1100 WI9f Warburton Faith working by charity \estc THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES FREDERIC THOMAS BLANCHARD ENDOWMENT FUND Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from Microsoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/faithworkingbychOOwarbiala Faith working by charity to CHRISTIAN EDIFICATION. SERMON Preach'd at the laft Epifcopal Vifitation FOR CONFIRMATION, I N T H E Diocese of LINCOLN. WITH A Preface fhewing the Reafons of its Publication. And a Postscr ipt occalloncd by fome Letters lately pub- Hfhed in the Weekly Mifcellany. By William War bur ton, A.M. Author of the Divine Legation of Mofes demon- Jl rated, &c. LONDON, Printed for Fletcher Gyles, againft Grays- Inn, in Ho Ibom: M DCC XXXVIII. • ■> K -B7" PREFACE. TH E fecond Epiftle of St. Peter, from which I have taken my Text, had been long fufpeBed, by Ancients as well as Moderns of great Note, not to belong to the Author, whofe Name it bears \ when an illuftrious Writer f, by a happy Difcovery of the Caufes of that Druerfity of Style, on which the Sufpicion was founded, fully vindicated it to our Apoftle. I. We may now fafely urge it as the genuine Work of St. Peter. And, al- lowing the Fact, I dare offer the follow* ing Difcourfe to our Free-thinkers, for an internal proof of the Divine Inspiration of that Apoftle : as /hewing the Precepts delivered in my Text to con- tain a Knowledge of human Nature amazingly clear, profound, and com* + Author of the Dijcrtation on the Authority of the fecond Epi* file to St. Peter. A i prehenfive 902523 PREFACE. py eh en five: A Knowledge that, pro- ceeding from the Simplicity of an il- literate unjiudied Fifherman, dif graces the Wifdom of Greece and Rome. / dare challenge our Adverfaries to pro- duce, out of the whole Treafury of an- cient Learning and Philofophy, any thing approaching to the Excellence and Perjeciion of this fhort Summary of human Conduct: And yet it is well known, that the ancient Sages mojl ex- celled in this way of Writing ; for they delighted to reduce their long Studies, and laborious Searches after Happinefs, into fhort and compendious Aphorifms, If therefore they fail here, what Jhall hinder us from regarding this Pajjage y (of which my whole Dijcourfe is only a plain and fimple Explanation) as a Jlrong^ Evidence of the real Accomplijh- ment of our Saviour 's Promife to his Difciples, of fending the Holy Spirit to lead them into all Truth ? II. In the Courfe of my Explanation I was invited to illuflrate the Importance of the Apoflolic Precepts by a Defcrip- tion of thofe Popifo Corruptions, which a Neg- PREFACE. a NegleB of thefe Precepts had intro- duced into the IVorld. This afforded me an Opportunity of giving a general and entire View of the Roman-Catholick Churchy m the Virtue of their Saints, the Science of their Doctors, and the , Difcipline of their Priefts. In which, tho I have exprefsd myfelf with the free Refentment of a Man, who regards Popery as, not only the ' Corruption of the true Religion, but an Injult on the Senfe, and an Invafion of the Liberties of Mankind-, yet have I carefully en- deavoured to keep within the Bounds of that Truth and Charity, which confii- tute the Character of a Minifler of the Gofpel. How expedient a true Pi Bur e of Popery is at this Time, I leave to the Confider ation of thofe, who have ob- ferved the late uncommon Induftry and Succeffes of the EmiJ/aries of the Church of Rome. Thefe Men, who compafs Sea and Land to gain one Profelyte, have been always watchful to take Ad- vantage of our Follies. In the Time of our bathers, which was the Age of Sec- tai tess PREFACE. taries, they flruck in, we are told, to increafe the Gonfufion amongji them ; as hoping thofe numerous Divifions would at length carry us back to their Unifor- mity. And in this Age of Infidelity , they have affumed, as is well known, the Perfonages of Scepticks and Hob- bifls ; as hoping, that believing nothing will at lafl terminate in believing all things. Nor do thefe feem to be extra- vagant Expectations, if we judge either from Experience,or the Nature of Things. Our Infidels have thought themfelves extreamly acute in comparing the hu- man Mind to a Ball a nee ; in which Motives ,forfooth , are the Weights : But, if its Operations muft needs be mecha- nical, I Jhould think it might be better explained by a Pendulum ; which, when well leaded, is incejfantly fwmging from one Extream to the other. This is cer- tain, the Abfurdities of Popery have made many Free-thinkers abroad: And why the Abfurdities of hree-ihinkwg may not as well make Papifls at home, I leave to be confidtred* 1 can- PREFACE. / cannot end this Head without re- commending what has been /aid above to the ferious RefleBion of my Reverend Brethren. It is not to call upon them to a watchful Attendance on the Motions of thefe their fubtil Enemies. 'Tis their commendable Vigilance and Vigour that perhaps occafion that Indifcretion infome few of them, which I would endeavour to remove \ namely, the unreafonable Sufpicions they are apt to entertain of one another ; whdfi they are all labour- ing in their feveral Ways, to oppofe the prefent over-bearing Torrent of Infide- lity. Our Adverfaries, as I have f aid, are able ones : and it would be Jlrange, if fuch had nothing in their ConduB worthy the Imitation of Men engaged in a better Caufe. And we know it is no lefs honourable than politick to learn of an Enemy. Now when was it ever feen, that either Free-thinker or Papift fufpeBed their profeffed Writers of hav- ing too much, or too little Faith 1 or ever gave any foolifh Intimation, that they were in fecret Under -[landing with their Adverfaries ? They have always been too PREFACE. too wife to weaken their own Hands • and a thorough Confidence and Peace have reigned amongfl them> Tigris agit rabida cum Tigride pacem Perpetuam : faevis inter fe convenit Urfis. What then common Difcretion hath taught thefe Men to do for the Support of the worfl Caufes, furely Truth and Charity joined to Difcretion^ Jhould in- cline us to for the Support of the very "left* [ I ] 2 Peter, Chap. i. j. Giving all Diligence , add to your faith, Virtue 5 and to Virtue > Knowledge ; 6. And to Knowledge, Temperance ; and to Temperance, Patience \ and to Patience, Godlinefs ; 7. And to Godlinefs, Brotherly-kindnefs; and to Brotberly-kindnefs, charity. TH E Holy Apoflle, beginning his fare- wel Epiftle to the Churches with a Commendation of their Ftf*7&,takes,from thence, Occafion of inftrudting them in the Nature of that Chrijlian Building which they are to erect upon it ; and, as his laft Labour of Love brings together, and lays in, all the various Mate- rials neceflary for fo great a Work. But we mail have a very wrong, and much too low, Conception of our Apoftle's Skill, if we con- fider thefe but as Materials rudely thrown together without Art or Choice ; and (landing in need of other Hands to range them in that Architectonic Order wherein they are to be employed. For on a careful Survey it will be found, that no other than that Spirit which directed the Workmen of the Old Tabernacle could give fo artful a Difppfition to the 8 Materials 2 Faith working by Charity Materials of this new Building not made with Hands, whofe Maker and Builder is God. He hath marked out the Foundation, {length- ened the Bafis, proportioned the Members, adorn- ed the Superftrueture, and crowned the Whole with the richeft of Materials ; and all this with fuch Juftice of Science, Sublimity of Thought, and Force of Genius, that every foregoing Virtue gives Stability to the following •, and every following im- parts Perfection to that which went before : Where the three Orders of this heavenly Architecture, the Human, the Divine, and Social Virtues, are fo ex- quifitely difpofed, that the Human and Social have their proper Strengths and Graces heightened and fupported by the common Connexion of the Divine : Where every thing, in fhort, concurs, in its proper Station, for the perfecling of the Saints, for the edify- ing of the Body of Chrijl. In Conformity to the Practice of human Inftruc- tors, who deliver it as a Principle to their Difciples, that no considerable Advance is to be made in Sci- ence without much Labour, our Holy Artift intro- duces his Precepts with this Preliminary — giving all diligence. And if this be neceffary in civil Matters, where nothing oppofes the Progrefs to- wards Perfection but the Length of Art and the Short- nefs of Life \ with how great Reafon are we here en- joined Diligence, where, befides thofe Difcourage- ments, we have numerous Enemies within us under the Difguife of Friends, the confederated Paffions, to retard our Progrefs, and Devils, and evil Men without, to Hop us as we prefs forward in the Ca- reer of Virtue ? But the Neceflity of this Diligence will be better feen in the Sequel of this Difcourfe, where we (hew the Care and Circumfpection required in the Culti- vation of every Christian Virtue, here recommend- ed, to Christian Edification. 3 cd, to prevent its languifliing by Defect, or luxuri- ating by Excefs. Our Apoftle, as a wife Mafltr -Builder, chufes for his Foundation that Rock on which his Lord had promifed him to build his Church j Add to your faith as directed by the fame Divine Spirit with his Fel- low-Labourer St. Paul, who bids every Man take heed how he buildeth •, for other Foundation can no Man lay than that is laid, which is Jefus Chrift. But the Simplicity and Clearnefs of the Doclrine of Faith could not fecure it, even in the apoftolic Times, from being perverted to countenance the moft fatal Error concerning its Nature and Effica- cy •, while it was miftaken to be alone fufficient to make Man acceptable to his Maker, and without good Works, to intitle him to the Rewards of the Gofpel-Covenant. To explain the original and fundamental Caufes of this Error, and to fhew how the per feci Novelty of the Doclrine of Faith — the Me- thod the Holy Spirit direcled the Apojlles to ufe in the Propagation of the Gofpel — and the illuflrious Marks of that Spirit, which then accompanied the Profeffion of the Faith, — to fhew, I fay, how all thefe acci- dentally contributed to fupport this Error, is befide the Bounds and Purpofe of the prefent Difcourfe. It mail fuffice to obferve,that this dangerous Ex- travagance, which hath continued more or lefs, to infecl: every Age of the Church, fpread immedi- ately fo fwift and wide, under Cover of that Di- vine Truth, that a Man is jufified by Faith without the Deeds of the Law a (Truth of the very Efience of Chriftianity) that the Apoftolic Writers found it neceffary frequently and formally to oppofe and confute it. And on this Account I fuppofe it wafi that St. Peter*s firft Precept enjoins our adding or building Virtue upon Faith. B 2 Add 4 Faith working by Charity Add to your Faith virtue. From henceforth Faith, which, while it was fingle and folitary, remained dead, as the facred Writers exprefs it, being thus cloathed upon by Vir- tue, becomes reanimated, and that lively Faith bringing forth the Fruits of Immortality. A reciprocal Advantage Virtue receives from Faith, on which it is thus built : For we fhall find thefe Advantages to be all the way reciprocal. The Weakness of unguided Reafon, and the Violence of ill-balanced Paffions, had reduced moral Virtue, in the Pagan World, to fo fhadowy and precarious an Exiftence, that the wifeft Teachers of it openly lamented its helplefs Condition, and owned that nothing but a Revelation from Heaven could rea- lize and fupport it. They miftook the true Foundation of Morality, fome placing it in the native Excellence of Virtue, others in the outward and public Benefits, of which it is productive. They were left deftitute, and ex- pofed to the free Rage of inordinate Paflions, with- out Aid, and with uncertain Profpect of Reward. But it was the Difpenfation of Faith only, that difcovered the true Foundation of Morality to be, Conformity to the Will and Command of our Cre- ator and Sovereign Lord. It was Faith only, that enabled us to furmount all the Oppofition of the Appetites, by mewing us the infinite Rewards that are held out to the good Chriftian, and placed within his Reach, by the Afliftance of the Holy Spirit. Thus, to ufe the Words of the Apoftle Jude, Te, beloved, building up your/elves on your moji holy Faith, praying in the Holy Ghoft, keeping your- /elves in the Love of God, looking for the Mercy of cur Lord J ejus Chnjl unto eternal Life, But tho' Virtue is here enjoined, and in all the Preachings of our bleffed Saviour, and in all the Writings of his Apoftles, inceflantly repeated and inforced to Christian Edification. 5 inforced, yet, if we expect to find in them any re- gular or methodick Body of Morality, we fhall be greatly deceived. For this, the New Teftament, all along, refers us to another Guide. For God having before revealed the whole Doctrine of Mo- rality by the Religion of Nature, and none of God's Revelations contradicting another, it was enough for the firft Teachers of Chriftianity, when they preached up Virtue, to refer their Followers for Particulars, to what natural Religion taught con- cerning it. This being fo, and that the great Pandect of the Law of Nature is to be fearched and ftudied, in order to attain a perfect: Knowledge of moral Du- ty, there is need of much Pains and Exercife of Mind to learn that Virtue, we are here enjoined to build upon Faith. For tho' Nature hath ftamp'd fo ftrongly the firft Principles of moral Duty in the Breads of all Men, that even a kind of friend- ly Inftinct will not fuffer us to be quite ignorant of them ; yet the numerous Deductions, from thofe firft Principles, of what is fit and right, in every Circumftance of Life, being to be collected by the fetting together, comparing, and forting our Ideas, through all the various Combinations of moral Complexities, it requires, even with the divine Af- fiftance of Holy Writ, much Reflexion and Ha- bitude ; and without that Afliftance, as the Expe- rience of all Ages hath ihewn, is a Tafk utterly unfurmountable. Scripture then conftantly referring to the Law of Nature, to one much a Stranger to that Law, what can be the Refult of his Study of the Scrip- tures, if modeft, but Doubt and Uncertainty ; if vain and prefuming, and if, at the fame time, (which has too often happened) by Profeffion a Teacher of others, but Miftakes and Errors, the fatal Errors of Superftition and Fanaticifm ? For doubt- 6 Faith working by Charity doublefs to the Ignorance of natural Religion mud be attributed the Extravagancies to which fo many Sects and Parties have, in their feveral Turns, been obnoxious. But much of thefe Mifchiefs had been avoided, had Men duly attended to the Words of our Apo- ftle : For to prevent them was the Defign of the next Precept of my Text. Add, fays he, to Virtue knowledge ; or that Wifdom, which is the Refult of the Study of Nature in the Purfuit of Truth. And that you may fee with how prophetic, as well asjujl, a Spirit St. Peter was here directed, I fliall flop a Moment to hold you out a Picture of Virtue unattended with that Knowledge, copied from no obfcure or difcredited Originals •, but from fuch whofe Lives are preached up for Examples, and whofe Deaths are commemorated with divine Ho- nours ; from fuch as have Shrines and Altars dedi- cated to their Worfhip •, and Vows and Petitions offered up to their Divinity ; in one Word, Popijh Saints. To underltand this Matter aright, we muft con- fider, that Virtue confiits in acting agreeably to thofe Relations, in which we fland to our common Humanity, our Fellow-Creatures, and our Creator. For as Religion, in the larger Senfe of the Word, includes the Duty we owe ourfelf and Neighbour, fo Morality, in its larger Senfe, includes the Ob- fervance of the Relation we fland in towards God. And when the Practice refpects Man it is called Virtue •, when it refpects God, Piety. Thefe Relations are commonly diftinguifhed in- to the human, the foetal, and the divine Virtues : The End and Defign of all which is to perfect Man's Nature, i. By reftraining, regulating, and directing the private to Christian Edification. 7 private and felfifh Appetites, according to theDiclates of Reafon. 2. By cultivating, improving, and enlarging the focial Paflions and Affections, and employing them in the Service of our Species, according to the Dic- tates of Charity. 3. By exercifing our Underftandings in the Con- templation of the firft Caufe, and by owning our Relation to him in fuitable Acts of rational Wor- fhip, in order to unite us to our fupreme Good, ac- cording to the Ditlates of Grace. Now when, in the Church of Rome, Knowledge Came to be efteemed of no Ufe to improve or di- rect Virtue ; but that Ignorance was thought as well the Mother of all other Virtues, as of Devotion : When the Law of Nature came to be fhunned as a dangerous and fallacious Guide ; and Faith, tradi- tional, not fcriptural, had ufurped its Province of interpreting Gofpel-righteoufnefs ; then it was, that thefe illuftrious Examples of a new kind of Virtue appeared amongft them, in a barbarous Rabble of Saints ; who under the common Name of Religious, and on Pretence of a more fublime and elevated Virtue, than Natural Religion taught, ran into the moll horrid Exceffes of Fanaticifm and Superfti- tion. For 1. Inftead of regulating the felfifh Appetites, they laboured all they could to eradicate and de~ firoy them, as Things, even in their Nature, vici- ous ; as the gracelefs Furniture of the old Man with his Affeblions and Lufis. All was difmal and dark about them : Inordinate Watchings, excruciating Difciplines, attenuating Labours. Thefe, aggra- vated by Hunger, Thirft, and Nakednefs, were the beft Means thefe poor miflaken Followers of him, who faid his Toke was eafy and his Burthen light, could think of to regulate the felfifh Paflions. Till the Body, deprived of every kind of Good, which 8 Faith working by Charity which the gracious Hand of Providence hath fo largely poured out for the Solace of its Creatures, gave way and yielded to the Fury of this fanatic Penitence ; while he was efteemed the greateft Saint who was the moft expeditious Suicide. 2. Inftead of improving and enlarging the focial Affections, thefe Saints fled into Caves and Defarts, or fhut themfelves up for Life in the Duft and Si- lence of a Cloifter. Where, to unfit themfelves for ferving their Friends and Families, they di veil- ed themfelves of their PofTefiions, to give to pious Ufes; that is, to fupport the Sloth of lazy Mendi- cants, or the Luxury of debauched Churchmen : To unfit themfelves for Submifiion to the Civil Magi- ftrate, they entered into treafonable Engagements of unlimited Obedience to their fpiritual Superiors: To unfit themfelves for ferving their Country or Mankind, they took Vows of voluntary Poverty, and renounced all fecular Employments : And laft- ly, as much as in them lay, to make War againft the very Being of their Species, they unnaturally devoted themfelves to a fingle Life, in blafphemous Oppofnion to that firfr. great Command and Blef- fing, increafe and multiply. 3. Laftly, inftead of ufing their Reafon in the Offices of Devotion, to attain the fupreme Good, an Union with the Deity ; by crediting their Ima- gination^ they have often thrown themfelves, with extatic Tranfports, into the Arms of the Demon. While, in the Place of internal Acts of fober Me- ditation, nothing was feen but Trances, Raptures and Virions ; nothing heard but Predictions, Pro- phefies and Revelations : In the Place of external Acts of rational Worfhip, they celebrated the Ho- .ly Offices with gay and childifh Ornaments, with barbarous and fuperftitious Rites, and with bafe and fervile Proftrations. And the favourite Objecls of their Worfhip were in all refpecls agreeable to the to Christian Edification. 9 the Form, either the idolatrous Adoration of a con- fecrated Wafer, or of thofe yet lefs fubjlantial Divi- nities, which have their Exiftence only in a lying Legend. You have here a faithful Picture of Popifh Vir- tue ftript of Knowledge. From whence you may collect how miferable a Creature Man grows, when he throws afide his Reafon, the firfl: great Gift of Heaven, in order to follow the falfe Lights, tnat Cuftom, Fancy, or the Paflions fetup in his Bread j and how equally miferable that State muft be, which fupports a Religion, where Ignorance has diverted Virtue of all its Charms, poifoned all its Health, and made it as deftructive to Society, as barefaced open Vice. Thus have we feen, by a terrible Example, the Mifchiefs done by Ignorance to Virtue ; from whence we may collect of how much Service Knowledge is to it. We now proceed to fhew the reciprocal Service Virtue does to Knowledge. Knowledge is the Attain- ment and Perception of Truth ; and ufeful Know- ledge the Attainment and Perception of thofe Truths, that tend to the perfecting our Nature. But the inordinate Paflions, operating averfely to fuch Truths, cloud and darken the Underftanding, fo as to miflead us even from thofe of the moit eafy Difcovery, and of the higheft Importance to be known. Again, to acquire a competent Share of Knowledge we muft, as I have faid, labour hard in following Truth thro* all her Receflfes : But ir. is only the Pleafure of the Purchafe, which can en- gage us heartily in the Purfuit : And that can a- rife from nothing but the Amiablenefs of the Ob- ject. Now while Vice ufurps the Heart, Truth, her moral Enemy, will be but a neglected Gueft. But when Virtue has reaffumed her Seat, the Clouds of Error difperfe, and a Pafiion for Truth bright- C ens io Faith working by Charity ens and inflames the Underftanding. For Truth and Virtue are twin-born Sillers ; and, with only a Name of Diftinction, participate of one common Nature, Truth being fpecuJative Virtue, and Vir- tue only practical Truth. And now the Under- ftanding makes the molt rapid Progrefs in Know- ledge, as having no headftrong Appetites to mif- lead it, nor carnal Paflions to damp its Affection. From henceforth, the only Danger is from the Quarter oppofite, namely, left the Mind's ar- dent Love of Truth fhould engage it in Abftracti- ons, and carry it beyond the Limits of thofe Truths, which are here given us to contemplate. In order to apprehend this Danger, we are to take notice, that, of the immenfe intellectual Sy- ftem, an extreamly fmall Portion lyes really within our Reach j the infinitelytarger Part refiding near the Throne of its Almighty Author,wrapp'd up in folemn and tremendous Darknefs. The Reafon why fo much is kept out of Sight, or fet above the Mind's Comprehenfion, which by the unwearied Vigour of its Operations feems na- turally capable of a much wider Grafp, appears to be, left in this earthly Condition the Mind's In- tention fhould become diftracted by too great Va- riety of Ideas, or that it fhould make a wrong Choice, and purfue Truths of lefs prefent Impor- tance too far, to the Neglect of thofe more necef- fary for its Improvement in this tranfitory Station. This Reafon is much fupported by obferving,that in the enlightened Part of the intellectual World, nay even in thofe cleared and brighteft Portions of it, where full Science is to be had, Speculations, pufhed beyond a certain Point, that Point where Ufe is reafonably fuppofed to end, and mere Cu- riofity to begin, conclude in Darknefs, Extrava- gance, and Contradiction. The not attending to this Reafon feems to have been to Christian Edification. ii been the very thing, which has given Birth, and fo long Continuance, to Scepiicifm. For Men fee- ing this to be the IfTue of the cleared Principles, when purfued to an intemperate Length, concluded, againil their Senfes, that the Fountain was no purer than the remoteft Streams. When both Reafcn and Experience might have taught them, that the Progrefs from Light to Darknefs was not the natu- ral Condition of Things, but the arbitrary Decree of infinite Wifdom and Mercy, which impofed this Barrier to the Extravagances of its giddy, law- lefs Creature. But however this be, certain it is, that Men, raifed and heated in the zealous Purfuit of Know- ledge, have been always apt to run into the bound- lefs Regions of Chimeras. Where, tho* loft and bewilder'd in vifionary Ideas, yet, if of warm Ima- ginations, they have taken more Delight in thofe obfcure and fnadowy Paths, than any fober Fol- lower of Truth, within the Limits of open Day, and Nature. Now thefe Extravagancies, fo taking in them- felves, and fo mifchievous in their Confequences, proceeding from a Want of Modefty, and due Confcioufnefs of the narrow Limits of the human Underftanding, St. Peter, in his next Precept, with exquifite Skill, reftrains. Add, fays he, to Knowledge, temperance; that is, Sobriety, Moderation, Continence, in the Purfuit of Truth. For as Virtue, without Know- ledge, falls into all kind of Fanaticifm in Practice ; fo Knowledge, without Temperance, leads to all kind of Herefy in Opinion. St. Paul obferved, even in his Time, the Seeds of intemperate Knowledge be- gin to fpring up and fpread amongft his Converts, and therefore cautions them againit vain Philofopby and a Knowledge that puffeth up. But this fo dc- C 2 fornaed 12 Faith working by Charity formed and laid wafte the Chriftian Church in Af- ter-times, that the new Earth feem'd, for many Ages, to be underafecond Curfe of bringing forth nothing but Thorns and Tbiftles, fo much more fevere than the firjl, that thefe Delicacies were not to be produced without much Labour, and Sweat of the Brew. Here again the Roman Church affords us a fad Example of the Mifchiefs of intemperate Knowledge : For tho', as we obferved before, there was great Scarcity of true Knowledge to direct their Virtue, they abounded mfalfe Knowledge to corrupt their Faith : Tho' they rcfufed to make the Religion of Nature the Interpreter of Go/pel ■ right eoufnefs, they fanctified the vain philosophy of the greeks to explain juftifying Faith. We have feen what fort of Saints the Church of Rome adores : Let us now fee what kind of Doffors fhe pins her Faith upon. As their Devout retired to their Cloifters to deform Virtue, fo their Learned afTembled in their Schools to corrupt Faith. Where miftaking Theology, which is a Science of Practice, for a Science of Speculation, Knowledge, which is (fee only 'Cleans, they took to be the End of Reli- gion ; and as that, which is the End of any thing, cannot be too much cultivated, they purfued Know- ledge with fuch intemperate Rage, that, as if Religi-* on was only a Trial of Skill, and the Rewards of it to be adjudged to the beft Difputant, they fpent their whole Lives in agitating and fubtilizing Quef- tions of Faith : Abundantly happy if, with all their Toil, they could at length obtain the never-fading Titles of Doolors profound, irrefragable, fubtil, and feraphic. Thefe, under the reverend Name of Schoolmen, long monopolifed the Manufactory of Faith ; and wove their Cobwebs, thin and dark, for the Hangings of the Sanctuary. To fuch then, you will eafily believe, the Apo- .file's to Christian Edification, 13 file's Creed foon became too clear and fimple. They wanted one that would afford eternal Matter for Difpute and Wrangle. So, from the Article of Mary the Virgin ', they invented one of Mary the Goddefs : From the Article of Chris! once offered on the Crofs for our Redemption, they fpun out a daily Sacrifice; and the portentous Idea of a Tranfubfian- tiation : From his Defcent into Hell they deduced the Fable of Purgatory : From Belief in the Holy Ca- tholic Church, the blafphemous Tenet of the Pope's Infallibility : From the Communion of Saints, the idolatrous Worfhip of dead Men : And from the For- givenefs of Sins, the gainful Trade of auricular Con- feffion, and human Abfolution. But none of thefe ftrange Doctrines being to be found in Scripture, they were forced to call in the Aid of Tradition to ftrengthen the feeble Argu- ments of School-fubtilties. And Tradition draw- ing at its Heels a thoufand other beggarly Errors, which were now all to be fupported and maintain- ed -, this gave Life to an After-birth of Herefies, and frefh Employment for the Fofter fathers of the Schools. So that at length the true Foundation, the fimple Faith in Jefus the Meffiah was loft and for- gotten, and lay, for many Ages, buried under two deformed Heaps of Rubbifh, school-divinity and tradition ; over each of which, like the -^Ediles in ancient ROME, a venerable Magistrate prefided, That called the Mafier of the Sums, and This of the Sentences. At laft, in God's good Time, this Precept of adding Te?nperance to Knowledge began to operate on honeft Minds ; and the Truth, which flamed out from the well-regulated Labours of fiich, foon burnt up and confumed this precious Superftruclure of Wood, Hay and Stubble. When the true Faith, like tried Silver, appeared again in its native Pu- rity and Candour. In this Condition we received it 14 Faith working by Charity it from our Fathers. Which facred Depofite let us religioufly preferve, and with the fame pious Care tranfmit to our Pofterity : Having always in mind that we are built upon the Foundation of the Apojlles and Prophets, (not the Mafters of the Sums and Sentences, or their Succeffors) Jefus Chriji him- felf being the chief Corner-Jlone. The avoiding thofe Evils then is the Advantage that Knowledge receives from Temperance. A reci- procal Advantage Temperance receives from Know- ledge : For Temperance being nothing but Abfti- nence from all vifionary Purfuits, and all ram Judg- ment, out of a Senfe and Conviction of the Weak- nefs of human Underftanding, was it not founded upon Knowledge, it would be in Danger of degene- rating into a flothful Scepticifm, a total Uncer- tainty of all things, from a fuperficial Examination of the moft obvious ; a fatal Aptitude in concluding that Truth was not to be found at all, from being too foon weary of the Search. A Condition which, we experience, has befallen, and muft, unavoida- bly, befal thofe, whofe Temperance is not founded on Knowledge. But being thus fecured, Temperance preferves a vigorous, as well as fober Courfe : For the regular Reftraint, that it impofes on the Mind, hinders not the Mind from the moft active Exer- cife of its Faculties, but only confines it to the Ob- jects adequate to its Contemplation. We have obferved, that the Fitnefs of the Prac- tice of Temperance arifes from our Senfe of the Weaknefs of human Underftanding. But this Senfe fhould not only, in Reafon, difpofe us to be mode- rate in our own Opinions, but to be candid and charitable with regard to thofe of others : And till Temperance have this Efficacy, it is incompleat and partial. To render it therefore uniform and perfect, St. Peter, in his next Precept, injoins us to add to Christian Edification. 15 to Temperance, patience ; that is, Long-fuffering, and bearing with the Con- tradiction of others *. This is indeed the natural Confequence of a perfect 'Temperance. For having experienced, in our own Cafe, how infenfibly Er- rors infinuate themfelves into the Mind j how plau- fibly they afiume the Air of Truth, when called to account ; how obftinately they maintain their Ground, when now become fufpected ; and what Labour is required to difpoffefs them, even after they are laid open and expofed ; — having experi- enced, I fay, all this, we fhall be well inclined to bear with Patience the Contradiction of our erring Brother. We fhall then preferve for him the fame fraternal Kindnefs, we had before he went aftray ; and fhall not fuffer his being of another Church, or Sect, or Party, or any thing but an unchrijlian Life, to leflen that Affection : (fo far fhall we be from endeavouring, on account of any Herefies in Opinion, to injure him in his Reputation, Goods, or Perfon :) But with Temperance and Patience wait the fecond Coming of the Meffiah to feparate the Tares from the Wheat. * The Want of which Virtues, amongft thofe, who yet dare to call themfelves the Followers of the Lamb, hath brought more Defolation on the Chrif- tian Church, than all the Perfecutions of Pagan Emperors, or the Eruptions of Northern Barbari- * The Original is VOTf*«i»l The Reafon why the Apoftle ufed this Word rather than /t«a>c^8v/xia, which may feem to be the more proper Word for the Senfe I give to Patience, appears to me to be this The Church, at the Time of writing this Epiftle, was in a fubjcct and diftrefTed Condition, not in a rlou- rifhingand governing one. And iss^jxo^ is the Patience of thofe in Subjection, as ucoc^v^a is the Patience of thofe in Authority. Bcfides, lizTj^ouj in the New Teftament generally fignifies a Patience attended with Hope and Expectation of better. And that Senfe I make to be required here. ans: 16 Faith working by Charity ans : Lefs Pagan, and lcfs Barbarian, than the Author of the Principle of Intolerance, who pre- tending to fit in the Chair of him, who here enjoins us to add Patience to Temperance, and calling himfelf the Vicar of Chrifl, hath not been afhamed to make him the Pattern of his Conduct, who was an Accu- fer of his Brethren, and a Murderer from the Begin- ing. The Chriftian Church, in its Infancy, breathed nothing but Concord, Love, and Charity. It had then a Spirit as pure, and innocent, as the State of Childhood itfelf. The holy Brethren were, in Ma- lice, Children -, howbeit, in Underfianding, that is in rational Faith, in vigorous Virtue, and in fober Knowledge, they were Men. And thus was the new Jerufalem built like a City, that is in Unity witk itfelf. No Difputes, no Strife, no Emulation, but who mould moft excel in Works of Charity and Piety. But, alas ! this glorious rifing of the Gofpel, which came with Healing in its Wings, and promifed the Arrival of that long-wifhed-for Day of everlafl* ing Peace, was of a fudden overcaft, and nothing but Tempefts and Storms fucceeded. For our evil Genius, the Prince of the Air, was early at work to obfeure and deface the promifed Triumphs of the Sun of Right eoufnefs. Nor was the Engine he em- ployed to defeat Man's Rejloration, d inherent from that, with which he procured his Fall : It was, ftill, Knowledge without its Regulator, Temperance. For when now the Schools, by obtruding on the World a Syftem of Abfurdities under the Name of Chriftianity, had produced Schifms and Difienti- ons; and the Cloijlers, by perfecting their Saints in a four Inhumanity and holy Pride, had raifed a Spi- rit impatient of Contradiction (and the Papal Hiftory informs us that their learnedefl Dottors were the moft unintelligible, and their holiefi Saints the eaft to Christian Edification. 17 lead forbearing:) then it was that their Church, im- pregnated with thefe Mifchiefs, brought forth the Fury, Per [edition. Of all the Myjleries of Iniquity the Science of Perfecution is the fooneft learnt and eafieft reduced into a Compendium. On which Account it has had its Proficients, that were fit for nothing elfe, in every Sect and Party. But this Jhort and direct Courfe is no where better marked out than in the Roman Breviary. Where it is reduced to thefe three clear and fimple Principles to blacken, Jiarve and burn. And as foon as that Church had got a pro- per Subject, whereon to put them in Practice, we fee how foon it brought this Science to Perfection. The Albigenfes .and Valdenfes, a ftubborn People, who refufed to receive the Mark of the Beaft, were the firft that underwent this Difcipline in Form. There was no imaginary Crime or Impiety, that could tend to make them odious to good Men, but what their Enemies accufed them of. By this means they eafily perfuaded the Civil Magiftrate to with- draw his Protection •, the Confequence of which was their undergoing all the Miferies that proceed from the Rage of an incenfed Sovereign. But it was not enough for this Church that me was Ac- cufer, fhe would be Judge and Executioner like wife : And for this End erected an inquisition, that Mafterpiece of her Ecclefiaftical Policy, that in- fallible Catholicon againft Heretical Pravity. A Court of Judicature, or rather an infernal Butche- ry, where the Procefs is as directly oppofite to the Law of Nations, as the horrid Sentence that fol- lows, is to all the Precepts of the Gofpel. But, (Holy Jefus /) mould I relate the Tricks, the Treacheries, the Frauds, the Rapines, the De- lays, the Horrors of Imprifonment, the Tortures of the Rack, the Bloodfhed, the Murders practifed there, Murders committed with fo exquifite a Ma- D lice, 18 Faith working by Charity lice, that the Body, Soul, and Reputation are in- tended to fall a Sacrifice at once, — fhould I, I fay, but reprefent thefe Things to you in their native Co- lours, I am afraid, that by raifing your Indigna- tion, I fhould endanger that Heaven-born Charity, which it is my Aim to recommend to you even here, and here chiefly, where I am pointing out the enormous Evils that are occafioned by the Ex- clufion of her benign Influence. I fhall therefore draw a Veil over this unhappy Sqene, that gives fo fatal a Wound to the Integrity of the Chriftian Name, and infixes fo lading a Dif- grace even on our common Nature. Content to have given you one general View of the Papal Re- ligion ; which, under the Name of a Religion, is indeed no other than an impious Farce. I have fhewn you, in their Order, the three AEls of which it confifts : The firft played by their Saints, and their Subject, Fanatic Virtue : The fecond by their Doclors, and their unintelligible Faith : The third by their Priejls, and their antichriftian Difcipline of Racks and Gibbets. I have fhewn you like wife the Connexion thefe three Parts have on one another, and the natural Tendency of the two firft to produce the dreadful Catajlropbe of the third. "Where Virtue ftript of Humanity, and Faith for- fook of Reafon, turn Charity into bitter Zeal, and Piety into Perfecution. Such a View fhould teach us to fet a juft Value on our own happy Couftitution, where Gofpel-ligbt and Civil Liberty go Hand in Hand. And be you well allured that thefe two Bleffings muft (land or fall together : That Civil Slavery will make room for Popifh Cruelty ; and that Popifh Superftition will fupport a Tyrant in trampling on our Laws. For the Politician knows that the fureft Way of fixing Slavery is to tye it on the Confciences of Men : And the Prieft has experienced, that the Mind to Christian Edification. 19 Mind is never fo tame and fervile, fo fubmifs in, fwallowing Contradictions, as when the Body is al- ready broke and humbled by the Stroke of Ty- ranny. Thus hath the Apoftle mewn us that the Secu- rity againft the Evils of Diffenfion and Intolerance are temperance and Patience ; which teach us to feel our own Weaknefs, and to bear with that of others. But here again the Infirmity of our com- mon Nature betrays itfelf, and Temperance and Patience, excellent and divine as they are, become fubjeft to the general Fate of human Virtues ; grow degenerate and depraved. Thus, too oft, Moderation and Toleration fink into Careleflhefs and Indifference, a fatal Indifference for all Truth and all Religion. That Men, and even Churches are but too apt to fall into that remifs and lukewarm State, for which, the Holy Spirit denounced lb fevere a Judgment on the Laodiceans, we have me- lancholy Proof. Nor is fuch a Degeneracy hard to be conceived. For when the corrofive Ferment of bitter Zeal, which defolates Mankind under a pretended Concern for the Glory of God, has, by the Infufion of the cool and heavenly Dew of Mo- deration and Tolerance, been brought to a gentle Temperature ; the Mind, become tired and a- fhamed of its late tumultuous Diforders, is apt to fink into the other Extream, and grow languid and unactive. To provide therefore againft this Defect is the Defign of our Apoflle's next Precept, which bids us add to Patience, Godliness. And then, at the fame time that we preferve the greateft Moderation towards others, we mall keep alive the holy Fire of fpotlefs Zeal in ourfelves. For by Qodlinefs is meant the warm affectionate D 2 Dif- 20 Faith working by Charity Difcharge of all the Duties of Divine Adoration, whether in public Offices, or private Meditation. With exquifite Skill likewife hath our Apoftle raifed this iecond Order of Chriftian Architecture, Godlinefs, or the divine Virtue, on the former, name- ly, the human. For, by this Means, Godlinefs can- not degenerate, as it did in the Church of Rome, from not obferving this Direction, either into Fa- naticifm, Superftition or Bigotry •, but will re- main fober, rational and truly fublime. And yet hath it another Danger under which it fometimes falls. For by long and intenfe Exercife in Holy Offices, and Intercourfe with Heaven, the Joy and Tranfport that elate the Mind, thus filled with its true and proper Object, God, natu- rally difpofeth it to contemn all inferior Things ; and from defpifing the Things, but too often, to defpife the Perfons who delight in them : And by making odious Comparifons, like the Pharifee in regarding the Publican, to forget its Relation, its near Relation, both by Nature and Grace, to the meaneft of its Species. Hence arifeth fpiritual Pride, the laft and moft fatal Enemy to true Godlinefs. Now for this too the Apoftle in his next Precept provides a Remedy. Add, fays he, to Godlinefs, brotherly-kindness. Thus begins the third, and laft Order of this Chri- ftian Building. And, from this Time, Godlinefs, placed between, and fupported on each Hand by, the human and fecial Virtues, becomes ftable and perfect. And while it receives this united Aid from both, returns it back to both. We have fhewn the Benefits Temperance and Pa- tience receive from Godlinefs : We are now to fpeak Of that which Brotherly-kindnefs receives from it. The rrioft beauteous, and elevated Branch of Era- to Christian Edification. a* Brotherly-kindnefs is Friendfhip, whofe natural Root and Origin is Similitude of Manners. But tkefe being as often bad as good, Friendjhip becomes as frequently a Confederacy in Vice, as a Community of Virtue. So that this adorable Virtue, the Cor- dial of private Life, and largeft Source of public Good, by being built on the falfe Foundation of Ungodlinefs, hath often produced all that Mifchief to Society it was defigned by Nature to prevent. But when, as here, 'tis rightly placed on Godlinefs, it Hands fecure from Abufe, and enabled to bring forth its genuine Fruits of public Beneficence. Brotherly-kindnefs is now only liable to one Dis- order, (for human Depravity will fhew itfelf to the very laft,) which is this, that Brotherly-kindnefs be» ing enjoined to be built on Godlinefs or Religion, Men are yet too apt, like the Pbarifees of old, to confine their Brotherly-kindnefs within their own Seel or Bale : While all without are treated by them as the wounded Traveller by the Prieft and Le- vite. But this narrow and partial Benevolence the Apo~ ftle has effectually removed in the concluding Pre- cept of my Text. Add, fays hej'-an the laft Place, to Brotherly-kindnefs, charity ; that is, univerfal Love of all Mankind. This re- gulates and perfects all the other Virtues -, and is, it- felf, in no want of a Reformer. All the other Vir- tues , as we have obferved, degenerate both by De- fect and Excefs : This is incapable of either. Its Nature and Enence fecure it from Defect ; and its' Fruits and Products from Excefs. This then is the Crown, the Key-Jlone of this hea- venly Edifice, this triumphant Arch of Immortality, or, as the Holy Apoftle moft emphatically.talls it, the Bond of Perfeclnefs. This, with refpect to the foregoing Virtues, is like the gilt Dome, or Cover- ing %i Faith working by Charity ing of the Imperial Palace. Without which, the flrongeft Foundations,the richeft ornamented Walls, the beft-difpofed Apartments, become, in a little time, but naked and deformed Ruins; open to every Storm, and cxpofed to all the Defolation of wafting Elements. Without this, if we may believe his Fellow- La- bourer St. Paul, the reft of the Chriftian Building hath neither Ornament nor Ufe ; for without it, the very Foundation is precarious and unliable: Tho* I have all faith, fays he, Jo that I could re- move Mountains, and have, no charity, lam no- thing, virtue, likewife, without it, is equally unprofitable: Tho* 1 give my Body to be burnt, and have ^charity, it profiteth me nothing, know- ledge likewife without it is vain and brutal ; Tho 9 I /peak with the Tongues of Men and of Angels, and have all knowledge, and have not charity, / am become as founding Brafs, or a tinkling Cymbal. Even godliness is unacceptable without it: Tho* I have the Gift of Prophecy, and under/land all My- Jleries, and have no charity, I am nothing. Laft- Jy, BROTHERLY-KINDNESS will, without it, gO unrewarded : Tho* I beftow all my Goods to feed the Poor, and have not charity, it profiteth me no- thing. But, in this, as the fame Apoftle tells us, are comprized all the Efficacies of the foregoing Graces : For, like faith, he tells us, it believeth all things, it hopeth all things ; like virtue, it thinketh no Evil, doth not behave itfelf unfeemly ; like true know- ledge, it vaunteth not itfelf, is not puffed up ; like Temperance and patience, it fuffereth long, and is kind, is not eafily provoked, beareth all things, endureth all things ; like godliness, it rejoicetb not in Iniquity, but rejoicethin the Truth ; and like bro- therly-kindness, it envieth not,feeketh not its own. In to Christian Edification. 23 In a Word, beginning then with Faith, and finilhing with Charity, or, as the fameApoftle much better expreffeth it, faith worsting by cha- rity, we come to erecl, after the divine Model here given us, that heavenly Edifice of Chriftian Perfection, Jefus Chrift hitnfelf being the chief Corner- Jlone, in whom all the Building, fitly framed together, growth unto an Holy Temple in the Lord* F I N I S. ERRATA, Page iz, Line 24. for the only Means, read, only the Means, P. i6 k 1. 16. for. in Unity with itfelf, read at Unity in it/elf? \ 34 POSTSCRIPT. AS the Publication of this Sermon is the only Return I fhall make to all the enormous Heap of Calumny and Nonfenfe, written againft me in the Weekly Mifcellany, in order to*give the Authors of it fome Idea of the true Spirit of Chriftianity, which they feem very much to want, I think it proper to take notice, in this Place, of two things, and (as far as I can learn) the only two things, that fome People pretend to be ferious upon : The one relating to what I fay of the Defenders of Chri- ftianity , and the other, of the Character of Cicero. But, in this, my Defign is not barely to vindi- cate my Meanings but to infift upon the Clearnefs of it, in order to fhew that the Inventors and Pro- pagators of thefe Calumnies are without Excufe. I fay in Page 2. of my Book— Who in this long Controverfy between us and the Deifts hath not applied, to certain late Advocates of Revelation, what was for- merly faid of Arnobius and Lactantius, that they un- dertook the Defence of Chriftianity before they under- ftood it : A Misfortune which the more careful Study of the internal Evidence would probably have prevented.. From thefe Words, the Authors of the Weekly Mifcellany of Febr. 24. thought fit to charge me with faying, that they [the Englijh Clergy] had undertaken to prove Chriftianity without under/landing it. On which, in my Vindication, I accufed them, of Calumny. And to cut the Matter fhort, I af- firmed that in the PafTage above, p. 2. of my Book, / meant no Englifh Clergyman whatfoever, under- Handing the Words Englijh Clergyman in the Senfe they ufed them, Clergymen of the Church of Eng- land, In anfwer to this, thefe Writers, in the Weekly POSTSCRIPT, 2$ Weekly Mifcellany of May. 5. have the furprizing Aflurance to tell the Public, that in the very PASSAGE IT SELF, WHERE 1 MAKE THE OBSER- VATION, [namely the Paflage quoted above from p. 2.] I REFER BY NAME TO AN ENGLISH CLER- GYMAN. Let the Reader now take the Book, turn top. 2. and, with his own Eyes, convict them of the mod impudent of all Falfhoods. Where he will fee, that in the very Paflage it f elf, where I make the Obfervation, 1 refer not by Name, or otherwife, to any Man whatfoever Where he will fee, that the Clergyman, referred to by Name, is mentioned on a quite different Account, and in the next Page, and in a new Paragraph, beginning at thefe Words, But, from the State in which, &c. But this wicked Calumny was for the fake of introducing another, namely, that I put Dr. C. amongft the bad De- fenders of Chriftianity. A Writer, whom, tho' I differ from him about the Value of the internal Evidence, I do my felf, not him, the Credit of efteeming, as all the World does, in the firft Rank of the ablefl Defenders of Chriftianity. The Reader now fees with what juftice I have been ufed. Here is a PafTage, that, alone, may either include, or may not, an Englijh Clergyman. 1 have explained my Meaning, and declared I meant no Englijh Clergyman. Ought not this in Juftice to have fatisfied every candid Reader ? No. I then go oil, and fay, it is highly improbable \ fhould mean an Englijh Clergyman, becaufe in my Dedication, p. 19. I fay the Clergy of the Eftablijhed Church are the Men who, among ft us, have been prin- cipally watchful in the common Caufe of Chriftianity, and mo ft successful in repelling the Infults of its Enemies. Will this fatisfy? As little. Why? Hear my Chriftian Adverfaries, Weekly Mifcellany, May 5, most successful, I perceive, is put in large Letters, but they prove but little. Much lefs can they difprove the Reality of a plain fact. But as to the general E Charatler 26 POSTSCRIPT. Charatler of the eflabli/bed Clergy's Writings in th'n Controvrrfy, Mr. W. may think that they have wrote the nrnft and the beft in the Conlroverfy, and with the mojl Succefs, of Effetl, and yet be of Opinion, that they have been mijlaken as to the right Management of the Caufe, and have not clearly proved the Truth of Chriflianity. Wonderful Goodnefs of Interpreta- tion ! Well might the Writer fay,, I hope I fhall always be particularly candid and charitable in my Thoughts of my Brethren. I go on then, as this will not do, and fhew fur- ther, that it was not only highly probable I did not, in the Place objected to, mean any Englifh Clergy- man, but that it is evident, on all the common eftablifhed Principles of Interpretation, I, in faff, did not mean them, but a very different fort of Peo- ple. I have lamented, as well in other Places of my Book, as in this fecond Page, that feveral Pro- felTors of Chriflianity appear to be ignorant of its very Efience. I have explained this Ignorance to conlift in the prevailing Opinion of Chriftianity's being only a Republication of the Religion of Na- ture ; and that Jefus's Redemption of Mankind, and his Satisfaction, are only figurative Expreflions. This I hold to be an Ignorance that affects the very Eflence of Chriftianity ; and the only one, I know of, that does fo. In the very Paflage, p. i. I fpeak of fuch an Ignorance, and no other. For I jpeak of Defenders who do not under/land Chriftia- nity. Whether I had Reafon, let thofe judge, who remember the feveral Anfwers to the Grounds and Reafons of the Chrijlian Religion, and to Chriftianity as old as the Creation, which went altogether upon the worft Socinianifm ; reprefenting Jefus as only a Divine Preacher of moral Righteoufnefs. Some of thefe were with Names, fome without. Thofe with Names were not Clergymen of the Church of England : Thofe without, I prefume, were as little ib. One of thefe latter I remember bore a Title to POSTSCRIPT. 2 7 to this Purpofe, if not in thefe very Words, Chri- Jlianity not dependent on Judaifm. Thefe^ and only thefe, were the Writers I had in View, where I fay certain late Advocates undertook the Defence ofCbri- Jlianity before they underfiood it. Why I faid this Ig- norance was a Misfortune which the more careful Stu- dy of the internal Evidence would probably have -pre- vented, was, becaufe that Study (from whence arifes to View fuch a Number of furprizing Coinciden- ces and Dependences, as, internally, prove, that, two Religions, delivered at fuch diftant Periods, could not be of human Invention) that Study, I lay, confifts in fetting together and comparing the two Revelations, by Mofes and Jefus ; from whence may be demonstratively fhewn that the Redemption of Mankind is a real Thing, not a figurative Expref- fion. And now I appeal to the learned Reader to determine whether I had Reafon to fpeak as I did. But my more learned Adverfaries will have it, thac I mult needs mean thofe who defended Religion by external Evidence ; that is, that thofe who fo defended it did not underfland it. But have I faid one Word againft external Evidence, unlefs the fay- ing it is not capable of JlritJ Demonjl ration, be fpeak ing againft it ? Have I not faid, p. 3. That Men have proved our Religion atlu ally divine thereby ? But is it likely that Men who underftand it not, mould be fo fuccefsful in proving its Divinity ? What have I done then to raife thefe Mens Cla- mours 'about the external Evidence ? Why, con- vinced as I was, that the external Evidence had been enforced all manner of Ways, in the fulleft and cleareft Manner, to the eftabliming the Truth of our Religion, I ventured to exhort Men to the better Cultivation of the internal Evidence, a Pro- vince as yet almoft unoccupied, and from whence the nobleft Fruits, in Support of Divine Revela- tion, I am perfuaded, may be produced. But does E 2 the 2 8 POSTSCRIPT. the Cultivation of this clafli with the Cultivation of the external Evidence, or draw us, in thefe Mens Bear-garden Language, from our old Pojlure of De- fence. So far from that, that thefe two Methods mutually affift and fupport each other •, and make the Rock of Chriftianity perfectly impregnable. The ftriking then into a new Road, and fhew- ing our Materials of Defence to be inexhauftibje, is furely doing folid Honour to the Chriftian Name. Error muft rely, as we fee, in Fad:, modern Free- thinking does, on the Strength of half a dozen plau- fible Sophifms. And the Bufinefs of our Adver- faries, as I faid elfewhere, is but to cook them up in different Difguifes, juft as the Palate of the Times, or the phantaftic Appetite of their Fol- lowers give them Opportunity or Invitation. But Truth, which is eternal, and whofe Relations are in- finite, affords unexhaufted Matter of Defence. The Views in which ihe may be placed are numberlefs, and fober Contemplation flames Conviction on every View. And now, that wonderful Obferva- tionofmy Adverfaries may be feen in its full Force and Vigour, April 28. His demonstration, IF HE COULD MAKE ONE OF IT, COULD NEVER MAKE US AMENDS FOR CHANGING OUR POSTURE OF DEFENCE, AND DESERTING OUR STRONG- HOLDS. I come now to the fecond Point, my Reflections on 'Tull/s Character in p. 363. I fhall beg Leave to tranfcribe the whole PafTage, and vindicate it from the blacked of Calumnies But the principal Difficulty [in coming to Tully's real Sentiments] arifes from the fever al various Characters he [Tully] fujlained in Life, and in his Writings, that habituated him to feign and diffemble his Opinions : in which,THO* HE ACTED NEITHER A WEAK NOR UNFAIR PART, yet, certainly, a very impenetrable one, with regard to his own Opinions. Ht may be conftdered under the Character POSTSCRIPT. z 9 Character of an orator, a statesman and a phi- losopher, ALL EQUALLY PERSONATED, and no cne more the real Man than the other •, but taken up, and laid down for the Occafion. This is the dreadful Pafiage which my good Chriftian Adverfaries reprefent as a direcl and for* mat Defence of Lying. I fay then, that Tully in thus feigning and dijfembling his own Opinions acled neither a weak nor unfair Part. What Part is it I muft mean ? I have not left it to the Reader to conjecture. I have confined him to my Meaning. I have exprefly told him, a per- fonated Part of Orator, Statesman, and Philofopher. Let us fee then whether I can be juftified in fay- ing, the Part was neither weak nor unfair. i. Asa statesman, he difcharged the Office of a real Patriot, and Defender of his Country, at that time, torn in pieces by the Diflenlions between Senate and People. But was this done by fpeaking his real Sentiments to both ? Both were very faulty ; and, as faulty Folks generally are, too angry to hear Reafon. I have given an Inftance in the Cafe of the Catiline Confpiracy: where, to the Senate* he reprefents the Treafon as the moll deep laid and dangerous ; to the People, juft the contrary. Was this wifely conducted ? The IfTue declared it. He faved the Republic. With regard then to his per- fonated Character of Statefman, I faid, and ftill fay, that he acled no weak part. 2. Come we now to his philosophic Character. I had obferved, p. 362. that his End and Defign in writing his philofophic Works, was, not to deliver his own Opinion, on any Point, but to explain, to his Countrymen, in the mojl intelligible Manner, whatfo- ever the Greeks had taught, on every Article, whether of fpeculative or praclical Knowledge. It was for this Reafon that he faid to thofe, who were for know- ing his own Opinions, j^t* autem- reauirunt, quid, quaque 3 o POSTSCRIPT quaque de re, ipfifentiamus, curiofius id faciunt quam necejfe eft. In purfuance of hU Defign, he brings in Stoics, Epicureans, Platonifts, Academics, and who not, upon the Stage, in order to inftruct the Romans in their feveral various Opinions, and in their feveral Ways of Reafoning. Sometimes he himfelf acts the Perfon of the Academic -, fometimes, others. But whether it be himfelf or others, it is the Academic, not fully, who delivers his Opinion. Now when fully has told us all this, when he has exprefly faid,that the End of his philofophic Writings was not to deliver his own Opinion, but the feve- ral Opinions of the Gmek Sects,when he has blamed thofe Men, as too curious or impertinent, who fought after his own Opinions in thefe Writings ; was not all fair ? Was it not allowable in perfona* ting others to feign and diffemble? Are not the Wri- tings themfclvcs Dramatical ? And is not this a Li- cence always indulged in a Fiction or Drama ? What mould hinder me then from faying, what I now fiy again, that, with regard to his Conduct in his philofophic Character, he acled no unfair Part ? 3. We now come to his perfonated Character of orator. In this he was an Advocate for his Client, or, to fpeak more properly, perfonated him. Here then, without Queftion, he was to feign and diffem- ble his own Opinions, and to deliver thofe of his Cli- ent. And, tho' fome Cafuifis have held it unlaw- ful for an Advocate to defend what he thinks an ill Caufe, yet I apprehend it to be the natural Right of every Member of Society, whether accufing, or accufed, to fpeak freely and fully for himfelf : And if, either by a legal or natural Incapacity, this can- not be done in Perfon, that the State provide, or allow, that it may be done by Proxy. I apprehend all States have done this ; and that every Advocate is fuch a Proxy. 1 fuppofe then the World will not POSTSCRIPT. 31 not blame me when I perfift to fay, that Tully, feigning and diJfembUng his own Opinions under this Character, ailed neither a weak nor un- fair PART. There now only remains Tully*s own and real Character to be fpoken to. But do I fay he feigned and diffembled in this I So far from it, that I ex- prefly, and in fo many Words, confine his feigning to thofe three perfonated Characters. And had I not done this, the very Tenour of my Differtation would have fo confined it. For I there fhew how eafy it is, when you take Tully in his real Charatler, to find out his real Sentiments. All the Embar- ras was occafioned by not rightly diftinguifhing be- tween the -perfonated and real Character : And the End of my Difcourfe was to eftabliih that Diftinc- tion. But now had I been fo fooliih, or rather fo mad, as to vindicate the Innocence of Lying ; and, to that end, have apologized for Tully's fuppofed Vio- lation of Truth,under his real Character, as the Fact mult have come entirely under a moral View, I had known as little of Englifh as of Virtue, to talk of Tully*s acting no weak Part, an Expreflion that relates only to his Under/landing •, or no unfair Part, an Expreffion that relates to his Breeding, to a Point of Civility in not impofing on good Company, ra- ther than to his Morals. Allow me but the Senfe, or Expreflion, of a Plow-man, and I muft then have faid, neither a wicked nor an unfaithful Part, Falfhood being indeed a Crime both againft God and our Neighbour. But unhappily for me, I have had Readers who could not fee this Difference ; and yet would fet up for Critics : And fo, for want of diflinct Ideas be- tween weak and unfair, and wicked and unfaithful, have run into the Error of this Accufation. I will, in mere Charity,' fuppofe this to be the Cafe, be- saufe * I « • • T r :.' ■ • 32 POSTS CRIP