G. My Lord, to pray to the Saints jointly with God is fomewhat too familiar, and looks like putting them upon the Level.

L. Ay, Sr, it would do fo, if we pray'd to the Saints as we do to God. But if we only invoke the Saints as Interceffors at the fame Time that we call upon God as the Giver of all good Gifts, there is no Danger of Putting them upon the Level. Prayer is the Defire or Affection of the Heart, and if the Heart moves at the fame Time towards God and his Saints, or towards Chrift and his Blessed Mother, as when I fay, Jefus Maria, do's it make no Difference between the Creator and the Creature? If so, then it will be Blafphemy to praise God in his Saints: Because in that Act I muft of Neceffity join God and his Saints together. Nay I cannot praise God in his Saints, but in the fame Act whether I will or not, I praife and Honour the Saints with an inferiour or Relative Ho

nour.

What you tell me concerning St Eloy's PRES I DING (as you term it) over Horfes, and St Antony over the Swine, is a very curious Piece of Erudition, to which I was an utter stranger till now.

But, to give a short Answer to this whole Piece of Buffoonery, we honour all God's Saints because they were his faithful Servants on Earth, and are honour'd by him as his Friends in Heaven. And if the People addrefs themselves to this or that parti cular Saint rather than others, 'tis not because there is a Divifion of Offices among the Saints, or that they may not all equally intercede for any Favour without Entrenching upon each other's Prerogative, but because (according to St Austin's Remark Epift. 78. olim 137. §. 3.) as the Saints have their feveral Gifts beftow'd upon them in this Life, fo Almighty God thinks fit to honour them differently in Heaven", And

L

§. 8. the People that invoke them, have found by Experience, that God is pleased to grant fuch or fuch particular Favours through their Interceffion. But your Comparing on this fcore God's Saints with the Hea then Deities is a moft Unchriftian Reflection, becaufe we do not honour them as Gods, but as the Friends, and Servants of God, of whom alone we hope to obtain the Bleffings, for which we defire their Prayers,

§. 8.

St Auftin Falfified.

*6. Scripture to Angels, and to Men as MinifIts

He Word Gods is frequently given in

ters of God ---

L. It is fo fometimes. What then?

» G. Thus the Heathens understood it, and fuppofed their Gods to be fuch Minifters, as Æolus to govern the Winds, Neptune the Sea, &c. Therefore » they call'd them Dii Medioxumi, inferiour Gods, » as standing in the Middle betwixt the Supreme God and us to fuccour and punish us according to his Orders. pag. 117. 118.

L. It seems then according to you, that the Heathens in calling thofe Gods, whom they had deified, understood that Word in a very innocent fenfe, and as it is fometimes taken in Scriptures for the Minifters of the true fupreme God. Really, Sr, with a few touches more of your exquifite Skill it is to be hoped the Heathens will shortly be transform'd into arue Worshippers. But they have unluckily spoil'd all, and explain'd their own Meaning in Fact by Offering Sacrifices to their inferiour Gods no less than to their Supreme God Jupiter: which is a convincing

Proof, that they regarded them all as truly Gods and were blind enough to believe, that there were Higher and Lower Degrees amongst the Gods as well as amongst Creatures: Tho in Reality both their Higher, and Lower Gods were but Devils, or evil Spirits. G. St Austin, who knew them well, tells us « what they argued for themselves. They faid, we « do not Worship evil Damons or Spirits, but we W ́or- « ship thofe, whom you [Chriftians] call Angels, the m Powers of the great, the Ministers of the great God. « Auguft. in Pf. 96. But St Austin anfwer'd them, « that they must be evil Spirits, whom they worshipped, u because they required Worship from Men as the Devil « did from our Saviour; which the good Angels always « refused. And he quotes, Rev. 19. V. 10. and 22. «

.9. where the Angel forbad John to worship him, « And the fame did the Saints upon Earth, as Peter & refused it from Cornelius, Act. 10. v. 26. And Paul « and Barnabas from the Men of Lyftra. Act. 14. V. « 14. 15. pag. 118. «

L. Sr, it is no Wonder the Heathens would not own their Gods to be evil Spirits. But St Austin upon the 96 Pfalm quoted by you confutes them very folidly, and I am forry I muft here accufe you of a notorious Falfification of that Father's Answer to the Heathens. You fay his Answer is thus. Viz. That they must be evil Spirits, whom they worshipped; because they required WORSHIP from Men.

Now the Word WORSHIP is equivocal, and may either fignify Divine Worship, or that inferiour or Relative Honour, which we pay to Saints and Angels. Therefore to render it at least doubtful, which of the two Worships St Austin condemn'd in his Anfwer to the Heathens, you have very dexterously alter'd his Words, which, if truly quoted are clear, and incapable of a double Meaning. His true Words are

5.8, thefe. Dic mihi, Demonia colis, an fpiritus bones, quaLes funt Angeli? Sunt enim Angeli saníti, & sunt Spiritus maligni. Ego dico in Templis tuis non coluntur nifi Spiritus maligni. Qui fibi exigunt fuperbe SACRIFI CIUM, & volunt fe coli TANQUAM DEos, maligni funt, fuperbi funt. That is to fay, Tell me do you worship Devils or holy Spirits, fuch as Angels are? For there are holy Angels, and there are evil Spirits: 1 fay that in your Temples only evil Spirits are worshipped. For they, who proudly require SACRIFICE to be offerr'd to them, and will be worshipped AS GODS are evil and proud Spirits.

Thefe, Sr, are St Austin's Words upon the 96. Pfalm. and your Tranflating them as you have done, is fuch a Piece of Difingenuity, as all Men of Ho. nour and Confcience will deteft. For it is manifeft, and you cannot but be confcious of it to yourself, that his Words expreß and fpecify that Worship, which is OFFERING SACRIFICE, and can therefore render you no Manner of Service against our Invocation of Saints and Angels, unless you can prove, that we offer Sacrifice to 'em, and Worship them AS GODS, which the blackeft Malice cannot accufe us of.

You fay St Austin quotes Rev. 19. .10. and 22. .9. Where the Angel forbad St John to worship him. To which St Austin himself anfwers for me: that the Angel appear'd in fuch a Manner, that he might have been adored as God, and therefore St John's Miftake was to be corrected. Aug. Quæft. 61. in Gen.

After which you quote St Peter Refufing Worship from Cornelius. To which I answer, that tho the Worship intended by Cornelius was no more than a Refpect due to St Peter's Character, he refufed it out of Humility. For if what Cornelius did, was in itself unlawful, then kneeling to a Parent, or the King is likewife unlawful.

Laftly, you produce the example of Paul and Bar nabas Refufing Worship from the Men of Lyftra. A& 14. V. 11. c. But do not the Acts themselves tell us what Sort of Worship these Men intended? The Gods, faid they, are come down to us in the Likeneß of Men. And they call'd Banabas Jupiter, and Paul Mercury, because he was the chief Speaker. Then the Priest of Jupiter brought Oxen and Garlands, and would have done Sacrifice 10 Barnabas and Paul, &c. And had they not then Reason to refuse this Worship from them? But if the Men of Lyftra had only defired their Prayers, as we do those of the Saints and Angels, would Pand and Barnabas have Scrupled to grant their Request i

§. 9.

The fcandalous Parallel between the Heathen Worship, and that of Roman Catholicks confused.

ADVERTISEMENT.

After the Gentleman's last Words in his Cafe ftated, pag. 118. his Lordship is fo very ignorans as to answer, that the Heathens worshipped every one of their Gods as fupreme. Which Blunder was neceffary to introduce the fcandalous Parallel between the Heathens, and Roman Catholicks.

I call it fcandalous, 1. because Idolatry is a Crime of the blackest Nature; and nothing can be a more Scandalous Calumny, than to fix it upon fo confiderable a Body of Chriftians, as Roman Catholicks are, unleß the Charge be made out with fuch strong and undeniable evidence, that no Man of Senfe can oppofe or deny it.

I call it scandalous, 2. because it Unchurches the