}
4
Custer Open 1922
ཝཏྟཾ །
Henry Corbet. A.M.
uaerley.
!
тре
ང་་ང་
KAWIN
Robin
w^
Clark & Pine sc. 1719.
Serious Reflections
DURING THE
LIFE
And Surprifing
ADVENTURES
OF
ROBINSON Crusoe:
WITH HIS
VISION
OF THE
Angelick WORLD.
Written by Himself.
LONDON: Printed for W. TAYLOR, at the Ship
and Black-Swan in Pater-nofter-Row. 1720.
Peo
Regent Li L. Hubbard
11-9-1928
{
Robinson Crufoe's
PREFACE.
S the Defign of every Thing
is faid to be firft in the In-
tention, and laſt in the
Execution; fo I come now
to acknowledge to my Reader, That
the preſent Work is not merely the
Product of the two firft Volumes,
but the two firft Volumes may rather
be called the Product of this: The
Fable is always made for the Moral,
not the Moral for the Fable.
I have heard, that the envious and
ill-difpofed Part of the World have
rais'd fome Objections againſt the
two firſt Volumes, on Pretence, for
want of a better Reafon; That (as
they fay) the Story is feign'd, that
the Names are borrow'd, and that
A 2
it
3
}
ROBINSON CRUSOE'S
1
1
{
it is all a Romance; that there never
7
were any fuch Man or Place, or Cir-
cumſtances in any Mans Life; that
it is all form'd and embellifh'd by
Invention to impofe upon the World.
I Robinson Crusoe being at this
Time in perfect and found Mind and
Memory, Thanks be to God there-
fore; do hereby declare, their Obje.
ction is an Invention fcandalous in
Deſign, and falfe in Fact; and do
affirm, that the Story, though Alle-
gorical, is alfo Hiftorical; and that
it is the beautiful Repreſentation of a
Life of unexampled Misfortunes,and
of a Variety not to be met with in
the World, fincerely adapted to, and
intended for the common Good of
Mankind, and deſigned at firſt, as it
is now farther apply'd, to the moſt
ferious Uſes poffible.
Farther, that there is a Man alive,
and well known too, the Actions of
whofe Lifeare the juft Subject of theſe
Vo-
PREFACE
Volumes, and to whom all or moſt
Part of theStory moft directly alludes,
this may be depended upon for Truth,
and to this I fet my Name.
The famous Hiſtory of Don Quixot,
a Work which thouſands read with
Pleaſure, to one that knows the
Meaning of it, was an emblematic
Hiftory of, and a juft Satyr upon the
Duke de Medina Sidonia; a Perſon
very remarkable at that Time in Spain:
To thoſe who knew the Original, the
Figures were lively and eaſily diſco-
vered themſelves, as they are alſo
here, and the Images were juft; and
therefore, when a malicious, but
foolish Writer, in the abundance of
his Gall, ſpoke of the Quixotifm of
R. Crufoe, as he called it, he fhewed
evidently, that he knew nothing of
what he ſaid; and perhaps will be
a little ftartled, when I fhall tell
him, that what he meant for a Satyr,
was the greateſt of Panegyricks.
A 3
With-
f
}
1
1
ROBINSON CRUSOE'S
1
Without letting the Reader into a
nearer Explication of the Matter, I
proceed to let him know, that the
happy Deductions I have employ'd
myſelf to make from all the Cir-
cumftances of my Story, will abun-
dantly make him amends for his
not having the Emblem explained
by the Original; and that when in
my Obfervations and Reflexions of
any Kind in this Volume, I mention
my Solitudes and Retirements, and
allude to the Circumftances of the
former Story, all thofe Parts of the
Story are real Facts in my Hiitory,
whatever borrow'd Lights they may be
repreſented by: Thus the Fright and
Fancies which fucceeded the Story of
the Print of a Man's Foot,and Surpriſe
of the old Goat, and the Thing roll-
ling on my Bed, and my jumping
out in a Fright, are all Hiſtories and
real Stories; as are likewife the Dream
of being taken by Meffengers, being
arre-
+
}
}
PREFACE.
arreſted by Officers, the Manner of
being driven on Shore by the Surge of
the Sea, the Ship on Fire, the Defcrip-
tion of ftarving; the Story of my Man
Friday, and many more moft material
Paffages obferv'd here, and on which
any religious Reflections are made,
are all hiftorical and true in Fact:
It is moft real, that I had a Parrot,
and taught it to call me by myName,
ſuch a Servant a Savage, and after-
wards a Chriſtian, and that his Name
was called Friday, and that he was
raviſh'd from me by Force, and died
in the Hands that took him, which I
repreſent by being killed; this is all
litterally true, and fhould I enter in-
to Diſcoveries, many alive can teſtify
them: His other Conduct and Af
fiſtance to me alſo have juſt Referen-
ces in all their Parts to the Helps I had
from that faithful Savage, in my real
Solitudes and Difafters.
A 4
>
The
F
ROBINSON CRUSOE'S
E
!
+
}
The Story of the Bear in the Tree,
and the Fight with the Wolves in the
Snow, is likewife Matter of real Hi-
ftory; and in a Word, the Adven-
tures of Robinson Crusoe, are one
whole Scheme of a real Life of eight
and twenty Years, fpent in the
moſt wandring defolate and afflict-
ing Circumftances that ever Man
went through, and in which I have
liv'd ſo long in a Life of Wonders in
continu'd Storms, fought with the
worſe kind of Savages and Man-
eaters, by unaccountable fupprifing
Incidents; fed by Miracles greater
than that of Ravens, fuffered all
Manner of Violences and Oppreſ-
fions, injurious Reproaches, con-
tempt of Men, Attacks of Devils,
Corrections from Heaven,andOppo-
fions on Earth; have had innumera-
ble Ups and Downs in Matters of
Fortune, been in Slavery worſe than ·
Turkish, efcaped by an exquifite
Manage-
PREFACE
Management, as that in the Story of
Xury, and the Boat at Sallee, been
taken up at Sea in Diſtreſs, rais'd a-
gain and deprefs'd again, and that
oftner perhaps in one Man's Life
than ever was known before; Ship-
wreck'd often, tho' more by Land
than by Sea: In a Word, there's not
a Circumſtance in the imaginary Sto-
ry, but has its juft Allufion to a
real Story, and chimes Part for Part,
and Step for Step with the inimitable
Life of Robinson Crusoe.
In like Manner, when in theſe Re-
flections, I speak of the Times and
Circumſtances of particular Actions
done, or Incidents which happened
in my Solitude and Ifland-Life,
an impartial Reader will be ſo juſt
to take it as it is; viz. that it is fpo-
ken or intended of that Part of the
real Story, which the Ifland-Life is a
juſt Alluſion to; and in this the
Story is not only illuftrated, but the
real
ROBINSON CRUSOE'S
real Part I think moft juftly approv'd:
For Example, in the latter Part of
this Work called the Viſion, I begin
thus, When I was in my Iſland King-
dom, I had abundance of strange
Notions of my Seeing Apparitions,
&c. all thefe Reflections are juft Hi-
ftory of a State of forc'd Confine-
ment, which in my real Hiftory is
reprefented by a confin'd Retreat
in an Ifland; and 'tis as reaſonable to
repreſent one kind of Impriſonment
by another, as it is to repreſent any
Thing that really exifts, by that
which exifts not. The Story of my
Fright with fomething on my Bed,
was Word for Word a Hiftory of
what happened, and indeed all thofe
Things received very little Altera-
tion, except what neceffarily attends
removing the Scene from one Place
to another.
:
My Obfervations upon Solitude
are the fame, and I think I need fay
no
PREFACE
#
no more, than that the fame Remark
is to be made upon all the References
made here, to the Tranfactions of the
former Volumes, and the Reader is
defired to allow for it as he goes on.
Befides all this, here is the juft and
only good End of all Parable or Al-
legorick Hiftory brought to paſs, viz.
for moral and religious Improve-
ment. Here is invincible Patience
recommended under the worſt of
Mifery; indefatigable Application
and undaunted Refolution under
the greateſt and moſt difcouraging
Circumſtances; I fay, theſe are re-
commended, as the only Way to
work through thofe Miferies, and
their Succefs appears fufficient to
fupport the moft dead-hearted Crea-
ture in the World.
Had the common Way of Writ-
ing a Mans private Hiftory been ta-
ken, and I had given you the Con-
duct or Life of a Man you knew,
and
1
ROBINSON CRUSOE'S
and whofe Misfortunes and Infirmi-
ties, perhaps you had fometimes un-
juftly triumph'd over;all I could have
faid would have yielded no Diver-
fion, and perhaps ſcarce have obtain-
ed a Reading, or at beft no Attention;
the Teacher, like a greater, having
no Honour in his own Country.
Facts that are form'd to touch the
Mind, muſt be done a great Way off,
and by fomebody never heard of:
Even the Miracles of the Bleffed Sa-
viour of the World fuffered Scorn
and Contempt, when it was reflected,
that they were done by the Carpen-
ter's Son; one whofe Family and O-
riginal they had a mean Opinion of,
and whofe Brothers and Sifters were
ordinary People like themſelves.
There even yet remains a Que-
ftion, whether the Inftruction of
thefe Things will take place, when
you are fuppofing the Scene, which
is placed fo far off, had its Original
fo near Home.
But
PREFACE
But I am far from being anxious
about that, feeing I am well affur'd,
that if the Obftinacy of our Age
ſhould ſhut their Ears againſt the juft
Reflections made in this Volume,
upon the Tranſactions taken Notice
of in the former, there will come an
Age, when the Minds of Men ſhall
be more flexible, when the Prejudi-
'ces of their Fathers fhall have no
Place, and when the Rules of Ver-
tue and Religion juſtly recommend-
ed, fhall be more gratefully accep-
ted than they may be now, that
our Children may rife up in Judg-
ment againſt their fathers, and one
Generation be edified by the fame
Teaching, which another Generation
had deſpiſed.
ROB. CRUSOE.
}
THE
S
$
THE
Publifher's INTRODUCTION.
L
HE publishing this extraordinary
Volume will appear to be no Pre-
fumption, when it shall be remembred,
with what unexpected Good and
Evil Will, the former Volumes have been ac-
cepted in the World.
If the Foundation has been fo well laid, the.
Structure cannot but be expected to bear a Pro-
portion; and while the Parable has been ſo di-
verting, the Moral must certainly be equally
agreeable.
The fuccefs the two former Parts have met
with, has been known by the Envy it has
brought upon the Editor, exprefs'd in a thousand
bard Words from the Men of Trade; the Effect
of that Regret which they entertain'd, at their
having no Share in it: And I must do the Au-
thor the Justice to say, that not a Dog has
zwag'd his Tongue at the Work itself, nor has a
Word been faid to leffen the Value of it, but
which has been the vifible Effect of that Envy
at the good Fortune of the Bookfeller.
The
1
The Publiſher's Introduction.
The Riddle is now expounded, and the inte
ligent Reader may fee clearly the End and De
fign of the whole Work; that it is calculated for,
and dedicated to the Improvement and Inftru-
Etion of Mankind in the Ways of Vertue and
Piety, by representing the various Circumstances,
to which Mankind is expofed; and encouraging
fuch as fall into ordinary or extraordinary Ca
fualties of Life, how to work thro' Difficulties,
with unwearied Diligence and Application,
and look up to Providence for Succefs.
The Obfervations and Reflections, that take
up this Volume, crown the Work; if the Do-
Etrine has been accepted, the Application must of
Neceffity please; and the Author jhews now,
that he has learn'd fufficient Experience, how
to make other Men wife and himself happy.
The Moral of the Fable, as the Author calls
it, is moſt inftructing; and those who challeng'd
him most maliciously, with not making his Pen
ufeful, will have Leiſure to reflect, that they
pass'd their Cenfure too foon; and like Solo-
mon's Fool, judged of the Matter before they
heard it.
Thoſe whoſe Avarice prevailing over their
Honesty, had invaded the Property of this
Book by a corrupt Abridgment, have both fail'd
in their Hope, and been ashamed of the Fact;
Shifting off the Guilt as well as they could, tho
weakly, from one to another: The principal Py-
rate is gone to his Place, and we say no more
of him, De mortuis nil nifi bonum; 'tis Satif
faction
}
The Publiſher's Introduction.
faction enough, that the Attempt has prov'd a-
bortive, as the Bafeness of the Defign might
give them Reaſon to expect it would.
kš š š š š š AAAAAAA
k * ' * * * * * Jos
ADVERTISEMENT.
THE Life and Strange Surprising Adventures
of Robinson Crafoe, of Tork, Mariner: Who
lived eight and twenty Years all alone in an
un-inhabited Inland on the Coaft of America, near
the Mouth of the Great River Oroonoque; having
been caft on Shore by Shipwreck, wherein all the
Men perished but himfelf: With an Account how
he was at laft as firangely deliver'd by Pyrates.
Written by himfelf. The Third Edition.
The farther Adventures of Robinson Crufoe, being
the Second and laft Part of his Life, and Arange
furprifing Accounts of his Travels round three
Parts of the Globe. Written by himself. The
Second Edition: To which is added a Map of the
World, in which is delineated the Voyages of
Robinfon Crufoe. Both fold by W. TAYLOR, at
the Ship and Black-Swan in Patex-nofter-Row.
A
:
Serious
Serious
OBSERVATIONS
INTRODUCTION.
Muſt have made very littleUſe of my folitary and wan-
dring Years, if after fuch a Scene of Wonders, as
my Life may be justly call'd, I had nothing to say,
and had made no Obſervations which might be uſeful
and inftructing, as well as pleaſant and diverting to
thofe that are to come after me.
CHAP. I.
of SOLITUDE.
How uncapable to make us happy, and
How unqualify'd to a Chriftian Life.
Have frequently look'd back, you may
be fure, and that with different
Thoughts, upon the Notions of a
long tedious Life of Solitude, which
I have repreſented to the World,
and of which you must have formed fome Ideas
from the Life of a Man in an Island. Sometimes
I have
B
The AT
1
←
>
+
7.
I have wonder'd how it could be ſupported, eſpe
cially for the firft Years, when the Change was
violent and imposd, and Nature unacquainted with
any thing like Sometimes I have as much
wonder'd, why it thould be any Grievance or Af
fiction feeing upon the whole View of the Stage
of Life which we act upon in this World, it
feems to me,that Life in general is, or ought to be,
but one univerfal A&t of Solitude: But I find it is
natural to judge of Happiness, by its fuiting or
not faiting our own inclinations. Every Thing
revolves in our Minds by innumerable circular
Motions, all centring in our felves. We judge
of Profperity, and of Affliction, Joy and Sorrow,
Poverty, Riches, and all the various Scenes of
Life: I fay, we judge of them by our felves: Thi-
ther we bring them Home, as Meats, touch the
Palat, by which we try them; the gay Part of
the World, or the heavy Part; it is all, one, they
only call it pleaſant or unpleafant, as they fuit
our Taſte.
вет
Sp
1
The World, I fay, is nothing to us, but as it
is more or lefs to our Relifh: All Reflection is
carry'd Home, and our Dear-felf is, in one Refpect,
the End of Living. Hence Man may be proper-
ly faid to be alone in the Midft of the Crowds
and Hurry of Men and Bufinefs: All the Refle-
Яtions which he makes, are to himfelf; all that
is pleaſant, he embraces for himfelf; all that is
irkſome and grievous, is tafted but by his own
Palat.
、
•
What are the Sorrows of other Men to us? And
what their Joy? Something we may be touch'd
indeed with, by the Power of Sympathy, and a
fecret Turn of the Affections; but all the folid
Reflection is directed to our felves. Our Medi-
tations are all Solitude in Perfection; our Paffions
Y
are
}
[ 3 ]
1
are all exercifed in Retirement; we love, we hate
we covet, we enjoy, all in Privacy and Solitude:
All that we communicate of thofe Things to any
other, is but for their Affiſtance in the Purſuit of
our Defires; the End is at Home'; the Enjoy
ment, the Contemplation, is all Solitude and Re-
tirement; 'tis for our felves we enjoy, and for
our felves we fuffer.
What then is the Silence of Life? And, How
is it afflicting, while a Man has the Voice of his
Soul to ſpeak to God, and to himfelf? That Man
can never want Converfation, who is Company
for himself; and he that cannot converfe profita-
bly with himſelf, is not fit for any Converfation
at all; and yet there are many good Reaſons why
a Life of Solitude, as Solitude is now underſtood
'by the Age, is not at all fuited to the Life of a
Chriſtian, or of a wife Man. Without enquiring
therefore into the Advantages of Solitude, and
how it is to be managed, I defire to be heard
concerning what Solitude really is; for I muft con-
fefs, I have different Notions about it, far from
thoſe which are generally underſtood in the World,
and far from all thofe Notions upon which thoſe
People in the primitive Times, and fince that alfo,
acted, who feparated themſelves into Defarts
and unfrequented Places, or confin'd themfelves to
Cells, Monafteries, and the like, retir'd, as they
call it, from the World; All which, I think,
have nothing of the Thing I call Solitude in them,
nor do they answer any of the true Ends of Solitude,
much lefs thofe Ends which are pretended to be
fought after, by thoſe who have talk'd moſt of
thofe Retreats from the World.
As for Confinement in an Iſland, if the Scene
was plac'd there for this very End, it were not at
all amifs. I muft acknowledge, there was Con-
finement
B 2
}
[4]
1
finement from the Enjoyments of the World, and
Reſtraint from human Society: But all that was
no Solitude; indeed, no Part of it was fo, except
that which, as in my Story, I apply'd to, the
Contemplation of fublime Things,, and that was
but a very little, as my Readers well know, com-
par'd to what a Length of Years my forced Retreat
lafted.
It is evident then, that as I fee nothing but
what is far from being retir'd, in the forced Re-
treat of an Iſland, the Thoughts being in no Com-
pofure fuitable to a retired Condition, no not for a
great While; fo I can affirm, thatI enjoy much more
Solitude in the Middle of the greateft Collection
of Mankind in the World, I mean, at London,
while I am writing this, than ever I could fay I
enjoy'd in eight and twenty Years Confinnement
to a defolate Inland.
I have heard of a Man, that upon fome extraor
dinary Difguft which he took at the unfuitable
Converfation of fome of his neareft Relations,
whoſe Society he could not avoid, fuddenly reſolved
never to ſpeak any more: He kept his Refolution
moſt rigorously many Years; not all the Tears or
Entreaties of his Friends, no not of his Wife and
Children, could prevail with him to break his Si-
lence. It ſeems it was their ill Behaviour to him
at firſt, that was the Occafion of it; for they
treated him with provoking Language, which
frequently put him into undecent Paffions, and ur-
ged him to rafh Replies; and he took this fevere
Way to punish himſelf for being provok'd,and to pu-
nifh them for provoking him: But the Severity was
unjuftifiable; it ruin'd his Family, and broke up
his Houſe: His Wife could not bear it, and after
endeavouring, by all the Ways poffible, to alter his
rigid Silence, went firft away from him, and af-
terwards
[5]
"
terwards away from her felf, turning melancholly
and diſtracted: His Children feparated fome one
Way, and fome another Way, and only one
Daughter who lov'd her Father above all the reft,
kept with him, tended him, talk'd to him by
Signs, and liv'd almoft Dumb like her Father,
near 29 Years with him; till being very fick,
and in a high Fever, delirious as we call it, or
light-headed, be broke his Silence, not knowing
when he did it, and fpoke, tho' wildly at firft.
He recover'd of the Illnefs afterwards, and fre-
quently talk'd with his Daughter, but not much,
and very feldom to any Body elfe.
Yet this Man did not live a filent Life Mith
reſpect to himſelf, he read continually; and wrote
down many excellent Things, which deferv'd to
have appear'd' in the World, and was often heard
to pray to God in his Solitudes very audibly, and
with great Fervency; but the Unjuftice which his
rath Vow, if it was a Vow, of Silence, was to his
Family, and the length he carry'd it, was fo un-
juftifiable another way, that I cannot fay his In-
ftructions could have much Force in them.
Had he been a fingle Man,had he wandred into a
ftrange Country or Place, where the Circum-
tance of it had been no Scandal, his Vow of
Silence might ha? been as commendable, and as
I think, much more than any of the primitive
Chriftians Vows of Solitude were; whofe Re-
treat into the Wilderness, and giving themſelves up
to Prayer and Contemplation, fhunning human So-
ciety, and the like, was fo much eſteemed by the
primitive Fathers, and from when ce our religious
Houſes, and Orders of religious People were firſt
deriv❜d.
The Jews faid, John the Baptift had a Devil,
becauſe he affected Solitude and Retirement; and
B 3
they
[6]
姗
​they took it from an old Proverb they had in the
World at that time: That every folitary Perfon muft
be an Angel or a Devil.
A Man under a Vow of perpetual Silence, if
but rigorously obferv'd, would be even on the Ex-
change of London, as perfectly retired from the
World, as a Hermit in his Cell; or a Solitair in
the Defarts of Arabia; and if he is able to ob-
ferve it rigorously, may reap all the Advantages
of thofe Solitudes, without the unjuftifiable Part
of fuch a Life, and without the Aufterities of a
Life among Brutes. For the Soul of a Man un-
der a due and regular Conduct, is as capable of
referving it felf, or feparating it felf from the reft
of human Society, in the midſt of a Throng, as
it is when banifh'd into a defolate Ifland.
•
The Truth is, that all thofe religious Hermit
like Solitudes, which Men value themſelves fo
much upon, are but an Acknowledgment of the
Defeat or Imperfection of our Refolutions, our
Incapacity to bind our felves to needful Reſtraints,
or rigorously to obferve the Limitations we have
vow'd our felves to obferve: Or take it thus, That
the Man firft refolving that it would be his Feli-
city, to be entirely given up to converfing only
with Heaven, and heavenly Things, to be fepa-
rated to Prayer and good Works; but being fen-
fible how ill fuch a Life will agree with Fleſh and
Blood, caufes his Soul to commit a Rape upon his
Body, and to carry it by Force, as it were into
a Defart, or into a religious Retirement, from
whence it cannot return, and where it is impoffible
for it to have any Converſe with Mankind, other
than with fuch as are under the fame Vows, and
the fame Baniſhment. The Folly of this is evident
many Ways.
1
I fhall
A
1
[7]
F
I fhall bring it home to the Cafe in Hand thus:
Chriftians may without doubt come to enjoy all
the defirable Advantages of Solitude, by a frict
Retirement, and exact Government of their
Thoughts, without any of thefe Formalities, Ri-
gours, and apparent Mortifications, which I think
I juftly call a Rape upon human Nature, and conſé-
quently without the Breach of Chriſtian Duties,
which they neceffarily carry with them, fuch as
rejecting Chriſtian Communion, Sacraments, Or-
dinances, and the like.
There is no need of a Wilderneſs to wander
among wild Beaſts, no neceffity of a Cell on the
top of a Mountain, or a defolate Ifland in the
Sea; if the Mind be confin'd, if the Soul be truly
Maſter of it ſelf, all is fafe; for it is certainly and
effectually Maſter of the Body, and what fignify
Retreats, eſpecially a forc'd Retreat as mine was?
The anxiety of my Circumftances there, I can affure
you, was fuch for a Time, as were very fuitable
to heavenly Meditations, and even when that was
got over, the frequent Alarms from the Savages,
put the Soul fometimes to fuch Extremities of
Fear and Horrour, that all manner of Temper was
loft, and I was no more fit for religious Exerciſes,
than a fick Man is fit for Labour.
1
Divine Contemplations require a Compofure
of Soul, uninterrupted by any extraordinary Mo-
tions or Diſorders of the Paffions; and this, I
fay, is much easier to be obtained and enjoy'd in
the ordinary Courfe of Life, than in Monkifh Cells
and forcible Retreats.
The Buſineſs is to get a retired Soul, a Frame of
Mind truly elevated above the World, and then
we may be alone whenever we pleafe, in the
greateſt apparent Hurry of Bufinefs or Com-
pany: If the Thoughts are free, and rightly un-
B 4
engag'd
[8]
engag'd, What imports the Employment the Bo-
dy is engag'd in? Does not the Soul act by a dif
fering Agency, and is not the Body the Servant,
pay, the Slave of the Soul? Has the Body Hands
to act, or Feet to walk, or Tongue to fpeak,
but by the Agency of the Underſtanding, and
Will, which are the two Deputies of the Soul's
Power? Are not all the Affections, and all the
Paffions which fo univerfally agitate, direct, and
poffefs the Body, are they not all feated in the
Soul? What have we to do then more or less, but
to get the Soul into a fuperior Direction and Ele-
vation, there's. no Need to prefcribe the Bo-
dy to this or that Situation; the Hands, or Feet,
or Tongue, can no more difturb the Retirement of
the Soul, than a Man having Money in his Pocket
can take it out, or pay it, or difpoſe of it by his
Hand, without his own Knowledge,
It is the Soul's being entangled by outward Ob-
je&s, that interrupts its Contemplation of divine
Objects, which is the Excufe for theſe Solitudes,
and makes the removing the Body from thoſe out-
ward Objects feemingly neceffary; but what is
there of Religion in all this? For Example, a vi-
cious Inclination remov'd from the Object, is ftill
a vicious Inclination, and contra&ts the fame Guilt,
as if the Qbject were at Hand; for if, as our
Saviour fays, He that looketh on a Woman to luft
after her, that is, to defire her unlawfully, has
committed the Adultery already; fo it will be no
inverting our Saviour's Meaning to fay, that he
that thinketh of a Woman to defire her unlawfully,
has committed Adultery with her already, though
he has not looked on her, or has not feen her at
that Time; and how fhall this thinking of her be
remov'd by tranfporting the Body? It muſt be
remov'd by the Change in the Soul, by bringing
the
[9]
the Mind to be above the Power or Reach of the
Allurement, and to an abfolute Mafterfhip over
the wicked Defire; otherwife the vicious Defire
remains as the Force remains in the Gunpowder,
and will exert it felf when ever toucht with the
Fire.
All Motions to Good or Evil are in the Soul:
Outward Objects are but fecond Caules; and tho'
it is true, feparating the Man from the Obje&, is
the Way to make any Act impoffible to be com-
mitted; yet where the Guilt does not lye in the
A&t only, but in the Intention or Defire to com-
mit it, that Separation is nothing at all, and ef
fects nothing at all. There may be as much Adul-
tery committed in a Monaftery, where a Woman
never comes, as in any other Place, and perhaps
is fo: The abflaining from Evil therefore depends
not only and wholly upon limiting, or confining
the Man's Actions, but upon the Man's limiting
and confining his Defires; feeing to defire to fin,
is to Sin; and the Fact which we would commit
if we had Opportunity, is really committed, and
muſt be anſwer'd for as fuch. What then is
there of Religion, I fay, in forc'd Retirements
from the World, and Vows of Silence or Soli-
tude? They are all nothing; 'tis a retired Soul
that alone is fit for Contemplation; and it is the
Conqueft of our Defires to Sin, that is the only
human Prefervative againſt Sin.
It was a great while after I came into human
Society, that I felt fome Regret at the Lofs of the
folitary Hours and Retirements I had in the I-
fland; but when I came to reflect upon fome ill
fpent Time, even in my Solitudes, I found Rea-
fon to fee what I have faid above; that a Man
may fin along feveral Ways, and find fubje&t of
Kepen-
[ 10 ]
1
Repentance for his folitary Crimes, as well as he
may in the midſt of a populous City.
*
The Excellency of any State of Life confifts
in its Freedom from Crime; and it is evident to
our Experience, that fome Society may be better
adapted to a Re&titude of Life, than a compleat
Solitude and Retirement: Some have faid, that
next to no Company, good Company is beft; but it is my
Opinion, that next to good Company, no Company is
beft; for as it is certain, that no Company is better
than bad Company, fo 'tis as certain, that good Com-
pany is much better than no Company.
In Solitude a Man converfes with himſelf, and
as a wife Man ſaid, he is not always fure that he
does not converfe with his Enemy; but he that
is in good Company, is fure to be always among
his Friends.
The Company of religious good Men, is a
conſtant Reſtraint from Evil,and an Encouragement
to a religious Life. You have there the Beauty of
Religion exemplified; you never want as well In-
ftruction in, as Example for, all that is good; you
have a Contempt of evil Things conftantly re-
commended, and the Affections mov'd to delight
in what is good by hourly Imitation: If we are
alone, we want all theſe, and are led right, or led
wrong, as the Temper of the Mind, which is
fometimes too much the Guide of our Actions, as
well as Thoughts, happens to be conftituted at that
Time. Here we have no Reftraint upon our
Thoughts, but from our felves, no Reftraint upon
our Actions, but from our own Confciences, and
nothing to affift us in our Mortifications of our
Defires, or in directing our Defires, but our own
Reflections, which after all may often err, often
be prepoffefs'd.
If
[ 11 ]
}
If you wou'd retreat from the World then, be
fure to retreat to good Company; retreat to good
Books, and retreat to good Thoughts; thefe will
always affift one another, and always join to affift
him that flies to them in his Meditations, di-
rect him to juft Reflections, and mutually encou-
rage him againſt whatever may attack him, from
within him, or without him: Whereas to retreat
from the World, as it is call'd, is to retreat from
good Men, who are our beſt Friends: Befides,
to retreat, as we call it to an entire perfect Soli-
tude, is to retreat from the publick Worſhip of
God, to forfake the Affemblies; and, in a Word,
is unlawful, becauſe it obliges us to abandon
thofe Things, which we are commanded to do.
Solitude therefore, as I underſtand by it, a
Retreat from human Society, on a religious or
philofophical Account, Is a meer Cheat; it nei-
ther can anſwer the End it propofes, or qualify
us for the Duties of Religion, which we are com-
manded to perform; and is therefore both irreli-
gious in it felf, and inconfiftent with a Chriftian
Life many Ways. Let the Man that would reap
the Advantage of Solitude, and that underſtands
the Meaning of the Word, learn to retire into
himself: Serious Meditation is the Effence of So-
litude; all the Retreats into Woods and Defarts
are ſhort of this; and though a Man that is per-
fectly Maſter of this Retirement, may be a little
in Danger of Quietifm, that is to fay, of an Af-
fecation of Reſervedneſs; yet it may be a Slander
upon him in the main,, and he may make himſelf
amends upon the World, by the bleffed Calm of
his Soul, which they perhaps who appear more
chearful may have little of.
Retiring into Defarts, in the firſt Days of Reli-
gion, andi nto Abbeys and Monafteries fince,
what
[ 12 ]
7
what have they been? Or what have they been
able to do, towards purchafing the Retirement I
fpeak of? They have indeed been Things to bę
reckon❜d among Aufterities, and Acts of Mortifi-
cation, and fo far might be commendable: But
muft infift upon it, that a retired Soul is not affe-
&ted with them, any more than with the Hurries
of Company and Society. When the Soul of a
Man is powerfully engag'd in any particular Sub-
je&t, 'tis like that of St. Paul, wrapt up, whether
it be into the third Heaven, or to any Degree
of lower Exaltation: Such a Man may well fay
with the Apoſtle above, Whether I was in the Body,
or out of the Body, I cannot tell. It was in fuch a
wrapt up State, that I conceived in what I call my
Vifion of the Angelical World; of which I have
here fubjoined a very little Part.
Is it rational to believe, that a Mind exalted fo
far above the State of Things with which we ordi-
narily converſe, ſhould not be capable of a Șepa-
ration from them, which, in a Word, is the ut-
moft Extent of Solitude? Let fuch never afflia
themſelves, that they cannot retreat from the
World: Let them learn to retreat in the World,
and they fhall enjoy a perfect Solitude; as com-
pleat to all Intents and Purpoſes, as if they were
to live in the Cupola of St. Paul's, or, as if they
were to live upon the Top of Cheviot Hil in
Northumberland.
They that cannot be retir'd in this Manner,
muft not only retire from the World, but out of
the World, before they can arrive to any true
Solitude. Man is a Creature fo form'd for Socie-
ty, that it may not only be faid, that it is not
good for him to be alone, but 'tis really impof-
fible he ſhould be alone: We ate fo continually in
need of one another; nay, in fuch abfolute Ne-
ceffity
[ 13 ]
**
ceffity of Affiſtance from one another, thát thoſe
who have pretended to give us the Lives and
Manner of the Solitaires, as they call them, who
ſeparated themſelves from Mankind, and wander'd
in the Defarts of Arabia and Lybia, are frequently
put to the Trouble of bringing the Angels down
from Heaven to do one Drudgery or another for
them; forming imaginary Miracles, to make the
Life of a true Solitair poffible; fometimes they
have no Bread, fometimes no Water, for a long
Time together; and then a Miracle is brought
upon the Stage, to make them live fo long with-
out Food; at other Times they have Angels come
to be their Cooks, and bring them Roaft-meat; to
be their Phyficians, to bring them Phyfick, and
the like: If Saint Hillary comes in his Wan-
drings to the River Nile, an humble Crocrodile
is brought to carry him over upon his Back; tho'
they do not tell us, whether the Crocodile ask'd
him to ride, or he ask'd the Crocodile, or by what
Means they came to be fo familiar with one ano-
ther: And what is all this to the Retirement of
the Soul, with which it converfes in Heaven in
the midſt of infinite Crowds of Men, and to whom.
the neareſt of other Objects is nothing at all, any
more than the Objects of Mountains and Defarts,
Lions and Leopards, and the like, were to thoſe
that banish'd themſelves to Arabia?
. Befides, in a State of Life, where Circumftan-
ces are eaſy, and Provifion for the Neceffaries of
Life, which the beſt Saint cannot fupport the
Want of, is quietly and plentifully made; has not
the Mind infinitely more Room to withdraw
from the World, than when at beſt it muſt wan
der for its daily Food, tho' it were but the Pro-
duft of the Field.
Ler
f14]
Let no Man plead he wants Retirement, that
he loves Solitude; but cannot enjoy it, becauſe of
the Embarraſsment of the World; 'tis all a Delufi-
on; if he loves it, if he defires it, he may have it
when, where, and as often as he pleaſes; let his
Hurries, his Labours, or his Affli&tions, be what
they will: It is not the Want of an Opportunity
for Solitude, but the Want of a Capacity of being
folitairy that is the Cafe in all the Circumftances
of Life.
•
I knew a poor, but good Man; who tho' he was
a Labourer, was a Man of Senfe and Religion;
who being hard at Work with fome other Men,
removing a great Quantity of Earth to raiſe a
Bank against the Side of a Pond, was one Day fo
out of himſelf, and wrapt up in a perfect Appli
cation of his Mind, to a very ſerious Subject,
that the poor Man drove himſelf and his Wheel-
barrow into the Pond, and could not recover him-
felf, till Help came to him. This Man was cer-
tainly capable of a perfect Solitude, and perhaps
really enjoy'd it; for as I have often heard him
fay, he liv'd alone in the World: (1.) Had no
Family to embarraſs his Affections. (2.) His low
Circumſtances placed him below the Obfervation
of the upper Degrees of Mankind. (3.) And his
referv'd' Meditations plac'd him above the wicked
Part, who were thofe in a Sphere equal to him-
felf; among whom, as he faid, and is most true,
it was very hard to find a fober Man, much lefs á
good Man; fo that he liv'd really alone in the
World; apply'd himſelf to labour for hisSubfiftance,
had no other Bufinefs with Mankind, but for Ne-
ceffaries of Life, and convers'd in Heaven, as ef-
fectually, and, I believe, every Way, as divinely
as St. Hilary did in the Defarts of Lybia, among
the Lions and Crocodiles.
If
[ 15 ]
If this Retirement, which they call Solitude, con-
fifted only of feparating the Perfon from the World,
that is to fay, from human Society, it were itſelf
a very mean Thing, and would every Way as well
be fupplied, by removing from a Place where a
Man is known, to a Place where he is not known,
and there accuftom himſelf to a retir'd Life, ma-
king no new Acquaintance, and only making the
Ufe of Mankind which I have already fpoken of;
namely for Convenience, and Supply of neceffary
Food; and I think of the Two, that fuch a Man,
or a Man fo retir'd, may have more Opportunity
to be an entire Reclufe, and may enjoy more real
Solitude, than a Man in a Defart. For Example,
In the Solitude I fpeak of, a Man has no more
to-do for the Neceffaries of Life, than to receive
them from the Hands. of thoſe that are to furniſh
them, and pay them for fo doing; whereas, in
the Solitude of Defarts, and wandring Lives, from
whence all our Monkifh Devotion. fprings, they
had every Day, their Food, fuch as it was, to
feek, or the Load of it to carry; and except where
as it is faid, they put Providence to the Opera-
tion of a Miracle, to furniſh it, they had frequently
Difficulties enough to fuftain Life; and if we
may believe Hiftory, many of them were flarv'd
to Death for meer Hunger, or Thirft; and as
often the latter as the former.
1
4
Thofe that had Recourfe to thefe Solitudes,
merely as a Mortification of their Bodies, as I
obferv'd before, and delivering themſelves from the
Temptations which Society expoſed them to,
had more Room for the Pretence indeed, than
thoſe who alledge they did it to give up them-
felves to Prayer and Meditation. The firft might
have fome Reaſon in Nature for the Fact, as
Men
[ 16 ]
}
1
,
Mens Tempers and Conftitutions might lead
fome having an inordinate Appetite to Crime,
fome addicted by Nature to one ill Habit, fome
to another; tho' the Chriftian Religion does
not guide us to thofe Methods of putting
a Force upon our Bodies to fubdue the
Violence of inordinate Appetite. The bleffed
Apoſtle St. Paul, feems to have been in this
Circumftance, when being affaulted with what is
call'd in the Text, a Thorn in the Flesh; be it what
it will that is meant there, it is not to my Pur-
pofe; but he pray'd to the Lord thrice; that was
the firftMethod the Apoſtle took, and thereby ſet
a pious Example to all thoſe who are affaulted by
any Temptation. He did not immediately fly
to Aufterities and bodily Mortifications, fepara-
ting himſelf from Mankind, or flying into the
Defart to give himſelf up to Fafting, and a Re-
treat from the World, which is the Object of all
private Snare. But he applied himſelf by ferious
Prayer to him, who had taught us to pray, Lead
is not into Temptation; and the Anfwer likewife is
inftructing in the Cafe; he was not d riven out as
Nebuchadnezzar into the Defart; he was not com-
m'anded to retire into the Wilderneſs, that he
might be free from the Temptation; nothing lefs:
But the Anfwer was, my Grate is fufficient for thee,
fufficient without the Help of artificail Mortifica-
tion.
A
So that even in the Cafe of thefe forcible Mörti-
fications they are not requir'd,, much lefs directed
for Helps to Meditations for if Meditation could
not be practis'd beneficially; and to all the Intents
and Purpoſes for which it was ordain'd a Duty,
without flying from the Face of human Society,
the Life of Man would be very unhappy.
But
Į
R
[ 17 ]
譬
​But doubtless the Contrary is evident, and all
the Parts of a compleat Solitude are to be as ef
féctually enjoy'd, if we pleaſe, and ſufficient Grace
affifting, even in the most populous Cities, among
the Hurries of Converfation, and Gallantry of a
Court,or the Noife and Bufinefs of a Camp, as in
the Defarts of Arabia and Lybia, or in the defolate
Life of an uninhabited Ifland.
2
•
A
1
t
やいい
​C
СНАР.
1
1
[18]
1
f
CHAP. II.
An Effay upon HONESTY.
W
t
HEN I first came home to my own
Country, and began to fit down and
look back upon the paft Circumftan-
ces of my wandring State, as you
will in Charity fuppofe I could not
but do very often; the very Profperity I enjoy'd
led me molt naturally to reflect upon the particu-
lar Steps by which I arrived to it, The Condi-
tion I was in was very happy, fpeaking of hu-
man Felicity; the former Captivity I had fuffer'd,
made my Liberty fweeter to me; and to find my
felf jump'd into eafy Circumftances at once, from
a Condition below the common Rate of Life,
made it ſtill ſweeter.
་
One Time, as I was upon my Enquiries into
the happy Concurrence of the Caufes which
had brought the Event of my Profperity to
pafs, as an Effect, it occurr'd to my Thoughts,
how much of it all depended, under the
Difpofition of Providence, upon the Principle
of Honefty, which I met with, in almoſt all the
People whom it was my Lot to be concern'd with
in my private and particular Affairs; and I that
had met with fuch extraordinary Inftances of the
Knavery and Villainy of Mens Natures in other
Circumſtances, could not but be ſomething taken ·
up
[ 19 ]
up with the Miracles of Honefty that I had met
with among the feveral People I had had to do
with, I mean thofe whom I had more particularly
to do with in the Articles of my Liberty, Eftate,
or Effe&s, which fell into their Hands.
?
I began with my moft trufty and faithful Wi-
dow, the Captain's Wife, with whom I firſt went
to the Coaſt of Africa, and to whom I entruſted
2001. being the Gain I had made in my firft Ad-
ventures to Guinea, as in the firft Volume, Page
330, appears.
She was left a Widow, and in but indifferent
Circumftance's; but when I fent to her fo far off as
the Brafils, where I was in fuch a Condition as fhe
might have reaſonably believed I fhould never
have been able to come my felf; and if I had,
might be in no Condition to recover it of her;
and having my felf nothing to fhew under her
Hand for the Truft; yet fhe was fo´juft, that he
fent the full Value of what I wrote for, being
one hundred Pound; and to fhew, as far as in her
lay, her fincere honeft Concern for my Good, put
in among many neceffary Things which I did not
write for, I fay, put in two Bibles, befides other
good Books, for my Reading and Inftruction, as
The faid afterwards, in Popifh and Heathen Coun-
tries, where I might chance to fall. Honefty not
only leads to difcharge every Debt and every Truſt
to our Neighbour, fo far as is juftly to be deman-
ded, but an honeft Man acknowledges himſelf
Debtor to all Mankind, for fo much Good to be
done for them, whether for Soul or Body, as Pro-
vidence puts an Opportunity into his Hands to do:
In Order to diſcharge this Debt, he ftudies
continually for Opportunity to do all the Acts of
Kindneſs and Beneficence, that is poffible for him
to do; and tho' very few confider it, a Man is
C 2
not
↓
14
1
}
[ 20 ]
not a compleatly honeft Man, that does not do
this.
Upon this Confideration, I queftion much,
whether a covetous, narrow, ftingy Man, as we
call him, one who gives himſelf up to himſelf,
as born for himfelf only, and who declines the
Advantages and Opportunities of doing Good,
I mean, extreamly fo: I fay, I much queftion,
whether fuch a Man can be an honeft Man; nay, I
am fatisfy'd he cannot be honeft Man; for tho'
he may pay every Man his own, and be juſt, as he
thinks it, to a Farthing; yet this is Part of the
Juftice, which in the common Phrafe is the grea-
teft Unjuftice. This is one Meaning of that Say-
ing, Summum jus, fumma injuria.
To pay every Man their own, is the common
Law of Honefty; but to do Good to all Mankind,
as far as you are able, is the Chancery Law of Ho-
nefty; and tho' in common Law or Juftice, as I
call it, Mankind can have no Claim upon us, if
we do but juſt pay our Debt; yet in Heaven's
Chancery they will have Relief againſt us; for
they have a Demand in Equity of all the Good to
be done them, that it is in our Power to do, and
this Chancery Court, or Court of Equity, is held
in every Man's Breaft; 'tis a true Court of Con-
fcience, and every Man's Confcience is a Lord
Chancellour to him; if he has not perform'd,
if he has not paid this Debt, Confcience will de-
cree him to pay it, on the Penalty of declaring
him a dishonest Man, even in his own Opinion;
and if he ſtill refufes to comply, will proceed
by all the legal Steps of a Court of Confcience
Proceſs, till at laft it will iffue out a Writ of Re-
bellion against him, and proclaim him a Rebel to
Nature and his own Confcience.
}
But
[ 21 ]
}
But this is by the Way, and is occafioned by
the Obfervations I have made of many People,
who think they are mighty honeft if they pay
their Debts, and owe no Man any Thing, as they
call it; at the fame Time, like true Mifers, who
lay up all for themſelves, they think nothing of the
Debt of Charity and Beneficence, which they
owe to all Mankind.
·
Rich Men are their Maker's Free-holders;
they enjoy freely the Eftate he has given them the
Poffeffion of, with all the Rents, Profits, and
Emoluments, but charg'd with a free Farm Rent
to the younger Children of the Family, namely
the Poor; or if you will, you may call them,
God's Copy-holders, paying a Quit-Rent to the
Lord of the Manor; which Quit-Rent he has
affigned for the Ufe of the reft of Mankind, to
be paid in a conftant Diſcharge of all good Offi-
ces, friendly, kind, and generous Actions; and
he that will not pay his Rent, cannot be an ho-
neft Man, any more than he that would not pay
his other juft Debts.
K
The Scripture concurs exactly with this No-
tion of mine; the Mifer is call'd by the Prophet
Ifaiah, a vile Perfon, one that works Iniquity, and
practifes Hypocrify, and utters Error before the Lord,
Ifaiah xxxii. 6. How does this appear? The ve-
ry next Words explain it. He makes empty the Soul
of the Hungry, and he will caufe the Drink of the
Thirfty to fail. But left this fhould feem a ftrain'd
Text, let us read on, both before and after, Verſe
5. The Vile Perfon shall no more be cal'd Liberal,
nor the Churl faid to be Bountiful. Here the Op-
pofite to a Liberal Man is call'd a Vile Perfon,
and the Oppoſite to a Bountiful Man is call'd à
Churl; and in the Verfe following, the fame
Vile Perfon, as oppofed to the Liberal Man, is
call'd
C 3
•
₹
]
[ 22 22]
*
1
1
call'd a Wicked Man; and the Liberal Man is
fet up a Pattern for us all, in Oppofition to the
vile, churlish, covetous Wretch. Verf. 7, 8. The
Inftruments alfo of the Churl are evil: He devifeth
wicked Devices to deftroy the Poor with lying Words,
even when the Needy Speaketh right. But the Liberal
devifeth liberal Things, and by liberal Things fhall he
ſtand.
In a Word, I think my Opinion juftify'd by this
Text, that a Churl, a morofe, fowre Diſpoſition,
a covetous, ayaricious, felfifh principl'd Man, can-
not be an honest Man; he does not pay the common
Debt of Mankind to one another,nor the Fee-Farm,
or Quit-Rent of his Eftate to God, who is his
Great Landlord,or Lord of the Manor, and who has
charg'd the Debt upon him. I know the Mifer
will laugh at this. Notion; but I fpeak my own
Opinion, let it go as far as Reafon will car-
ry it.
✔
*
}
I come back to the Examples I was giving in
my private Caſe. As the Widow. was honeft to
me, fo was my good Portugueſe Captain; and it
is this Man's original Honefty, that makes me
fpeak of the honeft Man's Debt to Mankind. It
was Honefty, a generous Honeftys, that led the
poor Man to take me up at Sea; which if he had
neglected, my Boy Xury and I had perifhed toge
ther It was no Debt to me in particular, but
a Debt to Mankind, that he paid in that Action;
and yet he could not have been an honest Man with
out it. You will fay, if he had gone away and
left me, he had been barbarous and inhuman, and
deferv'd to be left to perifh himſelf in the like
Diftrefs: But, I fay, this is not all the Cafe: Cu-
fom and the Nature of the Thing leads us to fay,
it would have been hard-hearted and inhuman;
But Confcience will tell any Man, that it was a
Debt,
J
1
[23]
Debt, and he could not but be condemn'd by the
Court of Conscience in his own Breaft, if he had
omitted it; nay, in the Sight of Heaven he had
tacitly kill'd us, and had been as guilty of our
Death as a Murtherer; for he hat refuſes to fave
a Life thrown into his Hands, takes it away; and
if there is a juft Retribution in a future State, if
Blood is at all requir'd there, the Blood of every
Man, Woman, or Child, whom we could have fa-
ved, and did not, fhall be reckon'd to us at that
Day, as fpilt by our own: Hands; for leaving Life
in a Poſture in which it must inevitably periſh,
is without Queftion caufing it to perifh, and will.
be call'd fo then, by whatever gilded drefs'd-up
Words we may exprefs and conceal it now.
But I go farther, for my good Portuguese went
farther with me; he not only paid the Debt he
ow'd to Heaven, in faving our Lives, but he
went farther: He took nothing of what I had,
tho' in the common Right of the Sea, it was all
his Due for Salvage, as the Sailors call it: But
he gave me the Value of every Thing, bought
my Boat, which he might have turp'd adrift, my
Boy Xury, who was not my Slave by any Right,
or if he had, became free from that Time; and
the Life of Xury, which he had fav'd, as a Ser-
vant, was his own; yet he bought every Thing
of me, for the full Value; and took nothing of
me, no not for my Paffage!
A
Here was the Liberal Man devifing liberal Things,
and the Sequel made good the promiffory Text;
for by theſe liberal Things, the honeft liberal
Man might be truly faid to ftand; When I came to
reward him at my coming to Lisbon, to fell my
Plantation at Brafil: Then he being poor, and
reduc'd, and not able to pay even what he ow'd
C 4
- A
..me,
i
}
[24]
{
me, I gave him a Reward fufficient to make his
Circumſtances eafy all his Life after.
The Bounty of this Man to me, when firft he
took me up out of the Sea, was the higheſt and
moſt compleat Act of Honefty; A generous Ho-
nefty, laying hold of an Opportunity to do Good
to an Object offer'd by the Providence of Hea-
ven, and thereby acknowledging the Debt he had
to pay to his Maker, in the Perfons of his moſt
diftrefs'd Creatures.
And here alfo let me remind my Readers of
what perhaps they feldom much regard; it is not
only a Gift from Heaven to us, to be put in a
Condition of doing Good; but 'tis a Gift, and a Fa-
vour from Heaven, to have an Opportunity of
doing the Good we are in a Condition to do; and we
ought to cloſe with the Opportunity, as a parti-
cular Gift from above, and be as thankful for it;
I fay, as thankful for the Occafion of doing
Good, as for the Ability.
I might mention here the Honeſty of my Fellow-
Planter in the Brafils, and of the two Merchants,
and their Sons, by whofe Integrity I had my
Share in the Plantation preferved, and taken Care,
of; as alfo the Honefty of the publick Treaſurer
for the Church there, and the like: But I am car-
ry'd off in my Thoughts, to enlarge upon this no-
ble Principle, from the two Examples I have al-
ready mentioned, viz. the Guiney Captain's Wi
dow, and the Portuguefe; and this in particular,
becauſe, fince I came to England to refide, I have
met with Abundance of Difputes about Honefty,
eſpecially in Cafes where honeft Men come to be
unhappy Men, when they fall into fuch Circumftan-
ces as they cannot be honeft, or rather, cannot
fhew the Principle of Honefty, which is really
at the Bottom of all their Actions, and which,
but
}
[ 25 ]
but for thofe Circumftances which entirely difa-
ble them, would certainly fhew it felf in every
Branch of their Lives: Such Men I have too
often feen branded for Knaves by thoſe who,
if they come into the fame Condition, would
perhaps do the fame Things, or worse than they
may have done.
Both my Widow and my Portugueſe Captain,
fell into low Circumftances, fo that they could
not make good to me my Money that was
in their Hands; and yet both of them fhew'd
to me, that they had not only a Principle
of Juftice, but of generous Honefty too, when
the Opportunity was put into their Hands to
do fo.
This put me upon enquiring and debating with
my felf, what this fubtle and imperceptible Thing,
call'd Honefty, is, and how it might be defcri-
bed; fetting down my Thoughts, at feveral Times,
as Objects prefented; that Pofterity, if they think
them worth while, may find them both uſeful
and diverting. And First, I thought it not
improper to lay down the Conditions upon
which I am to enter upon that Deſcription;
that I may not be miſtaken, but be allow'd to ex-
plain what I mean by Honefty, before I undertake
to enter upon any Difcourfes or Obfervations about
it.
1
And to come directly to it, for I would make as
few Preambles as poffible, I fhall crave the Liberty
in all the following Difcourfe, to take the Term
Honesty, as I think all English Expreffions ought to
be taken, namely Honefterly, in the common Accep-
tation of the Word, the general vulgar Senfe of
it, without any Circumlocutions or Double Enten-
dres whatſoever; for I defire to fpeak plainly
and fincerely. Indeed, as I have no Talent at hard
*
Words,
[ 26 ]
}
Words, fo I have no great Veneration for Etymo-
logies, eſpecially in English: But fince I am trea-
ting of Honesty, I defire to do it, as I fay above,
boneftly, according to the genuine Signification of
the Thing.
Neither fhall I examine, whether Honefty be
a natural or an acquired Virtue, whether a Ha“
bit, or a Quality, whether inherent or accidental;
all the philofophical Part of it I chufe to omit,
Neither fhall I examine it, as it extends to
Spirituals, and looks towards Religion; if we en-
quire about Honefty towards God, I readily al-
low all Men are born Knaves, Villains, Thieves,
and Murtherers, and nothing but the reftraining
Power of Providence witholds us all from, fhew-
ing our felves fuch, on all Occafions.
No Man can be juft to his Maker; if he could,
all our Creeds and Confeffions, Litanies and Sup-
plications, were ridiculous Contradictions and·
Impertinences; inconfiftent with themſelves, and
with the whole Tenor of human Life.
In all the enfuing Difcourfe therefore, I am to
be understood of Honefty, as it regards Mankind
among themſelves, as it looks from one Man to
another, in thofe neceffary Parts of Man's Life,
his Converfation and Negotiation, Trufts, Friend-
fhips, and all the Incidents of human Affairs.
The Plainnefs I profefs, both in Style and
Method, feems to me to have fome fuitable Ana-
logy to the Subje&t, Honefty; and therefore, is ab-
folutely neceffary to be ftrictly follow'd. And I
muft own, I am the better reconcil'd, on this very
Account, to a natural Infirmity of homely plain
Writing in that I think the Plainnefs of Ex-
preffion, which I am condemn'd to, will give no
Difadvantage to my Subject, fince Honefty fhews
the most beautiful, and the more like Honesty,
when
3
1
}
[ 27 ]
when Artifice is difmifs'd, and fhe is honeftly feen
by her own Light only; likewiſe the fame Since-
rity is required in the Reader; and he that reads
this Effay without Honesty, will never underftand
it right: She muft, Ifay, be view'd by her own Light.
If Prejudice, Partiality, or private Opinion's ftand
in the Way, the Man's a reading Knave, he is not
honeft to the Subject; and upon fuch an one all
the Labour is loft; this Work is of no Ufe to
him, and by my Confent, the Bookfeller fhould
give him his Money again.
If any Man, from his private ill Nature, takes
Exceptions at me, poor, wild, wicked, Robinſon
Crufoe, for prating of fuch Subjects as this is,
and fhall call either my Sins, or Misfortunes to Re-
membrance, in Prejudice of what he reads ; fuppo-
fing me thereby unqualify'd to defend ſo noble a
Subject as this of Honesty, or at leaſt to handle it ho-
neftly: I take the Freedom to tell fuch, that thofe
very wild wicked Doings and Miftakes of mine,
render me the propereft Man alive to give War-
ning to others, as the Man that has been fick is half
a Phyfician. Befides, the Confeffion which I all
along make of my early Errors, and which Provi-
dence, you fee, found me Leifure enough to re-
pent of, and I hope, gave me Affiftance to do it
effectually; affifts to qualify me for the prefent Un-
dertaking, as well to recommend that Rectitude
of Soul, which I call Honefty to others, as to warn
thoſe who are fubject to miſtake it, either in
themſelves or others: Heaven it felf receives thoſe
who fincerely repent, into the fame State of Ac-
ceptance, as if they had not finn'd at all, and fo
fhould we alſo.
They who repent, and their ill Lives amend,
Stand next to thofe who never did offend.
Nor
2
[ 28 ]
1
Nor do I think a Man ought to be afraid or
afham'd to own and acknowledge his Follies and
Miftakes, but rather to think it a Debt which Hor
zesty obliges him to pay: Befides, our Infirmities
and Errors, to which all Men are equally fubje&t,
when recovered from, leave fuch Impreffions be-
hind them, on thoſe who fincerely repent of them,
that they are always the forwardeft to accuſe and
reproach themſelves: No Man need adviſe them,
or lead them; and this gives the greateſt Difco-
very of the Honefty of the Man's Heart, and Sin-
cerity of Principles. Some People tell us, they
think they need not make any open Acknowledg-
ment of their Follies; and 'tis a Cruelty to exa&t
it of them; that they could rather dye than fub-
mit to it; that their Spirits are too great for it;
that they are more afraid to come to fuch publick.
Confeffions and Recognitions, than they would be
to meet a Cannon Bullet, or to face an Enemy:
But this is a poor miſtaken Piece of falfe Bravery;
all Shame is Cowardife, as an eminent Poet tells
us, That all Courage is Fear, the braveſt Spirit
is the best qualify'd for a Penitent; 'tis a strange
Thing that we fhould not be afham'd to offend,
but fhould be afham'd to repent; not afraid to
fin, but afraid to confefs. This very Thought
extorted the following Lines from a Friend of
mine, with whom I difcourfed upon this Head.
Among the worst of Cowards let him be nam'd,
Who having finn'd's afraid to be aſham'd;
And to mistaken Courage he's betray'd,
Who having finn'd's afham'd to be afraid.
But to leave the Point of Courage and Cowar-
dife in our repenting of our Offences, I bring it
back to the very Point I am upon; namely that of
Hone-
1
[29]
Honesty. A Man cannot be truly an honeſt Man,
without acknowledging the Miſtakes he has made;
particularly, without acknowledging the Wrong
done to his Neighbour; and why pray is Juftice
lefs required in his Acknowledgment to his Maker?
He then that will be honeft, muft dare to con-
fels he has been a Knave; for as above, ſpeaking
of our Behaviour to God, we have been all
Knaves, and all difhoneft; and if we come to
fpeak strictly, perhaps it would hold in our Be-
haviour to one another alfo; for, Where's the
Man that is not chargeable by fome or other of his
Neighbours, or by himſelf, with doing Wrong,
with fome Oppreffion or Injury, either of the
Tongue, or of the Hands.
I might enlarge here upon the Honefty of the
Tongue, a Thing fome People, who call them-
ſelves very honeſt Men, keep a very flender Guard
upon, I mean, as to Evil-fpeaking; and of all
Evil-fpeaking, that worft Kind of it, the fpea-
king hard and unjuft Things of one another.
This is certainly intended by the Command
of God, which is fo expreſs and emphatick, Thou
fbalt not bear falfe Witness against thy Neighbour; at
leaft that Part which is what we call Slander, rai-
fing an injurious and falfe Charge upon the Cha-
racter and Conduct of our Neighbour, and fprea-
ding it for Truth.
`
But this is not all; that, Honefty I am fpeaking
of refpects all Detraction, all outrageous Af-
faults of the Tongue ; Reproach is as really a Part
of Diſhoneſty, as Slander; and tho' not fo aggra-
vated in Degree, yet 'tis the fame in Kind.
There is a Kind of Murther that may be com-
mitted with the Tongue, that is in its Na-
ture as cruel as that of the Hand: This can
never
!
[30].
never be the Practice of an honeft Man; Nay, he
that practiſes it cannot be an honeft Man.
But perhaps I may come to this again,but I muſt
go back to explain my felf upon the Subject a lit-
tle farther in the General, and then you ſhall hear
more of me, as to the Particulars.
1
}
1
1
X XX X X
Of HONESTY in General.
Have always obferv'd, that however
few the real honeft Men are, yet e-
very Man thinks himfelf, and pro-
claims himſelf an honeft Man. Ho-
neity, like Heaven, has all Mens good Word, and
all Men pretend to a Share of it: So general is the
Claim, that like a Jeft which is fpoil'd by the Re-
petition, 'tis grown of no value for a Man to
fwear by his Faith, which is in its original Mean-
ing, by his Honesty, and ought to be underſtood
fo.
Like Heaven too, 'tis little underſtood by thoſe
who pretend moft to it, 'tis too often fquar'd ac-
cording to Mens private Intereft, tho' at the fame
Time the Latitude which fome Men give them-
felves, is inconfiftent with its Nature.
Honefty is a general Probity of Mind, an Apti-
tude to Ã& juftly and honourably in all Cafes, re-
ligious and civil, and to all Perfons fuperiour or
inferiour; neither is Ability or Difability to act
fo, any Part of the Thing it felf in this Senfe.
It may be diftinguifh'd into Juftice and Equity,
or if you will, into Debt and Honour; for both
make up but one Honefty.
Exa&
[ 31 ]
on
と
​•
Exact Juftice is a Debt to all our Fellow-Crea-
tures and honourable, generous Juftice is deriv'd
from that golden Rule, Quod tibi fieri non vis al-
teri ne feceris; and all this put together, makes up
Honeſty: Honour indeed is a higher Word for it,
but 'tis the fame Thing, and
Differs from Justice only in the Name,
-For Honefty and Honour are the fame.
This Honefty is of fo qualifying a Nature,
that 'tis the moft Denominative of all poffible
Virtues: An Honest Man is the best Title can be
given in the Worlds all other Titles are empty
and ridiculous without it, and no Title can be
really feandalous if this remain. 'Tis the capital
Letter, by which a Man's Character will be known,
when private Qualities and Accomplishments are
Worm-eaten by Time; without it a Man can
neither be a Chriftian or a Gentleman: A Man may
be a poor honeft Man, an unfortunate honeft Man;
but a Chriftian Knave, or a Gentleman Knave, is
a Contradiction: A Man forfeits his Character
and his Family by Knavery; and his Efcutcheon
ought to have a particular Blot, like that of Ba-
ftardy. When a Gentleman lofes his Honefty, he
ceaſes to be a Gentleman, commences Rake from
that Minute, and ought to be us'd like one.
Honefty has fuch a general Character in the
Minds of Men, that the worst of Men, who nei-
ther practiſe or pretend to any Part of it, will
yet value it in others; no Man ever cou'd be fo
out of Love with it, as to defire his Pofterity
fhould be without it; này, fuch is the Veneration
"all Men have for it, that the general Bleffing of a
Father to his Son, is Pray, God make thee an honeft
Man.
+
Indeed
>
1
[ 32 ]
1
}
Indeed fo general is the Value of it, and fo well
known, that it ſeems needlefs to fay any Thing in
behalf of it. So far as it is found upon Earth, fo
much of the firſt Rectitude of Nature, and of the
Image of God, ſeems to be reftor'd to Man-
kind.
The greateſt Miſchief which to me feems to
attend this Virtue, like the Thorn about the
Rofe, which pricks the Finger of thoſe who med-
dle with it, is Pride: "Tis a hard Thing for a
Man to be very honeft, and not be proud of it;
and tho' he who is really honeft, has, as we fay,
fomething to be proud of, yet I take his Honefty to
be in a great deal of Danger, who values himſelf
too much upon it.
True honeſt Honefty, if I may be allow'd fuch
an Expreffion, has the leaft Relation to Pride of
any View in the World; 'tis all fimple, plain, ge-
nuine, and fincere; and if I hear a Man boaſt of his
Honefty, I cannot help having fome Fears for him,
at leaſt, that 'tis fickly and languishing.
Honefty is a little tender Plant, not known to
all who have Skill in Simples, Thick fow'd, as they
Jay, and Thin come up; 'tis nice of Growth, it
feldom thrives in a very fat Soil; and yet a very poor
Ground too is apt to ftarve it, unleſs it has taken
very good Root; when it once takes to a Piece of
Ground, it will never be quite deſtroy'd; it may
be choak'd with the Weeds of Profperity, and
fometimes 'tis fo fcorcht up with the Droughts of
Poverty and Neceffity, that it ſeems as if it were
quite dead and gone; but it always revives upon
the leaft mild Weather; and if fome Showers of
Plenty fall, it makes full Reparation for the Loſs the
Gardener had in his Crop.
There is an ugly Weed, call'd Cunning, which
is very pernicious to it, and which particularly
injures
1
[ 33.]
1
1
injures it, by hiding it from our Diſcovery, and
making it hard to find: This is fo like Honefty,
that many a Man has been deceiv'd with it, and
have taken one for t'other in thé Market: Nay,
I have heard of fome, who have planted this wild
Honesty, as we may call it, in their own Ground,
have made Ufe of it in their Friendſhips and Dea-
lings, and thought it had been the true Plant,
but they always loft Credit by it: And that was
not the worſt neither; for they had the Lofs who
dealt with them, and who chaffer'd for a Counter-
feit Commodity; and we find many deceived fo
ftill, which is the Occafion there is fuch an Out-
cry about falſe Friends, and about Sharping and
Tricking in Mens ordinary Dealings in the World.
This true Honefty too has fome little Difference
in it, according to the Soil or Climate in which
it grows, and your Simplers have had fome Dif-
putes about the Sorts of it: Nay, there have been
great Heats about the feveral Kinds of this Plant,
which grows in different Countries, and fome call
that Honefty, which others fay, is not; as parti-
cularly they fay, There is a Sort of Honefty in
my Country, Yorkſhire Honesty, which differs very
much from that which is found in thefe fouthern
Parts about London: Then there is a Sort of Scots
Honefty, which they fay is a meaner Sort than
that of Yorkſhire: And in New England, I have
heard they have a kind of Honeſty, which is
worſe than the Scotish, and little better than the
wild Honefty, call'd Cunning, which I mention'd
before. On the other hand, they tell us, that in
fome Parts of Afia, at Smyrna, and at Conftantino-
ple, the Turks have a better Sort of Honefty than
any of us. I am forry, our Turkey Company have
not imported fome of it, that we might try whe-
ther it would thrive here or no 'Tis a little odd
D
1
[ 34 ]
1
1
to me, it fhould grow to fuch a Perfection in Tay
key, becauſe it has always been obferv'd to thrive
beſt, where it is fow'd with a Sort of Grain
call'd Religion: Indeed they never thrive in theſe
Parts of the World, fo well apart, as they do
together. And for this Reaſon, I muſt own, I have
found that Scots Honeſty, as above, to be of a very
good Kind. How 'tis in Turkey, I know not;
for in all my Travels, I never fet my Foot in
the Grand Seignior's Dominions.
་
But to wave Allegories, Difputes about what
is, or is not Honefty, are dangerous to Honefty
it felf; for no Cafe can be doubtful, which does
not border upon the Frontiers of Difhonefty; and
he that refolves not to be drowned, had beft ne-
ver come near the Brink of the Water.
That Man who will do nothing but what is barely
honeſt, is in great Danger. 'Tis certainly juſt for me
to do every Thing the Law juftifies; but if I fhould
only ſquare my Actions by what is literally law-
ful, I must throw every Debtor, tho' he be poor,
in Priſon, and never releaſe him till he has paid the
uttermoft Farthing: I muft hang every Malefa-
or without Mercy, I muft exact the Penalty of
every Bond, and the Forfeiture of every Inden
ture: In fhort, I must be uneafy to all Mankind,
and make them fo to me; and in a Word, be a
very Knave too, as well as a Tyrant; for Cruelty
is not Honeſty.
Therefore, the fovereign Judge of every Man's
Honefty has laid us down a general Rule, to
which all the Particulars are refolved, Quod tibi
fieri non vis, alteri ne feceris. This is a Part of
that Honefty I am treating of, and which indeed
is the more effential of the two; this is the Teft
of Behaviour, and the grand Article to have Re-
courſe to, when Laws are filent:
I have
!
[ 35 ]
Í have heard fome Men argue, that they are
hot bound to any fuch Confiderations of the In-
digence of Perfon's, as lead to Conceffions of Time,
or Compofitions with them for Debts; that 'tis
all ex gratia, or the Effects of Policy, becaufe Cix-
'cumſtances lead them to judge it better to take
what they can get, than lofe the Whole.
Speaking of the Letter of the Law, I allow that
they may be in the right.
On the other hand, a Man who gives a Bond
for a Debt, pleads, he is anſwerable for no morë
than the Law will force him to; that is, he may
defend a Suit, ftand out to the laft Extremity,
and at laſt keep out of the Way, fo as not to have
Judgment or Execution ferv'd on him; he may
fecure his Eftate from the Execution, as well as
his Perfon, and fo never pay the Debt at all; and
yet in the Eye of the Law be an honeft Man; and
this Part of legal literal Honeſty is ſupported on-
ly by the other, namely, the cruel Part; for real-
ly fuch a Man, fpeaking in the Senfe of common
Juftice, is a Knave; he ought to act according to
the true Intent and Meaning of his Obligation, and
in the Right of a Debtor to a Creditor, which is
to pay him his Money when it became due, not
ftand out to the laſt, becauſe he cannot be forc’d
to it fooner.
The Laws of the Country indeed allow fuch
Actions as the Laws of Confciense can by no
Means allow, as in this Cafe of the Greditor
fuing for his Debt, and the Debtor not paying it
till he is forced by Law. The Argument made
Uſe of to vindicate the Morality of fuch a Pra
tice, ftands thus:
If a Man trufts me with his Money or Goods,
upon my common Credit, or upon my Word, he
then takes me for his Money, and depends both
D 2
upen
A
[ 36 ]
++
!
}
ཡས
upon my Ability and my Honefty; but if he
comes and demands my Bond, he quits his De-
pendence upon my Honefty, and takes the Law
for his Security; fo that the Language of fuch an
Action is, He will have a Bond, that it may be
in his Power, to make me pay him, whether I
will or no; and as for my Honefty, he'll have no-
thing to do with it: What Relief then I can have
againſt this Bond, by the fame Law, to which
the Perfon refers himſelf, is as legal an Action on
mý Side, as the other Man's fuing for his own,
is on his.
And thus the Letter of the Law will ruine the
Honeſty of both Debitor and Creditor, and yet
both fhall be juftify'd too.
But if I may give my Opinion in this Cafe, nei-
ther of theſe are the honeft Man I am ſpeaking of;
for Honefty does not confift of Negatives; and
'tis not fufficient to do my Neighbour no perfo-
nal Injury in the ftri& Senfe and Letter of the Law ;
but I am bound, where Cafes and Circumftances
make other Mea fures reafonable, to have fuch Re-
gard to theſe Cafes and Circumftances, as Rea-
fon requires. Thus to begin with the Creditor
to the Debtor, Reafon requires, that where a
Man is reduc'd to Extremities,, he fhould not be
deftroy'd for Debt; and what's unreafonable can-
not be honeſt.
}
Debt is no capital Crime, nor ever was; and
ftarving Men in Prifon, a Punifhment worſe than
the Gallows, feems to be a Thing fo fevere, as
it ought not to be in the Power of a Creditor
to inflict it: The Laws of God never tolerated
fuch a Method of treating Debtors, as we have
fince thought proper, I won't fay honeft, to put
in Practice: But fince the Politicks of the Nation,
have left the Debtor fo much at Mercy by the
Letter
[ 37 ]
}
Letter of the Law, 'tis honeft with Refpe& to
the Law, to proceed fo; yet Compaffion is in
this Caſe thought reaſonable; Why shou'dft thou
take his Bed from under him? fays the Text; which
implies, 'tis unnatural and unreaſonable.
I have heard fome Men infift upon it, that if
a Man be fued wrongfully at Law, he ought ra-
ther to fubmit to the Injury, than to oppofe the
Wrong, by the fame Law; and yet I never found
thofe Gentlemen fo paffive in Matters of Law,
but they would fue a Debtor at Law, if they could
not otherwife obtain their Right.
I confefs, I cannot blame them for the laft,
but I blame them for pretending to
to the firft:
I am not arguing againft recovering a juft Debt
by a jult Law, where the Perfon is able, but un-
willing to be honeft: But I think, purſuing the
Debtor to all Extremities, to the turning his Wife
and Children into the Street, expreſs'd in the
Scripture by, Taking his Bed from under him; and
by keeping the Debtor in Prifon, when really he
is not able to pay it; there is fomething of Cruel-
ty in it, and the honeft Man, I am ſpeaking of,
can never do it.
But fome may object, if I muſt ferve all Man-
kind, as I would be ferv'd in like Cafe, then I
muſt relieve every Beggar, and releaſe every poor
Debtor; for if I was a Beggar, I would be re-
liev'd; and if I was in Prifon, I would be releas'd;
and fo I must give away all I have. This is inver-
ting the Argument; for the Meaning is in the
Negative ftill, Do not to another any Thing, or
put no Hardſhip upon another, which you would
not allow to be juft, if you were in their
Cafe.
Honefty is Equity, every Man is Lord Chan-
cellor to himſelf; and if he would confult that
D 3
Princi-
1
་
1
1
[ 38 ]
{
Principle within him, would find Reafon as fair
an Advocate for his Neighbour, as for him-
felf: But I proceed.
233
Of the Tryal of HONESTY.
N
Eceffity makes an honeſt Man a Knave
and if the World was to be the Judge
according to the common receiv'd No-
tion, there would not be an honeſt poor
Man left alive.
A rich Man is an honeft Man, no Thanks to
him; for he would be a double Knave to cheat
Mankind, when he had no Need of it: He has
no Occafion to prefs upon his Integrity, nor fo
much as to touch upon the Borders of Difhone-
fty. Tell me of a Man, that is a very honeft
Man; for he pays every Body punctually, runs
into no body's Debt, does no Man any Wrong;
very well, What Circumftances is he in? Why,
he has a good Eftate, a fine yearly Income, and
no Bufinefs to do. The Devil muſt have full Pof-
feffion of this Man, if he fhould be a Knave; for
no Man commits Evil for the Sake of it; even the
Devil himself has fome farther Defign in Sinning,
than barely the wicked Part of it. No Man is
fo hardned in Crimes, as to commit them for the
meer Pleaſure of the Fact; there is always fome.
Vice gratify'd; Ambition, Pride, or Avarice,
make rich Men Knaves, and Neceffity, the Poor:
But to go on with this rich honeft Man; his
Neighbour a thriving Merchant, and whofe Ho-
nefty had as untainted a Character, as he can
pretend
[39]
pretend to, has a rich Ship caft away, or a Fa-
tor Abroad broke in his Debt, and his Bills
come back protefted, and he fails, is fain to ab-
fcond, and make a Compofition: Our rich ho-
neſt Man flies out upon him preſently, he is a
Knave, a Rogue, and don't pay People what he
owes them; and we fhould have a Law, That
he that runs into Debt farther than he is able to
pay, fhould be hang'd; and the like. If the poor
Man is laid Hold on by fome Creditor, and put
in Prifon; ay, there let him lye, he deſerves it ;
'twill be an Example to keep others from the
like; and now when all is done, this broken Mer-
chant may be as honeft a Man as the other.
You fay, you are an honeft Man, How do you
know it? Did you ever want Bread, and had
you Neighbour's Loaf in your Keeping, and
would ſtarve rather than eat it? Was you ever ar-
refted, and being not able by your felf or Friends,
to make Peace with your Plaintiff, and at the
fame Time having another Man's Money in your
Caſh Cheft, committed to your Keeping, fuffer'd
your felt to be carry'd to Jayl, rather than break
Bulk, and break in upon your Truſt. God him-
felf has declar'd, That the Power of Extremity
is irrefiftible, and that fo, as to our Integrity,
that he has bid us not defpife the Thief that ſteals
in fuch a Cafe; not that the Man is lefs a Thief,
or the Fact lefs difhoneft: But the Text is moft
remarkably worded for Inftruction, in this Point;
Don't you defpife the Man; But remember, if
you were driven to the fame Exigence, you would
be the fame Man, and do the fame Thing, tho
now you fancy your Principle fo good; therefore,
whatever his Crime may be as to God, don't re-
proach him with it here; but you that think you
tand, take heed, leaft you fall.
D 4
I am
[:40 ]
}
I am of the Opinion, that I could ftate a Cir
cumftance, in which there is not one Man in the
World would be honeft: Neceffity is above the
Power of human Nature; and for Providence
to fuffer a Man to fall into that, Neceffity, is to
fuffer him to fin; becaufe Nature is not furnish'd
with Power to defend it felf, nor is Grace itſelf
able to fortify the Mind againft it.
- What fhall we fay to five Men in a Boat at Sea,
without Provifion, calling, a Council together,
and refolving to kill one of themfelves for the
others to feed on, and eat him? With what Face
could the four look up, and crave a Bleffing on
that Meat? With what Heart give Thanks after
it? And yet this has been done by honeft Men;
and I believe, the honefteft Man in the World
might be forc'd to it; yet here is no Manner of
Pretence, but Neceffity, to palliate the Crime,
If it be argued 'twas the Lofs of one Man to
fave the Four, tis anfwered, But what Authority
to make him die to fave their Lives? How came
the Man to owe them fuch a Debt? 'Twas Rob-
bery and Murder; 'twas robbing him of his Life,
which was his, Property to preferve mine; 'tis
Murder, by taking away the Life of an innocenr
Man; and at beft 'twas doing Evil that Good
may come, which is exprefsly forbidden.
But there is a Kind of Equity pleaded in this
Cafe; generally when Men are brought to fuch a
Pafs, they caft Lots who fhall be the Man, and
the voluntary Confent of the Party makes it law-
ful (God himſelf being fuppos'd to determine who
hall be the Man) which I deny; for it is in no
Man's Power legally to confent to fuch a Lot;
no Man has a Right to give away his own Life;
he may forfeit it to the Law, and looſe it; but
that's a Crime againſt himſelf, as well as againſt
the
哆
​1
[41]
}
the Law; and the four Men might by our Law have
been try'd and hang'd for Murder. All that can be
faid is, That Neceffity makes the higheſt Crimes
lawful, and Things Evil in their own Nature are
made practicable by it. From thefe Extremes
of Neceffity, we come to lighter Degrees of it;
and fo let us bring our honeft Man to fome Exieng-
cies. He would not wrong any Man of a Farthing;
he could not fleep if he fhould be in any body's
Debt; and he cannot be an honeſt Man that can.
That we may fee now, whether this Man's
Honefty lyes any deeper than his Neighbour's,
turn the Scale of his Fortune a little: His
Father left him a good Eftate, but here comes
fome Relations, and they trump up a Title to his
Lands, and ſerve Ejectments upon his Tenants;
and fo the Man gets into Trouble, Hurry of
Bufinefs, and the Law: The extravagant Charges
of the Law fink him of all his ready Money, and
his Rents being ſtopp'd, the firſt Breach he makes
upon his Honeſty (that is, by his former Rules) he
goes to a Friend to borrow Money, tells him this
Matter will be over he hopes quickly, and he
fhall have his Rents to receive, and then he will
pay him again; and really he intends to do fo:
But here comes a Difappointment, the Tryal
comes on, and he is caft, and his Title to the
Eſtate proves defective; his Father was cheated,
and he not only lofes the Eftate, but is call'd up-
on for the Arrears of the Rent he has receiv'd;
and in fhort, the Man is undone, and has not a
Penny to buy Bread, or help himſelf; and beſides,
this cannot pay the Money he borrowed.
•
Now, turn to his Neighbour, the Merchant,
whom he had fo loudly call'd Knave, for Breaking
in his Trade, he by this Time has made up with
his Creditors, and got Abroad again; and he meets
;
him
[ 42 ]
3
1
}
him in the Street in his dejected Circumftances,
Well, fays the Merchant, and Why don't you pay
my Coufin, your old Neighbour, the Money you borrow-
ed of him? Truly, fays he, because I have loft all my
Eftate, and can't pay, nay I have nothing to live on.
Well, but, returns the Merchant,Wan't you a Knave,
to borrow Money, and now can't pay it? Why truly,
fays the Gentleman, When I borrowed it, I really
defign'd to be honeft, and did not queftion but I should
have my Eftate again, and then I had been able alfo,
and would have paid him to a Penny, but it has pro-
ved otherwife; and tho' I would pay him, if I had
it, yet I am not able. Well but, fays the Merchant
again, Did you not call me Knave, tho' I loft my Eftate
Abroad, by unavoidable Difafters, as you have loft
yours at Home? Did you not upbraid me, becauſe I
could not pay? I would have paid every Body, if
could, as well as you. Why truly, fays the Gentle
man, I was a Fool, I did not confider what it was
to be brought to Neceffity, I ask
you Pardon.
Now, let's carry on this Story: The Mer-
chant compounds with his Creditors, and paying
every one a juft Proportion, as far as 'twill go,
gets himſelf diſcharg'd; and being bred to Bufi-
nefs, and induttrious, falls into Trade again, and
raiſes himſelf to good Circumftances; and at laft,
a lucky Voyage, or fome Hit of Trade, fets him
above the World again: The Man remembring
his former Debts, and retaining his Principle
of Honefty, calls his old Creditors together; and
tho' he was formerly difcharg'd from them all, vo-
luntarily pays them the Remainder of their Debts.
The Gentleman being bred to no Bufinefs, and
his Fortune defperate, goes Abroad, and gets in-
to the Army, and behaving himſelf well, is made
an Officer; and ftill rifing by his Merit, becomes
a great Man, but in his new Condition troubles
not
[ 43 ]
I t
not his Head with his former Debts in his native
Country, but fettles in the Court and Favour of
the Prince, under whom he has made his Fortunes,
and there fets up for the fame honeft Man he did
before.
I think I need not ask which of theſe two are
the honest Man, any more than which was the
honeft Penitent, the Pharifee or the Publican.
Honeſty, like Friendſhip, is try'd in Affliction;
and he that cries out loudeft againſt thoſe who in
the Time of this Tryal are forc'd to give Ground,
would perhaps yield as far in the like Shock of
Misfortune.
•
To be honeft when Peace and Plenty flows
upon our Hands, is owing to the Bleffing of our
Parents; but to be honeft, when Circumftances
grow narrow, Relations turbulent and quarrel-
fome, when Poverty ftares at us, and the World
threatens; this Bleffing is from Heaven, and can
only be fupported from thence. God Al-
mighty is very little beholding to them, who will
ferve him juft as long as he feeds them. 'Twas
a ſtrong Argument the Devil ufed in that Dia-
logue between Sathan and his Maker about Job.
Yes he is a mighty good Man, and a mighty juft
Man, and well he may, while you give him every Thing
be wants: I wou'd ferve you my ſelf, and be as true
to you as Job, if you wou'd be as kind and as boun-
tiful to me, as you are to him: But now, do but lay
your Finger on him; do but ſtop your Hand a little, and
cut him short; ftrip him a little, and make him like
one of thofe poor Fellows that now bow to him, and you
will quickly fee your good Man be like other Men; nay,
the Paffion he will be in at his Loffes, will make him
curfe you to your Face. 'Tis true, the Devil was
miſtaken in the Man, but the Argument had a
great deal of Probability in it, and the Moral may
be
1
[ 44 ]
T/
be drawn, both from the Argument and from the
Confequences.
4
I. That 'tis an eafy Thing to maintain the Cha-
racter of Honeſty and Uprightnefs, when a Man
has no Bufinefs to be in employ'd in, and no Want
to preſs him.
II. That when Exigences and Diftreffes pinch
a Man, then is the Time to prove the Honefty of
his Principle.
¡
The profperous honeft Man can only by boa-
fting tell the World he is honeſt, but the diftrefs'd
and ruin'd honeft Man hears other People tell
him he is honeſt.
In this Cafe therefore, fince Allowance muft
be made for human Infirmities, we are to di-
ftinguish between an Accident and a Practice. I
am not pleading to encourage any Man to make
no Scruple of trefpaffing upon his Honeſty in Time
of Neceffity: But I cannot condemn every Man
for a Knave, who by unufual Preffures, Straits,
Difficulties, or other Temptation, has been left
to flip, and do an ill Action, as we call it,
which perhaps this Perfon would never have
ftoop'd to, if the Exigence had not been too
great for his Refolution. The Scripture fays of
David, He was a Man after God's own Heart; and
yet we have feveral Things recorded of him,
which, according the modern Way of cenfuring
People in this Age, would have given him the
Character of a very ill Man: But I conceive, the
Teftimony of David's Uprightnefs, given us fo
authentickly from the Scripture, is given from
this very Rule, That the Inclination of his Heart,
and the general Bent of his Practice, was to forve
and obey his Great Sovereign Benefactor, how-
ever,
"
[ 45 ]
•
ever, human Frailty, back'd with Extremities of
Circumſtances, or powerful Temptations, might
betray him, to commit Actions which he would-
not otherwife have done. The Falling into a Crime,
will not denominate a Man difhoneft; for huma-
num eft errare. The Chara&er of a Man ought
to be taken from the general Tenour of his Be-
haviour, and from his allowed Practice. David
took the Shew-Bread from the Priefts, which it
was not lawful for him to eat. David knew, that
God, who commanded the Shew-Bread fhould not
be eaten, had however commanded him by the Law
of Nature, not to be ftarv'd; and therefore, prefs'd
by his Hunger,he ventures upon the Commandment.
And the Scripture is very remarkable in expreffing it,
David when he was an hungry: And the Occafion for
which our Bleffed Lord himſelf quoted this Text,
is very remarkable. viz. to prove, that Things
otherwife unlawful, may be made lawful by Ne-
ceffity, Matth. xii. 4.
Another Time, David in his Paffion refolves
the Deſtruction of Nabal and all his Family,
which, without Doubt, was a great Sin; and
the Principle which he went upon, to wit, Re-
venge for his churlish and faucy Anfwer to him,
was ftill a greater Sin; but the Temptation back'd
by the Strength of his Paffion, had the better of him
at that Time: And this upright honeſt Man had
murder'd Nabal and all his Houfe, if God had
not prevented him.
Many Inftances of like Nature the Scripture
has left upon Record, giving Teftimony to the
Character of good Men, from the general Practice
and Bent of their Hearts, without leaving any
Reproach upon them for particular Failings, tho
thofe Sins have been extraordinary provoking, and
in their Circumftances fcandalous enough.
If
1
1
1
[46].
If any Man would be fo weak as from hence
to draw Encouragement to allow himſelf in eaſy
Trefpaffes upon his Honefty, on the Pretence of
Neceffities, let him go on with me to the fur-
ther End of this Obfervation, and find room for
it if he can.
If ever the honeft Man I ſpeak of, by what-
foever Exigence or Weakneſs, thus flips from the
Principle of his Integrity, he never fails to ex-
prefs his own Diflike of it; he acknowledges up-
all Occafions, both to God and to Man, his
having been overcome; and been prevail'd upon
to do, what he does not approve of; he is too
much afham'd of his own Infirmity, to pretend
to vindicate the Action, and he certainly is re-
ftor'd to the firft Regulation of his Principles, as
foon as the Temptation is over. No Man is
fonder to accufe him than he is to accufe himſelf,
and he has always upon him the fincere Marks
of a Penitent.
"Tis plain from hence, that the Principle of
the Man's Integrity is not deftroy'd, however,
he may have fallen, tho' feven times a Day;
and I muſt while I live reckon him for an honeſt
Man.
Nor am I going about to ſuppoſe, that the Ex-
tremities and Exigencies which have preſs'd Men
of the beſt Principles, to do what at another time
they would not do, make thofe Actions become
lefs Sinful, either in their own Nature or Circum-
ftances. The Guilt of a Crime with refpe& to
its being a Crime, viz. an Offence againſt God, is
not removed by the Circumſtances of Neceffity.
It is without Doubt a Sin for me to fteal ano-
ther Man's Food, tho' it was to fupply Starving
Nature; for how do I know whether he whofe
Food I fteal may not be in as much Danger of
3
Starving
[ 47 ]
Starving for want of it, as I; and if not; *tis taking
to my own Ufe what I have no Right to, and
taking it by Force or Fraud; and the Queſtion
is not as to the Right or Wrong, whether I have
a Neceffity to eat this Man's Bread or no; but
whether it be his or my own? If it be his, and
not my own, I cannot do it without a manifeft
Contempt of God's Law, and breaking the
Eighth Article of it, Thou shalt not Steal. Thus
as to God, the Crime is evident, let the Neceffity
be what it will.
But when we are confidering human Nature
fubje&ted by the Confequences of Adam's Tranf-
greffion, to Frailty and Infirmity; and regarding
things from Man to Man, the Exigencies and Ex-
tremities of ftreightned Circumſtances ſeem to
me to be moſt prevailing Arguments, why the
Denomination of a Man's general Character ought
not, by his fellow Mortals (fubject to the fame
Infirmities) to be gathered from his Miſtakes, his
Errors or Failings, no not from his being guilty
of any extraordinary Sin, but from the Manner
and Method of his Behaviour. Does he go on
to commit Frauds, and make a Practice of his
Sin? Is it a Diftrefs? Is it a Storm of Afflictior,
and Poverty has driven him upon the Lee Shore
of Temptation? Or is the Sin the Port he fteer'd
for? A Ship may by Strefs of Weather be driven
upon Sands and dangerous Places, and the Skill
of the Pilot not be blameable; but he that runs
againſt the Wind, and without any Neceffity,
upon a Shelve which he fees before him, muſt do
do it on purpoſe to deſtroy the Veffel, and ruine
the Voyage.
In fhort, if no Man can be call'd honeft, but
he who is never overcome, to fall into any Breach
of this Rectitude of Life; none but he who
ᎥᎦ
1
[ 48 ]
1
1
is fufficiently fortified againſt all Poffibility of
being tempted by profpects, or driven by Diftrefs,
to make any Treſpaſs upon his Integrity; Woe be
unto me that Write, and to moft that Read, where
fhall we find the honeft Man?.
The Scripture is particularly expreffive of this
in the The Righteous Man falleth feven times
a Day, and rifeth again. Why, this is very ftrange,
f a Man come, to commit feven Crimes in a Day,
hat is, many, for the Meaning is Indefinite, can
this be an honeft Man?: What fays the World of
him? Hang him, he is a Knave, a Raſcal, a Dif-
honeft Fellow; this is the Judgment of Men: But
in the Judgment of Scripture this may be a
Righteous Man.
The main Deſign, of this Head and the proper
Application of it is, to tell us we ought not be
too hafty to Brand our Brother for his Sins,
his Infirmities or Misfortunes, fnce he that is Dif-
honeft in your Eyes, by a cafual or other Crime
which he Commits, may rife from that Diſaſter
by a fincere Repentance, and be to morrow an
honefter Man than thy felf in the Eyes of his
Maker.
Bur here I am affaulted with another cenfo-
rious honeft Man; here you talk of falling to
Day, and rifing again to Morrow; Sinning and
Repenting; why here is a Fellow has cheated me
of 500 l. and he comes canting to me of his Re-
pentance, tells me he hopes God has forgiven
him; and it would be hard for me to call to Re-
membrance what God has wip'd out; he is
heartily forry for the Fault, and the like, and
begs my Pardon, that is, begs my Eftate indeed :
For what's all this to my Money, let him pay me
and I'll forgive him too; God may forgive him
the Sin, but that's nothing to my Debt.
Why
[ 49 ]
7
Why truly, in Anſwer to this in Part, you are
in the Right if the Man be able to make you any
Satisfaction, and does not do it; for I queftion
not, but every Trefpafs of this Nature requires
Reftitution, as well as Repentance; Reftitution as
far as the poffible Power of the Party extends ; and
if the laft be not found, the firft is not likely to
be fincere.
But if the Man, either is not able to make you
any Reſtitution at all, or does make you Reftituti-
on to the utmoſt of his Capacity, and then comes
and fays as before; then the Poor Man is in
the Right, and you in the Wrong; for I make no
Queſtion likewife to affirm, and could prove it by
unanswerable Arguments, He may be an Honest Man
who cannot pay his Debts, but he cannot be an Honest
Man who can, and does not.
Innumerable Accidents reduce Men from Plen-
tiful Fortunes to mean and low Circumftances;
fome procur'd by their own Vices and Intempe-
rance, fome by Infirmities, Ignorance, and meer
want of Judgment to manage their Affairs:
Some by the Frauds and Cheats of other Men,
fome by meer, Cafualty and unavoidable Acci-
dents, wherein the Sovereignty of Providence
fhews us, that the Race is not to the Swift, or
the Battle to the Strong, or Riches to Men of
Underſtanding.
Firft, Some by Vices and Intemperance are re-
duc'd to Poverty and Diftrefs: Our Honeft Man
cannot fall in the Misfortunes of this Clafs, be-
cauſe there the very Poverty is a Sin, being produc'd
from a finful Caufe. As its far from being al-
low'd, as an Excufe to a Murtherer, to fay he
was in Drink, becauſe it is excufing a Crime
with a Crime: So for a Man to ruin his For-
tunes, as the Prodigal in the Goſpel, with riot-
E
Ous
[ 50 ]
}
}
}
ous Living, all the Effects are wicked and dif
honeft, as they partake of the Difhonefty of the
Caufe from whence they proceed: For he cannot
be an honeſt Man, who wants wherewith to pay
his Debts, after having fpent what should have
difcharg'd them, in Luxury and Debauches.
Secondly, Some by Ignorance and want of Judg-
ment to manage their Affairs, are brought to
Poverty and Diftrefs; thefe may be honeſt Men,
notwithſtanding their Weakneſs, for I won't un-
dertake that none of our honeft Men fhall be
Fools: 'Tis true the good Man, is the wife Man,
as to the main Part of Wifdom, which is in-
cluded, in his Piety, but many a Religious Man
who would not do any Wrong wilfully to his
Neighbour, is oblig'd at laft to injure both his
own Family, and other People's, for want of Dif
cretion to guide him in his Affairs, and to judge for
himſelf: and therefore I dare not Tax all our
Fools with being Knaves, nor will I fay but fuch a
Man may be Honeft. Some will fay, but fuch
a Man ſhould not venture into Bufinefs, which he
is not able to manage, and therefore 'twas the
Vice of his Underſtanding, and like the Cafe in
the firſt Article, is excufing a Fault with a
Fault.
I cannot allow this, for if I am askt why a
Fool ventures into Trade, I anfwer, becauſe he
is a Fool, not becauſe he is a Knave.
If Fools could their own Ignorance difcern,
They'd be no longer Fools, because they'd learn.
}
If you would convince a Man that he wants
Difcretion, you must give him Difcretion to be
convinc'd: 'Till then he cannot know he has it
not, becauſe he has it not. No Man is anfwerable,
either
...
1
[ 51 ]
no
either to God or Man, for that which he never
was Mafter of: The moft proper Expreffion
that ever I met with in this Nature, was of a
'certain Ideot or Natural, which a Gentleman
of my Acquaintance kept in his Family, who
being on his Death-Bed, was obferv'd to be very
the
penfive, and much concern'd about dying;
Gentleman fent a Minifter to him, who as well
as he could to his Underſtanding, difcourfed with
him about Death and Judgment to come; the
poor Creature who was hardly ever able to give
a rational Anſwer to a Queſtion before, after
hearing him very attentively, broke out into
Tears with thisExpreffion, That he hoped God would
not require any Thing of him, that he had not given
him Judgment to understand. Whatever it may
as to the Soul, I am poſitive in the Caſe of human
Affairs, no Man is anfwerable to Man for any
more than his Difcretion; Events are not in our
Power, a Man may be nicely Honeft in Life, tho'
he may be weak enough in Judgment.
Thirdly, Some are ruin'd, and are yet merely
paffive, being either defrauded and cheated by
Knaves, or plundered and rifled by Thieves, or
by immediate Caſualties, as Fire, Enemies, Storms,
Floods, and the like; thefe are Things which nei-
ther touch the Man's Honefty, nor his Difcre-
tion. Thus Job was by God's Permiffion and
the Agency of the Devil, - reduc'd in a Moment
from a plentiful Eftate to be as naked as he
came out of his Mother's Womb: I would fain
ask thoſe who fay, no Man can be an honeft
Man if he does not pay his Debts, who paid
Job's Debts if he own'd any, and where was his
Difhonefty, if he did not pay them ? I ſtill rea-
dily grant that he cannot be an honeft Man who
does not pay his Debts if he can; but if other-
E 2
་་་
wife
be
!
2
1
[ 52 ]
wife, then the Words ought to be altered, and
they ſhould fay, he cannot be an honeſt Man
who borrows any Money, or buysany Thing up-
on his Credit, and this cannot be true.
1
But fince I have led myfelf into the Argument,
I cannot but make a fmall Digreffion concerning
People who fail in Trade: I conceive the greateſt
Error of fuch is their Terror about Breaking, by
which they are tempted while their Credit is
good, tho' their Bottom be naught, to puſh far-
ther in; expecting, or at leaft hoping, by the Pro-
fits of fome happy Voyage, or fome lucky Hit,
as they call it, to retrieve their Circumftances,
and ftand their Ground.
I must confefs, I cannot vindicate the Honefty
of this; for he, who knowing his Circumſtances
to be once naught, and his Bottom worn out,;
ought not in Juftice to enter into any Man's Debt;
for Then he Trades on their Rifque, not on his
own, and yet Trades for his own Profits, not
theirs; this is not fair, becauſe he deceives the
Creditor, who ventures his Eſtate on that Bot-
tom which he ſuppoſes to be good, and the o-
ther knows is not. Nay, tho' he really pays
this Creditor, he is not honeft; for in Confci-
ence, his former Creditors. had a Right to all
his Effects, in Proportion to their Debts; and if
he really pays one all, and the reft but a Share,
'tis a Wrong to the whole.
Y
I would therefore adviſe all Tradeſmen, who
find their Circumftances declining, as foon, at
leaft, as they firft difcern themſelves to be unca-
pable of paying their Debts, if not, while yet
they can pay every one all, make a full Stop,
and call all People together; if there is enough
to pay them all, let them have it, if not, let
them have their juft Shares of it; by this Means
1
you
[ 53 ]
you will certainly have God's Bleffing, and the
Character of an honeft Man, left to begin again
with; and Creditors are often prevail'd with, in
Confideration of fuch a generous Honefty, to
throw back fomething to put fuch a Man in a
Pofture to live again; or by further voluntary Cre-
dit and Friend@hip, to uphold him. This is much
better alfo with refpect to Intereft, as well as Ho-
nefty, than to run on to all Extremities, till the
Burthen falls too heavy, either for Debtor or
Creditor to bear: This would prevent many of
the Extremities, which, I fay, puts the Honefty
of a Man to fo extraordinary a Tryal.
1
An honeſt Principle would certainly dictate to
the Man, if it were confulted with, that, when
he knows he is not able to pay, it is not lawful
for him to borrow. Taking Credit is a Promiſe
of Payment; a Promife of. Payment is tacitly
underſtood, and he cannot be honeft who promifes
what he knows he cannot perform, as I fhall
note more at large on another Head. But if the
Man be paid, yet it was not an honeft Act;
twas deceiving the Man, and making him run a
greater Rifque than he knew of, and fuch a Rifque
as he would not have run, had he known your
Circumſtances and Bottom, as you do; ſọ that
here is Deceit upon Deceit.:
This I know is a difputed Point, and a Thing
which a great many practife, who pafs for very ho-
heft Men in the World; but I like it not the better
for that; I am very poſitive, that he who takes
my Goods on the Foot of his Credit, when if
he ſhould dye the next Day, he knows his Eftate
will not pay me five Shillings in the Pound;
tho' he fhould not dye, but does pay me at the
Time appointed, is as much guilty of a Fraud,
as if he actually robb'd my Houfe. Credit is a
£ 3
receiv'd
1
[54]
+
receiv'd Opinion of a Man's Honefty and Abili
ty, his Willingneſs to pay, and his having where-
with to pay; and he who wants either of thefe,
his Credit is lame. Men won't fell their Goods
to a litigious quarrelfome Man, tho' he be never
fo rich, nor to a needy Man, tho' he be never
fo honeft. Now, if all the World believe I
am honeft and able, and I know I am not the
laft, I cannot be the firft, if I take their Goods
upon Credit; 'tis vain to pretend, Men Trade
upon the general Rifque of Mens Appearance,
and the Credit of common Fame, and all Men
have an equal Hazard. Ifay no: Men may ven-
ture their Eſtates in the Hands of a flouriſhing
Bankrupt, and he by Virtue of his yet unfhaken
"Credit is trufted; but he cannot be honeft that
takes this Credit, becauſe he knows his Circum
ftances are quite otherwife than they are fup-
pos'd to be, that the Man is deceiv'd, and he is
privy to the Deceit.
This Digreffion is not fo remote from the pur-
pofe, as I expected, when I began it; the Honefty
that I am fpeaking of, chiefly refpects Matters.
of Commerce, of whch Crèdit and Payment of
Debt are the moft confiderable Branches.
There is another Article in Trade, which
many very honeft Men have made familiar to
themſelves, which yet I think, is in no Cafe to
be defended; and that is relating to Counterfeit
Money. Cuftom, before the old Money was
fupprefs'd in England, had prevail'd fo far upon
Honeſty, that I have feen fome Men put all their
Brafs Money among their runing Cafh, to be told
X over in every Sum they paid, in Order to have
fomebody or other take it; I have heard many
People own they made no Scruple of it, but I
could never find them give one good Reaſon to
juftify the Honefty of it.
Firft,
[ 55 ]
!
First, They fay it comes for Money, and it
ought to go fo: To which I Anfwer, that is
juft as good a Reafon as this: A has cheated me,
and therefore I may Cheat B. If I have receiv-
ed a Sum of Money for good, and knowing not
that any of it is otherwife, offer it in Payment to
another: This is Juft and Honeft; but, if on this
other Man's telling it over, he returns me a Piece
of Brafs or Counterfeit Money which I change
again, and afterwards knowing this to be fuch,
offer the fame Piece to another: I know no worfe
Fraud in its Degree in the World, and I doubt
not to prove it fo beyond Contradi&tion.
If the firft Perfon did not take this Piece of
Money, it was becauſe being both watchful and
skilful, he could difcover it; and if I offer it
to another 'tis with an Expectation, that he being
either lefs watchful or lefs skillful, fhall overlook
it, and fo I fhall make an Advantage of my
Neighbour's Ignorance, or want of Care.
3
I'll put fome parallel Cafes to this, to illuftrate
it: Suppoſe a blind Man comes into a Shop tą
buy Goods of me, and giving me a Guinea to
change, I fhall give him the Remainder in bad Mo-
ney; would not every Body fay 'twas a barbarous
Thing? Why the other is all one, for if the Perfon
be ignorant of Money, he is blind as to the Point
in Hand; and nothing can be more unfair than
to take the Advantage.
}
Suppoſe again a young Boy, or a Servant new-
ly entred in Trade, is fent to buy Goods, and
by his Maſter's Order, he asks for fuch a Com-
modity; and you prefuming upon the Rawneſs
of the Meffenger, deliver a Sort of a meaner
Quality, and take the full Price of him; would
you grudge to be uſed fcurvily for fuch a Trick ?
Why, no less or better is Offering Brafs for Silver,
E 4
PIC=
[56]
\
prefuming only the want of Care or Skill in the
Receiver, fhall pass it unobferv'd.
$
Ay, but fays a learned Tradefman who would be
thought honeſter than ordinary; I always change
Ί
it again, if it be brought back: Yes Sir, fo does a
Pick-Pocket give you your Handkerchief again
when you have faften'd on him, and threaten'd him
with the Mob. The Matter in fhort is this; if
the Man whom you have cheated, can cheat no
Body elfe, then no Thanks to you; when he
comes to you, and charges the Fraud upon you,
you'll make Satisfaction, becauſe if you won't,
the Law will compel you to it.
But if the Fraud may be carried on, as you
are manifeftly willing, confenting, and inftrumen-
tal in it that it fhould; behold the Confequence,
your firſt fin againſt Honefty is multiplied in all
the Hands thro' whom this Piece of bad Money
knowingly fo paffes, till at laft it happens to go
fingle to a poor. Man that can't put it off, and
the Wrong and Injury may iffue where it was
wanted to buy Bread for a ftarving Family.
All the Excufes. I could ever meet with could
never fatisfy me, that it can confift with Honefty,
to put Brafs or Copper away for Gold or Silver,
any more than it would, to give a blind Meffen-
ger Sand inftead of Sugar, or brown Bread inftead
of white.
•
,
ว
}
1
Y
Of
1
t
[ 57 ]
1
Of HONESTY in Promiſes.
A
Man is known by his Word, and an Ox by
his Horns, fays an old English Proverb.
If I underſtand the true Meaning of it,
'tis, that theHonefty of a Man is known
by his punctual obferving his Word, as naturally
and plainly as any Creature is known by the
moft obvious Diftination. 'Tis the peculiar
Quality of an honeft Man, the diftinguishing
Mark to know him by. His Word or Promife is
as facred to him in all his Affairs in the World,
as the ſtrongeſt Obligation which can be laid on
him; nor is it a Thing form'd by him from fet-
tled Refolutions, or Meaſures of Policy taken
up of courſe to raiſe or fix his Reputation; but
'tis the native Produce of his honeft Principle:
'Tis the Confequence, and his Honefty is the
Caufe; he ceafes to be Honeft, when he ceaſes
to preſerve this folemn Regard to his Word.
If he gives his Word, any Man may depend
upon it, for the Safety of his Life or Eftate; he
fcorns to prevaricate or fhift himſelf off from the
punctual Obfervance of it, tho' it be to his Lofs.
I can't abate an honeft Man an Inch in the pun-
&tural Obfervance of a Promiſe made upon Parole,
if it be in the Man's poffible Power to perform
it, becauſe there feems to be fomething too baſe
to confift, with Honefty in the very Nature of a
Man that can go back from his Word.
The Reverence our Anceſtors paid to their
Promiſes, or Word paft, I am of the Opinion,
...
•
gave
[ 58 ]
LL
1
gave that remarkable Brand of Infamy and Scan-
dal upon the Affront of giving the Lie; a Gentle
man, which is, in fhort, the modern Term for an
honest Man, or, a Man of Honour, cannot receive
a greater Reproach, than to be told, he lies; that
is, that he forfeits his Word, breaks his Veraci
ty; for the Minute he does that, he ungentlemans
himfelf, difgraces the Blood of his Family, de-
generates from his Anceſtors, and commences
Rake, Scoundrel, and any Thing.
Some People, who have run their Points of Ho-
nour to the Extreams, are of the Opinion, that
this Affront of the Lie ought not to be given to
any Thing they call a Gentleman, or that calls
himſelf fo, till he has fo far expofed himſelf to
all other Degrees of Infamy, as to bear Kicking,
or Caning, and the like; that after this, when he
breaks his Word, he may be told, he lies, or any
Thing elfe; but till then, the very Thing it felf
is fo intolerable an Abuſe, that the Perfon who
ventures to trefpafs fo foully on the Rules of good
Manners, deferves not the Honour of fair Play
for his Life: But as fome Beaſts of Prey are refu-
fed the fair Law of the Field, and are knock'd
down in every Hedge; fo thefe, like Bullies and
meer Rakes, may be piftol'd in the Dark, and
ftabb'd at the Corner of an Alley; that is to fay,
any Meaſure may be ufed with them, to difmifs
them from the Society of Mankind, as Fellows
not fufferable in the Common-wealth of good
Manners.
1
I do not argue for thefe Extremes; but I in-
ftance in this, to teftify the Veneration all good
Men have for the Word or Promife of an honeft
Man,and the Efteem which the Integrity of the Mind
exprefs'd by a zealous Regard to the Words of
the Mouth, have obtain'd in the World." The
*
French,
1
1
[59]
7
1
+7
French, when they express themſelves in Vindica-
tion of their Honour, always bring it about by
this, Je Suis homme de Parole, I am an honeft
Man, or a Man of my Word; that is, I am a
Man that may be trufted upon my Parole; for I
never break my Word.
Such was the Value put upon the Promiſes of
Men in former Time, that a Promife of Payment
of Money was recoverable in our Courts by Law,
till the Inconveniencies prov'd fo many, that an
Act was made on Purpoſe to reftrain it to a Sum
under ten Pounds: But to this Day, if a Man
promiſes Marriage to a Woman, efpecially if fhe
has granted him any Favours upon that Condition,
the Laws of the Land, which therein have Re-
gard to the Laws of Honour, will oblige him to
make it good, and allow it to be a fufficient Plea
to forbid his marrying with any body elſe.
There are innumerable Inftances of the Vene-
ration all Nations pay to the expreffive Article of
human Veracity. In the War, you meet with
frequent Inftances of Prifoners difmifs'd by a ge-
nerous Enemy, upon their Parole, either to pay
their Ranfom, or to procure fuch or fuch Condi-
tions, or come back and furrender themſelves Pri-
foners; and he that fhould forfeit this Parole,
wou'd be poſted in the Enemy's Army, and hiſs'd
out of his own.
A
I know nothing a wife Man would not chufe
to do, rather than by breaking his Word, give
the World fuch an undeniable Teftimony of his
being a Knave: This is that good Name which
Solomon lays is better than Life, and is a precious
Ointment, and which, when a Man has once loft, he
has nothing left worth keeping. A Man may even
hang himſelf out of the Way; for no Man that
looks like a Man, will keep his Company.
When
}
[60]
!
}
When a Man has once come to breaking his
Word, no Man, that has any Value for his Re-
putation, cares to be feen in his Company; but all
good Men fhun him, as if he were infected with
the Plague.
There are Men indeed, who will be exceeding
punctual to their Words and Promifes, who yet
cannot be call'd honeft Men, becauſe they have
other Vices and Excurfions that render them other
Ways wicked: Thefe give their Teftimony to
the Beauty of Honefty, by chufing it as the beft
Mask to put a Glofs upon their Actions, and con-
ceal the other Deformities of their Lives; and fo
Honesty, like Religion, is made Ufe of to dif
guile the Hypocrite, and raiſe a Reputation upon
the Shadow, by the Advantage it takes of the
real Eſteem the World has of the Subftance: I fay
of this Counterfeit-Honefty, as is faid of Religi
on in like Cafes.' If Honefty was not the moft 'ex-
cellent Attainment, twould not be made Ufe of
as the moſt ſpecious Pretence; nor is there a more
exquifite Way' for a Man to play the Hypocrite,
than to pretend an extraordinary Zeal to the
Performance of his Promifes; becaufe, when the
Opinion of any Man's Honefty that Way, has
fpread in the Thoughts of Men, there is nothing
fo great, but they will truft him with, nor fø
hard, but they will do it for him.'
/
All Men reverence an honeft Män; the Knaves
ftand in Awe of him, Fools adore him, and wife
Men love him; and thus is Virtue its own Re-
ward.
•
1 *
Honeft Men are in more Danger from this one
Hypocrite, than from 26 open Knaves'; for thefe
have a Mark plac'd upon them by their general
Character, as a Buoy upon a Rock to warn Stran-
from venturing upon it: But the Hypocrites are
gers
:
like
[61]
2
like a Pit cover'd over, like Shoals under Water,
and Danger conceal'd which cannot be ſeen. I
muft confefs, I have found theſe the moſt dan-
gerous, and have too deeply fuffer'd by throwing
my felf on theit Proteftations of Honefty: The
Efteem I always entertain'd of the moſt beautiful
Gift God has beftow'd, or Man could receive, has
made me the eaſier to be deceiv'd with the Re-
femblance of it.
So much as I, or any one elfe, by the Vitiouf
neſs of our own Nature, or the prevailing Force of
Accidents, Snares, and Temptations, have devia-
ted from this ſhining Principle, fo far we have been
fooliſh, as well as wicked; fo much we have to
repent of towards our Maker, and be afham'd of
towards our Neighbour.
For my Part, I am never backward to own,
let who will be the Reader of thefe Sheets," that
to the Diſhonour of my Maker, and the juft Scan-
dal of my own Honefty, I have not paid that due
Regard to the Rectitude of this Principle, which
my own Knowledge has own'd to be its due let
thoſe who have been jufter to themſelves, and
to the Giver of it, rejoice in the Happineſs, ra-
ther than triumph over the Infirmity.
But let them be fure, they have been juſter on
their own Parts; let them be pofitive, that their
own Integrity is untainted, and would abide all
the Tryals and Racks, that a ruin'd Fortune,
ftrong Temptations, and deep Diftreffes, could
'bring it into: Let them not boaft till thefe Dan-
gers are paft, and they put their Armour off; and
if they can do it then, I will freely acknowledge,
they have lefs need of Repentance than I.
Not that I pretend, as I noted before, and
fhall often repeat, that theſe Circumftances ren-
der my Failing, or any Man's elfe, the lefs a Sin,
but
ļ
'
+
1
}
[ 62 ]
1
but they make the Reafon,, Why we that have
fallen, fhould rather be pity'd than reproach'd by
thoſe who think they ftand; becaufe, when the
fame Affaults are made upon the Chaftity of
their Honour, it may be every jot as likely to be
proſtituted as their Neighbours.
And fuch is the Folly of Scandal, as well as
the Blindneſs of Malice, that it feldom fixes Re-
proach upon the right Foot: I have ſeen ſo much
of it, with refpect to other People, as well
as my felf, that it gives me a very ſcoundrel Opi-
nion of all thofe People whom I find forward to
load their Neighbours with Reproach. Nothing
is more frequent in this Cafe, than to run away
with a Piece of a Man's Character, in which
they err, and do him Wrong; and leave that Part
of him untouch'd which is really black, and
would bear it; this makes me
me ſometimes,
when with the humbleft and moſt abafing
Thoughts of my felf, I look up, and betwixt
God and my own Soul, cry out, What a Wretch
am I! at the fame time ſmile at the hair-brain'd
Enemy, whofe Tongue tipt with Malice, runs a-
head of his Underſtanding, and miffing the Crimes
for which I deferve more than he can inflict, re-
proaches me with thofe I never committed. Me-
thinks I am ready to call him back, like the
Huntſman, when the Dogs run upon the Foil, and
fay, hold, hold, your are wrong; take him here,
and you have him.
I queftion not but 'tis the fame with other Peo-
ple; for when Malice is in the Heart, Reproach
generally goes a Mile before Confideration, and
where is the Honefty of the Man all this while ?
This is trampling upon my Pride, fed majo-
ri faftu; but with greater Pride; 'tis expofing my
Difhonefty, but with the higheſt Knavery; 'tis
*
[63]
á Method no honeft Man will take, and when
taken, no honeft Man regards; wherefore, let
none of theſe Sons of Slander take Satisfaction in the
frequent Acknowledgments I am always ready to
make of my own failing, for that Humility with
which I always find Caufe to look into my own
Heart,where I fee others worfe, and more guilty of
Crimes than they can lay to my Charge, yet makes
me look back upon their Weaknefs with the laſt
Contempt, who fix their impotent Charges where
there is not Room to take hold, and run away
with the Air, and Shadow of Crimes never com-
mitted.
I have inftanc'd this, not at all on my own
Account, for 'tis not worth while; for if I am
injur'd, what's that to troubling the World with,
when I am forgotten; but while I am examin-
ing the niceſt Article in the World, Honesty, I can-
not but lay down theſe three Heads from the pre-
ceding Obfervations.
1. He who is forward to reproach the Infirmities
of other Mens Honesty, is very near a Breach of
his own.
2. He that hastily reproaches another without fuffi-
cient Ground, cannot be an honest Man.
3. Where there may be fufficient Ground of Reproach,
yet an honeft Man is always tender of his Neigh-
bour's Character from the Senfe of his own
Frailty.
But I return to Honefty, as it affects a Man's
pledging his Word, which is the Counter-part of
his Principle, and this becauſe as I faid, I fhould
chiefly regard this Honefty, as it concerns human
Affairs Converfation, and Negotiation.
And
[64]
1
}
And here I meet with a Tradefman come
juft in from dunning one of his Neighbours:
Well, I have been at a Place for Money, fays he, but
I can get none; there's fuch a one, he paffes for an
honeft Man, but I am fure he is a great Rogue to
me, for he has promifed me my Money a long
Time, but puts me off ftill from Time to Time;
he makes no more of breaking his Word, than
of drinking a Glafs of Beer. I am fure he has
told me forty Lies already; this is one of your
honeft Men, if all fuch honeft Men were hang'd we
fhould have a better Trade; and thus he runs on.
If all fuch honeſt Men were hang'd, they that
were left might have a better Trade, but how
many of them would there be?
Now tho' I fhall no Way vindicate Mens hafty
Promiſes abfolutely to perform what is doubtful
in the Event, yet I cannot agree, that every Man
who having promis'd a Payment, does not per
form it, to his Time, is a Knave or a Lyar; if it
were fo, the Lord have Mercy upon three Parts
of the City.
Wherefore, to ſtate this Matter clearly, it muſt
be taken a little to Pieces, and the Articles fpo-
ken to apart.
Firſt, Without Queſtion, when a Man makes a
Promife of Payment to another on a fet Day, know-
ing in his own Thoughts that it is not probable he
fhould be capable to comply with it, or really
deſigning not to comply with it, or not endea
vouring to comply with it: 'Tis a Deceit put
upon the Party, 'tis a premeditated formal Lye,
the Man that made it is a Stranger to Honefty,
he is a Knave, and every Thing that is bafe and
bad. But
Secondly, Promifes ought to be underſtood both
by the Perfon to whom, and the Perfon by whom,
they
[ 65 ]
they are made as liable to thofe Contingencies
that all human Affairs and Perfons are liable to,
as Death, Accidents, Difappointments, and Dif-
order: Thus, if a Man, who ought to pay me
to Day, tells me, Sir, I cannot comply with you
to Day, but if you call for it next Week, you ſhall
´have it.
If I may put this Anſwer into plainer English; and
I fuppofe the Man to be an honeſt Man; I cannot
underſtand his Meaning other wife than thus:
CC
Sir, I acknowledge your Money is due ;
"I have not Cafh enough by me to pay you to
Day; but I have feveral running Bills, and fe-
"veral Perfons who have promifed me Money,
"which I doubt not I fhall receive againſt ſuch a
"Time; and if you call then, I make no Que-
CC ftion, but I ſhall be able to do it; and if it is
ઉત્ત
poffible for me to pay you, I will do it at that
"Time, without Fail.
I confeſs, it were as well to expreſs themſelves
thus at large, in all the Appointments People make
for Payment; and would the Perfons who make
them confider it, they would do fo: But Cuſtom
has prevail'd in our general Way of Speaking,
whereby all Things that are fubject to the com-
mon known Contingents of Life, or viſible in the
Circumſtances of the Cafe, are underſtood without
being expreffed. For Example:
I make an Appointment of meeting a Man po-
fitively at fuch a Town, fuch a certain Day or
Hour; if I were talking to a Turk or a Pagan that
knows nothing, or believes nothing, of Supreme
Providence; I would fay, If the Lord of Heaven
and Earth that governs all my Actions, pleaſe to pre-
Serve and permit me: But when I am talking to as
Chriftian, it should feem to be fo univerfally fup-
Pofed, that every Appointment is fubje&ted, and
F
fubmit
[66]
1
*
an
梦
​fubmits to the Government of Providence, that the
Repetition would be needlefs; and that when a
Man promifes pofitively to meet, 'tis with a general
Subintelligitur, a Refetve as natural as Nature it
felf, to the Divine Permiffion: All Men know,
know, that
leſs I am alive, I cannot come there; or, if I
am taken fick, both which may eafily happen
I fall diſappoint him: And therefore, if he fhou'd
urge me again to come without Fail, and I fhould
reply, I won't fail, if I am alive and well, the
Man ought to take it for an Affront, and ask me,
if I take him for a Fool, to think, if I am taken
fick, I fhould come with my Bed at my Back; or
if Death fhould interveen, he had Occafion to
Ipeak with my Ghoft.
1
M
t
A
2
}
In this Senfe, a Tradefman who promiſes Pay-
ment of Money at a fet Time; fiift 'tis fuppo-
fed he has it not now in his Hands, becaufe he
puts off the Perfon demanding to a further Day,
and promiſes to comply with it then: This Pro-
mile therefore, can be underſtood no otherwife,
than that he expects to receive Money by that
Time Now, if this Man, by the like Difap-
pointments from other Men, or any other invo-
luntary Cafualty is really and bona fide unable
to comply with the Time of promifed Payment;
I cannot fee, but this may befal an honeft Man,
and he neither defigning to fail when he promi-
fed, nor being able to prevent the Accident that
oblig'd him to do it, nor any way voluntary in the
Breach, is not in my Opinion guilty of a Lie, or
Breach of his Honour, tho' he did not make
thoſe verbal Reſerves in the Promifes he had
given:
·
If every Man, who cannot comply with pro-
mifed Payments, fhould be thus branded with
Lying and Difhonefty, then let him, who is
without
[67]]
¿
without the Sin, caft the Stone, for no body
elfe ought to do it.
'Tis true, there is a Difference between an
Accident, and a Practice; that is in fhort, there
is a Difference between him who meets with a
great many Occafions thus to break his Word,
and he that meets with but a few: But if it be
a Crime, he that commits it once, is no more an
honeft Man, than he that commits it forty Times;
and if it be not a Crime, he that does it forty
Times, is as honeft as he that has Occafion to: do
it but once.
But let no Man take Encouragement from hence,
to be prodigal of his Word, and flack in bis Per-
formance; for this nice Path is fo near the Edge
of the Pit of Knavery, that the leaft Slip lets you
fall in.
Thefe Promifes muſt have Abundance of Cir-
cumftances to bring the honeft Man out of the
Scandal.
the
As, ft. The Difappointments which occafioned
this Breach of his Word, muft have been un-
foreſeen, and unexpected, otherwile the Ex-
pectation of performing his Promife, was ill
grounded, and then his Honefty is anfwe-
rable for the very making the Promiſe, as
well as the breaking it.
2d. No Endeavours muſt be wanting to com-
ply with the Promife; otherwife 'tis wrong
to fay, I am difappointed, and can't make
good my Word; the Man ought to ſay, Sir,
I have difappointed my felf by my Negli-
gence or Wilfulness, and have obliged my
felf to break my Word; or, in English, Sir, I
am a Knave; for tho I made you a Promife
which I might have performed, I took no
F2
Care
گو
!.
I
[68]
Care about it, not valuing the Forfeiture of
my Word.
If then the Cafe is fo nice, tho' in the Stri&-
nefs of Speaking, fuch a Difappointment may
oblige an honeft Man to break his Word'; yet
every honeft Man, who would preferve that Cha-
racter to himſelf, ought to be the more wary, and
induftriouſly avoid making fuch abfolute uncon-
ditional Promiſes, becauſe we are to avoid the
Circumftances of Offence.
But as to the Nature of the Thing, 'tis plain to
me, that a Man may in fuch Cafes be obliged to
break his Word unwillingly; and nothing can be
a Fraud or difhoneft Action in that Cafe, which is
not either voluntary in it felf, or the Occafion
voluntarily procur'd.
Of Relative HONESTY.
A
S Honeſty is fimple and plain, with-
out Glofs and Pretence, fo 'tis univer-
fal: He that may uphold an untainted
Reputation in one Particular, may be
juftly.branded with Infamy in another. A Man
may be punctual in his Dealings, and a Knave
in his Relations; honeft in his Ware-houſe, and
a Knave at his Fire-fide: He may be a Saint in
his Company, a Devil in his Family; true to his
Word, and falfe to his Friendſhip: But whofoe-
ver he be, he is no honeft Man. An honeft
Man is all of a Piece, the whole Contexture of
his Life, his general Condu& is genuine, and
fquar'd according to the Rules of Honefty; he
never runs into Extremes and Exceffes on one
Hand or other."
I con-
1
[69]
I confefs, I find 'this Thing, which they call
Relative Honesty, very little thought of in the
World; and that which is ftill worſe, 'tis very lit-
tle underſtood: I'll bring it down to but a few
Examples; fome of which frequently happen a-
mong us, and will therefore be the more familiar
ly receiv'd..
There are relative Obligations entail'd on us
in our Family Circumftances, which are juft
Debts, and muſt be paid; and which, in a Word,
a Man can no more be honeſt, if he does not make
Confcience of Difcharging, than he can in the
Cafe of the most unquestionable Debts between
Man and Man.
The Debts from Children to Parents, and from
Wives to their Husbands, are in a Manner re-
latively chang'd, and the Obligation transferr'd
into the Order of religious Duties. God the
Guide and Commander of all Subordination, has
as it were, taken that Part into his own Hand;
'tis rather call'da Duty to him, than a relative
Duty only: But if Men take this for a Difcharge
to them, of all relative Obligations to Wives and
to Children, or that God had lefs required one
than the other, they must act upon very wrong
Principles.
Nature indeed dicates in general a Man's
providing Subfiftence for his Family, and he is
declared to be fo far from a Chriftian, that he is
worle than an Infidel that neglects it: But there
are other Parts of our Obligations, which Ho-
nefty calls upon us to perform.
A Wife and Children are Creditors to the Fa-
ther of the Family; and he cannot be an honest
Man that does not difcharge his Debt to them,
any more than he could, if he did not repay Mo-
ney borrowed, to a Stranger and not to lead my
F3
Reader
11
10
[
Reader on to intricate and difputed Particulars;
I inftance principally in thofe that no body can
difpute: As Firſt, EDUCATION: By this
I mean, not only putting Children to School,
which fome Parents think, is all they have to do
with or for their Children; and indeed with fome,
is all that they know how to do, or are fit to do:
Ifay, I do not mean this only, but feveral other
additional Cares, as (1) Directing what School,
what Parts of Learning, is proper for them, what
Improvements they are to be taught. (2.) Study-
ing the Genius and Capacities of their Children,
in what they teach them: Some Children will vo-
luntarily learn one Thing,, and can never be forc'd
to learn another; and for Want of which obferving
the Genius of Children, we have fo many learned
Blockheads in the World, who are mere Scholars,
Pedants, and no more. (3.) But the main Part of
this Debt, which Relative Honefty calls upon us
pay to our Children, is the Debt of liftruction,
the Debt of Government, the Debt of Example:
He that neglects to pay any of thefe to his Fami-
ly, is a relative Knave; let him 'value himſelf
upon his Honefty, in paying his other Debts,
as much as he will
to
+
Tis a ftrange Notion Men have of Honefty,
and of their being honeft Men, as if it related to no-
thing but Tradefmen, or Men who borrow and
lend; or that the Title was obtain'd' by an ordi-
nary Obfervance of Right and Wrong between
Man and Man. 'Tis a great Miftake, the Name
of an honeſt Man is neither fo cafily gain'd, or fo
foon loft, as thefe Men imagine: David was a
very honeft Man, notwithstanding his Paffion and
Revenge in the Cafe of Nabal, his Murther in the
Cafe of Utah, or his Adultery in the Cafe of Bath-
beba, The Intent and main Deſign of his Life
was
{
ĭ
量
​}
N
[70]
was upright; and whenever he fell by the Power
of that Temptation that overcame him, he rofe
again by Repentance.
1
Let no vain Men flatter themfelves with the
Pride of their Honefty, in mere Matters of Debtor
and Creditor, tho' that's alfo abfolutely neceflary
and effential to an honeft Man.
م
But trace this honeft Man home to his Family:
Is he a Tyrant or a Churl to his Wife? Is he a
Stranger to the Conduct and Behaviour of his
"Children? Is he an Eli to their Vices? Are they
uninftructed, uncorrected; unexhorted, ungover-
ned, or ill governed? That Man's a Knave, a re-
lative Knave; -he neither does his Duty to God,
or pays the Debt of a Husband, or of a Parent to
his Wife or his Family.
1
Secondly, After the Debt of EDUCATION,
there is the Debt of INDUCTION due
from us to our Children. The Debt from a Pa-
rent is far from ending when the Children come
"from School, as the Brutes who turn their Young
off from them when they are juft able to pick for
themſelves: It is our Bufinefs,doubtleſs,to introduce
them into the World, and to do it in fuch a manner,
as fuits the Circumſtances we are in, as to their
Supply, and the Inclinations and Capacities of
our Children: This is a Debt, the Want. of pay-
ing which, makes many Children too juftly re-
proach their Parents with neglecting them in their
Youth, and not giving them the neceffary Intro-
duction into the World, as might have qualify'd
them to ſtruggle and fhift for themſelves.
Not to do this, is to ruine our Children nega-
tively on one Hand, as doing it without Judgment,
and without Regard to our Family Circumftan-
ces, and our Childrens Capacities, is a pofitive
ruining them on the other. I could very uſefully
F 4
run
[72]
run out this Part into a long Diſcourſe on the Ne-
ceffity there is of confulting the Inclinations and
Capacities of our Children, in our placing them
out in the World, How many a martial Spirit do
we find damn'd to Trade, while we fpoil many, a
good Porter, and convert the able Limbs and
Bones of a Blockhead into the Figure of a long
Robe, or a Gown and Caffock?
મ
How many awkward clumfy Fellows do we
breed to Surgery, or to Mufick, whofe Fingers
and Joints, Nature originally defign'd, and plain-
ly fhew'd it us by their Size, were better fuited
for the Blackſmith's Sledge, or the Carpenter's
Axe, the Waterman's Oar, or the Carman's
Whip?
1
Whence comes it to paſs, that we have fo many
young Men brought to the Bar, and to the Pul-
pit, with ftammering Tongues; Hefitations, and
Impediments in their Speech, unmufical Voices,
and no common Utterance; while on the other
Hand, Nature's Cripples, Bow-legg'd, Battle-
ham'd, and half-made Creatures, are bred Tum-
blers and Dancing-Mafters.
I name thefe, becauſe they occur moſt in our
common Obfervation, and are all miferable Ex-
amples, where the Children curfe the Knavery of
their Fathers, in not paying the Debt they ow'd
to them as Parents, in putting them to Employ-
ments that had been fuitable to their Capacities,
and fuitable to what Nature had cut them out for.
I came into a publick Houſe once in London,
where there was a black Maletta-look'd Man fit-
ting, talking very warmly among fome Gentle-
men, who I obferv'd were liftening very attentive-
ly to what he faid; and I fat myfelf down, and
did the like; 'twas with great Pleaſure I heard him
diſcourſe very handſomly on feveral weighty Sub-
jects;
1
[73]
}
1
*
jects; I found he was a very good Scholar,
had been very handfomely bred, and that Lear
ning and Study was his Delight; and more than
that, fome of the beft of Science was at that Time
his Employment: At length I took the Freedom
to ask him, If he was born in England?
He reply'd with a great deal of good Humour
in the Manner, but with an Exceſs of Refentment
at his Father, and with Tears in his Eyes, Yes,
yes, Sir, I am a true-born English Man, to my
Father's Shame be it ſpoken; who being an English
Man himſelf, could find in his Heart to join him-
felf to a Negro 'Woman, tho' he muſt needs know,
the Children he ſhould beget, would curfe the Me-
mory of fuch an Action, and abhor his very Name
for the fake of it. Yes, yes, fays he, repeating
it again, I am an English Man, and born in law-
ful Wedlock; happy had it been for me, tho' my
Father had gone to the Devil for Whoredom,
had he lain with a Cook-Maid, or produced
me from the meaneft Beggar Woman in the Street.
My Father might do the Duty of Nature to his
black Wife; but, God knows, he did no Juſtice
to his Children. If it had not been for this
damn'd black Face of mine, fays he then ſmiling,
I had been bred to the Law, or brought up in the
Study of Divinity: But my Father gave me Lear-
ning to no manner of Purpofe; for he knew I fhould
never be able to rife by it to any Thing, but a
learned Valet de Chamber. What he put me to
School for, I cannot imagine: He ſpoil'd a good
Tarpawlin, when he ftrove to make me a Gentle-
man: When he had refolv❜d to marry a Slave, and
lye with a. Slave, he fhould have begot Slaves,
and let us have been bred as we were born: But he
has twice ruin'd me; firft with getting me a fright-
ful
{
[ 741
î
ful Face, and then going to paint a Gentleman
upon me.
It was a moft affecting Difcourfe indeed, and as
fuch I record it and I found it ended in Tears,
from the Perfon who was in himſelf the moft de-
ferving, modeft, and judicious Man, that I ever
met with, under a Negro Countenance in my Life.
f
After this Story, I perfwaded myfelf I need fay
no more to this Cafe; the Education of our Chil
dren, their Inftruction, and the Introducing them
into, the World, is a Part of Honefty, a Debt we
owe to them; and he cannot be an honeft Man
that does not to the utmost of his Ability and
Judgment, endeavour to pay it.
ጎን
*X
All the other relative Obligations, which Fa-
mily Crcumftances call for the Discharge, of, al-
low the fame Method of arguing for, and are
Debts in their Proportion, and mult be paid upon
the fame Principle of Integrity, I have neither
room, nor is there any Occafion to enlarge upon
them.
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СНАР.
By
2
[75]
7
慈
​է
*
CHAP. IH."
1
OF THE
}
A
Immorality of CONVERSATION,
*
AND
The Vulgar ERRORS of Behaviour.
C
A
Onverſation is the brighteft and
most beautiful Part of Life; 'tis an
Emblem of the Enjoyment of a fu-
ture State; for fuitable Society is a
heavenly Life; 'tis that Part of Life
by which Mankind are not only
diſtinguiſh'd from the inanimate World, but by
which they are diftinguifh'd from one another.
Perhaps I may be more particularly fenfible of the
Benefit and of the Pleaſure of it, having been ſo
effectually mortify'd with the Want of it: But as
I take it to be one of the Peculiars of the ratio-
nal Life, that Man is a converfible Creature; fo
tis his most compleat Bleffing in Life, to be blef-
fed with fuitable Perfons about him to converſe
with. Bringing it down from Generals to Par-
ticulars, nothing can recommend a Man more, no-
thing renders him more agreeable, nothing can be
a better Character to give of one Man to another,
next to that of his being an honeft and religious
Man, than to fay of him that he is very good Com-
pany.
How
{
[76]
How delightful is it to fee a Man's Face al-
ways cover'd with Smiles, and his Soul fhining
continually in the Goodneſs of his Temper; to fee
an Air of Humour and Pleafantnefs fit ever upon
his Brow, and to find him on all Occafions the
fame, ever agreeable to, others and to himſelf; a
fteady Calm of Mind, a clear Head, and ferene
Thoughts always acting the Maſterſhip upon him:
Such a Man has fomething angelick in his very
Countenance; the Life of fuch a Man is one en-
tire Scene of Compofure; 'tis an Anticipation of
the future State, which we well repreſent by an
eternal Peace.
To fuch a Man to be angry, is only to be juſt
to himſelf, and to act as he ought to do; to be
troubled or fåd, is only to act his Reafon; for as
to being in a Paffion, he knows nothing of it; Paf
fion is a Storm in the Mind, and this never hap
pens to him; for all Excceffes, either of Grief or
of Refentment, are Foreigners, and have no Ha-
Bitation with him: He is the only Man that can
obferve that Scripture heavenly Dictate, Be an-
gry and fin not; and if ever he is very angry, 'tis
with himſelf, for giving Way to be angry with any
one elfe.
This is the truly agreeable Perfon, and the on-
ly one that can be call'd fo in the World; his Com-
pany is a Charm, and is rather wonder'd at than
imitated: 'Tis almoft a Vertue to envy fuch a
Man; and one is apt innocently to grieve at him,
when we ſee what is fo defirable in him, and can-
not either find it, or make it in our felves.
But take this with you in the Character of this
happy Man, namely, that he is always a good
Man, a religious Man: 'Tis a grofs Error to ima-
gine, that a Soul blacken'd with Vice, loaded with
Crime, degenerated into Immorality and Folly,
can
[ 77 ]
can be that Man, can have this calm, ferene Soul,
thoſe clear Thoughts, thofe conftant Smiles upon
his Brow, and the fteady Agreeableneſs and Plea-
fantry in his Temper, that I am fpeaking of; there
muſt be Intervals of Darkneſs upon fuch a Mind;
Storms in the Confcience will always lodge Clouds
upon the Countenance; and where the Weather
is hazey within, it can never be Sun-fhine without ;
the Smiles of a difturb'd Mind are all but feign'd
and forg'd; there may be a good Difpofition, but
it will be too often and too evidently interrupted
by the Recoils of the Mind, to leave the Tem-
per untouch'd, and the Humour free and uncon-
cern'd; when the Drum beats an Alarm within,
it is impoffible but the Diſturbance will be dif
cover'd without.
Mark the Man of Crime; fit clofe to him in
Company, at the End of the moſt exube-
rant Excurfion of his Mirth; you will never
fail to hear his reflecting Faculty whiſper a
Sigh to him; he'll shake it off, you will fee him
check it and go on; perhaps he fings it off, bur
at the End of every Song, nay perhaps of every
Stanza, it returns; a kind of involuntary Sadnefs
breaks upon all his Joy; he perceives it, rouzes,
deſpiſes it, and goes on; but in the Middle of a
long Laugh, in drops a Sigh; it will be, it can
be no otherwife; and I never convers'd clofely
with a Man of Levity in my Life, but I could
perceive it moſt plainly; 'tis a Kind of Reſpira-
tion, natural to a ftifl'd Conviction; a Hefitation
that is the Confequence of a captivated Vertue
a little Infurrection in the Soul againſt the Tyran-
ny of profligate Principles.
But in the good Man the Calm is compleat;
'tis all Nature, no. Counterfeit; he is always in
Humour, becauſe he is always compos'd.
He's
{
[787
dol o ei
He's calm without, because he's clear within.:
•
A ftated Compofure of Mind can really pro-
ceed from nothing but a Fund of Vertue; and
this is the Reaſon why 'tis my Opinion, that the
common Saying, That Content of Mind is Hap-
pineſs, is a vulgar Miftake, unleſs it be granted,
that this Content is firſt founded on fuch a Bafis,
as the Mind ought to be contented with; for
otherwiſe a Lunatick in Bedlam is a compleatly
happy Man; he fings in his Hutch, and dan-
ces in his Chain, and is as contented as any Man
living: The Poffeffion or Power, which that Va-
pour or Delirium has upon his Brain, makes him
fancy himſelf a Prince, a Monarch, a Stateſman,
or juſt what he pleaſes to be; as a certain Dut-
chefs, is faid to have believ'd her felf to be an Em-
prefs, has her Footmen drawn up, with Javelins,
and drefs'd in antick Habits, that the may fee
them thro'. a Window, and believe them to be
her Guards; is ferv'd upon the Knee; call'd her
Majefty, Imperial Majefty, and the like; and
with this Splendor, her diftemper'd Mind is
deluded, forming Ideas of Things which are
not, and at the fame Time her Eyes are fhut to
the eternal Captivity of her. Circumftances; in
which ſhe is made a Property to other Perfons, her
Eftate manag'd by Guardianfhip, and the a poor
demented Creature to the laſt Degree, an Ob-
ject of human Compaffion, and compleatly mi-
ferable.
5
}
The only Contentment which entitles Mankind
to any Felicity, is that which is founded upon
Vertue and juft Principles; for Contentment is
nothing more or less than what we call Peace;
and what Peace, where Crime poffeffes the Mind,
which
[79 3
1
which is attended, as a natural Confequence, with
Torment and Difquiet? What Peace where the
Harmony of the Soul is broken by conftant Re-
gret, and Self-Reproaches? What Peace in a Mind
under conftant Apprehenfions and Terrors of
fomething yet attending to render them mifera-
ble; and all this is infeparable from a Life of Crime.
For where there's Guilt, there always will be Fear.
Peace of Mind makes a Halcyon upon the Coun
tenance, it guilds the Face with a chearful Afpe&t,
fuch as nothing elfe can procure; and which indeed
as above, it is impoffible effectually to counter-
feit.
Bow Mighty Reaſon, to thy Maker's Name,
For GÓD and PEACE, are juft the fames
Heaven is the Emanation of his Face,
2
And want of Peace, makes Hell in
every Place.
Tell us, ye Men of Notion, tell us why,
You feek for Bliss and wild Profperity,
In Storms and Tempefts, Feuds and War,
Is Happiness to be expected there?
Tell us what Sort of Happiness,
Can Men in want of Peace poffefs?
At
Bleft Charm of Peace, how feet are all thofe Hours
We Spend in thy Society!
*
Afflictions loſe their Acid Powers,
And turn to Joys when join'd to thee.
箐
​i.
The
[80]
The darkeſt Article of Life with Peace,
Is but the Gate of Happiness;
Death in its blackeft Shapes can never fright,
Thou can'ft fee Day, beyond his Night;
The Smile of Peace, can calm the Frown of Fate.
And, Spight of Death, can Life anticipate :
Nay, Hell itſelf, could it admit of Peace,
Would change its Nature, and its Name would ceafe.
The Bright Transforming Bleffing would deftroy
The Life of Death, and damn the Place to Joy ;
The Metamorphofis would be fo ftrange,
"Twould fright the Devils, and make them blefs the Change
Or else the Brightnefs would be fo intenfe,
They'd hun the Light, and flye from thence.
Let Heaven, that unknown Happiness,
Be what it will, 'tis beſt deſcrib'd by Peace.
No Storms without, or Storms within;
No Fear, no Danger there, because no Sin:
'Tis bright eſſential Happiness,
Becauſe He dwells within, whofe Name is PEACE.
Who would not facrifice for thee,
All that Men call Felicity!
Since Happiness, is but an empty Name,
A Vapour without Heat or Flame;
But what from thy Original derives,
And Dyes with thee by whom it Lives.
But
16
[ 81 ]
}
}
2
But I return to the Subject of Converfation; from
which this Digreffion is made only to fhew that
the Fund of agreeable Converfation is, and can
only be founded in Virtue; this alone is the Thing
that keeps a Man always in Humour, and always
agreeable.
They miſtake much, who think Religion, or a
ftrict Morality, difcompoſes the Temper, fowres
the Mind, and unfits a Man for Converfation.
'Tis irrational to think, a Man can't be bright,
unleſs he is wicked; It may as well be faid, a
Man cannot be merry till he is mad, not agree-
able till he is offenfive, not in Humour till he is out
of himſelf. "Tis clear to me, no Man can be truly
merry, but he that is truly virtuous: Wit is as
confiftent with Religion, as Religion is with good
Manners; nor is there any Thing in the Limita-
tions of Virtue and Religion; I mean, the juft
Reſtraints which Religion and Virtue lay upon us
in Converfation; that fhould abate the Pleaſure of
it, on the contrary they encreaſe it: For Example:
Reſtraints from vicious and indecent Difcourfes.
There's as little Manners in thofe Things, as
there is Mirth in them; nor indeed does Re-
ligion or Virtue rob Converfation of one Grain
of true Mirth: On the contrary, the religious
Man is the only Man fully qualify'd for Mirth
and good Humour; with this Advantage, that
when the vitious and the virtuous Man appear gay
and merry, but differ, as they must do, in the Subje&
of their Mirth, you may always obſerve the virtu-
ous Man's Mirth is fuperiour to the other; more
quitable to him, as a Man, as a Gentleman, as a
wife Man, and as a good Man; and generally
ſpeaking, the other will acknowledge it; at leaſt,
afterward, when his Thoughts cool, and as his
Reflections come in.
G
•
Bus
[ 82 ]
But what fhall we do to correct the Vices of
Converfation? How fhall we fhew Men the Pi-
ture of their own Behaviour? There is not a
greater Undertaking, in the World, or an Attempt
of more Confequence, to the Good of Mankind.
than this; but 'tis as difficult alfo, as it is ufe-
ful; and at beft I fhall make but a little Progrefs
in it in this Work; Let others mend it.
(1
ར
༼༠ ༢༠ཟླ༩ ༢༠སྤྱི - ༢༠༦༩
་
Of unfitting our felves for, CONVER
B
SATION.
Efore enter upon the Thing; which B
call the Immorality of Converſation,
let me fay a little about the many weak
and foolih Ways, by which Men ftrive,
as it were, to unfit themfelves for Converfation.
Human Infirmities furnish us, with feveral Things
that help to make us unconverfible; we need not
Rudy to encrease the Difadvantages we lye under
on that Score: Vice and Intemperance, not as a
Crime only, that I should speak of by itself, but even
as a Diftemper, unfit us for Converfation; they
help to make us cynical, morofe, furly, and rude.
Vicious People boaſt of their polite Carriage and
their nice Behaviour, how gay, how good hu-
mour'd, how agreeable? for a While it may be fo
But trace them as Men of Vice, follow them till
they come to Years, and obſerve, while you live,
you never fee the Humour laft, but they grow fie-
ry, morofe, pofitive, and petulant. An ancient
Drunkard is a Thing indeed not often-feen; be-
cauſe the Vice has one good Faculty with it, viz
That it feldom hands them on to old Age; But
an ancient and good humour'd Drunkard I think L
never knew.
+
}
It
[83]
It ſeems ftrange, that Men fhould affect unfit-
ting themſelves for Society, and fludy to make
themſelves unconverfible, whereas their being
truly Sociable, as Men, is the Thing which
would moſt recommend them, and that to the
beſt of Men, and beft anſwers to the higheſt Fe-
licity of Life. Let no Man value himſelf upon
being morofe and cynical, four and unconverfible,
tis the Reverſe of a good Man; a truly religi-
ous Man follows the Rule of the Apoſtle, be Af-
fable, be Courteous, be Humble; in Meekness, efteeming
every Man better than our felves; whereas Converfa-
tion now is the Reverſe of the Chriftian Rule ;
'tis interrupted with Conceitedneſs and Affectati-
on, a Pride, eſteeming our felves better than every
Man; and that which is worfe ftill, this happens
generally, when indeed, the Juftice of the Cafe is
againſt us; for where is the Man who thus over-
ruling himſelf, is not evidently inferiour in Merit
to all about him? Nay, and frequently thofe
who put moſt Value upon themſelves, have the
leaft Merit to fupport it. Self-Conceit is the
Bane of human Society, and generally ſpeaking
is the Peculiar of thofe who have the leaft to
recommend them; 'tis the Ruin of Converfation,
and the Deſtruction of all Improvement; for how
ſhould any Man receive any Advantage from the
Converfation of others, who believes himſelf qua-
lified to teach them, and not to have Occafion to
learn any Thing from them?
L
Nay, as the Fool is generally the Man that is
conceited most of his own Wit, fo that very
Conceit is the Ruin of him; it confirms him a
Fool all the Days of his Life, for he that thinks
himſelf a wife Man, is a Fool, and knows it
not; nay, 'tis impoffible he fhould continue to be
a Fool,
1
G 2
ค
1
#
[ 84 ]
>
a Fool, if he was but once convine'd of his
Folly.
+
If Fools could their own Ignorance difcern,
They'd be no longer Fools, becauſe they'd learn.
It will be objected here indeed, that Folly and
Conceit may be hurtful to Converſation, may
rob Men of the Advantage of it, unfit one Side
for Converfing, and make it unprofitable, as well
as unpleaſant to the other; But that this is no-
thing to the Immorality of Converſation; that Ig-
norance and Conceit máy be an Infirmity, but is
not always a Crime; that the Mifchief of
Mens being Fools is generally their own, but
the Miſchief of their being Knaves is to other
People, and this is very true. But certainly, e-
gregious Folly merits one Paragraph of Rebuke;
perhaps it may touch the Senfes of fome weak
Brethren one time or other, and the Labour may
not be loft.
A
I never faw a more fimple, or yet a more fu-
rious irreconcileable Quarrel, than once between
two of the moft empty conceited People that e-
ver I knew in the World; and it was upon one
calling the other Fool, which on both Sides was
unhappily very true; they fought upon the Spot,
but were parted by the Company; they chal-
leng'd, and could not meet, their Friends getting
Notice of it; in fhort, it ruin'd them both; they
made new Appointments, and at laſt deceiv'd their
Friends, and fought again; they were both woun-
ded, and one died, the other fled the Country,
and never return'd. The firft own'd he was a
Fool, which was indeed fome Diminution of his
Folly. I fay, he knew himfelf to be a Fool, but
could not bear the other ſhould tell him fo, who
was
***
[85]
was more a Fool than himſelf. The other boldly af
ferted his own Capacities to be infinitely greater
than they were, and defpifed the firſt to the laft
Degree, who indeed, if he had not more Wit,
had more Modeſty than the other; but both like
Fools fought about Nothing, for fuch indeed the
Queftion about their Wit might very well have
been call'd.
But, it is true, after all, the Want of a con-
verfible Temper, if from a Want or Defect of
Senfe may be an Infirmity, not an Immorality;
that is to ſay, the Caufe is not ſo in itſelf, but
it may be fo in its Confequences, that way alfo
For the Converfation of Fools is Vanity in the Ab-
ftract. I might here indeed find Subje& for a
large Tract, upon the infinite Diverſity of Fools,
and by confequence the wondrous Beauty of their
Converfation: I have on this Occafion reckon'd
up a Lift of about Seven and Thirty feveral Sorts
of Fools, befides Solomon's Fool, whom I take to be
the wicked Fool only; theſe I have diverfified by
their Tempers and Humours, and in the infinite
Variety of their Follies of feveral Sorts, in every
one of which they rob themſelves, and all that
keep them Company of the Felicity of Convers
fation, there being nothing in them but Empti-
nefs, or a Fulnefs of what is Ridiculous, and on-
ly qualified to be laught at, or found Fault
with.
.
I have likewife defcrib'd fome of their Con-
verſation, their vain Repetitions, their Catch-
Words, their Laughings and Geſtures, and adap-
ted them to make the World merry. I have
Thoughts of running it on into foreign Chara-
Яers, and defcribe French, Spanish, Portugueſe
Fools, and Fools of Ruffia, China, and the Eaft
Indies: But as this is fomething remote from the
G 3
Defign
•
[86]
Defign in Hand, which is more ferious, and
done on a much better View, and likewife of
an unmeaſurable Length, like the weighty Sub-
ject it is upon (for Folly is a large Field) fo I re-
fer it to another Opportunity.
גי
The Truth is, that Part of Converfation which
I am now to fpeak of, or which I mean by what
I have faid upon this Subject, is the weighty and
ferious Part, and is not the meer common Talk,
or a Converfation which Fools are capable of;
'tis exerciſed in a folid and well temper'd Frame,
and when regulated as it ought to be, by Virtue,
and good Morals, is quallified to make Mankind
happy in the Enjoyment of the beft Things,
and of the beſt Company, and therefore, the E-
vils that creep into, and corrupt this Part of our
Converfation, are of the more fatal Quality, and
worth our expofing, that People may fee and
fhun them, and that Converfation may be reftored
among us to what it fhould be.
•
. Of the Immorality of CONVER-
SATION in General.
S
OME may object against the Term
the Immorality of Converfation, and
think the Word improper to the Sub-
ject; but to fave any Critick the dearly
beloved Labour of cavilling in Favour of ill Man-
ners and unbecoming Behaviour, I fhall explain
myfelf before I go any farther.
I call
[ 87 ]
I call Converfation immoral, where the Dif
courfe is indecent, where 'tis irreligious or pro-
fane, where 'tis immodeft or ſcandalous, or where
'tis flanderous and abufive. In thefe and fuch Ca-
Les, loqui eft agere, thus talking lewdly, or talking
profanely, is an immodeft Action. Such is the
Power of Words that Mankind is able to act, as
much Evil by their Tongues, as by their Hands;
the Ideas that are formed in the Mind from what
we hear, are moſt peircing and permanent; and
the Force of Example in this Cafe, is not more
powerful than the Force of Argument.
Some of the worft Sins are not to be commir-
ted but by the Tongue, as the Sin of Blafphemy,
peaking Treafon againſt the Majefty of God,
Curfings and Imprecations among Men, Lies,
Slanders, and a vaft Variety of petty Excurfions,
which are grown modifh by Cuftom, and feem too
fmall to be reproved.
We are here in England, after many Years De-
generacy, arrived to a Time, wherein Vice is in
general difcountenanc'd by Authority; God in
Mercy to the Age has infpir'd our Government
with a Refolution to difcourage it: The King
now, his Wars are over, and his foreign Enemies
allow him fome Reft, will, we hope, declare War
againſt this Domeſtick Enemy.
The late Queen Mary, of heavenly Memory, for
her Piety and bleffed Example, appear'd in her
Time gallantly in the Caufe of Virtue: Magi-
ftrates were encourag'd to puniſh Vice, new
Laws made to reftrain it, and Juftice feem'd to
be at Work to reclaim it: But what can Kings, or
Queens, or Parliaments do? Laws and Procla→
mations are weak and ufelefs Things, unlefs fome
fecret Influence can affect the Practices of thoſe
whom no Laws can reach.
GA
To
F
}
[88]
}
To make Laws against Words, would be as
fruitless as to make a fhelter againſt the Lightning;
there are ſo many Inlets to the Breach, that the
Informers would be as numerous as the Crimi-
nals, and the Trefpafs as frequent as the Minutes
we live in.
9
1
Converſation has received a general Taint, and
the Diſeaſe is become a Charm; the Way to cure
it, is not by forcible Reſtraints on Particulars,
but by fome general Influence on the publick Pra-
tice; when a Distemper becomes pleaſant to a
Patient, he is the harder to be cur'd; he has a fort
of Averfion to the Remedy becauſe he has none to
the Diſeaſe. Our modern People have fuch a Paf-
fion for the Mode, that if it be but the Faſhion
to be Lewd, they will fcandalize their Honour, de-
bauch their Bodies, and damn their Souls to be
Gentile; if the Beaux talk Blafphemy, the reft will
fet up for Athiefts, and deny their Maker, to bę
counted witty in the Defence of it; when our
Tradefmen would be thought wife, and make
themſelves appear nice and learned in their Con-
verfation, nothing will fatisfy them but to criti-
çife upon Things facred; run up to difcufs the In-
fcrutables of Religion; fearch the Arcana even of
Heaven itself: The Divinity of the Son of God,
the hypoftatick Union, the rational Defcription of
the State Everlasting, nay, the Demonftrations of
undemonftrable Things, are the common Subject of
their fancied affected Capacities.
Hence Come Herefies and Delufions, Men af-
fecting to fearch into what is impoffible they fhould
clearly difcover, learn to doubt, becauſe they can-
not defcribe, and deny the Exiftence becauſe they
cannot explain the Manner of what they enquire
after; as if a thorow impoffibility of their acting
by their Senſe upon Objects beyond its Reach, was
an
[89]
an Evidence againſt their Being. Thus becauſe the
Trinity cannot appear to their Reaſoning, they
oppoſe their Reaſoning to its Reality; they will
diveft the Son of God of his Divinity, and of the
hypoftatick Union of the Godhead in the Perfon
of Chrift, becauſe they cannot diſtinguiſh between
the Actions done by him in his Mediatorial Capa-
city, in Virtue of his Office, and thoſe Actions,
which he did in Virtue of his Omnipotence and
Godhead.
This is not an Immorality and Error in Conver
fation only, or not ſo much, fo as I think it is a Judg-
ment upon it, a Blaſt from Heaven upon the Arro-
gance of the Tongue; when proud Men give
themſelves a Loofe to talk Blafphemously to be
thought witty, their Maker gives them up to
fuggeft damnable Errors till they begin to believe
them, and to broach their own wicked Hints, till
they by Cuſtom learn to efpouſe and defend
them, as Children tell feigned Stories till they be-
lieve them to be true. If our Town Fopperies
were viſible only in the little Excurfions of Drefs
and Behaviour, it would be Satisfaction enough
for a wife Man, either to pity or laugh at them;
but when Wit is fet on work, and Invention rack'd
to find out Methods, how they may be more than
fuperlatively wicked, when all the Endowments
of the Mind and Helps of Art, with the Accom-
pliſhments of Education are rang'd in Battel a-
gainſt Heaven, and joyn'd in Confederacy to make
Mankind more wicked, than ever the Devil had
the Impudence to defire of them; This calls out
aloud for the Help of all the Powers of Govern-
ment, and all the Strength of Wit and Virtue to
detect and expoſe it.
भ
Indeed I had fome Thoughts to leave upon Re-
cord a melancholly kind of Genealogy, of this
horrid
1
[90]
horrid Perfection of Vice, which fo increafes i
our Age, I mean as it refpects this Nation, in
which 'tis too ancient indeed to trace it back to its
Original; yet fince its vifible Increaſe has been
within the reach of our own Memory, and 'tis as
I may fay, the adopted Child of our Age, we
may judge of the Extent of its Influence, and may
take a fhort View of it in Miniature. None indeed
can judge of the Extent of its Influence, but fuch
as have converfed with all Sorts of People, from
the Court to the Plough-tail, where you may too
fadly fee the Effect of it, in the general debauch-
ing both the Principles and Practice of all Sorts
and Degrees of this Nation: But it will be an
ungrateful Task, 'twould lead me to the Chara-
ers of Perfons, and to write Satyrs upon the
Times, as well thofe paft, as thefe prefent, which
indeed is not my Bufinefs in this Work; and
therefore I throw by fome keen Obfervations
which I had made upon this Subject, my Buſineſs
here, or at leaft my Defign being rather to inftru&
the Age, than to reproach it; and as for the Dead,
they are gone to their Place.
H
St. Auguftin obferves, de Civitate dei, that the An-
cients juftified their. Liberty. in all Exceffes of
Vice, which they practifed in thofe Times from
the Patterns of their Gods, that the Stories of
the Bapes and Inceft of Jupiter, the Lewdnefs of
Venus and Mars, and the like, made thofe Crimes
appear lefs heinous, fince People had them fre-
quent in the Hiftories of the Deities they wor
fhipped; and that they must of Neceffity be law-
ful, feeing they were practifed by thofe famous
Perfons, who they had placed above the Skyes and
thought fit to adore.
A
- If modern Times have received unhappy Im-
preffions from vicious Courts and Princes, have
not
[91]
not taken the needful Caution not to guide to Evil
by their Example; inftead of turning this into
Satyr upon those that are paft, I chooſe to give it
another Turn, which our Kings and People too
in Time to come may make good Ufe of, and I
hope will not be offended at fuppofing that they
will do fo.
1. To Kings or Sovereigns, in future Reigns;
for I am not in this intending the prefent
Reign; it may without Offence be faid, that
they have a glorious Advantage put into their
Hands, to Honour their Maker, and advan-
tage their People, to the immortal Glory of
their own Memory, by prompting Virtue and
difcouraging Vice by their happy Examples;
by removing the vicious Habits of Conver-
fation from the Court-Modes, and making
Vice unfaſhionable as it is unfeemly; why
may not the Royal Example go as far to re-
form a Nation, as it has formerly done to
debauch and ruin it? But as this refpects the
(a) Heads of the People, I defire to ſpeak it
with the Deference of a Subject, and cloſe
this Difcourfe with only faying, that I pray
and with it may be fo..
2. To the People with more Freedom I apply
it thus; Let paft Examples be what they will,
the preſent Reign encourages no Crime, why
then fhould our modern Converfation receive
this Taint? why ſhould we be Voluntiers in
the Devil's Service? while the Power we are
under gives us neither Precept or Example;
if we are Guilty, 'tis by meer Choice, the
Crime is all our own, and we are Patterns
to our felves.
But
(a) This was all Written in King William's Reign and refers to
that Time.
[92]
2. Of reforming the Errors of Con-
verfation.
B
UT I leave this Part as lefs grateful,
and perhaps not more fignificant than
what I have yet to fay upon this Sub-
ject; 'tis not fo abfolutely material to
inquire how his Converfation came firft to be cor-
rupted, as how it fhall be reform'd or recovered,
The Queftion before us is, by what Method to re-.
trieve this miferable Defection, and to bring back
the Nation to fome tolerable Degree of good
Manners, that Morality at leaft may regain its
Authority, and Virtue, and Sobriety, be valued
again as it ought to be; this, I fay, is a diffi-
cult Thing to direct.
Facilis defcenfus averni:
Sed revocare gradum,
{
+
£
}
A
Hoc opus hic labor eft.
H
K
Virg. Æneid. vi.
?
English'd thus:
"Tis eafy into Hell to Fall,
1 3 2
But to get back from thence is all:
J
*
The Method might be çafter prefcrib'd than
practifed; tho? it cannot be perfectly prefcrib'd nei-
ther,fomething may however be faid by way of Ob-
servation, perhaps other Well-wishers,may hereafter
throw
[ 93 ]
throw their Mites into this Treaſury, and ſome
zealous Reformers may at laſt make the Attempt
upon theſe Foundations.
1. A ftri&t Execution of the Laws againſt Vice &
we have already, and are every Day making very
good Laws to reform the People: But the Benefit of
Laws confifts in the executive Power, which if not
vigorously put forth, Laws become uſeleſs, and it
were better they were not made at all. I was once
going to have added here a Treatife, entituled, an
Effay upon the Infignificancy of Laws and Acts of
Parliament in England; but upon fecond Thoughts,
refolving to mingle no Satyr with my ferious Ob-
fervations, I omitted this alſo. The Deficiency
of our Laws, is chiefly in the Want of Laws
to reform the Law-makers, that the Wheel of exe-
cutive Juftice might be kept going; Of what
Ufe elfe can Law's be?
(2) An exemplar Behaviour in our Gentry, after
whofe Copy the poor People generally write;
not but that I acknowledge it will be harder,
to reform a Nation, than it would to debauch
it; though Virtue ſhould obtain upon Cu-
ftom; and become the Fafhion, becaufe Incli-
nation does not ftand neuter; but it would be
a great Step to this Reformation, if we could
all joyn to difcourage Immorality by Example;
That if a Man will be drunk or lewd, he fhalk
as a Thief robs a House, do it in the Dark, and
be ashamed of it. If theſe two Heads were
brought to pafs, I queftion not but Reformation
would come to fuch an heighth, that if a poor
Man happened to be drunk, he fhould come and
defire the Conſtable to fet him in the Stocks, for
fear of worſe Puniſhment; and if a rich Man
fwore an Oath in his Paffion, he ſhould fend his
Footman to the next Juftice of the Peace with his
Fine,
[94]
1
1
Fine, and get a Diſcharge for fear of being in-
form'd againſt and expos'd.
In order to the furthering this great Work, it
would be very neceffary, if poffible, to draw the
Picture of our modern Vices, to let Mankind fee
by a true Light what they are doing, and how
ugly a Phyz the Miftrefs they court really appears
with, when Inclination which paints her in diffe
rent Colours is taken off.
"Twill be impoffible to bring Vice out of Fa-
fhion, if we cannot bring Men to an Underftand-
ing of what it really is: But could we prevail up-
on a Man to examine his Vice, to diffect its Parts,
and view the Anatomy of it; to fee how diſagree
able it is to him as a Man, as a Gentleman, or as
a Chriftian; how defpicable and contemptible in
its higheſt Fruition, how deftructive to his Senfes,
Eftate,and Reputation; how difhonourable,and how
beaftly, in its publick Appearances, fuch a Man
would certainly be out of Love with it, and be
but Mankind once out of love with Vice, the Re-
formation is half brought to pafs.
$
I fhall not pretend to invade the Province of
the Learned, nor offer one Argument from Scrip-
ture or Providence; for I am fuppofed to be talk-
ing to Men that doubt or deny them both. Divi-,
nity is not my Talent, nor ever like to be my
Profeffion, the Charge of Prieftcraft and School-
men would not lie againft me; befides, 'tis not
the way of talking that the World relishes at this
Time; in a Word, talking Scripture is out of
Faſhion But I muft crave leave to tell my Rea-
der, that if there were no God or Providence,
Devil or future State, yet they ought not to be
Drunken and Lewd, Paffionate, Revengeful or
Immoral; 'tis fo Unnatural, fo Unruly, fo Ingen-
teel,, fo Foolish and Foppifh, that no wife Man as
a Man
£95 ]
A
a Man can juſtify it fo much as to his own Rea
fon, or the Memory of his Anceſtors. I fuppofe
my felf talking to Men that have nothing to do
with God, and défire he fhould have nothing to
do with them; and yet even to fuch, a vicious
Converfation, look'd on without the Guft of Incli-
nation, would appear too brutifh to be meddied
with, if we will but choofe like Men, not to fay
like Chriftians; Virtue and Morality is more
agreeable to human Nature, more manly than
Vice and Intemperance; 'tis more fuitable to all
the Ends of Life, to the Being of Society, to the
publick Peace of Families, as well as Nations.
Mankind would rather be virtuous than vicious,
if they were to choofe only for their own Cafe and
Convenience. Vice tends to Oppreffion, War
and Confufion; Virtue is peaceable and honeft;
Vice is a Poifon to Society, no Man is fafe if
Men havé neither, Sobriety or Honefty; for the
Innocent will be robb'd by the Thief, ravifht by
the Lewd, and murther'd by the Drunkard.
It might not be a needlefs Digreffion if I fhould
examine here, whether Whoring and Drunkennefs
be not the two Mother Sins of the Times, the
Spring and Original of all our faſhionable Vices;
I diſtinguiſh this becauſe other Sins, as Mudrers,
Thefts, Rapes and the like, are now come fo
much in Vogue; we are content the Laws fhould
be executed for them, but fhould think it very
hard a Man fhou'd be hang'd for Whoring, or
tranſported for being Drunk.
**
I would not have any of our Gentlemen think,
that my laying the Charge of our Debauchery
on the Examples of the Gods, has taken off any
Thing of the Blame from thofe who have indu
triouſly, propogated the fpreading. Evil, among
their Tenants and Neighbours, by their own vi-
**
cious
[96]
}
cious Example; and I could turn the whole Obfer-
vation into a Satyr on the Manners of our Gen-
tlemen, and defcribe with what Eafineſs our
Magiftrates let fall the Reins of their Authority,
and connive at the Practice of all manner of In-
temperance and Excefs among the People; with
what Eagerness the poor Country-men are call'd
in to be made drunk upon every Occafion; with
what Contempt any Perfon is look'd upon either
in Town or Country, that either will not be
drunk, or cannot bear an exceffive Quantity of
Wine: How out common Mirth is fill'd with
Songs and Poems, recommending Drunkenneſs and
Lewdneſs, and rampant Vice rides Riot through
the Nation. But as above I avoid Satyr, I fhall
endeavour to treat this foul Subject, in as civil
Terms as the Cafe will bear, and only examine
general Converfation in particular Heads, with fome
vulgar Errors of Behaviour which are crept in, and
which feem authorized by Cuſtom.
?
1
弟弟​弟弟​弟弟​弟弟​弟弟​弟弟​弟弟​弟弟​弟弟​弟弟​弟弟
​3. Of Athieftical and Prophane
Diſcourſe.
G
-
Ô D Almighty himſelf is the leaſt bé-
holding to this Age, of any that ever
was from the Beginning of Time; for
that being arriv'd to a Degree of Know-
ledge fuperior to all that went before us, or at
leaft fancying it to be fo. Whereby the greater
Glory might accrew to himſelf the Author of all
Wiſdom, that very Gift, the brighteſt of all the
heavenly Bleffings, is made uſe of to put the great-
eft
[97]
>
ceft Contempt upon his Majelty that Mankind is
capable of, to deny his Effence: Such an Affront
that the Devils themſelves never had the Impu-
dence to fuggeft to the World, till they found
Man arriv❜d to a Degree of Hardneſs fit for fome-
thing never done before. All the. Heathen Nations
in the World came fhort of this; the moſt refin'd
Philofophers own'da firft Cauſe of all Things, and
that fomething was fuperior, whofe Influence go-
vern'd, and whole being was Sacred and to be
Ador'd, The Devil himſelf, who is allow'd to be
full of Enmity againſt the fupreme Being, has of-
ten fet up himſelf to be worshipped as a God,
but never prompted the moſt barbarous Nations to
deny the Being of a God; and 'tis thought that
even the Devil himſelf believ'd the Notion was too
abfurd to be impofed upon the World. But our Age
is even with him for his Folly; for fince they can-
not get him to joyn in the Denial of a God, they
will deny his Devilſhip too, and have neither one
nor other.
'Tis worth Obſervation, after the moſt con-
vincing Arguments that Nature and Reafon can
produce for the Exiftence of a Deity, what weak,
foolish, ridiculous Shifts the moft refin'd of our
Atheiſtical Difputants fly to in Defence of their
Notion; with what fenfelefs Pains they Labour to
reaſon themſelves into an Opinion, which their
own Conftitution, Nature and way of Living gives
the Lieto, every Moment; with how little Confi
ſtency they folve all the other Phenomena of Na-
ture, and Creation; that when in all other Points
they are capable of arguing ftrenuouſly, and are not
to be fatisfied but with Strength of Reaſon and
found Argument; here they admit Sophifms, de-
lufive Suppofitions, and miferable Shams and Pre-
tences to prevail upon their own Judgments. This
H
is
E 98 1
}
P
is touch'd at in the following Lines upon the
Stem of Prometheus, which I could not omit upon
this Occafion, relating to the Heathens Ignorance
in the great Doctrine of firſt Cauſes.
が
​1 K
JJ UITC V
་ ་
01
+
The Great Promethean Artift, Poets fay,
First made the Model of a Man in Clay
{
A
A
>
1. Contrived the form of Barts, and when he had done,
Stole vital Heat from the Prolifick Sun
But not a Poer tells us to this Day,
01
{
dv
+
>
Who made Prometheus firft, and who the Clay,
Who gave the great. Brolifick to the Sun,
• And where the first productive Work begun.
bre
Allo Epicuras his Phylofophy will fatisfy fome
People, who fancies the World was made by
ftrange fortuitous Conjunction of Atoms, without
any pre-exiftent Influence, or without any imme-
diate Power, which Mr. Creech very well tranſlates
thus:
-op fwd wat
d
··But fome have dreamt of Acomseftrangely hurľdi
"Into the decent Order of the World,
*
987
And So by Chance combin'd, from whence began
• The Earth, the Heaven, the Sea, and Beaft, and Max.
$
#
t !
To which I crave, leave to fubjoin one Comple-
ment, by way of Confutation of this Folly.;:
ļ
~ Forgetting firſt that fomething must bestow,
Existence on thofe Atoms that did foi
(
The Arguments for the Existence of a Deity,
are fo many, sfo nicely handled, and fo unanfwera.
+
'
ble
។
j
[991]
A
ble, that 'tis needlefs to attempt any Thing that
Way, no Man in his Wits needs any further De-
monftration of it, than what he may find within
himfelf; nor is it any Part of the Work I am up-
on, I have only a few Things to ask of our mo-
dern Atheiſts.
*
1. Whether their more ferious Thoughts do
not reflect upon them in the very A&, and give
the Lie to their Arguments. My Lord Rochefter,
who was arriv'd to an extraordinary Pitch in this
Infernal Learning acknowledg'd it on his Death
Bed; the Senfe Nature has upon her of the Cer
tainty of this great Truth, will give fome Con-
vulfions at fo horrid an A&t.
Nature pays Homage with a trembling Bow,
And Conscious Men but faintly difallow,
The Secret Trepidation racks the Soul,
And while he says, no God, replies, Thou Fool.
2. I would ask the moft confident Atheift, what
Affurance he has of the Negative, and what a
Rifque he runs if he fhould be mistaken? This we
are fure of, if we want Demonftration to prove
the Being of a God, they are much more at a
Lofs for a Demonftration to prove, the Negative.
Now no Man can Anfwer it to his Prudence, to
take the Rifque they run, upon an uncertain fuppo-
fititious Notion; for if there be fuch a Thing as a
firſt Cauſe, which we call God, they have very
little. Reaſon to expect much from him, who have
made it their Bufinefs to affront him by denying
his Exiſtence. Nor have they acted in their De-
nial like wife Men, for they have not uſed fo
much as the Caution of good Manners, but as
Ha
[100]
if they were as fare of his Non-entity, as of the
ſtrongeſt Demonſtration, they have been witty.
upon the Thing, and made a jeft of the Suppofi-
tion, turn'd all Matters of Faith into Ridicule,
burlefqu'd upon Religion it, felf, and made Bal-
lads and Songs on the Bible; thus Rochefter has
left us a long lewd Song, beginning thus :
་
Religion's a Politick Cheat
Made up of many a Fable,
1
Ne're trouble the Wife or the Greaty
But only amufe's the Rabble.
J
禽
​}
J {
A
1
}
Now, I am not in this Difcourfe entring into any
of the Arguments in thefe grand Queſtions on one
fide or other, that would be to make, this Work
a Collection of Polemicks; nor am I Cafuift enough
for fuch a Work; but I am obferving or remarking
upon the Wickedneſs of the treating thefe Subjects
with Levity and Ignorance in the common Road
of Converfation.
Methinks thefe Gentlemen act with more Courage
than Difcretion; for if it fhould happen at laſt,
that there fhould be a God, and that he has the
Power of Rewards and Puniſhments in his, Hand,
as he muſt have or ceaſe to be Almighty, they are
but in an ill Cafe.
1
>
If it should fo fall out, as who can tells
But there may be a God, a Heaven, a Hell,
Mankind had beft confider well for fear,"
T'fhou'd be too late, when their Miftakes appear.
Nor do they in my Opinion difcover any great
Wit in it; there is, if I might pafs for a Judge,
"fome-
1
[101]
?
fomething flat, fomething that fhocks the Fancy,
in' all the Satyr upon Religion that ever I faw; as
if the Muſe were not fo much an Atheiſt as the
Poet, but bauks the Hint, and could not favour a
blafphemous Flight with fo much Freedom and
Spirit that at other Times it has ſhown; which is
a Notice that there is a tacit Senfe of the Deity,
though they pretend to deny it lodg'd in the Un-
derſtanding, that it is not ftifled without fome
Difficulty, and ftruggles hard with the Fancy,
when the Party ftrives to be more than ordinary
Infolent with his Maker.
In the nextPlace as 'tis one of the worſt Immoraliz
ties of Converſation when it is prophane,foBlafphe-
my is the Extream of Prophanenefs; you cannot
come into Company with an Atheist, but you have
it in his common Difcourfe; he is always putting
fome Banter or fooliſh Pun upon Religion, affront-
ing the invifible Power, or ridiculing his Maker;
all his Wit runs out into it, as all Difeafes run, into
the Plague in a Time of Infection, and you muſt
have Patience to hear it or quarrel with him.
Below theſe we have a Sort of People who will
acknowledge a God, but he muſt be ſuch a one-
as they pleaſe to make him; a fine well bred good
natur'd Gentleman like Deity, that cannot have
the Heart to damn any of his Creatures to an
Eternal Punishment, nor could not be fo weak as
to let the Jews crucify his own Son; theſe Men ex-
poſe Religion, and all the Doctrines of Repentance,
and Faith in Chrift, with all the Means of a
Chriſtian Salvation, as matter of Banter and Ridi-
cule. The Bible they fay is a good Hiſtory in
moft Parts, but the Story of our Saviour they look
upon as a meer Novel, and the Miracles of the
New Teftament as a Legend of Prieſtcraft.
*
H 3
Further
[102]
1
+
t
t
Further, befides thefe we have Arians, and So-
cinians, the Diſciples of an ancient Heretick, who
went out of the Chutch always at the finging
the Gloria Patri, that he might be out of the
Noife, and would, fit down at the Doxology of
the Prayers, to note this difowning the Godhead of
Jefus Chrifte, à.
>
}
Thefe are Iniquities, as Fob faid, should be punished by
the Judges, cap. xxii. v. xx, and thefe are the Things
which have given fuch a Stroke to the Ruin. of
the Nation's Morals, for no Method can be fo
direa to prepare People for all Sorts of Wicked-
nefs, as to, perfwade them out of a Belief of any
fupreme Power to refrain them; make a Man
once ceafe to believe a God, and he has nothing
left, to limit bis Appetite but meer Philofophy; if
there is no fupreme Judicature, he must be his
own Judge and his own Law, and will be fo; the
Notion of Hell, Devil, and Infernal Spirits are
empty Things, and have nothing of Terror in
them, if the Belief of a Rower fuperior to them
be obliterated.
ዩ
{
से
是
​ав
$
But to bring this particular, Cafe nearer to the
Point of Converfation, the Errors, of which lie
before me; though we live in an Age where theſe
horrid Degrees of Impiety are too much practifed;
yet we live in a Place where Religion is profeffed,
the Name of God owned and worshipped, Reli-
ligion and the Doctrines of Chriftianity efta-
blifhed; and as it, is fo, it ought as much to bę
preferved by the Civil Power, from the horrid In-
vafion of Atheiſts,, Deifts, and Hereticks, as the
Publick Peace, ought to be defended againſt Free-
booters, Thieves, and Invaders.
#
'Tis very improbable, any Reformation of Man-
pers fhould be brought to pass, if the debauching
the religious Principles of the Nation, goes on
with
[ 103 ]
with an unreftrăin'd Liberty How incongruous
is it to the Decoration of Government, that a Man
fhall be puniſhed for Drunkerinefs, and fet in the
Stocks for Swearing, but fhall have Liberty to de-
ny the God of Heaven, and difpute against the
very Sum and Subftance of the Chriftian Doctrine,
Thall banter the Scripture, and make Ballads of the
Pentateuch, turn all the Principles of Religion,
the Salvation of the Soul, the Death of our Savi-
our, and the Revelation of the Goſpel, into Ridi-
cule? And fhall we pretend to Reformation of
Manners, and fuppreffing Immoralities, while
fuch as this, is the general Mixture of Converfa-
tion? If a Man talk againſt the Government, or
fpeak fcurrilouſly of the King, he is had to the
Old Bayly, and from thence to the Pillory, Oc
Whipping-Poft, and 'tis fit it fhould be fo: But
he may ſpeak Treafon against the Majefty of Hea-
ven, deny the Godhead of his Redeemer, and makę
a Jeft of the Holy Ghoft, and thus affront the
Power we all adote, and yet pafs with Impunity';
perhaps fome in the Company may have Courage
enough to blame him, and vindicate their Reli-
gion with a Why do ye talk fo? But where is the
Man, or the Magiftrate, that ever vindicated the
Honour of his Maker, with a Refentment beco-
ming the Crime? If a Man give the Lie to a
Gentleman in Company, he takes it as an Af-
front, flies into a Paffion, quarrels, fights, and
perhaps murders him; nay, fome have done it for
an abſent Friend, whom they have heard abufed:
But where is the Gentleman that ever thought
himſelf fo much concern'd in the Quarrel of his
Maker, but that he could hear him affronted,
his Being deny'd, the Lie given to his divine Au-
thority, nay, to his divine Being, and all his
Commands ridicul'd and expos'd, without any
1
H 4
Mo-
[104]
}
Motion of Spirit to puniſh the Infolence of the
Barty, and without drawing his Sword in the
Quarrel, or letting him know he does not like it.
Methinks, I need not make an Apology for
this, as if I meant, that Quarrelling and Fighting
were a proper Practice in the Cafe; the Law does
not admit it in any Cafe; nor is it reaſonable it
fhould, and God Almighty is far from defiring
us to run any Rifque in his Service: But I chufe
to bring the Cafes into a Parallel, to fignify, that
I think 'tis a vulgar Error in our Behaviour, not
to fhow our Refentment, when we hear the Ho-
nour and Effence of God flighted and denied, his
Majefty abuſed, and Religion banter'd and ridi-
cul'd in common Difcourfes. I think it would
be very reaſonable, to tell a Gentleman he wants
Manners, when he talks reproachfully of his Ma-
ker, and to uſe him fcurvily if he refented it. It
would very well become a Man of Quality to
cane a lew'd Fop, or kick him down Stairs, when
his Infolence took a Loofe at Religion in his Com
pany, elſe Men may be bullied out of their Chri-
tianity, and lampoon'd into Prophaneneſs, for
Fear of being counted Fools.
{
Befides, 'tis in in this as in all other like Cafes
he that will talk atheiſtically in my Company, ei
ther believes me to be an Atheiſt like himſelf, or
ventures to impofe upon me; and by impofing
upon me, either accounts me a Fool that can't
tell when I am put upon, or a Coward that dare
not refent it.
A
Upon which Account, even in good Manners,
it ought to be avoided; for it can't be intro-
duc'd into any Part of Converfation, where the
Company are not all alike, without the greateſt
Affront upon the reft that can be offered them,
A
The
4. Of
[ 105 ]
M
kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk do do do duk
盏
​4. Of Lewd and Immodeft Difcourfe,
L
Alking Bawdy, that Sodomy of the
Tongue has the moſt of ill Manners, and
the leaft of a Gentleman in it, of any
Part of common Difcourfe. Sir George
Mackenzie has very handsomely expos'd it in its
proper Colours: But it may not be an Intrench-
ment at all upon his Province, to fay fomething
to it in theſe Obfervations.
This Part is the puculiar Practice of fuch Perfon
as arehardened to a Degree beyond other Men;
Proficients in Debauchery, whofe Lives are fo con-
tinually devoted to Lewdneſs, that their Mouths
cannot contain it; who can govern their Tongues
no better than their Tails, and are willing to be
thought what really they are. In thefe, it is
neither fo ftrange, nor fo much a Crime as in o-
thers; theſe are Perfons not to be reclaim'd. This
Part of my Obfervation is not defigned for their
Ufe; they are not to be talk'd out of their Vice;
they muſt go on and run their Length: Nothing
but a Goal or an Hofpital ever brings them to a
Reformation; they repent fometimes in that Em-
blem of Hell, a fluxing Houfe, and under the Sur-
geons Hands, with a little they had been wifer;
but they follow one Sin with another, till their
Carcafs ftinks as bad as their Difcourfe, and the
Body becomes too nafty, for the Soul to ftay any
longer in it: From theſe no Difcourfe is to be ex-
pected, but what is agreeable to the Tenor of
their Lives; for them to talk otherwife, would be
ftrain'd and excentrick, and become them as lit-
M
tle,
[106]
J
វ
tle, as it would be tedious to them; but for a
Gentleman, a Man of feeming Modefty, and a
Man of Behaviour, not arriv'd to that Clafs in
the Devil's School, for fuch a one to mix his Dif
courfe with lew'd and filthy Expreffions, has
fomething in it of a Figure, which inrends more
than is exprefs'd.
Either we muft believe fuch a one' to be very
lew'd in his Practice; or elfe, that not being
able yet to arrive to fuch a Degree of Wickednefs
as he defires, he would fupply that Defect with a
Cheat, and perfwade you to believe he is really
Worfe than he is
Which of theſe two Characters I would chufe to
wear, I cannot tell; for he that défires to be worſe
than he thinks he is, is certainly as bad as he des
fires to be; and he that is fo bad as to let fly the
Excrefcencies of it at his Mouth, is as wicked
as the Devil can in Reafon defire of him.
But I defcend from the Wickedness to the Inde
cency of the Matter; its being a Sin against God,
is not fo much the prefent Argument, as its being
uhmannerly, a Sin againft Breeding, and Society,
a Breach of Behaviour, and a faucy infolent AF
front to all the Company.
I do not deny, but that Modefty, as it refpects
the Covering our Bodies, was at firſt an Effect of
the Fall of our Parents into Crime, and is there-
före faid ftill to be the Confequences of criminal'
Nature, and no Virtue in itfelf, becauſe no Part
of the Body had been unfit to be expofed, if
Vice had not made the Diftinction néceffary.
But from this very Argument, lewd Difcourfe ap
pears to be a Sin againft Cuftom and Decency; for
why muft the Tongue induftriously expofe Things
and Actions at which Nature blushes, and which
Cuftom, let the Original be what it will, has dedi-
cated.
?
[107]
cated to Privacy and Retirement?
What if
it be true, that Shame is the Confequence of Sin,
and that Modeſty is not an original Virtue; it
I cannot but be allowed, that Sin has thereby
brought us to a Neceffity of making Modefty be
a Virtue, and Sin would have a double Influence
upon us, if after it had made us afham'd, it ſhould
make us not aſham'd again..
133
'Tis in my Opinion a Miftake, when we fay,
Sin' was the immediate Caufe of Shame; twas Sin
indeed gave a Nudity to our Natures and Acti-
ons; the Innocence which ferv'd as a Glory and
Covering, being gone, then Shame came in as
the Effect of the confcious Sinner; fo the Text
fays, They knew that they were naked: Shame was
the Effect of Nakednefs, as Nakednefs was the
Effect of Sin.
From hence then I argue, and this is the Rea-
fon of my naming it, That to be afham'd of our
Nakedness, is a Token of our Wifdom, and a
Monument of our juft Senfe of the firſt Sin that
made it fo, and as much a Duty now, as any
other Part of our Repentance.
To give the Tongue then a Liberty in that which
there is fo much Reafon to blufh at, argues no
Senſe of the Original Degeneracy. Where is
the Man that partakes not of Adam's Fall, haş
no vicious contracted Habit and Nature convey'd
to him from his Grand-Predeceffor? Let him
come forth, let him go naked, and live by himſelf,
and let his Pofterity partake of his Innocence
his Tongue cannot offend, nothing can be inde-
cent for him to fay, nothing uncomely for him
to fee.
But if theſe Gentlemen think it proper to cover
their Nakednefs with their Clothes, methinks
they fhould not be always uncovering it again
with
[108]
with their Tongues; if there are fome needful
Things, which Nature requires to be done in fe-
cret, and which they by Inclination chuſe to ac
in Private: What Reaſon can they give for ſpeak-
ing of them in Publick.
There is a ſtrange Incongruity in the Behaviour
of thefe People, that they fill their Mouths with
the foul Repetition of Actions, and Things which
their own Practicing in Private condems them for,
nay, which they would be afham'd to do in Pub-
lick; fuch Men ought to act the common Require-
ments of Nature, in the moft publickeft Places of
the Streets, bring their Wives or Whores to the
Exchange, and to the Market Places, and lye
with them in the Street, or elfe hold their Tongues,
and let their Mouths have no more the Stench of
their Vices in Publick, than their Actions.
And why of all the reft of the Parts of Life,
muft the Tongue take a peculiar Licence to re-
vel thus upon Nature as if fhe had a Mind to
reproach her with the Infirmities fhe labours un-
der: The Cuſtoms we are obliged to, tho' they are
Cloggs upon Nature, and a Badge of original
Defection; yet neither is there any thing fo odi-
ous, or fo burdenfome, that theſe Gentlemen
fhould triumph over the Nurfe that brought them
up.
:
Take the lewdeſt and moſt vicious Wretch that
ever gave his Tongue a Loofe in this hateful Pra-
&tice, and turn him about to his Mother, you fhall
hardly prevail upon him to talk his lewd Language
to her; there is fomething naufeous and furfeiting
in that Thought: This talking Bawdy, is like
a Man going to debauch his own Mother; for
'tis raking into the Arcana, and expofing the Na-
kedneſs of Nature, the common Mother of us all.
If,
[109]
If, as a famous Man of Wit pretended, lying
with a Woman was the homlieft thing that Man can
;tis much more true, that talking of it is the
homlieft thing that Man can ſay.
Not is there to me any Jeft in theſe things, no
Appearance of Mirth: There may be fome Plea-
fure in wicked Actions, as the World rates Plea-
fure, but I must profefs 'tis dull, and for Want of
other more regular Taftes, that there fhould be
Pleaſure in the Difcourfe: 'Tis a prophaning of
Nature, and bringing forth thofe Things fhe has
hallowed to Secrefy and Retirement, to the fcan-
dalous Indecency of publick Banter and Jeft.
But Men, who have always fomething to fay
for their Folly, tell us, 'tis Cuftom only which
has made any of theſe things uncommon; and
there's no Sin in fpeaking that which there is no
Sin in doing.
Let us grant them, that Cuſtom only has done
this: But if Cuſtom has made theſe things uncom-
mon, and conceal'd, or at leaſt, baniſh'd them
from the Voice of Converſation. 'Tis a Sin then
againſt Cuſtom to expoſe them again. Lawful
Cuſtoms become allowed Virtues, and ought to
be preſerved. Cuftom is a good Reafon in fuch
Concealments; if Cuftom has lock'd them up, let'
them remain fo; at leaft, till you can give a bet-
ter Reafon for calling them abroad again, than
Cuſtom has given for reftraining them. Caftom
has made theſe things uncommon, becauſe that
Sin, which firft made Nature naked, left her fo
captivated, by fome of her Parts more than others,
that he could not but blufh at thofe, where Sin
had taken up its peculiar Refidence. Now, as I
noted before, no Man can with any tolerable Satif-
faction, expofe the Parts, till he has firſt abftra-
&ed and feparated the Sin, which having poffefs'd
them,
[ rio ]
;
them, cover'd them at firft with Shame: He
that can do this, may go naked, and talk any
thing.
2
سلام
And for the fame Reaſon, no Man can juftify
talking lewdly, but he that at the fame Time
throws away his Clothes, for to cover himfelf
with his Hands, and uncover himfelf with his
Tongue, are Contradictons in their own Nature,
and one condemns the other. He that fcorns the
Decency of Words, fhould alfo fcorn the Decen-
cy of Clothes, let his Body be as bald as his
Difcourfe, and let him fcorn the Shame of one, as
well as the Shame of the other.
It is no Sin, they fay, to talk of, what it is
Sin to do; and I may add, 'tis no Sin at all to
thew, what'tis no Sin to defcribe. Why is the
Eye to be lefs offended than the Ear, fince both are
but the common Organs of the Underſtanding?
TO
But the Weather and Inconveniencies of the
Climate, are urged for clothing our Bodies, and
I urge, Decency and good Manners for the Go
vernment of our Tongues; and let any one con-
tend it with me, that thinks he can prove, that
the Obligation of the firft is greater than the
Obligation of the laft.
Much more might be faid to this, but I make
but an Effay, and am unwilling to run out into a
long Difcourfe.
་
AKARMAN
મ
A
x
}
Of
[ III ]
ちょ
​ية المال
L
•
t
B
Of Talking falfly.
Y Talking falfly, I do not defign to enter
upon a long Differtation upon the Sin
of Lying in general, I fuppofe all Men
that read me will acknowledge Lying to
be one of the moft fcandalous Sins between Man
and Man; a Crime of a deep Dye, and of an ex-
tenfive Nature leading into innumerable Sins;
That is, as Lying is practifed to deceive, to in-
jure, betray, rob, deftroy, and the like. Lying
in this Senfe is the concealing of all other Crimes,
'tis the Sheeps Clothing hung upon the Wolves
back, 'tis the Pharifee's Prayer, the Whore's Bluth,
the Hypocrite's Paint, the Murderer's Smile, the
Thief's Cloke, 'tis Joab's Embrace, and Judas's
Kifs; in a Word, 'tis Mankind's Darling-Sin,
and the Devil's diftinguifhing Character.
P
But this is not the Cafe I am upon, this is not
the talking falfly I am upon, but a ſtrange Liberty
which (particularly in Converfation). People take
to talk failly, without charging themſelves with any
Offence in it, either against God or Man: This is to be
confidered in two or there Parts, not but that it has
many more..
The Liberty of telling Stories, a common
Vice in Difcourfe; the main End of this extraordi-
nary Part of Tittle Tattle, is to divert the Com-
pany, and make them laugh; but we ought to con
fider, whether that very empty Satisfaction either
to ourselves or Friends, is to be purchafed at fo
great
[112]
1
great an Expence as that of Confcience) and of
a Dishonour done to Truth.
"Tis fcarce fit to fay, how far fome. People go
in this Folly, to call it no worfe, even till fome-
times they bring the general, Credit of their
Converfation into decay, and People that are uſed
to them, learn to lay no Strefs upon any Thing
they fay.
J.
For once we will fuppofe a Story to be in its
Subſtance true, yet to what monftrous a Bulk
doth it grow, by that frequent Addition put to
it in the Relation, till not only it comes to be im-
probable, but even impoffible to be true; and the
ignorant Relator is fo tickled with having made
a good Story of it, whatever it was when he
found it, that he is blind to the Abfurdities and
Inconfiftencies of Fact in Relation, and tells it
with a full Face, even. to thofe that are able
to confute it, by proving it to be impoffible.
I
I once heard a Man who would have taken it.
very ill to be thought a Lyar, tell a Story, the
Facts of which were impoffible to be true; and yet
affert it with fo much Affurance, and declare fo
pofitively, that he had been an Eye-Witneſs of; it
himfelf, that there was nothing to do but in refpect
to the Man, let him alone and fay nothing.. A
Gentleman who fat by, and whofe good. Breeding
reftrained his Paffion, turn'd to him, and faid, did
you fee this Thing done Sir? yes, I did Sir, fays,
Relator: Well Sir, replies the Gentleman, fince you
affirm that you did fee it, I am bound in regard to you
to believe it; but upon my Word, 'tis fuch a Thing,
that if I had ſeen it my felf, I would not have believed
it: This broke the Silence, fet all the Company a
laughing, and expofed the Falfhood, more than
down right telling him it was a Lye, which might
befides have made à Broil about it.
•
"Tis
[113]
>
'Tis a ftrange Thing, that we cannot be con-
tent to tell a Story as it is, but we muſt take from
it on one Side, or add to it on another; till the
Fact is loft among the Addenda, and till in Time even
the Man himſelf remembring it only as he told it
laft, really forgets how it was Originally; this
being fo generally practiſed now, nothing is more
common, than to have two Men tell the fame
Story quite differing one from another, yet both
of them Eye-Witneſſes to the Fact related. Theſe
are that fort of People, who having once told a
Story falfly, tell it fo often in the fame or like
manner, till they really believe it to be true.
↓
This ſupplying a Story by Invention, is certainly
a moft fcandalous Crime and yet very little regarded
in that Part, it is a fort of Lying that makes a great
Hole in the Heart, at which by Degrees a Habit
of Lying enters in: Such a Man comes quick-
ly up, to a total difregarding the Truth of what he
fays, looking upon it as a Trifle, a Thing of no
import, whether any Story he tells be true or no,
fo it but commands the Company as they call it ;
that is to fay,procures a Laugh,or a kind of Amaze-
ment Things equally agreeable to thefe Story-
Tellers; for the Bufinefs is to affect the Com-
pany, either ſtartle them with fomething wonder-
ful, never heard of before; or make them laugh
immoderately, as at fomething prodigiously ta-
king, witty, and diverting.
It is hard to place this Practice in a Station e-
qual to its Folly, 'tis a Meannefs below the Digni-
ty of common Senſe: They that lye to gain, to
deceive, to delude, to betray às above, have fome
End in theiv Wickednefs; and though they can-
not give the Deſign for an excufe of their Crime,
yet it may be given as the Reafon and Founda-
tion of it: But to lye for Sport, for Fun, as the
I
Boys
[ 14 ]
Boys exprefs it, is to play at Shutte-cock with your
Soul, and load your Confcience for the meer fake
of being a Fool, and the making A meer Buffoonry
of a Story, the Pleaſure of what is below even
Madneſs itſelf.
1
And yet, how common is this Folly
How
is it the Character of fome Men's Converſation,
that they are made up of Story? And how mean
a Figure is it they bear in Company? Such Men
always betray their Emptinefs by this, and ha-
ving only a certain Number of Tales in their
Budget, like a Pedlar with his Pack, they can
only át every, Houfe fhew the fame Ware over
again, tell the fame Story over and over, 'till the
Jeft is quite worn out; and to convince us, that
much of it, if not all, is born of Invention, they
feldom tell it the fame Way twice, but vary it
even in the moſt material Facts: So that though
it may be remembred, that it was the fame Story,
It ought never to be remembred, that it was told
by the fame Man.
With what Temper fhould I fpeak of theſe
People? What Words can exprefs the Meannefs
and Baſeneſs of theMind, that can do thus? that fin
without Deſign, and not only have no End in
the View, but even no Reflection in the A&: the
Folly is grown up to a Habit, and they not only
mean no Ill, but indeed mean nothing at all in it.
It is a ftrange Length that fome People
run in this Madneſs of Life, and it is ſo odd, fo
unaccountable, that indeed 'tis difficult to deſcribe
the Man, tho' not difficult to defcribe the Fact.
what Idea can be form'd in the Mind, of a Man,
who does ill without meaning ill? that wrongs
himſelf, affronts Truth, and impofes upon his
Friends, and yet means noHarm; or to ufe his own
Words, means nothing? That if he thinks any
Thing
[115]
Thing, 'tis to make the Company pleafant, and
what is this but making the Circle a Stage, and
himſelf the Merry Andrew.
The beſt Step fuch Men can take is to LYE
ON; and this fhews the Singularity of the Crime; it
is a ſtrange Expreffion, but I fhall make it out; their
Way is, I fay, to Lye on; 'till their Character is
compleatly known, and then they can lye no long-
er; for he whom no Body believes, can deceive no
Body, and then the Effence of Lying is removed; for
the Deſcription of a Lye is, that 'tis ipoken to
deceive, or 'tis a Defign to deceive. Now, he
that no Body believes, can never lye any more,
becauſe no Body can be deciev'd by him. Such
a Man's Character is a Bill upon his Forehead, by
which every Body knows, Here dwells a Lying
Tongue: When every Body knows what is to be
had of him, they know what to expect; and fo
no Body is deceiv'd; if they believe him after-
wards, 'tis their Fault as much as his.
鲁
​There are a great many Sorts of thoſe People,
who make it their Bufinefs to go about telling
Stories; it would be endleſs to enumerate them,
fome tell formal Stories forg'd in their own Brain
without any Rétrofpe&t either on Perfons or Things;
I mean, as to any particular Perfon, or Paffage
known, or in Being, and only with the ordinary
Introduction of, There was a Man, or, there was
a Woman, and the like.
Back
Others again, out of the fame Forge of Inven-
tion, hammer out the very Perfon, Man or Wo-
man, and begin, I knew the Man, or I knew the Wom
man, and thefe ordinarily vouch their Story with
more Affurance than others; and vouch alfo, that
they knew the Perfons who were concern'd in it.
The felling or writing a Parable, or an allu-
five allogorick Hiftory is quite a different Cafe,
and
I 2
[116]
1
'
}
and is always Diftinguifht from this other Jeft-
ing with Truth; that it is defign'd and effectually
turn'd for inftructive and upright Ends, and has
its Moral juſtly apply'd: Such are the hiftorical
Parables in the holy Scripture, fuch the Pilgrims
Progrefs, and fuch in a Word the Adventures of
your fugitive Friend, Robinson Crusoe.
Others make no Scruple to relate real Stories
with innumerable Omiffions and Additions: I
mean, Stories which have a real Exiſtence in Fact,
but which by the barbarous Way of relating, be
come as romantick and falſe, as if they had no real
Original. Theſe Tales, like the old Galley of
Venice, which had been fo often new vamped,
doubl'd and redoubl'd, that there, was not one
Piece of the firft Timber in her, have been told
wrong fo often, and fo many Ways, 'till there
would not be one Circumftance of the real Story
left in the relating.
There are many more Kinds of thefe, fuch
namely, as are perfonal and malicious, full of
Slander and Abufe; but theſe are not of the
Kinds I am ſpeaking of; the preſent Buſineſs is
among a Kind of white Devils, who do no
Harm or Injury to any but, to themſelves; they
are like the Grafhopper, that ſpends his Time
to divert the Traveller, and does nothing but
ftarve himself. The Converfation of thefe Men
is full of Emptiness, their Words are Levity itſelf,
and according to the Text, they not only tell Un-
truths, but the Truth is not in them. There is not
a fettl'd Awe or Reverence of Truth upon their
Minds; 'tis a Thing of nọ Value to them, 'tis
not regarded in their Difcourfe, and they give
themſelves a Liberty to be perfectly unconcern'd
about the Thing they fay, or the Story they tell,
whether it be true, or no.
This
1
[117]
•
This is a moſt abominable Practice on another
Account, namely, that thefe Men make a jeft of
their Crime; they are a Sort of People that Sin
laughing; that play upon their Souls as a Man
plays upon a Fiddle, to make other People dance
and wear itſelf out; they may be faid to make
fome Sport indeed, but it is all at themfelves,
they are the Hearers Comedy and their own Tra-
gedy; and like a penitent Jack-pudding, they will
at laft fay, I have made others merry, but I have
been the Fool.
I would be glad to fhame Men of common
Senfe, out of this horrid Piece of Buffoonry; and
one Thing I would warn them of, namely, tha:
their learning to Lye fo currently in Story, will
infenfibly bring them to a bold entrenching upon
Truth, in the rest of their Converfation; the
Scripture Command is, Lt every Man Speak Truth
unto his Neighbour; if we must tell Stories, tell
them as Stories, add nothing willfully to illuftrate
or fet it forth in the Relations if you doubt the
Truth of it, ſay fo, and then every one will be at
Liberty to bel eve their Share of it.
Befides, there is a ſpreading Evil in telling a
falfe Story as true, namely, that you put it into
the Mouths of others, and it continues a brooding
Forgery to the End of Time; 'tis a Chimney-corner
Romance, and has in it this diftinguifhing Article,
that whereas Parables, and the Inventions of Men
publifh'd Hiftorically, are once for all related,
and the Moral being drawn, the Hiftory re-
mains allufive only, as it was intended, as in feve-
ral Cafes (a)may be inftanced within our Time ()
(a) The Pilgrims Progrefs.
(b) The Family Inftructor and others.
and
13
[ 118 ]
and without; here the Cafe alters, Fraud goes unto
the World's End, for Story, never dies every Rela-
tor Vouches, it for Truth, tho' he knows nothing
of the Matter.
Y
Thefe Men know not what Foundations they
are laying for handing on the Sport of Lying, for
Juch they make of it to Pofterity, not only leaving
the Example, but dictating the very Materials for
the Practice; like Family-Lies handed on from
Father to Son, till what begun in Forgery Ends
in Hiftory, and we make our Lies be told for
Truth, by all our Children that come after us.
If any Man object here, that the preceeding
Volumes of this Work feem to be hereby con-
demn'd, and the Hiftory which I have therein
publifh'd of my felf, cenfur'd; I demand in Ju-
tice, fuch Objector ftay his Cenfure, till he fees
the End of the Scene, when all that Myftery fhall
diſcover it felf, and I doubt not, but the Work
shall abundantly juftify the Defign, and the De-
fign abundantly juftify the Work.
}
1
Y
CHAP.
[119]
$
3
28
ດດດດດດ
CHAP. IV.
}
An ESSAY on the preſent State of
RELIGION in the World,
N that Part of my Work, which may
be called Hiftory, I have fre-
quently mention'd the unconque-
rable Impreffions which dwelt up-
on my Mind, and fill'd up all my
Defires immoveably preffing me to a wandring
travelling Life, and which pufh'd me continually
on, from one Adventure to another, as you have
heard.
}
There is an inconfiderate Temper which reigns
In our Minds, that hurries us down the Stream of
our Affections, by a kind of involuntary Agency,
and makes us do a thouſand things, in the doing of
which, we propofe nothing to our felves, but an
immediate Subjection to our WILL, that is to
fay, our Paffion, even without the Concurrence
of our Underftandings, and of which we can give
very little Account, after 'tis done.
You may now fuppofe me, to be arriv'd, after å
long Courſe of infinite Variety, on the Stage of
the World, to the Scene of Life, we call Qld Age;
and that I am writing thefe Sheets in a Seafon of
my Time, when (if ever) a Man may be ſuppoſed
I 4
capable
"
I
[120]]
capable of making juft Reflections upon things
paft, a true Judgement of things prefent, and
tolerable Conclufions of things to come.
In the Beginning of this Life of Compofure; for
now, and not till now, Lemay fay, that I begun to
live, that is to fay, a ſedate and compos'd Life,
I enquir'd of my felf very feriouſly one Day, what
was the proper Bufinefs of old Age? The Anfwer
was very natural, and indeed return'd quick upon
me, namely, that two things were my prefent
Work, as above."
1. Reflection upon things paft.
2. Serious Application to things future.
$ !
Having refolv'd the Bufinefs of Life into theſe
Heads, I began immediately with the First; and
as fome Times I took my Pen and Ink to disbur
then my Thoughts, when the Subject crowded in
faft upon me; fo I have here communicated fome
of my Obfervations for the Benefit of thofe that
come after me.
{
2
About the Time that I was upon thefe Enqui
ries, being at a Friend's Houfe, and talking much
of my long Travels, as you know Travellers are apt
to do; Lobferv'd an antient Gentlewoman in the
Company liften'd with a great deal of Attention,
and as I thought, with fome Pleafure, to what I
was faying: And after I had done, Pray Sir, Jays
be, turning her Speech to me, give me Leave to
ask you a Queftion or two? With all my Heart,
Madam, ſaid I; fo we began the following hort
Dialogue.
4
Old Gent. Pray Sir, in all your Travels, can you
tell what is the World a-doing? What have you
obferv'd to be the principal Buſineſs of Mankind?
Rob
{
34
[121]
Rob. Cru. Truly Madam, 'tis very hard to an-
fwer fuch a Queſtion, the People being fo diffe-
rently employ'd, fome one Way, and fome another;
and particularly, according to the feveral Parts of
the World, thro' which our Obfervations are to
run, and according to the differing Manners, Cu-
ſtoms, and Circumſtances of the People in every
Place.
រ
*
Old Gent. Alas! Sir,that is no Anſwer at all to
me, becauſe I am not a Judge of the differing
Cuſtoms and Manners of the People you may
ſpeak of: But, Is there not one common End and
Deſign in the Nature of Men, which feems to
run thro' all their Actions, and to be form'd by
Nature, as the main End of Life, and by Confe-
quence is made the chief Bufinefs of Living? Pray,
how do they ſpend their Time?
R. C. Nay; now Madam you have added a
Queſtion to the reft, of a different Nature from
what, if I take you right, you meant at firſt
Old Gent. What Queftion, Sir?
R. C. Why! how Mankind fpend their Time;
for I cannot fay, that one half of Mankind fpend
their Time in what they themſelves may acknow-
ledge to be the main End of Life.
Old Gent, Pray, don't diftinguish me out of my
Queſtion, we may talk of what is the true End of
Life, as we underſtood it here in a Chriſtian Coun
try another Time: But take my Queſtion as I
offer it, What is Mankind generally a doing as their
main Buſineſs?
R. C. Truly, the main Buſineſs that Mankind
feems to be doing, is to eat and drink, that's their
Enjoyment, and to get Food to cat is the 'r Em-
ployment, including a little, their eating and
devouring one another.
Old Gen
[122]
}
Old Gent. That's a Defcription of them as
Brutes.
R. G. It is fo in the First Part, namely, their
Living to eat and drink: But in the laft Part they
are worſe than the Brutes; for the Brutes deſtroy
not their own Kind, but all prey upon a different
Species; and befides, they prey upon one another,
for Neceffity, to fatisfy their Hunger, and for
Food: But Man for bafer Ends, fuch as Ava-
rice, Envy, Revenge, and the like; devours his
own Species, nay, his own Ffefh and Blood, as
my Lord Rochefter very well expreffes it.
1
But judge your felf, I'll bring it to the Teſt,
Which is the bafeft Creature, Man or Beaft.
Birds feed on Birds, Beafts on each other Prey,
But Savage Man alone does Man betray.
Press'd by Neceffity, they kill for Food,
Man, undoes Man, to do himself no Good.
With Teeth and Claws, by Nature arm'd they bunt,
Nature's Allowance to Jupply their Want:
But Man with Smiles, embraces, Friendship, Praife,
Inhumanly his Fellows Life betrays. -
With voluntary Pains works his Diftreſs,
Not for Neceffity, but Wantonnefs.
R
Old Gent. All this I believe is true; but this
does not reach my Queftion yet: There is cer-
tainly fomething among them, which is efteemed
as more particularly the End of Life, and of Living,
than the rcft; to which they apply in common,
as
the main Buſineſs, and which it is alway eſteem-
ed to be their Wiſdom to be employ'd in: Is there
not
}
f
意
​\
[123].
$
not fomething that is apparently the great Bufinefs
of Living?
>
ARC. Why really, Madam, I think not. For
Example: Great Part of the World, and a
greater Part by far than we imagine, is refolv'd in-
to the loweſt Degeneracy of human Nature, I
mean the Savage Life; where the chief End of
Life feems to be meerly to eat and drink, that is
to ſay, to get their Food, juſt as the brutal Life
is employ'd, and indeed with very little Difference
between them; for except only Speech and Ido
latry, I fee nothing in the Life of fome whole Na-
tions of People, and for ought I know, containing
Millions of Souls, in which the Life of a Lion or
an Elephant in the Defarts of Arabia, is not e-
qual.
Qld Gent. I could mention many things, Sir, in
which they might differ, but that is not the pre-
fent thing I enquire about: But, pray Sir, Is not
Religion the principal Buſineſs of Mankind in all
the Parts of the World; for I think you granted
it when you nam'd-Idolatry, which they, no doubt,
call Religion?
R. C. Really, Madam, I cannot fay it is; becaufe,
what with Ignorance on one hand, and Hypocri-
fy on the other, 'tis very hard to know where to
find Religion in the World.
Old Gent. You avoid my Queftion too laboriouf-
ly, Sir, I have nothing to do either with the Ig-
norance or Hypocrify of the People, whether they
are blindly devout, or knavifhly and defignedly de-
vout, is not the Cafe; but whether Religion iş
is
not apparently the main Bufinefs of the World, the
principal apparent End of Life, and the Employ-
ment of Mankind?
R. C. What do you call Religion?
Old Gent
+
[124]
Old Gent. By Religion, I mean, the Worthip-
ping and Paying Homage to fome fupreme Being,
fome God, known or unknown, is not to the Cafe,
fo it be but to fomething counted fupreme.
R. C. It is true, Madam, there are fearce any
Nations in the World fo ftupid, but they give Te-
ftimony to the Being of a God, and have fome No-
tion of a fupreme Power.
{
Old Gent. That I know alfo, but that is not the
main Part of my Queftion: But my Opinion is,
that paying a divine Worſhip, Acts of Homage and
Adoration, and particularly, that of Praying to
the Supreme Being, which they acknowledge, is
deriv'd to Mankind from the Light of Nature,
with the Notion or Belief itſelf.
R. C. I fuppofe Madam, you mean by the Que-
fion then, Whether the Notion or Belief of a God
în general, and the Senfe of Worſhip in particu
lar, are not one and the fame natural Principle.
Old Gent. I do fo, if you and I do but agree
about what we call Worfhip.
R. C. By Worſhip, I underſtand Adoration.
Old Gent. But there you and I differ again a lit
tle; for by Worſhip, I underſtand Supplication.
R. C. Then you muſt take them both in toge-
ther; for fome Part of the Indian Savages only
adore.
4
Old Gent. I confefs there is much Adoration,
where there is little Supplication.
R. C. You diftinguifh too nicely, Madam.
"Old Gent No, no, I do not diftinguiſh in what
I call Worship; I alledge, that all the Adora-
tion of thoſe poor Savages is mere Supplication:
You fay they lift up their Hands to their Idols, for
Fear they fhould hurt them.
R. C. I do fay fo, and it is apparent.
Old Gent.
A
་
[125]
Old Gent. Why, that is the fame thing, for then
they lift up their Hands to him, that is to fay,
pray to him not to hurt them; for all the Wor-
Thip in the World, efpecially the outward Per-
formance, may be refolv'd into Supplication.
R. R. I agree with you in that, if you mean the
apparent End of Worſhip.
Old Gent. Why! did not your Man Friday and
the Savage Woman you tell us of, talk of their
old Idol they call'd Benamuckee? And what did
they do?
R. C. It is very true they did.
Old Gent. And did not Friday tell you they
went up to the Hills, and faid O to him? Pray,
what was the Meaning of faying O to him: But
O do not hurt us; for thou art Omnipotent,
and canft kill us: 0 heal our Diftempers; for thou
art Infinite, and can't do all things: O give us
what we want; for thou art Bountiful; O fpare
us; for thou art Merciful: And fo of all the other
Conceptions of a God?
R. C. Well, Madam, I grant all this, pray what
do you infer from it? What is the Rcafon of your
Queſtion?
Old Gent. O Sir, I have many Inferences to
draw from it for my own Obfervation, I do not
fet up to inftru&t you.
*
I thought this ferious old Lady would have en
tertain❜d a farther Difcourfe with me on fo fruit-
ful a Subject; but fhe declin'd it, and left me to
my own Meditation, which indeed the had rais'd
up to an unuſual Pitch: And the firſt thing that
occurr'd to me, was to put me upon enquiring
after that nice thing, I ought to call Religion, in
the World; feeing really I found Reafon to think,
1
that
[126]
1
that there was much more Devotion than Religion
in the World; in a Word, much more Adoration
than Supplication: And I doubt, as I come nearer
Home, it will appear, that there is much more
Hypocrify than Sincerity: Of which I may ſpeak
by itſelf.
In my firft Enquiries, I look'd back upon my
own Travels, and it afforded me but a melancho-
ly Reflection, that in all the Voyages and Tra-
vels which I have employ'd two Volumes in giving
a Relation of, I never fet my Foot in a Chriftian
Country, no not in circling three Parts of the
Globe; for, excepting the Brafils, where the
Portugueſe indeed profefs'd the Roman-Catholick
Principles, which however, in Diſtinction from
Paganifm, I will call the Chriftian Religion; I
fay, except the Brafils, where alfo I made little
Stay, I could not be faid to ſet Foot in a Chriſtiª
an Country, or a Country inhabited by Chriſtians,
from the Bay of La'rache, and the Port of Sallee,
by the Straits Mouth, where I eſcap'd from Slave-
ry, thro' the Atlantick Ocean, the Coafts of
Africk on one Side, and of Carribbea on the Ameri-
can Shore, on the other Side; from thence to Má-
dagaſcar, Malabar, and the Bay and City of Bon-
gale, the Coaft of Sumatra, Malacca, Siam, Cambo-
dia, Cochinchina, the Empire and Coaft of Chinaz
the Defarts of Karakathay, the Mongul Tartars, the
Siberian, the Samoiede Barbarians, and till I came
within four or five Days of Arch-Angel in the Black
Ruffia.
It is, I fay, a melancholy Reflection to think,
how all theſe Parts of the World, and with infinite
Numbers of Millions of People, furniſh'd with the
Powers of Reaſon, and Gifts of Nature, and ma-
ny Ways, if not every Way, as capable of the
Reception of fublime things, as we are, are yet
aban-
[127]
abandon'd to the groffeft Ignorance and Depra-
vity; and that not in Religion only, but even in
all the defirable Parts of humane Knowledge,
and eſpecially Science and acquir'd Knowledge.
What the Divine Wiſdom has determined con-
eerning the Souls of fo many Millions, it is hard
to conclude, nor is it my preſent Deſign_to_en-
quire; but this I may be allow'd here, as a Re-
mark: If they are received to Mercy in a Fu-
ture State, according to the Opinion of fome,
as having not fin❜d againſt faving Light, then their
Ignorance and Pagan Darkneſs is not a Curfe, but
a Felicity; and there are no unhappy People in
the World, but thofe loft among Chriftians, for
their Sins againſt reveal'd Light; nay, then being
born in the Regions of Chriftian Light, and un-
der the Revelation of the Goſpel Doctrines, is not
fo much a Mercy to be acknowledged as fome
teach us, and it may in a negative Manner be true,
that the Chriſtian Religion is an Efficient in the
Condemnation of Sinners, and lofes more than it
faves, which is impious but to imagin: On the o-
ther Hand, if all thofe Nations are concluded
under the Sentence of eternal Abfence from God,
which is Hell in the Abftra&t; then what becomes
of all the fceptical Doctrines of its be
ng incon-
fiftent with the Mercy and Goodneſs of an infi-
nite and beneficent Being, to condemn fo great a
Part of the World, for not believing in him of
whom they never had any Knowledge or Inftru-
tion? But I defire not to be the Promoter of un-
anfwerable Doubts in Matters of Religion; much
lefs would I promote Cavils at the Foundations
of Religion, either as to its Profeffion or Practice,
and therefore I only name Things. I return to my
Enquiry after Religion as we generally underſtand
the Word.
And
[128]
And in this I confine my felf in my prefent Enqui
ries to the particular Nations profeffing the Chri-
ftian Religion only, and I fhall take Notice after-
ward, what influence the want of Religion has
upon the Manners the Genius, and the Capaci-
ties of the People, as to all the improvable Parts of
human Knowledge.
The Moors of Barbary are Mahometans, and that
of the moſt degenerate and unpoliſhed Sort, efpe-
cially of that Part of the World where they live;
they are cruel as Beaſts, vicious, infolent, and in-
human as degenerated Nature can make them:
Moral Vertues have fo little recommended them-
felves to any among them, that they are accounted
no Accompliſhment, and are in no Eſteem; nor is
a Man at all reſpected for being grave, fober, ju-
dicious, or wife, or for being juft in his Dealings,
or moſt eaſy in his Converfation; but Rapine and
Injury is the Cuſtom of the Place; and it is to re-
commend a great Man, that he is rich, powerful
in Slaves, mercilefs in his Government of them,
and imperiouſly haughty in his whole Houfhold.
Every Man is a King within himfelf, and regards
neither Juſtice or Mercy, Humanity or Civility,
either to them above him, or them below him,
but juſt as his arbitrary Paffions guide him.
Religion here is confin'd to the Biram and the
Ramadan, the Feaft and the Faft, to the Mofque
and the Bath; reading the Alcoran on one Hand,
and performing rhe Wafhings and Purifications on
the other, make up their religious Exerciſes; and
for the reft, Converfation is eaten up with Bar-
bariſms and Brutish Cuftoms; fo that there's nei-
ther Society, Humanity, Confidence in one ano-
ther, or Converſation with one another; but Men
live like the wild Beafts, for every Man here real-
ly would deſtroy and devour the other if he could.
This
[129]
:
This guided me to a juſt Reflection, in Ho-
nour of the Chriftian Religion, which I have of
ten fince made Ufe of, and which on this Occa-
fion I will make a Digreffiou to, viz. That it is to
be faid for the Reputation of the Chriftian Religi-
on in general, and by which it is juftly diftin-
guifh'd from all other Religions, that where-ever
Chriſtianity has been planted or profefs'd natio-
nally in the World, even where it has not had a
Saving Influence, it has yet had a Civilizing Influ-
ence: It has operated upon the Manners, the Mo-
rals, the Politics, and even the Tempers and
Difpofitions of the People: It has redue'd them to
the Practice of Virtue, and to the true Methods
of Living, has wean'd them from the Barbarous
Cuſtoms they had been uſed to, infufing a Kind
of Humanity and Softneſs of Diſpoſition into their
very Natures; civilizing and ſoftning them, teach-
ing them to love a Regularity of Life, and filling
them with Principles of generous Kindneſs and
Beneficence one to another; in a Word, it has
taught them to live like Men, and act upon the
Foundations of Clemency, Humanity, Love, and
and good Neighbourhood, fuitable to the Nature
and Dignity of God's Image, and to the Rules of
Juftice and Equity, which it inftructs them in.
*
Nay farther, I muſt obſerve alfo, That as the
Chriſtian Religion has worn out, or been remo-
ved from any Country, and they have returned to
Heathenifm and Idolatry, fo the Barbariſms have
return'd, the Cuſtoms of the Heathen Nations have
been again reftor❜d; the very Nature and Temper of
the People, have been again loft; all their generous
Principles have forfaken them, the Softnefs and
Goodneſs of their Difpofitions have worn out,
and they have returned to Cruelty, Inhumanity,
Rapin, and Blood.
K
Ip
[130]
#
It is true, and it may be nam'd as an Obje-
tion to this Remark of mine, that the Romans
tho' Heathens, and the Grecians by the Study of
Philofophy, in particular Perfons, and by the
Excellency of their Government in their general
or national Capacity, were fill'd with Notions of
Virtue and Honour, with moft generous and just
Principles, and acted with an heroic Mind in
many Occafions; practising the moft fublime and
exalted Height of Virtue, fuch as facrificing their
Lives for their Country, with the utmoft Zeal;
defcending to great Examples of Humanity and
Beneficence, fcorning to do bafe or vile Actions,
as unworthy the Roman Name, to fave their
Lives; and a great many moft excellent Examples
of Virtue and Gallantry, are found in the Hifto-
ries of the Roman Empires.
This does not oppofe, it rather indeed illuftrates
what I fay; for with all the Philofophy, all the
Humanity and Generofity they practis'd, they had
yet their Remains of Barbarity, were cruel and
unmerciful in their Natures, as appear'd by the
Barbarity of their Cuftoms, fuch as throwing Ma-
lefactors to wild Beafts, the Fightings of their
Gladiators, and the like; which were not only
appointed as Puniſhments and Severities, by the
Order of Public Juſtice; but to fhew it touch'd the
very Article I am upon, it was the Subject of
their Sport and Diverfion, theſe Things were ex-
hibited as Shows to entertain the Ladies; the
Cutting in Pieces fourty or fifty Slaves, and the
Seeing twenty or thirty miferable Creatures thrown
to the Lyons and Tygers, was no lefs pleaſant to
them, than the Going to fee an Opera, a Mafque-
rade, or a Puppet Show, is to us; So that I
think, the Romans were very far from a People ci-
viliz❜d and foften'd in their Natures by the Influ
1
ences
*
[131]
encss of Religion And this is evident, becaufe,
that as the Chriſtian Religion came among them,
all thoſe cruel Cuſtoms were abhorr'd by them, the
famous Theatres and Circles for their publick
Sports, were overthrown, and the Ruines of
them teftify the Juftice of my Obfervation at this
very Day.
Nor will it be deny'd, if I fhould carry this yet
farther, and obferve, That even among Chriftians,
thoſe who are more reform'd, and farther and far-
ther chriftianiz'd, are ftill in Proportion rendred
more human, more foft and tender; and we do
find, without being partial to our felves, that even
the Proteſtant Countries are much diftinguifh'd in
the Humanity and Softneſs of their Tempers, the
meek merciful Difpofition extends more among
Proteftants, than among the Papifts, as I could
very particularly demonftrate from Hiftory and
Experience.
But to return back to the Moores, where I left
off, they are an Inftance of that Cruelty of Difpo-
fition, which was anciently in their Nature, and
how in a Country abandon'd of the true Chriſtian
Religion, after it has been firſt planted and pro-
fefs'd among them, the Return of Heathenifm or
Mahometaniſm has brought back with it all the
Barbarifms of a Nation void of Religion and good
Nature.
I faw enough of thefe dreadful People to think
them at this Time the worft of all the Nations of
the World; a Nation, where no fuch thing as a
generous Spirit, or a Temper with any Compaf-
fion mixt with it, is to be found; among whom
Nature appears ftripp'd of all the additional Glo-
ries, which it derives from Religion, and yet where-
on a Chriftian flourishing Church had ftood feveral
hundred Years,
K 2
From
[132]
}
!
From theſe I went among the Negroes of Afri
ca; many of them I faw without any the leaſt No-
tion of a Deity among them, much lefs any Form
of Worship; but I had not any Occafion to con-
verfe with them on Shore. other than I have done
fince by Accident, but went away to the Brafils:
Here I found the Natives, and that even before the
Portugueſe came among them, and fince alfo, had
Abundance of Religion, fuch as it was: But it
was all fobloody, fo cruel; confifting of Murders,
human Sacrifices, Witchcrafts, Sorceries, and Con-
jurings, that I could not fo much as call them ho-
neft Pagans, as I do the Negroes.
As for the Cannibals, as I have obferv'd in the
Difcourfe of them, on Account of their Landing
on my Iſland, I can fay but very little of them:
As for their eating human Fleſh, I take it to be a
Kind of martial Rage, rather than a civil Pra-
&ice; for 'tis evident, they eat no human Crea-
tures, but fuch as are taken Prifoners in their Bat-
tles; and as I have obferv'd in giving the Account
of thoſe things, they do not Efteem it Murder, no
nor fo much as unlawful. I muft confefs, faving
its being a Practice in itſelf unnatural, eſpecially
to us, I ſay, ſaving that Part, I fee little Difference
between that and our Way, which in the War is
frequent in Heat of Action, viz. refufing Quarter;
for as to the Difference between Eating and Kil-
ling thofe that offer to yield, it matters not much.
And this I obferved at the fame Time, that in
their other Conduct, thofe Savages were as human,
as mild, and gentle, as moft I have met with in
the World, and as eafily civiliz'd.
From theſe Sorts of People, I come to the Indi-
ans; for as to the Madagaftar Men, I faw very
little of them, but that they were a Kind of Ne-
groes, much like thoſe on the Coaft of Guinea, on-
Iy,
1
[133]
ly, a little more ufed and accuſtomed to the Euro-
peans, by their often Landing among them.
The E. Indians are generally Pagans or Mahome-
tans, and have fuch Mixtures of Savage Cuſtoms
with them, that even Mahometaniſm is there in
its Corruption; neither have they there, the up
right juft Dealing in Matters of Right and Wrong,
which the Turks in Europe have, with whom 'tis
generally very fafe trading: But here they a&t all
the Parts of Thieves and Cheats, watching to de-
ceive you, and proud of being thought able to
do it.
The Subjects of the great Mogul have a feeming
polite Government; and the Inhabitants of Cey-
lon are under very ftri& Diſcipline; and yet what
Difficulty do we find to trade with them? Nay,
their very Oeconomy renders them fraudulent,
and in fome Places they cannot turn their
Thoughts to being honeft.
China is famous for Wiſdom, that is to ſay, that
they, having ſuch a boundleſs Conceit of their own
Wiſdom, we are oblig'd to allow them more than
they have; the Truth is, they are juſtly ſaid to be
a wife Nation among the fooliſh ones, and may
as juftly be called a Nation of Fools among the
wife ones.
As to their Religion, 'tis all fumm'd up in Con-
fucius his Maxims, whofe Theology, I take to
be a Rhapsody of Moral Conclufions; a Founda-
tion, or what we may call Elements of Polity,
Morality and Superftition, huddl'd together in a
Rhapsody of Words, without Confiftency, and
indeed with very little Reafoning in it: Then 'tis
really not to much as a refin'd Paganiſm, for
there are in my Opinion much more regular Do-
ings among fome of the Indians that are Pagans in
America, than there are in China: And if I may be-
K 3
lieve
[134]
lieve the Account given of the Government of
Montezuma in Mexico, and of the Unca's of Cufco
in Peru; their Worſhip and Religion fuch as it
was, was carry'd on with more Regularity than
thefe in China. As to the human Ingenuity, as they
call it, of the Chineſes, Iffhall account for it by itſelf:
The utmoſt Diſcoveries of it to me appear'd in the
Mechanicks, and even in them infinitely fhort of
of what is found among the European Nations,
But let us take thefe People to Pieces a little,
and examine into the great Penetration, they are
fo fam❜d for: First of all, their Knowledge has
not led them that Length in religious Matters,
which the common Notions of Philofophy would
have done, and to which they did lead the wife Hea-
thens of Old among the Grecian and Roman Em-
pires; for they having not the Knowledge of the
true God, preferv'd notwithſtanding, the Notion
of a God to be fomething Immortal, Omnipo-
tent, fublime; exalted above in Place, as well as
Authority; and therefore made Heaven to be
the Seat of their Gods, and the Images by
which they reprefented the Gods and Goddeffes,
had always fome Perfections that were really to be
admir'd; as the Attendants of their Gods, as
Jupiter was call'd the Thunderer, for his Power;
Father of Gods and Men, for his Seniority; Ve-
nus ador'd for her Beauty; Mercury for Swiftnefs;
Apollo for Wit, Poetry, Mufick; Mars for Terror
and Gallantry in Arms, and the like: But when
we come to thefe polite Nations of China, which
yet we cry up for Senfe, and Greathefs of Genius,
we fee them groveling in the very Sink and Filth
of Idolatry; their Idols are the moft frightful mon-
ftrous Shapes, not the Form of any real Creature,
much less thie Images of Virtue, of Chaſtity, of Li-
terature; but horrid Shapes of their Priefts Inven-
tion:
[135]
tion; neither helfish or human Monſters compos'd
of invented Forms, with neither Face or Figure,
but with the utmoſt Diſtortions, form'd neither to
walk, ftand, fly, or go; neither to hear, fee, or
fpeak, but meerly to inftill horrible Ideas of fome-
thing naufeous and abominable, into the Minds
of Men that ador'd them.
If I may be allow'd to give my Notions of Wor-
ſhip, I mean, as it relates to the Objects of natu-
ral Homage, where the Name and Nature of God
is not reveal'd, as in the Chriftian Religion. I muſt
acknowledge, the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, the
Elements, as in the Pagan and Heathen Nations
of old; and above all thefe, the Repreſentations of
fuperiour Virtues and Excellencies among
Men, fuch as Valour, Fortitude, Chaſtity, Pa-
tience, Beauty, Strength, Love, Learning, Wif-
dom, and the like; The Obje&s of Worſhip in
the Grecian and Roman Times, were far more eligi-
ble, and more rational Objects of divine Rites, than
the Idols of China and Japan; where with all the
Oeconomy of their State Maxims and Rules of
Civil Government, which we infift fo much on,
as Teſts of their Wiſdom, their great Capacities,
and Underſtandings; their Worſhip is the moft
brutish, and the Obje&s of their Worfhip, the
courfeft, the moſt unmanly, inconfiftent with Rea-
fon or the Nature of Religion of any the World
can fhew; bowing down to a meer Hob-gobblin,
and doing their Reverence not to the Work of
Mens Hands only, but the uglieft, baſeft, fright-
fulleft things that Man could make; Images fo
far from being lovely and amiable, as in the Na-
ture of Worship is implied, that they are the moſt
deteftable and naufeous, even to Nature.
How is it poffible thefe People can have any
Claim to the Character of wife, ingenious, polite,
K 4
that
[136]
that could fuffer themſelves to be overwhelm'd in
an Idolatry repugnant to common Senfe, even to
Nature, and be brought to chufe to adore that
which was in itſelf the moſt odious and con-
temptible to Nature; not meerly terrible, that fo
their Worſhip might proceed from Fear, but a
Complication of Nature's Averfions.
I cannot omit, that being in one of their Tem-
ples, or rather in a kind of Oratory or Chapel,
annexed to one Part of the great Palace at Pequin,
there appear'd a Mandarin with his Attendants,
or, as we may fay, a great Lord and his Retinue,
proftrate before the Image, not of any one of God's
Creatures, but a Creature of meer human Forming,
fuch as neither was alive, nor was like any thing
that had Life, or had ever been feen or heard of
in the World.
The like Image, or fomething worſe, if
I could give it a true Reprefentation, may be
found in a Garden Chapel, if not defac'd by wi-
fer Heads, of a great Tartarian Mandarin, at a
fmall Diſtance from Nanquin, and to which the
poor abandon'd Creatures, pay their moſt blinded
Devotions.
It had a thing inſtead of a Head, but no Head;
it had a Mouth diftorted out of all Manner of
Shape, and not to be deſcribed for a Mouth, being
only an unfhapen Chafm, neither reprefenting the
Mouth of a Man, Beaft, Fowl, or Fifh: The
Thing was neither any of the four, but an incon-
gruous Monſter
Monſter It had Feet, Hands, Fingers,
Claws, Legs, Arms, Wings, Ears, Horns, every
Thing mixt one among another, neither in the
Shape or Place that Nature appointed, but blend-
ed together, and fix'd to a Bulk, not a Body;
form'd of no juft Parts, but a fhapelefs Trunk or
Log; whether of Wood or Stone, I know not',
a thing
[ 137 ]
$
a thing that might have ſtood with any Side for-
ward, or any Side backward, any End upward,
or any End downward, that had as much Vene-
ration due to it on onc Side, as on the other, a
kind of celeftial Hedge-hog, that was rolled up
within itſelf, and was every thing every Way; that
to a Chriſtian could not have been worthy to have
reprefented even the Devil; and to Men of common
Senfe, muſt have been their very Souls Averfion :
In a Word, if I have not repreſented their mon-
ftrous Deities right, let Imagination fupply any
thing that can make a misfhapen Image horrid,
frightful, and furpriſing; And you may with Ju-
ftice fuppofe, thofe fagacious People, called the
Chineſes, whom forfooth we muſt admire, I fay,
you may fuppofe them proftrate on the Ground,
with all their Pomp and Pageanty, which is in it
felf not a little, worſhipping ſuch a mangled, pro-
mifcuous gendred Creature.
Shall we call thefe a wife Nation, who repre
fent God in fuch hideous monftrous Figures as
theſe, and can proftrate themſelves to things ten
thouſand Times more disfigured than the Devil?
Had theſe Images been contriv'd in the Romans
Time, and been fet up for the God of Uglineſs,
as they had their God of Beauty, they might in-
deed have been thought exquifite; but the Ro-
mans would have fpurn'd fuch an Image out of their
Temples.
Nothing can render a Nation fo compleatly
foolish and fimple, as fuch an Extravagance in
Matters of religious Worfhip; for if grofs Igno-
rance in the Notion of a God, which is fo ex-
tremely natural, will not demonftrate a Nation
unpolish'd, fooliſh, and weak, even next to Ideo-
tifm, I know nothing that will.
But
!
[ 118 ]
But let me trace this wife Nation that we talk
fo much of, and who not only think themfelves
wife, but have drawn us in, to pay a Kind of Ho-
mage to their low-priz'd Wit.
Government, and the Mechanick Arts, are the
two main things in which our People in England,
who have admir'd them fo much, pretend they
excel; as to their Government, which confifts in
an abfolute Tyranny, which, by the Way, is the
cafieft Way of Ruling in the World, where the
People are difpos'd to obey, as blindly as the
Mandarin commands or governs imperiously;
what Policy is required in governing a Peo-
ple, of whom 'tis faid, that if you command them to
hang themſelves,they will only cry a little, and fub-
mit immediately? Their Maxims of Goyernment
may do well enough among themſelves, but with
us. they would be all Confufion. In their Country
it is not fo, only becauſe, whatever the Man-
darin fays, is a Law, and God himſelf has no
Power or Intereft among them to contradi& it,
unless he pleaſes to execute it brevi manu from
Heaven.
Moſt of their Laws confift in immediate Judg
ment, fwift Executions, juft Retaliations, and
fair Protection from Injuries: Their Punishments
are cruel and exorbitant, fuch as Cutting the Hands
and the Feet off for Theft, at the fame Time re-
leafing Murders and other flagrant Crimes,
Their Mandarines are their Judges in very many
Cafes, like our Juftices of the Peace; but then
they judge by Cuftoms, Oral Tradition, or im-
mediate Opinion, and execute the Sentence im-
mediately, without room, or Time to reflect
upon the Juftice of it, or to confider of Mitigations,
as in all Chriftian Countries is practifed, and as
the Senſe of human Frailty would direct.
But
[139]
But let me come to their Mechanics, in which
their Ingenuity is fo much cry'd up, I affirm there is
little or nothing fufficient to build the mighty Opi-
nion we have of them upon, but what is founded
up-
on the Compariſons which we make between them
and other Pagan Nations, or proceeds from the
Wonder which we make, that they fhould have
any Knowledge of Mechanics Arts, becaufe we
find the remote Inhabitants of Afric and America,
fo grofsly ignorant, and fo entirely deftitute in fuch
things; whereas we do not confider, that the Chi-
nefes inhabit the Continent of Afia; and tho' they
are feparated by Defarts and Wilderneffes, yet
they are a continuous Continent of Land, with
the Parts of the World once inhabited by the poli-
ter Medes, Perfians, and Grecians; that the first
Ideas of Mechanic Arts were probably receiv'd
by them from the Perfians, Affyrians, and the ba-
nifh'd tranſplanted Ifraelites, who are faid to be
carry'd into the Regions of Parthia, and the Bor-
ders of Karacathay, from whence they are alfo faid
to have communicated Arts, and eſpecially Han-
dicraft, in which the Ifraelites excell'd, to the In-
habitants of all thofe Countries, and confequently
in Time to thoſe beyond them.
But let them be received from whom they will,
and how long ago foever; let us but compare the
Improvement they have made, with what others
have made; and except in things peculiar to them-
felves by their Climate, we fhall find the utmoft
of their Ingenuity amounts but to a very Trifle, and
that they are out-done even in the beft of their
Works by our ordinary Artifts, whofe Imitations
exceed their Originals, beyond all Compariſon.
For Example, they have Gun-powder and Guns,
whether they have learned to make them by Di-
rection of Europeans, which is moft likely, or that
they
[140]
they found it out by meer Strength of Inventions
as fome would advance, tho' without Certainty,
in their Favour: Be it which it will, as I fay,
it matters not much; their Powder is of no
Strength for the needful Operations of Sieges,
Mines, Batteries, no nor for fhooting of Birds, as
ours is, without great Quantities put together;
their Guns are rather an Oftentation than for Exe-
cution, clumſy, heavy, and ill made; neither have
they arriv❜d to any tolerable Degree of Know
ledge in the Art of Gunnery or Engineering; they
have no Bombs, Carcaffes, Hand-grenades; their
artificial Fireworks are in no Degree comparable,
or to be nam'd with ours; nor have they arriv'd to
any thing in the military Skill, in martialling Ar-
mies, handling Arms, Difcipline, and the Exer-
cife in the Field, as the Europeans have; all
which is depending on the Improvement of Fire-
Arms, &c. in which, if they have had the Ufe of
Gun-powder fo many Ages as fome Dream, they
muſt be unaccountable Blockheads, that they have
made no farther Improvement; and if it is but
lately, they are yet apparently dull enough in the
managing of it, at leaſt, compar'd to what ought
to be expected of an ingenious People, fuch as our
People cry them up to be.
I might go from this to their Navigation, in
which it is true they out-do moft of their Neigh-
bours: But what is all their Skill in Sailing com-
par'd to ours? Whither do they go? And how
manage the little and fooliſh Barks and Jonks they
have? What would they do with them to traverſe
the great Indian, American, or Atlantic Oceans?
What Ships, what Sailors, what poor, awkard,
and ignorant Doings is there among them at Sea?
And when our Peop e hire any of them, as fome-
times they are oblig'd to do, How do our Sailors
་་
kick
[141]
kick them about, as a Parcel of clumfy, ignorants
unhandy Fellows?
Then for building of Ships, What are they?
And what are they able to do towards the glo-
rious Art of building a large Man of War? Tis
out of Doubt with me, that all the People of
China could not build ſuch a Ship as the Royal So-
vereign, in a hundred Years,
hundred Years, no not tho' the
was there for them to look at, and take Pattern
by.
I might go on to abundance more things, fuch
as Painting, making Glaffes, making Clocks and
Watches, making Bone-lace, Frame-work Knit-
ting; of all which, except the two firft, they know
little or nothing; and of the two firft, nothing
compar❜d to what is done in Europe.
The Height of their Ingenuity, and for which
we admire them with more Colour of Caufe than
in other things, is their Porcellain or Earthen-
ware Work, which, in a Word, is more due to
the excellent Compofition of the Earth they make
them of, and which is their Peculiar, than to
the Workmanſhip; in which, if we had the fame
Clay, we ſhould foon outdo them, as much as we
do in other things. The next Art is, their Ma-
nufacturing in fine Silks, Cotton, Herba, Gold,
and Silver, in which they have nothing but what
is in common with our ordinary poor Weavers.
The next Mechanic Art is, their Lacquering
which is juft as in the China Ware, a Peculiar to
their Country, in the Materials, not at all in the
Workmanship: And as for the Cabinet Work of
it, they are manifeftly out-done by us; and abun-
dance is every Year fent thither fram'd and made in
England, and only lacquer'd in China, to be re-
turn'd to us.
I might
[ 142 ]
I might run the like Parallel thro' moft of the
things thefe People excel in, which would all ap-
pear to be fo deficient,, as would render all their
fam'd Wiſdom and Capacity moft fcandaloufly
imperfect: But I am not fo much upon their Cun-
ning in Arts, as upon their Abfurdity and ridicu-
lous Folly in Matters religious, and in which I
think the rudeft Barbarians out-do them.
From this wife Nation, we have a vaft Extent
of Ground, near 2000 Miles in Breadth; partly
under the Chineſe Government, partly under the
Muscovite, but inhabited by Tartars of Mongul Tar-
tary, Karkathay, Siberian, and Samoides Pagans;
whoſe Idols are almoft as hideous as the Chineſes,
and whofe Religion is all Nature; and not only fo,
but Nature under the greateſt Degeneracy, and
next to Brutal. Father La Comte gives us the Pi-
&tures of fome of their Houfe Idols, and an Ac-
count of their Worthip; and this lafts, as I have
obferv'd, to within a few Days of Arch-Angel :
So that, in a Word, from the Mouth of the Straits,
that is to fay, from Sallee over to Caribbea, from
thence round Africa by the Cape of good Hope,
cross the vaft Indian Ocean, and upon all the
Coaſt of it, about by Malacca and Sumatra, thro'
the Straits of Sincapore and the Coaft of Siam North-
wards to China, and thro' China by Land over the
Defarts of the Grand Tartary, to the River Dwi-
na, being a Circuit three Times the Diameter of
the Earth, and every jot as far as the whole Cir-
cumference. The Name of God is not heard of,
except among a few of the Indians that are Ma-
hometan; the Word of God is not known, or
the Son of God ſpoken of.
Having fome Warmth in my Search after Re-
ligion, occafion'd by this Reflection, and fo little
of it appearing in all the Parts which I had tra-
veľ❜d,
[143]
vel'd, I refolv'd to travel over the reft of the
World in Books, for my wandring Days are pretty
well over; I fay, I refolv'd to travel the reft in
Books; and fure, faid I, there muſt appear abun-
dance of ferious Religion in the rest of the World,
or elſe I know nothing at all of where I fhall find
it.
But I find by my Reading, juſt as I did in Tra-
velling, that all the Cuftoms of Nations, as to
Religion, were much alike; that one with ano-
ther, they are more devout in their Worship of
fomething, whatever it be, than inquifitive after
what it is they worship; and moft of the Altars.
of Worſhip in the World, might to this Day be
infcrib'd to the Unknown God.
This may feem a ftrange thing; but that Won-
der may eeafe, when farther Enquiry is made into
the particular Objects of Worfhip, which the ſe-
veral Nations of the World bow down to, fome of
which, are fo horrid, fo abfurd, as one would
think human Nature could not fink fo low, as to do
her Homage in ſo irrational a Manner.
And here, being to fpeak of Religion as idola-
trous, it occurs to me, that it feem'd ftrange, that
except in Perfia, and fome Part of Tartary, I found
none of the People look Up for their Gods, but
Down; by which it came into my Mind, that even
in Idolatry itſelf, the World was fomething dege-
nerated, and their Reaſon was more hoodwink'd
than their Anceſtors.
By looking up, and looking down, I mean, they
do not as the Romans, look up among the Stars
for their Idols, place their Gods in the Skies, and
worſhip, as we might fay, like Men; but look
down among the Brutes, form Idols to them-
felves out of the Beafts, and figure things like
MOR-
[144]
ร
Monſters, to adore them for their Uglinéfs and
horrible Deformity.
Of the Two, the former, in my Opinion, was
much the more rational Idolatry, as particularly,
the Perfians worshipping the Sun'; and when I had
a particular Account of that at Bengale, it prefent-
ly occur'd to my Thought, that there was fome-
thing awful, fomething glorious, and God-like in
the Sun, that, in the Ignorance of the True God,
might rationally befpeak the Homage of the Crea
tures; and to whom it feem'd reaſonable, where
Redfon was its own Judge only, without the Helps of
Revelation, to pay an Adoration, as the Parent of
Light, and the Giver of Life to all the Vegetative
World, and as in a viſible Manner, enlivening and
influencing the rational and fenfitive Life, and
which might, for ought they knew, at firft create,
as it did fince, fo plainly affect all things round
us.
This Thought gave Birth to the following Ex-
curfion, with which I fhall clofe this Obferva-
tion.
Hail! Glorious Lamp, the Parent of the Day,
Whofe Beams not only Heat, and Life convey;
But may that Heat and Life, for ought we know,
On many many diſtant Worlds beftow.
Immenfe, amazing Globe of heavenly Fire;
To whom all Flames aſcend, in whom all Lights expire.
Rolling in Flames, emits eternal Ray,
Yet Self-Sufficient ſuffers no Decay.
Thy Central Vigour never never dies,
But Life the Motion, Motion, Life Supplies.
When
[ 145 ]
عالم
When leffer Bodies rob us of thy Beams',
And intercept thy flowing heavenly Streams;
Fools by Miftake ecclipfe thee from their Sight,
When 'tis the Eye's ecclips'ds, and not thy Light.
Thy Abfence conftitutes effectual Night,
When rolling Earth deprives us of thy Light:
And Planets all opaque and beggerly,
Borrow thy Beams, and strive to fhine like the
In their mock life-leſs Light we ftarve and freeze,
And wait theWarmth of thy returning Rays.
Thy Distance leaves us all recline and fad,
And koary Winter governs in thy Stead:
Swift thy returning Vigor, warm and mild,
Salutes the Earth, and gets the World with Chila.
Great Soul of Nature, from whofe vital Spring
Due Heat and Life's diffus'd, thro' every thing:
Govern'ft the Moon and Stars by different Ray,
Shee Queen of Night, thee Monarch of the Day,
Thee Moon, and Stars, and Earth, and Plants ober
When darker Nations fee thee plac'd on high,
And feel thy Warmth, their Genial Heat ſupply:
How imperceptible thy Influence
Slides thro' their Veins, and touches everý Senſe;
By glimmering Nature led, they bow their Knee,
Miftake their God, and facrifice to thee.
Mourn thy declining Steps, and hate the Night,
But when in Hope of thy approaching Light,
Blefs thy Return, which brings the chearful Day,
And to thy wondrous-Light falſe Adorations pay.
L
Nor
[146]
}
I
Nor can we blame the Justice of the Thoughts
In Minds by erring Reafon only, taught.
I
Nature it feems inftructs a Deity,
And Reafon fays, there's none fo bright as thees
Nor is the Influence so much a Feft,
"
الله
I
There's Something fhocks our Nature in the Reft:
To make a God, and then the Tool adore,
And bow to that, `that worshipp'd is before.
The Nonfenfe takes off all the Reverence,
That can't be worshipping that is not Senfe.
But when the Spring of Nature fhews its Face,
The Glory of its Rays, the Swiftnefs of its Race.
Stupendous Height, and Majefty Divine,
And with what awful Splendor it can fhike:
Who that no other News from Heaven could hear,
Wouldthink but this was God, would think and fear,
No other Idol ever came fo near.
}
}
+
ad fear, $
Certain it is, that the Perfides who thus paid
their Adoration to the Sun, were at that Time
fome of the wifeft People in the World. Some
tell us, that the great Image that Nebuchadnezzar
fet up for all his People to worthip, was repre-
fented holding the Sun in his Right-hand; and
that it was to the Reprefentation of the Sun that
he commanded all Nations and Kindreds to bow
and to worship: If fo, then the Affyrians were Wor-
fhippers alfo of the Sun, as well as the Perfians,
which is not at all improbable; we read alfo in
the Scripture, of thofe Nations who worshipped
ail the Hoft of Heaven, a Thing much more ra-
tional, and nearer of Kin to Worshipping the
Great God of Heaven, than worshipping the
1
C
whole
[147]
Whole Hoft of the Earth; and worshipping the
moft abject and loathfome Creatures, or but even
the Repreſentations of thoſe Creatures, which was
ftill worſe than the other.
But what are all the Abfurdities of Heathénifm,
which at laſt are refolv'd into the Degeneracy of
Mankind,and their being fallen from the Knowledge
of the true God, which was once, as we have
Reaſon to believe, diffuſed to all Mankind.
I fay, What are thefe? And how much Ground
for juft Reflection do they afford us, compar'd
to the grofs things in Practice, which we find
every Day among thoſe Nations, who profefs to
have had the clear Light of Gofpel Revelation?
How many Self-contradicting Principles do they
hold? How contrary to their Profeffion do they act?
How do one Side burn for what another Side ab-
hors? And how do Chriftians, taking that vene-
rable Name for a general Appellation, doom one ano-
ther to the Devil, for a few difagreeing Claufes
of the fame Religion, while all profefs to worſhip
the fame Deity, and to expect the fame Salvà-
tion?
素
​With what prepofterous Enthufiafms do fome
mingle their Knowledge, and with as grofs. Ab-
furdities others their Devotion? How blindly fu-
perftitious? How furious and raging in their
Zeal? How cruel, inexorable, and even inhuman
and barbarous to one another, when they differ?
as if Religion divefted us of Humanity, and that
in our worfhipping a God of Mercy, and in
whofe Compaffions alone it is that we have room'
to hope, we ſhould to pleaſe and ſerve him, ba→
nifh Humanity from our Nature, and fhew no
Compaffion to thoſe that fall into our Hands.
In my Travelling thro' Portugal, it was my Lot to
come to Lisbon, while they held there one of their
La
Courts
[148]
Courts of Juftice, call'd Auto de fe, that is to fay
a Court of Juſtice of the Inquifition: It is a Sub-
ject has been handled by many Writers, and indeed
expos'd by fome of the beft Catholicks; and my
prefent Buſineſs is not to write a Hiftory, or en-
gage in a Difpute, but to relate a Paffage.
They carry'd in Proceffion all their Criminals.
to the great Church; where eight of them ap-
pear'd first, drefs'd up in Gowns and Caps of Can-
vafs, upon which was painted all that Man could
devife, of Hell's Torments, Devils broiling and
roafting human Bodies, and a thoufand fuch fright-
ful things, with Flames and Devils befides in eve-
ry Part of the Drefs.
Thofe I found were eight poor Creatures con-
demn'd to be burnt, and for they fearce knew what;
but for Crimes againſt the Catholick Faith, and
against the Bleffed Virgin, and they were burnt.
One of them, it was faid, rejoic'd that he was to
be burnt; and being ask'd, Why ?- Anſwer'd, That
he had much rather die, than be carry'd back to
the Priſon of the Inquifition, where their Cruel-
ties were worfe than Death: Of thoſe eight, as I
was told, fome were Jews, whofe greateſt Crime,
as many there did not fcruple to fay, was, that
they were very rich; and fome Chriftians were in
the Number at the fame Time, whofe greatcft
Mifery was, that they were very poor.
Σ
It was a Sight that almoft gave me a Shock in
my
Notion of Chriftianity itſelf, till I began to re-
collect, that it might be poffible, that Inquifitors
were ſcarce Chriftians, and that I knew many Ca-
tholic Countries do not fuffer this abominable Judi-
cature to be erected among them.
I have ſeen much, and read more, of the unhap-
py Conduct in Matters of Religion, among the
other Nations of the World, profeffing the Chri-
ftian
[ I
149.]
ftian Religion; and upon my Word, I find ſomẹ
Practices infinitely fcandalous, fome which are the
common receiv'd Cuftoms of Chriftians, which
would be the Abhorrence of Heathens; and it re-
quires a ſtrong Attachment to the Foundation,
which is indeed the principal Part in Religion, to
guard our Minds againſt being offended, even at
the Chriftian Religion itfelf; but I got over that
Part afterward.
Let it not offend the Ears of any true. Lover of
the Chriſtian Religion, that I obſerve ſome of the
Follies of the Profeffors of the Chriftian Religion,
affuring you, 'tis far from being my Defign to bring
the leaſt Scandal upon the Profeffion itſelf.
And here therefore let me give the Words of
a judicicus Perſon who travell'd from Turkey thro'
Italy: His Words are theſe.
When I was in Italy, I rang'd over great Part
"of the Patrimony of St. Peter, where one would
"think indeed, the Face of Religion would be
"plaineft to be feen, and without any Difguife;
"but in fhort I found there the Face of Reli
RC gion, and no more.
"At Rome there was all the Pomp and Glory
"of religious Habits: The Pope and the Cardi-
"nals walk'd with a religious Gravity, but liv'd
"in a religious Luxury, kept up the Pomp of Re-
"ligion, and the Dignity of religious Titles:
"But like our Lord's Obfervation on the Phari-
fees, I found within they were all ravening
" Wolves.
CC
cc
"The religious Juftice they do there, is par-
"cularly remarkable, and very much recommends
"them. The Church protects Murthers and Af-
faffins, and then delivers the Civil Magiftrates
over to Satan, for doing Juftice. They inter-
** dict whole Kingdoms, and fhut up the Churches.
. for
I 3
T
{
[ 150 ]
ce
$
for Want of paying a few Ecclefiaftic Dues,
and fo put a Stop to Religion for Want of their
Money. I found the Courtezans were the moft
"conftant Creatures at the Church, and the moſt
"certain Place for an Affignation with another
Man's Wife, was at Prayers.
"The Court of Inquifition burnt two Men for
"fpeaking difhonourably of the Bleffed Virgin,
and the Miffionaries in China tolerated the Wor
fhipping the Devil by their new Convert. A
"Jew was likewife burnt for denying Chrift, while
the Jefuits join'd the Paganifm of the Heathen
" with the High Mafs, and fung Anthems to
the immortal Idols of Tonquin.
"When I faw this, I refolv'd to enquire no more
"after Religion in Italy, till by Accident meeting
with a Quietift, he gave me to underſtand, that
all Religion was internal, that the Duties of
"Chriflianity were fumm'd up in Reflection
and Ejaculation, He inveigh'd bitterly againſt
"the Game of Religion, which he faid was
"playing over the whole World by the Clergy;
and faid, Italy was a Theatre, where Religion
ές was the Grand Opera, and the Popish Clergy
૬. were the Stage Players. I lik'd him in many
" of his Notions about other Peoples Religion;
but when I came to talk with him a little cloſe-
"ly about his own, it was fo wrapp'd up in his
"Internals, conceal'd in the Cavities and dark
"Parts of the Soul, viz. Meditation without
"Warhip, Doctrine without Practice, Reflecti-
on without Reformation, and Zeal with-
out Knowledge; that I could come to no
ἐσ Certainty with him, but in this, that Religion
"in Italy was really invifible.
CC
s.
V
This was very agreeable to my Notions of Ita-
lian Religion, and to what I had met with from
other
[ 15 ]
other People that had travel'd the Country: But
one Obfervation of Blindneſs and Superftition I
muft give within my own Knowledge, and nearer
Home; when paffing thro' Flanders, I found the
People in a certain City there, in a very
great Commotion: The Cafe was this; A certain
Scelerate, fo they call an abandon'd Wretch given
up to all Wickedness, had broken into a Chapel
in the City, and had ſtoln the Pix or Casket where-
in the facred Hoft was depofited; which Hoft, af
ter rightly confecrated, they believe to be the real
Body of our Bleffed Saviour, being tranfubftantiap-
ed, as they call it, from the Subftance of Bread.
>
The Fact being diſcover'd, the City, as I faid
above, was all up in a Tumult; the Gates were
thut up, no Body fuffer'd to go out; every Houſe
was fearched, and the utmoſt Diligence ufed; and
at length, as it was next to Impoffibility he ſhould
efcape, he was diſcover'd.
His Execution was not long deferr❜d: But firſt
he was examin'd, and I think by Torture, What
he had done with the facred thing which was in
the Pix, which he had ſtoln? And at length he
confefs'd, That he had thrown it into a Houſe
of Office; and was carry'd with a Guard to fhew
them the Place.
As it was impoffible to find a little Piece of a
Wafer in fuch a Place, tho' no Pains was fpar'd in
a moſt filthy Manner to fearch for it; but, as I fay,
it could not be found, immediately the Place was
judg'd confecrated ipfo facto, turn'd into an Orato-
ty, and the devout People flock'd to it, to expiate
by their Prayers, the Diſhonour done to the Lord
God, by throwing h's precious Body into fo vile a
Place. It was determin'd by theWiſer part, that the
Body would not fall down into the Place, but be
fnatch'd up by its inherent Power, or by the holy
1
L.4
Angels
[ 152 ]
Angels, and not be fuffer'd to touch the Excre
ments in that Place. However, the People conti-
nu'd their Devotions for fome, Time, juft in the
Place where it was, and afterwards a large Cha-
pel was built upon it, where the fame Prayers are
continued, as I fuppofe, to this Day.
I had a particular Occaſion to come at a very
accurate Account of Poland, by a Rolish Gentle-
man, in whofe Company I travell'd, and from
whom I learn'd all that was worth enquiring of,
about religious Affairs in Pruffia on one Side, and
Muscovy on the other.
As for Poland, he told me they were all Confu-
fion, both in Church and in State; that notwith-
ſtanding their Wars, they were Perfecutors of the
worft Kind; that they let the Jews live among 'em
undiſturb'd, to fuch a Degree, that in the Coun-
try about Lemberg and Kiow, there were reckon'd
above 30000 Jews: That thefe had not Tolera-
tion only, but many Privileges granted them, tho'
they deny'd Chrift to be the Meffiah, or that the
Meffiah was come in the Flesh; and blafphemed
his Name upon frequent Occafions; and at the
fame Time they perfecuted the Proteftants, and
deſtroy'd their Churches, where-ever they had
Power to do it.
On the other Hand, when I came to enquire of
thofe Proteftants, and what Kind of People they
were, who fuffer'd fo feverely for their Religion, I
found they were generally a Sort of Proteſtants,
call'd Socinians, and that Lelius Socinus had ſpread
his Errors fo univerfally over this Country,that our
Lord Jefus Chrift was reduc'd here to little more
than a good Man fent from Heaven to inftruct the
World, and far from capable of effecting by the In-
Auence of his Spirit, and Grace, the glorious
Work of redeeming the World; As for the
Divi-
[153]
Divinity of the Holy Ghoft, they have no Trous
ble about it.
Having given this Account of Knowledge
and Piety in the Countries inhabited by Chriftians
of the Roman Church, it ſeems natural to fay fome
thing of the Greek Church.
There are in the Czar of Muscovy's Dominions
abundance of Wooden Churches; and had not
the Country been as full of Wooden Priefts,
fomething might have been faid for the Reli-
gion of the Muscovites; for the People are won-
derfully devout there, which would have been ve‐
ry well, if it had not been attended with the pro-
foundeſt Ignorance that was ever heard of in any
Country, where the Name of Chriftian was fo
much as talk'd of.
But when I came to enquire about their Wor-
fhip, I found our Lord Jefus Chrift made ſo much
a meaner Figure among them than St. Nicholas,
that I concluded Religion was fwallow'd up of
Superftition; and fo indeed I found it was upon all
Occafions; as to the Conduct of the People in re-
ligious Matters, their Ignorance is fo eftablifh'd
upon Obſtinacy, which is the Muscovite's national
Sin, that it would be really to no Purpoſe to look
any longer for a Reformation among them.
In fhort, no Man will, I believe, fay of me,
that I do the Mufcovites any Wrong, when I fay
they are the moſt ignorant, and moft obftinate
People in the Chriſtian World, when I tell the
following Story of them.
It was after the Battle at Narva, where the
late King of Sweden Charles XII. defeated their great
Army, and after the Victory, extended his Troops
pretty far into their Country, and perhaps plun-
der'd them a little, as he advanc'd; when the
Muscovites, we may be fure, being in the utmoſt
Diftrefs
[154]
Diftrefs and Confufion, fell to their Prayers. We
read of nothing they had to fay to God Almigh-
ty in that Cafe; but to their Patron Saint they
addrefs'd this extraordinary Prayer.
O
t
Thou our perpetual Comforter in all our Adverfi-
ties! Thou infinitely Powerful St. NICHOLAS,
by what Sin, and how have we highly offended thee in
our Sacrifices, Genuflections, Reverences and Actions
of Thanfgiving, that thou haft thus forfaken us? we
had therefore fought to appease thee entirely, and we had
implor'd thy Prefence and thy Succour against the Terri
ble, Infolent, Dreadful, Enrag'd, and Undaunted
Enemies and Deftroyers; when like Lyons, Bears,
and other Savage Beafts, that have lost their young
ones, they attack'd us after an infolent and terri
ble Manner's and terrify'd and wounded, took and killed
us by thouſands, us who are thy People: Now as it
is impoffible that this should happen without Witchcraft,
and Enchantment, Seeing the great Care that we had
taken to fortify our felves after an impregnable Man-
ner, for the Defence and Security of thy Name. We
beseech thee, O St. Nicholas, to be our Champion,
and the Bearer of our Standard, to be with us, both
in Peace and in War, and in our Neceffities, and at
the Time of our Death to protect us against this horrible
and Tyrannical Crew of Sorcerers, and to drive them
far enough off from our Frontiers, with the Recompence
which they deferve.
It may be hoped I may give a better Account
of Religion among Proteftants than I have among
the Roman and Grecian Churches; and I will, if in
Juftice it is poffible.
The next to the Nations I have been mention-
ing, Imean, in Geographical Order, are thoſe
reform'd Chriftians, call'd Lutherans; to fay'
Do
[ 155 ]
no worſe of them, the Face of Religion indeed iş
alter'd much between theſe and the latter: But I
fcarce know what Name to give it, at leaſt as far
as I have enquir'd into it, or what it is like.
It was Popery and no Popery; there was the Con-
fub. but not the Tranfub. The Service differ'd
indeed from the Mafs, but the Deficiency feem'd
to be made up very much with the Trumpets, Ket-
tle-Drums, Fiddles, Hautboys, &c. and all the
merry Part of the Popish Devotion; upon which it
occurr'd' to me prefently, that if there was no
Danger of Popery among the Lutherans, there was
Danger of Superftition; and as for the pious Part, I
faw very little of it in either of them.
By Religion therefore, the Reader is defired to un-
derſtand here, not the Principles upon which the
feveral Nations denominate themſelves fo much,
as the Manner in which they diſcover themſelves
to be fincere in the Profeffion which they make.
I had no Inclination here to enter into the Enquiry
after the Creeds, which every Nation profefs'd to
believe; but the Manner in which they practiſed
that Religion which they really profefs'd; for,
What is Religion to me without Practice? And
altho' it may be true, that there can be no true
Religion, where it is not profefs'd upon right
Principles; yet that which I obferve here, and
which to me is the greateſt Grievance among
Chriſtians, is the Want of a religious Practice,
even where there are right Principles at Bottom,
and where there is a Profeffion of the Orthodox
Faith.
In Brief, I am not hunting after the Profeffion
of Religion, but the Practice: The first I find
almoſt in every Nation, Nulla gens tam barbara-
But the laſt I am like to travel thro' the Hiftories
of all Christendom with my Search, and per-
haps
[156]
1
haps may hardly be able, when I have done, to
tell you where it is.
All the Satyr of this Enquiry will look this
Way; for where God has not given a People
the Bleffing of a true Knowledge of himſelf, it
would call for our Pity, not Reproach. It
would be a very dull Satyr indeed, that a Man
fhould be witty upon the Negroes in Africa for
not knowing Chrift, and not underſtanding the
Doctrine of a Saviour: But if turning to our
modern Chriftians of Barbadoes and Jamaica for
not teaching them, not inftructing them, and
for refufing to baptize them; there the Satyr
would be pointed and feaſonable, as we ſhall hear
farther by and by.
し
​+
搴
​But to return to the Lutherans, for there I am
ſuppoſed to be at this Time, I mean, among
the Coutts and Cities of Brandenburgh, Saxo-
ny, &c. I had Opportunity here to view a Court;
affecting Gallantry, Magnificence, and gay things,
to fuch a Height, and with fuch a Paffion, to ex-
ceed the whole World in that empty Part of hu
man Felicity, call'd Show, that I thought it was
impoffible to purfue it with fuch an impetuous
Torrent of the Affections, without facrificing all
things to it, which wife Men efteem more va-
Iuable,
Nor was my Notion wrong; for the first thing
I found facrific'd, as I fay, to this voluptuous
Humour, was the Liberties of the People, who
being by Conftitution or Cuftom,rather under ab-
folute Government, and at the arbitrary Will
of the Prince, are fure to pay, not all they can
fpare, but even all they have, to gratify the un
bounded Appetite of a Court given up to Plea-
fure and Exorbitance.
By
[157]
By all I have read of the Manner of Liviig
there, both Court and People; the latter ate
entirely given up to the former; not by Ne-
ceffity only, but by the Conſent of Cuftom, and
the general Way of Management thro' the whole
Country; nay, this is carry'd to fnch a Height,
that as I have been told, the King's Coffers are
the general Cefs-Pool of the Nations, whither all
the Money of the Kingdoms flow, and only dif-
perfes again, as that gives it out; whether by
running over or running out at its proper Vent,
I do not enquire; fo that as all the Blood in the
human Body circulates in 24 Honrs thro' the
Ventricles of the Heart, fo all the Money in the
Kingdom is faid to páfs once a Year thro' the
King's Treaſury.
How far Poverty and Mifery may prompt
Piety and Devotion among the poor Inhabi
tants, I cannot fay: But if Luxury and Gallan-
try, together with Tyranny and Oppreffion to
fupport it, can fubfift with true Religion in the
great Men, than for ought I know, the Courts of
Pruffia and Drefden may be the best qualify'd in the
World to produce this Thing call'd Religion,
which I have hitherto feen, is hard to be found.
It is true, that the Magnificence of the wifeft
King in the World in Jerufalem, was elteemed
the Felicity of his People: Bnt it feems to be ex-
prefs'd very elegantly, not as a Teftimony of
his Glory only, but of the flourishing Condition
of his People at the fame Time, under the prof-
perous. Circumstances which his Reign brought
them to, viz: That he made Gold to be for Plen-
ty like the Stones in the Streets, amply expreffing
the flourishing Condition of his People under
him.
I have
[ 158 ]
I have likewiſe read indeed, and heard much of
the fame Kind of the King of Pruffia, and that
even from his own Subjects, who were always full
of the generous and truly royal Qualities of that
Prince He was the firft King of the Country,
which before was a Dukedom or Electorate only:
The Summ of thèir Diſcourſe is, That his Maje-
fty was ſo true a Father of his Country and of his
People, that his whole care was the Flouriſhing
of their Trade, eſtabliſhing their Manufactures,
encreafing their Numbers, planting Foreigners,
French, Swifs, and other Nations, among them,
to inftru&t and encourage them; and being noway.
acceffory to any of their Oppreffions, but relieving
and redreffing all their Grievances, as often and
as foon as they came to his Knowledge
And indeed, I could not but entertain a great
Regard to the Character of fo juft and good a
Prince. But all I could infer from that was, That
a Government may be tyrannical, and yet the
King not be a Tyrant; but the Grievances to the
People are oftentimes much the fame: And every
Adminiſtration, where the Conftitution is thus
ftated, as it ſeems to be in moft, if not all of the
Northern Courts, Proteftant as well as others,
feems inconfiftent with the true Ends of Govern-
ment; the thing we call Government was certain-
ly eſtabliſhed for the Profperity of the People;
Whereas, on the contrary, in all thofe German
Courts, where I have made my Obfervations, the
Magnificence of the Court, and thrupe:ity of
the People, ftand like the two Poles what Ex-
cefs of Light you fee at one, is exactly balanced by
fo much Darkness at t'other.
And where, pray, is the Religion of all this?
That a whole Nation of People fhould appear
miferable, that their Governours may appear gay,
the
21
[159]
the People ftarve, that the Prince may be fed;
or rather, the People be lean, that their Sovereign
may be fat; the Subjects figh, that he may laugh;
be empty, that he may be full; and all this for
meer Luxury, not for the needful Defence of the
Government; refifting Enemies, preferving the
public Peace, and the like; but for meer Extra-
vagance, Luxury, and Magnificence, as in Pruffia;
or for Ambition, and puſhing at Crowns, and the
Luft of Domination, as in Saxony.
}
But to come back to the religious Tranfactions.
of theſe Countries; How are the Ecclefiaftics
jealous of their Hierarchy, afraid to reform far-
ther, leaft, as they gave a mortal Stabb to the
Perquifites and Vails of God Almighty's Ser-
vice in the Roman Church, modern Reformation
might give the like to them? For this Reaſon
they fet a Pale about their Church, and there;
as well as in other Places, they cry to their
Neighbours, Stand off, I am holier than thou; and
with what Perfecution and Invafion, perfecuting
for Religion, and invading the Principles of one
another. If there was any Peace among them,
it was that only which paffes all Understanding. It
preſently occurr❜d to me, what Charity can here
be, where there is no Peace? And what Religion;
where is no Charity? And I began to fear I fhould
find little of what I look'd for in thofe odd Cli-
mates.
+
I had travell'd perfonally thro' the Heart of
Franc
I had Occafion to look round me
often
in my Rout from the Foot of the
Pyrenean Muntains to Thouloufe, from thence to
Paris at Calais. Here I found the People fo mer-
ry, and yet fo miferable, that I knew not where to
make any Judgment. The Poverty of the Poor
was fo great, that it feem'd to leave them no
room
[160]
}
room to figh for any thing, but their Burthens, or
to pray for any thing, but Bread: But the Tem-
per of the People was fo volatile, that I thought,
they went always dancing to Church, and came
finging out of it.
I found a World of Teachers here, but no body
taught: The Streets, were every where full of.
Priefts, and the Churches full of Women, But as
for Religion, I found most of the Clergy were fo far
from having much of it, that few of them knew.
what it was. Never fure was a Nation fo full of
truly blind Guides; for nothing can be more grofs-
ly ignorant of Religion, than many, of their Cler-
gy are; nothing more void of Morals, than many
of thofe to whom other People go to confefs their
Sins.
I made fome Enquiry about Religion; and a-
mong the reft, happen'd to fall in Company with
I
a good honeſt Hugonot incognito; and he told me
very honeſtly, that the State of Religion in France
ftood thus: Firſt, That for fome Years ago it was
put to the Teft by the King, and that was, when
the Edicts came out to banish and ruin the Hugo-
nots.; at which Time, faid he, we thought there
had been a great deal of Religion in it: But really
when it came to the Pufh, faid he, it was hard to
tell where we should find it. The Perfecution, as
it was thought at firft, would be ingrateful to the
more religious Roman-Catholicks, and that fome
would be found too good to do the Drudgery of
the Devil: But we were miftaken, the beſt felt
in with Perfecution, when it was done by other
Hands, and not their own; and thofe that would
not do it, acknowledg'd they rejoic'd that it was
done; which fhew'd, faid he, that the Catholicks
either
་
?
[ 161 ]
either had no Principle, or acted againſt Principle,
which is much at one. And as for us Hugonots;
fays he, we have fhewn that we have no Religion
loft among us: For firſt, ſome run away for their Re-
ligion, and yet left it behind them, and we that ſtay'd
behind did it at the Price of our Principles: For now,
fays he,we are meer Hypocrites,neither Papifts nor
Hugonots, for we go to Mafs with Proteftant
Hearts; and while we call our felves Proteftants,
we bow in the Houſe of Rimmon, Where then, ſaid I,
is the Religion, once boaſted of here, to be found ?
Indeed, faid he, it is hard to tell you, and except a
little that is in the Galleys, I can give you no good
Account of it. This indeed was confining the
Remains of a flouriſhing Church to about 350
Confeffors, who really fuffer'd Martyrdom for it,
for it was no lefs; fo I minuted down French Reli-
gion, tugging at the Oar, and would have come
away.
But it came into my Thought to ask him, What
he meant by telling me, that thoſe who run away
for their Religion out of France, left moft of it
behind them? He anfwer'd, I should judge of it
better, if I obferv'd them when I came into my
own Country; where, if I found they liv'd better
than other People, or fhew'd any thing of Reli-
gion fuitable to a People that fuffer'd Perfecution
for their Profeffion, I fhould fend Word of it; for
he had heard quite otherwife of them, which
was the Reaſon why he and Thouſands of others
did not follow them.
It happen'd, while I was warm in my Enqui-
ries thus after Religion, a Proclamation came
out in London, for appointing a General Thankf-
giving, for a great Victory obtain'd by the Eng-
lifh Forces and their Confederates, over the French
at I care not to put Names to the parti-
eular Times of things.
I started
M
t
1
[162]
}
1
I ſtarted at the Noife, when they cry'd it in the
Streets: Hah, faid I then I have found it at laft;
and I rejoyc'd in particular, that having look'd fo
much abroad for Religion, I fhould find it out
at home: Then I began to call myſelf a thouſand
Fools, that I had not fav'd myſelf all this Labour,
and look'd at home firft; tho' by the By, I had
done no more in this than other Travellers often,
or indeed generally do, viz. go abroad to ſee the
World, and fearch into the Curiofities of foreign
Countries, and know nothing of their own..
But to return to my Obfervations: I was re-
folv'd to fee the Ceremonies of this pious Piece of
Work; and as the Preparations for it were prodi-
gious great, I enquir'd how it would be; but no
body could remember that the like had ever been
in their Time before: Every one faid, it would
be very fine, that the Queen would be there her
felf, and all the Nobility; and that the like had
never been ſfeen fince Queen Elizabeth's Time.
}
This pleafed me exceedingly; and I began to
form Ideas in my Mind, of whar had been in for-
mer Times among religious Nations; I could
find nothing of what I was made to expect, unleſs
it was Solomon's Dedication of the Temple, or Ja-
fiah's Great Feaft of the Reformation; and I ex-
pected God would have a moft royal. Tribute of
Praife.
1
But it fhock'd me a little, that the People faid
there had never been fuch a Thanfgiving fince
Queen Elizabeth's Time. What thought I can be
the Reafon of that? and mufing a little, O! fays I
to myſelf, now I have found it: I fuppofe, no bo-
dy gives God Thanks in our Country, but Queens:
But this look'd a little harfh; and I rumag'd our
Hiftories a little for my farther Satisfaction, but
could make nothing of it: At laft, talking of it
to
*
[163]
{
to a good old Cavalier, that had been a Soldier
for King Charles, O, fays, he, I can tell you the
Reafon of it: They have never given Thanks, Jays
he, becauſe they have had nothing to give Thanks
for. Pray, Jays he, When have they had any Vi-
&ories in England fince Queen Elizabeth's Time,
except two or three in Ireland in King William's
Time; and then they were fo bufy, had ſo many
other Loffes with them abroad, that they were
afham'd to give Thanks for them.
}
ས
This I found had too much Truth in it, howe-
ver bitter the Jeft of it? But ftill heighten'd my
Expectation, and made me look for fome ftrange
Serioufnefs, and religious Thankfulness in the Ap-
pearance that was to be on the Occafion in Hand ;
and accordingly. I fecur'd myſelf a Place, both
without, and within the Church, where I might be
a Witnels to every Part of the Devotionand Joy
People.
But my Expectations were wound up to a yet grea-
ter Pitch, when I faw the infinite Crowds of Peo-
ple throng with fo much Zeal, as I, like a charitable
"Coxcomb, thought it to be, to the Place of the Worthip
of God; and when I confidered, that it was to give
God Thanks for a great Victory, I could think of
nothing elfe than the Joy of the Ifraelites, when
they landed on the Banks of the Sea, and faw Pha-
roah's Army, Horfes, and Chariots, fwallow'd up
behind them; and I doubted not I fhould hear
fomething like the Song of Mofes and the Chil-
dren of Ifrael, on the Occafion, and fhould hear it
fung with the fame Elevation of Soul.
But when I came to the Point, the firſt thing I
obferv'd was, That nine Parts of ten of all the
Company, came there only to fee the Queen, and
the Show, and the other tenth Part, I think, might
be faid to make the Show.
M 2
When
[164]
Y
When the Queen came to the Rails, and de-
fcended from her Coach, the People, inſtead of
crying out Hofannah, bleffed be the Queen that
cometh in the Name of the Lord; I fay, the Peo-
ple cry'd Murder, and Help, for God's fake;
treading upon one another, and ftifling one ano-
ther, at fuch a rate, that in the Rear of the two
Lines or Crowds of People, thro' which the Queen
Pafs'd, it look'd fomething like a Battle, where
the wounded were retir'd to die, and to get Sur-
geons to come to them, for there fay Heaps of
Women and Children dragg'd from among the
Feet of the Crowd, and gafping for Breath. I
went among ſome of them, and ask'd them, What
made them go into fuch a Crowd? And their An-
fwer was all the fame, 'O Sir, I had a Mind to ſee
the Queen, as the reft did.
Well, I had my Anfwer here indeed; for in
fhort, the whole Bufinefs of the Thankſgiving
without Doors, was to fee the Queen, that was
plain; fo I went away to my Stand, which, for
no leſs than three Guineas, I had fecur'd in the
Church.
When I came there, it was my Fate to be pla-
ced between the Seats, where the Men of God
perform'd the Service of his Praife, and fung out
the Anthems and the Te Deum, which celebrated
the religious Triumph of the Day.
As to the Men themſelves, I lik'd their Office,
their Veſtments, and their Appearance; all look'd
awful and grave enough, fuitable in fome Refpects
to the Solemnity of a religious Triumph; and I
expected they would be as folemn in their Perfor-
mances, as the Levites that blow'd the Trumpets
at Solomon's Feaft, when all the People fhouted and
praiſed God.
But
[165]
But I obferved thefe grave People, in the In-
tervals of their worfhipping God, when it was
not their Turn to fing, or read, or pray, beftow'd
fome of the rest of their Time in taking Snuff, ad-
juſting their Perukes, looking about at the fair La-
dies, whispering, and that not very foftly neither
to one another, about this fine Lady, that pretty
Woman, this fine Dutchefs, and that great For-
tune, and not without fome Indecencies, as well
of Words, as of Geſtures. Well, fays I, you are
none of the People I look for, where are they that
give God Thanks?
Immediately the Organ ftruck up for the Te De-
um; up ftarts all my Gentlemen, as if infpir'd from
above, and from their talking together, not over
modeftly,fall to praifing God with the utmoft Pre-
cipitation, finging the heavenly Anthems, with all
the Grace and Mufic imaginable.
In the Middle of all this Mufick and theſe exalted
things, when I thought my Soul elevated with di-
vine Melody, and began to be reconcil'd to all the
reft, I faw a little ruftling Motion among the Peo-
ple, as if they had been diſturb'd or frighted:
Some faid it thunder'd, fome faid the Church fhook.
The true Bufinefs was, the Te Deum within was
anfwer'd without by the Thunder of 100 Pieces
of Cannon, and the Noife of Drums, with the
Huzza's and Shouts of great Crowds of People in
the Streets. This I did not underftand, fo it did
neither diſturb or concern me; I found indeed no
great Harmony in it; it bore no Confort in the
Muſic, at leaſt, as I underſtood it; but it was
over pretty foon, and fo we went on.
When the Anthem was fung, and the other Ser-
vices fucceeded them, I that had been a little di-
fturb'd with the lucid Intervals of the Chorifters,
and the Gentlemen that fat crowded in with
M 3
them,
[166]
them, turn'd my Eyes to other Places, in Hopes
I fhould find fome Saints among the Crowd, whofe
Souls were taken up, with the exalted Raptures of
the Day.
}
But alas, it was all one, the Ladies were bufy
fingling out the Men, and the Men the Ladies.
The Star and Garter of a fine young Nobleman,
beautiful in Perfon, rich in Habit, and fparkling
in Jewels, his blew Ribbond intimating his Cha-
racter, drew the Eyes of fo many. Women off of
their Prayer Books, that I think his Grace ought
to have been ſpoken to by the Vergers, to have
withdrawn out of the Church, that he might
not injure the Service, and rob God Almighty of
the Homage of the Day.
As for the Queen, her Majefty was the Star of
the Day, and infinitely more Eyes were directed
to her than were lifted up to Heaven, tho' the
laft was the Bufinefs of the whole Proceffion.
}
Well, Said I, this is mighty fine, that's true;
But where's the Religion of all this? Heavens
blefs me, faid, out of this Crowd, and I'll ne-
ver mock God any more here, when the Queen
comes again. Cannot theſe People go and fee the
Queen, where the Queen is to be feen, but muſt
they come hither to prophane the Church with
her, and make the Queen an Idol ? And in a great
Paffion I was both at the People and at the Man-
ner of the Day, as you may eafily fee by what
follows.
N. B. I had made fome other fatyrical Reflections
upon the Conduct of the Day; but as it looks
too near home, I am not willing, that poor Ro-
binson Crusoe fhould difoblige any body.
I confefs, the Clofe of the Day was ftill more
Extravagant; for there the Thankſgiving was ad-
journed from the Church to the Tavern, and to
the
[ 167 ]
the Street; and instead of the Decency of a reli-
gious Triumph, there was indeed a Triumph of
religious indecency, and the Anthems Te Deum
and Thankſgiving of the Day ended in the Drun-
kenneſs, the Bonefires, and the Squibs and Crac-
kers of the Street.
How far Religion is concern'd in all this, or
whether God Almighty will accept of this noify
Doings for Thankſgivings, that I have nothing
to do with; lét thofe People confider of it, that are
concern'd in it.
XX
Of Differences in Religion.
T
IS known alone to the Divine Wiſdom,
why he has been pleafed to fuffer any
Part of Religion, and the Adoration
paid to his Majefty, the Supplications
made to him, and the Homage which his Crea-
tures owe to his glorious Being, to be fo doubt-
fully directed, or fo differently underſtood by his
Creatures, as that there fhould be any Miftakes or
Difagreements about them.
How comes it to pafs, that the paying a Re-
verence to the Name and Being of God, fhould
not be as uncapable of being difputed in the Man-
ner of it, as in the thing itfelf? That all the Rules
of Worshipping, Believing in, and Serving the Great
God of Heaven and Earth, fhould be capable of
being underſtood any more than oneWay? And that
the Infallible Spirit of God, who is our Guide
M 4.
to
[168]
to Heaven, ſhould leave any one of its Dictates
in a State of being miſunderstood?
Why have not the Rules of Religion, as well
thofe of Doctrine as of Life, been laid down in
Terms fo plain, and ſo impoffible to be miſtaken,
that all Men in the World in every Age, fhould
have the fame Notions of them,and underſtand them
in every Title of them exactly alike? Then as Hea-
ven is but one bleffed great Port,at which all Hope
to arrive, there would have been but one Road
to travel the Journey in; all Men would have gone
the fame Way, fteer'd the fame Courfe; and
Brethren would no more have fallen out by the
Way.
God alone, who for wife and righteous Rea-
fons, becauſe he can do nothing but what is wiſe
and righteous, has otherwife order'd it, and that
is all we can fay of it: As to the Realon and Ju-
ftice of it, that is a thing, of which, like as of
the Times and of the Seafons, we may fay, Know-
eth no Man.
In the State of Uncertainty we are now in, fo
it is; two Men believing in the fame God, holding
the fame Faith, the fame Saviour, the fame Do-
rine, and aiming at the fame Heaven; yet can-
not agree to go to that Heaven, or worſhip
that God, or believe in that Saviour the fame Way,
or after the fame Manner: Nay, they cannot
know, or conceive of God, or of Heaven, or of the
Redeemer, or indeed of any one Principle of the
Chriſtian Religion, in the fame Manner, or form
the fame Ideas of thoſe things in their Minds.
It is true, the different Capacities and Faculties
of Men, are in Part a Reaſon for this; by which
it is occafioned, that fearçe two Men together
have the fame Notions and Apprehenfions even of
one and the fame thing, becaufe their Underftan-
dings
[169]
.
dings are led by different Guides, and they fee by
different Lights.
But this is not all; they are not alike honeft to
the Light they have: Three Men read the fame do-
Arinal Article, fay it be of the Trinity, or of any
other, and they all examine the Foundation of it in
the Scripture. One thinks verily he has found out
the Myſtery effectually, goes on with his Enquiries,
and brings every Scripture and every Paffage to
correfpond exactly with his firft Notion; and thus
he confirms himſelf immoveably in his Opinion;
and it is fo clear to him, that he can not only ne-
ver be argued out of it, but can entertain no good
Opinion of any Man, that conceives of it in any
other Way, but takes him for an Enemy to the
Orthodox Doctrine, and that he merits to be ex-
pell'd out of Chrift's Church, deny'd the Chriftian
Communion; and in fhort, treats him with no Re-
ſpect, no nor thinks of him with Charity.
Another comes to the fame Scripture, and in
queft of the fame Doctrine, and he reads over the
fame Texts, and recieves Notions from them di-
rectly oppofite to the other, or at leaſt, very re-
mote from them: He follows in his Search thro'
all the corroborating Texts, and is confirm'd in
his first Opinion from them all: He grows as
immoveable in his receiv'd Conſtruction of the
Scripture, as the other; and all is fo clear to him,
that he not only can never be argued out of his
Opinion, but can entertain no good Opinion of
any Man that conceives of it any other Way,
but takes him for an Enemy to the Orthodox
Doctrine.
The third Man, he reads over all the fame
Texts of Scripture, but doing it with an Indiffe-
rency as to the Subftance, and whether he re-
ceives right information or no, truly he comes
away
[ ]
170]
?
170 way with a Calmnefs of Mind as to the Subftance;
and as he went with no great Concern about being
certain, fo he comes back as uncertain as he went.
Theſe three Men are enough to fill the whole
World full of Difputes about Religion. The firft
two meet, and being equally pofitive of their being
infallibly guided, equally warm in defending their
Opinions, and equally tenacious of them,and above
all equally void of Charity to the other; truly they
fall out, Part, condemn, cenfure, revile, and as Op-
portunity and Power offers, at laft, perfecute
one another, and all one anothers Adherents.
2
The third, half inform'd indifferent Man, he
comes in between theſe two, laughs at them both,
fays they are a Parcel of furious Chriftians, that'
the thing is not abfolutely neceffary to be known,
that it is no Article of Faith, fo as that with-
out deciding it, a Man cannot be fav'd; fays,
they are a Parcel of Fools to fall out thus about
what they cannnot be certain of, and which they
may go to Heaven tho' they fhould not underſtand
it till they come there: And thus the World comes
to be divided.
Could they differ with Humility, they would
differ with Charity; but it is not to be, in Religi-
on, whatever it may be in civil or politick Affairs;
for there is a thing call'd Zeal, which Men call
a Grace in Religion, and eſteem a Duty; and this
makes Men fall out in religious Matters, with a
more fatal Warmth, and more Animofity, than in
other Cafes, according to Hudibrafs.
"Zeal makes men fight like mad or drunk,
"For Dame Religion as for Punk.
*
Nor is this the Fate only of the Chriftian Religi-
on, tho' 'tis more ſo there than in any other; but 'tis
1
the
}
1
[ 17 ]
матема
the fame in other Cafes, as between the Perfians
and the Turks, about the Succeffors of their Pro-
phet Mahomet. It was fo of Old between the
Heathen and the Jews: And the Affyrian Monarch
prepar❜d a fiery Furnace for thoſe that would not fall
down and worſhip the great Image that he had ſet
up.
In the Primitive Times of God's Church, the
Heathen did the like by theChriftians, and Chriftia-
nos ad Leones was the common Cry: But when the
Church came to its Halcyon-Days, Conftantine the
Great gave Peace to the Chriſtians,and it was but a
little While that they enjoy'd that Peace, before
they fell out by the Way, the Arian Herefies roſe
up, and differing Opinions rent the State into Fa-
&tions, the Church into Schiſms, and in the Space
of two Reigns, the Arians perfecuted the Ortho-
dox, and the Orthodox the Arians, almoſt with
the fame Fury as the Heathen had perfecutet hem
both with before.
From thence to our Time, Perſecution has been
the Practice even of all Parties, as they have been
clothed with Power, and as their Differences have
mov'd them: For Example, in all the Chriftian
Countries, there is a mortal Feud between Popiſh
and Proteftant; and tho' indeed the former have
carry'd their Zeal fartheft, yet the latter have not
been able to ſay they have not perfecuted in their
Turn, tho' not with Fire and Faggot.
What Wars and Bloodshed molefted Europe on
the Account of Religion in Germany? eſpecially
till the general Pacification of thofe Troubles at
the Treaty of Weftphalia? when the Proteftants
having had the apparent Advantage of the War,
obtain'd the everlafting Settlement of their Religi-
on, as well as Liberties thro' the whole Empire.
Since
[172]
Since thofe times, what Perfecution in the fame
Country, between the Lutheran and Calvinift
Churches? And how little Charity is among them?
infomuch, that the Lutherans to this Day will not
allow the reformed Evangelick Churches, fo the
Calvinifts are call'd,Liberty to affemble for Worfhip
within the Gates of their Cities, or give them
Chriftian Burial.
议
​I avoid looking too near Home, or fearching in
Scotland and England among the unhappy Divifi-
ons of Epifcopal and Presbyterian, Church of Eng-
land and Diffenter; and this I do, becaufe it is at
Home: But it is too evident, that all thefe come
either from Mens being negligent of right Informa-
tions, or too tenacious when they have it; for 'tis
evident, if all Men would be honeſt to the Light
they have, and favourable to their Neighbours, we
might hope, that how many feveral Ways foever,
we chofe to walk towards Heaven, we ſhould all
meet there at laſt.
I look upon all the Seeds of religious Diffen-
tion, as Tares fow'd by the Devil among the
Wheat: And it may be obferved, that tho', as I
have already faid, the Affyrians perfecuted the Jews,
and the Romans the Chriftians; yet where the
Devil is immediately and perfonally worthipped,
there we meet with little or no Perfecution; for
Satan having a kind 'of peaceable Dominion there,
offers them no Disturbance: He defires no Inno-
vation for ever; he finds the Sweetness of it, and
lets it all alone,
But if once they talk of cther Gods before him,
he is far leſs eafy; there he is continually fowing
Strife, and hatching Divifions among them; for
like all other Monarchs, the Devil loves to reign
alone.
It
[173]
It would be too long a Task here, to reckon up
the ſeveral Sorts of Differences in Religion, even
among us in England; where, if two happen to
differ, preſently like St. Paul to St. Peter, they
withstand one another to the Face; that is to fay, car-
ry on the Diſpute to the utmoſt Extremity.
But there is another Queſtion before me, and
that is not only, Why there are fuch Differences
in the Points of Reiig on? And, why are religi-
ous Differences hotter and more irreconcilable
than other Breaches? But, why are there more
Differences of this Kind among us, than among
any other Nation in the World?
Certainly this puſhing on our religious Broils to
the Extremity, is the Peculiar of this Country of
England, and is not the fame thing in other Places;
and the Variety is fuchhere, that 'tis ſaid, there
are more feveral Communions or Communities of
religious Kinds in England, than in all the other
Proteftant Countries in the World.
The best and moft charitable Anfwer that I
can think of to give for this, is to compliment
our felves, and ſay, 'tis becauſe we are the moſt
religious Nation in the World; that is to fay,
that we in general fet more ſeriouſly to work, to
enquire into the Subſtance and Nature of Religion;
to examine Principles, and weigh the Reaſons of
things, than other People; being more concern'd
for, and anxious about, the Affairs of God, of
Heaven, and our Souls; that thinking, as we
ought to do, that Religion is of the utmoft Con-
cern to us, and that it is of the laſt Moment to us
to be certain about it, and well grounded in the
Points before us,particularly whether we are rightly
inform'd or not; this anxious Concern makes us jea-
lous of every Opinion and Tenacious of our own,
breaks much in upon the Cuftom of fubmitting
Our
[174]
+
our Judgments to the Clergy, as is the Cafe in
Countries, where People are more 'indifferent in
their Search after thefe things, and more uncon-
cern'd in the Certainty or Uncertainty of them.
3
I must acknowledge, that I think the true
and the only juſt Reafon that can be given for this
Matter, is not, that we are more furious
than other People, more cenforious and rath in our
Judgment, that we have lefs Charity, or lefs Pa-
tience, in debating religious Points, than other
People: But the Truth is, that we have lefs In-
difference about them; and we cannot fit down
contented with a Slight and overly Enquiry, or a
Curfory or School Anfwer to the Doubts in Que-
ftion: But we make it a Thing of abfolute neceffi-
ty, to be fully inform'd of, and therefore are ear
neft in the Enquiry, and knowing the Scripture
to be the great Rule of Faith, the Standard for
Life and Doctrine, we flie thither and fearch for
our ſelves, not having Popery enough to expect an
infallible Judge, not Indifference enough to acqui-
efce in the Judgment of the Clergy; and perhaps a
little too tenacious of our own Interpretation,
even in things we are uninftructed about.
This indeed I take to be the true Reaſon why
religious Diſputes encreaſe fo much here, and why
there are fuch Separations and Schifms among us,
more than they are in any other Nation in the
World.
I know much of it is laid to the Door of the
Confufions they were all in here, during the bloody
inteftine Wars in the Years 1640 to 1656, and the
Liberty given to all Opinions to fet up themſelves
at that Time: But I wave that as a Queſtion that
tends to more Divifion. I believe, the Reafon I
have given for it, ftands as well grounded, and as
likely
[175]
likely to be approved as any I can give, or as any
that has been given in this Cafe.
There is another difficult Queftion, which ftill
remains before us; and that is, What Remedy
can we apply to this Malady? And first, I muſt
anfwer negatively; not to have us be leſs religious,
that we might differ lefs about it: But to have
us exerciſe more Charity in our Difputes, that we
might differ more like Men of Temper, and more
like Chriftians, than we do: This is ftriking at
the Root of religious Differences; for if they were
carry'd on mildly with a peaceable Spirit, willing
to be inform'd, à Difpofition to Love as Brethren,
tho in every thing not like minded: Our Variety
of Opinions would not then have the Name of
Differences, we ſhould not feparate in Communion
and in Charity, tho' we did not agree in every
thing we were to believe or not believe, about
Religion.
It is hard that we fhould fay' thefe Differences
are the Confequences of a Nation, having more
Religion than their Neighbours, fince we have
ſtill this one Part too little; and as I fuppofe us
to have more Religion, I muſt be oblig'd to grant
we have not enough more; for if, as we have juft fo
much more Religion, as is fufficient, to make us
quarrelfome in religious Difputes; we had yet
as much more, as were fufficient to make us
peaceable again after it, then we fhould be reli-
gious to Purpoſe.
So that, in a Word, our being fo religious, as
above, is only an unhappy middle Compofition
between the enquiring and fully inform'd Chrifti-
an on one Hand, and the careleſs, indifferent, un-
concern'd Temper, that takes up with any thing,
on the other Hand: And this I take to be a juft tho'
fhort
1
i
[176]
fhort Account of our Differences in England about
Religion.
It might be a very ufeful Queftion to ftart here,
namely where all our unhappy religious Differences
will end. I that am not willing to give the worst
natur'd Anſwer, where the beft and kindeft will
hold Water, am for the prefent difpos'd to anfwer
in general,rather than defcend to Particulars, viz. in
Heaven: There all our unkind,unchriftian, unneigh-
bourly, unbrotherly Differences will end: We thall
freely thake Hands there with many a pardon'd
Sinner,that here we bid ftand off; embrace many a
Publican,that here we think it a Difhonour to con-
verſe with; fee many a Heart that we have broken
here with Cenfures, Reproachings, and Revilings,
made whole again by the Balm of the fame Re-
deemer's Blood:
There we fhall fee, that there have been other
Flocks than thofe of our Fold, other Paths to
Heaven than thoſe we fhut Men out from; that
thoſe we have excommunicated have been taken
into that fuperiour Communion; and thoſe we
have plac'd at our Left-hands, have been there fum-
mon'd to the Right-hand; all Separations will
be there taken away, and the Mind of every Chri-
ftian be entirely reconcild to one another; no Di-
vifions, no Differences, no charging fincere Minds
with Hypocrify, or embracing painted Hypocrites
for Saints; every thing to be feen, and to be
known, as it really is, and by a clear Light; none
will defire to deceive, none be fubject to be de-
ceived.
There we fhall look upon all we have done and
faid in Prejudice of the Character of our Brethren
with a juft Change, and fufficiently repair to one
another all the injurious things we have faid, or
indeed but thought of one another, by rejoicing
is
1
[177]
in the common Felicity, and praifing the fove-
reign Glory, that had receiv'd thofe we had foo-
lifhly rejected, and let thoſe into the fame Heaven,
whom we had in the Abundance of our Pride, and
the Penury of our Charity, fhut out.
How many Actions of Men, which we, feeing
only their Out-fide, have how cenfur'd, ſhall we
find there, by that Penetration that cannot err, be
accepted for their in-fide Sincerity? How many
an Opinion, that we condemn here, fhall we fee
then to be, Orthodox? In a Word, Hów many
contradicting Notions and Principles, which we
thought inconfiftent with true Religion, fhall we
find then to be reconcilable to themſelves, to one
another, and to the Fountain of Truth?
All the Difficulties in our Conceptions of things
invifible, will then be explain'd; all the Doctrines
of the Immutability of the divine Councils will
then be reconcilable to the changeable Events of
things, and to the Varieties often happening in
the World: The Unchangeableneſs of the eternal
Decrees will then appear; and yet the Efficacy of
praying to God to do this,, or not do that, to
pardon, forgive, fpare, and forbear, which we
now fay is inconfiftent with thofe unchangeable
Decrees, fhall be reconcilable to that Unchange-
ableneſs, in a Manner to us now inconceiveable.
And this is the Foundation of what I now ad-
vance, viz. That in Heaven all our Differences in
Religion will be reconcil'd, and will be at an End.
If any Man ask me, whether they cannot be ended
before? I answer, If we were all thoroughly con-
vinc'd, that they would be reconcil'd then, we
fhould certainly put an End to them before; but
'tis impoffible to be done. Mens Convictions of
the greateſt and moſt certain Truths, are
not equal to one another,
one another, or equal to the
Weight
N
/
[178]
Weight and Significancy of thofe Truths; and
therefore, fuch a general Effect of this Affair can-
not be expected on this Side of Time.
There is one very great Reconciler of religious
Differences in this World, which has fometimes
been made ufe of by Providence to heal the Breaches
in Chriftian Charity among religious People; and
it is, generally fpeaking, very effectual: But it is
a bitter Draught, a Potion that goes down with
great Reluctance, and that is PERSECUTION. This
generally reconciles the Differences of Chriftians,
about the leffer Matters in Religion: The Primi-
tive Churches, while under the Roman Perfecutions,
had a much greater Harmony among themſelves,
and very few Schifms and Divifions broke out a-
mong them. When they did differ in any Parti-
cular Points, they wrote healing Epiftles to one
another, contended with Modefty and with Cha-
rity, and referr'd willingly' their Notions to be de-
cided by one another. They did not ſeparate Com-
munion, and excommunicate whole Churches and
Nations, for a Difpute about the Celebration of
Eafter, or unchurch one another for the Queftion
of receiving and re-baptizing of Penitents, as was
afterwards the Cafe. The Furnace of Affliction
burnt up all that Drofs, the Fury of their Perfe-
cutors kept their Minds humble, their Zeal for
Religion hot, and their Affection for, and Charity
to one another encreaſed as their Liberty, and their
Number was leffened.
I
Thus Bishop Ridley, and Bifhop Hooper; the firft,
a rigid Church of England Biſhop, the other, almoſt
a Presbyterian, or at leaſt a Calvinift, like Peter
and Paul, d'ffer'd hotly, and withſtood one ano-
ther to the Face, in the very Beginning of the Re-
formation: But when they came to burn for their
Religion, Fire and Faggot fhew'd them the Re-
concilablenefs
[179]
1
concileableness of all their Difputes; convinc'd
them, that it was poffible for both to hold faft
the Truth in Sincerity, and yet entertain differing
Notions of the Rites and Outfides of the divine
OEconomy, and at the Stake they ended all their
Difputes, wrote healing Letters to one another,
and became Fellow-Martyrs and Confeffors for
that very Profeffion which was fo intermix'd with
Cenfure and Diflike before.
And let all that think of this Remedy remem-
ber, that whenever thefe quarrelfome Chriftians
come, by Perfecution, or any other Incident, to
be thus reconcil'd in their Charity, they find al-
ways a great deal to ask Pardon of one another
for, with refpe&t to what is paſt ; all their Violence,
Heat of Zeal, and much more Heat of Paffion,
all their Breach of Charity, their Reproaches and
Cenfures, and hard Words, which have pass'd be-
tween them, will only then ferve to bring them
together with more Affection, and to Embrace
more warmly; for, depend upon it, all the Diffe-
rences in Religion among good Men, (for I do
not mean Effential, Doctrinal, and Fundamental
Differerences) ferve only to make them all aſham'd
of themſelves at laft.
N 2
Of
[180]
慈​慈​慈​慈​慈​慈​慈​弟弟​弟弟​弟弟​弟弟​巍巍​巍巍​巍
​AGENTONANIAOAO ATAONOMI NIINKINIAI NAGASAONGANI
Of the wonderful Excellency of
1
Negative Religion, and Negative
Virtue.
- t
N
+
Egative Virtue fets out like the Phari-
fee, with God I thank thee; 'tis a Piece
of religious Pageantry; a jointed Baby
drefs'd up gay, but ftript of its Gew
gaws, it appears a naked Lump, fit only to pleaſe
Children and deceive Fools. 'Tis the Hope of the
Hypocrite, 'tis a Cheat upon the Neighbourhood,
a Drefs for without Doors, for 'tis of no Ufe
within; 'tis a Mask put on for a Character, and
as generally 'tis uſed to cheat others, 'tis fo igno-
rantly embrac'd, that we cheat even ourſelves
with it.
In a Word, Negative Virtue is Pofitive Vice, at
leaft when it is made ufe of in any of the two laſt
Cafes ; namely, Either as a Mask to deceive others,
or as a Mift to deceive ourſelves. If a Man were
to look back npon it, to fee in what Part he
could take up his Neft, or lay a Foundation of
Hope for the Satisfaction of his Mind, as to fu-
ture things, he would find it the moft uncom-
fortable Condition to go out of the World with,
that any Man in the World can think.
The Reaſon is plain, compare it with the Pub-
lican, whom fuch a Man defpifes: Here is my
Landlord is a Drunkard, one of my Tenants is a
Thief, fuch a poor Man is a Swearer, fuch a rich
*
Man
1
}
}
[181]
Man a Blafphemer, fuch a Tradefman is a Cheap.
fuch a Juſtice of the Peace is an Atheiſt, ſuch a
rakifh Fellow is turn'd Highwayman, fuch a
Beau is debauch'd; But I! I that am cloath'd
in Negatives, and walk in the Light of my own
Vanity, I live a fober, regular, retir'd Life, I am
an honeft Man: Vide Page I defraud no body,
no Man ever heard me fwear, or an ill Word
come out of my Mouth; I never talk irreligiouſly
or prophanely, and I am never miss'd out of my
Seat at Church. God I thank thee !I am not
debauch'd, I am no Highwayman, no Murderer,
&c. Now, what's the Difference of all theſe? I
muft confefs, fpeaking of all theſe together, and
of what is uſually the End of them, I think a
Man had better be any of them, nay, almost all
of them together, than the Man himself; and my
Reaſon is, in a few Words as follows:
All theſe know themſelves to be wicked Per-
fons; Confcience, tho' for a Time opprefs'd and
kept under, yet upon all Occafions tells them
plainly what their Condition is, and oftentimes
they repent. 'Tis true, fometimes they do not,
God is pleas'd fometimes to treat them in the
vindi&ive Attribute, and they are cut off in their
Crimes, infenfible and ftupid, without a. Space or
a Heart to repent; and therefore, let none take
Hope in their profligate Living, from what I am
going to ſay.
Again; others, tho' they do repent, and God
is pleas'd to give them the Grace to return to
him as Penitents, come to it very late, and fome-
times under a fevere, Hand, as perhaps on a
Death-Bed, or under fome Difafter, and often-
times at the Gallows.
But ſtill I ſay, thofe Men tho' they fin, they do
it as a Crime, and when they come to be told
N 3
of
[ 182 ]
of it often, they are brought to repent: But the
Negative Chriftian I fpeak of, is fo full of him-
felf, fo perfwaded, that he is good enough, and
religious enough already, that he has no Thoughts
of any thing, unleſs it be to pull off his Hat to God
Almighty now and then, and thank him, that he
has no Need of him; this is the Opiat that
dofes his Soul even to the laft Gafp; and it
is ten thouſand to one, but the Lethargic Dream
hoots him thro' the Gulph at once, and he never
opens his Eyes till he arrives in that Light, where
all things are naked and open; where he fees
too late, that he has been a Cheat to himſelf, and
has been hurry'd by his own Pride in a Cloud of
Negatives, into a State of pofitive Deftruction,
without Remedy.
I am reading no particular Man's Fate; God.
forbid! I reſtrain it to no Circumftances, I point
out no Perfons; 'tis too folemn a thing to make
it a Satyr; 'tis the State, not the Man, I fpeak
of; let the guilty apply it to themſelves, and the
prond good Man humble himſelf, and avoid it.
I have obferv'd, that many fall into this Cafe
by the exceffive Vanity of being thought well of
by their Neighbours, obtaining a Character,&c. 'tis
a Delufion very fatal to many; a good Name, is
indeed a precious Ointment, and in fome Cafes
is better than Life: But with your Pardon, Mr.
Negative, it muſt be a good Name for good Deeds,
of otherwife, a good Name upon a bad Life is a
painted Whore, that has a gay Countenance upon a
rotten, diſeaſed, corrupted Carcafs.
Much to be preferr'd is the general Slander of a
prejudic'd Age, and a State of univerfal Calumny,
where theMind is free from the Guilt they charge:
Such a Man, tho' the World ſpits upon and deſpi-
fes
{
[183]
fes him, looks in with Comfort, and looks up
with Hope.
•
Hic murus Aheneus efto,
Nil confcire fibi, nulla pallefcere culpa.
Virg.
General Contempt, univerfal Reproach, is a
Life that requires a world of Courage and
Steadineſs of Mind to fupport: But, be this
my Portion in this World, with a Heart that does
not reproach me with the Guilt, much rather
than to be a Man of Negatives only, and who all
the World careffes with their good Wifhes, and
good Opinion, but is himself empty of real Vir-
tue, a Hypocrite at Bottom, a Cheat, and under
the Deluſion of it; whoſe Portion is with Hypo-
crites, and who can neither look in, or look up
with Pleaſure, but muft look without himſelf, for
all that can be call'd Good, either by others, or
by himſelf.
As at the Great and Laft Day, the Secrets of
all Hearts fhall be diſcloſed, ſo I am perfwaded,
the Opinion we have of one another here, will be
one of the Things which will be there, and per-
haps not till then fully rectify'd; and as we fhall
be there thorowly enlightened, we fhall find Room
to fee, that we have been much miſtaken in our No-
tions of Virtue and Vice, Religion and Irreligion,
in the Characters of our Neighbours. And I am
perfwaded, we fhall fee many of our Acquaintan-
ces placed at the Right-hand of a righteous Judge,
whoſe Characters we have oppreffed with Slanders,
and who we have cenforioufly placed at his Left-
hand here: And many a painted Hypocrite, who
has infulted his Neighbour with, Stand off, I am
holier than thou, or whom he has turned from
N 4
with
譬
​[184]
with Difdain, and with a This Publican!' plac'd at
the Left-hand, who we made no Doubt we fhould
have feen at the Right-hand in Triumph.
This is a Support to the Mind of a good Man,
even when his Enemies, as David lays, gnash upon
him with their Teeth, and have him in Derifion,
that is to fay, when he is run down by univerfal
Clamour, and damn'd by the Tongues of Men,
even for this World and another.
Happy the Man, who with exalted Soul,
Knows how to rate the great the profp'rous Fool,
Who can the Infults of the Street contemn,
}
And values not the Rage or Tongues of Men?
He like the Sun exifts on his own Flame,
And when he dies, is to himself a Fame.
3
}
$
But take this with you as you go, that as nega-
tive Praiſe will build no Man Comfort, fo nega-
tive Virtue will not fupport the Mind under uni-
verfal Contempt. Scandal is much worfe than
Slander; for the firft is founded upon real Guilt,
the other attacks Innocence. Nothing is a Scan-
dal, but what is true: Nothing is a Slander, but
what is falfe.
1
He that fortifies himſelf againſt Reproach, muſt
do it with a certain Referve of Real, and folid Vir-
tue, and Piety; it must be Uprightnefs and Inte-
grity that muſt preſerve him; nothing but a Fund
of what is good can fupport the Mind under the
Reproach of being all that is bad; I do not mean
neither, that the Man muſt be perfect, have no
Follies or Failings, have made no Excurfions, have
nothing to be laid to the Charge of his Character;
for where then fhall the Man be found I am fpea-
king of? And I may be faid to be defcribing the
i...
}
•
Black-
[ 185 1
]
A
Black-fwan,
erfon that is not, and never was
to be found: But the right Way of judging Men,
and the Way which alone can be juft, is to judge
of them by their general Conduct; and fo a Man
may in his own Mind juftly denominate himſelf:
As every good Action does not denominate me
to be a good Man, fo neither does every Failing,
every Folly, no nor every fcandalous Action, de-
nominate me a Hypocrite, or a wicked Man;
otherwiſe, fome of the moſt eminent Saints in Scrip
ture, and of every Age fince the Scripture was
written, are gone to the Devil; and 'twill be
hard to fay, there was ever a good Man in the
World.
But I return to my Subject, the negative good
Man; and let me examine him a little in his just
Character, in his Conduct, publick and private:
He is no Drunkard, but is intoxicated with the
Pride of his own Worth: He is a good Neigh-
bour, a common Arbitrator and Peace-maker in
other Families, but a curfed Tyrant in his own.:
He appears in a publick Place of Worship for a
Show, but never enters into his Clofet and fhuts
the Door about him, to pray to him that fees in
Secret: He is covered with the vain-glorious,
and oftentatious Part of Charity, but does all h's
Alms before Men, to be feen of them: He is migh-
ty eager in the Duties of the fecond Table, but re-
gardleſs of the firft; appearingly religious to be
feen and taken Notice of by Men; but between
God and his own Soul, no Entercourfe, no Com-
munication: What is this Man? And what Com-
fort is thére of the Life he lives? He knows lit-
tle, or perhaps nothing of Faith, Repentance, and
a Chriftian mortified Life: In a Word, he is a
Man perfect in the Circumftances of Religion,
and
}
[ 186. F
A
and perfectly a Stranger to the effential Part of
Religion.
Take this Man's Converfation apart, enter into
the private and retir'd Part of it, What Notions
has he of mifpent Hours, and of the natural Re-
flux of all our Minutes, on to the great Center and
Gulph of Life, Eternity? Does he know how to
put a right Value upon Time? Does he eſteem it
the Life-Blood of his Soul, as it really is, and a&
in all the Moments of it, as one that muſt ac-
count for them? Alas! this is of no Weight with
fuch a Man; he is too full of himself to enter in-
to any Notions about an Account, either for mi-
ſpent Time, or any thing elfe mifdone; but per-
fwading himself, that he never did any thing amifs,
entertains no. Notion of Judgment to come, Eter-
nity, or any thing in it.
What Room has a Man to expatiate in
his Thoughts upon ſo immenſe and inconceivable
a Subject, as that of eternal Duration, whofe
Thoughts are all taken up, and ſwell'd Top-full
with his own extraordinary felf. It would be im-
poffible for any Man in the World to entertain one
proud Thought of himſelf, if he had but one
right Idea of a future State. Could ſuch a Man
think, that any thing in him, or any thing he could
do, could purchaſe for him, a Felicity that was
to laſt to Eternity? What! that a Man fhould be ca-
pable in one Moment (for Life is not that in Length
compar'd to Eternity) to do any thing for which he
thould deferve to be made happy to Eternity?
If then you can form no Equality between what
he can do, and what he fhall receive; lefs can it be
founded upon his negative Virtue, or what he has
forborn to do; and if neither his negative nor his
pofitive Piety can be equal to the Reward, and to
the Eternity that Reward is to laft for; What
then
[187]
then is become of the Pharifee? he muft think no
more of himſelf, for all his Boafts; neither of his
Negatives nor his Pofitives, but of a rich unboun-
ded Grace, that rewards according to itſelf, not
according to what we can do; and that to be
judged at the laft Day according to our Works,
if literally underſtood, would be to be undone ;
but we are to be judged by the Sincerity of our
Repentance, be rewarded according to the infi-
nite Grace of God, and Purchaſe of Chrift,
with a State of Bleffednefs to an endleſs Eter-
nity.
Indeed this Eternity is not a Meditation fuita-
ble to the Man I am talking of, 'tis a fublime
Thought,which his bloated Imagination has never
defcended to, or engag'd in; and when it comes,
he is like to have as little Comfort of it, as he has
had Thought about it.
This Thought of Eternity raiſes new Ideas in
my Mind, and I cannot go forward without a
Digreffion upon fo important a Subject; if the
Reader approves the Thought, he will not quar-
rel about its being a Digreffion.
ETERNITY.
Ail mighty Circle, unconceived Abyſs,
H4
Center of Worlds to come, and Grave of this:
Great Gulph of Nature in whofe mighty Womb,
1
Lyes all that Thing call'd Paft, that nothing call'd to
Ever and never, both begun in thee,
(come.
The weak Deſcription of Eternitie,
Meer Sounds which only can thy Being confeſs ;
or bow fhould finite Words thee Infinite expreſs.
Thou
[188]
1
Thou art Durations modern Name,
To be, or to have been, in thee are all the fame.
Thy Circle holds the pre-exiftent State
Of all that's early, or that shall be late,
Thou know'ſt no Paſt or Future ; all in thee,
Make up one Point, Eternity:
And, if things mortal meaſure things fublime
Are all one great Ubiquity of Time.
L
To end, begin, be born, and dye,
The Accidents of Time and Life,
1
Are Nonfenfe in thy Speech, Eternity'
r
Swallows them all, in thee they end their Strife.
In thee the Ends of Nature form one Line.
And Generation with Corruption join.
Ages of Life defcribe thy State in vain,
Even Death itſelf, in thee, lives o'er again.
Thy radiant Bright, unfaded Face,
Shines over univerfal Space.
All Limits from thy vaft Extent must flee,
Old Everlaſting's but a Point to thee ·
Ten Everlastings, make, not one Eternitie.
To thee things paft, exist as things that are ;
And things to come, as if they were;
*
1
MA
Thou waft the firſt Great When, while there was yet No
*
Where.
ፈ
Even
[189]
*
Even Time itself's a little Ball of Space,
Borrowing a Flame from thy illuftrious Face;
Which wheeling round in its own Circle burns,
Rolls out from thy firft Spring, and into thee returns.
t
What we have been, and what we are,
The prefent and the Time that's paft,
We can refolve to nothing here,
But what we are to be in thee, at last.
.
ܙ
Deeds foon fhall dye, however nobly done,
And Thoughts of Men, like as themselves decay:
But Time when to Eternity roll'd on,
Shall never, never, never waste away.
2
Years, Ages, Months, Weeks, Days, and Houts,
Wear out, and Words to number them fhall fail,
One Endleſs all the wild Account devours,
And thy vaft Unit cafts up all the Tale.
Numbers as far as Numbers run.
Are all in thy Account but one,
Or rather are thy Reck'ning just begun.
;
Thou art the Life of Immortalitie,
When Time itſelf drowns, and expires in thee.
All the great Actions of aſpiring Men,
By which they build that trifting thing call'd Fame,
In thy Embrace life all their Where, and When,
Referving not so much, as a meer empty Name.
Horo
[190]
How vain are Sorrows of a human State,
Why mourn th' Afflicted at their Fate?
One Point, one Moment's longer far
Than all their Days of Sorrow shall appears
When wrapt in Wonders we shall fee,
And meaſure their Extent by thee.~
i
In vain are glorious Monuments of Fame,
Which Fools erect t'immortalife a Name,
Not half a Moment when compar'd with thee,
Lives all their fancy'd Immortalitie.
Start back mý Soul! and with fome Horror view,
If with thefe Eyes thou can't look thro’
Enquire what gives the Pain of Lofs a Sting,
Even Hell itſelf's a Hell, in no one other thing.
Then with a Brightness on thy Face,
An Emanation from that glorious Place;
A Joy which no dark Cloud can over-caftz
And which, Eternity itſelf cannot out-läft.
Reflect' my Soul! Duration dwells on high,
And Heaven itfelf's made Heaven, by bleft Eternity.
!
But to the Purpoſe in Hand; for I have not
done with this Man of Negatives yet: And now
let us bring him more nearly and ſeriouſly to a
Converfe with the invifible World: He looks in-
to it with Horror and dreadful Apprehenfions; as
Felix,when St.Paul reafoned of Temperance,Righ-
teouſneſs, and of Judgment to come. Felix, was
a moral
[ 191 ]
a moral Heathen, that is to fay, a Man of Nega-
tives, like him I am fpeaking of. What was
then the Cafe? he trembl'd; Pray, what is it rea-
fonable to think Felix trembled at? if I may give
my Opinion, who am but a very mean Expofitor
of Texts, it was this or fomething like it.
Felix was a Philofopher, as well as a Man of
Power; and by his Wifdom, as alfo by his Reve-
rence of the Gods, which at that Time was the
Sum of Religion, had been a Man of Morals, a
Man that had practic'd Temperance and Righte
oufnefs, as the Life which was unquestionably to
be rewarded by the Powers above, with an Ely-
fian Felicity; that is to fay, according to the Ro-
man Maxim, That the Gods were the Rewarders
of Virtue.
But when the bleffed Apoftle came to reafon
with Felix, how unlikely it was, that thefe Ne-
gatives fhould purchaſe our Happineſs hereafter,
he fhew'd him, that'the Gods could not be in Debt
to us for the Practice of Virtue, which was indeed no
more than living moft fuitable to our Reafon,
that a Life of Virtue and Temperance was its own
Reward, by giving a healthy Body, a clear Head,
a compos'd Life, &c. fitting the Man for all
other worldly Enjoyments, adequate to his Rea-
fon, and his prefent Felicity as a Man: But
eternal Happineſs muſt come from another Spring,
namely from the infinite unbounded Grace of a
provok'd God, who having erected a righteous
Tribunal, where every Heart fhould be fearched,
and where every Tongue would confefs itſelf guil-
ty, and ſtand ſelf-condemn'd. Jefus Chrift, whom
Paul preach'd, would feparate fuch as by Faith and
Repentance he had brought home, and united to
himſelf by the Grace of Adoption, and on the
Foot
An
[ 192 ]
1
}
Foot of his having laid down his Life a Rantom
for them, had appointed them to Salvation.
When poor Negative Felix heard of this, and
that all his Philofophy, his Temperance, and
Righteouſneſs, if it had been ten thoufand Times
as great, could weigh nothing, and plead nothing
for him at that Judicature; and that he began to
fee the Juftice and Reafon of this; for Paul rea-
foned him into it; I fay, when he faw this, he
trembl'd indeed, as well he might, and as all ne-
gative People will.
What a ſtrange Idea muſt that Phariſee have of
God, who went up with the Publican to the Tem-
ple to pray: 'Tis obfervable, he went with a good
Stock of Affurance in his Face, that could come to
the Altar, as he did, not to offer any Sacrifice; we
don't find he carry'd any Offering, or befpóke
the Priest to make any Attonement; he wanted no
Prieſts to make any Confeffion to: Good Man, as
he thought he was, he had no Sins to confefs;
he rather came up to the Altar to even Accounts
with Heaven; and like the other Man in the Gof-
pel, tell God, that he had fulfill'd the whole Law,
and had done all thofe things that were command-
ed,even from his Youth; fo, as before, he only pul-
led off his Hat to his God, and let him know,
that there was nothing between them at prefent,
and away he goes about his Bufinefs.
But the poor Wretch, whom he deſpis'd, and
whom he had left behind him, for he durft come no
farther, acted quite another Part. He had at firſt
indeed, in Sence of his Duty, refolv'd to go up to
the Temple; But when he faw the Splendor and
Majefty of God reprefented by the Glory of that
elevated Building; I fay, when he faw that, tho
a great Way off,, and then look'd into his own
Heart, all his negative Confidences failing him,
and
}
[ 193 ]
and a Senfe of miferable Circumftances coming
upon him, he ſtops fhort, and with a Blow of Re-
flection and perfectly unmixt with any of the Pha-
rifees Pride, he looks down in Humility, but lifts
up his Heart in a penitential Faith, with a Lord be
merciful to me a Sinner.
Here was Faith, Repentance, Duty, and Con-
feffion, all conjoin'd in one Act, and the Man's
Work was done at once, he went away justified;
when the negative Pharifee went home, the fame-
felf vain Wretch, that he came out with God I
thank thee in his Mouth, and a Mafs of Pride in
his Heart, that nothing could convince.
In what glorious Colours do the Scriptures up-
on all Occafions reprefent thofe two Hand in Hand
Graces, Faith and Repentance? There is not one
Mention of Faith in the whole Scripture, but
what is recommending fome Way or other to our
Admiration, and to our Practice; 'tis the Foun-
dation and the Top-ftone of all Religion, the
Right-hand to lead, and the Left-hand to fupport,
in the whole Journey of a Chriſtian, even thro' this
World, and into the next: In a Word, 'tis the
Sum and Subſtance of the Gofpel Foundation.
Religion feems to have been founded upon three
Eſtabliſhments in the World; in all which the
Terms of Life are laid down at the End of our
Acceptance of it.
The Firſt Eſtabliſhment was with Adam in Pa
radife; the Terms of which were, FORBEAR and
Live.
The Second Eſtabliſhment was with the Chila
dren of Ifrael, in the giving of the Law; the Terms
of which were, Do and Live.
The Third Eſtabliſhment is that of the Goſpel
of Jefus Chrift; the Terms of which are, BELIEVE
andLive.
1
So
[194]
So that in a Word, Faith is the Subftance
and Fulfilling of Gofpel Religion, the Plan of
Righteoufnefs, and the great Efficient of eter-
nal Life. Let me break out here upon this glo-
rious Subject, and pardon the Excurfion, I en-
treat you.
'
HA
FAITH.
Ail MYSTICK! realizing Vifion Hail!
Heavens duplicate, Eternity's Entail;
GOD's Repreſentative to hand us on,
And for us claim a Station near his Throne.
Not the eternal Battlements of Brass,
Gates, a whole Hell of Devils could never paſs ;
Not Angels, not the bright Seraphick Train,
Which drove out Adam from the Sacred Plain :
Not all the Flaming Swords Heaven ever drew.
Shall fhut thee out, or intercept thy View.
Boldly thou fcal'ft the Adamantin Wall,
Where Heaps of fainting Suppliants fall,
Where Doubt has thousands and ten thousands flain,
And Hypocrites knock hard in vain.
Soaring above the dark Abyſs of Fear,
Quite out of Sight, behind, thou leav't Deſpair,
"
Who
}
[195]
着
​Who fainting, and unable to keep Pace,
Gives up the Prize, gives out the Race,
Faints by the Way, and Fainting cries,
I can't, and fo, for Fear of Dying, dies.
While thou, on Air of Hope, fanning thy Wings,
With gentle Gales of Joy, from whence Affurance
fprings,
Mount'ft on, and paffing all th’Ætherial Bounds,
Thy Head with beatifick Rapture crowns.
Great Pilot of the Soul, who goes before
The Dangers of the dreadful Voyage t' explore,
Enters the very Place, and when 'iis there,
Sends back Expreffes to fupport us here,
Negotiates Peace, gains the great Pledge of Love,
And gets it ratify'd above.
With awful Confidence at Heaven's high Throne,
It rather humbly claims than meerly prays.
Pleads, promifes, and calls them all its own,
And trufts to have, even then, when Heaven denyes,
On Earth what Wonders has it wrought !
Rather what Wonders has it not?
]
'Thas parted Rivers, dry'd up Seas,
Made Hills of thoſe, and Walls of theſe:
And if to this great Mountain it should fay,
Move off, O Hill, and roll to yonder Sea,
The Sea and Mountain too must both obey.
O 2
If
[ 196 ]
M
M
1
If towards Heaven it looks, 'tis ne'r in vain,
From thence 't has brought down Fire, 't has brought
down Rain,
W
And thither it afcends in Flame again.
Its Influence is fo vigorous and intenfe,
It peirces all the Negatives of Senfe.
Things quite invifible to Sight, it fees
Things difficult performs with Eafe:
Things imperceptible to us it knows,
Things utterly impoffible it does:
Things unintelligible it underſtands,
Things high (fuperior to itfelf) commands,
Things in themſelves unnatural reconciles,
Weakness to Strength, and to its Sorrows fmiles.
Hopes against Hope, and in Deſpair's refign'd,
1
}
And Spight of Storms without, it calms the Mind.
K
Say unborn Lamp, what feeds thy Flame,
In all Varieties the Same?
What Wonder-working-hand thy Power Supplies
Nature and Reafon's juft Surprize.
1...
LA
Nature and Reafon join thee Hand in Hand,
And to thy juft Dominion ſtoop the Mind:
But neither can thy Workings understand,
And
in thy ſwifter Pace, thou leav'ft them both
behinil
'Twas
J
[197]
'Twas from thy Motion fortify'd by thee,
Peter ask'd Leave to walk upon the Sea,
When his Great Lord faid Come, and Faith faid Goộ
What Heart could fear? What Coward Tongue fay No?
Boldly he ftept upon the flowing Wave,
And might ha' march'd thro' Fire, or thro' the
Grave,
While he ftood by, who had the Power to fave:
But foon as Peter loft his Hold of thee,
He funk like Lead into the Sea.
All thy, Magnetic Power difperft and gone,
The heavenly Charm was broke, and Peter quite un
And had not Help been just at Hand,
Peter had gone the neareſt Way to Land.
Made up of Wonders, and on Wonders fixt
Of contradicting Qualities thou'rt mixt.
Small as a Grain, yet as a Mountain great,
A Child in Growth, yet as a Giant ftrong;
A Beggar, yet above a King in State:
Of Birth but fhort, yet in Duration long.
How shall we reconcile thee to our Sence?
Herethou wouldst paſs for meer Impertinence.
Thy teazing Nature would thy End defeat
So Humble, and yet fo Importunate.
See the great Teft of Faith, the greateſt fure,
That Heaven e'er put a Mortal to endure.
O 3
(done;
She
1
[198]
She cry'd, fhe beg'd, nay fhe believ'd, and pray'd,
Yet long neglected, aud as long deny'd;
At laft, as if commanded to Defpair,
She's almoft told it was not in his Power,
That she was out of his Commiffion plac't,
Shut out by Heaven, by Race accurft.
WOMAN! I am not fent to thee!
WOMAN! thou haft no Share in me!
Was ever Creature born, but this could hear,
Such Words proclaim'd from Heaven, and not
Deſpair.
But ſtill ſhe prays, adheres, petitions, cries,
And on the Hand that thrufts her back relies:
Till mov'd, as 'twere with her Impertinence,
He calls her Dog, and challenges her Sence,
To tell her, whether fuch as fhe are fed,
With Food appropriate, or the Houfold Bread.
}
But all was one; her Faith ſo often try'd
Too ftrong to fail, too firm to be deny'd:
She follows ftill, allows her out-caft State,
The more thrust off, the more importunate:
Every Repulse she meets, revives her Prayer,
And he builds Hope, becauſe fhe's bid Deſpair:
He calls her Dog, fhe calls her felf fo too,
But pleads as fuch the Fragments that are due,
The Cafe fo doubtful, the Repulfe fo long,
Her Sex fo weak, and yet her Faith fo ftrong,
Heaven
[ 199 ]]
.
\
Heaven yields! The Victory of Faith's obtain'd,
And all he ask'd, and all she fought for, gain'd.
Myſterious Flame! tell us from whence
Thou drawft that Cleaving Confidence.
That ftrange, that irrefiftible D fire,
That with fuch Magic Force fets all the Soul on Fire;
By which thou canst to Heaven itſelf apply,
In Terms, which Heaven itself can not deny.
1
A Power fo great, an Influence fo fure,
Not Heaven itself, the Wreſtlings can endure.
See how the struggling Angel yields the Day,
When Jacob's Faith bids Jacob pray.
Let me alone, the heavenly Vifion cries,
No, no, Says conquering Faith, never without my Prize.
Heaven yields! Victorious Faith prevail'd,
F
And all the Bleffings ask't for, he entail'd.
Bleft humble Confidence that finds the Way,
To know we ſhall be heard before we pray ;
Heaven's High Infurance Office, where we give,
The Premium Faith, and then the Grant receive.
Stupendous Gift! from what ftrange Spring below,
Can fuch a fupernatural Product flow ?
From Heaven, and Heaven alone it must derive;
For Heaven alone can keep its Flame alive.
0·4
No
[200]
No Spring below can fend out fuch a Stream,
No Fire below emit fo bright a Flame
Of Nature and original Divine,
15
It does all other Gifts of Heaven Out-fhine.
Thou art the Touch-ftone of all other Grace,
No Counterfeits can keep thy Pace.
The weighty Standard of our beft Defires,
The true Sublime, which every Breast inspires,
By thee we rife to fuch a Height of Flame,
As neither Thought can reach,nor Language name,
Such as St. Paul himself could hardly know,
Whether he really was alive or no:
When cloth'd in Raptures lifted up by thee,
He faw by Faith, what none without it fee.
Fust Heaven, that in thy Violence delights,
And eafily diftinguishes thy Flights
From the thin Out-fide Warmth of Hypocrites,
Approves, accepts, rewards, and feeds thy Flame,
And gives this glorious Witness to thy Fame,
That all our Gifts are hallow'd by thy Name.
By thee our Souls on Wings of Joy afcend,
Climb the third Heaven, an Entrance there demand,
As fure thoſe Gates to thee shall open wide,
As without thee we're fure to be deny'd.
No Bars, no Bolts; no flaming Swords appear,
To fpock thy Confidence, or move thy Fear.
เ
{
To
[201]
To thee the Patent Paffage always free,
Peter himſelf receiv'd the Keys from thee;
Or which we may conceive with much more Eafe,
Thou art thy felf the Gate, thy felf the Keys.
Thine was the fiery Chariot, thine the Steeds,
That fetch't Elijah from Old Jordan's Plains;
Such a long Journey, fuch a Voiture needs,
And thou the fteady Coach-man held the Reins.
Thine was the wondrous Mantle ke threw down,
By which fucceffive Miracles were wrought;
For 'Twas the Prophets Faith, and not his Gown,
Eliſha ſo importunately fought.
Bright Pole-Star of the Soul for ever fix't,
The Mind's fure Guide, when anxious and Perplex't;
When wandring in the Abyfs of Thoughts and
Cares,
Where no way out, and no Way in, appears,
When Doubt and Horror, the Extreams of Fear,
Surround the Soul, and prompt her to Defpair.
Thou fhin'ft aloft, openft a Gleam of Light,
And show'st all Heaven to our Sight,
Thou guil'dft the Soul with fuddain Smiles`` and
Foy,
And Peace, that Hell itself can ne'er deftroy.
1
If
[202]
}
}
!
If all this be to be faid, and all indeed but a Pog
tical Trifle upon this exalted Subject, What is be-
come of our Negative Chriftian in all this? There
is not a Word of Negative Religion in all the De-
fcription of Faith, any more than there is of Faith
in all our Negative Religion.
Now let us follow this poor Negative Wretch to
his Death-bed, and there having very little other
Notion of Religion; for 'tis the Fate of thoſe
that truft to their Negatives, to have little elfe in
their Thoughts; If a good Man come to talk with
him, if he talks out of that Way, he puts him all
into Confufion; for if he cannot ſwim upon the
Bladders of his Negatives, he drowns immediate-
ly, or he bouys himſelf up above your Reproofs,
and goes on as before: He is a little like the Po-.
lish Captain Uratz, who was executed for the Mur
ther of Mr. Thynne, who, when they talk't to him
of Repentance, and of Jefus Chrift, faid, he was
of fuch and ſuch a Family, and he hop'd God would
have fome Refpe&t to him as a Gentleman.
1
But what muſt a poor Minifter do, who being
fill'd with better Principles, prays for this vain
glorious Man? Muft he fay, Lord accept this,
good Man, for he has been no Drunkard, no Swear
rer, no debauch'd Perfon; he has been a juft, a
charitable Man, has done a great deal of Good
among his Neighbours, and never wilfully wrong'd
any Man; he has not been fo wicked as it is the
Cuftom of the Times to be; nor has he fhewn
bad Examples to others; Lord be merciful to this
excellent good Man?
?
No, no, the poor fincere Miuiſter knows better
things; and if he prays with him, he turns him
quite in-fide-out, reprefents him as a poor miſta-
ken Creature, who now fees, that he is nothing,
}
and
1
[203]
and has nothing in himſelf, but cafts himſelf en-
tirely, as a miferable loft Sinner, into the Arms.
of a moft merciful Saviour, praying to be accep
ted on the Merits of Jefus Chrift, and no other;
fo that there's all his Negative Bottom unra-
vell'd at once; and, if this is not his Cafe, it
muſt be worſe.
:
1
CHAP.
•
[204]
+
8.810.0.0.0:
СНА
CHAP.
1
V.
E
Of liftning to the Voice of PRO-
W
VIDENCE,
E are naturally backward to inform
our felves of our Duty to our Ma-
ker, and to our felves; 'tis a Study,
we engage in with great Reluctance,
and 'tis but too agreeable to us,
+
when we meet with any Difficulty
which we think gives us a juft Occafion to throw
off any farther Enquiries of that kind.
Hence I obſerve the wifeft of Men often run
into Miſtakes about the Things, which fpeaking
of Religion we call Duty, taking up flight Notions
of them, and believing they underftand enough of
them; by which they rob themſelves of the Ad-
vantage, as well as Comfort of a farther fearch.
Or on the other hand, taking up with the gene-
ral Knowledge of religious Principles, and the
common Duties of a Chriftian Life, are fatisfy'd
with knowing what they fay is fufficient to carry
them to Heaven, without enquiring into thofe
Things which are helpful and affiſtant to make
that ftrait Path eafy and pleaſant to themſelves;
and to make them ufeful to others by the
Way.
(
Solomon was quite of another Opinion, when
he bid us cry after Knowledge, and lift up our Voice
for
#1
[205]
for Underſtanding; dig for her as for Silver, and fearch
for her as for hid Treafure. It is certain here that he
meant religious Knowledge; and it is explained
in the very next Words, with an encouraging Pro-
miſe to thoſe that ſhall enter upon the Search. (viz)
Then shalt thou understand the Fear of the LORD,
and find the Knowledge of GOD.
I am of Opinion that it is our unquestioned
Duty, to enquire after every Thing in our Jour-
ney to the eternal Habitation, which God has
permitted us to know, and thus to raiſe Difficul-
ties in the Way of our juft fearch into divine Dif-
coveries is to act, like Solomon's Sluggard, who faith,
There is a Lion without, I shall be flain in the Streets,
Prov. xxii. 13. that is, he fits down in his Ignorance
repuls'd with imaginary difficulties, without making
one Step in the fearch after the Knowledge, which
he ought to dig for, as for hid Treaſure.
Let us then be encourag'd to our Duty; let us
boldly enquire after every Thing that God has
permitted us to know; I grant that fecret Things
belong to God, and I fhall labour to keep my due
Diſtance. But I firmly believe, that there are no
fecret Things belonging to God, and which
as fuch we are forbidden to enquire into, but what
alſo are ſo preſerv'd in Secrecy, that by all our
Enquiries we cannot arrive to the Knowledge of
them; and it is a moft merciful, as well as wife
Difpenfation; that we are only forbid enquiring
after thefe Things which we cannot know; and
that all thoſe Things are effectually lock'd up from
our Knowledge, which we are forbidden to en-
quire into. The Cafe is better with us, than it
was with Adam. We have not the Tree of Know-
ledge firſt planted in our View, as it were tempt-
ing us with its Beauty, and within our Reach,
and then a Prohibition upon Pain of Death: But
blefled
[206]
bleffed be God, we may eat of all the Trees in
the Garden; and all thofe of which we are not
allow'd to take, are plac'd both out of our Sight,
and out of our Reach.
I am making Way here to one of the Trees of
facred Knowledge, which tho' it may grow in the
thickeft of the Wood, and be furrounded with
fome Briars and Thorns, fo as to place it a little
out of Sight; yet I hope to prove, that it is our
Duty to tafte of it: and that the Way to come at
it, is both practicable and plain.
But to wave the Allegory, as I am entring into
the niceſt Search of divine things, that perhaps the
whole Scheme of Religion directs us to; 'tis ab-
folutely neceffary at our Entrance, if poffible, to re-
move every Difficulty, explain every Principle,
and lay down every Foundation fo undeniably
clear, that nothing may appear dark or myfterious
in our first Conceptions of things; no Stumbling-
block lye at the Threshold, and the humble Rea-
der may meet with no Repulfe from his own Ap-
prehenfions, of not underſtanding what he is going
to read.
I,
Liftening to the Voice of Providence, is my Subject:
I am willing to fuppofe in the firſt Place, that I am
writing to thofe who acknowledge the two grand
Principles upon which all Religion depends. 1,
That there is a God, a firſt great moving Cauſe
of all things, an eternal Power, Prior, and confe-
quently Superior to all Power and Being. 2. That
this eternal Power, which I call God, is the Crea-
tor and Governour of all things, viz. of Heaven
and Earth.
To avoid needlefs Diftin&ions concerning which
of the Perfons in the God-head, are exerciſed in the
creating Power, and which in the governing Power.
offer that glorious Text, Pfalm xxxiii. 6. as a
Repulfe
}
+
[207]
1
Repulfe to all fuch cavilling Enquiries, where the
whole Trinity is plainly entitled to the whole
creating Work, by the WORD (God the Son) of the
LORD God the Father) were the Heavens made,
and all the Hoft of them, by the BREATH (God the
Holy Ghoft) of his Mouth.
Having thus prefuppofed the Belief of the Being,
and the creating Work of God, and declar'd, that
I am writing to fuch only, who are ready to own,
they believe that God is, and that he created the
Heaven, and the Earth, the Sea, and all that in
them is. I think I need not make any Preamble,
to introduce the following Propofitions, viz.
1. That this Eternal God guides by his Provi-
dence the whole World, which he has created by his
Power.
2.
That this Providence manifefts a particular Care
over, and Concern in the governing and directing Man,
the best and last created Creature on Earth.
Natural Religion proves the firft, reveal'd Reli-
gion proves the laft of thefe beyond Contradi&tion.
Natural Religion intimates the Neceffity of a Pro-
vidence guiding and governing the World, from
the Confequence of the Wiſdom, Juftice, Pre-
ſcience, and Goodneſs of the Creator.
It would be abfurd to conceive of God exer-
ting infinite Power to create a World, and not
concerning his Wifdom, which is his Providence,
in guiding the Operations of Nature, fo as to pre-
ſerve the Order of his Creation, and the Obedi-
ence and Subordination of Confequences and Cau-
fes throughout the Courſe of that Nature,
which is in Part the inferior Life of that Cre-
ation.
3
Reveal'd
[ 208 1
Reveal'd Religion has given fuch a Light into the
Care and Concern of this Providence in an efpe-
cial Manner, in and over that Part of the Creation
call'd Man, that we muſt likewife deny Principles,
if we enter into diſpute about it.
For him the Peace of the Creation is preferv'd,
the Climates made habitable, the Creatures fubje-
&ed and made nouriſhing, all vegetative Life made
medicinal'; fo that indeed the whole Creation ſeems
to be entail'd upon him as an Inheritance,and given
to him for a Poffeffion, fubjected to his Authority,
and governed by him,as Viceroy to the King of all
the Earth; the Management of it is given to him as
Tenant to the great Proprietor, who is Lord of
the Mannor, or Landlord of the Soil And it can
not be conceiv'd, without great Inconfiftency of
Thought, that this World isle ft entirely to Man's
Conduct without the fupervifing Influence and
the fecret Direction of the Creator.
This I call Providence, to which I give the whole
Power of guiding and directing of the Creation,
and managing of it, by Man who is his Deputy
or Subftitute, and even the guiding, influencing,
and over-ruling Man himſelf alfo.
Let critical Annotators enter into fpecifick Di
ftinctions of Providence, and its Way of acting,
as they pleafe, and as the Formalities of the School-
men direct. The fhort Defcription I fhall give of
it is this, That it is that Operation of the Pow-
er, Wiſdom, Juftice, and Goodneſs of God, by
which he influences, governs, and directs, not on-
ly the Means, but the Events of all things, which
concern us in this World.
I fay, it is that Operation, let, them call it what
they will, which acts thus; I am noway concern'd
to fhew how it acts, or why it acts thus and thus
in particular; we are to reverence its Sovereignty,
as
1
[209]
1
as it is the Finger of God himſelf, who is the fo
vereign Director, and we are to obferve its Mo
tions, obey its Dictates, and liften to its Voice, as
it is, and becauſe it is particularly employ'd for
Our Advantage.
It would be a very proper and ufeful Obferva
tion here, and might take up much of this Work,
to illuftrate the Goodneſs of Providence, in that it
is, as I fay, particularly employ'd for the Advan-
tage of Mankind: But, as this is not the main
Defign, and will come in naturally in every Part of
the Work I am upon, I refer it to the common In-
ferences, which are to be drawn from the Particu-
lars, as I go on.
It is indeed the moſt rational Foundation of the
whole Defign before me; 'tis therefore that we
fhould listen to the Voice of Providence, becauſe it is
principally determin'd, and determines all other
things for our Advantage.
But I return to the main Subject, The Voice of
Providence, the Language or the Meaning of Pro-
vidence.
Nothing is more frequent, than for us to miſtake
Providence, even in its moſt viſible Appearances :
How eafy then muſt it be, to let its filent A&tings,
which perhaps are the moſt pungent and fignificant,
paſs our Obfervation.
I am aware of the Error many fall into, who
determining the univerfal Currency of Events to
Providence,and that not the minuteft thing occurs
in the Courſe of Life, but by the particular Defti-
nation of Heaven, by Confequence entitle Provi-
dence to the Efficiency of their own Follies; as
if a Perfon, prefuming to fmoke his Pipe in a
Magazin of Gun-Powder, fhould reproach Provi-
dence with blowing up the Caftle, for which in-
deed he ought to be hang'd; or a Man leaving his
Houfe
1
f
[210]
1
Houſe or Shop open in the Night, fhould charge
Providence with appointing him to be robb'd, and
the like: Nay, to carry it farther, every Murtherer,
or Thief
may allege Providence, that determines
and directs every thing, directed him to fuch Wic-
kedneſs, whereas Providence itſelf, notwithftan-
ding the Crimes of Men, is actively concern'd in
no Evil.
But I pafs all thele things; the Subject I am
treating upon, is of another Nature: The Defign
here, is to inftruct us in fome particular things re-
lating to Providence and its Government of
Men in the World, which it will be worth our
While to obferve, without enquiring how far it.
does or does not act in other Methods.
There is, 'tis true, a Difficulty to thake off all the
wry Steps, which People take to amuſe them-
felves about Providence; and for this Reafon, I
take fo much Pains at firft to avoid them: Many
Men entitle Providence to things, which it is not
concern'd about, Speaking abftractedly; but, which is
a much worſe Error, many alfo take no Notice of
thofe things, which Providence particularly, and
even in a very remarkable Manner, diftinguishes it
felf by its Concern in
↓
14
If Providence guides the World, and directs the
Iffues and Events of things, if it commands caufes,
and forms the Connection of Circumftances in the
World, as no Man, that owns the Principles men-
tioned above, will deny: And above all, if the
general Scope of Providence, and of the Govern-
ment of the World by its Influence, be for our
Advantage; then it follows neceffarily, that it
is our Bufinefs, and our Intereft, to listen to its
Voice.
}
By Liftning to the Voice of Providence, I
mean, to ftudy its Meaning in every Circumftance
of
[211].
of Life, in every Event; to learn to underſtand the
End and Deſign of Providence in every thing that
happens, what is the Defign of Providence in it,
reſpecting our felves, and what our Duty to do
upon the particular Occafion that offers. If a Man
were in Danger of drowning in a fhipwreck'd
Veffel, and Providence prefented a Boat coming
towards him, he would fcarce want to be told,
that it was his Buſineſs to make Signals of Diſtreſs,
that the People in the faid Boat might not paſs
by ignorant of his Condition, and give him no
Affiftance; if he did, and omitted it, he would
have little Caufe to concern Providence in his
Ruine.
?
There is certainly a Rebellion againſt Provi-
dence, which Heaven itſelf will not always con-
cern itſelf to over-rule; and he that throws him-
felf into a River to drown himſelf, he that hangs
himſelf up to a Beam, he that fhoots himſelf into
the Head with a Piſtol, fhall die in Spite of all
the Notions of Decree, Deftiny, Fate, or what
ever we weakly call Providence; in fuch Cafes,
Providence will not always concern itfelf to pre-
vent it; and yet 'tis no Impeachment of the So-
vereignty of Heaven, in directing, decreeing, and
governing all Events in the World.
L
A
**
Providence decrees, that Events ſhall attend up-
on Cauſes in a direct Chain, and by an evident
Neceffity, and has doubtlefs left many Powers of
Good and Evil, feemingly to our felves, and, as
it were, in our Hands, as the natural Produ& of
fuch Caufes and Confequences, which we are not
to limit, and cannot exprefsly determine about,
but which we are accountable for the good or evil
Application of; otherwife we were in vain ex-
horted and commanded to do any good thing, or
to avoid any wicked one: Rewards and Punish-
P 2
ments
+
1
[212]
ments would be incongruous with fovereign Juſtice;
and Promiſes, and Threatnings, be perfectly un-
meaning uſeleſs things, Mankind being no free
Agent to himſelf, or entrusted with the neceffary
Powers, which thofe Promifes and Threatnings
imply.
But all theſe things are out of my prefent En-
quiry; I am for freely and entirely fubmitting all
Events to Providence; but not to be fupinely and
unconcernedly paffive, as, if there was nothing
warning, inftru&ting, or directing in the Premoni
tions of God's Providence; and which he expe-
Aed we ſhould take Notice of, and take Warning
by. The prudent Man forefeeth the Evil, and
hideth himfelf: How does he foreſee it, fince 'tis
not in Man to direct himſelf? There are Intima-
tions given us, by which a prudent Man may fome-
times forefee Evil, and hide himfelf; and I muſt
take theſe all out of the Devil's Hands, if poffi-
ble, and place Providence at the Head of the in-
vifible World, as well as at the Helm of this
World; and tho' I abhor fuperftitious and feepti-
cal Notions of the World of Spirits, of which
I purpoſe to ſpeak hereafter, either in this Work,
or in fome other by itself; I fay, tho' I am not at
all a Sceptick, yet I cannot doubt, but that the
invifible Hand of Providence, which guides and
governs this World, does with a fecret Power like-
wife influence the World, and may, and I believe
does, direct from thence filent Meſſengers on many
Occafions, whether fleeping or waking, whether.
directly or indirectly, whether by Hints, Impul-
fes, Allegories, Myfteries, or otherwife, we know
not; and does think fit to give us fuch Alarms, fuch
previous and particular Knowledge of things,
that if liften'd to,' mighti many Ways be uſeful to
the
}
[213]
the prudent Man to forefee the Evil, and hide
himſelf.
The only Objection, and which I can fee no
Method to give a Reaſon for, and no Anſwer to,
is, Why, if it be the Work of Providence, thoſe
things fhould be fo imperfect, ſo broken, fo irre-
gular, that Men may either never be able to pafs
any right Judgment of them, as is fometimes the
Cafe, or make a perfect Judgment of them, which
is often the Cafe, and fo the End of the Intima-
tion be entirely defeated, without any Fault, Ne-
glect, or Omiffion of the Man.
This we can no more account for, than we
can for the Hand-writing upon the Wall at the
great Feaſt of Belshazzer, viz. why it was writ-
ten in a Character, which none could underſtand;
and which, if the Prophet had not been found,
had perhaps never been known, or at leaſt, not till
the King's Fate, which was even then irretrieva-
ble, had been over.
This, indeed, we cannot account for, and can
only fay, 'tis our Duty to ftudy theſe things, to liften
to the Voice of them, and obey their fecret Di-
&tates, as far as Reafon directs, without an over
fuperftitious Regard to them, any more than a
total Neglect, leaving the Reafon of Providence's
acting thus, to be better underſtood hereafter.
But to defcribe a little what I mean by Liften-
ing to the Voice of Providence; it is the Reverſe
of the fupine ftupid Man, whofe Character I fhall
come to by and by. The Man I would recom-
mend, lives firft in a general Belief, that Provi-
dence has the fupreme Direction of all his Affairs,
even of his in particular, as well as thofe of the
World; that 'tis his Mercy that it is fo, that 'tis
the Effect of an infinitely wife and gracious Difpo-
fition from above, that he fubfifts; and that 'tis
P 3
not
+
1
[214]
I
!
not below the Dignity any more than 'tis remote
from the Power of an infinite, wife, and good
Being, to take Cognizance of the leaft thing con-
cerning him.
This in the Confequence obliges him to all I
fay, for to him who firmly believes, that Provi-
dence ſtoops to concern itſelf for him, and to or-
der the leaft Article of his Affairs, it neceffarily
follows, that he fhould concern himfelf in every
thing that Providence does, which comes within his
Reach, that he may know whether he be intereſted
in it or no.
If he neglects this, he negle&s himself; he a-
bandons all Concern about himfelf, fince he does
not know, but that the very next particular A& of
Providence, which comes within his Reach to
diftinguish, may be interefted in him, and he
in it.
It is not for me to dictate here to any Man,
what particular things, relating to him, Providence
is concern'd in, or what not; or how far any. In-
cident of Life is or is not the particular A& and
Deed of the Government of Providence: But as
it is the receiv'd Opinion of every good Man, that
nothing befalls us without the active or paffive
Concern of Providence in it; fo it is impoffible
this good Man can be unconcern'd in what-
ever that Providence determines concerning
him.
If it be true, as our Saviour himſelf ſays, That
not a Hair falls from our Heads without the Will of
our heavenly Father, then not a Hair ought to fall
from our Heads, without our having our Eyes up
to our heavenly Father in it.
I take the Text in its due Latitude, namely,
that not the minuteft Incident of Life, befalls us
without the active Will of our Father directing it,
OF
?
[215]
*
or the paffive Will of our Father fuffering it, fo
I take the Deduction from it in the fame Latitude;
that nothing of how mean a Nature foever can
befal us, but we ought to have our Eyes up to
our heavenly Father in it, be refign'd to him in
The Event, and fubjected to him in the Means;
and he that neglects this, lives in Contempt of
Providence, and that in the moſt provoking Man-
her poffible.
1
I am not anfwerable for any Extremes theſe
Things may lead weak People into; I know fome
are apt to entitle the Hand of God, to the com-
mon and moft ridiculous Trifles in Nature;
as a religious Creature, I knew, feeing a Bot-
tle of Beer being over ripe burst out, the Cork fly
up against the Ceiling, and the Froth follow it like
an Engin, cried out, O the Wonders of Omnipo-
tent Power: But I am reprefenting,how a Chriftian
with an awful Regard to the Government of Provi-
dence in the World, and particularly in all his own
Affairs, fubjects his Mind to a conftant Obedience
to the Dictates of that Providence, gives an humble
Preference to it in all his Conclufions, waits the
Iffues of it with a chearful Refignation; and in a
Word liftens carefully to the Voice of Providence,
that he may be always obedient to the heavenly
Vifion."
14
L
*
Whether this divine Emanation has any Con-
cern in the Notices, Omens, Dreams, Voices,
Hints, Forebodings, Impulfes, &c. which feem
to be a kind of Communication with the invi-
fible World, and a Converfe between the Spi-
rits. embodied and thofe unembodied, and how
far without Prejudice to the Honour and our Reve-
rence of Providence, and without Danger of
Scepticiſm, and a kind of radicated Infidelity,
thofe Things may be regarded, is a nice and dif-
P 4
fficult
{
[216]
r
ficult Thing to refolve, and I fhall treat of it by
it felf.
It has been the Opinion of good Men of all
Ages, to fay how far they are to be depend-
ed upon, that fuch Things are not to be to-
tally difregarded, I am not to take upon me,
How far they may or may not be concerned in the
Influence of Providence, l'alfo dare not ſay: But as
the Verity of Aftronomy is evidenced by the
Calculation of Eclipfes, fo the Certainty of this
Communication of Spirits is eſtabliſhed by the
Concurrence of Events with the Notices they
fometimes give; and if it be true, as I muft be-
lieve,that the Divine Providence takes Cognifance
of all Things belonging to us, I dare not exclude
it from having fome Concern, how much I do not fay,
in thefe Things alfo ; But of this in its Place.
Whenever Providence difcovers any thing of this
Arcanum, I defire to liften to the Voice of it; and
this is one of the Things I recommend to others:
Indeed I would be yery cautious, how I liften to
any other Voices from that Country, than fuch as I
am fure are conveyed to me from Heaven for
better underſtanding the whole Myſtery.
my
If then we are to listen to the Voice of Nature,and
to the Voices of Creatures, viz. to the Voice of the
invifible Agents of the World of Spirits as above,
much more are we to liften to the Voice of God.
I have already hinted that he that made the
World, we are fure guides it, and his Provi-
dence is equally wonderful as his Power: But no-
thing in the whole Courfe of his Providence is
more worthy our Regard, eſpecially as it con-
cerns us his Creatures, than the filent Voice, if it
may be allowed me to call it fo, of his managing
Events and Cauſes; he that liftens to the Provi-
dence of God, liftens to the Voice of God,
1
45.
[217]
as he is ſeen in the Wonders of his Government,
and as he is feen in the Wonders of his Omni-
potence.
If then the Events of Things are his, as well
as the Cauſes, it is certainly well worth our
Notice, when the Sympathy or Relation between
Events of Things and their Caùfeș, moſt emi-
nently appears; and how can any Man, who has
the leaft Inclination to obferve what is remarka-
ble in the World, fhut his Eyes to the viſible
Diſcovery, which there is in the Events of
Providence, of a fupreme Hand guiding them;
for Example, when viſible Puniſhments follow vi-
fible Crimes, who can refrain confeffing the appa-
rent Direction of fupreme Juftice? When Concur-
rence of Circumſtances directs to the Caufe,
Men that take no Notice of fuch remarkable
Pointings of Providence, openly contemn Hea-
ven, and frequently ftand in the Light of their
own Advantages.
The Concurrence of Events, is a Light to
their Cauſes, and the Methods of Heaven in
ſome Things, are a happy Guide to us to make a
Judgment in others; he that is deaf to theſe
Things, fhuts his Ears to Inftruction, and like
Solomon's Fool, hates Knowledge.
The Difpofitions of Heaven to approve or con-
demn our Actions, are many of them difcovered
by Obfervation; and 'tis eafy to know, when that
Hand of Providence opens the Door for, or
fhuts it againſt our Meafures, if we will bring
Cauſes together, and compare former Things
with prefent, making our Judgment by the ordinary
Rules of Heaven's dealing with Men.
How, and from what Hand come the frequent
Inftances of fevere Judgment, following rafh and
hellish Imprecations? when Men call for God's
Judg-
[ 218 ]
1
1
Judgment; and Providence, or Juftice, rather
obeys the 'Summons and comes at their call: A
Man calls God to Witnefs to an Untruth, and
wifhes himſelf ftruck dumb, blind, or dead if it
is not true; and is ftruck dumb, blind, or dead;
is not this a Voice, does not Heaven with the
Stroke, cry, Caftigo te, Be it to thee as thou haft
faid: He must be deaf who cannot,hear it, and
worfe than deaf that does not heed it; fuch Exe-
cutions from Heaven are in Terrorem, as Offenders
among Men are punifhed as well for Example to
others, as to prevent their doing the like again."
Innumerable Ways the merciful Difpofition of
Providence takes to difcover to us, what he ex-
pects we ſhould do in difficult Cafes, and doubtlefs
then, it expects at the fame Time we fhould take
Notice of thofe Directions.
We are fhort fighted Creatures at beft, and can
fee but a little Way before us, I mean as to the E-
vents of Things; we ought therefore to make uſe
of all the Lights and Helps we can get; thefe if
nicely regarded, would be fome of the moft con-
fiderable to guide us in many difficult Cafes.
}
Would we carefully liften to the Concurrence
of Providence, in the feveral Parts of our Lives,
we ſhould ſtand in lefs need of the more dange
rous Helps of Vifions, Dreams, and Voices,
from lefs certain Intelligences.
1
A Gentleman of my Acquaintance, being to
go a Journey into the North, was twice ta-
ken very ill the Day he had appointed to begin his
Journey, and fo was oblig'd to put off going; this he
Took for a Direction from Heaven, that he fhould
not go at all; and in very few Days after, his Wife
was taken fick and died, which made it abfolutely
neceffary for him, to be at Home, to look after
his
1
h
لم
A
[219]
his Affairs, and had he gone away before, muft
certainly have been obliged to come back again.
The Romans had certainly the Foundation of
this Principle, in their prudent Obfervation of
Days and Circumftances of Days; nor is Scrip-
ture it felf void of the like, but rather points out
to the Obfervation, particularly that of the Chil-
dren of Ifrael, who after 430 Years were expired
from their coming into Egypt, Even in the Self-
Same Day departed they thence, Exod. 12, 41, 42.
This is the Day, that remarkable Day, feveral
other Scriptures mention periodical Times, dies
Infauftus, the Prudent fhall keep Silence in that
Time; for it is an evil Time.
•
We find Providence ftoops to reftrain not the A-
ctions of Men only,but even its own Actions to Days
and Times; doubtlefs for our Obfervation, and in
fome Things for our Inftruction; I do not
fo much refer to the Revolutions of Things and
Families on particular Days, which are there-
fore by fome People called lucky and unlucky
Days, as I do to the obferving, how Providence
cauſes the Revolutions of Days, to form a
Concurrence between the Actions of Men, which
it does not approve or does approve, and the Re-
ward of thefe Actions in this World; by which
Men may if they think fit to diftinguifh, and ob-
ferve right upon them, fee the Crime or Merit
of thofe Actions in the divine Refentment, may
read the Sin in the Punishment, and may learn
Conviction from the Revolution of Circumſtances
in the Appointment of Heaven.
I have feen feveral Collections of fuch Things
made by private Hands, fome relating to Family
Circumſtances, fome to Public; alfo in the unnatural
Wars in England,between the King and the Parlia-
ment, I have heard many fuch things have been ob-
is . .
ferv'd ;
[220]
!
ذ
erv'd: For Example, the fame Day of the Year
and Month, that Sir John Hotham kept out Hull a-
gainst King Charles the 1ft, and refuſed him En-
trance, was the fame Sir John Hotham put to
Death, by the very Parliament that he did that
Exploit for that King Charles himself was
fentenced to die, by the high Court of Juftice, as
it was then called, the fame Day of the Month,
that he fign'd the Warrant for the Execution of
the Earl of Strafford, which as it was then ſaid by
fome of his Friends, was cutting off his own
Right-hand. The fame Day that King James
the 2d came to the Crown againſt the Defign of
the Bill of Exclufion, the fame Day he was voted
Abdicated by Parliament, and the Throne fill'd
with the Prince of Orange and his Princefs.
Thefe, or fuch as thefe, feem to be a kind of
filent Sentence of Providence upon fuch A&ions,
animadverting upon them in a judicial Manner,
and intimating plainly, that the Animadverfion
had a retrofpect to what was paffed, and thofe
that liften to the Voice of Providence in fuch
Things, fhould at leaft lay them up in their
Hearts.
"
1
•
Eminent Deliverances in fudden Dangers are of
the moft fignificant kind of Providences, and
which accordingly have a loud Voice in them,
calling upon us to be thankful, to that bleffed
Hand, that has been pleaſed to fpare and protect
us. The Voice of fuch fignal Deliverances, is
frequently a juft Call upon us to Repentance
and looks directly that Way; often 'tis a Caution
against falling into the like Dangers we were ex-
pofed to, from which nothing but fo much Good-
hefs could deliver us again. In how many Occa-
fions of Life, if God's Providence had no greater
Share in our Safety than our own Prudence,
fhould
1
THE
[221]
ſhould we plunge and precipitate our felves into
all manner of Mifery and Diftrefs? and how of
ten for want of liftening to thofe Providences do
we miſcarry?
Innumerable Inftances prefent themſelves to us
every Day, in which the Providence of God fpeaks
to us, in Things relating to ourſelves; in Delive-
rances to excite our Thankfulneſs, in Views of
Dangers to awaken our Caution, and to make us
walk wifely and circumfpe&ly in every Step we
take; thofe that are awake to thefe Things, and
have their Ears open to the Voice of them, many
Times reap the Benefit of their Inftruction by
being protected, while thoſe who neglect them,
are of the Number of the Simple, who pafs on
and are puniſhed.
•
To be utterly carelefs of ourſelves in fuch Cafes,
and talk of trufting Providence, is a Lethargy of
the worſt Nature; for as we are to truft Provi-
dence. with our Eitates, but to uſe at the fame
Time, all Diligence in our Callings; fo we
are to truft Providence with our Safety, but
with our Eyes open to all its neceffary Cautions,
Warnings, and Inftructions; many of which Provi-
dence is pleaſed to give us in the Courſe of Life, for
the Direction of our Conduct, and which we ſhould
ill place to the Account of Providence, without ac-
knowledging that they ought to be regarded, and
a due Reverence paid to them upon all Occafions.
I take a general Neglect of theſe Things, to
be a kind of practical Atheiſm, or at leaſt a living
in a kind of Contempt of Heaven, regardleſs of
all that Share, which his invifible Hand has in the
Things that befal us.
Such a Man receives good at the Hand of his
Maker, but unconcerned at the very Nature or
Original of it, looks not at all to the Benefactor:
Again,
[222].
Again, he receives Evil, but has no Senſe of it, as
a judicial difpenfing of Punishment from Heaven;
but infenfible of one or other, he is neither thank-
ful for one, nor humble under the other, but ftupid
in both, as if he was out of God's Care, and God
himſelf out of his Thoughts; this is juſt the re-
verfe of the Temper I am recommending, and let
the Picture recommend it felf to any according to
its Merit.
When Prince Vandemont commanded the confe-
derate Army in Flanders, the fame Campaign that
King William was befeiging Namure, fome Troops
were order'd to march into the flat Country to-
wards Newport, in Order to make a Diverfion,
and draw down the Count de Montal, who com-
manded a flying Body about Menin, and to keep
him from joyning the Duke de Villeroy, who com-
manded the main Body of the French Army.
The Soldiers were order'd upon Pain of Death
not to ſtir from their Camp, or to plunder any of
the Country People; the Reafon was evident,
becauſe Provifions being fomewhat fcarce, if the
Boors were not protected they would have fled
from their Houſes, and the Army would have
been put to great Straits, being juft entred into the
Enemies Country.
It happened that five English Soldiers ftraggling
beyond their Bounds were fallen upon, near a
Farm-Houfe, by fome of the Country People (for
indeed the Boors were oftentimes too unmerciful
to the Soldiers) as if they had plunder'd them,
when indeed they had not: The Soldiers de-
fended themſelves, got the better, and kill'd two
of the Boors; and being, as they thought, juftly
provok❜d by being firft attack'd, they broke into
the Houfe, and then uſed them roughly enough
indeed.
They
1
}
1
[223]
They found in the Houfe a great Quantity of
Apples, the People being fled had left them in
Poffeffion, and they made no Hafte to go away,
but fell to work with the Apples; and heating the
Oven put a great Quantity of Apples into the
Oven to roaft. In the mean Time the Boors,
who knew their Number to be but five, and had
got more Help on their Side, came down upon
them again, attack'd the Houſe, forced their Way
in, mafter'd the Englishmen, kill'd two, and took
a third, and barbarously put him into the Oven,
which he had heated, where he was fmother'd to
Death; it ſeems it was not hot enough to burn
him.
The other two efcaped, but in coming back to
the Camp, they were immediately apprehended
by the Provofts, and brought to a Court Martial,
where they were fentenc'd not for Plundering, for
that did not appear, but for being out of the
Bounds appointed by the general Order, as a-
bove.
When the Sentence came to be executed, the
General was prevail'd upon to ſpare one of them,
and to order them to caft Lots for their Lives.
This, as it is known is ufually done by throwing
Dice upon a Drumhead; and he that throws
higheſt or loweft, as is appointed before is to
die; at this time he that threw loweft was to
live.
When the Fellows were brought out to throw,
the first threw two Sixes, and fell immediately
to wringing his Hands, crying he was a dead
Man but was as much furpriz'd with Joy, when
his Comrade throwing, there came up two Sixes
alfo.
The
裹
​1
[224]
{
The Officer appointed to fee Execution was a
little doubtful what to do, but his Orders being
pofitive, he commanded them to throw again;
they did fo, and each of them threw two Fives;
the Soldiers that ftood round fhouted, and ſaid
neither of them was to die: The Officer being a
fober thinking Man, faid it was ftrange, and
look'd like fomething from Heaven, and he would
not proceed without acquainting the Council of
War, which was then fitting; they confider'd a
while, and at laft'order'd them to take other Dice
and to throw again, which was done, and both
the Soldiers threw two Fours.
The Officer goes back to the Council of War,
who were furpriz'd very much, and looking on it
as the Voice of Heaven, refpited the Execution
till the General was acquainted with it.
The General fends for the Men and examines
them ftrictly, who telling him the whole Story, he
pardon'd them with this Expreffion to thofe about
him, I love, fays he, in fuch extraordinary Cafes to
liften to the Voice of Providence.
While we are in this un-inform'd State, where
we know fo little of the inviſible World, it would
be greatly our Advantage, if we knew rightly,
and without the Bondage of Enthuſiaſm and Su-
perftition, how to make uſe of the Hints given,
us from above, for our Direction in Matters of
the greateſt Importance.
It has pleaſed God very much to freighten the
fpecial and particular Directions, which he gives
to Men immediately from himſelf; but I dare not
fay, they are quite ceafed; we read of many Ex--
amples in Scripture, how God fpake to Men by
Voice immediately from Heaven, by Appearance
of Angels, or by Dreams and Vifions of the
Night, and by all theſe not in Public and more
extra-
[225]
1
extraordinary Cafes only, but in private, perſonal,
and family Concerns.
f
3
Thus God is faid to have appeared to Abraham,
to Lot, and to Jacob; Angels alfo have appeared
in many other Cafes, and to many feveral Perfons,
as to Manoah, and his Wife, to Zachariah, to the
Virgin Mary, and to the Apostles; others have
been warned in a Dream, as King Abimelech, the
falfe Prophet Balaam, Pontius Pilate's Wife, Herod,
Jofeph, the Apostles alſo, and many others.
•
We cannot fay, but thefe and all the miracu-
lous Voices, the prophetic Meffages prefac❜d
boldly by the Ancients, with thus faith the Lord
are ceas'd, and as we have a more fure Word of
Prophesy handed to us by the Miffion of Gofpel
Minifters; to which the Scripture fays, We
do well that we take heed; and to whom our
bleffed Lord has faid, Lo, I am with you to the End
of the World: I fay, as we have this Goſpel back'd
with the Spirit and Prefence of God, we are no
Lofers, if we obſerve the Rule laid down, viz.
that we be obedient to the heavenly Vifion, for
fuch it is, as well as that of the Apoſtle Peter's
Dream of the Sheet let down from Heaven.
I mention this to pay a due Reverence to the
Sufficiency of Gofpel Revelation, and to the
guiding of the Spirit of God, who in fpiritual
Things is given to lead us into all Truth, nor
would I have any Thing, which I am going to
fay, tend to leffen thefe great Efficients of our
eternal Salvation.
But I am chiefly upon our Conduct in the infe-
rior Life, as I may call it; and in this, I think,
the Voice of God, even his immediate Voicefrom
Heaven, is not entirely ceaſed from us, though it
may have changed the Mediums of Communica-
tion.
୧
I have
$
}
[226]
1
3
*
Thave heard the Divines tell us by Way of Di-
ftinction, that there is a Voice of God in his
Word and a Voice of God in his Work; the
. latter I take to be a fubject very awful and very
inftru&ting.
**
-
*
+
!
A
This Voice of God in his Works, is either
heard in his Works which are already wrought,
fuch as of Creation, which fill us with Wonder
and Afton fhment, Admiration and Adoration';
When I view the Heavens, the Work of thy Hands,
the Moon and the Stars which thon haft made, then I
Jay, What is Măń, &c...' Or 2.- His Works of Gế-
vernment and Providence, in which the infinite
Variety affords a pleaſing and inftru&ing Contem-
plation and it is without Queftion, our Wiſdom
and Advantage to ſtudy and know them, and to
liften to the Voice of God in them: For this
liftening to the Voice of Providence, is a Thing
fo hard to diré, and folittle (understood, that I
find the very Thought of it is treated with Con-
tempt, even by many pious and good People,
as leading to Superftition, to Enthufiafm, and
vaint Fancies, tainted with Melancholly, and
amufing the Mind with the Vapours of the
Head.
$
das
1
t
**
It is true, an ill Ufe may be made of thefe
Things, and to tye People too ftrictly down to a
Rule, where their own Obfervation is to be the
Judge, endangers the running into many fooliſh
Extreams, entitling a diftemper'd Brain, too much
to the Expofition of the fublimeft Things; and tack-
ing the awful Name of Providence to every fancy
of their own.
From Hence. I think, too much proceeds the
extraordinary (Note, I fay, Extraordinary) Ho-
mage paid to Omens, flying of Birds, Voices,
Noifes, Predictions, and a thouſand fooliſh
Fant
Things
[227]
Things, in which 'I fhall endeavour to ſtate the
Cafe fairly between the Devil and Mankind: But
at prefent I need fay no more here, than that they
have nothing to do with the Subject I am now
upon, or the Subject I am upon with them.
But as my Defign is ferious, and I hope pious,
Thall keep ftrictly to the Expofition I give of
my own Meaning, and meddle with no other.
By the Voice of Providence therefore, I fhall
confine myfelf to the particular Circumftances in-
cident and accident which every Man's Life is full
of, and which are in a more extraordinary man-
ner, ſaid to be peculiar to himſelf of to his
Family.
X
ނ
J
{
4
3
氰
​By fiftening to them, I mean, making fuch due
Application, of them to his own Circumftances,
as becomes a Chriftian, for Caution in his Con
duct, and all manner of Inftruction, receiving all
the Hints as from Heaven, returning all the
Praiſe to, making at the Improvement for, and re-
verencing the Sovereignty of his. Maker in every
Thing, not difputing or reproaching the Juftice
of Providence; and which is the main Thing I
aim at, taking fuch Notice of the feveral Provi-
dences, that happen in the Courfe of our Lives,
as by one Circumſtance to learn how to behave in
another.
ง
i
For Example, fuppofing from my own Story,
When a young Fellow broke from his Friends,
trampled upon all the wife Advices, and moſt af-
fectionate Perfwafions of his Father, and even the
Tears and Entreaties of a tender Mother, and
would go away to Sea; but is check'd in his firft
Excurfions by being Shipwreck'd, and in the ut
moft Difttefs fav'd by the Affiftance of another
Ship's Boat, leeing the Ship he was in, foon after
fink to the Bottom; ought not fuch a young Mån
Q 2
to
[228]
to have liftened to the Voice of this Providence,
and have taken it for a Summons to him; that
when he was on Shore, he ſhould ſtay on Shore,
and go back to the Arms of his Friends, hearken
to their Council, and not precipitate himſelf into
farther Mifchiefs; what Happineſs might ſuch a
prudent Step have procured, what Miferies and
Miſchiefs would it have prevented in the reſt of
his unfortunate Life.
An Acquaintance of mine, who had feveral fuch
Circumftances befel him, as thofe which I am in-
clin'd to call Warnings, but entirely neglected
them, and laugh'd at thofe that did otherwife,
fuffered deeply for his dif-regard of Omens; he
took Lodgings in a Village near the City of Lon-
don, and in a Houfe, where either he fought bad
Company, or at beft could meet with little that
was good. Providence that feemed to animadvert
upon his Conduct, fo ordered it that fomething
or other mifchievous always happened to him
there, or as he went thither; feveral Times he
was robbed on the Highway going thither, once
of twice taken very ill, at other Times his Affairs
in the World went ill, while he diverted himſelf
there; feveral of his Friends caution'd him of it
and told him, he ought to confider that fome fu-
periór Hand feemed to hint to him, that he
fhould come there no more; he flighted the Hint,
or at leaft neglected it after fome Time, and went
to the fame Place again: But was fo terrified
with a moſt dreadful Tempeft of Thunder and
Lightning, which fell as it were more particular-
ly upon that Part of the Country than upon
others; that he took it as a Warning from Heaven,
and refolv'd not to go there again, and fome
Time after a Fire deftroyed that Houſe, very few
elcaping that were in it.
*
It
I
[229]
It would be an ill Account we ſhould give of
the Government of divine. Providence in the
World, if we ſhould argue, that its Events are fo
unavoidable, and every Circumftance fo determin-
ed, that nothing can be altered; and that therefore
thefe Warnings of Providence are inconfiftent with
the Nature of it. This befides that I think it
would take from the Sovereignty of Providence,
and deny even God himſelf the Privilege of being
a free Agent, it would alfo fo contradict the Ex-
perience of every Man living, in the Varieties of
his refpe&ive Life, that he fhould be unable to
give any Account for what End many Things,
which Providence directs in the World, are di-
rected, and why fo many Things happen which
do happen; why are Evils attending us fo evi-
dently foretold, that by thoſe Fore-tellings they are
avoided, if it was not determined before that they
fhould be avoided, and fhould not befal us?
People that tye up all to Events and Caufes,
ftrip the Providence of God which guides the
World of all its Superintendency, and leave it
no room to act as a wife Difpofer of Things.
It ſeems to me that the immutable Wiſdom and
Power of the Creator, and the Notion of it in
the Minds of Men, is as dutifully preferved, and is
as legible to our Underſtanding, though there be
a Hand left at Liberty to direct the Courfe of na-
tural Caufes and Events; 'Tis fufficient to the
Honour of an immutable Deity, that for the
common Incidents of Life, they be left to the
Difpofition of a daily Agitator, namely, divine
Providence, to order and direct them as it fhall fee
good, within the natural Limits of Cauſe and
Confequence.
}
3
(
་
14
Q 3
A
This
1
}
[230]
This feems to me a much more rational Syftem,
than that of tying up the Hands of the fupreme,
Power to a Road of Things, fo that none can be
acted or permitted, but fuch as was fo appointed
before to be acted and permitted.
ན
But what, if after all, we were to fit down and
acknowledge, that the immutability of God's
Being, and the Unchangeableness of his Actings,
are not eafy to be comprehended by us, or that
we may fay we are not able to reconcile them
with the infinite Variation of his Providence,
which in all its Actings feems to us to be at full
Liberty to determine anew, and give Events a
turn this Way or that Way, as its Sovereignty"
and Wiſdom, fhall direct; does it follow, that
thefe Things are not reconcileable, becaufe we.
cannot reconcile them? why fhould we not as well
fay, nothing of God is to be underflood, becauſe,
we cannot understand it? or that nothing in Nature
is intelligible, but what we can underſtand?
IS
辈
​Who can understand the Reafon, and much lefs
the Manner of the Needle tending to the Pole,
by being touch'd with the Loadftone, and, by.
what Operation the magnetic Vertue is convey-
ed with a Touch? why that Vertue is not com-
municable to other Metals, fuch as Gold, Silver,
or Copper, but to Iron only? what Sympathetic
Influence is there between the Stone and the.
Star, or the Pole? why ter ding to that Point in
the whole Arch, and not to any other, and why
face about to the South Pole as foon as it has
paft the Equinox? yet we fee all thefe Things
in their Operations and Events, we know
they muſt be reconcileable in Nature, though we
cannot reconcile them, and intelligible in Nature,
though we cannot underftand them: Sure it is
ás highly reaſonable then for us to believe, that
201
the
1
บ
[231]
*
the various Actings of Providence, which to us;
appear changeable; one Decree, as it were, re-
verfing another, and one Action fuperfeding a-
nother, may be as reconcilable to the Immutabi-
lity of God, and to the Unchangeablenefs of his,
Purpoſes, tho' we cannot underftand, how it is,
brought to paſs,, as it is to believe, that there is,
a Reaſon to be given for the Agreement and fim-
pathetick Correfpondence between the Magnt and
the Pole, tho at prefent the Manner of it is not
difcover'd, and cannot be underſtood.
£
If then the Hand of divine Providence has a
fpontaneous Power of acting, and directed by its
own Sovereignty, proceeds by fuch Methods, as
it thinks fit, and as we fee daily in the Courſe,
of human things: Our Bufinefs is to converſe
with the acting Part of Providence, with which
we more immediately have to do, and not con-
found our Judgment, with things which we cannot
fully comprehend, fuch as the Why, to what
End, and the how in, what Manner, it acts fo
and fo.
+
As we are then converfant with the immediate
Actions of divine Providence, it is our Buſineſs to
ſtudy it as much as may be in thar Part of its
Actings, wherein.it is to be known; and this in-
cludes the filent Actings of Providence, as well as
thofe which are more loud, and which being der
slar'd, fpeak in publick.
t
There are feveral filent Steps, which Providence
takes in the World, which fummon our Attention;
and he that will not liften to them, fhall deprive
himſelf of much of the Caution and Council, as
well as Comfort, which he might otherwife have
in his Paffage thro this Life, particularly by thus
liftening to the Voice, as I call it, of Providence,
we have the Comfort of feeing, that really an
Q4
invi
[232]
inviſible and powerful Hand is employ'd in, and
concern'd for our Prefervation, and Profperity in
the World; And wiro can look upon the manifeftDe-
liverances which he meets with in the infinite Vari-
ety of Life, without being convinc'd that they are
wrought for him without his own Affiftance, by
the wife and merciful Difpofitions of an invifible
and friendly Power.
The bringing good Events to paſs by the moſt
threatning Caufes, as it teftifies & Power that has
the Government of Caufes and Effects in its Hand,
fo it gives a very convincing Evidence of that
Power, being in good Terms with us; as on the
contrary, when the like Providence declares againſt
us, we ought to make a fuitable Ufe of it another
Way, that is to fay, take the juft Alarm, and ap
ply to the neceffary Duties of Humiliation and
Repentance.
!
!
1
Theſe things may be jefted with by the Men of
Fashion; but I am fuppofing myfelf talking to
Men that have a Senfe of a future State, and of
the Oeconomy of an invifible World upon them,
and neither to Atheifts, Scepticks, or Perfons in-
different, who are indeed near of Kin to them
both.
As there are juft Reflections to be made upon
the various Conduct of Providence in the feveral
Paflages of Man's Life, fo there are infinite Cir-
cumftances, in which we may furnish our felves
with Directions in the Courfe of Life, and in the
moſt fadden Incidents, as well to obtain Good,
as avoid Evil.
Much of the Honour due to the Goodneſs of
Providence, is unjustly taken away from it, by
Men that give themſelves a Looſe in "a general
Neglect of theſe things: But that which is ftill
more abfurd to me is, that fome Men are obfti
1
nately
[ 233 ]
nately refolv'd againſt paying the Homage of their
Deliverances to their Maker, or paying the Re-
verence due to his Terrors, in any thing that be-
falls them ill, where it ought to be paid, that
they will give all that Honour to another. If it
was well, they tell you, they know not how, but
fo it happen'd, or it was fo by good Chance,
and the like. This is a Sort of Language I can-
not underſtand It feems to be a felonious
Thought in its very Defign, robbing Heaven of
the Honour due to it, and lifting our felves in
the Regiment of the Ungrateful.
But this is not all, for one Crime leads on to a-
ther, if this Part is Felony or Robbery, the
next is Treafon, for refolving firft to deny the
Homage of good or evil Events to God from
whole Hands they come, they go on and pay
it to the Devil, the Enemy of his Praife, and
Rival of his Power.
Two of thefe Wretches travell'd a little Journey
with me fome Years ago; and in their Return,
fome Time after I was gone from them, they met
with a very different Adventure, and telling me
the Story, they exprefs'd themfelves thus, They
were riding from Huntington towards London, and
in fome Lanes betwixt Huntington and Caxton, one
happen'd by a Slip of his Horfe's Foot, which lam'd him
a little, to ftay about half a Mile behind the other, was
Set upon by fome Highway-men, who robb'd him, and
abus'd him very much; the other went on to Caxton,
not taking Care of his Companion, thinking he had ftay'd
on fome particular Occafion, and efcap'd the Thieves,.
they making off cross the Country towards Cambridge.
Well; fays I to the firft, How came you to
eſcape? I don't know not I, fays he, I happen'd not
to look behind me, when his Horfe ftumbl'd, and
I went forward, and by good Luck, adds he again,
'I heard
1
*
[234]
A
I heard nothing of the Matter; here was, it hap-
pend) and by good Luck, but not the leaft Senfe. of
the Government of Providence in this Affair, or
its Difpofition for his Good, but an empty Idol
of Air, orrather an imaginary nonfenfical Nothing,
an Image more inconfiftent than thoſe I mention d
among the Chineſes; not a Monfter indeed of a
frightful Shape, and ugly. Figure, loathfome and
frightful, but a meer Phantafm,. an Idea,. a None-
Entity, a Name without being a mifcall'd, unborn,
nothing, hap, luck, Chance, that is to fay, a Name
put upon the Medium, which they fet up in thein-
Imagination, for Want of a Will to acknowledge
their Maker, and recognize the: Goodneſs which
had particularly preferv'd him.
This was the moſt ungrateful Piece of Fol.
ly, or to ſpeak more properly, the maddeft and foo-
litheft Piece of Ingratitude that ever, I met.
with.
*
3
Well, if this was fooliſh and prepofterous, the
other was as wicked.. and deteftable; For when
the firft had told his Tale, I turn'de to the other,
and asked him, What was the Matter? Why!
How-came this to paſs.?. faid I, why this: Diſafter has
fallen all upon you? How was it? Nay, Says he, I
don't know, I was a little behind, and my Horfe.
chanc'd to flip, and lame himſelf, and he went for- ›
ward, and left me; and as the Devil would, have,
it thefe Fellows came cross, the Country, and
chopt upon me, &c.
พ
Here was firft Chance, the fame Mock-Goddefs,
as before, lam'd his Horfe, and next, the Devil)
order'd the Highway-men to chop upon him that
Moment Now, tho, it may true, that the High-
way-men were even by. their Employment, doing,
the Devil's Office of going to and fro, feeking
whom they might plunder; yet 'twas a higher.
*
Hand
1
[235]
2
Hand than Satan's, that deliver'd this poor blind
Fellow into their Power.
*
We have a plain Guide for this in Scripture
Language, in the Law of Man-daughter, or
Death, as we call it foolishly enough, by Mifadven-
ture it is in the 21 Exod. 13. in the Cafe of cafual
killing a Man, it is exprefs'd thus, If a Man lye
not in Wait, but God deliver him into his Hand. This
was not to be accounted Murther, but the Slayer
was to fly to the City of Refuge.
*
Here it is evident, that God takes all theſe
Mifadventures, into his own Hand; and a Man
kill'd by Accident, is a Man whom God has de-
liver'd up, for what End in his Providence is known
only to himſelf, to be kill'd in that Manner, per-
haps, vindictively, perhaps not.
With what Face can fany Man fay, this was as
the Devil would have it, or as bad Luck would have
it, or it happen'd, or chanc'd, or fell out; all which
are our ſimple and empty Ways of talking of things
that are ordered by the immediate Hand or Dire-
ction of God's Providence.
The Words laft quoted from the Scripture of
God's delivering a Man into another Man's Hand to
be killed unwillingly, are fully explained in another
Place, Deut. xix. 5.
As when a Man goeth into the Wood with his Neigh-
bour, to hew Wood, and his Hand fetches a Stroke
with the Ax to cut down the Tree, and the Head Arp-
peth from the Helve, and lighteth upon his Neighbour,
that he die; he shall flee unto one of thofe Cities, and
live.
4
The wicked thoughtlefs Creature, I have juft
mentioned, whofe Horfe fell lame, and ftopt his-
Travelling, till he might come juſt in the Way of
thoſe Thieves, who it feems were croffing the
Country, perhaps upon fome other Exploit, ought
to
[236]
A
to have reflected, that Providence, to chaftife
him, and bring him to a Senfe of his Dependance
upon, and being fubjected to his Power, had di-
rected him to be feparated from his Companion,
that he might fall into the Hands that robb'd and
abus'd him; and the other had no lefs Obliga-
tion to give Thanks for his Deliverance: But how
contrary they acted in both Cafes, you haye
heard.
We have had abundance of Colle&ions, in my
Remembrance, of remarkable Providences, as they
are call'd; and many People are forward to call
them fo': But this does not come up to the Cafe
in Hand.
Tho' contemning Providence, and giving the
Homage due to it, as above, to the Devil, or to
Chance, Fate, and I know not what Embrio's of
the Fancy are impious; yet every one that avoids
this Evil, does not come up to the particular Point
I am fpeaking of; for there is a manifeft Diffe-
rence between acknowledging the Being and Ope-
rations of Providence, and liftning to its Voice, as
many People acknowledge a God, that obey none
of his 'Commands, and concern themſelves in no-
thing of their Duty to him.
To liften to the Voice of Providence, is to take
ftrict Notice of all the remarkable Steps of Provi-
dence, which relate to us'in particular, to obſerve,
if there is nothing in them inftru&ting to our Con-
duct; no Warning to us for avoiding fome Dan-
ger; no Direction for the taking fome particular
Steps for our Safety or Advantage; no Hint to re-
mind us of fuch and fuch things omitted; no Con-
viction of fomething committed; no vindictive
Step, by Way of Retaliation, marking out the
Crime in the Punishment; You may eafily ob-
ferve the Differences between the Directions and
War-
'
[237]
}
Warnings of [Providence, when duly liftned to;
and the Notices of Spirits from an invifible
World, viz. that theſe are dark Hints of Evil, with
very little Direction to avoid it: But thoſe Noti-
ces, which are to be taken from the Proceedings
of Providence, tho' the Voice be a Kind of filent
or foft Whiſper; yet 'tis generally attended with
an Offer of the Means for efcaping the Evil, nay,
very ofte leads by the Hand to the very proper
Steps to be taken; and even obliges us, by a ſtrong
Conviction of the Reafon of it, to take thoſe
Steps.
It is in vain for me to run into a Collection of
Stories; for Example, where the Variety is infinite,
and things vary as every particular Man's Circum-
ftances vary But as every Event in the World is
manag'd by the Superintendency of Providence; fo
every Providence has in it fome thing inftructing,
fome thing that calls upon us to look up, or look
out, or look in.
Every one of thoſe Heads are big with particu-
lar Explanations; but my Bufinefs is not Preach-
ing; I am making Obfervations and Reflections,
let thoſe make Enlargements who read it: InaWord,
there is ſcarce any particular Providence attends
our Lives, but we fhall find, if we give due
Weight to it, that it calls upon us, either.
1. To look up, and acknowledge the Goodneſs
of God in fparing us, the Bounty of God in
providing for us, the Power of God in deli-
vering and protecting us, not forgetting to
look up, and acknowledge, and be humble
under the Juſtice of God, in being angry
with, and afflicting us.
•
2. Or
[238]
+
+
འ
ર
2. Onto look out, and take the needful Caution
and Warning given of evil approaching, and
1. prepare either to meet or avoid it.
مجھے
173, Orto book in, and reflect upon what we find
Heaven animadverting upon, and afflicting
us for, raking Notice of the Summons to re-
pent and reform.
2
wiri+
1
{
And this is, in a Word, what I mean by Lift-
ming to the Voice of Providence.
لا
4
A
{
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1
CHAP.
鎏
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4
A
[239]
•
.
CHAP. VI.
$
Of the Proportion between the Chri-
ftian and Pagan World.
TA
I
1
I
'r
strang
Have faid fomething of this al-
ready in my Enquiry after the
State of Religion in the World;
but upon fome Reflections which
fell in my Way fince, I think it
may offer further Thoughts, very
improving, as well as diverting.
When we view the World geographically,
take the Plan of the Globe, and meaſure it by
Line, and cut it out into Latitude and Longitude,
Degrees, Leagues, and Miles; we may fee indeed
that a pretty large Spot of the whole, is at pre-
fent under the Government of Chriftian Powers
and Princes, or under the Influence of their Power
and Commerce, by Arms, Naviés," Colonies, and
Plantations; or their Factories, Miffionaries, Reli-
dences, &c.
A
7
"But I am loth to fay we fhould take this for a
Fulfilling the Promife made to the Meffiah, that
his Kingdom fhould be exalted above all Nations,
and the Goſpel be heard to the End of the Earth
I was going to fay, and yet without any Prophane-
ness; that we hope God will not put us off SO.
I must acknowledge, I expect in the Fulfilling of
thefe Promiſes, that the Time will come, when the
Know-
[240]
A
Knowledge of God fhall cover the Earth, as the Waters
cover the Sea, that the Church of God fhall be fet
open to the four Winds, that the Mountain of the
Lords, Houfe fhall be exalted above the Tops of the
Mountains, and all the Nations ſhall flow into it, Ifa.
ii. 2. that is to fay, that the Chriftian Religion,
or the Profeffion of the Doctrine of the MESSIAH,
ſhall be made national over the whole Globe, ac-
cording to thoſe Words, Matth. xxiv. 14. Markxiii.
13. Luke xxiv. 17. But this may be a little too
apocalyptical, or vifionary for the Times; and 'tis
and'tis
no Buſineſs of mine, to enter upon the Interpre-
tation of Scripture Difficulties, whatever I may
underſtand, or believe my felf about them; but
rather to make my Obfervations, as I have be-
gun, upon things which now are, and which we
have feen and know, let what is to come, be as he
pleaſes, who has ordered things paft, and knows
what is to follow.
The preſent Cafe is, to ſpeak of the mathema-
tical Proportion that there is now to be obſerved
upon the Plain of the Globe, and obferve how
ſmall a Part of the World it is, where the Chri-
ftian Religion has really prevail'd; and is natio-
nally profefs'd, I fpeak of the Chriftian Religion,
where it is, as I call it, National, that is, in its
utmoft Latitude; and I do fo, that I may give
the utmoſt Advantage, even againſt my felf, in
what I am going to fay; and therefore, when I
come to make Deductions for the Mixtures of bar-
barous Nations, I fhall do it fairly allo.
I have nothing to do with the Diſtinctions of
Chriſtians: I hope none will object againſt calling
the Roman Church, a Chriftian Church, in this
Reſpect, and the Profeffors of the Popish Church,
Chriftians; neither do I fcruple to call the Greek
Church Chriftian, tho' in fome Places fo-blended
with
1
[241]
with Superftition, and barbarous Cuftoms, as in
Georgia, Armenia, and the Borders of Perfia and
Tartary; likewife in many Parts of the Czar
of Muscovy's Dominions, that (as before) the Name
of Chrift is little more than juft fpoken of, and
literally known, without any material Knowledge
of his Perfon, Nature, and Dignity; or of the
Homage due to him as the Redeemer of the
World.
The Nations of the World then, where Chrift
is acknowledged, and the Chriftian Religion is
profeſs'd nationally, be it Romish Church or Greek
Church, or even the Proteftant Church, in-
cluding all the ſeveral Subdiviſions and Denomi-
nations of Proteftants, take them all as Chriftians,
I ſay, theſe Nations are as follow.
1. In Europe; Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Great
Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Mufcovy, Poland, Hun-
gary, Tranfilvania, Moldavia, and Walachia.
2. In Afia, Georgia, and Armenia.
3. In Africa: No Place at all, the few Factories of
European Merchants, only excepted.
4. In America: The Colonies of Europeans only, as
follow:
1. The Spaniards, in Mexico and Peru, the Coafts
of Chili, of Cartagena, and St. Martha, and a
ſmall Colony at the Buenos Ayres on the Rio
de la Plata.
2. The Portugueſe, in the Brafils.
3. The British, on the Coaſt of America, from
the Gulph of Florida to Cape Britoon on the
Mouth of the Gulph of St. Lawrence, or the
great River of Canada, alfo a little in New-
foundland, and Hudfons Bay.
R
4. The
[242]
4. The Fench in the River of Canada, and the
great River of Miſſiſſippi.
5. The English, French, and Dutch, on the 'Iſlands
call'd the Carribbees, &c.
The chief Seat of the Chriftian Religion is at
prefent in Europe: But if we meaſure the Quarter
of the World, we call Europe upon the Plan of the
Globe,and caft up the northern, frozen, and indeed
unhabitable Part of it, fuch Laponia, Petzora, Can-
dora, Obdora, and the Samoiedes, with Part of Siberia,
they are all Pagans, with the eaſtern unpeopl'd
Defarts, bordering upon Afia, on the Way to Chi-
na, and the vaft Extent of Land on that Side,
which tho' nominally under the Dominion of
Muscovy, is yet all Pagan, even nationally fo, un-
under no real Government, but of their own Pa-
gan Cuſtoms.
If we go from thence to the South, and take out
of it the European Tartars, viz. of Circaffia,
the Crimee, and Budziack, if you go on, and
draw a Line from the Crim Tartary to the
Danube, and from thence to the Adriatick Gulph,
and cut off all the Grand Seignior's European Do-
minions; I fay, take this Extent of Land out of
Europe, and the Remainder does not meaſure full
two Thirds of Land in Europe, under the Chrifti-
an Government, much of which is alfo Defart,
and uninhabited, or at leaft, by fuch as cannot be
call'd Chriftians, and do not concern themſelves
about it, as particularly, the Swedi and Norwe-
gean Lapland, the more eaftern and fouthern Muf-
covy, beyond the Wolga, even to Karakathay, and to
the Borders of Afta on the Side of India; I fay,
taking in this Part, not above one half of Europe
is really inhabited by Chriftians.
The
[243]
The Czar of Muscovy, of the Religion, of whoſe
Subjects I have faid enough, is Lord of a vaſt ex-
tended Country; and thofe who have meaſur❜d
it critically, fay, his Dominions are larger than all
the reſt of Europe; that is to fay, that he poffeffes
a full Halfas much as Europe; and in thofe Domi-
nions, he is Mafter of Abundance of Nations, that
'are Pagan or Mahometan, as in particular Circaf-
fia, being conquer'd by him, the Circaffian Tartars,
who are all Mahometans, or the moſt of them, are
his Subjects.
However, fince a Chriftian Monarch governs
them, we muſt upon the Plan I laid down, call
this a Chriſtian Country; and that alone obliges
me to give two Thirds of Europe to the Chri-
ftians.
But this will bring another Account upon my
- Hands to ballance it, viz. That excepting this
two Thirds, there will not come one Chriftian to
be accounted for in any of the other three Parts of
the World, except Georgia and Armenia; as for
Africa, there is nothing to be mention'd on that
Side: All the Chriftians that are on the Conti-
nent of Africk, confifting only of a few Merchants
refiding at the Coaft Towns in the Mediterranean,
as at Alexandria, Grand Cairo, Tunis, Tripoli, Al-
gier, &c. The Factories of the English and Dutch,
on the Coaſt of Guinea, the Gold Coaſt, the Coaft
of Angola, and at the Cape of Good Hope; all which
put together, as I have calculated them, and as
they are calculated by a better Judgment than mine,
will not amount to 5000 People, excepting Chri-
ftian Slaves in Sallee, Algier, Tunis, Tripoli, &c.
which are not ſo many more.
America is throng'd with Chriftians, God wot,
fuch as they are; for I must confefs, the Euro-
pean Inhabitants of fome of the Colonies there,
R 2
*
23
[244]
}
a's well French and English, as Spanish and Dutch,
very ill merit that Name.
Some Part of America is entirely under the Do-
minion and Government of the European Nations;
and having indeed deftroy'd the Natives, and
made defolate the Country, they may be faid to
-be Chriftian Countries in the Senſe, as above.
But what Numbers do theſe amount to, com-
par'd to the Inhabitants of fo great a Part of the
World, as that of America, which at leaſt is three
Times as big as Europe, and in which are ftill
vaft extended Countries, infinite Numbers of Peo-
ple of Nations unknown, and even unheard of;
which neither the English, French, Spanish, or Por-
tugueſe have ever feen; Witnefs the populous Ci-
ties and innumerable Nations, which Sir Walter
Raleigh met with in his Voyage up the great
River Oroonoque; in one of which they talk of two
Millions of People, Witnefs the Nations infinite-
ly populous, ſpread on both Sides the River de
Amozones, and all the Country between theſe two
prodigious Rivers, being a Country above 400
Miles in Breadth, and 1600 Miles in Length,
befides its Extent South even to the Rio Para-
guay, and S. E. to the Brafils, a rich, fruitful, and
populous Country; and in which, by the Ac-
counts given, there must be more People inhabit-
ing at this Time, than in all the Chriſtan Part of
Europe put together, being the Chief, if not the on-
ly Part of America, into which the Spaniards ne-
ver came, and whether the frighted People fled
from them, being fo fortify'd with Rivers and un-
paflable Bays and rapid Currents, and fo inac-
ceffible by the Number of Inhabitants, the Heat
of the Climate, and the Mountains, Waterfals,
and fuch other Obftructions, that the Spaniards
durft never attempt to penetrate the Way.`
What
}
[245]
What are the Numbers of Chriftians in Ame-
rica, put them altogether to the Inhabitants of
thefe Parts of America, befides the Northern
Parts of America not enquir'd into.
But we are not calculating of People yet, but
the Extent of Land, that the Chriftians poffefs,
the British Colonies in the North, are by far the
moſt populous even more than the Spaniards them-
felves, though the latter extend themſelves over
more Land.
The British Colonies in the North of America
are ſuppoſed to contain Three Hundred Thouſand
Souls, including Nova Scotia, New England, New
York, New Jerſey, Eaft and Weft Penfilvania, Ma-
ryland, Virginia, and Carolina, and thefe lye ex-
tended upon the Coaft from the Latitude of 32
Degrees, to 47, or thereabouts, being about 750
Miles in Length; but then much of this is very
thinly peopled, and the Breadth they lye Weft
into the Country is little or nothing, 50 Miles
or 60 Miles is in many Places the moft; and ex-
cept fome Plantations in Virginia in Rapahanock,
and Janes River in Virginia, occafioned by the
great In-let of the Bay there, and of the Rivers
that fall into it. We can fee nothing an hundred
Miles within that Land but wafte and Woods,
whoſe Inhabitants feem to be fled farther up in-
to the Country from the Face of their Enemies
the Chriftians.
So that all this planting though fo confiderable,
amounts to no more compared to the Country it-
felf, than a long narrow Slip of Land upon the
Sea-Coaſt, there being very few English Inhabi-
tants planted any where above twenty Miles
from the Sea, or from fome navigable River, and
even that Sea-Coaft itſelf very thinly inhabited,
and particularly from New-England to New York,
from
R 3
[246]
from New-England North to Annapolis, from Vir-
ginia to Carolina; fo that all this great Colony or
Collection of Colonies, nay, tho' we include the
French at Canada, are but a Point, a Handful, com-
par'd to the vaſt Extent of Land lying Weft and
North-Weft from them, even to the South-Sea,
an Extent of Continent full of innumerable Na
tions of People unknown, undifcovered, never
fearch'd into or indeed heard of, but from one
another, much greater in its Extent than all
Europe.
If we take the North Part of America exclufive
of all the Country, which the Spaniards poffels,
and which they call the Empire of Mexico; and ex-
clufive too of what the English and French poffefs
on the Coaſt, and in the two Rivers of Canada
and Miffifippi as above,which indeed are but Trifles;
the reft of that Country which as far as it has been
travelled into, is found exceeding populous, is a great
deal larger than all Europe, though we have not
reckoned the moſt Northern, Frozen and almoſt
unhabitable Part of it, where no End can be found,
and where it is no doubt, but there is a conti-
guous Continent with the Northern Part of Afia,
or fo near joyning, as to be only parted by a nar-
row Gulph and Streight of Sea, eafily paffed over
both by Man or Beaft, or elfe it would be hard
to give an Account how Man or Beaſt came into
that Part of the World; I fay, this vaft Conti-
nent full of People, and no doubt, inhabited by
many Millions of Souls, is all wrapt up in Idóla-
try and Paganifm, given up to Ignorance and
Blindness, worshipping the Sun, the Moon, the
Fire, the Hills their Fathers, and in a Word the
Devil.
As to the Thing we call Religion, or the Know-
ledge of the true God, much lefs the Doctrine of
the
[247]
*
the Meffiah, and the Name of Chrift, they not
only have not, but never had the leaft Intimation of
it on Earth, or Revelation of it from Heaven,
till the Spaniards came among them: Nay,
and now Chriftians are come among them,
'tis hard to fay, whether the Paganism is
much abated, except by the infinite Ravages the
Spaniards made where they came, who rooted
out the Idolatry by deftroying the Idolaters, not
by converting them; having cruelly cut off, as
their own Writers affirm, above feventy Millions
of People, and left the Country naked of its In-
habitants for many hundred Miles together.
But what need we come to Calculations for the
preſent Time with Refpe&t to America, let us but
be at the Trouble to look back a little more than
a Hundred Years, which is as nothing at all in the
Argument; how had the whole Continent of A-
merica extended almoſt from Pole to Pole, with
all the Iſlands round it, and peopled with fuch innu-
merable Multitudes of People, been as it were en-
tirely abandoned to the Devil's Government, even
from the beginning of Time, or at leaſt from the
fecond Peopling the World by Noah to the 16th
Century, when Ferdinando Cortez, General for the
famous Charles the 5th, firſt landed in the Gulph
of Mexico?
We have heard much of the Cruelty of the Spa-
niards in deſtroying fuch Multitudes of the Inha-
bitants there, and of cutting off whole Nations
by Fire and Sword: But as I am for giving up
all the Actions of Men to the Government of Pro-
vidence, it ſeems to me, that Heaven had
determined fuch an Act of Vengeance fhould
be executed, and of which the Spaniards
were Infiruments, to deftroy thofe People, who
were come up (by the Influence of the Devil, no
Doubt!
R 4
[248]
Doubt) to fuch a dreadful height, in that abhorr'd
Cuftom of human Sacrifices, that the innocent
Blood cried for it, and it feemed to be a Time to put
a Stop to that Crime, left the very Race of People
hould at laſt be extinct by their own Butcheries.
The Magnitude of this may be gueffed at, by
the Temple confecrated to the great Idol of
Viftlipuftli" in the City of Mexico, where at the
Command of Montezuma 'the Pagan Monarch,
twenty thousand Men were facrificed in a Year,
and the Wall hung a Foot thick with clotted
Blood, dafhed in Ceremony againſt the Side of
that Place on thofe Occafions.
This Abomination God in his Providence, put
an End to, by deftroying thofe Nations from the
Face of the Earth, bringing a Race of bearded
Strangers upon them, cutting in Pieces Man, Wo-
man and Child, deftroying their Idols, and even the
Idolatry it felf by the Spaniards; who, however
wicked in themfelves, yet were in this to be
efteemed Inftruments in the Hand of Heaven, to
execute the divine Juftice, on Nations, whofe
Crimes were come up to a full Height, and that
call'd for Vengeance.
I make no doubt (to carry on this Digreffion a
little farther) that when God caft out the Hea-
then, fo the Scripture calls it, from before the
Ifraelites, and the Iniquity of the People of the
Land was 'full, Fofbud, Mofes, and the Ifraelites
were tax'd with as much Cruelty and Inhumanity,
in deſtroying the Cities, killing Man, Woman,
and Child; nay, even deftroying the very Cattle,
and Trees, and Fruits of the Earth, as ever the
Spaniards were charg'd within the Conqueft of
Mexico.'
1. This is apparent by the Terror that was ſpread
upon the Minds of the People 1ound about them,
whereof
[249]
1
whereof thoufands fled to other Parts of the
World. That Hiftory tells us, that the firft
Builders of the City of Carthage, long before the
Roman Times, or before the Fable of Queen Dido,
were fome Phenicians, that is to fay, Canaanites,
who flying for their Lives, got Ships and went
away to Sea, planting themſelves on the Coaft of
Africk, as the firft Place of Safety they arriv'd at,
and to prove this a Pillar of Stone, was found not
far from Tripoli, on which was cut in Phenician
Characters, thefe Words, We are of thofe who fled
from the Face of Joſhua the Robber.
The Cruelties of the Ifraelites, in deftroying
the Nations of the Land of Canaan, was com-
manded from Heaven; and therein Jofbua was
juſtify'd in what was done. The Cruelties of the
Spaniards, however abhorr'd by us, was doubtlefs
an Appointment of God, for the Deftruction of the
wickedeft 'and moſt abominable People upon
Earth.
But this is all a Digreffion; I come to my Cal-
culation: It is true, that the Spaniards, whom I
allow to be Chriftians, have poffefs'd the Empires
of Mexico and Peru: But after all the Havock
they made, and the Millions of Souls they dif-
mifs'd out of Life there, yet the Natives are in-
finitely the Majority of the Inhabitants; and tho'
many of them are chriftianiz'd, they are little more
than fubjected, and take all the Spaniards, Chrifti-
ans, and all the Portugueſe in the Brafils, all the
Engliſh and French in the North, and in a Word, all
the Chriftians in America, and put them together,
they will not ballance one Part of the Pagans or
Mahometans in Europe: For Example, Take the
Crim Tartars of Europe, who inhabit the Bank of
the Euxine Sea, they are more in Number than all
the Chriſtians in America; fo that fetting one Na-
tion
[250]
tion againſt the other, and you may reckon that
there is not one Chriftian, or as if there were not
one Chriſtian in thofe three Parts of the World, Afia,
Africa, and America, except the Greeks of Afia.
This is a juft but a very fad Account of the
fmall Extent of Chriftian Knowledge in the
World; and were it confider'd, as it ought, would
put the most powerful Princes of Europe upon
thinking of fome Methods, at leaft to open a Way
for the fpreading Chriftian Knowledge. I am
not much of the Opinion indeed, that Religion
fhould be planted by the Sword: But as the Chri-
ftian Princes of Europe, however few in Number,
are yet fo fuperior to all the reft of the World in
martial Experience and the Art of War, nothing
is more certain than that, if they could unite their
Intereft, they are able to beat Paganiſm out of the
World. Nothing is more certain than this, that
would the Chriftian Princes unite their Powers, and
act in Concert, they might deftroy the Turkish Em-
pire, and the Perfian Kingdom, and beat the very
Name of Mahomet out of the World.
It is no Boaft to fay, That were there no inte-
ftine Broils among us, the Chriftian Soldiery is
fo evidently fuperior to the Turks at this Time,
that had they all join'd after the late Battel at
Belgrade, to have fent 80000 Veteran Soldiers to
have join'd Prince Eugene, and fupply'd him with
Money and Provifions by the Ports of the Adriatic
Gulph, and the Archipelago, that Prince would in
two or three Campaigns, have driven the Ma-
hometans out of Europe, taken Conftantinople, and
have overturn'd the Turkish Empire.
After fuch a Conqueft, whether might not the
Chriftian Religion have fpread? The King of Spain
with the fame Eafe would reduce the Moors
of Barbary, and difpoffefs thofe Sons of Hell the
Alge
[251]
Algerines, Tripolines, Tunizeens, and all the Maho-
metan Pyrates of that Coaft, and plant again
the antient Churches of Africk, the Sees of Tertulli-
an, St. Cyprian, &c.
Nay, even the Czar of Mufcovy, an enterprizing
and glorious Prince, well affifted and fupported by
his Neighbours, the Northern Powers, who to-
gether are Maſters of the beft Soldiery in the
World, would not find it impoffible to march an
Army of 36000 Foot and 16000 Horfe, in Spite
of wafte and unhofpitable Defarts, even to attack
the Chineſe Empire; who, notwithſtanding their
infinite Numbers, pretended Policy and great
Skill in War, would fink in the Operation: And
fuch an Army of difciplin'd European Soldiers,
would beat all the Forces of that vaft Empire,with
the fame (or greater) Eafe, as Alexander with
30000 Macedonians deftroy'd the Army of Darius,
which confifted of 680000 Men.
And let no Man ridicule this Project, on Ac-
count of the March which I know they will call
3000 Miles and more: While there is no Obftru-
tion, but the Length of the Way, it is not ſo
difficult as fome may imagine; 'tis far from im-
poffible, to furnifh fufficient Provifions for the
March, which is indeed the only Difficulty that
carries any Terror in it.
Such a Prince as the Czar of Muscovy cannot
want the Affiftance of innumerable Hands, for the
Amaffing or Carriage for conveying to proper Ma-
gazines fufficient Stores of Provifions, for the
maintaing a felect chofen Body of Men to march
over the Defarts; for in the grand March, no.
uſeleſs Mouths fhould be found to feed.
Why then ſhould not the Chriftian Princes think
it a Deed of Compaffion to the Souls of Men, as
well as an humble Agency to the Work of Provi-
dence,
[252]
1
dence, and to the Fulfilling the Promiſes of their
Saviour, by a moderate, and as far as in them lyes,
a bloodlefs Conqueft, to reduce the whole World
to the Government of Chriſtian Power, and fo
plant the Name and Knowledge of Chrift Jefus
the Heathens and Mahometans? I am not
fuppofing, that they can plant real Religion in
this manner; the Bufinefs of Power, is to open
the Way to the Gofpel of Peace, the Servants of
the King of the Earth are to fight, that the Ser-
vants of the King of Heaven may preach.
among
Let but an open Door be made for the preach-
ing of the Word of God, and the Minifters of
Chriſt be admitted, if they do not ſpread Chrifti-
an Knowledge over the Face of the Earth, the
Fault will be their's. Let but the military Power
reduce the Pagan World, and banifh the Devil and
Mahomet from the Face of the Earth, the Know-
ledge of God be diligently ſpread, the Word of God
duly preach'd, and the People meekly and faith-
fully inftructed in the Chriftian Religion; the
World would foon receive the Truth, and the
Knowledge of divine Things would be the Study
and Delight of Mankind.
I know, fome nice and difficult People would
object here, how are the preſent Body of Chrifti-
ans, as you call them, qualified to convert the Pa-
gan and Mahometan World, when they are not
able to fettle the main Point, viz. What the Chri-
ftian Religion is, Or, what they would convert
them to? That Chriftianity is fubdivide into fo
many Parts, and particular Principles, the People fo
divided in their Opinion; and that which is ftill
worſe, there is ſo little Charity among the feverál
Sorts, that fome of them would rather fide with
Mahomet againſt their Neighbours,than affift to pro-
pagate that particular Doctrine in Religion, which
they
[253]
they condemn. Thus the Members of the Prote
ftant Faith would make it a Point of Principle,
not to ſupporr or propagate the Intereft of Popery
in fuch a Conqueft as this: And again, the Ca-
tholicks would as much make it a Duty on
them to root out Herefy, fo they call the Prote-
ſtant Doctrine, as they would to root out Paganiſm
and the Worſhip of Devils.
I would not anfwer for fome Proteftants, that
they would not be of the fame Mind as to particu-
lar Divifions among Proteftants: The Difference
among fome Opinions is fuch, and their Want
of Charity one to another, fets them at fuch Va-
riance, that if they do not cenfure one another for
Devil-Worshippers, yet we know they frequently
call fome of the oppofite Principles, Doctrines of
Devils; and perfecute one another with as much
Fury, as ever the Heathen perfecuted the Primi-
tive Churches.
Witneſs the Violences which have reign'd be-
tween the Epiſcopal and Presbyterian Parties, in the
North of Ireland, and in Scotland, which has ſo
often broken out into a Flame of War, and that
Flame been always quench'd with Blood.
Witneſs the frequent Perfecutions, Wars, Maf
facres, and other cruel and unnatural Doings,
which have been in theſe Parts of the World among
Chriftians, the Effect of a miſtaken Zeal for the
Chriſtian Religion; which as it was not planted
by Blood and Violence, fo much lefs can Chrifti-
ans juftify the Endeavours to erect this or that
Opinion in it, by the Ruine and Blood of their
Brethren.
But this is far from being a Reaſon, why we
ſhould not think it our Duty to fubdue the barba-
rous and idolatrous Nations of the World; in Or-
der to fupprefs the Worshipping the Devil, who
[ 254 ]
is the Enemy not only of God, and of all true Re-
ligion in the World, but who is the great Deftroy-
er and Enemy of Mankind, and of his future or
prefent Felicity; and whofe Bufinefs is always to
the utmoſt of his Power to involve and retain them
either in Ignorance, or in Error.
I diftinguish between forcing Religion upon
People, or forcing them to entertain this or that
Opinion of Religion; I fay, I diſtinguiſh between
that, and opening the Door for Religion to come
among them: The former is a Violence indeed,
inconfiftent with the Nature of Religion it ſelf,
whoſe Energy prevails and forces its Way into the
Minds of Men, by another Sort of Power; Where-
as the latter is removing a Force unjustly put al-
ready upon the Minds of Men by the Artifice of
the Devil, to keep the Chriftian Religion out of
the World; fo that indeed I propofe a War not
with Men, but with the Devil; a War to depofe
Sathan's infernal Tyranny in the World, and fet
open the Doors to Religion, that it may enter if
Men will receive it; if they will not receive it,
be that to themſelves.
In a Word, to unchain the Wills of Men, fet
their Inclinations free, that their Reafon may be
at Liberty to influence their Understandings, and
that they may have the Faith of Chrift preach'd
to them; whether they will hear or forbear, I fay,
as above, is no Part of the Queſtion, let the Chri-
ftian Doctrine and its fpiritual Enemies alone to
ftruggle about that: I am for dealing with the
Temporalities of the Devil, and depofing that hu
man Power which is armed in the Behalf of obſti-
nate Ignorance, and refolute to keep out the Light
of Religion from the Mind.
↑
I think
**
[255]
I think this is a lawful and juft War, and in the
End, kind both to them and their Poſterity: Let me
bring the Cafe home to our felves.
Suppoſe neither Julius Cefar or any of the Ro-
man Generals or Emperors, had caft their Eyes
towards Britain for fome Ages, or till the Chriftian
Religion had fpread over the whole Roman Em-
pire. 'Tis true, the Britains might at laſt have
received the Chriftian Faith in common with the
reft of the Northern World; but they had yet layn
above 300 Years longer in Ignorance and Paganifm,
than they did; and fome hundred thouſands of
People, who prov'd zealous Chriftians, nay even
Martyrs for the Chriftian Doctrine, would have
dy'd in the profefs'd Paganiſm of the Britains.
Now 'tis evident, the Invafion of the Romans
was an unjuft, bloody, tyrannical Affault upon the
poor Britains,againſt all Right and Property,againſt
Juftice and Neighbourhood, and meerly carry'd
on for Conqueft and Dominion. Nor indeed had
the Romans any juft Pretence of War; yet God
was pleaſed to make this Violence be the kindeſt
Thing that could have befallen the British Nation,
fince it brought in the Knowledge of God among
the Britains, and was a Means of reducing a hca-
then and barbarous Nation to the Faith of Chrift,
and to embrace the Meffias.
Thus Heaven ferves it felf of Mens worſt De-
figns, and the Avarice, Ambition, and Rage of
Men, have been made Uſe of to bring to paſs the
glorious Ends of Providence, without the leaſt
Knowledge or Defign of the Actors: Why then
may not the great Undertakings of the Princes of
Europe, if they could be brought to act in Concert, with
a good Deſign to bring all the World, to open their
Doors to the Chriftian Religion, and by Confe-
quence their Ears? I fay, why may not fuch an
Attempt
[256]
$
<
Attempt be bleffed from Heaven with fo much
Succefs, at leaſt as to make Way for bringing in
nominal Chriſtianity among the Nations? For as
to obliging the People to be of this or that Opini-
on afterward, that is another Cafe.
There is a great Pother made in the World a-
mong the feveral Denominations of Chriftians
about Coertion, erecting a Church, and compel-
ling Men to come in; that is to fay, one Sort of
Chriſtians perfecuting another Sort of Chriftians,
to make them worſhip Chrift their Way, as if
Chriſt had no Sheep but one Fold.
I diſtinguiſh much between uſing Force to re-
duce Heathens and Savages to Chriſtianity, and
ufing Force to reduce thoſe that are already Chri-
ftians, to be of this or that Opinion; I will not
fay but a War might be very juft, and the Cauſe
be righteous, to reduce the Worſhippers of the Pa-
gods of India, to the Knowledge and Obedience
of Chriſtianity, when it would be a horrible In-
juſtice to commence a like War, to reduce even
a Popish Nation to be Proteftant.
But my propos'd War does not reach fo far as
that neither; for tho'I would have a Nation of Pa-
gans conquer'd, that their Idols and Temples
might be deſtroy'd, and their Idol Worſhip be
abolifh'd; yet I would be very far from puniſhing
and perfecuting the People for not believing in
Chrift: For if we believe that Faith, as the Scrip-
ture fays is the Gift of God, How can we upon
any Chriſtian Foundation, punifh or perfecute the
Man for not exercifing that which God had not
given him.
Hence, compelling Men to conform to this
or that particular Profeffion of the Chriftian Re
ligion, is to me impious and unchriſtian.
And
[257]
And fhall I ſpeak a Word here of the unhap-
py Cuftom among Chriftians, of reviling one
another with Words, on Account of differing O-
pinions in Religion: It was a Part of Apocryphal
Scripture, taken from one of the traditional Say-
ings of the Rabbies, Thou shalt not mock at the
Gods of the Heathens. But Ribaldry, Satyr, and
Sarcafms, are the Ufage we give one another
every Day on the Subject of Religion; as if Slan-
der and the Severities of the Tongue, were not the
worst kind of Violence in Matters of the Chri-
ftian Religion.
;
In a Word, I muſt acknowledge, if I am to
ſpeak of Reproach in general, I know no worfe
Perfecution than that of the Tongue; Solomon
fays, There are that ſpeak, like the piercing of a Sword
and King David was fo fenfible of the Bitterneſs
of the Tongue, that he is full of Exclamations
upon the Subject; among the reft, he fays of his
Enemies, They have compaſſed me about with Words
of Hatred. He cloathed himself with Curfing like as
with his Garment, Pfalm cix. 3, 18.
It is indeed remote from the Subject I am upon,
to talk of this kind of uncharitable Dealing, but
as juft Obfervations are never' out of Seafon, it
may have its Ufes: Let no Man flight the Hint,
tho' it were meant of Religion only, for that indeed
is my preſent Subject; there is doubtleſs as fevere
a Perfecution by the Tongue, as that of Fire and
Faggot, and fome think 'tis as hard to be born.
I have never met with fo much of this any
where in all my Travels as in England, where the
Mouths of the feveral Sects and Opinions are fo
effectually open against one another, that albeit
common Charity commands us to talk the beſt of
particular Perfons in their Failings and Infirmi-
ties; yet here, cenfuring, condemning and re-
S
proaching
[ 258 ]
proaching one another on Account of Opinions,
"is carried on with fuchta Guft, that lets every one
fee nothing but Death'and Deſtruction can follow,
and no Reconciliation can be expected...
!
{
I have liv'd to fee Men of the beft Light be
miftaken, as well in Party as in Principles, as well
-in Politicks as in Religion, and find not only Oc-
*calion, but even a Neceffity to change. Hands of
-Sides in both; I have feen them fometimes run in-
to contrary Extremes, beyond their firft Inten-
tion, and even without Defign: Nay, in thofe un-
happy Changes, I have feen them driven into
Lengths they never defigned, by the fiery Re-
fentment of thofe whom they feem'd to have
left, and whom they differ'd from; I have lived to
fee thofe Men acknowledge even publickly and
openly they were wrong and miftaken, and ex-
prefs their Regret for being milled very fincerely;
but I cannot fay, I have liv'd to fee the People,
they have defir'd to return to, forgive or receive
them Perhaps, the Age 'I have lived ih, has not
been a proper Seafon for Charity, L-hope Futurity
will be furnifh'd with better Chriftians, or per-
haps 'tis appointed fo, to illuftrate the divine Mer-
cy, and let Mankind fee, that they are the only
Creatures that never forgive. I have feen a Man
in the Cafe I ſpeak of, offer the moft fincere Ac-
knowledgments of his having been miſtaken, and
this not in Matters eflential either to the Perfon's
Morals or Chriftianity, but only in Matters of
Party, and with the moft moving Expreffions, de-
fire his old Friends to forgive what has been
'pafs'd; and have feen their Return, be mocking
him with what they called a Bafenefs of Spirit,
and a mean Submiffion: I have feen him expoftu-
late with them, why they fhould not act upon
the fame Terms with a Penitent, as God him felf
*
له
که
*
蓄
​not
[ 259 ]
1
}
not only preſcribed, but yields to ; and have feèn
them in Return,. tell him, God might forgive him
if he pleaſed, but they would never; and then ex-
poſe all thofe Offers to the first Comer in Banter
and Ridicule: But take me right too, I have ſeen
at the ſame Time, that to wifer Men it has been
always thought to be an expofing themſelves, and
an Honour to the Perfon.
I ſpeak this too feelingly, and therefore fay no
more; there is a Way by Patience, to conquer
even the univerfal Contempt of Mankind; and
though two Drams of that Drug be a Vomit
for a Dog, it is in my Experience the only Me-
thod; there is a fecret Peace in it, and in Time
the Rage of Men will abate, a conftant fteady
adhering to Vertue and Honefty, and fhewing the
World, that whatever Miſtakes he might be led
into, fuppofing them to be Miſtakes, that yet the
main Intention and Deſign of his Life, was fin-
cere and upright; he that governs the Actions of
Men by an unbiafs'd Hand, will never fuffer
fuch a Man to fink under the Weight of univerfal
Prejudice and Clamour.
I ROBINSON CRUSOE, grown old in Affli-
ction, born down by Calumny and Reproach, but
ſupported from within, boldly preſcribe this Re-
medy againſt univerſal Clamours and Contempt of
Mankind; Patience, a ſteady Life of Vertue and
Sobriety, and a comforting Dependance on the
Juftice of Providence, will firſt or laſt reſtore the
Patient to the Opinion of his Friends, and juſtify
him in the Face of his Enemies; and in the mean
time; will fupport him comfortably, in defpifing
thoſe who want Manners and Charity, and leave
them to be curfed from Heaven with their own
Paffions and Rage.
S 2
This
[260]
This very Thought made' me long ago claim
a kind of Property in fome good old Lines of
the famous George Withers Efq; made in Prifon
in the Tower; he was a poetical Gentleman, who
had in the Time of the Civil Wars in England,
been unhappy in changing of Sides too often, and
and had been put into the Tower by every S.de in
their Turn; once by the King, once by the Par
liament, once by the Army, then by the Rump,
and at laſt again, I think, by General Monk; in
a Word, what eyer Side got up, he had the Dif
after to be down, the Lines are thus:
The World and I may well agree,
as moſt that are offended:
For I flight her, and she flights me,
and there's our Quarrel ended,
For Service done and love expreft,
Tho' very few regard it,
My Country owes me Bread at leaft:
But if I am debarr'd it,
Good Conference is a daily Feast,
and Sorrow never marr'd it.
}
But this Article of verbal Perfecution, has
hurried me from my Subject, which I must re-
turn to.
I have spoken of a Project for the Czar of Muf-
covy, worthy of a Monarch, who is Lord of fo
valt an extent of Country, as the Ruffian Empre
reaches to; which is in Effect as I have faid,
much more than half Europe, and confequently an
eighth Part of the World. I have given my
Thoughts how a War to open a Door for the
Chri-
[261]
Chriſtian Religion may be juftifiable, and that it has
not, the leaſt Tin&ture of Perfecution in it; If the
Chriſtian Princes of the World, who now fpend
their Force fo much to an ill Purpoſe, in real Per-
fecution, would join in an univerſal War againſt
Paganiſm and Devil-worship, the favage Part
of Mankind would in one Age, be brought to
bow their Knees to the God of Truth, and would
blefs the Enterpriſe it felf in the End of it, as
the beſt Thing that ever befel them: Nor could
fuch an Attempt fail of Succefs, unleſs Heaven in
Juſtice had determined to fhut up the World lon-
ger in Darkneſs, and the Cup of their Abomina-
tions was not yet full; But I may venture to fay,
there would be much more Ground for fuch
Chriftian Princes to hope and expect the Con-
currence of Heaven in fuch an Undertaking, than
in fheathing their Swords in the Bowels of
their Brethren, and making an Effufion of Chri-
ftian Blood upon every flight Pretence, as we fee
has been the Caſe in Europe for above thirty Years
paſt.
1
I had intended to remark here, that as the
Country poffcffed by Chriftians is but a Spot of the
Globe, compared to the Heathen, Pagan, and
Mahometan World; fo the Number of real Chri-
ftians among the Nations profeffing the Chriſtian
Name, is yet a more difproportioned Part, a mere
Trifle, and hardly to be compar'd with the infi-
nite Numbers of thoſe who tho' they call themselves
Chriftians, yet know as little of God and Reli-
gion as can be imagin'd to be known, where the
Word Chriftian is fpoken of, and neither feék or
defire to know more; in a Word, who know but
little of God or Jefus Chrift, Heaven or Hell, and
regard none of them.
$ 3
This
[262]
This is a large Field, and being througly fearch'd
into, would I doubt not, reduce the real faithful
Subjects of the Kingdom of Jefus Chrift, to a
much fewer Number than thofe of Mahomet; nay,
than thoſe of the Monarch of Germany; and make
our Lord appear a weaker Prince, fpeaking in the
Senfe of Kingdoms, than many of the King's of
the Earth. And if it be true that the old King
of France ſhould fay, That he had more loyal Sub-
jects than King Jefus; I do not know, but in the
Senfe his Moft Chriftian Majefty meant it, the
Thing might be very true.
But this Obfervation is fomething out of my
prefent Road, and merits to be fpoken of by itſelf.
The Number of true Chriftians will never be
known on this Side the great Bar, where they
fhall be critically feparated. No political Arith-
metick can make a Calculation of the Number
of true Chriftians, while they live blended with
the falfe ones, fince it is not only hard, but im-
poffible to know them one from another in this
World.
We fhall perhaps be furpriſed at the laft Day, to
fee fome People at the Right-hand of the righ-
teous Judge, whom we have condemned with
the utmoft Zeal in our Opinions, while we were
Contemporary with them in Life; for Charity,
as it is generally practifed in this World, and
mix'd with our human Infirmities, fuch as Pride,
Self-opinion, and Perfonal-prejudice, is ftrangely
mif-guided, and makes us entertain Notions of
Things and of People, quite different from what
they really deferve; and there is hardly any Rule
to prefcribe ourſelves, except it be of the Text,
In Meekneſs, every one efteeming other better than
themselves, which by the Way, is difficult to
do.
But
[263]
1
But though we fhall thus fee at the great Au-
dit, a Tranfpofition of Perfons from the Station
they held in our Charity, we ſhall only 'thereby
fee that, our Judgment was wrong; that God
judgeth not as Man judgeth, and that we too
rafhly condemn, whom he has thought fit to ju-
ftify and accept.
¿
A
Let then the Number of Chriftians be more or
leſs, as he that makes them Chriftians determines,
this is not for us to enter into, and this brings
me back to what I faid before, that though we
cannot make Chriftians, we both can and may, and
indeed ought to open the Door to Chriftianity,
that the Preaching of God's Word, which is the
ordinary Means of bringing Mankind to the Know-
ledge of Religion, may be fpread over the whole
World.
With what Vigour do we confult, and how do
the labouring Heads of the World club together
to form Projects, and to raife Subfcriptions to
extend the general Commerce of Nations in-
to every Corner of the World: But 'twould
pafs for a Bubb.e of all Bubbles, and a Whimfy
that none would engage in, if ten Millions fhould
'be asked to be fubfcribed, for fending a ftrong
Fleet and Army to conquer Heathenifm and Ido-
latry, and protect a Miffion of Chriftians, to be
employ'd in Preaching the Gofpel to the poor
Heathens, fay it were on the Coaſt of Cormandel,
the Iſland of Ceylon and Country of Malabar, or
any of the Dominions of the Great Mogul, and
yet ſuch an Attempt would not only be juft, but
infinitely advantageous to the People who fhould
undertake it, and to the People of the Country,
on whom the Operation fhould be wrought.
In the occafional Difcourfes I had on this
Subject, in Converfation- with Men of good Judg-
S4
ment
[264]
}
{
ment and. Principles, I have been often ask'd
in what Manner I would propofe to carry on fuch
a Conqueft as I fpeak of, and how it fhould an-
fwer the End; and that I may not be fuppofed to
fuggeft a Thing impracticable in itſelf or for
which no rational Scheme might be propofed; I
ſhall make a brief Effay, at the Manner, in which
the Conqueft I fpeak of fhould be, or ought to be
carried on; and if it be confidered feriouſly, the
Difficulties and perhaps all the reaſonable Ob-
jections might vanifh in an Inftant. I will there-
fore firft, for the Purpofe only, fuppofe that an At-
tempt was made by a Chriftian Nation, to con-
quer and fubdue fome Heathen or Mahometan Peo-
ple at a Diſtance from them, place the Conqueft
where, and among whom we will: For Example,
Suppoſe it was the great Ifland of Madagascar, or
that of Ceylon, Borneo in the Indies, or thofe of
Japan, or any other where you pleaſe.
1
I would firft fuppofe, the Place to be infinite-
ly populous as any of thofe, Countries, though
they are Iſlands, are faid to be; and becauſe the
Japonnese are faid to be a moft fenfible fagacious
People, under excellent Forms of Government,
and capable more than ordinarily of receiving
Impreffions, fupported by the Argument and Ex-
ample of a vertuous and religious Conqueror.
For this Purpoſe you must grant me, that the
Iſland or Iſlands of Japan were in a Situation
proper for the undertaking, and that a powerful
European Army being landed upon them, had in a
great Battle or in divers Battles, over-thrown
all their Military Force, and had entirely re-
duced the whole Nation to their Power: As to
go back to Examples, the Venetians had done by
the Turks in the Morea in a former War, or as
the Turks did in the Ifles of Candia, Cyprus, and
A
the
[265]
1
the like. The fhort Scheme for eſtabliſhing the
Government in thoſe Countries ſhould be this;
1
First, As the War is pointed chiefly a-
gainſt the Kingdom of the Devil, in
behalf of the Chriftian Worſhip, fo
no Quarter fhould be given to Satan's
Adminiſtration; and as nothing elſe
fhould willingly be treated with Vio-
lence; fo indeed no Part of the De-
vils OEconomy ſhould have any Fa-
vour, but all the Idols fhould imme-
diately be deſtroyed, and publickly
burnt, all the Pagods and Temples
burnt, and the very Face and Form
of Paganiſm and the Worſhip attend-
ing it, be utterly defaced and de-
ftroyed.
Secondly, The Priefts and dedicated Per-
fons of every kind, by whatſoever
Names or Titles known or diſtin-
guifhed, fhould be at leaſt removed,
if not deſtroyed.
Thirdly, All the Exercife of profane and
idolatrous Rites, Ceremonies, Wor-
ſhip, Feſtivals, and Cuſtoms, fhould
be abolished entirely, fo as by Time
to be forgotten, and clean wiped out
of the Minds, as well as out of the
Practice of the People.
This is all the Coertion I propofe, and lefs than
this cannot be propofed, becaufe though we may
not by Arms and Force compel Men to be reli-
gious, becauſe if we do, we cannot make them
fincere,
[266.]
ง
fincere, and fo by Perfecution we only create Hy-
pocrites; yet I infift that we may by Force,
and that with the greatest Juftice poffible, fup-
preſs Paganiſm, and the Worſhip of God's Enemy
the Devil, and banifh it out of the World; nay,
that we ought to do it to the utmoſt of our Power:
But I return to the Conqueft,
The Country being thus entirely reduced under
Chriſtian Government, the Inhabitants if they
fubmit quietly, ought to be ufed with Humanity
and Juftice; no Cruelty, no Rigour; they fhould
fuffer no Oppreffion, Injury, or Injuftice, that
they may not receive evil Impreffions of the Peo-
ple that are come among them; left entertaining an
Abhorrence of Chriftians, from their evil Conduct,
Cruelty, and Injuftice, they fhould entertain an Ab-
horrence of the Chriftian Religion for their Sakes;
as the poor Wretches the Indians in America, who
when they were talked to of the Future State,
the Refurrection of the Dead, Eternal Felicity in
Heaven, and the like, enquir'd where the Spaniards
went after Death, and if any of them went to
Heaven? and being anfwered in the Affirmative,
fhook their Heads, and defired they might go to
Hell then, for that they were afraid to think of
being in Heaven, if the Spaniards were there.
3
A juft and generous Behaviour to the Natives,
or at leaſt to fuch' of them as 'fhould fhow them-
felves willing to fubmit, would certainly engage
them in their Intereft, and accordingly would in
a little while bring them to embrace that Truth,
which dictated fuch juft Principles to thoſe who
eſpouſed it.
Thus Prejudices being removed, the Way to In-
ftruction would be made the more plain, and then
would be the Time for Gofpel-Labourers to enter
upon the Harveſt; Minifters fhould be inſtructed
to
[267]
to teach them our Language, 'to exhort them to
feek the Bleffings of Religion and of the true
God, and fo gradually to introduce right Prin-
ples among them at their own Requeſt.
From hence they fhould proceed, to teach all
the young Children the Language ſpoken by them,
who would then be their Benefactors, rather than
Conquerors, and a few Years wearing the old Ge-
neration out, the Pofterity of them, and of their
Conquerors, would be all one Nation.
In Cafe any rejected the Inftruction of religious
Men, and adher'd obftinately to his Idolatry, and
would not be reclaimed by gentle and chriftian U-
fage, fuitable Methods are to be taken with fuch,
that they might not make a religious Faction in the
Country, and gain others to fide with them, in
order to recover their Liberty, as they might call it
to ſerve their own Gods, that is to fay Idols; for
it muſt be for ever as juft, not to permit them to go
back to Idolatry by Force, as it was to pull
them from it by Force.
By this kind of- Conqueft, the Chriftian Reli-
gion would be most effectually propagated among
innumerable Nations of Savages and Idola-
ters, and as many People be brought to worſhip
the true God, as may be faid to do it at this Time
in the whole Chriftian World.
This is my Cruifado, and it would be a War as
juſtifiable on many Accounts, as any that was ever
undertaken in the World, a War that would bring
Eternal Honour to the Conquerors, and an Eternal
Bleffing to the People conquer'd.
It were eafy now to cut out Enterpriſes of this
Nature for other of the Princes of the World than
the Czar of Muscovy; and I could lay very ratio-
nal Schemes for fuch Undertakings, and the
Schemes that could, if througly purfued never
fail
[268]
fail of Succefs: For Example, An Expedition
againſt the Moors of Africa, by the French, Spanish
and Italian Princes, who daily fuffer fo much by
them, and the laft of whom are at perpetual War
with them; how eafy would it be to thofe
Powers to join in a Chriftian Confederacy, to
plant the Chriſtian Religion again in the Numi-·
dian and Mauritanian Kingdoms; where was once
the famous Church of Carthage, and from whence
Thouſands of Chriftians have gone to Heaven;
the Harveſt of the primitive Labours of St. Cy-
prian, Tertullian, and many more, whofe Pofte-
rity now bow their Knees to that lateſt and worſt
of all Impoftors, Mahomet.
But unchriftian Strife was always a Bar againſt
the Propagation of Chriftian Religion, and unna-
tural Wars carried on among the Nations I ſpeak
of, are made fo much the Bufinefs of the Chriftian
World, that I do not expect in our Time, to fee
the Advantages taken hold of, that the Nature of
the Thing offers: But I am perfuaded, and leave it
upon Record as my fettled Opinion, that one
Time or other, the Chriftian Powers of Europe,
fhall be infpired from Heaven for fuch a Work,
and then the Eafinefs of fubduing the Kingdom of
Africa to the Chriftian Power, fhall fhame the Ge-
nerations paft, who had the Opportunity ſo often
in their Hands, but made no Ufe of it.
Note, In this Part of the Subject I am upon, I
muft acknowledge there is a double Argument
for a War: 1. In Point of the interfering Interefts,
Europe ought to take Poffeffion of thoſe Shoars,
without which it is manifeft her Commerce is not
fecured; and indeed, while that Part of Africk
bordering on the Sea, is in the Hands of Robbers,
Pyrates cannot be fecur'd: Now, this is a Point
of undisputed Right, for a War-Trade claims the
Pro-
[ 269 J
Protection of the Powers to whom it belongs, and
we make no Scruple to make War upon one ano-
ther, for the Protection of our Trade, and it is
allowed to be a good Reaſon why we fhould do
fo. Why then is it not a good Reafon to make
War upon Thieves and Robbers? If one Nation
takes the Ships belonging to another, we imme-
diately reclaim the Prize from the Captors, and
require of the Prince, that Juftice be done againſt
the Aggreffor, who is a Breaker of the Peace;
and it this is refufed, we make War.
But ſhall we do thus to Chriſtians, and fcruple
to make an univerfal War for the rooting out a
Race of Pyrates and Rovers who live by Rapin,
and are continually employed like the Lions and
Tygers of their own Lybia in devouring their
Neighbours: This, I fay, makes fuch a War not
only juft on a religious Account, but both juft
and neceffary upon a civil Account.
The War then being thus proved to be juſt on
other Accounts, why fhould not 2. The Extir-
pation of Idolatry, Paganiſm, and Devil-Worſhip,
be the Confequence of the Victory. If God be
allow'd to be the Giver of Victory, how can it
be anſwered to him, that the Victory fhould not
be made Ufe of, for the Intereft and Glory of
the God of War, from whom it proceeds? But
thefe Things are not to be offered to the World,
till higher Principles work in the Minds of Men,
in their making War and Peace, than yet ſeems to
take up their Minds.
I was tempted upon this Occafion, to make an
Excurfion here, upon the Subject of the very
light Occafions, Princes and Powers, States and
Stateſmen make ufe of, for the engaging in War
and Blood one againſt another; one for being ill
fatisfied with the other, and another for preferving
the
[270]
}
the Ballance of Power; this for nothing at all,
and that for fomething next to nothing; and how
little Concern the Blood that is neceffarily fpilt
in theſe Wars produces among them: But this is
not a Cafe that will fo well bear, to be entred
upon in a publick Manner at this Time.
All I can add is, I doubt, no fuch Zeal for the
Chriſtian Religion, will be found in our Days, or
perhaps in any Age of the World, till Heaven beats
the Drums itſelf,and the glorious Legions from above
come down on Purpoſe to propagate the Work, and
to reduce the whole World to the Obedience of
King Jefus; a Time which fome tell us is not far
off: But of which I heard nothing in all my Travels
and Illuminations, no not one Word.
FINI S.
+
}
$
£
A
THE
}
A
VISION
OF THE
ANGELICK WORLD,
T
HEY muſt be much taken up
with the Satisfaction of what
they are already, that never ſpare
their Thoughts upon the Subject
of what they ſhall be.
The Place, the Company, the
Employment which we expect to
know fo much of hereafter, muft certainly be well
worth our while to enquire after here.
I believe the main Interruptions which have
been given to thefe Enquiries, and perhaps, the
Reaſon why thofe that have entred into them
A
have
[2]
24
D
have given them up, and thoſe who have not
entred into them, have fatisfied themfelves in the
utter Neglect, have been the wild chimerick
Notions, enthufiaftick Dreams, and unfatisfying
Ideas, which moft of the Conceptions of Men
45 have led them into, about thefe Things.
}
As I endeavour to conceive juftly of thefe
Things, I fhall likewife endeavour to reafon upon
them clearly, and, if poffible, convey fome fuch
Ideas of the inviſible World to the Thoughts of
Men, as may not be confufed and indigefted, and
fo leave them darker than I find them.
The Locality of Heaven or Hell is no Part of
my Search; there is doubtlefs a Place referv'd
for the Reception of our Souls after Death; as
there is a State of Being for material Subftances,
fo there muſt be a Place; if we are to BE, we
muſt have a where; the Scripture fupports Rea-
fon in it, Judas is gone to his Place, Dives in
Hell lift up his Eyes, and faw Lazarus in Abra-
ham's Bofom; the Locality of Blifs and Mifery
feems to be poſitively afferted in both Cafes,
But there is not fo clear a View of the Company
as of the Place; it is not fo eafy to enquire into
the World of Spirits, as it is evident that there
are fuch Spirits, and fuch a World; we find the
Locality of it is natural, but who the Inhabitants
are, is a Search of ftill a fublimer Nature, liable
to more Exception, encumber'd with more Dif-
ficulties, and expofed to much more Uncertainty.
I fhall endeavour to clear up as much of it as
I can, and intimate moft willingly, how much I
rejoyce in the Expectation, that fome other En-
quirers may go farther, 'till at laft, all that Pro-
vidence has thought fit to diſcover of that Part
may be perfectly known.
藏
​The
[3]
The Diſcoveries in the Scripture whic head
to this, are innumerable; but the pofitive Decla-
ration of it ſeems to be declin'd. When our Sa-
viour walking on the Sea frighted his Difciples,
and they cried out, what do we find terrify'd
them? Truly, they thought they had feen a Spi-
rit. One would have thought fuch Men as they,
who had the Vifion of God manifeft in the Flesh
fhould not have been fo much furpriz'd, if they
had feen a Spirit, that is to fay, feen an Apparition;
for to fee a Spirit, feems to be an Allufion, not
an Expreffion to be us'd literally, a Spirit being
not vifible by the Organ of human Sight.
*
$
But what if it had been a Spirit? if it had
been a good Spirit, what had they to fear? And
if a bad Spirit, what would crying out have af-
fifted them? When People cry out in fuch Caſes,
it is either for Help, and then they cry to others;
or for Mercy, and then they cry to the Subjec
of their Terror to fpare them. Either Way it
was either the fooliſheft, or the wickedeft Thing
that ever was done by fuch grave Men as the
Apoftles; for if it was a good Spirit, as before 3
they had no Need to cry out; and if it was a bad
one, who did they cry to? For 'tis evident they
did not pray to God, or crofs and bleſs them-
felves, as was afterwards the Fashion; but they
cried out, that is to fay, they either cried out for
Help, which was great Nonfenfe, to call to Man
for Help againſt the Devil or they cried to the
Spirit they faw, that it might not hurt them,
which was, in fhort, neither lefs, or more, than
praying to the Devil.
This put me in Mind of the poor Savages in
many of the Countries of Amèrica and Africa, who
really inftructed by their Fear, that is to fay, by
meer Nature, worſhip the Devil, that he may not
hurt them.
A 2
Here
[4]
Here I muſt digrefs a little, and make a Tran-
fition from the Story of a Spirit, to the ftrange
Abfurdities of Mens Notions at that Timè; and
particularly, of thoſe upon whom the firſt Im-
preffions of Chrift's Preaching's were wrought,
and if it be look'd narrowly into, one cannot but
wonder what range ignorant People, even the
Difciples themselves were, at firft; and indeed
their Ignorance continued a great while, even
to after the Death of Chrift himſelf; witneſs the
fooliſh Talk of the two Difciples going to Emaus.
It is true they were wifer afterwards when they
were better taught; but the Scripture is full of
the Diſcoveries of their Ignorance; as in the No-
tions of fitting at his Right-hand and his Left, in
his Kingdom, ask'd for by Zebedee's Childreh; no
doubt but the good Woman their Mother thought
one of her Sons fhould be Lord Treaſurer there,
and the t'other Lord Chancellor, and fhe could
not but think thofe Places their Due, when fhe
faw them in fuch Favour with him here. Juft fo
in their Notion of feeing a Spirit here, which
put them into fuch a Fright, and indeed they
might be faid, according to our dull Way of
Talking, to be frighted out of their Wits; For
had their Senſes been in Exerciſe, they would ei-
ther have rejoic'd in the Appearance of a good
Angel, and ftood ftill to hear his Meffage, as
from Heaven; or pray'd to God to deliver them
out of the Hands of the Devil, on their fuppofing
it, as above, to be a Viſion from Hell.
P
But I come to the Subject. It is evident that
the Notion of Spirits, and their intermeddling
with the Affairs of Men, and even of their ap-
pearing to Men, prevail'd fo univerfally in thofe
Ages of the World, that even God's own People,
who were inftructed from himſelf, believ'd it,
nor
*
[5]
#1984
nor is there any Thing in all the Old Teftament
Inftitution to contradict it, tho' many Things
to confirm it; fuch particularly, as the Law
againſt what is call'd a familiar Spirit, which
was eſteem'd no better or worfe than a conver-
fing with the Devil, that is tó fay, with fome
of the evil Spirits of the World I fpeak of.
The Witch of Endor, and the Story of an Ap-
parition of an old Man perfonating Samuel, which
is fo plainly afferted in Scripture, and which the
learned Oppofers of thefe Notions have spent fo
much weak Pains to difturb our Imaginations
about, yet affure us, that fich Apparitions are
not inconſiſtent with Nature, or with Religion;
nay, the Scripture allows this Woman to Paw waw,
as the Indians in America call it, and conjure for
the raifing this Spectre, and when it is come, al-
lows it to ſpeak a great prophetick Truth, fore-
telling the King in all its terrible Particulars what
was to happen to him, and what did befal him
the very next Day.
Either this Appearance muſt be a good Spirit,'
or a bad; if it was a good Spirit, it was an
Angel, as it is exprefs'd in another Place of the
Apoftle Peter, when he knock'd at the good
People's Door in Jerufalem, Alts xii.15. and then it
fupports my Opinion of the Spirits unembodied
converfing with, and taking Care of the Spirits
embodied; if it was an evil Spirit, then they
muft grant God to be making a Prophet of the
Devil, and making him perfonate Samuel to foretel
Things to come; permitting Sathan to ſpeak in the
firft Perfon of God's own Prophet, and indeed to
preach the Juſtice of God's Dealing with Saul, for
rejecting his Prophet Samuel; which in fhort, is not
a little odd, putting the Spirit of God into the
Moutla
ir
A 3
[6]
Mouth of the Devil, and making Sathan a
Preacher of Righteoufnefs.
When I was in my Retirement, I had a-
bundance of ftrange Notions of my feeing Ap-
paritions there, and efpecially when I hap-
pen'd to be abroad by Moon-fhine, when every
Bufh look'd like a Man, and every Tree like a
Man on Horſe-back; and I fo prepoffefs'd my
felf with it, that I fcarce durft look behind me
for a good while, and after that durft not go a-
broad at all at Night; nay, it grew upon me to
fuch a Degree at laft, that I as firmly believ'd I
faw feveral Times real Shapes and Appearances,
as I do now really believe and am affur'd, that it
was all Hypochondriack Delufion.
But however, that the Reader may fee how
far the Power of Imagination may go, and judge
for me whether I fhew'd any more Folly and Sim-
plicity than other Men might do, I'll repeat fome
little Paffages, which for a while gave me very
great Disturbances, and every one fhall judge for
me, whether they might not have been deluded in
the like Circumftances as well as I.
M
The firſt Cafe was, when I crept into the dark
Cave in the Valley, where the old Goat lay juft
expiring, which, wherever it happen'd, is a true,
Hiftory, I affure you
1
When firft I was ftopp'd by the Noiſe of this
poor dying Creature, you are to obferve, that`
the Voice was not only like the Voice of a Man,
but even articulate, only that I could not form
any Words from it; and what did that amount to
more or less than this, namely, that it ſpoke,
but only it was in a Language that I did not un-
derftand. If it was poffible to defcribe the Sur-
prife of my Spirits on that Occafion, I would do
it here; how all my Blood run, or rather ſtood still,
chilld
[ 7 ]
chill'd in my Veins; how a cold Dew of Sweat
fat on my Forehead; how my Joints, like Belbaz-
zar's Knees, fhook one againſt another; and how,
as I faid, my Hair would have lifted off my Hat,
if I had had one on my Head.
But this is not all. After the firſt Noiſe of the
Creature which was a faint dying Kind of imper-
fect Bleating, not unufual, as I found afterward; I
fay, after this, he fetch'd two or three deep Sighs
as lively, and as like human, as it is poffible to
imagine, as I have alſo ſaid.
Theſe were fo many Confirmations of my Sur-
prize, befides the Sight of his two glaring Eyes,
and carried it up to the Extreme of Fright and
Amazement; how I afterwards conquered this
childish Beginning, and mufter'd up Courage e-
nough to go into the Place with a Firebrand for
Light; and how I was prefently fatisfy'd with
feeing the Creature whofe Condition made all the
little accidental Noiſes appear rational, I have
already faid.
But I muſt acknowledge, that this real Surprize
left fome Relicks or Remains behind it, that did
not wear quite off a great while, tho'Iftruggl'd hard
with them: The Vapours that were rais'd, at firft
were never fo laid, but that on every trifling Oc-
cafion they return'd; and I faw, nay, I felt Ap-
paritions, as plainly and diftinely as ever I felt
or faw any real Subftance in my Life.
ኮ
The like was the Cafe with me before that,
when I firſt found the Print of a Man's Foot up-
on the Sand, by the Seafide on the North Part of
the Ifland."
And theſe, I fay, having left my Fancy a little
peeyifh and wayward, I had frequently fome Re-
turns of thefe Vapours on differing Occafions,
and fometimes even without Occafion; nothing
}
A 4
but
[8]
but meer Hypochondriack Whimfies, fluttering of
the Blood, and rifing of Vapours,' which nobody
could give any Account of but myſelf.
J
For Example: It was one Night, after my having
feen fome odd Appearances in the Air, of no great
Significance, that coming home and being in Bed,
but not aſleep, I felt a Pain in one of my Feet; af-
ter which it came to a kind of Numb'dnefs in my
Foot, which a little furpriz'd me; and after that, a
kind of Tingling in my Blood, as if it had been
fome Diftemper running up my Leg.
On a fudden I felt, as it were, fomething alive
lye upon me, as if it had been a Dog lying up-
on my Bed, from my Knee downwards about half
Way my Leg, and immediately afterwards I felt
it heavier, and felt it as plainly roll itſelf upon mẹ
upwards upon my Thigh, for I lay-on-one Side;
I fay, as if it had been a Creature lying upon me
with all his Weight, and turning his Body upon
me.
It was fo lively and fenfible to me, and I re-
member it fo perfectly well, though it is now
many Years ago, that my Blood chills and flutters
about my Heart at the very writing it. I'imme
diately flung my ſelf out of my Bed, and flew to
my Mufquet, which ſtood always ready at my
Hand, and, naked as I was, laid about me upon
the Bed in the dark, and every where elfe that I
could think of where any Body might ſtand or lye,
but could find nothing. Lord deliver me from an
evil Spirit, faid I! What can this be? And being
tired with groping about, and having broke two
or three of my Earthen Pots with making Blows
here and there to no Purpofe, I went to light my
Candle, for my Lamp which I us'd to burn in the
Night, either had not been lighted, or was gone
Quito
1
/ **
When
[9]
When I lighted a Candle, I could eaſily fee
there was no living Creature in the Place with
me, but the poor Parrot, who was wak'd and
frighted, and cry'd out, Hold your Tongue, and,
What's the Matter with you? Which Words he
learn'd of me, from my frequent faying fo to him,
when he uſed to make his ordinary wild Noife and
Screaming that I did not like.
The more I was fatisfy'd that there was nothing
in the Room, at leaſt to be feen, the more another
Concern came upon me. Lord! fays Į aloud, this
is the Devil. Hold your Tongue, fays Poll. I was
fo mad at the Bird, tho' the Creature knew no-
thing of the Matter, that if he had hung near
me, I believe I fhould have killed him. I put my
Clothes on, and fat me down, for I could not find
in my Heart to go to Bed again; and as I fat
down, I am terribly frighted, faid I. What's the
Matter with you? fays Poll. You Toad, ſaid I, I'd
knock your Brains out if you were here. Hold your
Tongue, fays he again, and then fell to chattering,
Robin Crufoe, and, Poor Robin Crufoe, as he us'd
to do.
Had I been in any Reach of a good Temper, it
had been enough to have compofed me; but I
was quite gone, I was fully poffefs'd with a Belief,
that it was the Devil, and I pray'd moft heartily
to God, to be delivered from the Power of the
evil Spirit:
After fome Time, I compofed my ſelf a little,
and went to Bed again, and lying juft in the Po-
ſture as I was in before, I felt a little of the Ting-
ling in my Blood which I felt before, and I re-
folv'd to lye ftill, let it be what it would; it
came up as high as my Knee, as before, but no
higher; and now I began to fee plainly that it was
all a Diftemper, that it was fomething Paralitick,
and
[10]
and that affected the Nerves; but I had not ei-
ther Experience of fuch a thing, or Knowledge
of Difcafes, enough to be fully, fatisfy'd of the Na-
ture of them, and whether any thing natural, any
Numbeḍneſs or Dead Palfie affecting one Part of
the Thigh, could feel as that did; till fome Months
after that, I felt fomething of the very fame again
at my firft lying down in my Bed for three or four
Nights together,which at firft gave me a little Con-
cern as a Diftemper, but at laft gave me fuch Sa
t.sfaction, that the firft was nothing but the fame
thing in a higher Degree; that the Pleafure of
knowing it was only a Diſeaſe, was far beyond the
Concern at the Danger of it; Tho' a dead Palfie
to one in my Condition might reaſonably have been
one of the moſt frightful Things in Nature; fince
having no body to help me, I muſt have inevitably
perifh'd for meer Want of Food, not being able to
go from Place to Place to fetch it.
But to go back to the Cafe in Hand, and to
the Apprehenfion I had been in; all the feveral
Months that pafs'd between the firft of this and
the laft, I went about with a melancholy heavy
Heart, fully fatisfy'd that the Devil had been in
my Room, and lay upon my Bed.
Sometimes I would trye to argue my felf a little
out of it, asking my felf, Whether it was reafon-
able to imagine the Devil had nothing elſe to do
than to come thither, and only lye down upon
me, and go away about his Bufinefs, and fay not
one Word to me? What End it could anſwer? and
whether I thought the Devil was really bufy'd
about fuch Trifles? Or whether he had not Em-
ployment enough of a higher Nature, fo that fuch
a Thing as that could be worth his while?
But ftill then I was anfwer'd with my own
Thoughts, returning thus, What could it be? Or,
다
​if
[ 11 ]
if it was not a Devil, what was it? This I could
not anſwer by any Means at all; and fo Iftill funk
under the Belief, that it was the Deyil, and no-
thing but the Devil.
You may be fure, while I had this Fancy in my
Head, I was of Courſe over-run with the Vapours,
and had all the Hypochondriack Fancies that ever
any melancholy Head could entertain; and what
with ruminating on the Print of a Foot upon the
Sand, and the Weight of the Devil upon me in my
Bed, I made no Difficulty to conclude, that the Old
Gentleman really vifited the Place; and in a Word,
it had been eafy to have poffefs'd me, if I had con-
tinued fo much longer, that it was an enchanted
Iſland, that there were a Million of evil Spirits in
it, and that the Devil was Lord of the Manor.
*
I fcarce heard the leaft Noife, near or far off,
but I ftarted, and expected to ſee a Devil; every'
diſtant Buth upon a Hill, if I did not particularly
remember it before, was a Man, and every Stump.
an Apparition; and I fcarce went twenty Yards
together by Night or by Day, without looking
behind me.
Sometimes indeed I took a little Heart, and
would fay well, let it be the Devil if it will, God
is Mafter of the Devil, and he can do me no Hurt,
unleſs he is permitted; he can be no where, but
he that made him is there too; and as I faid after-.
wards, when I was frighted with the old Goat
in a Cave, he is not fit to live all alone in fuch an
Ifland for 20 Years that would be afraid to fee the
Devil.
But all theſe Things lafted but a fhort while,
and the Vapours that were raiſed at firſt, were not
to be laid ſo eaſily; for, in a Word, it was not
meer Imagination, but it was the Imagination
ras'd up to Difeafe: Nor did it ever quite wear
off
[ 12 ]
off till I got my Man Fyday with me, of whom
I have faid fo much; and then having Company
to talk to, the Hypo wore off, and I did not fee
any more Devils after that.
Before I leave this Part, I cannot but give a Cau-.
tion to all vapouriſh melancholy People, whofe I-
maginations run this Way; I mean, about feeing
the Devil, Apparitions, and the like; namely, that
they ſhould never look behind them, and over their
Shoulders as they go up Stairs, or look into the
Corners and Holes of Rooms with a Candle in
their Hands, or turn about to fee who may be be-
hind them in any Walks or dark Fields, Lanes, or
the like'; for let fuch know, they will fee the Devil
whether he be there or no; nay, they will be fo
perfwaded, that they do fee him, that their very
Imagination will be a Devil to them where-ever
they go.
But after all this is faid, let nobody fuggeft,
that becauſe the brain-fick Fancy, the vapouriſh
Hypochondriack Imagination reprefents Spectres
and Spirits to us, and makes Apparitions for us,
that therefore there are no fuch Things as Spirits
both good and evil, any more than we fhould con-
ceive that there is no Devil, becauſe we do not
fee him.'
The Devil has Witneffes of his Being and Na-
ture, juſt as God himſelf has of his they are not
indeed ſo viſible or fo numerous, but we are all
able to bring Evidence of the Existence of the
Devil from our own Frailties, as we are to bring
Evidence of the Exiflence of God from the Facul-
ties of our Souls, and from the Contexture of our
Bodies.
}
As our Propenfity to Evil rather than Good, is
a Teſtimony of the original Depravity of human
Nature; fo the Harmony between the Inclination
and
[ 13 ]
and the Occafion, is a Teftimony which leaves
the Prefence of the evil Spirit with us out of Que-
ftion.
Not that the Devil is always the Agent in our
Temptations; for tho' the Devil is a very dili-
gent Fellow, and always appears ready to fall
in with the Allurement, yet the Scripture clears
him, and we muſt do ſo too, of being the main
Tempter; 'tis our own corrupt debauch'd In-
clination which is the firft moving Agent; and
therefore the Scripture fays, A Man is tempted
when he is drawn away of his own Lufts, and enticed.
The Devil who, as I faid, is a very diligent Fel-
low in the infernal Work, and is always ready to
forward the Mifchief, is alfo a very cunning
Fellow, and knows how moft dextrously to fuit
alluring Objects to the allurable Difpofitions; to
procure enfnaring Things, and lay them in the
Way of the Man whom he finds ſo eaſy to be en-
fnar'd, and he never fails to prompt all the Miſ-
chief he can, full of Stratagem and Art to en-
fnare us by the Help of our corrupt Affections,
and thef are call'd Sathan's Devices.
But having charg'd Sathan home in that Part,
I muft do the Devil that Juftice, as to own, that
he is the moft flander'd, moft abus'd Creaturé
alive; Thouſands of Crimes we lay to his Charge
that he is not guilty of; Thouſands of our own
Infirmities we load him with which he has no
Hand in; and Thouſands of our Šins, which, as
bad as he is, he knows nothing of; calling him
our Tempter, and pretending we did fo and fo,
as the Devil would have it, when on the contrary
the Devil had no Share in it, and we were only
led away of our own Lufts, and enticed.
But now, having made this Digreffion in the
Devil's Defence, I return to the main Queſtion, that,
V
of
$
[14]
of the Being of the Devil, and of evil Spirits ; this,
I believe, there is no Room to doubt of; but this,
as I have obferv'd, is not the Thing; theſe are
not the Spirits I am fpeaking of, but I fhall come
directly to what I mean, and ſpeak plain without
any Poffibility of being mifunderftood:
1
I make no Queſtion, but that there is not only
a World of Spirits, but that there is a certain
Knowledge of it, tho' to us impoffible as to the
Manner of it there is a certain Converſe between
the World of Spirits, and the Spirits in this
World; that is to fay, between Spirits uncafed or
unembody'd, and Souls of Men embody'd or cafed
up in Flesh and Blood,as we all are on this fide Death.
..It is true, that we cannot defcribe this Con-
verfe of Spirits, as to the Way of it, the Manner
of the Communication, or how things are mutu-
ally convey'd from one to another. How Intelli-
gences are given or receiv'd we know not; we
know but little of their being convey'd this Way,
from the Spirits unembody'd, to ours that are in
Life; and of their being convey'd that Way, name-
ly, from us to them; of that we know nothing:
The latter certainly is done without the Help of
the Organ, the former is convey'd by the Under-
ftanding, and the retir'd Faculties of the Soul, of
which we can give very little Account.
↓
ts
For Spirits, without the help of Voice, converſe.
Let me, however, give, as Reafons for my Opi-
nion, fome Account of the Confequences of this
Converſe of Spirits ; I mean fuch as are quite re
mote from what we call Apparition or Appearance
of Spirits; and I omit thefe, becauſe I know they
are objected much againft, and they bear, much
Scandal from the frequent Impofitions of our Fan-
cies
[ 15 ]
ties and Imaginations upon our Judgments and
Underſtandings, as above.
But the more particular. Diſcoveries of this Con-
verfe of Spirits, and which to me are undeniab'e,
are fuch as follows; namely,
Dreams, Impulfes,
Voices, Hints,
Noifes,
Apprehenfions,
Involuntary Sad-
nefs, &c.
Dreams are dangerous Things to talk of; and
we have fuch dreaming about them, that indeed
the leaft Encouragement to lay any Weight upon
'em, is prefently carry'd away by a fort of People
that dream waking; and that run into fuch wild,
Extreams about them, that indeed we ought to
be very cautious what we fay of them.
It is certain, Dreams of old were the Ways by
which God himſelf was pleaſed to warn Men, as
well what to do, as what not to do; what Ser-
vices to perform, what Evils to fhun. Jofeph, the
Husband of the Bleffed Virgin Mary, was ap-
pear'd to in both thefe, Matt. ii. 13. 19. He was
directed of God, in a Dream, to go into Egypt,
and he was bid return out of Egypt in a Dream;
and in the fame Chapter, the Wife-men of the
Eaſt were warn'd of God in a Dream, to depart into
their own Country another Way, to avoid the
Fury of Herod.
Now as this, and-innumerable Inftances thro' the
whole Scripture, cónfirm, that God did once make
uſe of this Manner to convey Knowledge and In-
ſtruction to Men, I wish I could have this Que-
ftion well anfwer'd, (viz.) Why are we now to dis
rect People to take no Notice of their Dreams?
But
[ 16 ]
But farther, it appears that this was not only,
the Method God himſelf took by his immediate
Power, but 'tis evident he made ufe of it by the
Miniftry of Spirits; the Scripture fays in both the
Cafes of Jofeph above-nam'd, That the Angel of the
Lord appear'd to Jofeph in a Dream. Now every
nembody'd Spirit is an Angel of the Lord' in
fome Senfe, and, as Angels and Spirits may be the
fame thing in refpect of this Influence upon us in
Dreams, fo it is ftill; and when any Notice for
Good, or Warning againſt Evil, is given us in a
Dream, I think 'tis no Arrogance at all for us to
fay, the Angel of the Lord appear'd to us in a
Dream; or to fay, fome good Spirit gave me
Warning of this in a Dream; take this which
Way you will.
That I may fupport this with fuch undeniable
'Arguments, drawn from Examples of the Fact, as
no Man will, or reaſonably can oppoſe, I firſt ap-
peal to the Experience of obferving People.; I
mean fuch People as obſerve theſe things without
a fuperftitious Dependence upon the Signification
of them, that look upon Dreams but with fuch
a moderate Regard to them, as may direct to a
right Uſe of them: The Queftion I would ask of
fuch is, Whether they have never found any re-
markable Event of their Lives fo evidently fore-
told them by a Dream, as that it muft of Necef
fity be true, that fome invifible Being forefaw the
Event, and gave them Notice of it? And that
had that Notice been liften'd to, and the natural
Prudence uſed, which would have been uſed if it
had been certainly diſcovered, that evil Event
might have been prevented?
I would ask others, whether they have not, by
Dreams, been fo warn'd of Evil really approach
ing, as that taking the Hint, and making ufe of
the
[ 17 ]
the Caution given in thofe Dreams the Evil has
been avoided. If I may ſpeak my own Expe-
rience, I must take leave to fay, That I never had
any capital Miſchief befel me in my Life, but I
have had Notice of it by a Dream; and if I had
not been that thoughtlefs unbelieving Creature,
which I now would caution other, People againft,
I might have taken many a Warning, and avoided
many of the Evils that I afterwards fell into,
merely by a total obftinate Neglect of thoſe
Dreams.
In like Manner, I have in ſome of the greateſt
Diſtreſſes of my Life, been encouraged to believe
firmly and fully, that I fhould one Time or other
be delivered; and I muft acknowledge, that in my
greateſt and moſt hopeleſs Banifhment, I had fuch
frequent Dreams of my Deliverance, that I al-
ways entertained a firm and fatisfying Belief, that
my laſt Days would be better than my firft; all
which has effectually come to pafs.
From which I cannot determine, as I know fome
do, that all Dreams are meer Dofings of a deli-
rious Head, Deluſions of a waking Devil, and Re-
licts of the Day's Thoughts, and Perplexities,
or Pleaſures: Nor do I fee any Period of Time
fixed between the two oppofite Circumftances;
namely, when Dreams were to be eſteemed the
Voice of God, and when the Delufion of the
Devil.
I know fome have ftruggled hard to fix that
particular Article, and to fettle it as a Thing go-
ing hand in hand with the Jewish Inftitutions; as if
the Oracle ceafing in the Temple with the Con-
fummation of the typical Law, all the Methods
which Heaven was pleaſed to take in the former
Times for revealing his Will to Men, were to ceaſe
alfo at the fame Time, and the Goſpel Revela-
Bb
tion
[ 18 ]
tion being fully and effectually fupplied by the
Miffion of the Holy Spirit, Dreams and all the
Ufes and Significations of Dreams were at an
End, and the Efteem and Regard to the Warn-
ings and Inftructions of Dreams was to expire
alfo.
But the Scripture is Point-blank againſt this,
in the Hiſtory of Fact relating to Ananias, and
the Converfion of St. Paul; and in the Story of
St. Peter and Cornelius the devout Centurion at
Antioch; both of them eminent Inftances of God's
giving Notice of his Pleaſure to Men, by the In-
terpofition or Medium of a Dream. The firft of
thefe is in Acts ix. 10. There was a certain Dif
ciple at Damaſcus named Ananias, To him ſaid the
Lord in a Vifion, &c. the Words fpoken in this Vi-
fion to Ananias, directing to go to feek out one
Saul of Tarfus, go on thus v. 12. And hatb ſeen in
a Vifion, a Man named Ananias coming in.
The other Paffage is of St. Peter and Cornelius
the Centurion, Acts 10. v. 3, 10, 11. in the third
Verſe it is faid, Cornelius Fafting and Praying,
faw a Vifion, which afterwards in the 22d Verſe,
is called an holy Angel warning him, in the 30th
Verſe it is faid, a Man ftood before me in bright
Cloathing; at the fame Time, v. 10. it is faid,
St. Peter was Praying and fell into a Trance; this
we all agree to be a Poffeffion of Sleep or a deep
Sleep; and in this Traunce 'tis faid, he faw Hea-
ven opened, that is to fay, he dreamed that he faw
Heaven opened; it could be nothing elfe; for
no Interpreters will offer to infift that Heaven
was really opened; alfo the hearing a Voice, v. 13,
15. muſt be in a Dream; thus 'tis apparent the
Will of God concerning what we are to do or not
to do, what is or is not to befal us, is and has
been thus conveyed by Vision or Dream, fince the
Expi
[ 19 ]
Expiration of the Levitical Difpenfation, and fince
the Miffion of the Holy Ghoft.
When then did it ccafe? and if we do not
know when it ceaſed, how then are we fure it is
at all cealed, and what Authority have we now
to reject all Dreams or Viſions of the Night, as they
are called, more than formerly?
I will not fay, but there may be more noctur-
nal Delufions now in the World, than there were
in thofe Times; and perhaps the Devil may have
gain'd more upon Mankind in thefe Days, than
he had then, though we are not let into thoſe
Things enough, to know whether it is to or not;
nor do we know, that there were not as many un-
fignifying Dreams in thoſe Days as now, and per-
haps as much to be faid againſt depending upon
them; though I think there is not one Word in
Scripture faid, to take off the Regard Men might
give to Dreams, or to leffen the Weight which
they might lay on them.
The only Text that I think looks like it, is the
Flout Jofeph's Brethren put upon him, or threw
out at him, when they were fpeaking of him with
Contempt, Genefis xxxvii. 19. Behold this Dreamer
cometh; and again, v. 20. Let us flay him and caft
him into fome Pit, and we fhall fee what will be-
come of his DREAMS.
This indeed looks a little like the prefent Lan-
guage againſt Dreams; but even this, is fufficiently
rebuked in the Confequences, for thofe Dreams of
Jofeph's did come all to pafs, and proving the fu-
perior Influence fuch Things have upon the Affairs
of Men, in fpight of all the Contempt they can
caft upon them.
my
The Maxim I have laid down to my ſelf for
Conduct in this Affair is in few Words, that
Bb 2
we
[ 20 ]
الله
1
we ſhould not lay too great Strefs upon Dreams,
and yet not wholly neglect them.
I remember, I was once prefent, where a long
Difpute was warmly carried on between two
Perfons of my Acquaintance upon this very
Sub-
ject, the one a Layman, the other a Clergyman,
but both very pious and religious Perfons: The
first thought there was no heed at all to be
given to Dreams, that they could have no jufti-
fiable Original, that they were Delufions and no
more, that it was Atheiſtical to lay any Strefs up-
on them, and that he could give fuch Objections
againſt them, as that no Man of good Principles
could avoid being convinced by; that as to their
being a Communication from the invifible to the
visible World, 'twas a Chimæra, and that he faw
no Foundation for believing any Reality in fuch a
Thing, unless I would fet up for a Popish Limbus
or Purgatory, which had no Foundation in the
Scripture.
1. He faid, If Dreams were from the Agency
of any prefcient Being, the Notices would be
more direct, and the Diſcoveries clear; not by
Allegories and emblematick Fancies, expreffing
Things imperfect and dark: For to what Purpofe
fhould Spirits un-embodied ſport with Mankind,
warning him of approaching Miſchiefs by the
moſt ridiculous Enigmas, Figures, &c. leaving
the Wretch to guess what awaited him, though
of the utmoft Confequence, and to perish if
he mistook the Meaning of it; and leaving
him fometimes perfectly at a Lofs, to know
whether he was Right or Wrong, and without any
Rule or Guide to walk by in the moft difficult
Cafes.
2. He
[ 21 ]
2. He objected, that with the Notice of Evil,
fuppofe it to be rightly underſtood, there was not
given a Power to avoid it; and therefore it could
not be alledged, that the Notice was any way
kind, and that it was not likely to proceed from a
beneficent Spirit, but meerly Fortuitous and of
no Significancy.
3. He objected, That if fuch Notices as thofe
were of fuch Weight, why were they not Con-
ftant: But that fometimes they were given, and
ſometimes omitted, though Cafes were equally
important; and that therefore they did not feem
to proceed from any Agent, whofe Actions were
to be fairly accounted for.
4. He faid, That oftentimes, we had very di-
ftinct and formal Dreams, without any Significa-
tion at all, that we could neither know any Thing
probable or any Thing rational of them; and that
it would be profane to fuggeft that to come from
Heaven, which was too apparently fooliſh and
inconfiftent.
5. As Men were not always thus warned, or
fupplied with Notices of Good or Evil, fo all
Men were not alike fupplied with them; and
what Reafon could we give, why one Man or one
Woman should not have the fame Hints as ano-
ther.
The Clergyman gave diftin& Anfwers to all
thefe Objections, and to me, I confefs, very
fatisfactory; whether they may be fo to thofe that
read them, is no Concern of mine, let every one
judge for himſelf.
1. He faid, that as to the Signification of
Dreams, and the Objections againſt them, be-
cauſe dark and doubtful, that they are exprefs'd
generally by Hieroglyphical Reprefentations, Si-
milies, Allufions, and figurative emblematick
B b 3
Ways
[ 22 ]
*
}
Ways of expreffing Things was true, and that
by this Means, for want of Interpretation, the
Thing was not underſtood, and confequently the
Evil not fhun'd. This, he faid, was the only
Difficulty that remained to him in the Cafe, but
that he could fee nothing in it againſt the Sig-
n.fication of them, becaufe thus it was be-
fore; for Dreams were often allegorick and allu-
five, when they were evidently from God; and
what the End and Defign of Providence in that
was, we could not pretend to enquire.
2. To the Second he faid, we charged God foo-
libly, to fay he had given the Notice of Evil
without the Power to avoid it, which he denied ;
and affirmed, that if any one had not Power to
avoid the Evil, it was no Notice to him, that it
was want of giving due Heed to that Notice,
not for want of the Notice being fufficient that,
any Evil followed, and that Men firft neglected
themſelves, and then charg'd the Judge of all the
Earth with not doing right.
3. Likewife he faid,the Complaint that theſe no-
tices were not conftant, was unjuft, for he doubt-
ed not but they were fo, but our difcerning was
crazed and clouded by our Negligence in not tak-
ing due Notice of it, that we hoodwink'd our
Underſtanding by pretending Dreams were not to
be regarded; and the Voice really fpoke, but we
refuſed to hear being negligent of our own Good,
4. In the fame Senfe he anſwered the Fourth,
and faid, it was a Miſtake to ſay, that fometimes
Dreams had no Import at all, he faid it was only
to be faid, none that we could perceive the Rea-
fon of, which was owing to our Blindneſs and fu-
pine Negligence to be fecure at one Time, and
Our Heads too much alarmed at another; fo that
the Spirit which we might be faid to be conver-
ल
24
fing
[ 23 ]
fing with in a Dream, was conftantly and equal-
ly kind and careful, but our Powers, not always in
the fame State of Action, nor equally attentive
to, or retentive of the Hints that were given; or
Things might be rendred more or lefs intelligible
to us, as the Powers of our Soul were more or leſs
doz'd or fomniated with the Oppreffion of Va-
pours from the Body, which occafions Sleep; for
- tho' the Soul cannot be faid to fleep itſelf, yet
how far its Operations may be limited, and the
Underſtanding perfcribed by the Sleepineſs of the
Body, Says he, I will not undertake, let the Ana-
tomiſt judge of it, who can account for the Con-
texture of the Parts, and for their Operations,
which I cannot anſwer to.
5. As to the laft Queftion, why People are not
equally fupplied with fuch Warnings, he ſaid, this
feem'd to be no Queſtion at all in the Cafe; for
Providence itſelf might have fome Share in the
Direction of it, and then that Providence might
perhaps be limited by fome fuperiour Direction,
the fame that guides all the folemn Difpofitions of
Nature, and was a Wind blowing where it lift-
eth that as to the Converſe of Spirits, tho' he
allowed the Thing itfelf, yet he did not tie it up
to a ſtated Courſe of Converfing, that it fhould
be the fame always, and to all People, and on all
Occafions; but that it feem'd to be fpontaneous,
and confequently Arbitrary, as if the Spirits
unembodied had it left to them to converſe as
they thought fit, how, where, and with whom
they would; that all he anſwered for in that Dif
courfe was for the Thing itfelf, that fuch a Thing
there was, but why there was fo much of it, or
why no more, was none of his Bufinefs, and he
believed a Diſcovery was not yet made to Man-
kind of that Part.
Bb 4
I thought
[ 24 ]
}
I thought it would be much to the Purpoſe to
remark this Opinion of another Man, becauſe it
correfponded fo exactly with my own, but I have
not done with my Friend, for he led me into a
nother Enquiry, which indeed I had not taken
fo much notice of before, and this was introdu-
ced by the following Queftion.
You feem, fays he, to be very inquifitive about
Dreams, and to doubt, tho' I think you have no
Reafon for it, of the Reality of the World of Spi-
rits, which Dreams are fuch an Evidence of. Pray,
fays he, what think you of waking Dreams, Tran-
fes, Vifions, Noifes, Voices, Hints, Impulfes,
and all theſe waking Teftimonies of an inviſible
World, and of the Communication that there is
between us and them, which are generally enter-
tained with our Eyes open.
This led me into many Reflections upon paft
Things, which I had been Witneſs to as well in
myſelf as in other People, and particularly in my
former Solitudes, when I had many Occafions to
mark fuch Things as thefe; and I could not but
entertain a free Converfation with my Friend up-
on this Subject, as often as I had Opportunity,
of which I muft give fome Account.
I had one Day been converfing fo long with
him upon the common received Notions of the
Planets being habitable, and of a Diverſity of
Worlds, that I think verily, I was for fome Days
like a Man tranfported into theſe Regions myself;
whether my Imagination is more addicted to real-
lizing the Things I talk of, as if they were in
View, I know not; or whether by the Power of
the Converſe of Spirits I fpeak of, I was at that
Time enabled to entertain clearer Ideas of the
Invifible World, I really cannot tells but I cer-
tainly made a Journey to all thofe fuppofed ha-
bitable
[25]
bitable Bodies in my Imagination, and I know
not but it may be very useful to tell you what I
met with in my Way, and what the wifer I am
for the Diſcovery; whether you will be the wifer
for the Relation at fecond Hand, I cannot anſwer
for that.
I could make a long Difcourfe here of the Pow-
er of Imagination, and how bright the Ideas of
Diſtant Things may be found in the Mind, when
the Soul is more than ordinarily agitated: It is
certain the extraordinary Intelligence conveyed in
this Manner is not always regular, fometimes it is
exceeding confuſed, and the Brain being not able
to digeft it, turns round too faft; this tends to Lu-
nacy and Diſtraction, and the Swiftnefs of the Mo-
tion theſe Ideas come in with, occafions a Com-
motion in Nature, the understanding is mobb'd
with them, diſturb'd, runs from one Thing to ano-
ther, and digefts nothing; this is well expreffed
in our common Way of talking of a mad Man,
namely, that his Head is turned. Indeed I can
liken it to nothing fo well as to the Wheels of a
Wind-mill, which if the Sails or Wings are fet,
and the Wind blow a Storm, run round fo faft, that
they will fet all on Fire, if a skilful Hand be not
ready to direct and manage it.
But not to enter upon this whymfical Deſcription
of Lunacy, which perhaps may be no Bodies Opi-
nion but my own, I proceed thus. That when the
Head is ftrong, and capable of the Impreffions;
when the Underſtanding is impowered to digeft
the infinite Variety of Ideas, which prefent to it
from the extended Fancy; then, I fay,the Soul of
Man is capable to act ftrangely upon the Invifibles
in Nature, and upon Futurity, Reallizing every
Thing to itſelf in fuch a lively Manner, that what
it thus thinks of, it really fees, fpeaks to, hears,
con-
[ 26 ]
converfes with, &c. as livelily, as if the Subſtance
was really before his Face; and this is what I
mean by thofe that dream waking, by Vifions,
Trances, or what you pleaſe to call them; for it is
not neceffary to this Part, that the Man fhould
be aſleep.
I return to my Share of thefe Things. It was
after my converfing with my learned Friend a-
bout the heavenly Bodies, the Motion, the Di-
ſtances, and the Bulk of the Planets, their Si-
tuation, and the Orbits they move in, the
Share of Light, Heat and Moiſture, which they
enjoy, their Reſpect to the Sun, their Influences
upon us, and at laft, the Poffibility of their being
habitable, with all the Arcana of the Skies; it
was on this Occafion, I fay, that my Imagination,
always given to wander, took a Flight of its own;
and as I have told you that I had an invincible
Inclination to travel, fo I think I travelled as fen-
fibly, to my underſtanding, over all the Mazes
and Waftes of infinite Space, in Queſt of thoſe
Things, as ever I did over the Defarts of Ka-
rakathay, and the uninhabited Wafts of Tartary,
and perhaps may give as ufeful an Account of
my Journey.
When firſt my Fancy rais'd me up in the Con-
fines of this vaft Abyfs, and having now tra-
velled thro' the mifty Regions of the Atmo-
ſphere could look down as I mounted, and fee the
World below me, tis fcarce poffible to ima-
gine, how little, how mean, how deſpicable every
Thing look'd; let any Man but try this Experi-
ment of himself, and he fhall certainly find the
fame Thing; let him but fix his Thoughts fo in-
tenfly upon what is, and muft neceffarily be. feen
in a Stage or two higher, than, where we now
live removed from the particular Converfe with
the
[ 27 ]
}
the World, as to reallize to his Imagination what
he can fuppofe to be there, he fhall find all that
is below him, as diftant Objects always do,
leffen in his Mind as they do in his Sight.
Could a Man fubfift without a fupply of Food,
and live but one Mile in perpendicular Height from
the Surface, he would defpife Life and the World
at fuch a Rate, that he would hardly come down
to have it be all his own; the Soul of Man is
capable of being continually elevated above the
very Thoughts of human Things, is capable of
travelling up to the higheſt and moſt diftant Re-
gions of Light, but when it does, as it rifes a-
bove the earthly Globe, fo the Things of this
Globe fink to him.
When I was at firft lifted up in my imaginary
Travels, this was the firft Thing of Moment I
remarked; namely, how little the World and every
Thing about it feemed to me: I am not given to
preach or drawing long Corollaries as the Learned
call them, but I commend it to my Friends to ob-
ferve, that could we always look upon the Things
of Life with the fame Eyes, as we fhall do when
we come to the Edge of Time, when one Eye can
as it were look back on the World, and the other
look forward into Eternity, we fhould fave our-
felves the Trouble of much Repentance, and
fhould fcorn to touch many of thoſe Things, in
which now we fancy our chief Felicity is laid up;
believe me we fhall fee more with half an Eye
then, and judge better at firft Glance, than we
can now with all our pretended Wiſdom and Pe-
netration. In a Word, all the Paffions and Af-
fections fuffer a general Chauge upon fuch a View,
and what we defire before, we contemn then with
Abhorrence.
Having
*
[ 28 ]
}
Having begun to foar, the World was foon out
of Sight, unleſs that as I rofe higher, and could
look at her in a due Pofition as to the Sun, I could
fee her turned into a Moon, and fhine by Refle-
&tion: Ay, shine on, ſaid I, with thy borrowed Rays,
for thou hast but very few of thy own.
When my Fancy had mounted me thus beyond.
the Veftiges of the Earth, and leaving the Atmof-
phere behind me, I had fet my firm Foot upon the
Verge of Infinite, when I drew no Breath,
but fubfifted upon pure Æther, it is not poffible
to exprefs tully the Vifion of the Place; firft you
are to conceive of Sight as unconfin'd, and you
fee here at leaſt the whole folar Syftem at one View.
Nor is your Sight bounded by the narrow Cir-
cumference of one Sun, and its Attendants of Pla-
nets, whoſe Orbits are appropriated to its proper
Syſtem, but above and beyond, and on every Side
you fee innumerable Suns, and attending on them,
Planets, Satellites, and inferior Lights proper
to their reſpective Syftems, and all thefe mov-
ing in their fubordinate Circumftances, without the
leaft Confufion, with glorious Light and Splendor
inconceivable.
In this firſt Diſcovery 'tis moft natural to ob-
ferve, how plainly it is to be feen, that the Reafon
of the Creation of fuch immenfe Bodies as the Sun,
Stars, Planets, and Moons in the great Circle of
the lower Heaven, is far from being to be found in
the Study of Nature, on the Surface of our Earth:
But he that will fee thorowly, why God has formd
the Heavens the Work of his Hands, and the
Moon and the Stars which he has made, muft foar
up higher; and then as he will fee with other Eyes
than he did before, fo he will fee the God of Na-
turc has form'd an infinite Variety which we know
nothing
[ 29 ]
nothing of, and that all the Creatures are a Rea
fon to one another for their Creation.
I could not forget myfelf however, when I was
got up thus high, I fay, I could not but look back
upon the State of Man in this Life, how confined
from theſe Diſcoveries, how vilely employed in
biting and devouring, envying, and maligning one
another, and all for the vileft Trifles that can be
conceived.
But I was above it all here, and all thoſe Things
which appeared fo affli&ting before, gave me not
the leaft Concern now; for the Soul being gone of
this Errand, had quite different Notices of the
whole State of Life, and was neither influenced
by Paffions or Affections as it was before.
Here I faw into many Things by the Help of a
fedate Inquiry, that we can entertain little or no
Notion of in a State of commmon fuperficial
Life, and I defire to leave a few Remarks of this
imaginary Journey, as I did of my ordinary Tra-
vels.
When I came, I fay, to look into the folar
Syftem as I have hinted, I faw perfectly the Emp-
tineſs of our modern Notions, that the Planets
were habitable Worlds, and fhall give a brief
Deſcription of the Cafe, that others may fee it
too, without the Neceffity of taking fo long a
Journey.
And firſt for the Word Habitable, I underſtand
the meaning of it to be, that the Place it is fpo-
ken of, is qualify'd for the Subfiftence and Exi-
fſtence of Man and Beaft, and to preferve the vege-
tative and ſenſitive Life; and you may depend up-
on it, that none of the Planets except the Moon,
are in this Senſe habitable; and the Moon, a poor
little watery damp Thing, not above as big as
Yorkshire, neither worth being called a World, nor
capable
[ 30 ]
capable of rendring Life comfortable to Mankind,
if indeed fupportable; and if you will believe
one's Mind capable of feeing at ſo great a Di-
ftance, I affure you I did not fee Man, Woman or
Child there in all my Contemplative Voyage to
it; my Meaning is, I did not fee the leaft Rea-
fon to believe there was or could be any there. As
to the reft of the Planets, I'll take them in their
Order. Saturn, (the remoteft from the Sun, which
is in the Centre of the Syftem,) is a vaſt extended
Globe, of a Subſtance cold and moilt, its greateſt
Degree of Light is never fo much as our greateſt
Darkneſs may be faid to be in clear Weather, and
its cold unfufferable; and if it were a Body com-
pofed of the fame Elements as our Earth, its Sea
would be all Brafs, and its Earth all Iron; that
is to fay, both would be continually frozen, as
the North-Pole in the Winter Solftice. What Man
or Men, and of what Nature, could inhabit this
frigid Planet, unless the Creator must be fup-
poſed to have created animal Creatures for the
Climate, not the Climate for the Creatures. All
the Notions of Saturns being a habitable World,
are contrary to Nature, and incongruous with Senſe;
for Saturn is at fo infinite a Diflance from the
Sun, that it has not above one ninetieth Part of
the Light and Heat that we enjoy on our Earth;
fo that the Light there, may be faid to be much
lefs than our Star-light, and the cold ninety Times
greater than the coldeft Day in our Winter.
Jupiter is in the fame Predicament,, his Confti-
tution, however in its Degree much milder than
Saturn, yet certainly is not qualify'd for human
Bodies to fubfift, having only one twenty-feventh
Part of the Light and Heat that we enjoy here,
confequently its Light is at beft as dim as our
Twilight, and its Heat fo little in the Summer of
its
[ 31 ]
its Situation, as to be as far from comfortable, as
it is in its Winter Situation infupportable.
Mars, If you will believe our ancient Philofo-
phers, is a fiery Planet in the very Diſpoſition of
its Influence, as well as by the Courſe of its Mo-
tion; and yet even here, the Light is not above
one Half, and its Heat one Third of ours. And
on the other Hand, as Saturn is cold and moift,
fo this Planet is hot and dry, and would admit
no Habitation of Man, through the manifeft In-
temperance of the Air, as well as want of Light
to make it comfortable, and Moiſture to make it
fruitful; for by the Nature of the Planet, as well
as by clear-fighted Obfervation, there is never
any Rain, Vapour, Fog, or Dew in that Pla-
net.
Venus and Mercury are in the extreme the other
Way, and would deſtroy Nature by their Heat
and dazling Light, as the other would by their
Darkneſs and Čold, ſo that you may depend up-
on it, I could fee very clearly, that all thefe Bo-
dies were neither inhabited or habitable; and the
Earth only as we call it, being feated between theſe
Intemperances appeared habitable, furrounded
with an Atmoſphere to defend it, from the Inva-
fion of the inconfiftent Ether, in which Perfpiration
could not be performed by the Lungs, and by
which the needful Vapour it fends forth, is pre-
ferv'd from diffipating into the Waſte and Abyſs,
and is condenſed and timely returns in Showers of
Rain to moiften, cool, and nourish the exhaufted
Earth.
It is true the Way I went was no common
Road, yet I found Abundance of Paffengers go-
ing to and fro here, and particularly innumerable
Armies of good and evil Spirits, who all feem'd
bufily employed, and continually upon the Wing, as
if
[ 32 ]
if fome Expreffes pafs'd between the Earth, which
in this Part of my Travels I place below me, and
fome Country infinitely beyond all that I could
reach the Sight of; for by the Way, though I
take upon me in this fublime Journey to fee a
great deal of the invifible World, yet I was not
arrived to a Length to fee into any Part of the
World of Light, beyond it all; that Vifion is
beyond all, and I pretend to fay nothing of it
here, except this only, that a clear View of this
Part with Opticks unclouded is a great Step to
prepare the Mind for a Look into the other.
But to return to my Station in the higheft crea-
ted World, flatter not yourſelves that thofe Re-
gions are uninhabited, becauſe the Planets ap-
pear to be fo. No, no, I affure you this is that
World of Spirits, or at leaft is a World of Spirits.
Here I faw a clear Demonſtration of Satan be-
ing the Prince of the Power of the Air; 'tis in this
boundleſs Wafte he is confined, whether it be his
bufie reſtleſs Inclination has pofted him here, that
he may affront God in his Government of the
World, and do Jnjury to Mankind in meer Envy
to his Happineſs, as the fam'd Mr. Milton fays it,
or whether it is that by the eternal Decree of Pro-
vidence he is appointed to be Mans continual
Difturber for divine Ends, to us unknown; this
I had not wandred far enough to be informed of,
thoſe Secrets being lodged much higher, than I-
magination itſelf ever travelled.
But here, I fay, I found Sathan keeping his
Court, or Camp we may call it, which we pleaſe.
The innumerable Legions that attended his im-
mediate Service were fuch, that it is not at all to
be wondred that he fupplied every Angle of this
World, and had his Work going forward, not in
every Country only, but even in every individual
In-
[ 33 ]
Inhabitant of it, with all the Dexterity and Appli-
cation imaginable.
This Sight gave me a juft Idea of the Devil
as a Tempter, but really let me into a Secret,
which I did not fo well know before, or at leaſt
did not confider; namely, that the Devil is not
capable of doing half the Miſchief in the World
that we lay to his Charge; that he works by En-
gines and Agents, Stratagems and Art is true, and
a great deal is owing to his Vigilance and Ap-
plication; for he is a very diligent Fellow in his
Calling But 'tis plain, his Power is not fo great
as we imagine, he can only prompt to the Crime,
he cannot force us to commit it; fo that if we fin
'tis all our own, the Devil is only to be charged
with the Art of Infinuation; juft as he began with
Eve, he goes on with us; in fhort he reafons us
out of our Refolutions to do well, and wheedles us
to an Agreement to do ill; working us up to an
Opinion, that what Evil we are about to do is no
Sin, or not fo great a Sin as we feared, and fo
draws us by Art into the Crime we had refolved
againft; this indeed the Scripture intimates when
It speaks of Satan's Devices, the Subtilty of the
wicked one, his lying in wait, &c. But to charge
the Devil with forcing us to offend, is doing the
Devil a great Deal of Wrong: Our doing Evil is
from the native Propenfity of our Wills: Huma-
num eft peccare. I will not enter here into the Dif
pute about an original Corruption in Nature,which
I know many good Men and learned Men difpute,
but that there is a fecret Aptnefs to offend, and a
fecret Backwardneſs to what is Good, which if
it is not born with us, we can give no Account how
we came by, this I think every Man will grant;
and that this is the Devil that tempts us, the Scrip-
ture plainly tells us, when it fays, Every Man is
Cc
tempted
[ 34 ]
tempted when he is drawn away of his own Luft and
enticed.
There is a fecret Love of Folly and Vanity in
the Mind, and Mankind are hurry'd down the
Stream of their own Affections into Crime, 'tis
agreeable to them to do this, and 'tis a Force up-
on Nature not to do it.
Vice is down Hill, and when we do offend,
'Tis Nature all, we act as we intend.
Vertue's up Hill, and all against the Grain
Refolu'd reluctant, and purfued with Pain.
But to return to the Devil; his Power not
extending to Creation, and being not able to force
the World into an open Rebellion against Heaven,
as doubtless he would do if he could, he is left to
the Exerciſe of his Skill; and in a Word we may
fay of him, that he lives by his Wits; that is to fay,
maintains his Kingdom by Subtilty and moft ex-
quifite Cunning; and if my Vifion of his Poli-
ticks is not a new Difcovery, I am very much
miftaken.
His innumerable Legions as I hinted above, like
Aid du Camps to a General, are continually em-
ployed to carry his Orders, and execute his Com-
miffions in all Parts of the World, and in every in-
dividual to oppoſe the Authority of God, and the
Felicity of Man to the utmoſt of his Power.
The firft and greateſt Part of his Government,
is over thofe Savage Nations where he has obtain-
ed to fet himſelf up as God, and to be worshipped
inftead of God; and I obferved, that though ha-
ving full Poffeffion of thefe People, even by whole
Nations at a Time, that is the cafieft Part of his
Govern.
[ 35 ]
t
*
Government, yet he is far from neglecting his Inte-
reft there, but is exceeding vigilant to keep up his
Authority among thofe People. This he does
by fending Meffengers into thofe Parts to anfwer
the Pawawings or Conjurings, even of the moſt
ignorant old Wizard, raifing Storms and making
Noifes and Shreiks in the Air, Flafhes of infernal
Fire, and any Thing but to fright the People,
that they may not forget him, and that they may
have no other Gods but him.
He has his peculiar Agents for this Work,'
which he makes Detachments of, as his Occafions,
require, fome to one Part of the World, fome to
another, as to the North America, even as far as
to the frozen Provinces of Groenland; to the North
of Europe, to the Laplanders, Samoredes, and Mon-
gul-Tartars, alfo to the Gog and Magog of Afia,
and to the Devil-makers of China and Japan,
again to the Southern Parts of Afia, to the Ifles
of the Indian and South Seas, and to the South
Part of America and Africa.
Through all theſe Parts he has an uncontroull'd
Power, and is either worshipped in Perfon, or by
his Repreſentatives, the Idols and Monſters which
the poor People bow down to, and Satan has very
little Trouble with them:
He employs indeed fome Millions of his Miffio-
naries into thofe Countries, who labour ad propa-
gand. fid. and fail not to return and bring him an
Account of their Succefs, and I doubt not but
fome of them were at Hand in my Iſland, when
the Savages appear'd there; for it the Devil had
not been in them, they would hardly have come
ftraggling over the Sea fo far, to devour one
another.
t
Cc 2
In
[ 36 ]
In all theſe Countries the Brutality, the Cruelty
and ravenous bloody Difpofitions of the People, is
to me a certain Teſtimony that the Devil has full
Poffeffion of them.
But to return to my Obfervations in the exalted
State of my Fancy, I muft tell you, that though
the Devil carried on his Schemes of Government,
in thoſe blinded Parts of the World with great
Eafe, and all Things went to his Mind; I found
he had more Difficulty in the northern Parts of
the temperate Zone, I mean, our Climate and
the reſt of Chriftendom, and confcquently he did
not act here by whole Squadrons and by Generals;
but was obliged to carry on his Bufinefs among us
by particular Solicitations, to act by particular
Agents upon particular Perfons, attacking the
perfonal Conduct of Men in a Manner peculiar to
himſelf: But fo far was this Difficulty from being
any Advantage to the World, or Difadvantage to
the Devil, that it only obliged him to make Ufe
of the more Engines; and as he had no want of
Numbers, I obferved that his whole Clan ſeemed
bufy on this Side, the Number of which confifts
of innumerable M Ilions; fo that in fhort, there
was not a Devil wanting, no, not to manage eve-
ry individual Man, Woman, and Child in the
World.
How and in what Manner evil Angels attend us,
what their Buſineſs, how far their Power extends,
and how far it is reftrained, and by who, were all
made plain to me at one View in this State of
Eclariciffiment that I ftood in now, and I will de-
fcribe it if I can in a few Heads of Fact; you may
enlarge upon them as Experience guides.
And
[ 37 ]
And first, the Limitations of the Devil's Power,
are neceflary to be underſtood, and how directed;
for Example, you muſt know, that though the
Numbers of thefe Evil Spirits, which are thus
diligently employed in Miſchief, are fo infinitely
great, yet the Numbers of good Angels or good
Spirits, which are employed by a fuperior Au-
thority, and from a Place infinitely diftant and
high above the Devils bounds, is not only equal ;
I ſay, equal at leaſt in Number, but infinitely fu-
perior in Power, and it is this Particular which
makes it plain, that all the Devil does, or that his
Agents can do, is by continual Subtilty, extreme
Vigilance and Application, under infinite Checks,
Rebukes, and Callings off by the attendant Spi-
rits, who have Power to correct and reſtrain him
upon all Occafions; juft as a Man does a Dog or
a Thief when he is diſcovered.
On this Account, 'tis firſt plain, I fay, that the
Devil can do nothing by Force, he cannot kill,
maim, hurt or deftroy; if he could, Mankind
would have but a very precarious State of Life in
the World: Nay, the Devil cannot blaft the Fruits
of the Earth, caufe Dearth, Droughts, Famine,
or Scarcity, neither can he fpread noxious Fumes
in the Air to infect the World; if any of thofe
Things were in his Power, he would foon unpeo-
ple God's Creation, and put his Maker to the
Neceffity of a new FIAT, or of having no more
human Creatures to worship and honour him.
You will ask me, how I came to know all this?
fay, ask me no Queftions, till the Elevation
of your Fancy carries you up to the outer Edge of
the Atmoſphere, as I tell you mine did: There
you will fee the Prince of the Air in his full State,
managing his univerfal Empire with the most exqui-
fite Art: But if ever you can come to a clear View
Cc 3
of
[ 38 ]
of his Perfon, do but look narrowly, and you'll
fee a great Clog at his Foot, in token of his li
mited Power, and though he is himfelf immenfe in
Bulk, and moves like a Fiery Meteor in the Air,
yet you always fee a Hand with a Thunderbolt
impending juft over his Head; the Arm coming
out of a fiery Cloud, which is a Token of the Sen-
tence he is under, that at the End of his appointed
Time that Cloud fhall break, and that Hand ftrike
him with the Thunder reprefented, Down, Down
for ever, into a Place prepared for him.
But all this does not hinder him, who is
prompted by infernal Rage against the Kingdom
of God, and the Welfare of Man, from pufhing
Mankind as above, upon all the Methods of their
own Ruin and Deftruction, by alluring Baits, cun-
ning Artifice, Night-whispers, infufing wicked De-
fires, and fanning the Flames of Men's Lufts,
Pride, Avarice, Ambition, Revenge, and all the
wicked Excurfions of corrupt Nature.
It would take up a long Tract by itſelf, to form
a Syftem of the Devil's Politicks, and to lay down
a Body of his Philofophy: I obferv'd how-
ever, that fome of his general Rules are fuch as
thefc.
1. To infufe Notions of Liberty into the
Minds of Men; that it is hard they fhould be
born into the World with Inclinations, and then be
forbidden to gratify them; that fuch and fuch
Pleafures fhould be prepar'd in the Nature of
Things, made fuitable and proper to the Senfes
and Faculties, which on the other Hand, are pre-
pared in mere Conftitution, and placed in his
Soul, and that then he fhould be forbidden under
the Penalty of a Curfe to tafte them; that to place
an Appetite in the Man, and a ſtrong powerful
Guft to thefe Delights, and then declare them fa-
tal
[ 39 ]
tal to him, would be laying a Snare to Man-
kind in his very Conftitution, and making his
brighteſt Faculties be the Betrayers of his Soul to
Mifery, which would not confift with Juftice,
much lefs with the Goodneſs of a Creator.
2. To perfuade from hence, that the Notions
of future Puniſhments are Fables and Amufe-
ments, that it is not rational to think a juft God
would prepare infinite and eternal Punishments,
for finite and trivial Offences; that God does not
take Notice of the minute acts of Life, and lay
every Slip to our Charge, but that the merciful
Difpofitions of God, who fo bountifully directs
the whole World to be affiftant to the Profit and
Delight of Mankind, has certainly given him
leave to enjoy it at fill, and take the Comfort of
it without fear.
3. Of late indeed the Devil has learn'd, for De-
vils may improve as well as Men in the Arts of doing
ill. At laft, I fay, he has learned to infufe a wild
Notion into the Heads of fome People, who are
firft fitted for it, by having reafoned themſelves in
Favour of their loofe Defires up to a Pitch, that
there is no fuch Thing as a God or a future State
at all.
Now as at firft the Devil was not Fool enough
to attempt to put this Jeft upon Man, his own
Antiquity and Eternity being a Contradiction to it;
fo I found among my new Difcoveries,that the Devil
took this Abfurdity from Man himfelf, and that it
went among Satan's People for a new Invention: I
found alfo that there was a black Party employ'd
upon this new Subtilty, theſe were a Sort of De-
vils, for Satan never wants Inftruments, who were
call'd Infinuators, and who were formerly employed
to prompt Men to Crimes by Dreams; and here I
fhall obferve, that I learned a Way how to make
Cc 4
ary
[ 40 ]
1
any Man dream of what I pleaſe: For Example,
fuppofe one to be found afleep, or as we fay, in a
deep Sleep, or dead afleep, let another lay his
Mouth cloſe to his Ear, and whiſper any Thing
to him ſo foftly as not to awaken him, the fleep-
ing Man fhall certainly dream of what was fo
whispered to him.
Let no Man defpife this Hint, nothing is more
fure, than that many of our Dreams are the Wif-
pers of the Devil, who by his Infinuators whifpers
into our Heads, what wicked Things he wou'd
have our Thoughts entertain and work upon; and
take this with you as you go, thofe infinuating
Devils can do this as well when we are awake, as
when we are afleep, and this will bring me to
what I call Impulfes upon the Mind, which are cer-
tainly whiſpers in the Ear and no other, and come
either from good Angels attending us, or from the
Devil's Infinuators, which are always at hand, and
may be judged of according as the Subject our
Thoughts are prompted to work upon, are Good
or Evil.
From whence but from thefe Infinuators, come
our cauſeleſs Paffions, our involuntary Wickedneſs,
finning in Defire as effectually, as by actual com-
mitting the Crime we defire to commit ?
Whence comes Imagination to work upon
wicked and vicious Objects, when the Perfon is
faft afleep, and when he had not been under the
Preparation of wicked Difcourfe, or wicked
Thoughts previous to thofe Imaginations? who
forms Ideas in the Mind of Man? who prefents
beautiful or terrible Figures to his Fancy, when
his Eyes are clos'd with Sleep? who, but thefe in-
finuating Devils, who invifibly approach the
Man fleeping or waking, and whifper all man-
ner of lewd abominable Things into his Mind.
Mr. Mil-
[ 41 ]
1
Mr. Milton, whofe Imagination was carried up
to a greater He ght than I am now, went farther
into the Abyfs of Satan's Empire a great Way,
eſpecially when he form'd Satan's Palace of Pande-
monium, I say, he was exactly of this Opinion,when
he reprefented the Devil tempting our Mother Eve,
in the Shape of a Toad lying juft at her Ear, when
fhe lay faſt aſleep in her Bower, where he whiſper'd
to her Ear all the wicked Things which the en-
tertained Notions of by Night, and which
prompted her the next Day to break the great Com-
inand, which was the rule of her (Life; and ac-
cordingly he brings in Eve telling Adam what an
uneafy Night's Reft fhe had, and relating her
Dream to him.
This Thought, however laid down in a kind of
Jeft, is very ſeriouſly intended, and would, if well
digefted, direct us very clearly in our Judgment of
Dreams; viz. not to fuggeft them to be always
Things of meer Chance; but that fometimes they
are to be heeded as ufeful Warnings of Evil of
Good by the Agency of good Spirits, as at other
Times they are the artful Infinuations of the De-
vil to inject wicked Thoughts and abhorr'd abo-
minable Ideas into the Mind; which we ought not
only as much as poffible to guard againft, but even
to repent of, fo far as the Mind may have enter-
tained and acted upon them.
From this general Vifion of the Devil's Ma-
nagement of his Affairs, which I must own I have
had with my Eyes wide open, I find a great many
uſeful Obfervations to be made; and firft, it can
be no longer ſtrange, that while the Commerce of
Evil Spirits is fo free, and the intercourfe between
this World and that, is thus open, I fay, it can be
no longer ſtrange, that there are fo many filent
Ways
[ 42 ]
Ways of Spirits converfing, I mean Spirits of
all Kinds.
as
For as I have obſerved already, there is a Refi-
dence of good Spirits, but they are placed infinite-
ly higher out of the Reach, and out of the Sight of
this lower Orbit of Satan's Kingdom;
thoſe paſs and repafs invifible, I confefs, I have
yet had no Ideas of them, but thofe which I have
received from my firft View of the infernal Re-
gion: If I fhould have any fuperior Elevations,
and fhould be able to fee the OEconomy of Heaven
in his Difpofition of Things on Earth, I fhall be
as careful to convey them to Pofterity as they
come in.
However, the Tranfactions of good Spirits with
Man are certainly the fame; for as God has for
a Protection and Safeguard to Mankind, limited
the Devil from affrighting him, by vifible Appear-
ances in his native and hellish Deformity, and the
horrrid Shape he would neceffarily bear: So for
Man's Felicity, even the glorious Angels of Hea-
ven are very ſeldom allowed, at leaſt not lately,
to appear in the glorious Forms they formerly
took, or indeed in any Form, or with a Voice';
the reſtraint of our Souls in the Cafe of Fleſh and
Blood we now wear not admitting it, and not
being able to familiarize thofe Things to us; Man
bcing by no Means, in his encorporated State,qua-
lified for an open and eafy Converfation with un-
embodied Spirit.
Moreover, this would be breaking into the
Limits, which the Wiſdom and Goodneſs of God
has put to our prefent State, I mean as to Futurity,
our Ignorance in which, is the greateſt Felicity of
human Life; and without which neceffary Blind-
neſs Man could not fupport Life, for Nature is no
way able to ſupport a View into Futurity; I mean
Not
[ 43 ]
not into that Part of Futurity which concerns us in
our State of Life in this World.
I have often been myfelf among the Number of
thofe Fools, that would be their own Fortune-tel-
lers; but when I look thus beyond the Atmoſphere,
and fee a little ſpeculatively into Invifibles, I could
eafily perceive, that it is our Happineſs that we
are fhort-fighted Creatures, and can ſee but a very
little before us: For Example, were we to have the
Eyes of our Souls opened through the Eyes of our
Bodies, we fhould fee this very immediate Region
of Air which we breath in, throng'd with Spirits,
to us, bleſſed be God, now invifible, and which would
otherwiſe be moft frightful: We fhould fee into
the fecret Tranſactions of thofe Meffengers who
are employ'd when the paffing Soul takes its Leave
of the Reluctant Body, and perhaps fee Things Na-
ture would fhrink back from with the utmoft Ter-
ror and Amazement. In a Word, the Curtain of Pro-
vidence for the Difpofition of Things here, and
the Curtain of Judgment for the Determination of
the State of Souls hereafter, would be alike
drawn back, and what Heart could fupport here
its future State in LIFE, much lefs that of its
future State after LIFE even good or bad.
It is then our Felicity, that the Converſe of Spi-
rits, and the Vifions of Futurity, are filent, em-
blematick, and done by Hints, Dreams, and Im-
Pulfes, and not by clear Vifion and open Diſcovery;
they that defire a fuller and plainer Sight of theſe
Things, ask they know not what; and it was a
good Anfwer of a Gypfy, when a Lady of my Ac-
quaintance, ask'd her, to tell her Fortune; Do not
ask me, Lady, faid the Gypfy, to tell you what you
dare not hear. The Woman was a little honefter than
her Profeffion intimated, and freely confefs'd it was
all a Cheat,and that they knew nothing of Fortunes,
but
[ 44 ]
but had a Courfe or Round of doubtful Expreffións,
to amuſe ignorant People and get a little Money.
Even the Devils Oracles, for fuch no doubt
they were at Delphos, and at other Places, though
the Devil feemed at that Time to have fome Li-
berties granted him, which it is evident have fince
been denied him, were allowed to be given only
in doubtful Expreffions, double Entendres, Ecchoes
of Words, and fuch like: For Example, A Man
going to Sea and enquiring of the Oracle, thus;
Have I just caufe the Seas and Storms to Fear?
Eccho.
Fear.
Another.
Shall we the Parthian Bowmen fight or Fly?
Eccho.
Fly.
Such dark Replies, and other Words doubtful
and enigmatic, were frequently given and taken for
Anfwers, by which the deluded World were kept in
doubt of that Futurity they hunted after: But Satan
even then, was not permitted to ſpeak plain, or
Mankind to fee what awaited him behind the dark
Veil of Futurity, nor was it proper on any Ac-
count whatſoever, that it fhould be otherwife.
But before I come to this, let me put fome Li-
mits to the Elevations and Vifions I have men-
tioned before; for as I am far from Enthufiaftic
in my Notions of Things, fo I would not lead any
one to fancy themfelves farther enlightned than is
meet, or to fee Things unfeeable, as St. Paul heard
Things unutterable.
And therefore let me add here, that the higheſt
Raptures, Trances and Elevations of the Soul, are
bounded by the eternal Decree of Heaven and let
Men
[ 45 ]
Men pretend to what Vifions they pleaſe, it is all
Romance, all beyond what I have talked of a-
bove, is fabulous and abfurd, and it will for ever
be true, as the Scripture fays, not only, thofe
Things are hid from the Eye, but even from the
Conception.
Upon this Occafion I muft own, that I think
'tis Criminal to attempt to form Ideas either of
Hell or of Heaven in the Mind, other than as the
Scripture has defcribed them, by the State rather
than the Place; we are told in plain Words, it
hath not entred into the Heart of Man to conceive, ei-
ther of what is prepared for the future State of the
Happy or Miſerable; 'tis enough for us to enter-
tain the general Notion, the Favour of God is
Heaven, and the Lofs of it the moft dreadful of
all Hell.
A HEAVEN of Joy muft in his Prefence dwell;
And in his Abfence every Place is HELL.
My Meaning is this, all Viſions, or propoun-
ded Vifions either of Heaven or Hell, are meer
Deluſions of the Mind, and generally are Fictions
of a waking bewildred Head; and you may fee
the Folly of them in the meanneft of the Defcrip-
tions, which generally end in fhewing fome glo-
rious Place, fine Walks, noble illuftrious Palaces,
Gardens of Gold, and People of fhining Forms,
and the like. Alas! thefe are all fo fhort, that
they are Unworthy the Thoughts of a Mind
elevated two Degrees above Darkness and Dirt:
› All theſe Things amount to no more than Ma-
homet's Alchoran, and the glorious State of Things
reprefented by him to his Believers. In fhort,
all this makes only a Heaven of Senfe, but comes
infinitely fhort of what alone muit or can be
a Hea-
·[46]
2
a Heaven to an exalted glorified Spirit, that I
as much want 'Words to exprefs how contem-
tible the beſt of theſe Deſcriptions are as to a
true Deſcription of Heaven, as I do to exprefs a
true Idea, or Defcription of Heaven myſelf.
And how fhould this be done? We can Form
no Idea of any Thing that we know not and have
not feen, but in the Form of fomething that we
have feen. How then can we form an Idea of
God or Heaven, in any Form but of fome-
thing which we have feen or known? By what
Image in the Mind can we judge of Spirits? By
what Idea conceive of eternal Glory? Let us
ceaſe to Imagin concerning it, 'tis impoffible to
attain, 'tis criminal to attempt it.
Let me therefore hint here, that ſuppoſing my
felf, as before, in the Orbit of the Sun, take it
in its immenſe Diſtance as our Aftronomers con-
ceive of it, or on the Edge only of the Atmof-
phere with a clear View of the whole Solar Sy-
ftem, the Region of Satan's Empire all in View,
and the World of Spirits laid open to me.
Yet let me give you this for a Check to your
Imagination, that even here the Space between
Finite and Infinite is as impenetrable as on Earth,
and will for ever be fo, till our Spirits being un-
cafed fhall take their Flight to the Center of
Glory, where every Thing fhall be ſeen as it is;
and therefore you must not be furprized, if I am
come down again from the Verge of the World
of Spirits, the fame fhort fighted Wretch, as to Fu-
turity and Things belonging to Heaven and Hell
as I went up; for Elevations of this Kind are
meant only to give us a clearer View of what we
are, not of what we shall be; and 'tis an Advan-
tage worth Travelling for too. All this I thought
neceffary to prevent the whimſical Building of
1
ex
[ 47 ]
1
erroneous Structures on my Foundation, and fan-
cying themſelves carried farther than they are
able to go.
I come therefore back to talk of Things fa-
miliar, and particularly to mention in the next
Place, fome of thofe other Ways by which we
have Notice given of this Converfe of Spirits
which I have been fpeaking of; for the Whif-
pers and Infinuators I have mentioned, go fome-
times farther than ordinary.
One of thofe other Methods is, when by
Strong Impulſes of the Mind, as we call them, we
are directed to do, or not to do, this or that
particular Thing that we have before us to do, or,
are under Confultation about. I am a Witneſs
to many of theſe Things, as well in my own Life,
as in my Obfervation of others.
I know a Man, who being at fome Diſtance
from London, not above fix or feven Miles, a
Friend that came to vifit and dine with him urged
him to go to London. What for, fays his Friend,
is there any Bufinefs wants me? Nay, nothing,
fays the other, but for your Company; I do not
know of any Thing wants you; and fo gave over
importuning him: But as his Friend had given
it over, a ſtrong Impulfe of Mind feized him and
follow'd him like a Voice with this, Go to London,
go to London. He put it by feveral Times, but it
went on ftill, Go to London, go to London, and
nothing elſe could come upon his Thoughts but,
Go to London. He came back to his Friend,
Hark ye, fays he, tell me fincerely, is all well
at London? Am I wanted there? Did you ask me
to go to London with you on any particular Ac-
count. Not I, fays his Friend, in the leaft; I
faw all your Family, and all is very well there
nor did they fay, they had any particular. Occa-
;
fion
[ 48 ]
fion for you to return; I only ask it as I told
for the Sake of your Company: So he put
you,
off going again, but could have no Quiet, for it
ftill followed him, and no doubt, a good Spirit
communicated it, Go to London; and at length
he refolved he would go, and did fo; and when
he came there he found a Letter and Meffengers
had been at his Houſe, to feek him, and to tell
him of a particular Bufinefs, which was firft and
laft worth above a thouſand Pounds to him, and
which if he had not been found that very Night,
would have been in Danger of being loft.
I ſeriouſly adviſe all fober thinking Perfons not
to difregard thoſe powerful Impulfes of the Mind,
in Things otherwife indifferent or doubtful, but
believe them to be Whiſpers from fome kind Spi-
rit, which fees fomething that we cannot fee,
and knows fomething that we cannot know.
Befides, unleſs infinite Power fhould take off
the Silence that is impofed upon the Inhabitants.
of the invifible World, and allow them to ſpeak
audibly, nothing can be a plainer Voice; they
are Words fpoken to the Mind, tho' not to the
Ear, and they are a certain Intelligence of Things.
unfecn, becauſe they are given by Perfons un-
ſeen, and the Event confirms it beyond all Di-
fpute,
I know a Man, who made it his Rule always
to obey theſe filent Hints, and he has ofteu de-
clared to me, that when he obeyed them he ne-
ver miſcarried, and if he neglected them, or went
on contrary to them, he never fucceeded; and
gave me a particular Cafe of his own, among
a great many others, wherein he was thus dire&
ed. He had a particular Cafe befallen him,
wherein he was under the Diſpleaſure of the Go-
vernment, and was profecuted for a Mifdemea-
nor,
[ 49 ]
nor, and brought to a Tryal in the King's-Bench
Court, where a Verdict was brought againft him,
and he was caft; and Times running very hard
at that Time againſt the Party he was of, he
was afraid to ftand the Hazard of a Sentence
and abfconded, taking Care to make due Provi-
fion for his Bail, and to pay them whatever they
might ſuffer.
In this Circumftance he was in
great Diſtreſs, and no Way prefented unto him
but to fly out of the Kingdom, which being to
leave his Family, Children and Employment, was
very bitter to him, and he knew not what to
do; all his Friends adviſing him not to put him-
felf into the Hands of the Law, which tho' the
Offence was not Capital, yet in his Circum-
ftances feemed to threaten his utter Ruin. In.
this Extremity he felt one Morning, (juſt as he
had awaked, and the Thoughts of his Misfor-
tune began to return upon him;) I ſay, he felt a
ftrong Impulſe darting into his Mind thus, Write
a Letter to them: It fpoke fo diftin&tly to him,
and as it were 'forcibly, that as he has often faid
fince, he can ſcarce perfuade himſelf not to be-
lieve but that he heard it; but he grants that he
did not really hear it, too.
However it repeated the Words daily and
hourly to him, till at length walking about in
his Chamber where he was hidden, very pen-
five and fad, it Jogg'd him again, and he an-
fwered aloud to it, as if it had been a Voice,
Who shall I write to? It returned immediately,
Write to the Judge. This perfued him again for
feveral Days, till at length he took his Pen, Ink
and Paper, and fat down to write, but knew not
one Word of what he ſhould fay, but Dabitur in hac
hora, he wanted not Words: It was immediately im-
preffed on his Mind, and the Words flowed up-
D d
on
[ 50 ]
on his Pen in a manner, that even charm'd him-
felf, and filled him with Expectations of Succeſs.
The Letter was fo ftrenous in Argument, fo
pathetick in its Eloquence, and fo moving and
perfwafive, that as foon as the Judge read it,
he fent him Word he ſhould be eafie, for he
would Endeavour to make that Matter light to
him, and in a Word never left, till he obtained
to ſtop Proſecution, and reſtore him to hi. Li-
berty and to his Family.
Theſe Hints, I fay, are of a Nature too figni-
ficant to be neglected; whence they come is the
next Enquiry. I anfwer, They are the Whiſpers
of fome fubfifting Spirit communicated to the
Soul, without the Help of the Organ, without
the Affiftance of a particular Sound, and with-
out any other Communication; but take it as you
go, not without the merciful Difpofition of that
Power, that governs that World, as well as this
that we are fenfible of; How near thoſe Spirits
age to us, who thus foreſee what concerns us,
and how they convey thefe Hints into our Minds
as well waking as fleeping, or how they are di-
rected, that I could not diſcover, nor can yet re-
folve, no not in the higheſt of my imaginary Ele-
vation, any more than in what Manner they are
Limited and refrained.
I have been asked by fome, to whom I have
talked freely of my frequent Applications to
thefe Things, If I knew any Thing by thoſe
Obfervations, of the Manner of the Difpofition of
human Soul after its Departure out of the Body?
I mean as to its middle State, and whether, as
fome, it has a wandring Exiftence in the upper
Part of the Waſte or Abyſs near to, but not in
a prefent State of Felicity? Whether it is ftill
confined within the Atmoſphere of the Earth
ac-
[51]
}
according to others, as in a Limbus, or Purga-
tory; or in the Circle of the Sun, as others fay?
Whether I knew or perceived any Thing of our
Saviour's being afcended into the Body of the
Sun only, and not into the higheſt Heaven re-
ceiving his redeemed Souls to himſelf, and in-
to an Incorporation with his Glory there, till the
Reftitution of all Things? Whether I perceived any
Thing of Satan being poffeffed of the reprobate
Souls as they departed; and of his Subftitutes
as Executioners, being empowered and employ-
ed to torment them according to the receiv-
ed Notions of the wife Contemplators of fuch
Things.
I anſwered, as I do now, that not only no-
thing of all this appears, but on the contrary, fuch
ferious Contemplations as mine give a great and a-
bundant Reaſon to be fatisfied, that there is no-
thing in it all but meer Dream and enthuſiaſtick
Conjecture: I own that the Agents I mention-
ed, make uſe of all thofe Things to terrify and
affright poor ignorant People out of their Senfes,
and to drive them often into Defperation, and
after to reſtore them by a Cure that is worſe
than the Distemper, namely, by a Hardneſs and
Coldneſs of Temper, rejecting entirely all the No-
tions of Eternity and Futurity, and fo fitting them
to go out of the World as they lived in it, (viz.)
without troubling themſelves with what is to
come after it.
But I return to the Article of Impulfes of the
Mind, for I lay greater Weight upon theſe than
upon any of the other Difcoveries of the In-
vifible World, becauſe they have fomething in
them relating to what we are about, fome-
thing directing, fomething to guide us in avoid-
ing the evils that attend us, and to accepting, or
Dd 2
ra-
[ 52 ]
rather embracing Opportunities of doing our-
felves good when they prefent, which many
Times for want of the knowledge of our Way,
we irrecoverably let flip.
1
Voices, Apparitions, Noifes, and all the o-
ther affrighting Things, which unavoidably fol-
low the Neighbourhood of Spirits in the Air
we breath in, fecm to have much lefs Significa-
tion, as to us, than theſe ſeaſonable kind Whif
peis to our Souls, which it is plain, are directed
for the Advantage of Life.
It ſeems hard that Mankind fhould be fo open
to the ſecret Infinuators the whiſpering Devils I
have been ſpeaking of, who are Night and Day,
fleeping and waking, working upon his Senfes by
the Arts and Subtilties of Hell, to fill his Ima-
gination with a thoufand devilish Contrivances
to gratify his Vanity and Luft; and that our
Thoughts fhould be always ready to receive the
Impreffions they make, preffed to follow the
infernal Counſel, be awake to liften to all his
Directions, but fhould be deaf to the Inftructions
of any kind Spirits that would influence us for our
Advantage, and infenfible of thoſe Impreffions
which are made upon us for our immediate Good,
by an Agent Good in itſelf, and acting from a
Principle whatever it be, of Good to us.
Well,
We have a fooliſh Saying, though taken from
Something that is more fignificant than we ima-
gine when any Danger has fuprifed us.
my Mind mifgave me, when I was going about it:
Well, I knew fome Miſchief would come of it;
did you fo? And why then did you do it? Why
did you go on? Why, when your Mind mifgave
you, did you not obey the friendly Caution?
Whence do you think your Mind received the
fpeaking, tho' filent Impreffion? Why did you
not
1
[ 53 ]
not liften to it, as to a Voice? For fuch a one it
was no doubt; and let all thofe unthinking Peo-
ple who go on in any Thing they are upon, con-
trary to thoſe ſecret filent Impreffions upon their
Minds; I fay, let them know and obſerve it,
they will very feldom fail of meeting fome Mif-
chief in the Way. They will very feldom fail of
mifcarrying in the Way; I fay very feldom, be-
cauſe I would not take upon me to piefcribe
Things pofitively, which the Reader will take
me up fhort in, and fay, how do I know it? But
I will take the Liberty to fay, I durft be pofi-
tive in it, relating to my felf, and I durft be po-
fitive from the Nature and Reaſon of the Thing.
As to my own Experience, I wave faying much
of it, but that in general I never flighted theſe
Impulfes, but to my great Misfortune; I never
liften'd to and obey'd them, but to my great Ad-
vantage, but I chooſe to argue from the Reafon
of them, rather than from my own Experience.
As they are evident Warnings of what is to
come, and are teftified daily and hourly by the
Things coming to pass afterwards, fo they are
undeniable Teftimonies, that they proceed from
fome Being, intelligent of thofe Things that are
at Hand, while they are yet to come. If then
I am fatisfied that it is a Notice given from a
Something, be it what it will, which is fully in-
form'd of what is attending me, tho' conceal'd
from me; why fhould I flight the Hint given
me from any Thing that knows, what I know
not, and especially, for Example, for avoiding
Evils to come.
I know a Perfon, who had fo ftrong an Impreffi-
on upon her Mind, that the Houfe fhe was in
would be burnt that very Night, that fhe could
not go to fleep, the Impulfe fhe had upon her
Dd3
Mind..
[54]
Mind prefs'd her not to go to Bed, which how-
ever the refifted and went to Bed, but was fo
terrified with the Thought, which as the call'd
it, run in her Mind, that the Houfe would be
burnt, that ſhe could not go to fleep.
She had made fo much Diſcovery of her Ap-
prehenfions in the Family, that they were all
in a Fright, and applied themfelves to fearch
from the Top of the Houſe to the Bottom, and
to ſee every Fire, and every Candle ſafe out, fo
that, as they all faid, it was impoffible any
Thing could happen in the Houfe, and they fent
to the Neighbours on both Sides to do the like.
Thus far they did well, but had fhe obeyed the
Hint, which preft upon her ftrangely not to go
to Bed, fhe had done much better, for the Fire
was actually kindled at that very Time, tho' not
broken out.
In about an Hour, after the whole Family was
in Bed, the Houſe juft over the Way, directly
oppofite, was all in a Flame, and the Wind
which was very high, blowing the Flame upon
the Houſe this Gentlewoman lived in, fo fill'd it
with Smoke and Fire in a few Moments, the
Street being Narrow, that they had not Air to
breath, or Time to do any Thing, but jump
out of their Beds and fave their Lives; had fhe
obey'd the Hint given, and not gone to Bed, fhe
might have faved feveral Things of Value,
which fhe loft; but as fhe neglected that, and
would go to Bed, the Moments fhe had ſpar'd
to her, were but juft fufficient to get out of Bed,
get fome Cloaths on, and get down Stairs, for
the Houfe was on Fire in half Quarter of an
Hour.
It might be ask'd here, why could not the
fame kind Spirit have intimated by the fame
Whif
!
$ &
[ 55 ]
Whiſpers, where the Danger lay, and from what
Quarter it was to be expected; in what Man-
ner the Fire would attack them, and that it
would come from the other Side of the Street,
the Wind blowing it directly upon them?
To this, I answer, that it is our Bufinefs the
more vigilantly to obferve and liften to the Hints
which are given, feeing the Intimations are not
fo Particular as we might with, without enqui-
ring into the Reaſons, why they are given no
plainer. We have a great deal of Reaſon to be-
lieve the kind Spirit that gives theſe Intima.ions
and Whiſpers, thus to us; gives us all the Light
it is permitted to give, and whifpers as much,
either as it knows, or as it is allow'd to commu-
nicate; otherwife, why does it give any Inti-
mations at all? But on the other Hand, it may
be alledg'd, that enough is intimated to fuffice
for our Safety, if we will obey the Intimation;
and it would be a much more reafonable Que-
tion, to ask, why we flight and difobey the Im-
preffion that we acknowledge to have received,
rather than why the Intimation was no plainer.
A Perſon of my Acquaintance being to go to
New-England by Sea, two Ships prefented, and
the Maſters earneftly folicited to take him as a
Paffenger; he asked my Advice, profeffing, that
as well the Ships, as the Captains, were perfect-
ly indifferent to him, both the Men being equally
agreeable to him, and the Veffels equally good.
I had my Eye upon this Notion of Impulfes, and
preft him to obferve ftrictly, if he had not fome
fécret Motion of his Mind to one Ship rather
than another, and he faid he had not.
After fome Time he accidentally met one of
the Captains, and falling into Terms with him,
agreed for his Paffage, and accordingly prepar'd
Dd 4
to
[56]
to go on board; but from the very Time that
he made the Agreement, nay, even while he was
making the Bargain, he had a ftrong Impreffion
on his Mind, that he fhould not go in that
Ship.
It was fome Days after this, that he told me
of theſe Impreffions, which increas'd on him e-
very Day; upon which I preft him earneſtly not
to go, but to take Paffage with the other. Af-
tet he had refolv'd upon this, he came to me,
and told me, that he had with fome Difficulty,
and fome Lofs, put off the firſt Ship, but that
now he had the fame, or rather ſtronger Averfi-
on to going in the fecond Ship, and had a ftrong
Impreffion on his Mind, that if he went in the
fecond Ship he fhould be drowned; I bid him
confider it a little, and tell me if he had any
farther Intimations of it; and he continued to
tell me, that he had no Reft about his going in
either of thoſe Ships, and yet his Affairs lay ſo,
that he was under a Neceffity of going, and
there was no other Ship put up upon the Ex-
change for going.
I prefs'd him, however, not to venture by any
Means; I convinc'd him, that thofe Impulfes of
his Mind were the Whiſpers of fome kind Spi-
rit, that faw Things farther than he could, and
were certainly given him as Cautions to fave
him from fome Miſchief which he might not
foreſee; that it could be no evil Spirit, becauſe
the keeping him back could be no Injury to
him, of fuch a Nature as would gratify, the De-
vil in any Part of his ufual Defires; it muft there-
fore be fomething for his Good, and he ought
to be very cautious how he flighted the filent Ad-
monition. In a Word, I prepoffefs'd him ſo much
in aid of the fecret Impulfes of his own Mind,
that
t
[57]
that he refolved not to go that Year, and he
faw clearly afterwards, that the fecret Intimati-
mation was from a good Hand, for both the
Ships mifcarried; the firft being taken by the
Turks, and the latter caft away and all the Men
loft, the Ship foundring at Sea, as was ſuppos'd,
for fhe was never heard of.
I could fill this Tract with Accounts of this
Nature, but the Reaſon of the Cafe is ſtronger
than the Example; for as it is an Intimation of
fomething future, and that is to come to pals, it is
certain, there is a State in which what is Future
and muſt come to paſs is known, and why ſhould
we not believe the News, if it comes from the
Place where the Certainty of it is known ?
Some give all this to a Preſcience peculiar to
the Soul it felf, and of kin to that we call the
Second Sight; but I fee no Ground for this, but
mere Prefumption. Others call it an Afflatus,
which they think is a Diftemper of the Brain.
Others call it a Sympathetick Power in the Soul,
foreboding its own Difafters. But all this is
fhort of the Thing, for here is not a Foreboding
only, which indeed is often felt, but is exprefs'd
another Way; but here is a dire& Intelligence; a
plain Intimation of the Evil, and warning to a-
void it: This muſt be more than an Afflatus, more
than a Sympathy; this muſt be from a certain
Knowledge of a Thing that exifts not, by a Some-
thing that does exist; and muſt be communicated
by a Converſe of Spirits unembodied, with the
Spirit embodied, for its Good; unlefs you will
call it Divine Revelation, which I fee no Ground
for.
All thefe Reaſonings make it abundantly our
Concern to regard thefe Things, as what we are
greatly concern'd in; However that is not the chief
Ufe
[58]
Ufe I make of them here, but (1.) they abundantly
explain the Nature of the World of Spirits, and
the Certainty of an Exiſtence after Death; (2.)
they confirm that the Difpofition of Providence
concerning Man, and the Event of Things, are
not fo much hidden from the Inhabitants of that
World as they are from us; as alfo (3.) that Spirits
unembodied fee with a Sight differing from us,
and are capable of knowing what attends us,
when we know nothing of it our felves.
This offer'd many ufeful Reflections to my
Mind, which, however, 'tis impoffible for me to
communicate with the fame Vivacity, or to ex-
prefs with the fame Life, that the Impreffion
they make on my own Thoughts came with.
1. The Knowledge of there being a World of
Spirits, may be many Ways ufeful to us, and efpe-
cially that of their feeing into Futurity, fo as to
be able to communicate to us, by 'what Means fo-
ever they do it, what we fhall, or fhall not do,
or what shall, or fhall not befall us; to communi-
cate Dangers before us, fo as they may be avoided,
and Miſchiefs awaiting us, fo as they may be pre-
vented, and even Death it felf, fo as we may pre-
pare
for it; For we may certainly, if we would at-
tend to thefe Things, encreaſe our Acquaintance
with them, and that very much to our Advantage.
I would be far from prompting the crazy Imagina-
tions of Hypocondriac Diftemper'd Heads, which
run Men out to fo manyExtravagancies, and which
in fixing their Thoughts upon the real World
of Spirits, make this an imaginary World of Spi-
rits to them; who think they are talk'd to from
the invifible World, by the Howling of every Dog,
or the Screeching of every Owl. I believe it was
much of this vapourifh dreaming Fancy, by which
the Augurs of the Romans determin'd Events from the
Fly-
[59]
Flying of Birds, and the Entrails of Beafts. It will
be hard for me to be prevail'd on to ſuppoſe,
that even thoſe intelligent Spirits which I fpeak of,
who are able by fuch eafy Ways, as the Impul-
fes of our Minds, Dreams, and the like, to con-
vey the Knowledge of Things to us, can be put
to the Neceffity, or find Reaſon to make Uſe of
the Agency of Dogs and Birds, to convey their
Notices by; this would be to fuppofe them to
be much more confin'd in their Converſe with us,
than we evidently find they are; and on the other
Hand would fuppofe the inanimate World to have
more Knowledge of the invifible, than we have,
whereas on the other Hand we know they have no-
thing at all to do with it.
There is only this to be faid for it, namely,
that thofe inanimate Creatures do it involunta-
rily, and as it were, under the Power of a Pof-
feffion.
I will not affirm, but that the invifible Inhabi-
tants I have been ſpeaking of, may have Power to
act upon the brute Creatures, fo as to employ
them, or make uſe of their Agency in the Warn-
ings and Notices which they give to us of Things
to come; but that the Brutes have otherwife a-
ny farther Sight of Things than we have, I can
fee nothing at all of that. It is true, Balaam's
Afs faw the Angel with the flaming Sword, ftan-
ding in the Road, when the Prophet did not,
but the Reafon is plainly exprefs'd; the Angel
was really there, and actually preſenting Terror
to them with a flaming Sword in his Hand, on-
ly the Prophets Eyes were miraculouſly witheld,
that he could not fee him.
I fhall unriddle this Myſtery of the Agency of
Beafts, and Birds, as far as Reafon dictates;
and it ſeems to be Eafy upon the Scheme of the
Near-
1
[60]
Nearness of the Spirits I am fpeaking of to us,
and their Concern to convey Intelligence to us;
They may, I fay, have Power to Terrify the
Brutes by horrible Apparitions to them, fo as to
force thoſe Howlings and Screichings we have
been told of, and to do this in fuch Places, and
at fuch Times as fhall fuit with the Circumſtances
of the Family or Perfon concern'd, and fo far
their faid extraordinary Howlings and Screichings
may be fignificant; but that the Brutes can ei-
ther by Senfe, or by extraordinary Sight have any
Foreknowledge of Things in Futurity relating to
us, or to themſelves; this has no Foundation in
Reaſon or Philofophy any more than it has in Rẹ-
ligion. Matter may act upon material Objects,
and fo the Underſtanding or Senſe of a Bruté
may act upon viſible Objcas, but Matter cannot
at upon immaterial Things, and fo the Eye of a
Beaft cannot fec a Spirit, or the Mind of a Brute
act upon Futurity, Eternity, and the fublime
Things of a State to come.
What Ufe then the Spirits we fpeak of, inhabi-
ting the inviſible World, can make of the inani-
mate World to direct them, as Miffionaries to us,
I do not fee, neither did I in all my Altitudes
perceive they employ'd any fuch Agents.
It is from the Mifunderſtanding of thele Things
that we place abundance of Incidents meerly for-
tuitous to the Devils Account, which he knows
nothing of; many a Storm blows that is none
of his raifing; many a M'd-night Noife hap-
pens that is none of his making; if Satan or his
Inftruments had one Tenth Part of the Pow-
er, either of the Air, or in the Air, or over the
Elements, that we give them in our Imginations,
we fhould have our Houfes burnt every Night,
Hurricanes ra fed in the Air, Floods made in the
Coun
[61]
Country, and in a Word, the World would not
be habitable But you remember I told you, as
powerful as he is, he is chain'd he has a great
Clog at his Foot, and he can do nothing by Vio-
lence, or without Permiffion.
I might hint here at abundance of idle ridicu-
lous Devils, that we are daily told of, that come
and only make Game among us, put out our Can-
dles, throw Chairs and Stools about the Houſe,
break Glaffes, make a Smoak, a Stink of Brim-
ftone, &c. whereas after all, the Devil has no
more Sulphur about him than other Folks, and I
can anfwer for it, that Satan is not difpofed for
Mirth; all the Frolicks and Gambols we afcribe
to him, I dare fay, are Anticks of our own Brain.
I heard of a Houfe in Effex, which they told me
was haunted, and that every Night the Devil or
a Spirit, call it which you will, came into fuch a
Room, and made a moft terrible Knocking, as if
it had a Hammer or a Mallet, and this for two
or three Hours together: At length, upon looking
about in an empty Clofet in that Room, there
was found an old Mallet, and this was prefently
concluded to be the Mallet which the Devil made
fuch a Noiſe with, fo it was taken away: But
the next Night they faid, the Devil made fuch a
Racket for want of the Mallet, that they were
much more difturb'd than before, fo they were ob-
liged to leave the Mallet there again, and every
Night the Devil would come and knock in the
Window, for two or three Hours together with
that Mallet. I have ſeen the Room, and the
Mallet, in neither of which was any Thing ex-
traordinary, but never heard the Noife, though
I fat up to wait for it; nor after caufing the Mal-
let to be taken away, was there any Noife; be·
like
[ 62 ]
}
like the mannerly Spirit would not diſturb us who
were Strangers.
This pafs'd for a moft eminent Piece of Walk-
ing or Haunting, and all the Difficulty was to
enquire, to what Purpoſe all this Disturbance was
made, feeing there was no End anfwered in it,
and I always thought the Devil was too full of
Buſineſs to ſpend his Time to no manner of Pur-
poſe.
At laft, all the Cheat was diſcovered, viz. that
a Monkey kept in a Houfe three or four Houfes
from it, had found the Way into that Room,
and came every Night almoft about Midnight,
and diverted himſelf with the Frolick, and then
went Home again.
If thefe Things were not frequently detected,
it would be a great Scandal upon the Devil, that
he had nothing to employ himſelf in, more figni-
ficant, than Rapping all Night with a Hammer
to fright and difturb the Neighbours, making
Noiſes, putting out Candles, and the like: When
we come into the invifible State, of which we
now know fo little, we fhall be easily convinced,
that the Devil is otherwife employ'd, and has Bu-
finefs of much more Importance upon his Hands.
It would be very infignificant, to have us fo fre-
quently warned againſt Satans Devices, to have us
be caution'd to be fober and vigilant, knowing that
our Adverfary the Devil, goes about like a roar-
ing Lion, feeking, &c. All thefe Things import,
that he is diligent in attacking us, watching all
Advantages, hunting us down, circumventing,
waiting, and conftantly plying us with Snares that
he may trapan and devour us: This admits not
any of thofe fimple, ludicrous, and fenfelefs Di-
greffions, which we fet him to work upon in our
Imaginations.
Perhaps
[63]
Perhaps, it may be expected I fhould enter here
upon the Subject of Apparitions, and diſcourſe
with equal Certainty of that yet undecided Que-
ftion, concerning the Reality of Apparitions,
and whether departed Souls can revifit the Place
of their former Exiſtence, take up Shapes, Bodies,
and viſible and apparent Beings,affume Voices,and
concern themſelves with the Affairs of Life, of
Families, Perfons, and even of Eſtates, and the
like, as many have affirmed they have been Wit-
nefles to.
I muſt be allowed to leave this where I find it;
there are ſome Difficulties which I am not yet got
over, in it, nor have I been elevated high enough
to determine that Point, and fhall not venture to
decide it, without more certainty than I am yet
arriv❜d to.
I would warn all People not to fuffer their Ima-
gination, to form Shapes and Appearances where
there are none; and I may take upon me to ſay,
that the Devil himself does not appear half fo of-
ten, as fome People think they fee him; Fancy go-
verns many People, and a fick Brain forms ftrange
Things to itſelf: But it does not follow from
thence that nothing can appear, becauſe nothing
does at that Tihe.
However, as my Deſign is to inſtruct, not a-
mufe, ſo I ſay, 'I forbear to enter upon a Subje&,
which I muſt leave as doubtful as I find it, and
confequently talk of to no Purpoſe.
I have heard of a Man that would allow the
Reality of Apparitions, but would have it be no-
thing but the Devil, that the Souls of Men de-
parted or good Spirits never appeared, it happen'd
that to this veryMan fomething appear'd, as he faid,
and infifted upon it to the laft: He faid he faw
the Shape of an ancient Man paſs by him in the
Dusk
[64]
1
1
Dusk of the Evening, who holding up his Hand,
as it were in a threatning Pofture, faid aloud, O
wicked Creature, repent, repent. He was exceedingly
terrified, and confulted feveral People about it,
who all adviſed him feriously to take the Advice;
for his Life made it well known it ſeems, that he
ſtood in need of it: But being feriouſly debating
about it, one of his Friends asked what he thought
of the Apparition, and whether it was any of the
Devils Buſineſs to bid him Repent; this puzzled
his Thoughts, and in a Word, he grew a very fo-
ber Man: But after all, it was a real Man, and no
Apparition that spoke to him, though his frighted
Fancy made him affirm that he vaniſh'd out of his
Sight, which he did not. And the Perſon who
did it, being a Grave and pious Gentleman, met
him by mere Accident without any Defign, and
ſpoke as he did, from the Knowledge he had of his
being indeed a moſt wretched wicked Fellow: By
the Way, the Gentleman had the Opportunity to
hear the Uſe that was made of it, and to hear
himſelf miſtaken for an Apparition of the Devil,
but he was fo prudent as not to diſcover it to the
Man, left the Reformation, which was the Con-
ſequence of the Fright, fhould wear off, when he
fhould know, that there was nothing in the Thing
but what was common.
If we would always make the like good Uſe of
Satan's real Appearances, I do not know but it
would go a great Way to baniſh him from the vi-
fible World; for I am well affur'd he would very
feldom vifit us, if he thought his Coming would
do us any Good; at leaſt he would never come,
but when he was fent, he would never come wil-
lingly For he is ſo abfolutely at the Divine Dif-
pofal, that if Heaven Commands, he must go,
though it were to do the good he abhors; not
that
[63]
that I believe Heaven ever thinks fit to employ him
in doing Good, if ever he is let loofe, 'tis to act in
Judgment as an Inftrument of Vengeance, and
fome are of Opinion, he is often employed as
a deftroying Angel, tho'I do not grant that; I can
hardly think the Juftice of God would gratify
Satan's Guft of doing Evil, fo far as to fuffer him
to be even ſo much as an Executioner: But that is
by the Way.
I have another Turn to give this Part of my
Obſervations, which tho' perhaps fome may not
think fo much to the Purpoſe, as entring into
a critical Enquiry after the Devils particular
Miffion in thefe Cafes: Yet I think otherwife.
I have obſerv'd, that fome deſperate People
make a very ill ufe of the general Notion, that there
are no Apparitions, nor Spirits at all; and really
the Uſe they make of it, is worſe than the ex-
treme of thofe, who, as I ſaid, make Viſions
and Devils of every Thing they fee or hear :
For theſe Men perfuade themſelves there are no
Spirits at all, either in the viſible or inviſible
World, and carrying it on farther, they next an-
nihilate the Devil, and believe nothing about
him, either of one kind or another.
This would not be of fo much bad Confequence,
if it was not always followed by a worfe; namely,
that when they have prevailed with themselves to
believe there is no Devil, the next Thing is, and
they foon come to it, That there is no God, and ſo
Atheiſm takes its rife in the fame Sink, with a
Carelefnefs about Futurity.
I have no Mind to enter upon an Argument to
prove the being of our Maker, and to illuftrate
his Power by Words, who has fo many undeniable
Teftimonies in the Breafts of every rational Being
to prove his Exiſtence: But I have a Mind to con-
È e
elude
[64]
}
clude this Work with a fhort Hiſtory of ſome A-
theifts, which I met with many Years ago,
and whether the Facts are teftified or not, may
be equally uſeful in the Application, if you do
not think them a little too Religious for you.
Some Years ago, there was a young Gentleman,
a Scholar at the Univerfity, eminent for Learn-
ing and Vertue, of prompt Parts, and great Pro-
ficiency, infomuch that he was taken great No-
tice of by the Mafters and Fellows, and every
one promiſed fair in their Thoughts for him, that
he would be a great Man. It happened, whe-
ther from his earneft Defire of more Knowledge,
or the Opinion of his own great Capacity, I know
not which; that this Gentleman falling upon the
Study of Divinity, grew fo opinionative, ſo very
pofitive and dogmatic in his Notions in religious
Things, that by Degrees it came to this Height,
that his Tutor faw plainly, he had little more than
Notions in all his religious Pretences to Know-
ledge, and concluded, he would either grow
Enthufiaftic or obftinately, Profane and Athei-
ftick.
He had three Chums or Companions in his Stu-
dies, and they all fell into the fame Error, as well
by the Confequence of a great deal of Wit and
little Grace, as by the Example and Leading of
this other young Gentleman, who was indeed
their Oracle, almoſt in every Thing.
As his Tutor who was a very good Man, fear'd
for him, ſo it came to pafs with him, and all the
reft; for they ran uptheir fuperficial Notions in
Divinity to fuch a Height, that inftead of Rea-
foning themſelves into good Principles of Reli-
gion, they really reafon'd themſelves out of all
Religion whatſoever; running on to expunge
every right Idea from their Minds,pretending thofe
Things
[65]
Things really were not, of which they could not
define both how and what they were; they pro-
ceeded to deny the Exiſtence of their Maker, the
Certainty of a future State, a Refurrection, a Judg-
ment, a Heaven, or a Hell.
They were not contented to fatisfie themſelves
with theſe impious Foundations, but they fet up
to difpute in private Societies againſt all revealed
Religion; thereby bringing on themfelves the Curfe
denounced in Scripture againſt thofe, that do Evil
and teach Men fo to do; in a little Time they grew
fo publick, that more Company came in, and
which was worſe, many joined with them in
Principle, or as I fhould rather have faid, in caft-
ing off all Principles, and they began to be famous
in the Place, though to the Offence of all good Men,
and were call'd, The Atherftical Club.
They foon began to fee fober,religious People fhun
them, and in ſome Time, upon' Information given,
they were obliged by Authority, to ſeparate for
Fear of Puniſhment, fo that they could not hold
their publick Difputations, as they began to do;
yet they abated nothing of their wicked Cuftom;
and this dreadful Creature, who fet up at the
Head of the reft, began to be fo open in his
Blafphemies, that he was at Length oblig'd to fly
from the Univerſity.
However, he went a great while before it came
to that; and though he had been often admonish-
ed, yet inſtead of reclaiming, he grew the more
impious, making the moft Sacred Things his
Jeft, and the Subject of his Ridicule: He gave
out, That he could frame a new Goſpel, and a
much berter System of Religion, than that which
they call'd Chriftian; and that if he would trouble
himſelf to go about it, he would not fail to draw
in as great a Part of the World to run after him,
E e 2
as
Į
[ 66 ]
as had been after any other. I care not to repeat
any of his blafphemous Words, it is not to be
fuppofed there can be any blafphemous abominable
Thing, that this Set of wicked wretched young
Men did not run into, neither any Wicked-
neſs of that kind within their Reach, which they
did not commit.
It would be too long to enter into the particu-
lar Hiftory of theſe Men, and how it pleaſed
God to difpofe of them; they might be in Number
before they feparated about twenty-two in all, I
fhall tell you of fome of them however, who did
not run fuch Lengths as the reft: There was a
young Man, who frequented their Society, though
as he afterwards faid, he was rather perfuaded to
be among them, than to be one of them; he had
however too much yielded to their Delufions;
and though they made him very much their Jeft,
becauſe they found he ftill retained fome little Senfe
of a God, and of a future State in his Mind, yet
he had yielded dreadfully to them, and began to do
fo more and more every Day.
It happen'd one Day, this young Man was going
to their hellish Society, and not minding the Wea-
ther, the Clouds gathered over his Head, and he
was ſtopp'd by a fudden Shower of Rain in the
Street: It rained fo very hard, that it obliged him
to ſtand up in the Gate-way of an Inn for fome
Time; while he was flanding here, a great Flaſh
of Lightning more than ordinarily furpriz'd him ;
it ſeems the Fire coming fo directly in his Face,
that he felt the very Warmth of it, and was ex-
ceedingly ftartled; in the fame Moment almoft,
as is natural in the Cafe, followed fuch a Clap of
Thunder that perfectly aftonifhed him. The Rain
continuing, kept him in the Gate-way, as I faid, for a
good While, till he had Time for fuch Reflect ons,
ja
as
[67]
}
as thefe, Where am I going! What am I going about!
Who is it has stopt me thus ! Why are thefe Thunders,
thefe Rains,and this Lightning thus Terrible? and whence
are they! and with the reſt came in this Thought,
warm and fwift as the Lightning, which had terri-
fied him before, What if there should be a God! What
will become of me then! Terrified with theſe Things,
he ftarts out of the Gate-way into the Street not-
withſtanding the Wet, and runs back through the
Rain, faying to himſelf as he went, I will go among
them no more! When he came Home to his Cham-
bers, he fell into dreadful Agonies of Mind, and at
length broke out thus: What have I been doing! have I
been denying the Power that made me! Defpifing that
God whofe Fire flafb'd juft now in my Face! And
which, had not that Mercy I have abufed interpofed,
might have burnt me to Death! What kind of Creature
am I ! While he was thus giving vent to his Re-
Actions, a near Relation of his, a pious good
Man, who had often uſed to ſpeak very plain-
ly to him of the horrid Sin he was guilty of, hap-
pened to come to viſit him.
A
The young Man had thrown himſelf upon his
Bed, and had with the deepeft Senfe of his Mad-
nefs, and moſt ſerious Reproaches of himſelf for
his horrid Life, been expreffing himself to his
Friend, and he had been comforting him in the
beft Manner he could, when after a while he defir'd
his Friend to retire, that he might be a little alone,
and might give vent to his Thoughts with the
more Freedom, and his Friend, taking a Book in
his Hand, ftaid in the outer Room.
In this Interval came another Scholar to the
Door, who was one of the wicked Company 1
mention'd juft now: He came not to vifit this
firft Gentleman, but to call him to go with him to
the ufual Meeting of their dreadful Society. And
knocking
Ee 3
[68]
ļ
knocking at his Chamber Door; this Gentleman,
who was left in, the Chamber, ftept to the Door,
and looking through a little Grate, not only knew
the Perfon, but knew him to be one of the wicked
Company I have been fpeaking of: Now as he
was very loath, his Friend fhould have fuch an In-
terruption to the good Difpofition he was then in,
fo above all, he was loth he fhould be perfuaded
to go any more among that miferable Gang;
wherefore he opened the Door a little Way, fo
as he was not very diſtinctly ſeen, and ſpeaks aloud
in the Perſon of his Friend thus: O SIR, Beſeech
them all to repent; for depend upon it, There is a
Go D, tell them, I fay fo; and with that he fhut
the Door upon him violently, giving him no Time
to reply, and going back into his Friends Room,
took no Notice of any Body having been at the
Door at all.
The Perfon who knocked at the Door, you may
fuppofe, was one of the Leaders of the Company,,
a young Scholar of good Parts and Senfe, but de-
bauch'd by that horrid Crew; and one that
had made himſelf eminent, for his declar'd Oppo-
fition to all the common Notions of Religion; a
complete Atheiſt and publickly fo, without God
or the Defire of God in the World: However,
(as he afterwards confeffed) the Repulfe he met with
at the Door, and which he thought came from his
Friend, gave him a ſtrange Shock at fiift, and fill'd
him with Horror: He went down the College-
Stairs in the greateſt Confufion imaginable, and
went mufing along a good Way, not knowing
where he was, or whither he went, and in that
Embarraffment of Thought went a whole Street
out of the Way; the Words had made an unuſual
Impreffion upon his Mind, but he had his other
Surpriſes too; for he Thought his Friend, for he
bcliev'à
箕
​[ 69 ]
believ'd firmly, that it was he that had spoken to him,
had treated him very rudely.
Sometimes he refented it, and reflected upon it
as an Affiont, and once or twice was upon the
Point of going back again to him, to know the
Reaſon of his uſing him fo, and to demand Satıf-
faction: But fill the Words, THERE IS A GOD,
dwelt upon his Mind, and what if it should be fo?
fays he, what then? Upon this Queftion to him-
felf, the Anſwer immediately occurr'd to his Mind,
What then! Why, then I am undone; for, have not
1 d clar'd War against the very Notion, defy'd all the
Pretenders to it, as mere Enthufiafts and Men of
Whimfy? However, after thefe Thoughts his
Mind cool'd a little again, and it offered to him,
no doubt injected by an Evil Spirit, that he thould not
trouble himſelf with enquiring into it one Way or
another, but be easy.
This pacified him for a little While, and he
hook off the Surpriſe he was in; the hardned
Temper feem'd to return, and he kept on his Way
towards the hellifh Society, that he was going to
before: But ftill the Words returned upon him,
THERE IS A GOD, and began to bring
fome Terror with it upon his Mind; and the
laft Words of his Friend came into his Mind often,
tell them, I fay Jo, this fill'd him with a Curiofity
which he could not withſtand, viz. of going back
to his Friend, and enquiring of him, what Difco-
veries he had made of this Kind? how he came to
have changed his Mind fo fuddenly? and eſpecially,
how he was arrived to a Certainty of the Thing?
I told you, that there had been a great Shower
of Rain, which had ftopp'd the firft young Gen-
tleman in his Way out; it ſeems the Day was ftill
ſhowery and a little Rain happening to fall again,
as this Gentleman went by a Bookfeller's Shop,
?
E e 4
he
[70]
he ſtops at the Door to ftand up a little out of
the wet.
There happens to be fitting in the Shop reading
a Book, a Gentleman of his Acquaintance, though
far differing from him in his Principles, being a
very fober, ftudious, religious young Man, a Stu-
dent in Divinity of the fame College, who look-
ing up called him in, and after a few common Sa-
lutes, he whifpers in his Ear.
Student, I was looking in an old Book here juft
now, and began the following fhort Dialogue; and
I found four Lines written on the Back of the Title
Page, which put me in Mind of you.
Atheft, Me! why did they put you in Mind of
me ?,
Stud. I'll tell you preſently, *come hither.
*He retires into a back Room, and calls the
other after him.
Ath. Well, now tell me.
Stud. Becauſe I think they are very fit for fuch
an atheistical Wretch as you to read.
Ath. You are very Civil.
Stud. You know you deſerve it.
Ath. Come, let me fee them however.
Stud. Let me look in your Face all the While
then.
Ath. No you fhan't.
Stud. Then you ſhan't ſee them.
Ath. Well, let it alone then.
Stud. Come give me your Hand, you ſhall fee
them, if you will promife to read them over three
Time's.
4th. There's my Hand, I'll read them out to
you.
}
}
Stud
[71]
Stud. I'll hold your Hand all the While, becauſe
I'll be fure of your Performance.
Ath. I'll warrant you I'll read them.
*He reads.
But if it ſhould fall out, as who can tell?
That there MAY BE a God, a Heaven and
* Hell:
Had I not beſt confider well, for fear
'T fhou'd be too late when
my Miſtakes appear.
*He held him by the Hand till that Word,
and then let it go: preffing gently one of
his Fingers.
Stud. Well, what do you ſay to them?
Ath. I'll tell you my Thoughts farther by and
by, but firft tell me what did you prefs my Hand
for when you let it go.
Stud. Did you feel no Motion within you, when
you read thofe Words, There may be a God.
Ath. What Motion? What do you talk of?
Stud. Come do not deny it, for I am a Witneſs
against you.
Ath. Witnefs, for what? I have kill'd no Body,
I have robb'd no Body; if you would turn Informer,
I value not your Evidence.
Stud. No, no, I fhall not turn Informer of that
Kind, but I am a Witnefs in your Maker's Behalf.
Ath. What can you Witneſs?
Stud. I'll tell you what I can Witneſs, I can te-
tify, that your own Confcience is againſt you, in
your impious denying the Exiftcnce of that God
that gave you Life; you could not conceal it, I tell
you I felt it.
Ath.
ས་
[72]
}
Ath. How do you pretend to know, what my
Confcience dictates to me, or what the Refult of
fecret Reflections may be in the Mind? You may
be miſtaken, have a Care; you know you are not to
bear falſe Witness.
Stud. It's in vain to ftruggle with it, 'tis not to
to be conceal'd, you betray'd you felf, I tell you,
Ath. How betray'd myfelf? you are mighty dark
in your Expreffions
Stud. Did I not tell you, I would look in your
Face all the While you read? Did I not fee into the
Diſtraction of your Soul? Did you not turn pale at
the very Words, when your Tongue faid, There may
be a God? Was there not a viſible Horror in your
Countenance, when you read the Word HEAVEN?
A Horror, which fignified a Senfe of your having
no Share in it, or Hope about it? And did I not
feel a Trembling in your very Joints, as I held you
by the Hand, when you read the Word HELL?
Ath. And was that it you held me by the Hand
for?
Stud. Indced it was; I was perfuaded I fhould
find it; for I could never believe, but an Atheiſt
had always aHell within him, even while he bray'd
it out againſt a Hell without him.
Ath. You fpeak enough to fright one; how can
you fay ſo pofitively a Thing, which you cannot
be fure of?
Stud. Never add Sin to Sin, 'tis in vain to deny
it.
Ath. Well, well, its none of your Bufinefs;
who made you my Father Confeffor?
*He is a little Angry.
Stud. Nay do not be angry with your Friend,
and though you are, do but take the Hint, and be
Ath. What
as Angry as you will.
[73]
Ath. What Hint, what is it you aim at? your
Hints are all fo general, I can make nothing of
them.
Stud. I aim at nothing but your eternal Felicity,
I thought thoſe Lines very appofite to your Cafe,
and was withing you had them, before I happen'd
to fee you; I thought, that fuch a Reflection in
the Cafe of Atheiſm, fo natural, fo plain, efpe-
cially bleſſed from him, whofe fecret Voice can effectually
reach the Mind, might be fome Means to open your
Ejes.
Ath. Open mine Eyes! to what?
Stud. To fomething that I am perfuaded you fee
already in Part, though I find you ſtruggle hard
againſt your own Convictions.
Ath. What is this fomething you ſpeak of?
Stud. I mean in a few Words, what the Lines
you have read mean, viz. That perhaps there may
be a God, a Heaven, and Hell.
*
Ath. I don't know but there may.
*He obferves Tears ftands in his Eyes.
Stud. Well, I fee it begins to touch you, if you
are uncertain,that is a Step to Conviction; and the
reft of the Words you have read, are a moft natural
Inference in your Cafe.
You'd beft confider well for Fear,
"I fhou'd be too late when your Miftakes appear.
Ath. What would you have me confider?
Stud. I am not able to enter into that Part now ;
the first Thing is to perfuade you to look in; liften
to the Voice of Confcience, I am fatisfied you
ſtand convicted at that Bar, you cannot plead Not
guilty there.
Ath. Con-
[74]
Atb. Convicted of what?
Stud. Of having acted contrary to the Light of
Nature, of Reaſon, and indeed of common Senfe;
moft impiouſly denied the God whofe Air you
breath in, whofe Earth you tread on, whoſe Food
you eat, whofe Cloaths you wear, who is your
Life, and will be your Judge
Ath. I do not abfolutely deny; I tell you, I
don't know, but there may be a God.
Stud. Don't you know but there may! O SIR, I
beseech you repent; for certainly THERE IS A
GOD, depend upon it, I SAY SO.
Ath. You* Fright me.
* Heftarts and looks furpriz'd.
Stud. Indeed I think it may well Fright you.
Ath. But you fright me upon a quite differing
Account from what you imagine; I am indeed ve-
ry much furpris'd, and fo would you too if you
knew the Circumftance.
Stud. What Circumſtance?
Ath. Pray did you hear thofe Words fpoken any
where to Day before you spoke them.
Stud. No, not I.
Ath. Was you at Mr.'s Chamber about
half an Hour ago?
Stud. I have not been there this Month paſt,
I have given over vifiting him, and all fuch as le
is, long ago.
Ath. Have you feen him to Day, or when did
you laft fee him, did he fpeak thofe/Words to
you, or you to him.
Stud. I have not feen him, fince I ſaw him with
you about fourteen Days ago, when your Difcourfe
(even both of you) was fo Blafphemous and fo
Atheiſtical, as made my very Heart tremble, and
I re-
[75]
I refolv'd never to come into Company with ei-
ther of you again, and it was that very Difcourfe,
that made me think of you when I found thofe
Lines in this Book; I fhould think it an evident
Diſcovery of God, and what I might hope fhould
beſt forward your Conviction, if his Providence
fhould have fent you to this Door at that Minute,
to receive the Hint on this Occafion.
Ath. There is fomething more than common,
in every Thing that has happened to me to Day!
Stud. If you would explain yourſelf a little, I
might fay more; but you know very well, I can-
not make the leaft guefs at what you mean.
Ath. Ask me no more Queftions, there muſt be
A GOD or A DEVIL in Being.
*
* He looks wildly and amaz'd.
Stud. Dear Friend, there are both, depend upon
it, but I beseech you compofe your Mind, and do
not receive the Conviction with Horror, but with
Comfort and Hope.
Ath. One or other of them has been concern'd
in what has happen'd to me to Day; it has been a
ftrange Day with me.
Stud. If it relates only to theſe Things, perhaps
it may be of Ufe to you to communicate the Par-
ticulars, at leaſt it may give ſome vent to the Op-
preffion of Thought, which you feem to be under,
you cannot open your Mind to One, that has
more earneſt Defires to do you Good,
Good, tho'
per-
haps not fufficiently furniſh'd to adviſe you.
Ath. I must tell it or * Burft;
Here hegave him the whole Story of his going
to his Friend's Chamber, in order to take
him with him to the wicked Club they had
kept,
1
[76]
kept, and how he had met him at the Door,
and faid the fame Words to him, that the
Student had repeated, and when he had
done, fays he to his Friend;
and who now do you think muft dictate the fame
Words to him, and afterwards to you, to fay to me
on the fame Occafion.
Stud. Who do I think! Nay, who do you think?
Ath. Who! The Devil, if there is a Devil.
Stud. Why, do you think the * Devil preaches
Repentance!
* He ftands Stock-ftill, and ſays not a Word,
which the other perceiving, goes on.
Pray think ſeriouſly, for I fee it does a little touch
your Reaſon; is it likely the Devil fhould bid ei-
ther of us, or both of us, intreat you to repent? Is
it the Devil think you, that would pronounce the
Certainty of the great Truth I fpeak of? Is it his
Buſineſs to convince you that there is a God?
Ath. That's very true.
Stud. One Thing however, I'll fay in Satan's
Behalf; and that is, that he never came up to your
height of Sinning. The Devil has frequently fet
up himſelf, and perfuaded poor deluded People to
worship him as a God; but to do him Justice, he
never had the Impudence to deny the Being of a
God; that's a Sin purely Human, and even among
Men very Modern too, the Invention of witty
Men, as they call themſelves; a Way they have late-
ly found out to cherifh fuperlative Wickednefs,
and flåtter themſelves, that they fhall have no Au-
dit of their Accompts in a Future State; of whom
it
may indeed be faid in that Particular, they have
out-finn'd the Devil.
[器
​Ath
[77]
1
Ath. Indeed I think we have.
Stud. I wish you would confider a little farther
of it.
Ath. What can Men confider that have gone
that Length?
Stud. Yes, yes, remember what St. Peter faid to
Simon the Sorcerer.
Ath. What was that?
Stud. Read Acts viii. 22. Repent therefore of this
thy Wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought
of thine Heart may be forgiven thee.
Ath. No, No, the laft of your Verfes is againſt
me there moft directly.
Its all TOO LATE now my Miſtakes appear.
Stud. No, no, Remember what you faid, that
it must be a God or a Devil.
Ath. What is that to the Purpoſe?
Stud. Why you ſeem'd fatisfied, that it could not
be from the Devil.
Ath. But what the better am I for that, if the
other is my Enemy?
Stud. Much the better if it was from God, if the
Words you heard were from God, and that two un-
concerted Perfons fo eminently concurr'd in fpeak-
ing to you, you cannot believe God would bid you
REPENT, if it was too late, or if he were your
irreconcileable Enemy; on the contrary, if you
believe it to be the Vo ce of his Providence, you
aught to liſten to and obey it.
Ath. You have a ftrange Power of Perfuafion,
there's no refifting your Argument.
Stud. It is not in me to perfuade, but Heaven
may make uſe of me to convince.
Ath. To convince is to perfuade, I am convinc'd
that I have been a dreadful Wretch.
Stud. I am perfuaded you were convinc❜d of that
before.
Ath. I
[ 78 ]
Ath. I cannot deny but my Heart always ftruck
me, a kind of chill Horror ran through my
Veins, when I have utter'd the blafphemous Opi-
nions that I have been drawn into, my very Blood
ftagnated at the Thought of it, and I look back
on it with Aſtoniſhment.
Stud. I tell you, I felt a Tremor even in your
Fleſh, when you read the Word, a God, a Hea-
ven, a Hell.
Ath. I confefs to you my very Heart funk with-
in me at the Words who can tell; my Soul anfwer'd
that I could tell myſelf, that it both is, and muſt
be fo.
Stud. Confcience is a faithful and never-failing
Evidence in his Maker's Behalf.
Ath. It is a very terrible Evidence againſt me,
and where will it End?
Stud. I hope it will End where it began, I
mean in a heavenly Call to you to Repentance.
Ath. That is not always the Confequence of
Conviction.
Stud. You must therefore diftinguifh again of
what proceeds from Heaven, what from Hell, the
Voice of God, and the Voice of the Devil; the
firſt calls upon you to repent, the laft prompts
you to defpair.
Ath. Defpair feems to be the natural Confe
quence of denying God; for it fhuts out the
Power that can alone reſtore the Mind.
Stud. The greater is that Love which refuſes to
be fhut out, that fends fuch a heavenly Summons
to you to repent, and in fo eminent a Manner; it
is not your having been an Enemy, a Blafphemer,
a Denyer of God; Peter denicd Chrift three
Times, nay, the third Time he even abjur'd him,
and yet mark the Words, The Lord look'd on him,
and immediately he repented.
Ath.
[79]
Ath. My Cafe is worſe than Peter's.
Stud. And yet you fee you are call'd on to
repent.
Ath. I think you are call'd to make me repent,
there's no aufwering you.
Stud. Amen; may I have the Bleffing of being
an Inftrument to fo good a Work, there feems to
be fomething extraordinary in it all.
Ath. It's all a Surpriſe to me, how came I hi-
ther!
Stud. Nay, how came I hither! how came this
Book here! who writ the Lines in the Frontif
piece! how came I to read them! 'tis all a Dream
to me.
Ath. How came you to think of me upon the
reading them! and how came I here juft at the
*Moment, and out of my Way too!
*He lifts up his Hands and cries out, There
is a God, certainly there is, I am con-
vinc'd of it, it muſt be ſo.
Stud. Nothing more certain; nor is there any
Doubt but all thefe Things are of him.
Ath. But there are yet greater Things behind, I
wiſh you would go with me to my Friend
Mr.'s Chamber, I am perfuaded fome-
thing yet more extraordinary muſt have befallen
him.
Stud. With all my Heart.†
†They both go to the first Gentleman's Cham-
ber, and found him at Home very much
out of Order, but willing enough to dif-
courſe with them.
F f
Ath.
}
[ 80 ]
Ath. Well, Friend of mine, I hope you are bet-
ter difpos'd to your Friends than when I faw
laft.
you
Gent. Truly when I ſaw you laft, I was diſpoſed
of by the Devil, and fo I doubt was you; I hope
I fhall never come into that horrid Place again.
Ath. What horrid Place?
Gent. You know where I mean, I tremble at
the very Thoughts of the Place, and much more
of the Company; I wish I could prevail upon you
to come no more among them too; I affure you
if I know myfelf, and if God would affift me
to do it, I would much rather go to a Stake to be
burnt.
Stud. I rejoice in fuch an Alteration, Sir, upon
you, I hope our Friend here is of the fame Mind,
long may it continue in you both.
Ath. Well, pray tell us fomething of the Occa-
fion of this happy Alteration; for it will feem ftill
more ftrange, how you came to be inftrumental to
my Change, if I know nothing of the Means that
brought about your own.
Gent. Mine! I affure you, it was all from Hea-
ven: Not the Light that fhone about St. Paul, was
more immediately from Heaven, than the Stroke
that touch'd my Soul; it is true, I had no Voice'
without, but a Voice has ſpoken (I hope) effe-
&tually to my Underſtanding, I had Voice enough
to tell me, how I was in the Hands of that Power,
that Majefty, that GOD, whom I had wickedly,
and with a Hardneſs not to be expreffed, difown'd
and deny'd.
Stud. Pray Sir, if you care to have it known,
give us fome Account of the Particulars of this
wonderful Thing.
}
Gent.
[ 81]
Gent. Sir, I fhall do it * freely, I think I ought
not to conceal it.
* Here he gives an Account of the Surprife he
was in by the Lightning, how he was
ftopt in his Way to his wicked Com-
pany, and went back to his Chamber.
Ath. Well, now I will no more wonder at the
Salutation you gave me, when I came to call you,
but thank you for it.
Gent. What Salutation?
Ath. Why, when I was at your Chamber about
two Hours ago.
Gent. You at my Chamber!
Ath. Nay, you need not conceal it, for I have
told our Friend here all the Story.
Gent. I know nothing of what you talk of, much
leſs what you mean.
Ath. Nay, what need you go about to conceal
it? I tell you I do not take it ill, I hope I may have
Reaſon to be thankful for what you faid to me,
and look upon it as ſpoken from Heaven; for I
affure you, it has been an Introduction to that
Light in my Thoughts, which I hope fhall never be
extinguish❜d.
Gent. Dear Friend, as I believe you are ferious,
fo I hope you believe I am fo; I profefs I know
nothing of all you talk about.
Ath. Why, was I not at your Door this After-
noon, a little after the great Shower of Rain?
Gent. Not that I know of.
Ath. Why, did not I knock at your Chamber-
Door, and you come to the Door yourſelf and
ſpeak to me?
Gent. Not to Day, I am very fure of it.
Ff 2
Ath.
[82]
A
}
Ath. Am I awake! are you Mr.
am I
fure we are all alive, and know what we are fay-
ing, and to who?
Gent. I beseech you unriddle yourſelf, for I am
furprifed
Ath. Why, about three a Clock this Afternoon,
I came to this Chamber-Door; knock'd; you
came and open'd the Door; I began to speak, you
interrupted me, and
Here he repeats the Paffage at large,
and his own Thoughts, and Refent-
ment as before.
Gent. Depend upon it, 'twas fome Voice from
Heaven, it was nothing of mine; I have not been
at the Door fince two of the Clock, when I came
first in, but have been on the Bed or in my Study
ever fince, wholly taken up with my own Thoughts,
and very much indiſpos'd.
The young Man turns Pale, and falls
into a Swound.
There was a great deal more belonging to this
Story, but 'tis too long for the prefent Purpoſe, I
have related this Part on feveral Accounts, and it
hits the Purpoſe I am upon many Ways.
1. Here is a viſible Evidence of God, and of
his Being and Nature fix'd fo in the Mind,
that not the moft hardn'd Atheift can deny it,
Nature recoils at every Endeavour to fup-
prefs it, and the very Pulfation of his Blood
fhall difcover and acknowledge it.
2. Yer
1
[83]
2. Yet even in this, we fee how the Power of
Imagination may be work'd up, by the fe-
cret Agency of an unknown Hand, how ma-
ny Things concurr'd to make this Man be-
lieve he had feen an Apparition, and heard
a Voice, and yet there was nothing in it
but the Voice of a Man unfeen and miſtaken;
the young Man was fo furpriſed at his
Friends declaring that he knew nothing of
his coming there, that he concluded it had
been all a Viſion or Apparition that opened
the Door, and that it was a Voice that had
fpoken to him, of what Kind he knew not;
and the Reflection upon this furpriſed him fo
much as threw him into a Swound, and yet
here was neither Vifion or Voice, but that
of an ordinary Perfon, and one who meant
well, and faid well.
It is not to be doubted, but that many an Ap-
parition related with a great deal of Certainty
in the World, and of which good Ends have fol-
low'd, has been no more than fuch a ferious Mi-
ftake as this.
But before I leave it, let me obferve, that this
fhould not at all hinder us from making a very
good Ufe of fuch Things; for many a Voice may
be directed from Heaven, that is not immediately
ſpoken from thence; as when the Children cried
Hofannah to our Saviour, they fulfilled the Scrip-
ture, which faid out of the Mouths of Babes and
Sucklings thou haft ordain'd Praife; fo doubtless
he that made all Things and created all Things;
may appoint Inſtruction to be given by fortuitous
Accidents, and may direct concurring Circum-
ftances to touch and affect the Mind as much, and
as effectually, as if they had been immediate and
miraculous.
Thus
[ 84 ]
Thus was the two Perfons happening to lay the
fame Words to the Atheift, the ftrange reading of
thofe Lines, when the Perfon came into the Book-
feller's Shop, the incident of his running into the
Shop for Shelter, and many the like Things of the
fame Nature, and order'd in the fame Manner as
the Cock crowing when Peter denied Chrift, which
though wonderfully concurrent with what his
bleffed Mafter had foretold, yet was no extraor-
dinary Thing in a Cock, who naturally Crows at
fuch a Time of the Morning.
In a Word, all thefe Things ferve to convince
us of a great Super-intendency of Divine Provi-
dence in the minuteft Affairs of this World, of a
manifeft Exiſtence of the invifible World, of the
Reality of Spirits, and of the Intelligence between
us and them. I hope I have faid nothing of it to
mif-guide any Body, or to affift them to delude
themſelves, having ſpoken of it with the utmoft Se-
riouſneſs in my Defign, and with a fincere Defire
for a general Good,
FINIS
1
BOOKS lately Printed for W. TAYLOR,
at the Ship and Black-Swan, in Pater-
nofter-Row.
P
Hillips's new World of Words or univerfal Engliſh Di-
&tionary, the 7th Edit. improv'd with above twenty
thousand Words.
2. The Hiſtory of the Revolutions of Rome, by the Ab-
bot Vertot, in 2 Vols. 8vo.
3. His Hiftory of the Revolution in Sweden, 8vo.
4. The Hiftory of Charles the 12th, late King of Sweden,
the 2d Edit. with a Continuation to his Death, 8vo.
5. The Hiftory of the Turks, in 4 Vols, 8vo.
6. The Turkish-Spy, Vol. 9th, 12mo.
7. Memoirs of a Cavalier, written threefcore Years
ago; by an English Gentleman, who ferved firft in the
Army of Gustavus Adolphus, the glorious King of Sweden.
till his Death: And after that in the Royal Army of
King Charles the First, from the Beginning to the Conclu-
fion of the Rebellion.
8. C. Grammont's Memoires of the English Court, during
the Reigns of King Charles the 2d and King James the
2d; the 2d Edit. To which is added a compleat Key.
9. The Life and ftrange furprifing Adventures of Ro-
binson Crusoe of York, Mariner; who lived twenty-eight
Years all alone in an uninhabited Ifland, on the Coaft of
America, &c. in 2 Vols 8-v0.
10. The Farrier's New Guide: Containing 1. The A-
natomy of a Horfe, being an Exact and Compendious.
Defcription of all his Parts, with their Actions and Ufes,
illuftrated with Figures curioufly engraven on Copper-
Plates. 2. An Account of all the Difeafes incident to
Horfes, with their Signs, Caufes, and Methods of Cure:
Wherein many Defects in the Farrier's Practice are now
carefully
Books Sold by W. TAYLOR, &C.
carefully fupplied, their Errors expos'd and amended, and
the Art greatly improved and advanced according to the
lateſt Dilcoveries: The Whole interfperfed with many
curious and ufeful Obfervations, concerning Feeding and
Exercife, &c By Will. Gibson.
11. The Adventures of Theagines and Chariclia; A Ro-
mance. Done from the Greek of Heliodorus, in 2 Vols,
I2mo.
12. The Whole Art of Surveying and Meaſuring of
Land. By John Lode, Philomath. the 4th Edition.
13. Trigonometry improved, and Projection of the
Sphere made eafy, teaching the Projection of the Sphere,
Orthographick and Stereographick; as alfo Trigonometry
plain and fpherical, with plain and intelligible Reaſons
for various and moft ufeful Methods, both in Projection
and Calculation; with the Application of the Whole to
Aftronomy, Dialling and Geography. By Henry Wilfon.
14. The London Accomptant. By the fame Author.
15. Mr. Hawkesbee's Phifico Mechanical Experiments on
Variety of Subjects.
16. Dr. Defaguliers Tranſlation of Mr. Marriot's Hydro-
ftaticks!
17.
His Tranflation of Dr. Gravefande's Introduction
to Sir Jaac Newton's Phylofophy.
18. Mr. Raphson's Tranflation of Sir Ifaac Newton's Al-
gebraic Lectures.
19. The Religious Philofopher, by Dr. Niewentyt. 3 Vols.
20. The Ufé of the Globes.
21. Aftronomical Lectures read in the publick Schools
in Cambridge. By Mr Whifton.
22.
Philofophy.
23.
24.
25.
His Lectures to explain Sir Ifaac Newton's
His Elements of Euclid.
His Aftronomical Principles of Religion.
His Solar Syſtem, a large Sheet.
26 Mr. Cunn's Treatife of Vulgar and Decimal Fra-
Єtions.
27. A Set of Scriptural Maps, fitted to be bound with
the Folio Bible.
28. A laige Atlas of twenty-two Sheets, and eleven
Sheets Maps, &c. Price bound 2 1.
مییه
1
ARTES
LIBRARY
1837
SCIENTIA
VERITAS OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
PLURIBUS UNUM CO
TUEBOR
SI-QUÆRIS PENINSULAM-AMŒNAM.
CIRCUMSPICE
*
GIFT OF
REGENT LLHUBBARD
F
そん
​