good; and 
 
 <a) Abdalazl'2. (b) Abou- Jacob Nehergionzi. (c)Aboul-Hafran. (d)Afou. 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 423 
 
 * without it, our beft atTtions become evil (a). No company 
 « is more clofely attached to us than felf-lovc; it almoft never 
 
 < forfakes us, though none more blind and ignorant (c). It 
 
 < is eafier to rootout,and carry ofFa mountain with the point 
 « of a needle, than to tear away pride, and vain-glory from 
 « the heart of man (c). The fruit of temperance and of ab- 
 
 < ftinence from w^orldly things,is the peace of the fouljas hu- 
 « mility is thefourceof love to God and benevolence to men 
 
 < (d).We feck the world to acquire one of thefe three things, 
 
 < honours, riches, or pleafures. But he who hves retired from 
 
 < it, acquires honour; he who is content with what he has, 
 
 < is rich; and he who defpifcs the w^orld, and is no way con- 
 
 * cerned with it, has found his repofc. All the things that 
 
 < fubfift in the world can only make a noife,and caufe trouble. 
 
 < Fly and make thy retreat into the kingdom of felf-annihila- 
 
 * tion, and there thou ihalt find reft. Can the judicious man 
 
 * be fo ignorant, as to fpcnd the whole of life in a ufclcfs at- 
 
 * tachment to the world ? fuppofe thou wert pofFefTed of 
 
 < whatever the world has mofl grand, fhall it not one day eva- 
 « nilh? And fhall not that fatal day declare to thee, thatdufl 
 
 < and afhes is thy only foundation, and thy laft abode. Its 
 
 * beft gifts are but vanity, and the mere phantom of a dream 
 
 < (e). Affli6lion from the hand of God fhould not bear the 
 
 * name. Happy is that affliction, and happy he who endures 
 
 * it, when it comes from on high ( f ). With patience bear 
 « poverty, O my foul, if thou expeCtell: from God a recom- 
 
 * pence without end. Wait inceffantly at the gate of his good 
 
 (a) Eftecamah. (b) Abou-Hamzah al-Babell. (c) Abou-Hafchem. (d)BLV- 
 zurgi. (e)Dunia. (f)Cafchi< 
 
424 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 * pleafure; and he will at laft open to thee that of his richeft 
 
 * treafures. A religious poverty is the privation ofevery thing, 
 
 * and that glorious furrender to God, with which he favours 
 ' the moft perfeft. We muft be robbed of all our goods, and 
 
 * muft annihilate the foul, before we can arrive at him who 
 ' alone pofleffes all things (a). Thofe who regard themfelves, 
 
 * and Uve for themfelves, are always in danger of lofmg them- 
 
 * felves by a multiplicity of objects; but thofe who entirely 
 
 * forget themfelves, are found in unity with God. Boldly 
 
 * deftroy whatever is afcribed to your own powers; and enter 
 
 * the royal path of felf-denial. By treading in this, where wc 
 
 * fee nothing, wc at laft reach that facred retreat, where wc 
 
 < behold God alone (b). The faints are thofe who are moft: 
 
 * united to God, and confequently enjoy his intimate pre- 
 
 * fence. They are enemies to themfelves in this life, andbe- 
 
 * come the friends of God in the next. By their outward be- 
 
 * haviour, th-ey lead us to an obfervance of the law ; and by 
 ' their inward condu<n: teach us felf-denial, and a detach- 
 
 * ment from all terreftrial things. They began their career 
 
 * before all ages, and have laboured for nothing,but eternity. 
 ' During this life, they never forfook the gate of the facred 
 
 * palace of the divinity; and are at laft entered in. They have 
 
 * w iped out of their heart and mind, all the traces of pride 
 
 * and hypocrify. They have trod in all the paths of the Dei- 
 ' ty; though, from weaknefs, they feemed unable to w^alk. 
 
 * They beheld the fccrcts that God imparted to them, and 
 
 * kept a religious filence. They receive two beautiful prcfents 
 
 < from the hand of God: in this world, they underftand; in 
 
 <a) Fakir. (b)Fadhan. 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 425 
 
 the other, they comprehend: In this, they have the joy of 
 fighting and vi(5lory; in the other, the light of glory and re- 
 ward : here below, they pofTefs purity and perfeverance; 
 and on high, they enjoy the prefence of God, and his 
 divine efrence(a). The true marks of the good man in this 
 ftate, are tendernefs of heart, hatred of the world, a diftruf^ 
 of one's felf, and of the creatures, and modefty : on the 
 contrary, the marks of the bad man, arehardnefs of heart, 
 a love of the world, a great confidence in himfelf and in 
 the creatures,and impudence. When a man begins to learn, 
 and to tafte the truths of God, and the internal life, he on- 
 ly labours to recoiled and examine his heart: but when he 
 is further advanced, and moreinftruifted in the fcience, his 
 own heart is a veil that hinders him to fee. In the beginning, 
 he always fees God in his own heart ; but at laft, his heart 
 becomes the veil, under which God conceals himfelf. The 
 eye was given us to view the wonders of the Deity's power, 
 and the ear to hear the inflrudions of his wifdom. The 
 man who applies not his eyes and ears to divine truth, be- 
 comes blind and deaf, or rather falls into a ftate that is far 
 worfe. The ear that is always attentive to God, never hears 
 a voice that fpeaks not of him. The eye that is difpofed to 
 receive his light, views not the Icaft atom, but as a mirrour 
 to reprefentits bcfl: Beloved. This friend is God, whom we 
 cannot dlfpofe of as wepleafe, when we have once loft him 
 by the bad ufe of our liberty ; nor can we any more recover 
 his favour by our own ftrength, when deprived of it by our 
 own fault (b). Wemuft abfolutely renounce an attachment 
 
 (a) Aulia. (b) Cadha. 
 
 PART 2. Hhh 
 
426 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 * to our own light, which is a manifeft impiety, and felf-ido 
 
 * latry: fince after we have gone the round of all other be- 
 
 * ings, we fliall find, that there is properly no other true light, 
 
 * but God alone (a). I ferve God by love, and I cannot but 
 
 * ferve him. We mufl: ferve him independent of all fear and 
 
 * hope,with the love of a friend: for he regards us with the pure 
 ' love of benevolence (b). The firfl: mark of the fervants of 
 ' God is patience,to endure with compofure the affronts and 
 
 * calamities of life. The fecond is juftice,to be fincere in their 
 
 * words, and ftraight in their actions, according to the law 
 
 * they profefs. The third is obedience, to obferve the com- 
 
 * mandments, and refpefl the word of God, both in private 
 ' and public. The fourth is generofity, liberally to diftribute 
 
 * the goods they have lawfully acquired, to thofe whodeferve 
 « them. The fifth and lafl: is prayer. Thus the fervants of 
 
 * God mufl: be patient, to fupport themfclves under the ri- 
 « goursandaufteriticsof life:juft,to follow exa6lly the path of 
 
 * perfection, to which they are called by the will of God: 
 
 * obedient in the ways that conduct to God, that they may 
 
 * conflantly walk in his prefence without defe6l: liberal, to 
 
 * give and facrifice to God, not only all their external goods, 
 
 * but the ftrongeft attachments of nature, by the effects of 
 
 * pure love: given to prayer, that they may implore pardon 
 ' for their leafi: faults, and never indulge a regard for any 
 « thing elfe than God. Hence it appears, that patience which 
 < comprehends repentance,is the firft ftep in the fpiritual life: 
 I juftice fucceeds, and begins to clothe us with the divine vir- 
 t tues and perfe<5tions. By obedience we cut off all our ten- 
 
 (a) Din. (b) FodhaU. 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 427 
 
 * dencles to corrupted nature. Generoflty that beflows all, 
 
 * gives us what perfecflion is neceflary to be agreeable in the 
 
 * eyes of God: and, in fine, the pardon we implore for our 
 
 * fmallefl: crimes, keeps us always in a truehumility of mind. 
 
 * This humility muft lead us to an annihilation in the unity 
 
 * of God. Then we know perfectly that we are nothing ; and 
 
 * by this knowledge, we confefs that God is all. The mofl 
 ' fublime knowledge of God can never arifein our fouls, till 
 
 * all the ideas we have of ourfelves and our powers, are anni- 
 
 * hilated in our eyes. The rays of divine light can only pro- 
 ' ceed from our felf-denial and annihilation; and by thefe 
 
 * rays alone is the heart renewed, and the afFeflions changed 
 
 * (a). 1 have given thee, O God, all that I poiTefs, and have 
 
 * engaged myfelf to be thy fervant. But though I have made 
 
 * a furrendcr of myfelf, and whatever was mofl: dear, I de- 
 ' clare that I have done fo, by the pure motives of divine love 
 
 * (b). When I retire into myfelf, I fee nothing in the uni- 
 
 * vcrfe more vile and miferable; but when I afcend to thee, 
 
 * I cannot believe there is any thing In the world,more grand 
 ' than myfelf In the firfl:fl:ate, I continue dull and low; in 
 
 * the fecond, I become inebriated and tranfported (c). Thy 
 
 * friend, O God, has no view to any other advantage in this 
 
 * world, than to praife thee; and pretends to nothing in hea- 
 
 < ven, but the enjoyment of thee (d). One man will demand 
 i of thee, the enjoyment of Paradife, and its delights; ano- 
 
 < ther, a deliverance from hell and its pains: for me, I afk, 
 
 < neither the one, nor the other. My fole defire is, that thy 
 
 < will be accomplifhed in me. If thou flialt be pleafed with 
 
 (a) Ebad. (b) Ahemed Ben Jahia. (c) Arefi. (d) Aulia. 
 
 Hhh 2 
 
428 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 ' me, both in this world and the next, I have my defire, and 
 
 * refign all the reft into thy hands (a). Thou menaceftme 
 
 * witli a reparation, that will for ever deprive me of thy pre- 
 
 * fence. Do with me what thou pleafeft, providing I am not 
 
 * for ever deprived of thee. There is no polfon more bitter, 
 
 * none more mortal: for what can the foul do that is feparated 
 
 * from God, butlanguifh in difquiet, and be tormented with 
 
 < a perpetual agitation ? A hundred thoufand deaths the molt 
 ' cruel may be borne: they can have nothing fo terrible,as the 
 
 < privation of thy divine countenance. The acuteft maladies, 
 
 * nay all the evils of a whole age joined together, are nothing 
 
 * to me, and appear incomparably more eafy, to be borne, 
 « than the leaft diftance from thee. The fmailefl: fcparation 
 
 * from thee renders our land barren, infefls and drys up our 
 
 * waters; what then would it be, were it eternal? without it, 
 
 * the fire of hell could not burn; and by it only is it made fo 
 
 * ardent. In fine, it is thy prefence alone that fupports us, 
 ' and loads us with every good thing; and thy abfenceis the 
 
 * caufeof all our ills (b). The man never dies, O God, who 
 ' lives but for thee: a thoufand times happy he then, whom 
 ' thou animateft by thy fpirit' (c). 
 
 The Egyptian contemplatives and philofophcrs had alfo 
 the fame ideas. In the encomium of Bufiris,irocrates praifes 
 the Egyptians for their fuperiorfan(51ity ; and Herodotus extolls 
 them as far more addifled to the worlhip of the Deity, than 
 the reft of mankind. Hence they are celebrated by the oracle 
 of Apollo as the firft who opened up the fteep and difficult 
 
 * way to the Gods (d). We find the following fentiments 
 <a)Gennah. (b) Gehennini, (c)Haiat. (d)Eufeb. Praep.evang. lib. 9 c.io. 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 42^ 
 
 in Jamblichus who gives ns a long detail of their religious 
 worfhip. * Illumination by prayer difcovers itfeif, and ope- 
 
 * rates of its own accord, without any conftraint: it mani- 
 
 * fefts it felf by a divine energy and perfedion, and as far cx- 
 
 * cells the voluntary motions of our will, as the divine defire 
 
 * of the fupream good, furpafles a life of choice. By this 
 ' defire, the Gods plentifully dart forth their light, arcbene- 
 
 * volent and propitious to their votaries, recall their fouls to 
 ' themfelves, procure them an union with themfelves, accuf- 
 
 * torn them even while in the body to forfake body, and lead 
 ' them around their eternal and intelligible fource. In the 
 
 * contemplation of blefled vifions, the foul affumes another 
 
 * life,operates in another manner, and juftly efteems itfeif no 
 
 * longer man : it often exchanges its own life for the mofl 
 
 * bleffed operation of the Gods (a). For the Gods are imme- 
 
 * diately prefent with, and united to all thofe who make the 
 
 * leaft approaches to them (b). It is impoffible to difcourfe 
 
 * of the Gods without their aid ; much lefs can we perform 
 
 * divine works without them. The human race is mean and 
 
 * weak, fees but a fmall way, and is naturally poirdTed of no- 
 
 * thingnefs. There is one remedy for its inherent error, con- 
 
 * fulion and inconfuancy, to admit as much of the divine light 
 
 * as pofFible. He who fhutsout this, acls the fame part with 
 
 * thofe who produce a foul from inanimate objects, or create 
 ' intelle^l from things void of underftanding: for without a 
 
 * caufe,he produces divine works, from things not divine (c). 
 
 * God is all, can do all, hath filled all with himfelf, and he 
 
 (a) Jamblichus demyfter. Egypt, edit. Gale pag. 22. (b)Ideiii; pag. 27. (c) Ir 
 dem, pag. 84. 
 
430 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 * alone is worthy of regard, dignity, praife and divine ho- 
 ' nour. Human nature is deformed, of no account, and a 
 
 * mere trifle when compared with the divinity (a). Man con- 
 
 * templativeand intelligent, when formerly united to thevi- 
 
 * fion of the Gods, became another foul fitted for the human 
 
 * fliape, and thus fell under the chains of fate and neceflity. 
 
 * We muft confider what way we can fet ourfelves at liberty 
 
 * from thefe chains. There is none other but by the know- 
 
 * ledge of the Gods. The idea of happinefs is the knowledge 
 
 * of what is good; as the idea of evil is the forgetfulnefs of 
 
 * good things. The one is the knowledge of the father; the 
 
 * other is a departure from him, and a forgetfulnefs of the 
 
 * fuper-elTential, felf-fufficient Father God. The one pre- 
 
 * ferves true life, leading back to the father of it; the other 
 
 * leads man downwards to inftability, and a perpetual flux. 
 
 * The facred and divine gift of happinefs, is called the gate 
 
 * to the Creator of the univerfe, the court and refldence of 
 
 * the fupream Good. By its power, it firft gives a degree of 
 
 < fan^tity to the foul much more perfect than that in the bo- 
 
 * dy; and then difpofes the intelleft for the participation and 
 
 * vifion of the fupream Good, and frees it from every thing 
 
 * contrary to it, and unites us to the Gods the givers of all 
 « good. After it has united the foul to particular parts of the 
 
 * univerfe, and to the univerfal divine powers diffufed through 
 
 < it, then it introduceth her to, and placeth her in the univer- 
 « fal Creator, fets her free of all matter, and unites her to the 
 
 < eternal Lx)gos alone. It unites the foul to the felf-begotten, 
 
 < felf-moved, all-fuftaining, intelledtual, univerfally adorning, 
 
 (a) Idem;pag. 8j. 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 4jr 
 
 < elevating to intelligible truth, felf-perfe6l, the forming, and 
 ' other creating powers of God ; fo that the foul is perfectly 
 
 * fixed in their operations, contemplations, and creating 
 
 * powers. At laft, it places the foul in the univerfal creating 
 
 * God. This is the end of the facred Egyptian religion (a).* 
 
 We come now to the ancient Greeks, and efpecially the 
 Orphic, Pythagorean, Platonic, and Stoic morality. St.JuP 
 tin Martyr has preferved to us a moft admirable fragment of 
 Orpheus, which runs thus, (b) * Refpe^l the divine Word, 
 
 * adhere to him continually. Adore this God and Sovereign 
 
 * of the world.' Is not this recommending continual prayer 
 and adoration in fpirit and in truth ? 
 
 Hicrocles, who gives us an abridgment in his Golden vcr- 
 fes,not only of thePythagoric, but of the Chaldalc,and Ori- 
 ental philofophy, fpeaks thus, (c) ' Phllofophy is the purlfi- 
 ' cation and perfecHiion of human life. It is purification from 
 
 * fenfaal folly, and the mortal body. It is perfection, becaufe- 
 
 * it reftores the foul to its primitive happlnefs, by leading It 
 
 * back to the divine image. Thefe are bed accomplifhcd by 
 ' virtue and truth, the one banlfliing the excefs of paffions, 
 
 * the other procuring the divine image, to thofe who are can- 
 ' didly difpofed to receive it. We muft firfl become men and 
 
 * then Gods. The civil virtues render a man good, but the 
 
 * knowledge that leads up to divine virtue divinizes him. The 
 ' death of a rational being is its ignorance of, and abfence 
 
 * from God, which are attended with an unbounded infur- 
 
 * re6tion of the pafFions. When we are ignorant of what is 
 
 (a) Idem pag. 176. (b) S. Juflin. Martyr.cohort. ad Graecos pag. 15, edit, 
 Lutet.Parif,i6i5. (c)Hierocl.edit. Cantab, pag. 8; lO; 16; 22. 
 
432 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 good, we become necefTarily flaves to what is bad ; and It is 
 impofTible to free ourfelves from them, otherwife than by 
 converting ourfelves to the pure fpirit, and to God by recol- 
 leftlon.' Here is the continual neceflity of divine grace and 
 fpiritual, mental prayer. Hierocles continues thus, ' Thou 
 canfi: not honour God by giving any thing to him, but by 
 becoming worthy to receive from him ; for, as the Pytha- 
 goreans fay ,thou wilt honour God befl:,if thou refemble him 
 in the mind. Whoever honours God, as a being that needs 
 any thing from him, forgets, that by this, he fancys himfelf 
 fuperior to the Deity.The expence of offerings is no honour 
 to God, unlefs they are offered with divine fentiments. The 
 gifts and facrifices <5f the foolifh, are but fewel for the fire ; 
 and their confecrations an occafion of facrilege: but the di- 
 vine infpirations, when fufficiently attended to, unite us to 
 God ;for what is like,muft neceffarily tend to Its like. Hence, 
 the wife man alone is called the prieft, and the beloved of 
 God, who alone knows how to pray: for he alone knows 
 how to honour, who, firftofall, offers himfelf a facrifice, 
 forms his foul an Image of theDeIty,and prepares his intellect 
 for thereception of the divine light .... God has not upon 
 earth a more proper habitation, than a pure foul ; and Apollo 
 fays, I rejoice In pious mortals, as much as in heaven. The 
 fame Apollo faid of old to one that facrlficed hecatombs, 
 but not with a pious mind, and who afked the God how he 
 had accepted his gifts. " The barley cake of the famous 
 ' Hermion, was more acceptable to me ; " to fliow, that he 
 preferred the meaneft offering to all this profufion, becaufe 
 It was lODt adorned with apious mind. With this, ail things 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 433 
 
 * are acceptable to God, and without it nothing can pleafc 
 
 * him. That man is truly pious,\vho,with divine fcicnce,ofFers 
 
 * his own perfeflion, as the bed worfhip, to the caufe of all 
 
 * good ;' here is the highefl: aft of difappropriation, which hin- 
 ders us from falling into the fin of the devils,by a felf-compla- 
 cency in our own virtues and perfections, as if they were our 
 own produ<5lions and efforts. Hierocles fpeaks thus of afflicHii- 
 ons and crolfes, (a) ^ All fuch afflictions, as render life painful 
 
 * to us, by hurting the body and diminiftiing our fortune, are 
 
 * effects of the divine judgment. We ought to bear them with 
 
 * meeknefsjconfidering their caufes, and, as much as poffible, 
 
 * converting them to our advantage.Thus,we render ourfelves 
 
 * worthy of the divine blefiings; by the higheft virtue; but if 
 
 * any one is not yet capable of fuch a fublime perfection, let 
 
 * him attain to political ble(Iings,by a middle virtue. . . .' In ano- 
 ther place, he adds, ' we ought to bear the accidents of life 
 
 * with meeknefs, and mitigate them, as far as is poffible, by 
 
 * reafoning about their caufes with unprejudiced thoughts, 
 
 * perfuaded, that fmce there is a Providence, the good man 
 
 * is not neglected, tho' he carries on him the marks of the 
 
 * former difpleafure of God. For by the pofTeffion of virtue, 
 
 * he avoids the greateft pain of afflictions, and finds out their 
 
 * cure,which confiftsin bearing them without uncafinefs, as 
 ' the beft remedies.' The fame author exhorts thus to an 
 examination oi' confcience every morning and every night, 
 and to preferve the divine prefence,during all the day.(b)The 
 
 * Pythagorean verfcs order us every day to examine, judge 
 
 * and pafs fentence upon ourfelves, that by perpetual remem- 
 
 (a) Hierocl.pag. 90. 102. &c. (b) Id. pag. 154. i|8. 160. 
 PART 2, lii 
 
434 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 « brance,theunderfl:anding may bepreferved free from error, 
 
 < and that each night, when we go to deep, upon finilhing the 
 <• aclions of the day, we may bring them before the tribunal 
 « of confcience, and make the examination of our difpofiti- 
 
 < ons, a hymn on our beds, to ahuighty God. Wherein have 
 
 < I trangrefled? what have I done? what part of my duty has- 
 
 < been unperformed? Thus, fhall we regulate our life by the 
 
 < rules given us, making reafon agree with the pure fpirit, 
 « and the judge with the lawgiver. God has appointed this 
 « pure, unbyafTed reafon as our guardian, our tutor, and 
 « our teacher to judge every day's actions, and receive fen- 
 
 < tence of approbation or condemnation from ourfelves* 
 « When the foul reads thus, as in a book what it has done^ 
 
 < and judges with its eyes fixed on the eternal law, as an 
 
 < exemplar; fuch a daily examination renders thofe who 
 ' ufe it, images of the divinity, training them to the beauty of 
 ' virtue. ... It is eafy to regulate human life by the ufe of 
 ' right reafon, when we convert ourfelves intirely to contem- 
 ' plation.' The fame author fpeaks thus of the internal pu- 
 lification of the foul^ (a) * The man who has thus feparated 
 ' himfelf from a brutal life; purified himfelf, as. much as 
 ^ is pofTible, from the excefs of paflions, and by this becomes 
 
 * a man, of a wild beaft, fhall become a God from a man, as 
 
 * far as it is poflible for a man to become a God. . . . That 
 ^ we may have all the pov/ers of the rational foul intent upon. 
 « the precepts of virtu e,Pythagoras requires meditation from 
 « that part of us, which is by nature fitted for contemplation ; 
 ^labour from that • part which prefervcs and pra(5tifes the 
 
 (a) Ibid. 162. 170^ I73i- 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 435 
 
 * things meditated upon, and love from that part which is a 
 ' lover of beauty ; thatfo from all thefe three, we may get the 
 
 * pofTefFionof what is really good; together with the inviolable 
 < obfervation of the eternal law; and that love for it which is 
 
 * congenial to us. Thefe are attended with a divine hope in- 
 « troducing the light of truth, and thefe things lead us in the 
 
 * footfteps of divine virtue, make us refemble God, and give 
 
 * us a true knowledge of the creatures. Toconfiderall things 
 
 * as they ly in God the Creator, leads us to the fummit of 
 
 * divine fcience, which is always accompanyed with a refeni- 
 
 * blance to God.' Hierocles fhows afterwards, that all thefe 
 virtues cannot be practifed, nor produced by our own efforts 
 and adivity, for he adds, ' Tho' the choice of virtue is in our 
 
 * own power, yet fince we have this very power of chufing 
 
 * from God,we abfolutely need from him a co-operation and 
 ' accomplifhment of our defires. Our own endeavours re- 
 
 * femble a hand ftretched out for the reception of virtue. 
 ' What is done by God in us, refembles the a<5lion of him 
 
 * that gives ; it is our part to receive, and fearch after what is 
 ' beautiful; and God's to difcover to the right enquirer.Now, 
 
 * prayer is the medium between our receiving and God's gi- 
 
 * ving; for thus we adhere to the caufe, which gives both be- 
 
 * ing and well-being. How can one receive happinefs, unlefs 
 
 * God give iL? And can a God whofe nature is bounty give it 
 
 * to one, who has his defires in his own power, and yet afks 
 
 * not? That we may not make our prayer by the mouth on- 
 
 * ly ; but ftrengthen it by avflion, let us not confide in our own 
 ' aOivity alone; but by action pray for the co-operation of 
 
 * God, and adapt prayer to a6tion, as the form to the fub- 
 
 lii 2 ' 
 
43^ OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 ' ftance. The fimple knowledge of what is beautiful is not 
 
 * capable to fet us right, without the operation of God. We 
 
 * ought not to fatisfy ourfelves with the bare words of prayer, 
 
 < without adding fomething to procure what we defire.Other- 
 « wife, we fhall either purfue a virtue without God, or a pray- 
 c er without works. The one of thcfe, as it is without God, 
 « deflroys the effence of virtue; the other, as it is indolent, 
 s takes oiF the activity of prayer; for how can any thing be 
 
 < beautifuljthatis not done according to the divine law? And 
 e how is it pofTible for that which is done according to this 
 I law, not to want God's alTiftance? For virtue is the image 
 I of God in the rational foul : now, every image wants an ex- 
 c cmplar for itsprodu61:ion;and we cannot acquire this image, 
 I unlefs we look to that objecTt, by refembling of which, we 
 I fhall acquire the beautiful. Thofe that afpire after a6live 
 I virtue fhould pray, and when they pray, be active to obtain 
 t what they pray for. They fhould do this by looking to 
 i what is Godlike and fhining, and vigoroufly purfue wif- 
 i dom, at the fame time, adhering to the firft caufe of all' 
 t good. This Tetra6lys, the fountain of eternal nature,is the 
 «■ eternal caufe of all, not only of being, but of well-being 
 
 < which difFufes its native goodnefs thro' the whole univerfe, 
 
 * like a pure intelleflual light, (a) There is nothing in life, 
 
 * which does notfurnifh occafion to the evil of the inconfide- 
 
 < rate man, who is enclofed all around with vice of his own 
 ( chufing. By not looking up to the divine light, nor incli- 
 
 < ning to hear what is truly good, he finks into mortal pafli- 
 « ons, and is toft about in life, as in a tempeft. The only de- 
 
 (a) Hierod. ibid. pag. 192. X 9)4. 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 437 
 
 livery from thefe evils is a converfion to God by opening 
 the eye and ear of the foul, for the reception of divine 
 goodnefs. In this alone confifts the fafety of the foul; the 
 purgation from mad difcord, and the revocation of our ba- 
 nifhmcnt from God. (a) We can only cure our tendency 
 downwards, by the powers that lead upwards; by a ready 
 fubmiflion to God, by a total converfion to the divine law, 
 and a voluntary fubjeflion to its eternal precepts. He that 
 is eager for true happinefs, muft turn to God, as to a father, 
 for God is the Creator of all, but the Father of the good, 
 (b) The end of the Pythagorean difcipline is to be all over 
 wings, for the reception of the divine good, that when the 
 time of death comes, we may leave behind us upon earth the 
 mortal body, and putting offits nature, become champions 
 in the combats of wifdom, ready girt for our heavenly jour- 
 ney. Then we are reftored to our primitive ftate, and deifi- 
 ed, as far as it is pofiible for men to become Gods. This is 
 the mod beautiful end. This, fays Plato, is the great com- 
 bat, the great hope, the mofl: perfe(5t fruit of philofophy. 
 This is the grcateft work of the myftic art, to raife and fa- 
 miliarize us to things really beautiful, to deliver us from the 
 labour here below ; as from a fubterranean cave ; to exalt 
 us to the ethereal fplendors, and fettle us in the iflands of 
 the bleffed. The reward of deification is referved to thofe 
 who walk by fuch precepts. Themis cannot receive into 
 the rank of the G ods any one who is not pofTcfTed of truth, 
 and virtue in his foul, and of purity in his fpiritual vehicle. 
 ^ He that becomes thus pure is reftored to all his ancient pri? 
 
 (a) Ibid. pag. 204. (b) Ibid. pag. 226.. 
 
438 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 ' vileges ; reinftated In his primitive condition, fees the beau- 
 
 * ty of eternal order, and difcovers the Creator of the iini- 
 
 * verfe. Having at lafl, after purification, become what thefe 
 
 * heroes always were, who never fall Into corruption, he is 
 ' united to the whole, and elevated to God himfelf.' 
 
 Heraclltus, another Heathen philofopher, who lived near 
 500 years before the Chrifllan aera, fpeaks thus; (a) ' I have 
 
 * alfo had my difficult labours and conflifts, as well as Her- 
 
 * cules; I have conquered pleafures;! have conquered riches; 
 
 * I have conquered ambition ; I have fubdued cowardice and 
 
 * flattery: neither fear nor intemperance can controul me; 
 ' grief and anger are afraid of me and fly away from me, 
 
 * Thefe are the victories for which I am to be crowned not by 
 
 * Euryftheus,but as being made mafter of myfelf by the Gods, 
 
 * who dwell In me.' For he was perfuaded that the Gods 
 dwelt in him and with him. Hence, Ariftotle recordeth of 
 him, that when ibme pafling by had efpyed him fitting in a 
 fmoaky cottage, he befpoke them after this manner, ' Come 
 
 * in, I pray, for here the Gods dwell.' The fame philofopher 
 feemsalfo to have lived in a continual exercife of fupernatural 
 hope, * this body fhall be fatally changed to fomething elfc, 
 
 * but my foul fliall not die nor perifti ; but being an Immortal 
 
 * thing, fliail fly away mounting upwards to heaven. Thefe 
 
 * ethereal houfes fliall receive me, and I fliall no longer con- 
 
 * verfe with men, but Gods.' 
 
 In the collci^tlon Stephanus has given us of the phllofo- 
 phical poets,we find this hymn of Cleanthes which is truly 
 divine, (b) * Hail ! great king and Father of the Gods, who 
 
 (a) Heraclit. epift. ad Hermadorum. (b) Cleanthes apud Stepban. poem, philofo- 
 pbica. See Mr. W-eft's poetical tranflatioO; publifhedfince the author's death. 
 
MEANS OF RE -UN ION. 439 
 
 ' haft many names, but art one fole omnipotent virtue, Jupi- 
 
 * piter author of nature who governelt all by thy wifdom. Al- 
 
 * low all mortals to call upon thee,for we arc all thy off-fpring, 
 
 * and as it were, the image and echo of thy eternal voice or 
 
 * Word. I will fing to thee,and exalt thy power without end. 
 
 * Thou direfteft all by an unerring law, and fo collefleft into 
 
 * one all good, tho' now mixed with evil, that from thence 
 ' will refultat laft an eternal and univerfal order. Ah! how 
 
 * miferable are we to be ignorant of this univerfal law,which 
 ' if wc obeyedjit would make us live a good and happy life,and 
 ' hinder us from being precipitated into all fort of crimes and 
 ' paffions ? O Jupiter, give us wifdom, and take away the 
 
 * foolifh mind from unhappy mortals, that fo they may fing 
 
 * thy praifes; for no greater gift can be beftowed on mor^ 
 
 * tals nor immortals, than to fing thy immutable, univerfal 
 
 * law with eternal hymns.' 
 
 Plato is full of the fame divine maxims. The defign of 
 all his theology is to give us noble fentiments of the Deity, 
 to fhow us, that fouls were condemned to animate mortal 
 bodies, only in order to expiate faults they had committed in 
 a pre-exiftent Ihtc, and in fine, to teach, that religion is the 
 only way toreftore us to our firft glory, and perfeftion. We 
 fhallgive here afiiort abridgment of his principal dialogues, 
 wherein he fpeaks of prayer, mortification and felf-denial, of 
 faith, hope and love; and we fhallfee, that, tho' he does not 
 make ufe of the fame terms, as the Gofpel, yet he teaches 
 the fame do(5i:rine, as Marfilius Ficinus long ago infinuated. 
 
 In hisfecond Alciblades, he gives us the nobleft Ideas of 
 prayer. * He calls it the ardent converfion of the foul toGoi!;,. 
 
440 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL . 
 
 to afk, not any particular good, but good in Itfelf, the gene- 
 ral good, the univerfal good, the fupream good, becaufe we 
 do not always know what is real good, and oft miftake what 
 Is dangerousandperniciouSjforwhatisdefirablejand eligible: 
 whereforc,he exhorts Alcibiades to remain in quiet,and in fi- 
 lence before the Gods,andaik them nothing in particular, till 
 they have diflipated the cloud that is upon his eyes, that fo 
 he may fee by their light what is to be defired of them; and 
 infpired him to afk, not what appears good to him, but what 
 is really fo in itfelf.' In the Phaedrus, he gives us this ex- 
 cellent form of prayer. ' O great Pan,or great All, grant that 
 I may be beautiful from within, and that all I polTefs from 
 without, may be a help to my internal beauty.* Can there 
 be any thing liker that great model of prayer given us by eter- 
 nal Wifdom, wherein all the petitions we make, are for gene- 
 ral, eternal, univerfal goods, and not for any thing temporal, 
 unlefs it be ^ our daily bread,' which may be tranflated ' fu- 
 
 * per-fubftantial bread,' and [o fignifys, rather the fpiritual 
 food of the foul, than the corporeal nourifhmentof thebody? 
 Is there not a near rcfemblance betwixt what Plato adds 
 about prayer, and what St. Paul teaches, when he fays, ' that 
 ' we do not know how to pray, but the holy Ghoft inter- 
 ' ceeds for the faints with groans and fighs unutterable.' Pla- 
 to teaches further, in the fame dialogue called thefecond Al- 
 cibiades, ' that the Gods make a greater account of a pure 
 
 * heart, than of pompous facrifices ; and that therefore they 
 
 * preferred the fimple worfhip of the Lacedemonians, to the 
 
 * magnificent temples, vi<5lims, and offerings of the Atheni- 
 
 * ans.' Is not this perfectly conform to the faying of the pro- 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 441 
 
 * phcts Ifaiah and Amos? (a) ^Towhatpurpofe is the multi- 
 
 * tude of facrifices unto me? faith the Lord:I delight not in the 
 
 * blood of bullocks nor of lambs. Bring no more vain oblati- 
 
 * ons, incenfe is an abomination to me. Waftiye, make you 
 
 * clean, put away the evil of your doings, feekjuftice, relieve 
 
 * the opprefTed, judge the fatherlefs, plead for the widow, (b) 
 
 * 1 hate, I dtfpife your feaft days. Tho' ye offer me burnt- 
 
 * offerings, 1 will not accept of them, I willnot hear the me- 
 ' lody of your viols, but let juftice run down as waters, and 
 
 * righteoufnefs as a mighty ftream.' There is the worfhip God 
 demands. 1. his was not only Plato's way of thinking, but 
 of all the wife Pagans. St. Juftin Martyr quotes, from an 
 ancient Greek poet called Philemon, the following paffage, 
 (c) ' O Pamphylus, if a man offers up a great number of vic- 
 ' tims, of bulls and goats; if he makes magnificent prefcnts 
 
 * to the temples, robes interwoven with gold and purple, 
 
 * gifts of precious ftones and ivory, and thinks thereby to ap- 
 
 * peafe the Gods, he is miltaken and impofcd upon by a light, 
 
 * fuperficial mind. To become truly good and agreeable to 
 
 * God, we mud abftain from all luftful paflions and all man- 
 ' ner of cupidity; yea not covet fo much as a needle or a thread; 
 
 * for God prefent every where fees us. The bed way to ap- 
 
 * peafe the Gods is to become juft and good. We need not 
 
 * fear the thundering Jove,if we preferve a pure heart.' 
 
 In Plato's dialogue upon temperance,his dod:rine amounts 
 to a paraphrafe upon all the evangelical maxims concerning 
 abnegation, the love of poverty, perfect detachment from all 
 
 (a)lfalah. i. ii. 12. 13. Sec. (b)Amos.ch, v. 21. 22. (c)S. Juft. Je. 
 
 monarchiaDei. pag. 106. 
 
 PART ;:. Kk k 
 
442 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 terreftrial obje<n:s,and contempt of this prefentlife. The fame 
 ftrokes and many others of that kind are to be found In his 
 dialogues upon the juftman, and that of a perfe(n: repubHc, 
 which men call imaginary, but which Marfilius FIcinus de- 
 fines, a defcrlption of the celeftial Jerufalem; when Jefus 
 Chrift fliall reign In juftice with good men upon earth re- 
 eftablifhed. It is needlcfs to expe(51 fuch a republic here be- 
 low, but Plato meant to give the model of that divine Ufe, 
 which fouls fhall enjoy in a renewed ftate ; when we fhall 
 be re-united, as he fays in the Phaedo, ' to the good and per- 
 
 * fefl Gods, and be afTociated with better men, than thefe we 
 ' live with upon earth; for this reafon,'fays he,* Socrates quit- 
 
 * ted hfc with a ferene joy and a noble intrepidlty.'To engage 
 men to detach themfelves from all terreftrlal obje(fl:s,he teach- 
 es in the fame dialogue called Phaedo, * that fouls too much 
 
 * given to bodily plcafures become in a manner befotted, be- 
 
 * caufe all fenfuality and pafHon caufe the foul to have a 
 ' ftronger attachment to body, make her fancy that flie is of 
 ' the fame nature, and render her in a manner corporeal; fo 
 ' that being opprefled with the weight of her corruption and 
 
 * Impurity,(lie becomes thereby difabled to reafcend towards 
 ' the regions of purity, and re-unite herfelf to her firft prin- 
 ^ciple. Hence,' fays he In his Cratylus, * the difciples of Or- 
 ^ pheus called the body aprifon, becaufe the foul is here in a 
 ' [tate of exile and punifhment.' Do not all thefe ideas infpire 
 a true contempt of life, and the defire of abetter? Is not this 
 perfect mortification, and a pradVice of true fupernatural 
 hope ? 
 
 What noble ideas does he give us of divine love, or the 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 443 
 
 love of the fovereign Beauty, thro' the whole courfeof his 
 writings ? In the Eutyphron, he defines holinefs, * that con- 
 
 * tinual commerce betwixt God and the foul, by which it 
 
 * afks and renders to God all it receives from him, life, rea- 
 
 * fon, virtue, and all good things,retains nothing for itfelf,but 
 
 * reftores all to the fovereign owner.' In his Philebus,he pla- 
 
 * CCS the fovereign good in a refcmblance to the divine nature, 
 
 * which can flow from God alone. As nothing is like the 
 
 * fun, but by the folar influences; fo nothing can refemble 
 
 * God, but by an emanation of the divine light into the foul.' 
 He was far, then, from thinking, that man, by his own ac- 
 tivitys and efforts could produce this divine refemblance in 
 himfelf. In the Hippias, heihows, that ' the fuprcam beauty 
 ' confifts In this refemblance to the divine fun, or light of all 
 ' intelligences. In hlsFeafl:, he maintains, that thefupream 
 
 * Beauty ought to be loved for itfelf, that it is thefource and 
 
 * centre of all beauty, the Creator, the Mafl:er,and Conferva- 
 ' tor of all things; that it has no perfect fimilituds with any 
 
 * thing we behold upon earth, or in the heavens; that what 
 
 * ever elfe Is beautiful,Is only fo,by a participation of its beau- 
 
 * ty; that all other beauties may increafe, decay, change, or 
 
 * perlfh, but this is ftill the fame in all times,and in all places ; 
 
 * that it is by carrying our thoughts beyond all inferior beau- 
 
 * ties, that we at length reach to that fupream Beauty, which 
 
 * is fimple,pure, uniform, immutable, without colour, figure, 
 
 * or human qualities. And in fine, that this fovereign beauty 
 
 * is incorporeal, the fplcndor of the divine Image, and God 
 ' himfelf.'He carrys the love of this beauty tothehighcfl: pitch 
 of felf oblivion; for he adds in the fame Feaft, that this love 
 
 Kkk 2 
 
444 OF THE THREE UNTIVERSAL 
 
 of the fupream beauty, divinizes man. * There is no body fa 
 
 * badjbut love can make a God of him by virtue ; fo that he be- 
 
 * comes Hke to the fovereign beauty. And as Homer fays, a 
 ' God infpired the heroes v^^ith that which love teaches to the 
 
 * lovers that it forms, to die for what they love,as Alceftis died 
 
 * for her hufband.' Thus,accordIng to Plato, what makes man 
 a God,is to prefer others to himfelf,even to forget hi mfelf, fa- 
 crificehimfelf, and count himfelf as nothing. Moreover, in 
 the fame dialogue, he fays, * That by contemplating the dif- 
 
 * ferent degrees of tranficnt,variable and finite beauty, and by 
 
 * carrying our thoughts beyond them all, the foulatlaft gets 
 
 * out of herfelf, rifes above herfelf, feparates and difengages 
 ' herfelf from every thing, thatfhe may be united to the im- 
 
 * mutable Beauty, and behold him with that eye with which 
 
 * alone he can be feen; then it is, that fhe brings forth not 
 ' the fliadows of virtue, but the virtues themfclves, fhe be- 
 
 * comes immortal and the friend of God.' He pufhes this 
 love of the fovereign beauty, and of pure virtue for itfelf to 
 the highefl: difmtereftednefs,for he fays in the fecond book of 
 his dialogues upon a true republic, ' As the moft unjuft of all 
 ' men would behe,who,whilehe committed all fort of crimes, 
 
 * fhould pafs for jufl, and enjoy the honours of virtue, and 
 
 * pleafures of vice; fo the perfectly jud: man would be he, who 
 ' fhould love juftice for itfelf, and not for the honours and 
 
 * pleafures which accompany it; who fhould pafs for unjufl, 
 
 * while he praflifed the moft exa(5t juftice; who fhould not 
 
 * fuflfer himfelf to be moved by ignominy, din:refs,or the moft 
 
 * cruel fufFerings, but fhould continue ftedfail: in the love of 
 
 * juflice, not becaufe it is delightful, but becaufe it is jufl. 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNIONT. 445 
 
 Can men that had fuch noble ideas of the moil: divine vir- 
 tues, be faid to belofl: in a total ignorance of God, without 
 any fupernatural lights? Or dare we fay, that they had no in- 
 ternal graces, nor fuccours to pra(5life what they knew? We 
 muft then deny, that God is the Father of fpirits, that he de- 
 fires thefalvationof all,that Jefus Chriftdicd for all, and will" 
 at laft re-unite all in one ; and in fincy that the holy Ghofl: re- 
 fufes his graces to none; tho' thefe three articles be the fub- 
 fiance of the doftrineof the NewTeftament of our Saviour, 
 and his apofrles, as we have already demonftrated. 
 
 Let us now confult the Stoic devotion and fentiments 
 about the divine virtues. EpltHietus thus befpeaks the fu- 
 preani God. (a) ' Did I ever complain of thy government? 
 
 * I was fick, when thou wouldfl: have me fo; others are the 
 
 * fame, but I was fo willingly. I was alfo poor at thy appoint- 
 ' ment, but rejoicing. I never bore any magiftracy, nor had 
 
 * any dignity, becaufe thou wouldfi: not have me, and I ne- 
 
 * ver defired it. Didft thou ever fee me the more dejected, or 
 
 * melancholy for this ? Have I appeared before thee at any 
 
 * time with a difcontcnted countenance? Was I not always 
 
 * prepared and ready for whatfoever thou requiredft? Wik 
 
 * thou now have me depart from this feftival folemnity ? I am 
 
 * ready to go; and I render thee all thanks for that thou haft' 
 
 * honoured me fo far, as to let me keep the feaft with thee, 
 
 * and behold thy v/orks, and obferve the oeconomy of the 
 ' world. Let death feize upon me no otherwifc employed, 
 
 * than thus thinking of, writing about, acknowledging thy 
 
 * goodnefs. ' He likewife exhorts others to do the farae^ 
 
 (a) Epia» 
 
446 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 (a) * dare to lift up thine eyes to God and fay, Ufe me here- 
 
 * after to whatfoever thou pleafeft. I agree, and am of the 
 
 * fame mind with thee, indifferent to all things. I refufe no- 
 
 * thing that iliall feem good to thee. Lead me where thou 
 
 * pleafeft, letmeafb what part thou wilt, either of a public, 
 
 * or a private perfon ; of a rich man, or a beggar. I will jufti- 
 
 * fy thee, as to all things, before men.' In the fame chapter 
 he fays, * A man will never be able to expell grief, fear, de- 
 
 * fire, envy, and all other paflions, but by looking to God 
 
 * alone, being devoted to him, and obferving his command- 
 
 * ments.' In another place, he fays, (b) ' My defign is to 
 
 * render men free, and undifturbed, always looking at God, 
 < in every fmall, as well as in every great matter. Hercules 
 
 * called Jupiter his Father, and did every thing he did, in 
 
 * looking up to this fupream God.' He fays in another place, 
 (c) ' Had we underftanding, what fhould we do elfe, but 
 
 * both publickly and privately praife God, blefs him and 
 
 * return thanks unto him. Ought not they who dig, plow, 
 
 * and eat,continually fing to God fuch a hymn as this ; Great 
 
 * is that God who gave us thefe organs to cultivate the earth : 
 
 * but the greateft and divinefl hymn of all, is to praife God 
 
 * for the faculty of underflanding. If for the moft part men 
 
 * be blinded, ought there not to be fome one who performs 
 
 * this oiRce, and fings a hymn to God for all. If I were a 
 
 * nightingale, I would perform the office of a nightingale, or 
 
 * a fwan, that of a fwan; but being a reafonable creature, I 
 
 * ought to celebrate and fing aloud the pralfesof God.* The 
 fame Epi<5letus,In the time of temptatlonsjand when the Ima- 
 
 (a)Epi(ft. lib. 11. cap. i6. (b)Id.lib. II. cap. 19. et lib. III. cap. 24. (c) Lib, 
 I. cap. 16. 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 447 
 
 ginatlon isaflaulted with impure fancys, exhorts us to invoke 
 the fuprcam God alone, (a) ' This is a great confli(5l, a divine 
 
 * enterprize; it is for Liberty and for a Kingdom. Now re- 
 ' member the fupream God; call upon him, as thy helper and 
 
 * afTillant, jufl: as the mariners do upon Caftor and Pollux in 
 
 * a tempefl:.' 
 
 The works of the Emperor Marcus Antoninus are full of 
 fuch noble and divine fentiments. The firft book is an ac- 
 knowledgment he makes, to all the perfons to whom he had 
 the greateft obligations. ^ I learned, fays he,from my grand- 
 
 * father Verus,fweetnefs and complaifance ; from my father, 
 
 * modcfty and fortitude of mind ; from my mother,piety and 
 ' hberality ; not only never to do any harm to any mortal, 
 ' but even, notfo much as to have the leafl: thougjht of it. She 
 
 * taught me alfo frugality, and to fhun all fort of pomp, and 
 
 * luxury. I learned from my governor to be patient in all 
 
 * fort of labours ; to be content with little, and to work with 
 
 * my own hands; from Diognetus, to allow men to Ipeak of 
 
 * me with an entire freedom; to ly upon a little bed of wood 
 
 * covered with fkins, and to imitate in every thing the fimpli- 
 
 * city and poverty of the Greek philofophers; from Rufticus, 
 
 * to reform my morals, not to feek to be admired by the peo- 
 
 * pic for my patience, and the aufterity of my life; to be al- 
 
 * ways ready to pardon thofe who offend me, and to recon- 
 
 * cile myfelf to them, when they returned to me; from Apol- 
 
 * lonius my preceptor,to preferve a perfect equanimity in the 
 
 * fliarpeil: pains, upon the lofs of my children, and in the 
 
 * longeft fickncfs. The life* of my father Antoninus Pius w^as 
 
 (a) Id. lib. II. cap. 18. 
 
44B OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 ' to me a continual lefTon of clemency and firmnefs. He 
 
 * was infenfible to vainglory, and all that men call honours. 
 ' He loved perpetual labour, w2ls equal in his attachments, 
 
 * never weary of his friends, nor fafcinated by them. What- 
 
 * everflatehewasinjhe was always content and joyful. Like 
 
 * a man detached from life, he had very little care of his per- 
 ' ion, and neither affefled, nor dcfpifed a graceful air. I owe 
 
 * to the Gods all thofe good examples, and inftru(5tions, yea, 
 
 * all the good things I have received,a good father,a good mo- 
 
 * ther, good preceptors, good friends, and good fervants, and 
 
 * cfpecially to have given me the grace never to ojflpend, nor 
 
 * difoblige them; tho' I have been fometimes in certain dif- 
 
 * pofitions to have done fo, if the occafion had prefented it- 
 
 * fclf, but by the particular bounty of the Gods, fuch occa- 
 
 * fions never offered... . It was not the fault ot the Gods, 
 ' nor the want of their counfels and infpirations, if I have 
 ' not followed the laws and diftates of pure nature ; it is my 
 
 * own fault only, becaufe I did not obey their admonitions, 
 
 * orders, and precepts.' We mufl: not be furprized that the 
 Roman Emperor talks here of the Gods in the plural. We 
 have already feen, that this phrafe was common with the 
 Pagans and the Hebrews; and that the notion of a Terna- 
 ry in the divine unity, was a maxim of the Pagan religion, 
 as well as of the Jewifh; and therefore an emanation of the 
 Noevian tradition. 
 
 In the fecond book, the fame Emperor fays, * Every thing 
 *. that comes from the Gods carrys with it the marks of a 
 
 * Providence. What fome impute to hazard and fortune 
 •* proceeds from the order of eternal nature,or from the chain 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 449 
 
 of canfes that Providence over-rules It is time to 
 
 know of what world thou makefta part ; and that thou art 
 
 defccnded from that Spirit which governs the univerfe 
 
 Apply thyfelf at every moment to afl as a man, and a Ro- 
 man, with gravity, fweetnefs, freedom, and juftice; and to 
 banifh from thee all other thoughts. Now the way to be- 
 have thus, is to do every action, as if it were to be the laft 
 of thy life, without rafhnefs, without revolting againftrea- 
 fon, without diflimulation, without felf-love, and a perfect 
 
 fubmiflion to the order of the Gods Nothing is more 
 
 miferable, than a man that defires to know all the myfte- 
 rys of nature, without remembring that our principal ftudy 
 ought to be, to know that portion of the divinity that re- 
 fidcs within us, and to render to it the worfliip that is due. 
 Now this worfhip confifls in keeping it void of all pafTion, 
 and in fubmitting to all that the Gods do: for what the 
 Gods do, merits our refpc6l, becaufe of their perfeftion. 
 Life is a continual warfare, and a journey through a foreign 
 land, and a place of exile. What can condu(5t us through 
 fuch a hard path? Philofophy alone. This philofophy con- 
 fifts in preferving the foul entire and pure, miftrefs of plea- 
 fure and grief, free from rafhnefs, diflimulation, and wan- 
 dring from truth.' 
 In the third book, Marcus Antoninus lays down the fol- 
 lowing maxims. ' A man that does not defer from day to 
 
 * day to become perfect, fliouldbe looked upon as thcprlell: 
 
 * and minider of the Gods, always fervingthe deity that is 
 
 * confecratsd within him, as in a temple. It is this propitious 
 
 * deity that renders him unvanquifhed by pleafure, invulne- 
 
 PART2. Lll 
 
450 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 rable by grief; infenfible to injurys and violence, inaccefll- 
 ble to vice and all irregular defires. It is this deity that 
 makes him a valiant hero in the greatcft of all combats, Co as 
 never to be overcome by any of his paflions, and that gives 
 him true righteoufnefs, by which he is intirely penetrated. 
 It is that indv^'elling God, that makes him receive with plea- 
 fure, whatever happens to him by the orders of Providence; 
 that occupy s him entirely; and that leaves him no time to 
 think of what others think, fay, or do ; unlefs it be when 
 public interefl-, or prefling neceffity require it: for he thinks 
 only of what belongs to him, and of what is afllgned to 
 
 him by univerfal nature If thou fees nothing more 
 
 excellent than that portion of the Deity, which has his tem- 
 ple within thee, which commands all thy motions, which 
 examines all thy thoughts, which, as Socrates fays, delivers 
 us from the tyranny of paflions ; and which infpires a con- 
 ftant fubmiflion to the Gods: if all other things appear to 
 thee Httle and defpicabk, do not yield to their impreflions; 
 for if once thou abandon thyfclf to them, thou wilt not get 
 eafily free from their tyranny. Nothing foreign fhould fe- 
 parate thee from thy great obje<5t, which is in the inward 
 temple of thy heart, neither the applaufes of the multitude, 
 
 nor principalities, nor riches, nor pleafures The true 
 
 efTential property of a wife and good mind, is to love and 
 embrace every thing that happens to him by the order of 
 Providence, not to trouble and defile by a croud of imagi- 
 nations, the fpirit that is confecrated in his heart, as in a 
 temple, but to preferve it always propitious, to obey its or- 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 451 
 
 * ders, as thofe oFa God, in doing nothing, but what is juft, 
 
 * and faying nothing, but what is true.' 
 
 In the fourth book he adds, * Every thing is perfe6lly 
 
 * adapted to me, which is well fitted for thee. O univerfal 
 ' Nature, nothing is too early or too late for mc that is fea- 
 
 * fonablefor thee. All is fruit to me which thy feafons bring 
 
 * forth. O eternal Nature, from thee are all things, in thee 
 
 * are all things, to thee are all things. O beloved city of Ce- 
 
 * crops, fays one, and will you not fay, O beloved city of 
 
 < God?' 
 
 In the fifth book, he fays, ' We ought to live with the 
 
 * Gods. Now he that lives thus, is fubmiflive to their orders 
 ' on all occafions, and iHll ready to execute the commands 
 
 * of that genius, which God has given to every one, for his 
 
 * guide and governor. This genius is a part of our eflence, 
 
 * it is no other than Underllanding and Reafon. . . . Thou 
 
 * mult foon become aflies or a fkeleton,no more than a name, 
 
 < or even not a name itfelf. A name is only found and echo, 
 
 * The things efteemed valuable in life, are empty, full of cor- 
 
 * ruption. Men are as fnarling little dogs, fometimes laugh- 
 
 * ing, and fometimes weeping. Fidelity, modefty, jufticeand 
 
 * truth are gone from the wide-travelled-earth to heaven. 
 ' What then can detain thee any longer here below, fince all 
 
 * fenfible things are changeable, and without flability? The 
 
 * fenfes thcmfelves are dull, blind and prone to error. The 
 
 * animal life is only a fubtile vapour. The approbation of all 
 
 * mortal beings is empty. What then do you wait for in tran- 
 
 * quillity, for extin<5lion or tranfplantation ? What ought to 
 
 * fufFice,till that time come, is to worfhip the Gods, do good 
 
 LU 2 
 
452 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 * to men, bear and forbear them, and remember, that what- 
 
 * ever is without this little body and foul,is not thy own.' We 
 mufi: notthinkjthatby the alternative of ' Extinction or tran- 
 
 * {plantation,' Antoninus doubted of immortaUty; on the con- 
 trary, no man was more perfuaded of this, than he ; for he 
 ' adds, in the fame book, foon after: ' So foon as the foul 
 
 * gets free from body and this earthly abode, it palles, as it 
 
 * were, from a Cimmerian darkncfs, to the clear aether, free 
 
 * from defires, free from difeafes, free from misfortunes. It 
 
 * fees truth with an open view, lives with the Gods and the 
 ' children of the Gods above the higheft fummit of heaven, 
 
 * and ranked among the army of the Gods, it traverfes the 
 
 * univerfe under Jove their leader and general.' In the fame 
 book, this Emperor fhows the pureft love of virtue, by the 
 following words, ' there are fome, when they do any good 
 
 * to a pcrfon, fet the favour down to his account. Another 
 ' thinks in his own mind of the perfon obliged as a debtor, 
 
 * and fo knows what he has done. Another is beneficent, 
 
 * without fo much as fhowing what he has done, like the 
 
 * vine bringing forth its branches, and feeking nothing far- 
 ' thcr, after it has produced its fruit. Thus, to become truly 
 
 * good, we ought not to proclaim it, nor fo much as know it. 
 
 * What will fome fay ? One muft neceflarily know what he 
 
 * does himfelf ; It is the property of a benevolent being to be 
 ' fenfiblewhen he a6ts kindly; and, by Jove, to defire that 
 ' the perfon who is kindly ufed fhould be fenfible of it. What 
 
 * you fay is true, but by fuch reafonings, you will foon be- 
 
 * come of the number of thofe, whom I firfl: mentioned, for 
 
 * they alfo are feduced by plaufible appearances of reafon./ 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 453- 
 
 Thls pure love of goodnefs and benevolence excludes, not 
 only, all Ideas of recompence, but even the pleafure, the felf- 
 complacency, the vanity, pride, felf-love and felf-attributlon 
 we find in refle(5ling upon our own virtues. This is the high- 
 eft degree of abnegation. 
 
 In thefixth book, he fpeaks thus, * Let all thy joyarkf' 
 ' peace con fift in this alone, in paffing from one good a(5lion 
 ' to another, In remembring and thinking of God prefent 
 ' every where If the world be a confufed heap of parts, 
 
 * that tend to difunion, why defire to ftayinit? If all be go- 
 
 * vcrned by Providence, with order and union, I adore the 
 ' author of my being, I wait upon him with a firm affurance, 
 
 * and I place all my confidence in him Call upon God 
 
 * in all thy actions, and do not be uneafy for the time thou 
 ' employeftin them. Three hours of life fpent thus, are fuf- 
 ' ficient, providing we pafs them In this divine flate'. 
 
 In the feventh book, we read thefe noble maxims; * He that* 
 
 * has a great and noble foul, who thinks of eternity, and fees 
 ' what the world Is, do you think that he looks upon life as- 
 
 * confiderable?No furely. Does he look upon death,as a great 
 
 * cvillBy no means God, tho' Immortal, Is not angry^ 
 
 * norpeevifh infupporting for alongfucceflion of ages,an Infi- 
 
 * nlte number of wicked men; on the contraryjhe takescareof 
 
 * them, and thou that art mortal, thou art weary to bear with 
 
 * them, tho' thou be thyfelf of the number of thefe corrupr 
 
 * creatures.' 
 
 In the eighth book, we find this wonderful maxim; ' For- 
 ' the future, we fhould breathe, not only the air with which' 
 
 * we are furrounded, but that divine fpirit which governs and* 
 
454 'OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 * fills all. That fupream intelligence prefent every where, of- 
 
 * fers itfelf to all thofe who breath after it, as the air enters 
 
 * into thefc that have a free refpiration.' 
 
 In the ninth book, he adds; * Every man that does not 
 
 * look with an indifferent eye upon pain andpleafure, death 
 
 * and life, glory and ignominy, is manifeftly impiou s.* 
 
 In the tenth book, he fhows a wonderful patience and 
 
 * humility by the following exprefllons; * If a man defpifes 
 
 * me, it is his bufmefs to fee, why he does fo : mine is to take 
 
 * care to do nothing that deferves contempt. If he hates me, 
 
 * it is his affair; forme I will ftili have the fame goodnefs 
 
 * and benevolence for human nature in general, and for this 
 
 * man in particular; and I will be always ready to fhow to 
 ' him his faults, without any reproaches, nor fhowing any 
 
 * oftentation of patience, but with fincerity and charity as 
 
 * Phocion. This virtue muft come from God, who fees the 
 
 * inmoft centre of men, and trys their hearts, and who knows 
 
 * that the truly good man is offended with nothing,and com- 
 
 * plains of nothing.' 
 
 In the twelfth book, he teaches the highefl: degree of re- 
 collc6lion; * Thou art compofed of three parts, the body, 
 
 * the foul, and the fpirit. The two firfl: belong to thee only 
 ' in a certain degree ; the third is what properly belongs to 
 
 * thee, it is Thyfelf. If thou then feparate from this fupream 
 
 * part or fpirit whatever others think and fay, if thou forget 
 
 * what thou thyfelf haft faid or done, all that thou forfees or 
 
 * fears; all the motions that proceed from body, all that is 
 ' agitated and hurried along by the outward whirl-pool of 
 
 * life; then thy pure intelligence attached to eternal order, 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 455 
 
 ' and delivered from the yoke of paflion, may live from 
 
 * within, forget the pa ft, not think of future, and enjoy the 
 
 * prefent moment in folid peace, ftritft intercourfe, and perfect 
 
 * union with God He that lives thus, concurrs with 
 
 * God to the fame end, regulates all his wills by his, and is 
 
 * truly governed and fupported by the divine fpirit.' 
 
 Thus, we find in Marcus Antoninus, the mofl: noble 
 maxims and principles of prayer,mortification and felf-denial, . 
 fubmiffion to God, living in his prefence, detachment from 
 life, hopes of a better, the pureft love of juftice and virtue, 
 compafJion for human nature, forbearance and meeknefs, 
 long-fufFering, patience, pardon of injurys, and all the di- 
 vine virtues. 
 
 Let us now defcend to the Pythagoreans and Platonifts 
 after Chriflianity. What noble ideas does Porphyry give us 
 of prayer, and the facrifice God demands of his creatures? 
 (a) ' We mult neither facrifice nor confecrate any fenfible 
 ' thing to God who is over all. Every thing material is im- 
 
 * pure to an immaterial being. Reafon alfo whether expreffcd 
 ' by words or latent in the mind, is unworthy of fuch a be- 
 
 * ing, when it is polluted by any paflion of the foul. Let us 
 
 * then adore in filence, by pure thoughts of him, by union 
 
 * with him, and a refemblance to him. The molt holy facri' 
 ' fice, the mofl: perfe 61 hymn ; the true falvation of the foul is 
 
 * to offer up to God a divine and unfpotted life, free from all 
 
 * paflions, and a confl:ant contemplation, (b) The evil genii 
 ' attack not a pure foul,becaufe it is unlike to them. If fome 
 
 (a) Porphyr.apud Eufeb^praep.evang.ed» Colon i688» pag. 149. (b) idi. 
 pag. 166. 
 
45^ OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 ' citys think it necelTary to appeafeevil demons, that is no- 
 
 ' thing to us. Thefe cities do fo, becaufe they confider riches, 
 
 * external and corporeal advantages as good,and their contra- 
 
 * -rys, as evil: but we muft ufe our utmoft endeavours to want 
 
 * none of thofe things, and ftudy from our foul to refemble 
 < God and thofe around him, by a freedom from all paflions, 
 'by a jufl: knowledge of what truly is, by a life conform to 
 
 * this knowledge, and by fliunning all fimilitude to bad men 
 
 * and evil genii; yea, to every thing that delights in what is 
 « material and mortal. We juftly affert, that the true philofo- 
 *!pher, who forfakes all external things, will not ftand in 
 
 * need to confult foothfayers, nor the bowels of animals; for 
 
 * he abandons all external things by a perfect abnegation. He 
 
 * neither enters into merchandizing, nor fervitude, nor ma- 
 
 * kkiCT of money, nor any other ambitious purfuit. Sooth- 
 
 * fayers and bowels of animals cannot difcover to him any 
 « thing about what is the only objedt of his defire. He by 
 
 * himfelf approaches God, who is feated in his true bowels or 
 
 * inmofl centre of his foul. There he retires, and there he 
 
 * receives the laws of eternal life.' (a) * One therefore,' fays 
 Apollonius Tyaneiis, ' may truly worihip the Deity, far 
 
 * above all other mortals, tho'-he neither facrifices beafts, nor 
 
 * kindles fires, nor confecrates any fenfible thing to that God, 
 « whom we call the Firft, who is one and feparate from all, 
 « and by whom only we can know the reft; for he itands in 
 « need of nothing, even from beings fuperior to us. Plants 
 
 * and animals are pollution when compared to him. The 
 » mofi: agreeable facrifice is to offer him our fuperior reafon. 
 
 Ca) Apoll, Tyan. apud Eufeb. pag. 1 50. 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 457 
 
 * I do not mean that which Is expreiTed by the lips; but the 
 
 * moft beautiful part in us, the pure intelle<5l that (lands in 
 ' need of no organs to make itfelf underftood by the omnl- 
 
 * prefent efTence. Therefore, we muft by no means facrifice 
 
 * to the great God, who is overall.' 
 
 By thcfe three laft palTages quoted from Porphyry and 
 ApoUonius, it is plain, that one might have lived in the bo- 
 fom of Paganifm without partaking, or adopting their impi- 
 bus,idolatrous,and fuperftitious worfhip.The Pagans left eve- 
 ry one in perfecH: liberty to adore God after his own manner. 
 No conftraint, no perfecution, no violence was done, to force 
 men to uniformity in external worfhip; and therefore, thofe 
 who were truly inftru^ed by God, were not obliged to be 
 prefent at the inhuman facrlfices made by the priefts. 
 
 What fublime ideas of prayer does Jamblichus give us in 
 the following words ; (a) * If you think it impoflible, that an 
 
 * incorporeal being can hear without an external fenfe; and 
 
 * that it needs ears to underfbnd what is faid by us in prayer, 
 ' you forget the excellency of the firft Caufe,who knows and 
 
 * comprehends all things in himfelf.The Gods receive prayer, 
 
 * neither by organs, nor powers; but they contain in them- 
 
 * felves the efficacy of the prayers of good men, as infplring 
 
 * them, and effe^luating what they demand; for the good are 
 
 * united to, and dwell in the Gods, by a facred purity. By 
 
 * prayer we are naturally led to the Being we fupplicatc, ac- 
 
 * quire a (imilitude to him ; and by degrees, from our own 
 
 * imperfe<5tion we mount to the divine perfection, (b) ' There 
 
 * are three forts of prayer. The firft collects all the powers 
 
 (a) Jamblic. de Myft. Egypdor, pag. 26. (b) Jarablic. pag. 141. 
 
 PART 2. Mmm 
 
458 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 ' of the foul, and leads us to the knowledge and fenfatlon of 
 
 * what is divine. The fecond produces in us a conformity to 
 
 * the divine will; calls down the gifts of God that are fent be- 
 ' fore they are afked, and performs the whole work of puri- 
 
 * fication, before we think of it. The third fort of prayer 
 ' confifts in an unexpreflible union, afcribes all power to the 
 
 * Gods, and makes our fouls perfectly reft in them. The firft 
 ^ enlightens, the fecond purifys, and the third divinizes the 
 ' foul, and deftroys, as by fire, all difemblance to the divine 
 
 * Nature. . . . Frequent prayer nouriflies our fuperior part, 
 
 * renders the receptacle of the foul more capacious for the 
 ' Gods, difclofes divine things to men, accuftoms them to 
 ' the fplendors of intclleiflual light, gradually perfe(5i:s our 
 '- union with the pure fpirits, till it lead us back to the fupream 
 
 * God. It purges away every thing that is noxious to the foul, 
 
 * diverts the ethereal and luminous fpirit of whatever tends 
 
 * to corruption. It perfe6ts good hope, augments faith, in- 
 
 * crcafes divine love, and inflames whatever is celeftial in the 
 ' foul.' 
 
 Proclus fpeaks much after the fame manner,when he fays, 
 that (a) ' prayer properly belongs to good men, becaufe it is 
 ' an union to the divinity. Like loves to be united to like, 
 ' and a good man muft refemble the Gods. Thofe that ad- 
 
 * here to virtue, are confined to the body. They fhould then 
 <■ continually beg the Gods for a tranfportation ; as children 
 
 * torn from the bofom of a tender parent, they ought to pray 
 
 * for a return to their true fathers the Gods. The wife men 
 
 * in all nations exercifed themfelves in prayer. The Brach- 
 
 (a) Proclus in TiraaeumPlaton. edit. Bafd. 1534 pag. 64. 65. 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 459 
 
 mans among the Indians, the Magi among the Perfians; 
 and the greatefl: divines among the Greeks, As we arc a 
 part of the iiniverfe, we ought to pray to the Caiife of the 
 univerfe. A converfion to the whole, is the fafety of every 
 particular being. If thou hafl: virtue, thou mufl: invoke him 
 who hath univerfal virtue. Prayer is the converfion of the 
 mind to the eternal Logos. It joins the fpiritof the Gods 
 to the foul of thofe who pray. Firfl: of ail, a knowledge of 
 the divine powers mull precede a true and perfect prayer; 
 far we cannot truly approach them, when we are ignorant 
 of their perfeftions. Therefore the oracle ordered, " thsit 
 ■ penetrating thought jfhould have the firfl: place in facred 
 ' worfnip." The fecond next to this, is a refemblance to the 
 divinity in all manner of purity, chaftlty, and order. The 
 third is union, by which w^e touch, fo to fpeak, the divine 
 eiTence with thefummit of the foul. This union with the 
 fupream unity fixes the foul in Goid, and renders our ope- 
 ration the fame as his. By this, we are no longer our own, 
 but the Gods. We continue in the divine light, and are 
 furrounded by it. The end of true prayer is to join con- 
 verfion with perfeverance ; replace every thing in the fu- 
 pream unity, that is gone out from it, and join our light to 
 the light of the Gods. He that would ftudy prayer in a ge- 
 nuine manner, muft awaken in himfelf jufl: notions of the 
 Gods, andpra^ticethe virtues that purify from corruption, 
 fuch as faith, hope, truth, love, the confl:ant reception of 
 divine light, and a freedom from all other purfuits, that wc 
 may convcrfe alone with God. Should one attempt to 
 * unite himfelf to the fupream unity by multiplicity, he would 
 
 M m m 2 
 
4^0 OF THE THREE UNIVERSAL 
 
 ' be fruftrated in his defign, and feparate himfelf from the 
 
 * Gods. As it is impolTible for that which is, to converfe 
 
 * with what is not, fo it is impoffible for us to be united to 
 
 * unity by multiphcity. (a) Nothing imperfed can be united 
 
 * to the All-perfe<ft. The foul that becomes intelleflual, and 
 « that refembles, in all its powers,the inhabitants of the intel- 
 
 * ledual world, can alone approach the maker of the uni- 
 
 * verfe. By this approach we are placed at the gates of the 
 
 * Father. This is the true difcovery of him, to be united to 
 
 * him, to converfe with him alone, and abftra<5l from all other 
 
 * operations on his account. When the foul converfesthus 
 
 * with God, it is feafted with the truth of what truly is. And 
 ' this is the fupream reward of fouls, after their egrefs, de- 
 
 * parture, and detachment from all that is animal. The mind, 
 ' the Logos, the God-guide lands them in the Father, and 
 ^ fixes them untainted in the creating Principle; joins light 
 
 * to light, not that of fcience, but a knowledge far more beau- 
 
 * tiful, intellectual, and uniform. It is impoffible for fouls, 
 ' that thus find out God, to defcribe him to others, for he is 
 
 * not found out by reafon, but by a total converfion of thfe 
 
 * mind to the divine light, not by its own proper aOivity, but 
 
 * by preferving a profound filence.' 
 
 Is it poflible to read the foregoing paflages, without being 
 convinced that God is equally the God of the Jews and the 
 Gentiles; that the Pagans have a law writ in their hearts, 
 which willexcufe, or accufe them at the lafl day; and in fine, 
 with St. Peter, that God is no refpe(5ter ofperfons; that 
 in all nations he that fears God and works righteoufnefs is ac- 
 
 (a) Procl.in Timaeum Platon. pag.9a. 
 
MEANS OF RE-UNION. 4,61 
 
 ceptable to him, and receives his divine communications and 
 graces. The FatalifHcal PredefHnarian docftors miiH: be arri- 
 ved to a ftrange pitch of fpiritual blindnefs,and obduration,to 
 deny thefe great truths, which are plain, from the nature of 
 God, from exprefs revelation, and from the teftimony of the 
 Pagans of all times, nations, and religions. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Thus, wehavefhown, that veftiges of the moft fublime 
 truths are to be found in the Sages of all nations,times,and re- 
 ligions, both facred and profane ; and that thefe veftiges are 
 emanations of the antediluvian and Noevian tradition, more 
 or Icfs difguifed and adulterated. Thefe fcattered rays do not 
 appear in all their fplendor when read curforily by men that 
 have no knowledge of great principles; but when they are 
 concentred and re-united, they form a perfe^ evidence. The 
 divine philofophy,like an optical cylinder of mettal,fets right 
 all the objects, ranges them in their due places, and erefls 
 what appears to the naked eye a confufed heap of lines, co- 
 lours, and figures, into regular forms, members and bodies. 
 I might have added many other quotations, yea,perhaps fome 
 more pertinent, clear, and demon ftrative, than thefe I have 
 mentioned; I grant even, thatfbme parts of this Work are 
 not fo compleat,as I could have wifhed, becaufe my time and 
 health did not allow me to make further refearches ; but I 
 have opened the road and paved the way to curious fearch- 
 ers of antiquity. I leave to them the pleafure and care of per- 
 feding this Work, which may be further improved, than I 
 
462 OF THE Universal Means of Re-union. 
 
 have, or can do. If troth be difcovered, it is no matter by 
 whom. All I pretend, is to fet men upon the fcent of thefe 
 fublime truths jthat fo, upright minds who doubt of ChrifHa- 
 nity rather from prejudice of the underftanding, than from 
 pafTion and corruption of the heart, may examine feriouily, 
 before they judge, and notrafhly calumniate that with which 
 they are quite unacquainted. 
 
 THE END. 
 
Remarks aboutthe Condemnation of Origen in the fifth 
 General Council. 
 
 IT is commonly faid by the fchoolmen that the doflrine of Pre- exigence and reflitution were 
 condemned by the fifth General Council held at Conflantinople during the reign of Jufti- 
 nianus in the 6th century, an. jys : but there are more than one reafon to doubt of this. 
 
 1 . We have not the true genuine decrees pron unced againfl: the errors of Origen by that 
 General Council. The diverfity that is to be found in the different copys of thefe a£ls fhow 
 evidently that they are counterfeit. It is thought by fome that Theodoras of Cappadocia fiib- 
 (Iraded thele acts, beca;ife he was a great Origenift, but there is no reafon to believe fo, fince 
 his credit was very much diminifhed at the court of Conflantinople after the death of the Era- 
 prefs Theodora that happened five years before ; neither is it reafonable to believe that Euty- 
 chius Patriarch of Conflantinople deftroyed thefe acfls as having been (ecretly an Origenifl. Could 
 he have done fuch a heinous action in prefcnce and under the eyes of the Empercr fo zealous 
 againft Origen ? It is therefore probable, that all thefe acts concerning Origen are quite fifliti- 
 ous, and according to the fyftem of Father Harduin folded into the acts of this council long 
 after by the monks of poflerior centurys, and poffibly by the Fataliftlcal and Prederiinarian 
 do(nors that had always a ftrong inclination to disfigure Chriftianity by their odious opinions, 
 and every thing that could attack God's moral attributes. 
 
 2. In the treatise attributed to the Emperor Juftinianus which he fent before the opening 
 of the coxmcil to Mennas Patriarch of Conflantinople, wherein that prince gives a fummary of 
 the errors of Origen, and defircs the Patriarch to get them condemned, it is plain that it is 
 not the do(ftrine of the co-exiftence of all the fons of men in Paradife with our firft parents 
 that the Emperor defires the condemnation of, but the fable of the Pythagoreans and Pla- 
 tonifts adopted by Origen, about the pre -exiflence of fouls in the celeftial regions, and their 
 defcent into mortal bodys. This fable of the Pythagoreans and Platonifls is quite contrary to 
 Scripture, to the analogy of faithjand to feveral doftrines of revealed religion. The fame thing 
 is true of the letter the Emperor wrote, after the death of the Patriarch Mennas, to the Gene- 
 ral Council, wherein that prince demands the condemnation of the prc-exiftence of fouls 
 in heaven according to the Pythagorean and Platonic fenfe, and no ways the co-exirtence of 
 all the human fpeciesin Paradife above-mentioned. At the end of this letter, the Emperor begs 
 the fathers affembled to condemn the doctrine of prt-exiAence as he has explained, and if they 
 did fo , they did very well; yea there is no reafon to doubt of their obedience to fuch a juft de- 
 mand. 
 
 3 . It is faid expresfly in the fifteen Canons we have in Greek, that anathema was pronounced 
 againft the doftrine of pre-exiftence,and the fabulous opinion of the rellitution of the devils and 
 the damned, that flows from this Pythagorean fi(\ibn of Pre exigence. Now, if Origen adopted 
 the Pythagorean notion of reflitution, he was highly blameable, fince this idea of reflitutioir 
 fuppofes that all union of matter is incompatible with the beatific vifion, that it was created on- 
 ly fertile punifhment of lapfed intelligences, and that it will be annihilated after the general 
 reilitution, and nothing remain but pure fpirit. This is diametrically oppofite to the refurrec- 
 tion and eternal exiflence of our glorious bodies, to the everlafling exidence of our "aviour's 
 glorious body, and to the great principle of Solomon • that all God's works will be eternal,' that 
 nothing will be annihilated, that the imperfe<ft forms will change, but the fubflance remain for 
 ever. 
 
 4. This is not all; the do<ftrinc of reftitution as taught by Pythagoras and riato,and imputed 
 
to Origen.is altogether unworthy of God.Tt fuppofes that Touls after having been re-eftabltflicJ 
 in heaven.may fall again, and fo be condemned anew to animate not only mortal.human bodies, 
 but even brutal forms. Thus the felicity of the bleft will not be permanent, inamifTiblc, and 
 undeftruftible, they cannot be confirmed in immutable habits of good. 
 
 IfOrigen really adopted thcfe fiftitious degradations of the ancient Noevian tradition con- 
 cerning pre-exiftence and reftitution, made by the Pagan philofophers, he was highly blamc- 
 able.and no doubt the fifth Oecumenic council obeyed the defire of Jufllnianus ; and if we had 
 thefe afts, we would perhaps fee that thefe falfe difguifes of the facrei doftrines of prc-exiftence 
 and re-eftablifhment,have no relation to the true doftrincs or thefe two great articles explained. 
 
 See Father Mix's juftification of Origen. Father Lame. Prolegom. to Origcn. Huct's proleg. 
 Spond. Father Hsrduin's V. General Conncil. 
 
 Extra<flcd from Mr. Dupin. 
 
 In 5'4o. The fecret averfion Mennas Patriarch of Conftantyiople had for Theodorus bifliop 
 of Cefarea in Cappadocia, who was a great protedor of Or'gen, prompted him to excite the 
 Emperor Juftin'anus to get Origen condemned, both as to his writings and perfbn. The Em- 
 peror overjoyed to meddle in ecclefiaftical difputes, ordered a mciTiorial to be writ in his name 
 containing the errors of Origen, and fent it to all the patriarchs. This memorial attributes to 
 Origen fix errors, (i) Concerning the Trinity, (2) The plurality of world£,( 3) The pre-exil^ 
 tence of fouls, (4) The animations of the fun and (lars and planets, (y) The round form of 
 bodies after the refurredion, (6) The cefTation of infernal pains. After the Emperor has con- 
 futed thefe errors, he orders Mennas to alTemble all the bifhops and the abbots of all the mo- 
 naflerys then at Conftantinople, and to condemn and anathematize both the errors and perfbn 
 of Origen. The Emperor writes at the fame time a letter to the bifhops aflembled, exhorting 
 them to read his memorial and to anathematize Origen .Mennas obeyed.and aflembled the bilhops 
 in 5'40. thirteen years before the V. General Council. In this fynod, Origen and his errors were 
 condemned. The ads of this particular fynod were joined with thofe of the general council 
 concerning the three chapters, and fo both were confounded. 
 
 All the Greek hiflorians, the VII General Council, and Sophronius Patriarch of Conftanti- 
 nople in a letter to Scrgius prefented in the VI. General Council, declare, tha' Origen was con- 
 demned in the V. General Council; but, as we have not the ad\s of this council concerning Ori- 
 gen, but only thofe of the fynod in ^40, we cannot judge of the terms in which Origen was 
 condemned; but if the fynod followed the orders andmemorial of the Emperor Juflinian, Origen 
 was juflly anathematized for having adopted thofe errors of Pythagoras and Plato about prc- 
 exiflence and the reflitution, which are diametrically oppofite and deflru<flive of feveral articles 
 of faith, as wc have fhown. All this, however, does not prove that the V. General Council con- 
 demned thefe do(flrines in the fenfe we have explained, but only the falfe mixtures of the Pa- 
 gan philofophy made with thefe ancient traditions. 
 
/ 
 
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