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Country, fheweth an undiftinguishing Genius that miftakes Oppofition for Freedom of Thought. And, indeed, notwithstanding the Pretences of fome few among our Free thinkers, I can hardly think there are Men fo ftupid and inconfiftent with themselves, as to have a ferious Regard for natural Religion, and at the fame time use their utmost Endeavours to destroy the Credit of those facred Writings, which as they have been the Means of bringing these Parts of the World to the Knowledge of natural Religion, fo in cafe they lofe their Authority over the Minds of Men, we fhould of courfe fink into the fame Idolatry which we fee practised by other unenlightened Nations.

IF a Person who exerts himself in the Modern way of Free thinking be not a ftupid Idolater, it is undeniable that he contributes all he can to the making o.her Men fo, either by Ignorance or Defign; which lays him under the Dilemma, I will not fay of being a Fool or Knave, but of incurring the Contempt or Deteftation of Mankind.

N° 89.

Tuesday, June 23.

Igneus eft ollis vigor, & cæleftis origo
Seminibus

T

Virg.

HE fame Faculty of Reason and Understanding, which placeth us above the Brute part of the Creation, doth alfo fubject our Minds to greater and more manifold Difquiets than Creatures of an inferior Rank are fenfible of. It is by this that we anticipate future Difafters, and oft create to our felves real Pain from imaginary Evils, as well as multiply the Pangs arifing from thofe which cannot be avoided.

IT behoves us therefore to make the beft Ufe of that fublime Talent, which, fo long as it continues the Inftrument of Paffion, will ferve only to make us more miferable, in proportion as we are more excellent than other Beings.

IT is the Privilege of a Thinking Being to withdraw from the Objects that folicit his Senfes, and turn his Thoughts inward on himself. For my own part I often mitigate the Pain arifing from the little Misfortunes and Difappointments that chequer human Life by this Introverfion of my Faculties, wherein I regard my own Soul as the Image of her Creator, and receive great Confolation from beholding those Perfections which teftify her Divine Original, and lead me into fome Knowledge of her everlafting Archetype.

BUT there is not any Property or Circumftance of my Being that I contemplate with more Joy than my Immortality. I can easily overlook any present momentary Sorrow, when I reflect that it is in my Power to be happy a thousand Years hence. If it were not for this Thought, I had rather be an Oister than a Man, the moft ftupid and fenfelefs of Animals than a reasonable Mind tortured with an extreme innate Defire of that Perfection which it defpairs to obtain.

IT is with great Pleasure that I behold Inftinct, Reafon and Faith concurring to atteft this comfortable Truth. It is revealed from Heaven, it is discovered by Philosophers, and the ignorant, unenlightened Part of Mankind have a natural Propenfity to believe it. It is an agreeable Entertainment to reflect on the various Shapes under which this Doctrine has appeared in the World. The Pythagorean Tranfmigration, the fenfual Habitations of the Mahometan, and the fhady Realms of Pluto, do all agree in the main Points, the Continuation of our Existence, and the Distribution of Rewards and Punishments, proportioned to the Merits or Demerits of Men in this Life.

BUT in all thefe Schemes there is fomething grofs and improbable, that fhocks a reasonable and fpeculative Mind. Whereas nothing can be more rational and fublime than the Chriftian Idea of a future State. Eye bath not feen, nor Ear heard, neither hath it entred into the heart of Man to conceive the things which God hath prepared for thofe that love him. The above-mentioned Schemes are narrow Transcripts of our prefent State : But in this indefinite Description there is fomething ineffably great and noble. The Mind of Man must be raised to a higher pitch, not

only

only to partake the Enjoyments of the Christian Paradise, but even to be able to frame any Notion of them.

NEVERTHELESS, in order to gratify our Imagination, and by way of Condefcenfion to our low way of thinking, the Ideas of Light, Glory, a Crown, &c. are made ufe of to adumbrate that which we cannot directly understand. The Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne shall feed them, and fhall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God fhall wipe away all tears from their Eyes. And there fhall be no more death, neither forrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are paffed away, and behold all thingt are new. There fhall be no Night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the fun for the Lord God giveth them light, and fhall make them drink of the River of his pleasures: and they shall reign for ever and ever. They shall receive a crown of Glory which fadeth not away.

THESE are chearing Reflexions: And I have often wondered that Men could be found fo dull and phlegmatick, as to prefer the Thought of Annihilation before them; or fo ill-natur'd, as to endeavour to perfuade Mankind to the Disbelief of what is fo pleafing and profitable even in the Profpect; or fo blind, as not to fee that there is a Deity, and if there be, that this Scheme of things flows from his Attributes, and evidently correfponds with the other Parts of his Creation.

I know not how to account for this abfurd turn of Thought, except it proceed from a want of other Employment joined with an Affectation of Singularity. I fhall, therefore, inform our modern Free-thinkers of two Points whereof they feem to be ignorant. The firft is, that it is not the being fingular, but being fingular for fomething, that argues either extraordinary Endowments of Nature, or benevolent Intentions to Mankind, which draws the Admiration and Efteem of the World. A Miftake in this point naturally arifes from that Confufion of Thought which I do not remember to have feen fo great Inftances of in any Writers, as in certain Modern Freethinkers.

THE other Point is, that there are innumerable Objects within the reach of a Human Mind, and each of thefe Objects may be viewed in innumerable Lights and

B 5

Poft

Fofitions, and the Relations arifing between them are innumerable. There is, therefore, an Infinity of things. whereon to employ their Thoughts, if not with Advantage to the World, at least with Amusement to themfelves, and without Offence or Prejudice to other People. If they proceed to exert their Talent of Free-thinking in this way; they may be innocently dull, and no one take any notice of it. But to fee Men without either Wit or Argument pretend to run down Divine and Human Laws, and treat their Fellow-Subjects with Contempt for profeffing a Belief of those Points on which the present as well as future Interest of Mankind depends, is not to be endured. For my own part, I shall omit no Endeavours. to render their Perfons as defpicable, and their Practices as odious, in the Eye of the. World, as they deferve.

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17

Wednesday, June 24%

·Fungar vice Cotis

Hor.

T is, they fay, frequent with Authors to write Letters to themselves, either out of Laziness or Vanity. The following is Genuine, and, I think, deferves the Attention of every Man of Senfe in England.

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SIR

To the GUARDIAN..

June 20.

HOUGH I am not apt to make Complaints, and

T have never yet troubled you with any, and little thought I ever should, yet feeing that in your Paper of this Day, you take no notice of Yefterday's Examiner, as I hoped you would, my Love for my Religion, which is fo nearly concerned, would not permit me to be fi lent. The matter, Sir, is this. A. Bishop of our Church (to whom the Examiner himself has nothing to object, but his Care and Concern for the Proteftant Religion,

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which by him, it seems, is thought a fufficient Fault,) has lately publish'd a Book, in which he endeavours to 'fhew the Folly, Ignorance, and Mistake of the Church ' of Rome in its Worship of Saints: From this the Examiner takes occafion to fall upon the Author with his ut' most Malice, and to make him the Subject of his Ridicule. Is it then become a Crime for a Proteftant to speak or write in Defence of his Religion? Shalia Papift have ⚫ leave to print and publifh in England what he pleases in ⚫ defence of his own Opinion, with the Examiner's Approbation; and fhall not a Proteftant be permitted to ' write an Answer to it? For this, Mr. Guardian, is the prefent Cafe. Laft Year a Papift (or to pleafe Mr. Exa miner, a Roman-Catholick) published the Life of St. Wenefrede, for the use of thofe devout Pilgrims who go ' in great Numbers to offer up their Prayers to her at her Well; this gave Occafion to the worthy Prelate, in ⚫ whose Diocese that Well is, to make fome Obfervations upon it, and in order to undeceive fo many poor de•luded People, to fhow how little Reason, and how fmall Authority there is, not only to believe any of the Miracles attributed to St. Wenefrede, but even to believe there ever was fuch a Perfon in the World. And shall then a good Man, upon fuch an account, be liable to be abu• fed in fo publick a manner? Can any good Church-ofEngland Man bear to see a Bishop, one whom her prefent Majefty was pleased to make, treated in fo ludicrous a way? or fhould one país by the Scurrility and the Immodefty that is to be found in feveral Parts of the Paper? who can with Patience fee St. Paul and St. Wenefrede fet, by the Examiner, upon a level, and the Authority for one made by him to be equal with that ⚫ for the other? Who, that is a Chriftian, can endure his infipid Mirth upon fo ferious an Occafion? I must confefs it raifes my Indignation to the greatest height, to • fee a Pen that has been long employed in writing Pa• negyricks upon Perfons of the first Rank, (who would be indeed to be pitied, were they to depend upon that ⚫ for their Praife) to fee, I fay, the fame Pen at laft made ⚫ use of in defence of Popery.

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• I think I may now, with Juftiee, congratulate with ⚫ those whom the Examiner diflikes; fince, for my own

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