O curvæ in terris a

inanes !

know I what one particular may be unfeen by me, which
would change my judgment, and better inform me in
all the reft? If I could but fee the world which I believe,
or at leaft but fpeak with one who had been there, or gave
me fenfible evidence of his veracity, it would much confirm
me.] Senfe hath got fo much mastery in the Soul, that we
have much ado to take any apprehenfion for fure and fatis-
factory, which hath not fome great correfpondency with
fenfe. This is not well: But it is a difeafe which fheweth
the need of a Phyfician, and of fome other fatisfying light.

.8. While we are thus ftopt in our way by tedioufnefs, dif-
ficulty, and a fubjective uncertainty about the end and duty of
man, the flesh is still active, and fin encreaseth and gets ad-
vantage, and prefent things are fill in their deceiving power;
and fo the Soul groweth worse and worse.

. 9. The Soul being thus vitiated and perverted by fin, is nime, & cœleftium fo partial, flathful, negligent, unwilling, fuperficial, deceitful, Quid juvat hoc, and byaffed in its studies, that if the evidences of life everlasting templis noftros im be full, and clear, and fatisfying to others, it will over-look them, or not perceive their certainty.

mittere mores?

Et bona Diis ex hac .io. Though it be most evident by common experience, that
fcelerata ducere pul- the nature of man is lamentably depraved, and that fin doth
pâ Perfius.
Non bove mactato over-fpread the world, yet how it entred, and when, or which
cœleftia numina gau- of our progenitors was the first tranfgreffor and caufe, no natu-
ral light doth fully or fatisfactorily acquaint me.

dent:

Sed quæ præftanda eft, & fine tefte fides. Ovid. ep. 19.

9. 11. And though Nature tell me that God cannot damn or hate a Soul that truly loveth him, and is fanctified, yet doth it not shew me a means that is likely confiderably to prevail to fanctifie Souls, and turn them from the love of prefent tranfitory things, to the love of God and Life eternal.

Though there be in nature the discovery of fufficient Omne nefas, om- Reasons and Motives to do it, where Reason is not in captinemq; mali purga- vity; yet how unlikely they are to prevail with others, both Credebant noftri tol. Reafon and Experience fully teftifie.

mine caufam

cædis

lere poffe fenes, &c. 0.12. And whereas God's fpecial mercy and grace is necef-
Ah! nimium faciles, fary to fo great a change and cure, and this grace is forfeited
qui triftia crimina by fin, and every fin deferveth more punishment, and this fin
Fulmineâ tolli pofle and punishment must be fo far forgiven before God can give
putatis aquâ. Ovid. us that grace which we have forfeited, Nature doth not fatis-
Faft.
factorily teach me, how God is fo far reconciled to Man, nor bow
the

1

the forgiveness of fin may be by us fo far procured.

Multa mifer metui

terve. Idem.

1. 13. And whereas I fee at once in the world, both the quia feci multa proabounding of fin, which de ferveth damnation, and the abounding in malis fperare boof mercy to thofe that are under fuch deferts; I am not fatisfi'd num, nifi innocens by the light of Nature, how God is fo far reconciled, and the nemo folet. Sence. ends of Government and Justice attained, as to deal with the world fo contrary to its deferts.

. 14. And while I am in this doubt of God's reconciliation, I am ready still to fear, lift prefent forbearance and mercy be but a reprieval, and will end at last in greater mifery: However I find it hard, if not impoffible, to come to any certainty of aliual pardon and falvation.

. 15. And while I am thus uncertain of pardon and the love of God, it must needs make it an infuperable difficulty to me, to love God above my felf and all things: for to love a God that I think will damn me, or most probably may do it, for ought I know is a thing that man can hardly do.

. 16. And therefore I cannot fee how the guilty world can Turpe eft quicquam be fandiifi'd, nor brought to forfake the fin and vanities which mali perpetrare: bethey love, as long as God, whom they must turn to by love, doth ne autem agere nullo Seem founlovely to them. periculo propofito, multorum eft: id ve0.17. And every temptation from prefent pleasure, commo- ro proprium boni vidity or honour, will be like to prevail, while the love of God, and ri eft, etiam cum pethe happiness to come, are fo dark and doubtful, to guilty, mifgiving ignorant Souls.

riculo fuo honeftatem in agentem feAt mens fibi confcia qui. Plut. in Mario.

Præmetuens, adhiber

0.18. Nor can I fee by Nature how a finner can live comfortably in the world, for want of clearer afsurance of his future faci happiness. For if he do but fay as poor Seneca, Cicero, and others ftimulos, terrerque fuch, [Its most like that there is another life for us, but we are Nec videt interea qui flagellis: not fure it will both abate their comfort in the fore- terminus effe malothoughts of it, and tempt them to venture upon prefent rum pleafure, for fear of lofing all: And if they were never fo Poffit, nec qui fit confident of the life to come, and had no affurance of their œnarum denique own part in it, as not knowing whether their fins be par- Atque eadem metuit doned, till their comfort in it would be finall. And the world magis hæcne in morcan give them no more than is proportionable to fo fmall and te gravescant, Lucret. momentany a thing. D. 19. Nor do I fee in Nature any full and fuitable fupport against the pain and fears of fufferings and death, while

Cc 3

men

finis.

3.

men doubt of that which should fupport them.

6. 20. I must therefore conclude, that the Light and Law of Nature, which was fuitable to uncorrupted reason, and will, and to an undepraved mind, is too infufficient to the corrupted, vitiated guilty world, and that there is a neceffity of fome reCovering medicinal Revelation.

Which forced the very Heathens to fly to Oracles, Idols, Sacrifices, and Religious Propitiations of the gods, there being scarce any Nation which had not fome fuch thing: though they used them, not only uneffectually, but to the increase of their fin, and ftrengthning their prefumption; (as too many poor ignorant Chriftians now do their Matles and other fuch formalities and fuperftitions.) But as Arnobius faith, ( adv. Gentes, l. 7.) Crefcit enim multitudo peccan tium, cum redimendi peccati fpes datur: & facile itur ad culpas, ubi eft venalis ignofcentium gratia. He that hopeth to purchase forgiveness with mony,or facrifices, or ways of coft, will ftrive rather to be rich than to be innocent.

CHAP. II.

of the feveral Religions which are in the world.

H

Aving finished my enquiries into the ftate and book

of Nature, I found it my duty to enquire what other men thought in the world, and what were the reafons of their feveral beliefs, that if they knew more than I had difcovered by what means foever) I might become partaker of it.

§. 1. And first Ifind that all the world, except thofe called Heathens, are confcious of the neceffity of fupernatural Revelation; yea, the Heathens themselves have fome common apprehenfion of it.

5.2. Four forts of Religions I find only confiderable upon earth: The meer Naturalifts, called commonly Heathens and Idolaters: The Jews: The Mahometans: and the Chriftians. The Heathens by their Oracles, Augures and Arufpices, confeß the neceffity of fome fupernatural light; and the very Religion of all the reft confifteth in it. I. §. 3. As

I. §. 3. As for the Heathens, I find this much good among them: That fome of them have had a very great care of their Souls and many have used exceeding industry in feeking after knowledge, especially in the mysteries of the works of God; and fome of them have bent their minds higher to know God, and the invisible worlds: That they commonly thought that there is a Life of Retribution after death; and among the wifeft of them, the fumme of that is to be found (though confufedly) which I have laid down in the first Part of this Book,

Especially in Seneca, Cicero, Plutarch, Plato, Plotinus, Euvagus faith, That Jamblicus, Proclus, Porphyry, Julian the Apoftate, Antoninus, Conftantine fo bonoured Sopater the Epictetus, Arrian, &c. And for their Learning, and Wifdom, Philofopher, that he and Moral Virtues, the Chriftian Bifhops carried themselves made him usually fit refpectfully to many of them, (as Bafil to Libanius, &c.) by him on the fame And in their days many of their Philofophers were honoured bench. by the Chriftian Emperours, or at leaft by the inferiour Sure the Philofophers were falfly reported to Magiftrates and Chriftian people, who judged that fo great Theoph. Antioch, ad worth deferved honour, and that the confeffion of fo much Autol. 1, 2. p. 13.7. Truth, deferved anfwerable love; efpecially defius, Julia- when he faith that nus, Cappadox, Proærefius, Maximus, Libanius, Acacius, Chry- Cleanthes's Books do Zeno, Diogenes and fanthus, &c. And the Chriftians ever fince have made great teach to eat man's ufe of their Writings in their Schools; efpecially of Ariftotle's and Plato's with their followers.

flesh, and fathers to be rofted and eaten by the children, and facri ficed by them, &c.

Belying one another hath been the Devil's

§. 4. And I find that the Idolatry of the wifeft of them was not fo foolish as that of the Vulgar; but they thought that the Universe was one animated world, and that the Universal Soul was the only Abfolute Sovereign God, whom they defcribed much means to defroy chalike as Chriftians do and that the Sun, and Stars, and Earth, rity on earth. and each particular Orb, was an individual Animal, part of the Univerfal world, and befides the Univerfal, had each one a fubordinate particular Soul, which they worshipped as a fubordinate particular Deity, as fome Chriftians do the Angels.. And their Images they fet up for fuch reprefentations, by which they thought thefe gods delighted to be remembred, and inftrumentally to exercise their virtues for the help of earthly. mortals.

0.5. I find that except thefe Philofophers, and very few more, the generality of the Heathens were and are foolish Idolaters, and ignorant, fenfual brutish men.

At this day through the world, they are that fort of men

that

Sed nefcio quomodo, that are likeft unto Beafts, except fome few at Siam, China, nil tam abfurde dici the Indian Bannians, the Japonians, the Ethnick Perfians, and poteft quod non dia few more. The greatett deformity of Nature is among catur ab aliquo Fhilofophorum. Cic. Di them: the leaft of found knowledge, true policy, civility and vinat. L. z. p. 188. picty is among them. Abominable wickedncfs doth no where fo much abound. So that if the doctrin and judgment of thefe may be judged of by the effect, it is moft infufficient to heal the diseased world, and reduce man to holiness, fobriety and honesty.

Sed hæc eadem num

cenfes apud cos ipfos

. 6. Ifind that thofe few among the Heathens who attain to more knowledge in the things which concern man's duty and happiness than the rest, do commonly deftroy all again by the mixture of fome dotages and impious conceits.

The Literati in China excel in many things, but befides abundance of ignorance in Philofophy, they deftroy all by valere, nifi admodum denying the immortality of the Soul, and affirming rewards paucos à quibus in- and punishments to be only in this life, or but a little longer. venta, difputata, confcripta funt At leaft, none but the Souls of the good (fay fome of them) Quotus enim quifq; furvive: and though they confefs One God, they give him Philofophorum inve- no folemn worship. Their Sect called Sciequia or Sciacca, is nitur, qui fit ita moratus, ita animo ac very clear for the Unity of the Godhead, the joys of Heaven, and vitâ conftitutus ut the torments of Hell, with fome umbrage of the Trinity, &c. ratio poftulat qui But they blot all with the Pythagorean fopperics, affirming difciplinam fuam non thefe Souls which were in joy or mifery, after a certain space to be fent again into Bodies, and fo to continue through frequent changes to eternity: to fay nothing of the wickedness of their lives. Their third Scct called Lauru is not worth the cretis fuis pareat? naming, as being compofed of fopperies, and forceries, and tanta levitate & jimpoitures. All the Japonian Sects alfo make the world to be tatione, ut iis fuerit eternal, and Souls to be perpetuated through infinite tranfminon didicifle melius: grations. The Siamenfes, who feem the best of all, and nearest alios pecuniæ cupi- to Chriftians, have many fopperics, and worship the Devil dos, gloriæ nonnul for fear, as they do God for love. The Indian Bramenes, or los, multos libidiBannians, alfo have the Pythagorean crrors, and place their piety in redeeming Bruits, because they have Souls which

oftentationem fcientiæ, fed legem vitæ putet? qui obtempe ret ipfe fibi, & de

Videre licet alics

num fervos: ut cum

corum vita mirabi biliter pugnet oratio: quod quidem mihi videtur turpiffimum. Ut enim fi Grammaticum fe profeffus quifpiam barbare loquatur, aut fi abfurde canat is, qui fe haberi velit muficum, hoc turpior fit, quod in co ipfo peccet, cujus profitetur fcientiam fic Philofophus in ratione vitæ peccans, hoc turpior eft, quod in oficio, cujus magifter effe vult, labitur, artemque vitæ profeffus, delinquit in vitâ. Cic. Tufc. 1. 2. pag. 252.

fometimes