IN fhort, great numbers of Witches have been almoft annually executed in England from the remoteft Antiquity to the late Revolution; when upon the Liberty given and taken to think freely, the Devil's Power vifibly declin❜d, and England as well as the United Provinces ceas'd to be any part of his Chriftian Territories.

LET the Priests give such an Inftance of their Success against the Devil any where.

BUT fince the Reign of Dr. SACHEVEREL, when the Clamours against FreeThinking began to be loudeft, the Devil has again refum'd his Empire, and appears in the fhape of Cats, and enters into confederacy with old Women; and feveral have been try'd, and many are accus'd, thro all parts of the Kingdom for being Witches. And he feems at prefent to have fo great a Party among us, and fo many Minifters crdain'd to his Service, and to have render'd Free-Thinking fo odious; that nothing but the fecond Coming of our Bleffed Saviour, which is foon expected by feveral of our Reverend Divines who are well skill'd in the Prophets and Revelation, gives me any hopes of a Change for the better.

PERHAPS it will be faid, That the Storys of the Devil's Power were founded on

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the Lyes of fome and the Credulity of others; and that the Executions of Witches have been Jo many Murders: And therefore that there is no pretence to talk of Conquest over the Devil fince the Revolution, and nothing to be boasted of by Free-Thinkers. The People were only come a little more to their fenfes, and by confequence their Tutors were a little fearful of endeavouring to impofe on them.

BUT this Objection can be made by very few. First, All the ignorant People believe all Storys of this kind to be true. Secondly, It is not likely, that they who have fo great an Intereft in maintaining the Power of the Devil, and have been the principal Promoters of all Profecutions against Witches, and have branded all Men with Atheism who did not agree with them in the Extent of the Power they attributed to the Devil, or refus'd to join with them in the promoting Profecutions against Witches, should accept of this Apology.

TO thofe few therefore who make this Objection, I reply, That it is an equal Glo ry to Free-Thinkers to wreft out of the Priests hands the power of taking away fo many innocent Peoples Lives and Reputations, which the general Belief of the great Power of the Devil and of the Exiftence of Witches gave them an opportunity to do, as to drive away the Devil himfelf. And the good confequence

fequence of Free-Thinking to Society, is plainly equal upon this laff, as upon the former Suppofition.

SECT. II.

THE Subjects of which Men are deny'd the Right to think by the Enemys of Free-Thinking, are of all others thofe of which Men have not only a Right to think, but. of which they are oblig'd in duty to think; viz. fuch as of the Nature and Attributes of the Eternal Being or God, of the Truth and Authority of Books efteem'd Sacred, and of the Senfe and Meaning of thofe Books; or, in one word, of Religious Questions.

ift. A RIGHT Opinion in these matters is fuppos'd by the Enemys of FreeThinking to be abfolutely neceffary to Mens Salvation, and fome Errors or Mistakes ábout them are fuppos'd to be damnable. Now where a right Opinion is fo neceffary, there Men have the greatest Concern imaginable to think for themselves, as the best means to take up with the right fide of the Question. For if they will not think for themselves, it remains only for them to take the Opinions they have imbib'd from their Grandmothers, Mothers or Priests, or owe to fuch like Accident, for granted. But taking

taking that method, they can only be in the right by chance; whereas by Thinking and Examination, they have not only the mere accident of being in the right, but have the Evidence of things to determine them to the fide of Truth: unless it be fuppos'd that Men are fuch abfurd Animals, that the most unreasonable Opinion is as likely to be admitted for true as the most reasonable, when it is judg'd of by the Reason and Underftanding of Men. In that cafe indeed it will follow, That Men can be under no Ob. ligation to think of these matters. But then it will likewife follow, That they can be under no Obligation to concern themselves about Truth and Falfhood in any Opinions. For if Men are so abfurd, as not to be able to distinguish between Truth and Falfhood, Evidence and no Evidence, what pretence is there for Mens having any Opinions at all? Which yet none judg fo neceffary as the Enemys of Free-Thinking.

2dly. IF the furest and best means of arriving at Truth lies in Free-Thinking, then the whole Duty of Man with respect to Opinions lies only in Free-Thinking. Because he who thinks freely does his best towards being in the right, and confequently does all that God, who can require nothing more of any Man than that he fhould do his best, can require of him. And fhould he prove mistaken in any Opinions, he must be as acceptable

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acceptable to God as if he receiv'd none but right Opinions. This is admirably express'd by that true Chriftian and Proteftant (and by confequence great Free-Thinker) Mr. CHILLINGWORTH, who fays, That if Men do their best endeavours to free themselves from all Errors, and yet fail of it thro human Weakness; fo well is he perfuaded of the Goodnefs of God, that if in him alone fhould meet a Confluence of all fuch Errors of all the Proteftants in the World that were thus qualify'd, he should not be so much afraid of them all, as he should be to ask pardon for them. For to ask pardon for fuch Errors, is tacitly to imply that God is angry with us for them; and that were to impute to him the ftrange Tyranny of requiring Brick where he gives no Straw; of expecting to gather where he firewed not; to reap where he fowed not; of being offended with us for not doing what he knows we cannot do.

ON the other fide, the whole Crime of Man, with respect to Opinions, muft lie in his not thinking freely. He who is in the right by accident only, and does but fuppofe bimfelf to be fo without any Thinking, is really in a dangerous ftate, as having taken no pains and ufed no endeavours towards being in the right, and confequently as hav ing no Merit; nay, as being on the fame

Anf. to Pref. of Charity maint. Sect. 26.

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