a future life, but of a future life. accompanied with punishments as well as rewards; not only of the immortality of the foul, but of the immortality of the foul accompanied with that of the refurrection, was delivered; I cannot be of opinion that, abftracted from the fupernatural testimony by which it was enforced, it could have met with any very extensive reception amongst them. It was not that kind of future life, which they expected it did not hold out to them the punishments of the infernal regions, as aniles fabulas: to the queftion, Quid fi poft mortem maneant animi? they could not answer with Cicero and the philofophers, - Bea Beatos effe concedo; because there was a great probability, that it might be quite otherwise with them. I am not to learn, that there are paffages to be picked up in the writings of the antients, which might be produced as proofs of their expecting a future ftate of punishment for the flagitious; but this opinion was worn out of credit, before the time of our Saviour: the whole difputation in the first book of the Tufculan Questions, goes upon the other supposition: nor was the abfurdity of the doctrine of future punishments confined to the writings of the philofophers, or the circles of the learned and polite; for Cicero, to mention no others, makes no fecret of it in his public pleadings before the people at large. You yourself, Sir, have referred to his oration for Cluentius; in this oration, you may remember, he makes great mention of a very abandoned fellow, who had forged I know not how many wills, murdered I know not how many wives, and perpetrated a thousand other villainies; yet even to this profligate, by name Oppianicus, he is perfuaded, that death was not the occafion of any evil*. Hence, I think, we may conclude, that fuch Nam nunc quidem quid tandem mali illi mors attulit? nifi forte ineptiis ac fabulis ducimur, ut exiftimemus apud inferos impiorum fupplicia perferre; ac plures illic offendiffe inimicos quam hic reliquiffe quæ fi falfa fint, id quod omnes intelligunt, &c. fuch of the Romans, as were not wholly infected with the annihilating notions of Epicurus, but entertained, (whether from remote tradition, or enlightened argumentation,) hopes of a future life, had no manner of expectation of fuch a life, as included in it the severity of punishment, denounced in the Christian scheme against the wicked. Nor was it that kind of future life, which they wished; they would have been glad enough of an Elyfium, which could have admitted into it men who had spent this life, in the perpetration of every vice, which can debafe and pollute the human heart. To abandon every feducing gratification of sense, to pluck up every latent root root of ambition, to fubdue every impulfe of revenge, to divest themselves of every inveterate habit, in which their glory and their pleasure confifted; to do all this and more, before they could look up to the doctrine of a future life, without terror and amazement, was not, one would think, an easy undertaking; nor was it likely, that many would forfake the religious inftitutions of their ancestors, fet at nought the gods, under whose aufpices the Capitol had been founded, and Rome made mistress of the world, and fuffer themfelves to be perfuaded into the belief of a tenet, the very mention of which made Felix tremble, by any thing less than a full convic |