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Lemuel Adams*
HART FOR DO
CAT
s
Li — * /— r~s /•"•a-v T~"< v-«\ ETTERS.
VOL. IV,
Z. 0 AT £> 0 2V:
Printed for W. WILKINS, T. WOODWARD, J. WALTHOS, junr. and J. PEELE.
M DCC XXIV.
C A T O's LETTERS
SIR,
HAVE often thought, that moil of the Mifchiefs under which Mankind fufTers, and al- moft all their polemick Difputes are owing to the Abufe of Words, If Men would define what they mean by the Sounds they make ufe of to exprefs their Thoughts, and then keep to thofe Definitions, that is, annex always the fame Ideas to the fame Sounds, mort of the Difputes in the World would be at an End 5 but this would not anfwer the Purpofes of thofe who derive Power and Wealth from impofing upon the Ignorance and Credulity of others : And therefore, till the World can agree to be ho- nefr, and to buy and fell by the fame Mea-
A 2 lure,
4 Giro's LETTERS.
fure, (which they don't fecm in Hade to do) 1 doubt this Evil is likely to go on.
There are no Words in Language which feem to me to be more mifapply'd than the Word Self-lwterefli by Divines, Orators, Phi- lofophers, or Poets : All have exerted them- ielvt's with great Efforts of Exhortation, Rea- ion, Eloquence, ar.d Wit, againfl this reign- ing Vice , but, I conceive, they have all miis'd the Mark. Indeed, in the larger Senfe of the Word, I think it is impoffible for any Man to ncl upon any other Motive than his own Intereft : For every Purfuit we make, mud have tor its End the Gratification of fome Appetite, or the avoiding of fome Evil we fear j and, in truth, when we fay that any Man is felf-intercfted, we mean only that he is not enough in his own Intereft.
A good humour'd Man, when he pities a- nother, gratifies a natural Paffion, in having a Fellow-feeling of the Calamities of others, and a Defire to fee all Men out of Pain or Trouble. A generous Man pleafes his Vani- ty, Oftentation, or Temper, in doing good to others, or intends to gain Friends or Depen- dants. An indulgent Parent takes Pleafure to fee that his Children (whom he efteems Parts ofrrtmfelf) live happy, contented, and make a Figure in the World, and derives Credit and Reputation to himfelf from their doing fo. And a beneficent Patron, or a Man in Love, reaps great perfonal Satisfaction in obliging the Objects of his Kindnefs, and by making them more devoted to himfelf: And all thefe
pity or contemn one who wants thefe a^reea-
•• . 1.1
be
CAfo's LETTERS. y
ble Appetites, and moft reafonably judge, tha* he wants many Pleafures which they them" felves enjoy 5 as well knowing, that, next to the Preiervation of their Beings by whole- fome Food and warm Raiment, and the en- joying the common NeceiTaries and ufual Di- veriions of Life, all that can be added to their Happinefs, is to obtain Reipect, Love, and Edeem from others.
Even all the worit Padiors flow from the fame Source. For what is Hatred, Malice, and Revenge, but gratifying viticus Appetites? And Fear and Cowardice are only Struggles in Nature to avoid Evils to our {"elves. Of all Men, the covetous Man is the moil unhappy: For as every Pleaiure is the Gratification of fome Appetite or Deilre, the Man who has lead Deiires and Appetites, mud have the lead Pleafures, and he mud lofe many agree- able Senfations which other Men enjoy. I laugh at the foolifh Philofophy of fome Seels in old Greece, who plac'd the Summum 'Bonwn,. or chief Happinefs, in the Abfence of all Paf- iions or Defires j which can be only a State of Death, or perfect. Stupidity, whilir. we are alive. Men exceed Vegetables no otherwife than as they think 5 and when they ceafe to think, (if that can be) they. are in a tempora- ry State of Death , and the Objects of all Thinking muft be fomething we defire to at- tain, or fear to lofe : And as Thought it felt' is only a Motion of the Mind, fo one Motion muft produce another, as every Thought muft do, and be perpetually progreilive, till Death puts an End to all Thoughts. Here Cove-
A 3 toufnefs
o- CAfO's LETTERS.
toufnefs therefore can only proceed from a Poornefs and Dejeclion of Soul, which always fears Want and Mifery, and mud ever be bereft of all lively and fparkling Imaginations, be in a confiant State of Diffidence and De- fpondency, and lofe all the gay, chearful, and generous Senfations which flow from a free, ac'hve, happy, and beneficent Mind.
I muft take the Liberty therefore to think, that the Word Self-Inter eft, in the ill Senfe of the Word, ought to be new defin'd, and be made applicable only to thofe who prefer a fmall Interest to a great one, or to fuch who take a wrong Way to attain that great one: And in this latter Senfe the Bigot is the moft ielf interefled Perfon in the World: His whole Thoughts are fo wound up in himfelf, and his own perfonal Views, that he is whol- ly regardlefs of what becomes of the reft of the World, unlefs he can find his own Bene- fit in it. Indeed he will give fome loofe Pence to Beggars, or Vagabonds, and per- haps Sums to maintain Idlers and Cynicks, not out of Humanity and generous Principles, b,ut in order to put it out to large Intereft, I do not mean for Five or Six pir Cent, but for more than fixty Times fixty Thoufand j though if a Nation is to be fared, or a great People protected from Slavery, he is wholly unconcern'd about the Event, as efteeming the little Affairs of this World much below his Notice and Confederation.
He is the fame in refpecr. of tlie other World, as the covetous Man is in refpecT: of this, and both their good Qualities proceed
from
CATo's LETTERS. 7
from the fame Principles and Appetites in Nature. He is covetous for the good Things in the Kingdom of Heaven, as the other is for them here $ and both take much the fame Way to get them. They both contemn wife Men, becaufe wife Men contemn them : Their defpifing the Vanities of the World faves Money ; their condemning the modeft Pleafures of Life gratifies their four and cen- forious Tempers j their living cloifter'd, and retir'd Lives, feed natural Melancholly 5 and the former Hopes to carry Heaven (which the other does not Trouble himfelf about) by finging Songs upon Earth, by being perfectly uieiefs to Society, and good for no one Thing in the World.
This Sort of Creature is the Tool for Knaves to work with, and made ufe of to ferve their Interefts, whilft he intends only to par foe his own. He is made to believe that Kingdoms, infinitely preferable to thofe of this World, are to be gain'd by the Man- ner of cutting his Corns, or by Forms, Fa- fhions. Habits, Podures, Cringes and Gri- maces 5 by ufing a Rote of Words, or by ufeleis Speculations, and dancing after idle Harangue's, and always by being an implaca- ble Enemy, and a furious Adveriary to all who have generous and beneficent Affections towards their own Species. He values Opini- ons like rotten Cheefe, in proportion as they are old, and is more concerned tor People's believing Right, than for their doing Right. He thinks the Way to fhew our Gratitude to God, is to refufe his Gifts $ and believes
A 4. Truth
8 CATQ's LETTERS.
Truth the more facred the lefs 'tis underftood, and nothing worthy to be call'd Faith but what is abfurd to Reafon, and contradicts ail the Principles of Science. He is a fa ft Friend to every Thing that looks like a Myilery, and thinks common Senfe too common, and fublime Nonfenfe to be always a Proof of ln- fpi ration. He meafures Virtue and Vice, Right and Wrong, not by the Interefts of Mankind, but by fcanty and partial Rules in- vented by Pedants and Hypocrites, and cal- culated chiefly for their own Benefit. He is a Friend to no Man, and all his Thoughts and Speculations are above Humanity and focial Pieafures, and all the frail Thinas of thij
4
World , and fo he keeps all his Money to Limfelf, and, at lafl, perhaps, ftarves his Friends and Farnily> to leave it to fuch Wretches as he is, not out of Kindnefs to them, but to receive ample Payment again where he is going.
I have often wonder'd how this ftupid A- nimal could ever be in Repute ; how the moft infignificant and worft Being in the Univerfc could be thought the moft acceptable to the beft, and how any one can be fuppos'd to me- rit Heaven, by being ufelefs upon Earth. Ca- Jlrucbio CaftraceiKt faid well, That he could ne- ver believe that Friar Hieronomo had more In- tereft above than he himfelf had ; and fure he iudg'd right ; yet the World ever have run, and, I doubt, ever will run, madding after Hermits, Cynicks, Dreamers of Dreams, Bel- chers of Prophecy, and reclufc and fequedred Per ions, who are fuppos'd to knew heavenly
r^'ii ' *
Things
CAfO's LETTERS. 9
Things in Proportion as they know nothing here. They call their folemn Folly, divine "Wifdom j their Spleen and Melancholy, godly Contemplation j their envious, fullen, and morofe Tempers, {tricl and rigid Virtue, and a Deteftation of Vice 5 and Covetoulhefs is Frugality, and the Contempt of Things be- lew. \Vhereas a truly virtuous and godly Man, is the moit candid, amiable, and beft-natur'd Creature upon Earth : He fpends his Life in doing all the Good he can, and to all the Men he can : He takes Pleafure in feeing all- Men happy, and will endeavour to make them all happy : He has large and comprehenfive Notions of the Deity, and as he finds in him- felf kind and beneficent ArYbclions towards the whole Creation,, believes that the fupreme Being has the fame, and, confequently, will not make our Happinefs or Miiery t(* depend upon what is out of our Power, or upon fuch Speculations or Actions as can produce no moral Good, but often deilroy it, and pro- mote Evil.
God- wants- nothing, and if we have any Gifts to beitow, his Creatures are our only proper Objects: but thofe who crave in his Name Largefies and Endowments,, which they apply to their own Uie and Luxury, and call their own Luxury and- IJ6mp the ferving. of him, make the Almighty as greedy as they are, and the Giver of all Things,. to want al- rnoft every Thing; and confining all their Bounty and Charity to their own dear Per- ioncv think that he does fo too, and that they are. as. dear to him as they are to thcm-
A ••-.
io CATO's LET T E R S.
felves 5 and fo hate and defpife, diitreis and deftroy, in the Name of God, all whom they hate for their own Sakes: So that, excepting a very few Men, (the moil ridiculous and the worrt of the whole) all the human Species are efteem'd by them as Outcafts, whom the wile Creator and Governor of the World has fent into it only to abhor and to damn them j and tho' his Favours are infinite, yet they think that he bellows them all upon a little liland, or a poor Deiart, or on a little and contemptable Corner of the Earth, purely be- caufe the Inhabitants wear blue, or black, or broad Bonnets, quaint Doublets, or long Pet- ticoats, and eat, or refufe to eat Fifh or Fle/h, and other Food given for the general Ufe of all Men 3 and make felflfh and partial Speeches to him, and ufe crazy Diftinclions about him, which he' commands not, and which wife Men underiland not, and which the weakeft Men alone are governed by.
W7ith the Bigots almoft every Thing that is Truth is Blafphemy 5 and with them, a four Face, and a bitter and implacable Heart are ()jjiaiiflcations fo acceptable to the wife, mer- ciful, and forgiving God, that he hates all who want them ; fo that in great Deteftation of Blafphemy, they blnfphemoufly make the God and Father of Mercies and of Man, a Party- Mnn too, or, at belt, the Head of the moil fenfelefs, ufelefs, inhuman, and miichie- vous Parry in the Univerfe, the Party of Bi-
f")ts ; who being blindly and obftinatelv ad-
j j
dieted to their own incurable Follies, are fu- riouiiy bent jg.iinft all the wife and fober Men
in
LETTERS. u
in the World : They improve the World by defacing it, and their Way of building up, is to deftroy and pull down ; This they call Edification.
But Religion is another, and a contrary Thing, and whoever would entertain a juit Idea of the Divine Being nuift conceive of
<.j
him in direct Oppofition to the Bigot's Con- ceptions, vJi. That the God of Truth is not the Author of Contradictions $ That when he fpeaks to Men, he fpeaks not above the Capa- cities of Men, but to their Capacities, which is the End of Speaking $ That he who makes the Hearts of Men, is the bell and only Judge of Mens Hearts, who cannot fee into one ano- ther's, that being the only Province and Privilege of Omnifcience; That his perfect Goodnefs cannot punifh Men, whom he has created naturally fubjeft to Errors, for invo- luntary Errors , That having not made Man perfect, he cannot be offended with him for natural and inevitable Imperfections.
That we cannot provoke him when we in- tend to adore him, That the beft Way to ferve him, is to be ierviceable to one another, he himfeif, who is Omnipotent, wanting none of our impotent Affiftance and Benefits, which rnuft come from him, but cannot go from us to him 5 That t§ hurt Men, or betray them for his Sake, is to mock him, and impioufly to father upon the God of Wifdom and Peace, our own Rage and Folly : That to him neither Sounds, nor Geflures, nor Actions, are good or bad, pleafing or difpleafing, but as the Intentions from whence they fpring are
fincere
jta C.A TO*s LETTERS.
iincere or infincere, of which he alone can Judge :
That he who made the World has not re- ftrained. his Gifts, Favours, and Mercies, to a Nook, of it,, nor picks out from among Men* who are all his,, a few particular Minions and Favourites, or gives them Authority to domi- neer ov.er the reiJ, and to oppreis them in his- Name, who is not the God of a Nation, or of a- Seel, but of ail Nations,.. .Tongues, and Per- fwafions,. and is heard of all that call upon him and fear him $ That the only. \Yay to^ pieafe and refemble him,, is to, do,, as, he does,. Good to All impartially, and to reftrain Men from hurting- or perfecuting one another^ And, in fine, That Anger, Revenge, and Am- bition, ar£ not Religion ^ not the Author and Object of it an angry,, partial,. whimficaU and crud Being ;. but that Religion is as dif- ttire.nt from. B-fgottry,. and as far above it9 ;T,S rlie. wife, great, and good God is above, weak, lutle^.i]],. acd angry Men.
T.T is a comnton Obieilion- againfl- Free •*( States,, th.it they are an grateful- : But I think 1 ihall be able to fhew the contrary, and .shat thev are. much, mora grateful, than A-cbi
CATO's LETTER S, 13
trary Princes, and are rarely ungrateful but to thole who ufe them ungratefully, and forfeit by it any Obligation they had laid upon
them.
It is the chief and firft Ambition of Free Stares to preferve themielves 5 and fuch as contribute mod to that End amongft them, are generally placed by them in the firft Sta- tions oh Figure and Power. But as Men ge- nerally over-rate their own Merit, publick Rewards, however great, are rarely fo great as- are the Expectations and Pretenfions of Men to thefe Rewards : So that fuch as are prcferr'd for ferving, or for a Capacity of ierving the Publick, are feldom preferr'd fo high as they think they deferve; and being neither pleas' d with the Meafure nor Durati- on of their Power,, where it is not boundlefa and perpetual,, they are apt to be ftruggling to make it fo, tho' to the Ruin of thofe who gave it for their own Prefervation j. and to thti overthrowing of every Purpofe for which it •was given. And whgn this is- the Aim, as it too often is,- the People grow preie-ntly very ungrateful,, becaufe they will not become Slaves to their own- Servants.. And hsre is the Source of- mod: of the Contentions in the World between the Governors and the Co- ver-near. The People provoke their Rulers by a very heinous and ill-bred Crime, that of di- itmguifhing between Protection and Qppref- iion: For this the'/ are ungrateful. They are ready enough almofl every where to give tHeii? Governors too muck; but that will not do.. J&rofc after: he. ^ut o-Sc', ihz. Hypocrite0,
i4 CATo's LETTERS.
never conferred any Office upon any Man, but he always gave him thefe Ihort Inilru&ions : You know what I have occafionfor : Let it be your Care and mine that no Body elfe have any tbtng. 3Mor was Nero the laft" that made a Power to protect Property, a Warrant for feizing it.
Gratitude is, doubtlefs, due from the obli- ged to thofe who oblige them, as long as they do not pretend to meaiure or force their own Reward, nor to ufe the others ill upon the pure Merit of having ufcd them well. There is fuch a Thing as the cancelling an Obligati- on in publick, as well as in private Life 5 as when it is turn'd into an Injury, by be- ing made the Means of Oppreffion, or a Pre- tence for Contempt, or Calumny. I would rather not be oblig'd, than abus'd for being oblig'd 5 and I believe moft Men are of my Mind.
A State may fbmetimes over-pay a Bene- factor -j but fcarce any Subject can do more for the State than he owes it. We owe all Things to our Country, becaufe in our Coun- try is contained every Thing that is dear to us, our Relations, our Fortunes, and our felves : And our Labours, our Studies, and our Lives are all due, upon Occafion, to our Country, which protects us in them all. But when we have dedicated all thefe to the State, it is far
from being true, that the State oupht to facri-
•• i /•• * '
fice itielf, or venture any Part of its Security,
to make us recompenfe. To fave it from o- thers, in order to feize it our felves, is fo far from entitling us to any Reward but that of Refentment and Death, that as it is adding
the
CA Ttfs LE T T E R S. ij
the bafe Crimes of Treachery and Ingratitude to the cruel Crime of Usurpation, no foreign Foe can be half io wicked and deteltable as fuch an interline Tray tor, who calls himfelf a Friend.
Sfur'iKs Mdius thought himfelf an unquefH- onable Benefactor to the Roman People, for having beftowed on them gratis a large Quan- tity of Corn in a Time of Dearth $ by which falfe Bounty he gain'd the Hearts of the many, who law not into his Defign of bribing and feeding them, in order to enflavethem. But &rvilius jfbalay who kill'd him, was a much greater and a real Benefactor, becaufe in M**- Ihts he flew their moft dangerous Enemy. T. Maulitcs defended the Capitol bravely and generoufly $ but when, not content with the many Honours that were done him for a wor- thy Action, he would have unworthily oppref- fed Rom£ itfelf for having faved Part of it, he was juiHy thrown headlong from that very Capitol.
Ciefiir and Marins were the mod ungrateful Monfters that ever liv'd : They had done brave Things, not for the State, as the Event fhew'd, but for themfelves 5 and the State co- ver'd them with Honours, adorn'd them with Magi ftracies and Triumphs, loaded them with Benefits, and purfued them, even to Profuiiou, with all publick and fplendid Marks of Re- Ipccl. But all this could not fatisfy thefe /liamelefs Great Men, unleis they had a Power granted them perpetual and enormous, a Pow- er deihuclive of all Liberty, and of the
State
CATO's LETTERS.
State that gave it. And fo they barbaroufty opprefs'd the State that exalted them.
On what Side, in this Inflance, did the In- gratitude lie ? Is there a Pretence for char- ging that generous People with this bafe Vice,, or for acquitting thefe Parricides from the blacked ? if the Prince of Orange,, having at the Head of the Dutch Troops, driven the in- vading French out of Seven Provinces, had enilav'd the States with their own Forces, be- eaufe, perhaps,, they had refufed to deliver up their Government to his Will and Pleafure, and to give him a Power to opprefs them, as a Reward for having defended them : Who would have been ungrateful in this Cafe ? the Prince or the States ? They for refufing to be Slaves, or he for making them Slaves ?
The People lofe much more by their Gene- rality to their Benefactors, than the Bene- factors lofe by the Ingratitude or Stinginefs of the People, whofe Fault is almoft always on the other Side. By giving them toomuchv they often tempt, and enable them to take all 5 as in the Cafes of Marius, Sylla, Ctfar, Pifi- dgatkacles, Oliver Cromwell , the late Kings of D«M»rfr£.and Su'eelex, and many more. But fuppofe it hadhappen'd fometimes (which has rarely happen'd)thata worthy Man Should not meet a proper Reward from his Country- men, for publick Services done them -7 it is fHll better that he has too little, or even nones than too much , and a worthy Man will never fselc Revenge upon his Country for a Miflake in his Merit $ a Miilake which may be eafily.
. i& a r. \vorft pardonable,. But
LETTERS. 17
a Man who has ferv'd his Country, and then turns it upfide down, becaufe it has not, or he thinks it has not, given him Reward e- nough, fnews that he deferv'd none.
Sometimes a Man's ill Deeds ballance his good 5 and then he pays himfelf j or over- oallance them, and then he is entitled more to Punifhment than Reward , and both Rewards and Pumfhments ought to be faithfully paid, tho' there is generally more Crime and Iniecu- rity in not punifhing well, than in not pay- ing well, — a Fault too frequent in Free States, who, dazzled with great Benefits, are often blind to greater Offences, or overlook them, and reward before they enquire.
The deareft and moft valuable Things, are molt apt to create Jealoufies and Fears about them j and the deareft of all being Liber- ty, as that which produces and fecures all the reft, the People's Zeal to preferve it has been ever call'd Ingratitude, by fuch as had Defigns againft it 5 and others, ignorant of its Value, or indifferent about it, have promoted and continued the falfe Charge, tibakffpear, in the Tragedy of Timon of Athens^ makes Alcl- liade!, who was banifh'd by that State, cry out with Indignation, Ob the ungrateful Spirt* of ft Commonwealth ! And I have feen a loud and vehement Clap rais'd upon it by thofe xvho were angry at the Word Commonwealth t tho' they liv'd under a Free Government : For every Free State is, in a large Senfe, a Commonwealth ; and I think our own the freeft in the World. In my Opinion, A\c\~ iitidefy tho' a brave Man, was juftly exil'd as
an
18 euro's LETTERS.
an ambitious and dangerous Man, who be- hav'd himfelf turbulently in that City, and was perpetually creating or inflaming Fa6*i- ons in it, and againft it, and fhew'd too plain- ly, that he aim'd at over-turning it for the Sake of that uncontroulable Power, which he could not have while its Government fubfift- ed. The Citizens of Athens treated him with great Diftinclions, and gave him great Autho- rity and eminent Commands, and only ba- niih'd him, out of Fear of him, for which they had too much Ground.
States have been often defti^oy'd by being too generous and too grateful; and where they are really ungrateful, they are only fo through Error 5 to which however they are not fo fubjecl as abfolute Princes, who gene- rally deftroy their greateft Men, and prefer the vileft ; and in their Courts Pimps often ruin Patriots. I think thofe, who moft dif- like free Governments, do not pretend to fhew above four or five Inftances of Ingrati- tude in the P^oman People, from the Begin- ning of their Commonwealth to the End of it, for feveral hundred Years ; and Corlohwus and Camillas are two of thofe Inftances.
As to CoriolawtSy he was juftly bani/h'd, as a declar'd Enemy to the Equality of the Go- vernment, and engaged in an open Defign to opprefs the People 5 which Defign he exe- cuted with all Fiercenefs and Contempt, and even Outrage, furrounded like a Monarch, with Guards of the young hot-headed No- bility : And tho' the People did him no In- juihce, yet to be reveng'd upon them, he in-
v.ided
CATO's LETTERS. 19
vaded his Country at the Head of a foreign Enemy.
Owiillus was guilty of the fame Partiality, tho' not in the fame Degree, towards trie Nobles, and had broke his Word with the People 5 for both which he was banifh'd : But by faving his Country afterwards, he glo- rioufly cancell'd all part Faults, and was grate- fully ftyl'd the fecond Founder of Rome , and highly honour'd, and even ador'd to the End of his Life, by that grateful People in every Inftance where they could fbew it. And, in- deed, all the Ingratitude that can be charg'd upon them, was, their oppofing in their own Defence, the Encroachments of the Nobility 5 and the excellent Laws produc'd by that Op- pofition, ftiew'd its Reafonablenefs and Ne- ceffity.
Scifia Africans, is likewife mention'd as a- nother-great Inftance of Ingratitude in the Ro- wiins. He was a great and glorious Comman- der : He had forc'd Hannibal, the moft dange- rous foreign Foe the Romans ever had, out of Italy > which he had ravag'd fuccefsfully many Years 3 he had conquer'd the fame Hannibal in Battle, and fubdued Carthage and Africa^ and he had affifted his Brother s/Jlaticus in con- quering the great King 4ntloc\:i'.s. For which extraordinary Services and Merit, he , was the Darling of the People, who were fo far from being ungrateful to him, that they violated the Laws of Rome, and of their own Security, to do him Honour, and not only made a Youth their chief Magiftrate, but renew'd the Dig- nity fo often, that the Precedent prov'd per- nicious
20 Giro's LETTERS.
nicious to them : And the extraordinary Steps taken by him and them, and by them for his Sake, were of dangerous Example and Con- iequence, and, without his intending it, (hook the Foundations of Rome, and made Way for the violent Proceedings and Ufurpations of Martin, and afterwards of Ctfar.
Scipio did likewife another Thing, which ought by no Means to have been fuflrer'd in a Free State. When he was cited to anfwer be- fore the People, to the Crimes with which he was charg'd, he refus'd to anfwer. Upon tins very Day, my Countrymen^ fays he, 1 vanquijk'd Hannibal 5 and tearing the Papers that con- tain'd the Charge, walk'd haughtily out of the Affembly. This was difovvning, or con- temning the fupreme Authority of Rome 5 and yet the People were fo perfonally fond of the Man, that they would decree nothing fevere againft him. He retir'd to his own Country*- Houfe, where he liv'd peaceably all the reft of his honourable Life.
J am, &c.
S I R,
NO People upon Earth were more grateful to their good Citizens than the Grtely and Romans were, or encourag'd Virtue more, or rewarded it better : Nor did they fcarce ever baniih any Man till he became terrible to
them 5
LETTERS. 21
them 5 and then it was Time. Nor is there one great abfolute Monarchy in the World, or ever was from the Beginning of it, but de- ftroys more innocent Men in a Month, than the Commonwealth of Rome did in a hundred Years 5 befides that, a free State produces more great Men in fifty Year?, than an abfo- lute Monarchy does in a thouiand.
Thofe who had done any fignal good Ser- vice to the State of Athens, were endow'd with eminent Privileges, and diftingui/h'd with all publick Marks of Honour : They had the firft Seats at publick Entertainments and Aflem- blies 5 they had publick Statues erected to them ; they had Crowns conferred upon them $ they were exempted from Duties, Taxes, and Contributions ; they were maintain'd at the publick Charge, and fometimes their Families after them : The Publick refented the Injuries done them , buried them magnificently 5 made publick Orations in their Praife $ portion'd out their Daughters, and paid lading Honours to their Name. And all this at a Time when publick Honours were only the Rewards of Merit, and parfimonioufly diflributed.
The Atbentatis had a particular Law agaJnft Ingratitude : And as to the Ofiracifm, which may feem to contradict it, and by which they banifh'd for ten Years, fuch- great Men as they judg'd formidable to their State, tho' they had formerly ferv'd it 5 it ought to be con- fider'd in its Behalf, that the Athenians, like other Free States, had fuffer'd fo much from their Firft-Rate Citizens, who fupprefs'd their Liberty under Colour of advancing it, that
they
22 CA?03s L ET T E R S.
they had great Reafon to be jealous of them . Whoever would live in a Free State, mull live upon a Foot of Equality, which great Offi- cers, accuftom'd to command, care not to do j and if they do not, they arejuftly remov'd. It is hetter that one Man, however innocent, ihoukl fuffer, than a whole People be ruin'd, or even hurt, if not by him, yet by his Ex- ample: Nor ought they to ihew, in one In- ftance that cannot harm them, an Indulgence, which in other, and future Inftances, may be their Overthrow. Befides, the Oflracifm took nothing from any Man, but a Power of hurt- ing every Man : It affected not their Goods, nor their Perfons, nor even their good Name 5 and left them their full Pofleflions, and their full Liberty every where but at sltkeus, whi- ther after ten Years, they had a Right to re- turn, and were often recall'd much fooner. It was likewife made ufe of fometimes, only to pacify the Fury of the Envious, and to pro- tecT: the Innocent from it $ and when bafe Fel- lows came at latt to be banilh'd by it, it was laid afide.
The firft Purpofe of the Oflradfm was to keep publick Benefactors from turning pub- lick Parricides, great Men from being too great, and Subjects from growing too power- ful for the State $ — a reafonable Precaution, and pra&is'd fome Way or other by every State in the World : Nor can any State fub- fift where it is not praclis'd. Even in Eng* land, the hanging of two or three great Men among the many guilty, once in a Reign or two, would have prevented much Evil, and
many
CATO's LETTERS.
many Dangers and Oppreflions, and fav'd this Nation many Millions.
If we now consider abfolute Monarchy, we fliall find it grafted upon Ingratitude, which is blended with the Root of it. Arbitrary Princes cannot, dare not, be grateful to ele- vated Merit, which by the Tenour of their Tower they are oblig'd to dread. They only confider their fingle Selves, and their fepa- rate Interefts, and muft cutoff, for their own Security, every Man whofe true Glory may eclipfe their falfe, and who draws away, in any Degree, the Thoughts and Eyes of the People. If they have no Magnanimity of their own, they hate or fear fuch as have $ or if they are brave themfelves, they will be jea- lous of thofe who are more fo, or as much. The fame may be faid of every other Virtue. They may heap Wealth upon Buffoons, and confer Dignities upon Paralites$ but celebra- ted Virtue, confpicuous Abilities, and iignal Services, are their Eye-Sores, and certain A- verfion. If they are hated, they will not bear that any one fliall be efteem'd , and if they are valued themfelves, they will hate Rivals. '
Under moft of the Roman Emperors, popu- lar Virtue was certain Death, Ob virtues ar- .rljjimwn cxitium 5 and thofe who ferv'd them moft, were fureft of Destruction, Nee minus Penculum ex magna Fania quam ex mala. Ger- manicttfy who fav'd the Empire to Tiberius, his Uncle and Father by Adoption, by reconciling to him the mutinous and revolted Legions, was the firft great Sacrifice to his Jealoufy, being poifon'd in ^, whither he was fent
under
24 C A TO's LETTERS.
under pretence of Commanding it. And thus Nero rewarded Cor/-«/o, and thus Demit tan re- warded Agricolti j both the greateft Officers of their Time, and the greateft Benefactors to thefe unarateful Tyrants, who aim'd at cut* ting up ;*M*tue by the Roots : Nor did typa- Jian, th; ^ril Roman Emperor, that chang'd for the Better, prove much more grateful to stntonius Primus, who had fignally ferv'd him, and pav'd his Way to the Imperial Diadem.
It were endlels to mention other abfolute Monarchies. They are all animated by the fame ungrateful, cruel and fufpicious Spirit, and make Havock of every Thing that is good, deftroying fafteft thofe whoferve them mod. If they are ever grateful, they are on- ly fo to the vileft Inftruments of their Ty- ranny 3 but for fuch as ferve them againft their foreign Foes with juft and popular Glory, they are generally facrific'd to their endlefs Jealoufy of every Thing that is Noble. 'Belli- farius is an affe&ing Inftance of this, an illu- •ftrious General, who, in the Decline of the Roman Empire, did, as it were, new-conquer the World for his Royal Mafter 5 and, for a Reward, was ftripp'd of all that he had, and turn'd off to beg his Bread with his Eyes put- out.
It is a fine Obfervation of Tacitus, Negtte NobHem, neque Ingenuum^ neque Lilertinum qui- dcm preponere armis^ regia utilitas eft. <l It is <c the Bufinefs and ipecial Intereft of an " arbitrary Prince, that his Forces be com- <c manded, neither by a Nobleman, nor by a " Free Man, nor, indeed, by any Man who
" is
's LETTERS. Vj
<* is two Degrees remov'd from a Slave. Or, if fuch Princes are obliged by the Neceffity of their Affairs, to employ an illuftrious Perfon in an important Command 5 they always em- ploy him with Fear 5 and when their Turn is ferv'd, and he has made them fjdtl-difrnifs him into Obfcurity with Contenv'Jj if he efcapes fo well; for all their Suf^ *ns gene- rally end in Blood. 'Matcbiayel9 who knew this well, fays, That a great and fuccefsful General, under an Arbitrary Prince, has but two Ways to efcape the certain Ruin which his Glory, Services, and Renown, will elfe bring upon him : He mull either quit the Army, and, retiring from all Power, live like a private Man , or depofe his Mafter, and let up himfelf: Which laft is generally the fafer Courfe.
It is well known how the Ottoman Monarchs reward their braveft BaJJa's. The Succefsfu! and Unfortunate have the fame Fate : As the latter are facrinVd to Rage, the other are to Jealoufy 5 and even their own Sons have b?en recompenfed with Death, for deferving E- fteem. Nor is that cruel Ingratitude peculiar to one Race or Family of Princes, but eter- nally attach'd to that Sort of Power wherever it is found.
But far different is the Spirit of the Peo- ple : They are prone to Gratitude, and lavilh in their Affections and Returns for Benefits receiv'd. Nothing is too much, nor too high for their Benefactor, or for one whom they think fo. They are apt to continue blind to his Faults, even when he has forfeited their
VOL. IV. B Favour;
vt CATO'S LETTERS:
Favour , and to remain confhnt in their Zeal #o his Name and Poftenty, in Inftances where they ought to deteft both. This is abundant- ly exemplified and confirmed by the lading Refpe£l and Reverence paid by the Romans, to thofe Plagues of Rome, and of the Earth, the Family of the C*?fars 5 by the French, to the ftupid and fanguinary Pofterity of Charle- ma'w 5 by the Turks, to the bloody Family of Ottoman ; by the JEgyftianr, to their luxurious and contemptible Ptolomies 5 by the Jewr, to the cruel Race of the JjfiwMigans, or Macca- bees t, by the Parthlans, to the barbarous Line of the Arf acid* s $ and by almoft every Infbnce of every People in the World, I could men- tion Inilances here at Home, but they will occur faft enough to every Reader who knows any thing of our Hiftory. The. People are, indeed grateful and conftant, even to Super- ftition, to Perfons and Names to which they conceive themfelves once obliged. Nor do they ever acl: ungratefully, but where they ,ai*e firil deceived by thofe whom they truit. The People of Athens, deceiv'd by fome of their Demagogues, put once to Death fome of their Sea Officers, who did not deferve it 5 but they foon grew appriz'd of their Error, and -were feverely reveng'd upon the traiterous Calumniators who caus'd it.
Several Instances may, no doubt, be found of the People's Ingratitude to their Friends, and of the contrary Quality in fome Abfolute Monarchs. But Exceptions do not weaken a Ilule.
I am, &c.
LETTERS. 27
£ IR,
AS I have in former Papers treated of the Abufe of Words j To 1 fhall in this, Dii- eourfe about the Ufe of them. They are the Signs of Ideas, as Figures are of Numbers, and are intended to convey Mens Concepti- ons to one another: They have no more Meaning in themfelves, than inarticulate Sounds, till Men have agreed to put a Mean- ing upon them, which is wholly Arbitrary 9 and therefore unlefs they mean the fame Things by the fame Words, that is, annex the fame Conceptions to the fame Sounds, they cannoe mideritand one another, or difcourfe together, If one Man annexes more or lefs Ideas to the fame Words, than another does whom he rea- fons with, it is impoflible they fnould agree in Conclusions 5 when their Premises are dif- ferent, their Reafonmgs will be a Game at Blindman's-Buff : And therefore it is abfo- lutely neceffary in all Difputes, to fettle the Meanings of the Terms made ufe of, before any Thing can be afHrmed or denied on either Side.
A Word not landing for any Idea, is only z bnre Sound 5 and it is no more to one who does not know what Idea it ftands for 5 and confequently, the agreeing in Sounds, and not agreeing in the Meaning of them, is no
B i Agree-
*$ Giro's LETTERS.
Agreement at all , and tho' this may be a good 'Teft of Orthodoxy amongft fome Sets of Ec- cleiiafticks, yet I will prefume to fay, it is none in common Senfe. It appears to me, that moft of the Polemick Quarrels in the World, have flow'd from this Inobfervance. Men ufe the fame Sounds to exprefs different Conceptions, either in Whole, or in Part 5 that is, one Man comprehends more or lefs Ideas in the Terms he makes ufe of than another, and then makes ufe of other Words equally uncertain, to explain that Meaning 5 and fo in a few Proportions quite loofes his Argu- ment, and the Combatants quarrel about what they have been talking of: But tho' this Man- ner of ScufHing in the Dark, is a great Ob- itru&ion, and almoft an unfurmoun table Bar to all forts of ufeful Knowledge, yet it highly conduces to the Power and Credit of thofe who derive Riches and Authority from the Ig- norance and Credulity of others.
It gives them the Reputation of Learning, for talking unintelligibly : It enables them to Difcourfe upon all Subjects alike, and to fetch* every thing out of every thing ; for by not ex- plaining their Words, they make them fignify what they pleafe, and vary them as often as they have Occafion 5 fo that in the Courfe of a Debate, they have fail'd in all the Points of the Compafs. This Abufe is yet more ob- lervable and mifchievous in Tranflationsfrom one Language to another ^ for as few or no Men underftand a dead Language, in many Ref peels, in the Senfe it was fpoken in, fantj indeed few Men of the fame Country, and
the
's LETTERS.
the fame Language, fpeak many Words in the lame Senfe their Anceftors fpoke them, the Meaning of Words, like all other Things, be- ir.g in perpetual Rotation,) and as few Words in" any Language which comprehend complex. Ideas, are exactly anfwered by correfponden: Words in any other, that is, they don't con- tain juft the fame Number of Ideas : So it is very "difficult, if not impoflible, in many In- ftances, to make an exacl Tranflation -y and; consequently, very eafy to make a falfe one £ and therefore it is very ridiculous, to call it by no worfe a Name* in controverted Points,, to^ build an Hypothecs upon the Signification o Single Words in a dead Language, ( which,, perhaps, was tranflated from another Lan.- guage,) when we neither know their Manner of Speaking, the Philofophy and Speculati- ons they were converfant witfi, nor the Cu- ftoms to which they alluded, and are very fure they are different from our own, and in many Inftances, that they had not the fame common Conceptions, or Images.
But it is not enough that we mud have what are often call'd Ideas to our Words, but they muft be adequate ones 5 for all inade- quate Ideas are no Ideas $ that \s^ they muiT. be adequate as far as they are Ideas : What ftands for no Conception, ftands for nothing 5 and the Word ufed, can only ftand for the Conception, fuch as it is, and as far as it goes j and when the Conception goes no fur- ther, no Word can ftand for that which is not, It is certain, that there is no one Thing in the LTniverfe, of which we can have an adequate
B 5 Concep-
•^ »
3o CATtfs LETTERS.
Conception in the ftriel Senfe of thofe Words, but we convey by Words only fuch Concep- tions as we have, which poffibly do not ex- hauft the millionth Part of their Properties ^ but-then we are in the Dark as to all the reft, and neither can affirm or deny any Thing s bout them : And if one Man takes in more or lefs Ideas in the Term he makes ufe of than another, he does not talk with him ad idem.
One Man has no Conception of Gold but by the Colour, and he will call Princes-Metal Gold 5 another knows it by its Weight, Fine- nefs, and Touch ; and if a new Metal fhould be difcover'd, which anfwers all thefe Marks, and fhould yet want fome Medicinal Quali- ties, or, perhaps, the fame Solubility as Gold lias, yet he will notwithftanding call it Gold, according to the Properties his Imagination has annexed to the \Vcrd Gold, and all thefe three will be call'd by the fame Name, and vet different Metals will be meant $ and every one of thefe Conceptions, as far as they go, iire adequate, tho* neither of them are fo to the Subject, which has undoubtedly many Properties which no one knows any thing of $ but* then we do not reafon 'upon thofe Pro- perties, nor do the Sounds we ufe Hand for
them,
From what has been faid appears the Ab- •furdity of being told, that we mull: believe Things we do not underhand 5 or of believing Things above Reafon, though not contrary to Reafon. We muft have Ideas, or Images, of all Objecls of Belief, or elfe we believe in nothing, but that we hear a Sound, and it is
the
's LETTERS.
the fame Thing to us whether it fignifies any- thing, or not, if we do not know what it fignifies. If a Man makes a Proportion to me in the Cbinefe Language, and tells me that I muft believe it, nothing here can be the Ob- ject of my Faith, but that the Man does not tell me a Lye, which has nothing to do with' the Propo/Ition it felf 5 and it would have been the fame Thing to me, if he had told me that I muft believe in his Thought, without tel- ling me what that Thought was 5 and there can be no Difference, it he ules Words in a Language I am acquainted with,, if I do not underftand the Meaning in which he ules thofe Words.
From hence appears the Ridicule of a late Seel in Holland^ and of many other vifionary Madmen at home, who think the Scripture is- to be for the moft Part underflood metapho- rically, and who find Meanings in it which the Words do not naturally import $ which- is making the Almighty fpeak in Riddles to his Creatures, and obliging them to pay largely out of their Sub&mce, to thole who make them yet greater Riddles. What can be more abfurd and wicked, than to fuppofe, that the great and good God, fhould fpeak to Mankind with a Deiign not to be underftood 5 /houlci give them a Rule to a& by, and yet exprefs that Rule in Words which few can pretend to apprehend, and thofe few differ about. Cer- tainly, as has been faid, Words are of no uie but to convey Ideas 5 and if they are not us'd in their common Acceptation, and to fignify thofe Conceptions which Cuftom has annex VI
B 4, to
32 CATQ's LETTERS.
to them, or fuch as Men /hall agree to put up- on them, then they niuft be perfe&ly ufeleis, will convey no Ideas at all, can give us no Rule, nor can comraunickfe any Knowledge.
It is certain, as has been faid, that no Man's Perceptions can exhauft the Properties of any one Thing in the World : All that we know of them is from a few obvious Qualities which affect our Senfes 5 but without doubt they have Thouiands of others, of which we know nothing, much lefs can we know any thing of their Svbftratum, or internal Effence, or Con- texture $ but then we can believe nothing of thofe hidden EfTences, or Qualities, nor do we mean any thing about them when we talk of any Being or Subftance 5 as in the Infhnce before given : If a Man carries to a Goldfmith a foli J Subfhmce, and asks him what he thinks it is, and he looks upon the Colour, touches it, weighs it, and melts it, and then tells him Jhe believes it is Gold 5 it is certain the Gold- imith neither believes nor affirms any thing about it, but of its Colour, its Touch, its Weight, and its Solubility, which are his Ideas of Gold : But Gold has, without queflion, many other Properties which he has never Leard of $ but then he does not take in thofe Properties in his Perception of Gold 5 and he neither does, nor can believe any thing about them, till he has formed fome Idea of thofe hidden Qualities.
This leads me to confider what Men mean, when they fay they believe in a Myftery. We muft underttand the Meaning of the Words connected, and of the Verb which connects
them,
's LETTERS.
them, and makes them a Proportion, or elfe- we believe in nothing, that is, we muft have a Perception of all thofe Ideas the Word# ftand for in our Imaginations 5 and fo far it is DO Myftery. But then we may be told, that the Beings, to which we have annexed thofe Ideas, and by which we diftinguifh. them front other Beings, may, and undoubtedly have many other Qualities, or Properties, that we know nothing of5 which mull be granted to be true of every Thing in Nature ; and irr this Senfe every Thing is a Myftery, and every Man will readily believe fuch a Myftery. But then if we are told, that we muft believe in the Properties, or Qualities, of which we know nothing, or have any Idea of; I think the Myftery will conn*ft in the Nonfenfe of the Prcpofition j and 'tis the fame Thing to tell us, that we rnuft believe in Fee-fa-fum $ for a Man cannot believe without believing fomething 5 and he muft know what that fomething is, that is, he muft know what he- believes, or elfe his Belief is only an abftraclr Word, without any Subject to believe in, ojf any Thing of.
Thus when we fay, we believe there are three Perfons in the Trinity, and but one God, we muft have diftincl Ideas to the Words, (v/t. ) ' Perfoti, Trinity, and God : For if Men have no Meaning to thefe Words, they mean nothing by the Proportion j and if they an- nex different Perceptions to them, then they have a different Creed, tho' they fancy they fubfcribe the fame, No one ca» know whether another is orthodox in his Senfe ,
B . till.
cfs LETTERS.
till the Terms are defined, and ftand for the fame ideas in both their Minds. To fay that they believe in three Perfons, without telling what they mean by the Word Perfon, is the fame as to fay, that they believe in three Some- things, or in the Word T/;m>, which indeed is a very myflerious Belief, and a pretty Center of Unity j for no Man can believe any thing elfe, till he has fix'd a Meaning to the Word Perfon j and if another does not agree with him in that Meaning, they will differ in Reli- gion, though they agree in Sounds,, and per- haps in falling foul upon every one who defires them to explain themfelves$ which Behaviour^ amongft too many People, is the main Teft of Orthodoxy.
They muft agree alfo .in what they mean by ths Word God-y I do not mean they muft de- fine his EfTence, have any adequate Notion of bis Infinity, Eternity, or of the Senforium of his Exigence , for of thefe Things we neither IfenoWj. nor can know any thing : But we muft &now what we mean by the Sound we make ufe of, that is, we muft have a Perception of thofe Images annex'd to the Word God, in •our Minds,, and a Perception adequate to it felf, tho' in no wife adequate and correfpon.- dent to the Subjecl, which, in different Men, I doubt,, are very various 3 and when they are ib^ they plainly differ in the QbjecT: of their 'vVorJliipj, and are of a different Religion, tho3 they.- may think thenafelves to be of the fame i. This /hall be the Subject of fome other Paper 'hereafter- j- in which 1 fhall fnew how abfurd,, 3& well as impious it i^.. for Men to fell together-
CATO's LETTERS. 35
by the Ears upon the Account of their Diffe- rence in Trifles, when they fcarce agree in any one Thing in the World, if they explain themfelves, and not even in the Attributes an- nex'd to the ObjecT: of all Worfhip, though they can know nothing of him, but from his- Attributes.
f am, &c»
SIR,
GOOD Breeding is the Art of /hewing- Men, by external Signs, the internal Re- gard we have for them, It arifes from good Senfe, improv'd by converging with good' Company. A well-bred Fool is impertinent 5 and an ill-bred wife Man, like a good Inftru- ment is out of Tune, is awkard, harfh, and difagreeable. A courteous Blockhead, is, how- ever, a more acceptable Gueft almoft every where, than a rude Sage. Men are naturally fo fond of themfelves, that they will rather mifpend their Time with a complaifant Ape, than improve it _ with a furly and thwarting Philofopher. Every Bow, or good Word5 ,whencefoever it comes, is taken by us as a Sign of our Importance, and a ConfeiTion of our Merit 5 and the neglect of that Complai- fance, as a Token that we are thought- of none 3 a Reproach, which } however fileiit, few. care to bear,
Good
Giro's LETTERS.
Good Breeding is never to be learn'd bj Study j and therefore they -who ftudy it are Coxcombs and Formalists, and ftiff Pedants. The beft bred Men,, as they come to be fo by Uie and Obfervation only, praclife it without Affedlation. You fee Good Breeding in all they do, without feeing the Art of it. It is a Habit, and like all others, acquired by Prac- tice. A weak and ignorant Man, who has liv'd in good Company, fhall enter a Room, with a better Grace, and fay, common Things much more agreeably than a profound wife Man, who lives by himfelf, or with only fuch as himfelf, and is above the Forms of the Worldv snd too important to- talk of indifferent Things, and to be like other People. A Foot* snan imploy'd in Hoiv D'yA, fhall addrefs him- ielf to. a Ft rum of Figure with more D^corum^ and make a Speech with more Eafty than a learned Serjeant, wholives wholly over Briefs^ or, the deep Head of a College, occupied on- ly in momentous Science. I have known a Mas, who?, with the Learning of a whoki "Univerflty, had the Manners of a Clown, and the Surlinels of a Porter 5 not from the Want of Senfe, tho' that Want is very, confident 'with a. World of Learning,, but from living long i-n a College, and diclating to Boys and Pupils^ or with old Fellows, who had no more Breeding than himfelf, and, like himfelf,.. were fpoird by living rarely upon the. Square, wjth. any o-ther Sort of People,
Good Breeding therefore is never to be. in a College, where the Sphere of Con- .is. fo narM>w3l where the Diftance be-
CATO's LETTERS. 57
Men is fo great, and where the Old have none to teach the Young. Hence you generally fee young Men come from the Uni- verfities with a conceited Air, and a quaint Manner, which often turns them into Fops : They are generally either pert or prim : The Tone of their Voice, and the Pofltion of their Mufcles, fliew their Accomplishments before they have fpoke two Words: Their Step, and the Manner of ufing their Legs and Arms, do the fame 3 and every Joint about them, and every Action they do, declare the Place and Way of their Education. As to the Se- nior Fellows, and Heads of Houfes, they are fuch ftarch'd Pedants, fuchfokmn Mamouches, and fuch Kingly old. Fops, that from their Mein you may know their Characters, and read their Titles and Preferments in their Hats, They carry the College about them wherever they go, and. talk at a Table as they do at a Leclure 5 or,, if fometirnes they break into Gaiety, it is either, imperious or infipid, di£ refpeclful or awk.ard, and always ungrateful*. They want a good Manner, lefs Conceit, and the Appearance, at leaft, of more Humility $ all which are only to be ncquir'd by living abroad in the World, and by converting with all Sorts of Men. This acculioms one to treat all Men as they expeft to be treated j and fuch general good Treatment given to all, is call'd Good Breeding.
Hence the Breeding of Courts is always, the eaiieft and moft renVd. Caurtiers have the condant Advantage of living daily with the bell br.e.d Men.; BeSdes, having Occafioa
for.
'33 CATQ's LETTERSr
for all Sorts of People, they accuftom them- felves to ufe all Sorts of People civilly. By converflng with all Sorts, they can fall readily into all Sorts of Styles, and pleafe every Body by talking to him in his own Way. They find too, by daily Experience and promifcuous Converfation, that the Difference between Men and Men is not fo great, as an Unac- quaintednefs with Men would generally make it : They are therefore under no Awe, nor Shynefs, in fpeaking to the Greateft $ nor have any general Contempt for the Meaneft $ a Contempt, which too often rifes from a wrong Judgment, grounded upon Pride, and contis- nu'd by Inexperience. They coniider, that as the Greateft can do them good, fo the Mean eft can hurt them. They are therefore refpeclful without Awe to thofe above them, and complaifant without Difdain to thofe be- low them. Courts therefore are the beft Schools for Good Breeding 5 and to be well- bred, we rnuft live not only with the beft Sorts of Men, but be acquainted with all Sorts.
The Want cf this general Converfation, may be one Reafon why the Country Clergy are fo often ' accus'd of Want of Breeding. They come from the Univerfity full of an Opinion, that all that is to be learned, is to be learn'd there : and believing themfelves to have al-
' Cj
ready every Accomplishment, they often re- main without any. In their Parilhes, they can learn nothing but an additional Pride, from feeing or fancying thernfelves the biggeft Men there, if there is a Squire in. the Place, he
rarely
a's LETTERS.
rarely mends them. If he has a delicate Tafte, he will not converfe with them : But it frequently happens, that hisTafte is as crude as theirs, and confifts in eating much, drinking more, and talking loud. From this conceited Education, and narrow Converfation, arifes their Impati- ence of Contradiction, and. their Readinefs to contradict. I own I am always cautious of rea- foning with the Vicar. His firft Argument is ge- nerally an Aflertion, and his next an Affront.
An engaging Manner and a genteel Addrefs may be out of their Power 5 but it is in their Power to be condefcending and affable- When People are obliging, they are faid to be well-bred, The Heart and Intention are chiefly confider'd: When thefe are found friendly and fincere, the Manner of fhewing it, however awkard, willbekindly overlook'd* Good Breeding is artificial Good Nature 5 and Complaifance is underftood to be a Copy of the invifible Heart. When People are fatisfied with one another's Good-will and Sincerity^ the Forms that fhew them are generally laid aiide. Between intimate Friends there is little Ceremony y and lefs between Man and Wife> Some, however, is -frill neceffary, becaufe by- Signs and Aftions the Affe&ions are fhewn, But a courteous Behaviour which is known to mean nothing^ goes for nothing,. «ind is not ne- eeffary when the Meaning is known to be good. Expreffions of Kindnefs, when they are not thought the Marks and Effects of Kind- nefs, are empty Sounds : And yet thefe un- meaning Expreffions are neceffary in Life* We are not to declare to every Man whom we
diilike?.
4o CATO's LETTERS.
diflike, how much we diflike him, nor to fhew it by dumb Signs. When a Man fays, That he is my humble Servant, he obliges me 5 not by the Words, which in common Speech fignify fcarce any thing, but becaufeby thefe Words he fhews, that he thinks me worth Notice. Breed- ing therefore is then juft, when the Actions which it produces are thought iincere: This is its End and Succefs : It rauft £eern produced by Kindnefs forthePerfonfor whom it is.fhewn.
Good Breeding is of fo great Importance in the World, that an Accomplifhment this Way goes often further, than much greater Accom- plifhments without it can go. I have known Gentlemen who with moderate Parts and much good Breeding have been thought Great Men, and have actually come to be fo. Great Abilities alone make no Man's Perfon amiable, and iome have been unpopular with the Great- eft, and fome even ridiculous. But the gay, the eafy, the complaifant Man, whofe chief Abilities are in his Behaviour, pieafes and o- bliges all, and is amiable to as many as he o- bliges. To learn this Behaviour, People mud begin early. One whofets out into the World at Twenty, /hall make twice as much Progrefs in Life, as one who with twice his Senfe fets out at Forty, becaufe he is then lefs fufcepti- ble of the Arts of Life. Habits are not to be got in a Day, and after a certain Age never. Forc'd Complaifance is Foppery, and affected Eafinefs is a Monfter. I have feen a World of Tradefmen?, and ^Imoft as many Gentlemen, take* fuch Pains to be well-bred, that I have been in Pain for them : Native Plainnefs is a thoufand Times better,. Com-
• CAfO's LETTERS. 45
Complaifance is ingenious Flattery : It makes thofe to whom it is paid flatter them- felves, while they take every Acl of Complai- fance in others, ^;s a Declaration of Merit in themfelves : And beyond a certain Degree, it is not innocent. Courtiers know its Efficacy io well, that to it alone no fmall Part of their Power is owing. Hence fo many People have always been deceived by civil Words, and kind Looks. To know ipeculatively the De- lufions of this Art, is not lufficient to Put you upon your Guard againft it. A fair and plau- fihle Behaviour, with a ready Rote of kind Expreflions, and all the Appearances of Sin- cerity, will be apt to miilead you in Spight of your Fore-knowledge. They will catch your Senfes, and beat you off your Theory in Po- liticks. You muft find thejr Infincerity fome Time before you" will come ro diOruft it. Their Art and your own Self-love will eonfpire againftyou, drive away your Incredulity, and beget Faith, as it is often begot, againft Evi- dence and Reafon. You will ftill flatter your felf, that you are an Exception to the Rule, tho' there were never another Exception. The Cre- dulity of fome is perfectly incurable, many have continued fleady Believers in Spight of daily Proofs and fatal Experience, for twenty Years together. They were always perfuaded, that every Promife was at leaft intended to be kept, and always forgave the breaking it. The Great Man fmil'd gracioufty, bow'd courteoufly, ex- cu.s'd himfelf earneiUy 5 and vow'd to God, you fhould have the next thing. .You mifcar-
ry'd >
euro's LETTERS. :
ry'd ; and then, with a concern'd Face, he vow'd to God he could not help it, but pro- rms'd again with the fame folemn Vow, and is again believ'd, and always believ'd. This wretched Credulity is the Fruit of Self-love, of an Opinion that we are as considerable in the Eyes of others, as we are in our own. Man- kind^ are govern'd by their Weaknefles ; and all that Statefmen have to do to keep expect- ing Crowds about them, and attach'd to them, is to prornife violently, to feem violently in earneit, and never to be fo : That is, they muft be extremely well-bred.
Good Breeding is indeed an amiable and per- fuafive Thing: It beautifies the Actions, and even the Looks of Men. But equally odious is the Grimace of Good Breeding. In Com- parifon with this, Bluntnefs is an Accompliffi- ment. The Ape of a well- bred Man is juft as offenfive as the well-bred Man is agreeable: He is a Nuifance to his Acquaintance. 1 am frighted at the affected Smile and the Apifh Shrug. When thefe foul Copies of Courtiers throw their civil Grin in one's Face, it is as much as one can do to avoid {pitting in theirs. A ftarch'd Rogue, forcing Smiles, is a more hideous Sight than a Mummy. He is a Fugi- tive from Nature; and it is notable Impu- dence in fuch a Creature to pretend to be courteous.
As to Ill-Breeding, or Rudenefs, there is fomething flill worfe in it than its Deformity. It is immoral 5 it is ufing others as you would not be ufed.
lam, &c»
CATo's LETTERS. 43
s i R,
TH E Word Reverence has had the Fate of many, indeed, almoft all good Words, nnd done much Mifchief : Itfigmfies a folerrm Regard paid to the Perfons of Men of Gravi- ty, of Religion , and of Authority. By thefe Qualifications Men are entitled to it. But when the Pride and Craft of Men, who have no real Gravity, and no real Religion, or a fooli/h one, and only a pretended or an ab- furd Authority, would annex Reverence only to grave or groteique Names, it becomes as ridiculous to Men of good Senfe, as it feems awful to fuch as have none. Reverence be- longs only to reverend Qualities and reverend Aclions. As to Names and Habits, the more grave they are, the more ludicrous they be- come, when worn by Perfons who live loofe- ly, and acl: ludicroufly.
Garments fignify nothing themfelvcs. They grow firft folemn, by being firft worn by Men of Character and Solemnity : But the mof!: folemn Garment becomes contemptible and diverting upon the Back of a Drole, a Buf- foon, or upon a Cheat or Mountebank of any kind. The graveft Man alive drefs'd up in the Cap and Coat of a Harliquin, would look like a Harliquin 5 and the graveft Speech he could make, "would be laugh'd at : And yet a
Coat
•44 Core's LETTERS. J
Coat of many Colours was a Coat of Value in the Eaft, in Jacobs Time, and his Favourite Son Jofcph wore one. Nor do our own Ladies lofe any Refpe£fc by wearing all the Colours of the Peacock and the Rainbow. On the con- trary, the graveft Clothes put upon burlefque Animals, will look Burlefque. A monkey in a deep Coat, and a broad Beaver, would be Ml more a Monkey, and his Grimace would be ftill more diverting Grimace j and a Hog in a Pair of Jack-Boots, and a Coat of Mail, would make no formidable Figure, notwith- ftanding his warlike Equipment.
Thefe two Lift Inftances of the Monkey and the Hog may be farther improved, to fhew the Spirit of falfe Reverence. A Monkey in a red Coat, and a Kog in Armour, would give no Offence to a Soldier, becaufe his Character confifts in Actions which thefe Creatures can- not perform nor mimick j and consequently thefe Animals, tho* accouter'd like a Soldier, cannot ridicule a Soldier. But if you put a Popifh Mitre, and the reft of that fort of Gear, upon a Hog, the ufelefs and ftupid Solemnity of the Animal gives you inftantly the Idea of a Popifli Bifliop, and, if you are not a Papift, will divert you : Or, if you drefs up a Baboon in the fantaftical Habit of a Romifh Prieft, that Animal which can chatter much and un- intelligibly, and can, really do moft of the Tricks which the Prieft himfelf can do, does genuinely reprefent the Original, and there- fore creates true Mirth, and fully /hews, that there cannot be much Reverence in that which a Baboon can perform as well, for ought I
know
CATo's LETTERS. 4?
know better, as be is naturally a Creature of Grimace and Humour. And if the faid Bi- ihop and Prieft could not with any Temper bear the Sight, their Rage and Impatience would be ftili farther Proofs, that the Monkey did them Jufiice, that the Tryai was Succefl"- ful, and the Mirth occaiion'd by it juft. Such Sport would indeed be tragical in Popifh. Countries 5 which is but another Confirmation, that Falfe Reverence cannot bear Ridicule, and that the true is not affecled by it.
Many of the ancient Greek Philofophers took great Pride, and found mighty Reverence, in the Length and Gravity of their Beards. Now an old Goat, who had as much Gravity and Beard as any of them, had he been placed in one of their Chairs, would, doubtleis, have provok'd the Philofopher, and diverted the Aflembly. Pomp and Beard were therefore ridiculous, fince they could be ridicul'd : But nothing that continues a Philofopher, neither Genius, nor Virtue, nor ufeful Learning, nor any thing that is good for fomething, can be •ridicul'd, at leaft juftly ridicul'd. The odd Dance of Judges and Bifhops in the Rebearfal^ does neither ridicule Bifhops nor Judges, be- caufe they never pradtife fuch odd Dances : But if tnefe grave Men met and gambol'd together, as they do there, the Ridicule would be flrong upon them.
It is a Jeft to expect from all Men great Reverence to that which every Man may do, whether it conlifts in Reading, or Repeating, •or Wearing, or Acting. Where is the Diffi- culty or Merit of faying certain Words, or of
making
CA 7"0's LETTERS.
making Bows, or of fpreading the Arms, or eroding them, or of wearing a long Coat, or a fhort Cravat? It is Impudence and Impofture to demand Singular and vaft Refpeft to fmall and common "Things. Superior Virtue and Capacity, publick Actions and Services done to Mankind ; a generous and benevolent Heart, and Greatnefs of Mind, are the true Objects and Sources of Reverence. But to claim Reverence to Prating, and to Cuts, and Colours, and Poftures, is ftupid, ridiculous and faucy. The Abe of a Tinker, is as good as a Pope's Abet, and it is open Cheating and Conjuring to pretend, that the fame Words have not the fame Force out of the Mouth of a Cobler as out of a Cardinal's Mouth. When any one of thefe mighty Claimers (I had al- moft faid Clamorers) of Reverence, from their vifionary Empire of Words and Tricks, can by the Magick of their Art remove a Mountain or a Mole-hill, or raife a Houfe, or a dead In- fe£t, or kill a Heretick, or a Grafhopper by a Charm, I am ready to bow down before them : But while I fee any of them living like other Men, or worfe, and doing nothing but what fo many Chimney-Sweepers (who can read) may do as well $ I can confider fuch who do fo only as folemn Lyers, and Seducers, and as much worfe than Fortune-Tellers, as they cheat People out of much more Money, and fill their Minds with worfe Terrors.
The Roman Augurs made no fuch bafe U/e of their Power, and of their ghoftly Trade, which was inftituted, atleaft praclis'd, for the Ends of good Policy 5 and, as far as I can find,
they
CAfo's LETTERS. 47
they had no Revenues : I would therefore have refpefted them as they were great Officers of the Roman State. But had an v&gwr, as an An- g«r, demanded Reverence of me for his long Staff, his Trick, and Divinations, I fliould have done what Cato the elder wonder'd they themfelves did not do as often as they met, laugh'd in his Face, as I would in the Face of any Man who pretended to be my Superior and Director, becaufe his Coat was longer than mine, or of a different Colour 5 or becaufe he utter'd Words which I could utter as well, or play Pranks which a Pofture-Mafter could play better.
I will reverence a Man for the Good he does, or is inclin'd to do , and for no other Reafon ought I. But if under the Pretence of doing me Good, which I neither fee nor feel, he picks my Pocket, and does me fenfible Harm, or would do it 5 how can I help hating and def- pifing him ? If he turns Religion into Selfifh- nefs, and a plain Trade, or by it deftroys Mo- rality $ if he fets himfelf up in God's Stead, and by pretending boldly to his Power, abufes his holy Name, and opprefles his Creatures, if he exclaims againft Covetoufnefs, and is go- verned by it ; and praclifes every Vice which he condemns , if he preaches againft the World, and yet has never enough of it; and againft the Fiefh, and yet is viiibly governed by all its worft PaiTions aud Appetites $ if he takes immenfe Wages for promoting the Wel- fare of Society, and yet difturbs, impoverifhes, and enilaves it 5 how can I reverence him, if I
would ?
's LETTERS.
would ? And is he not loft to all Modefty if he defires it?
If Men would preferve themfelves from Su- perftition, and Servitude, and Folly, they muft beware of reverencing Names and Acci- dents. A wife Man does not reverence Rulers for their Infignia and great Titles 3 but as there is no Ufe of Rulers, but to do Service to Mankind, he reverences them for that Service done : If they do none, he defpifes them : If they do Mifchief, he hates them. What are Men reverenced for, but for the good Talents which they poflefs, or for ufeful Offices they bear. Now if a Man has never a good Quality, or having fuch, abufes them, or if he does no Good with the Office he bears, but Harm, which he muft do, if he does no Good, every Omiflion by which many are hurt, being a Crime againft many ; how am I to reverence him, for taking away by his Conduct the only Caufe of Reverence ? If he gives me Caufe to hate him, am I for all that to love him? Either there is no fuch Paflioa as Hatred, which none but a Madmen will fay, or it muft be rais'd by the Caufes that raife it 3 and what are thofe Caufes, but Mifchief done, when Good is due, and expected , or the Difappointment of a great Good 5 which is a great Mifchief.
But when People are taught to reverence Butchers, Robbers, and Tyrants, under the reverenced Name of Rulers, and to adore the Names and Perfons of Men, tho' their Acli- ons be the Actions of Devils : Then here is; a confirm'd and accomplifli'd Servitude, the
Servitude
LETTERS. 45
Servitude of the Body, fecur'd by the Servf- tude of the Mind, and Oppreffton fortified by Delufion. This is the Height of human Sla- very. By this, the Twr/^and the Pope reign. They hold their horrid and fanguinary Autho- rity by falfe Reverence^ as much as by the Sword. The Sultan is of the Family of Otto- man, and the Pope St. Peter's Succerfor 5 they are therefore reverenced, while they deftroy human Race. The Chriftians hate the Tur^ and call him a Tyrant : And Proreftants dread the Pope, and call him an Impoftor. And yet I could name Chriitians who have Tyrants of their own, as bad as the Sultan 5 and I could name Proteftants who have had Impoftors of their own, as cruel as the Pope, had their Power been as great, and their Hands as loofe. Men fee the Follies and Slavery of others 5 but their own Nonfenie is all facred, their own Popes and Sultans are all of heavenly Defcent, and their Authority juft and invio- lable. But Truth and Falfhood, Wifdorn and Folly, do not vary with the Conceptions and Prepofleflions of Men. Happinefs and Mifery, Oppreffion and Impofture, are as bad in Chriftendom as in Turk}', in Holland as in P^ome. Proteftant Rulers have no more Right than the Sultan to opprefs Proteftants $ and the Pope has as good a Title as a Proteflant Par- fon to deceive Proteftants. God forbid that all Religions fhould be alike 5 but all who make the fame ill Ufe of every Religion, are certainly alike 5 as are all Governors, TKTJ^, Popifh, orProteftant, who make the fame ill Ufe of Power. VOL, IV, Q |f
50 Giro's LETTERS.
If therefore all Governors whatfoevfr, of what Conducl foever, are to be reverenced 5 U'hy not the Twn^and old "Mttly, who are both great Governors, and have as much a Divine Authority to be Tyrants, as any Governor of any Name or Religion ever had ? And if all Clergy whatsoever are to be reverenced, why not the Druids, and the Priefts of Baal, and the Priefts of M*«7:wand of Rome ? But if only the Good of both Sorts are to be reverenc'd, why have we been told fo much of the migh- ty Refpecl due in the Lump, to Priefts and Rulers ? Is there any other Way in common Senfeto gain Refpeft, but to deferve it ? Could the Romans reverence their Governor Nero for robbing them of their Lives and Eftates, for burning their City, and for wantonly making himfelf Sport with human Miferies ? Could the firft Chriitians reverence him for dreffing them up in the Skins of wild Beafts, and fet- ting on wild Beafts to devour them 5 or for larding them all over with Pitch and Tallow, and lighting them up like Lamps to illumi- nate the City? If we reverence Men for their Power alone, why do we not reverence the Devil, who has fo much more Power than Men ? But if Reverence is due only to virtu- ous Qualities and ufefui Actions, it is as ridi- culous and fuperilitious to adore great mifche- vious Men, or unholy Men with holy Names, as it is to worfhip a falfe God, or Satan in the Stead of God. Are we to be told, that tho' we are to worfhip no God but the good and true God, yet we are to pay Reverence, which is human Wor/hip, to wic&ed Men, provide
they
CAfO's LETTERS. 51
they be great Men, and to honour the falfe Servants of the true God, whom they difho- nour ? Or, that any Sort of Men can be his Ser- vants or Deputies in any Senfe, but a good and fanftified Senfe ? And if they are not, are we for the Sake of God, to reverence thofe who belye him, and are our Enemies ? Or, am I to reverence the Men, tho' I deteft their Actions and Qualities, which conftitute the Characters of Men? Can I love or hate Men, but for what they are, and for what they do ? We ought to reverence that which is good, and the Men that are good : Are we therefore to rever- ence Wickednefs and Folly, and thofe who commit them ? Or, becaule they have good Names and Offices, which are to be honoured, are they to be honoured for abufing thofe good Things, and for turning Good into
Evil?
We muft deferve Reverence before we claim }t. If a Man occupies an honourable Office, civil or facred, and a6h ridiculously or kna- vifhly in it, do I dishonour that Office by con- temning or expofing the Man who difhonours it ? Or ought I not to fcorn him, as much as I reverence his Office, which he does all he can to bring into Scorn ? I have all pofllble Efleem for Quality 5 but if a Man of Quality afts like an Ape, or a Clown, or a Pick-pocket, or a Profligate, I fhall heartily hate or difpife his Lordfhip, notwithftanding my great Re- verence for Lords, I honour Epifcopacy j but if a Bifhop is an Hypocrite, a Time-ferver, a Traytor, a Stock-jobber, or an Hunter af- ter Power, I fliall take leave to fcorn the Pre-
C 2 late,
CATG's LETTERS.
kte, fer all my Regard for Prelacy. It is not a Name, however awful, nor an Office, how- ever important, that ought to bring, or can -"bring, Reverence to the Man who pofTe£fe« them, if he afts below them, or .unworthily of them. Folly and Villany ought to have no Afylum $ nor can Titles fanftiry Crimes, how- ever, they may fometimes protect Criminals. A Right Honourable or a Right Reverend Rogue, is the moft dangerous Rogue, and the mo£ deteftable.
animi vltium tanto confpettitts in
) quanta major yui peccat baletur.
Juveaal.
S I R,
WE have had a World of Talk both in cur Pulpits and our Addrefles, about Hereditary Right, and I think no one has yet fully explained what it means , and therefore I will try whether I can unfold or cut afundcr the Gordian Knot. It is a divine, unaltera- ble, indefeafible Right to Sovereignty, dic- tated or modified by the pofitive Laws, and "human Conftitutions of national Governments* In France^ Turl'y^ and the large Eaftern Mo- it defcends wholly upcm the Males.
In
euro's LETTERS,
Ih the Kingdom, or rather Queendom of ^icbeniy it falls only upon Females^ In-'Ruffta. formerly it defcended upon all the Males. joints ly, and it would not operate upon the Females at all. In Poland the Nobility have an- hur man Right to confer Part of this Divine Right?, but not all of it, upon whom they pleafe 5. and in Old Home the Soldiery often made bold', to confer it : But in England and other Connv tries, all of it falls upon the Male who chances; to be born firft 5 and fo on to the next,- ac- cording to Priority of Birth 5 and for want ef Males to -the eldeft Female, contrary to other Inheritances, which defcend upon Females e^ qually. However, though this fame Right is, abfolute and unalterable,, yet it is often limi- ted and circumfcribed by human Laws, which, ought not to be tranfgreCfed, yet may be tnni- greffed with Impunity, unlel's it interferes with. another Divine Right, which is the Divine Right of the High Clergy. In all other Cafes,,, it is boundlefs and unconditional, though gi- Ten and accepted upon Conditions.
There is one Circumftance particularly, re- markable in the Exercife of this Divine Right 3 which is, that it may make as bold as it thinks fit with other Divine Right fexcept as before, excepted,) of which we have a late and very, pregnant Inftance> approved by very goodi Churchmen, and all our. able Divines,, who- thank'd God publickly for thus exercifing it^ that is, when the Queen made that honoura- ble Peace which executed it felf. Then the- unalterable Divine Right of the Dauphin ta the Kingdom of Spain was given to his voun-
C 3
54 CdTO's LETTERS.
ger Son, and the undefcafible Divine Right of the prefent King of Spain, to the Monarchy of France^ was affigned over to a younger Branch of the Houfe of Bourbon 5 and fome- time before the Divine Right of the laft Em- peror to the Spantfl* Dominions, was given to the prefent Emperor 5 and it feems that this alienable, unalienable, indivifible Right, is divisible too. The Divine Right to is given to the Duke of Savoy , and of Sicily, and Flanders, to the Emperor $ and of Gibraltar and Port-Mabon to us, as long as we can keep it 5 which I hope we are now in a fair Way to do j and all the reft of this Di- vine Right, befides what is thus difpos'd of» remains where it was before, and where it fhould be.
But there are certain human Ingredients, Experiments, and Operations, which are ne- refifary to attain to this Divine Right. In-moft Countries, and particularly in our own, the Priefts muft have a Finger in the Pye 5 and it will not come down from above, and iettle here below, unlefs they fay certain Words over the married Couple, which they alone have the Right to fay $ but in Turky, India, and other Mahometan and Pagan Countries, (beu Pbdor,) this fame Divine Right is to be got without the Benefit of their Clergy, and it will make its Conveyance through the Channel of a Strumpet j yet in moft Nations all Is not well, unlefs the Clergy fay Grace over it 5 but then it is of no Confquence who gets the Divine Babe, fo he is born in Wedlock 5 and in a late Inftance it appear 'd no ways ne-
ceflary
CAfO's LETTERS.
ceiTary whether he was born in \Vedlock, or not, or of whom he was born, f:> he was but bcrn at all. Now, Sir, you muft know, that this is a Myilery, and like iome other Myfte- rics, wholly inexplicable, yet may be explain- ed by the Jacobite Clergy 5 but then you are not to underhand the Explication, but are to take their Words for it 5 and we all know that they are Men of Probity, and will not deceive you. From this Divine Right all ci- ther Rights are deriv'd, except their own* which comes down from above too 5 and if the PofTt-flors of thefe two Divine Rights can agree together, all is as it fliould be 5 otherwife> you are to take Notice, that God is to be o- beyed before Man, and the Regale is to bow down, like the Sheaves in J&feptfs Dream, be- fore the Pontificate.
But this is not all : There are fome Cir- cumftances very particular and chicane in this Divine Right ; though, as has been faid, it may be conveyed away, yet nothing pafTes by the Conveyance in many Cafes : Part of it may be granted and conceded to its Subjects, and yet they have no Righc to keep what is fo given, always excepting the High Clergy, who may take it without being given: I had alrnoft for- got another Conveyance of this Right, which is Conqueft, or, in other Words, the Divine Right of Plunder, Rapine, Maflacre : Bui the Right is never the worfe for the Wicked- nefs of Men 5 for howfoever they get Pof • feffion of Sovereign Power, eo inflame, the Right is annexed to the PofTeflion, unlels in fpecial Cafes, Hill preferving a Right to the
C 4, Jacobite
$6 CATO's LETTERS.
Jacobite Clergy, to give a Right to whomfo- ever they elfe pleafe. This fame Right is of fo odd and bizarre a Nature, that it receives no Addition or Diminution from the Confent of Men, or the Want of that Confent. It is lawful to fwcar to it, when there is an Intereft in doing fo 5 and yet it is no ways neceflary to "believe what you fwear, or keep your Oath. It is not to be refilled } and yet in particular Cafes it may be oppofed. Lt is limited, and yet unlimitable. You may make Laws to bind it, and yet it is Treafon and Damnation to de- fend thofe Laws, unlefs you have the Verlwn Sacerdotis on your Side.
What Contradictions, Abfurdities, and Wickednefs, are Men capable of! We have a Set of abandoned Wretches amorigft our felves, who feem to have a Defign to deftroy human Race, as they would human Rcafon ! Every Doclrine, every Opinion they advance, is \s- vell'd againfl the Happinefs of all Mankind. Nothing conduces to Virtue, to true Religi- on, to the prefent or future Interefts of Men» but is reprefented as deftruclive to Piety. We are to be the Vaffals of Tyrants, the Dupes of Impoftors, the Zanies of Mountebanks, or elfe are in a State of Damnation. Men, for whole Sakes Government was instituted, have 2ia Right to be protected ;by Government;1 Religion which was given by Almighty God to make Men virtuous here, and happy here- after 3 has been made ufe of to defiroy their Happinefs both here, and hereafter. Scarce any thing is difcover'd to be true in Nature and Philofbphy, but is proved to be falfe in.,
Ortho-
CATO's LETTERS. 57
Orthodoxy : What is found to be beneficial to- Mankind m their prefent State is reprefented hurtful to their future 5 nay, fome are riieir up amongft us, who are fuch implacable E- nemies to their whole Species, that they, make it Sin to take proper Precautions againft the Danger of the Small-Pox, even when they are advifed by the moft able Phyficians, and when thefe Phyficians are moft difinteref- ted.
What can be more cruel, wicked and de- trimental to human Society, or. greater Blaf- phemy againfl the good God , than to make. Government, which was defign'd by him to render Men numerous,, induftrious, ufeful to one another, to improve Arts, Sciences,., Learning, Virtue, Magnanimity and true Re- ligion, an unnatural Engine to deitroy. the greateil Part of the World, to make the reft' poor, ignorant, fuperflitious and wick ed ^ to., iiibjeft them like Cattle, to be the Property of their Oppreffor.: : to be the tame Slaves o£ haughty and domineering Mailers., and . the. low Homagers of gloomy. Pechut. to \vrrk^ for, to fight for, and to r.dore thole, wro neither better nor wifer dan. themfelv: . and to be wretched by Millions, to make •_>: or a few proud and infr "-t ? And yet we told this is the Cond .. God 'las plicecl u j in, and that itjs Da. : :;on to drive to rr t it better.
All thefe Mifchiefs. and many more, ,arr the infeparable Gonfequences of an indefeaiti. Hereditary. Right5. in any Maru ati Fiiri whatfoever} which can never be ..-alipnared- ;..
G 5 forfeit-;
53 CATO's LETTERS:
forfeited : For if this be true^ theu the Pro- perty of all Mankind may be taken away, their Religion overturn 5d, and their Perfons butcher'd by Thoufand.s, and no Remedy be attempted : They muft not mutter and com- plain , for Complaints are Sedition, and tend to Rebellion : They muftnot£and upon their Defence, for that is refifting the Lord's A- nointed : They mufl not revile the Minifters and Instruments of his Power , for Woe be to the Man who fpeaketh ill of him whom the King honoureth. And all this has been told ras by thofe who have never fhewn any Regard to Authority,, either human or divine, when it interfered with their own Interefis. What fhall I fay 5 what Words ufe to exprefs this snonftrous Wickednefs, this utter Abfence of ail Virtue, Religion,, or Tendernefs to the human Species : What Colours can paint it, what Pen defcribe it !
Certainly, if Government was defign'd by God for the Good, Happinefs^ and Protection ef Men, Men have a Right to be protected by Government ^ and every Man muft have a Right to defend what no Man has a Right to sake away. There is not now a Government fuMfh'ng ii> the World,, but took its Rife from the fnftitution of Men $ and we know from Hiftory when, and hoWj. it was inAitu- tgd ? It was either owing to the exprefs or ta- cit Confent of the People,, or the Soldiers^ who Sr{i erected it ^ and it could have no more Power than wbnt they gave it $ and what Ferfcrvs foever were invef . , with that Fowera muft have accepted it upon the Con*
ditions.
LETTERS. 59
ditions upon which it was given 5 and when they renounced thofe Conditions, they renoun- ced their Government. In fome Countries it was Hereditary , in others elective 5 in fome difcretionary , in others limited : But in all> the Governors muPc have deriv'd their Autho- rity from the Con fen t of Men, and could ex- ercife it no farther than that Confent gave them Leave. Where pofitive Conditions were annexed to their Power, they were certainly bound by thofe Conditions $ and one Conditi- on muft be annexed to all Governments, e- ven the moft abfolute, That they a& for the Good of the People j for whofe Sake alone there is any Government in the World* In this Regard there can be no Difference bet wee, A hereditary and elective Monarchies 5 for the Heir cannot inherit more than his Anceftor enjoy'd, or had a Right to enjoy, any more than a Succeflor can fucceed to it.
Then the wife Queflion will arife,. What if any Man, who has no natural Right, nor any Right over his Fellow Creatures, accepts great Powers, immenfe Honours and Revenues, and other perfonal Advantages to himfelf and hia Pofterlty, upon Conditions either exprefs, as in all limited Conftituficns, or implied as in all Constitutions whatfoever, and either bv de-
j
liberate Declarations, or deliberate A6lions, publickly proclaims, that he will no longer be bound bv thofe Conditions, that he will ro more abide by his legal Title, but will af- fume another that was never given him, and to which he can have no Right at all ^ that lie will govern his People by defpotick Au-
CATQ's LETTERS.
thority ^ that inftead of pro teeing them, ht v;ill deitroy them 5 that he will overturn their Religion to introduce one o£ his own $ and that inftead of being a Terror to evil Works, he will be a Terror to good : I ask? in fuch a Cafe, Whether his Subje&s will be bound by the Conditions he has renounc'd ? Do the Ob* ligations fubfift on their Parr,, when he has dellroy'd them. on his? And are they not at Liberty, to fave themfelves, and to. look out fo-r Protection elfe where, when it is> denied where they have a Right to expecl: and de* ir,and.it, and to get it as they can, though . at the Expence of him and his Family, when no other Method ar Recourfe is left*
And now, O ye gloomy. Impofters ! O ye jnercilefs Advocates for^ Superftition and Ty- ranny !. Produce all your Texts, allyour knot- ty. Diftinclions ! Here exert all your quaint E- loquence, your Quiddities, your -.Aliquo modo Jir9 and-^%rto modo non • appear in folernn Dump., with your reverential Robes, andjyour hari- aontaiHats^ with whole Legions of Phantoms and Chimera's,, and Cart-loads of. Theology broken ;Oaths, and feditious Harangues, and try whether you. can maintain the Battle, and defend the Field againft one fihgle- Adverfary, who undertakes to put all your, numerous and fairy Battalions to the Flight.
Let us hear, what you can fay for your ab- dicated. IdoL. Diftinguifh, if you. can> his Cafe- from that which I have reprefented :: Shew that- Almighty God gave to him a Di- vine Right to play ths Devil ; or, if he had 20 fuch Rightv that his Subjefb had, none t^
hinder
's LETTERS.
hinder him : Prove that Kings «re not i ted for the Good of the People, but for their own and the Clergy's Pride and Luxury : But if they are inftituted for the Good of the Peo.- ple, then fhew that they are left at Liberty to a£l for their Deftru&ion, and that their Sub- jects muft fubmit to inevitable Ruin, and yet kifs the Iron Rod whenever his Majefty pleafes : Shew that it was poflible for the Kingdom to trull themfelves again to the Faith and Oaths of a Popifh. Prince, who, during his whole Reign, did nothing elfe but break his Faith and his Oaths, and whofe Religion oblig'd him to do fo 5 or. that- it was poflible Tor them to place his Son upon the Throne he had abdicated, (if they had believ'd him to be his Son,) when he was in the PofTeffion of the rnoft implacable Enemy of their Country, or of Ettrofe, or of the Proteftant Religion $ and that it would not have been direct Mad- nefs to have fent for him afterwards from France, or Rome, inrag'd by, his Expulficm, and educated, animated, and arm'd with French and Popifli Principles : And fhew too, that the poor opprefled People had any Re- courfe, but to throw themfelves under the Protection of their, great Deliverer, who was the next Heir to their Crown.
If you can't do this, there is nothing left for you to do, but to fhew,. That the late Kin% James did not violate and break the funda-. mental Laws and Statutes of this Realm, .which, were the originak Contract between him and his- People 5. and that he did not make, their: Allegiance, to him incompatible with* theit
own
euro's LETTERS:
own Safety, for the Prefervation of which he was entitled to their Allegiance: Shew that he did not claim and exercife a Power to dif- penfe with their Laws ; that he did not levy the Cuiloms without the Authority of Parlia- ment 5 or that he called Parliaments according to the Constitution he had fworn to 5 and that when he intended to call one, he did not re- folve to pack it, and clofeted many of the Gentlemen in England, and with Promifes and Menaces cndeavour'd to make them practicable to his Defigns: Shew that he did not difarm Proteftants, and arm Papifts $ fet up exorbi- tant and unlawful Courts $ caufe exceflive Bail to be required, and exceffive Fines to be impos'd, and exceflive Punifliments to be in- flicted 5 that he did not profecute Members in the Kings-Bench for what they did in Parlia- ment 5 and difcharge others committed by Par- liament 3 that he did not grant Fines and For- feitures of Perfons to be try'd, before there Conviction 5 that he did not erect an Eccleli- aftical Commiffion directly againft" an Act of Parliament, and fufpended, by Virtue of it, Clergymen, for not reading in their Churches a Proclamation, which he iffued by his own Authority, to give Liberty of Confcience to Pa- pifts and Proteftant Diflenters: Shew that he did not imprifon and try feven Bifhops for their humble Petition againft it, which Peti- tion they were impower'd by Law to make j that he did not combine with France and Rome- to overthrow the eftablifh'd Church, which he wa« bound to defend, and to introduce another in the Room of ir? which was worfe
thaa
C Arc's LETTERS.
than none 5 and, in order to it, brought pro* fefs'd Papifts into Offices, both Civil and Mi- litary, fend and receive Ambaffadors to and from Rome* who were guilty of High Treafon by the Laws of the Land, and bring from thence Swarms of Locufts, to devour and pol- lute every Thing that it produced 5 turn out the Matters and Fellows of Magdal en-College 9 againft Law, for not doing what they were fworn not to do, and fubftitute in their room, thofe who were not qualified by Law to be there : And to make good all thefe Breaches •upon our Liberties, that he did not raife a Popifh Army mlnland^ and another in England, which had many Papifts in it, without Au- thority of Parliament.
Shew, if you can, that he ever difcovered the lealt Inclination to reform thefe Abufes 5 but on the contrary, when he could continue them no longer, that he did not defert his Peo- ple; that he dared to truft himfelf to a free Parliament, after he had called it, but difibl- •ved it again, and foolifhly threw his great Sea! into the Thames y that no other might be called j and that when he refolved to leave his People, that he would fuffer his Pretended Son to re- main arnongft us. Shew that you your fclves did not help to expel him ; that you have not taken Oaths, repeated Oaths to this Govern- ment.) and Abjiuratidng of any other $ and that you have kept to either one or the other,, "When you have done this, I will allow you to be -what no. one at prefent thinks you to be, fconeft Men» good Etigtijhmerti and true Pro* teftants.
I rfW &c.
CATCfs LETTERS!
HORATIUS to CATO.
J
^
1 R, -
Have had a long Ambition to fay fomething about you one Way or another 5 but i doubted whether I had beft write to you, o£ againit you. That Doubt is now decided j and, lol I, who might have been your Ad* ^erfary,, am become your. Correfpondent and Advocate. I fend you your Apology, and fhew you the Good you do.
You have, Sir, open'd a new Source of Pro- vifion for the Poor, by finding Employment for all the Wits Mendicant about Town ^ And tho' they ought to reverence your Name, as that of another Suttw, by whofe Aims they are fuftain'd, yet they vilely fly in your Face, and pollute, by their matchlefs Ingratitude^. the very Bread which you generoufly put in- to their Mouths 5 like Maggots, who prey up- on the Fie Hi they are bred in, till they turn Flies, which are Vermin with Wings. Thus Reprobates ferve Heaven ; they affront and blafpheme it, and receive their Exigence from. it. You fcarce had appe.-ur'd in the World, but you recall'd fuperanuated Authors to Life again 5 and Toothlefs, as they were, fet them a. biting,, biting at the Hand that brought them back from Oblivion, Obfolete and de-
fpairing
CATo's LETTERS.
fparing Authors once more violently grafp'd their Pen : The lean and ill-fed Candidates* for Weekly Work from the Bookfellers, brigh- ten'd up, and began to be cloath'd 5 and puny Poets, and the humble Compofers of Ditties, left their Tags and Ballads to live upon Cato 5 even thofe, who had got fome Reputation, thought they had now a lucky Opportunity to improve it, by breaking a Lance with a Cham- pion who drew all Eyes upon him, and was 1 yet invincible : And Cato became at once the Butt of the Envious, the Mark of the Am- bitious, and the Stay and Support of the Needy.
It is the Lot of Grandeur: A great Man muft have his poor and impertinent Depen- dents, as well as is ufeful and agreeable : They all ferve to make up his Train. A Troop of Beggars befetting his Coach, or follow-ng it in the Street, do, notwithftand- ing their Rags, and ill-favour'd Looks, and difmal Style, but add to the Luftre of his Figure. Jefters and Buffoons, Cynicks and Declaimers, are likewife of the fame Ufe, to fwell his Pomp, and divert him, tho' they are often too free with him. Your Retinue, Sir, of this Kind is infinite: From the Cockfit to "Moorfulds you maintain a Wag, an Orator, a Critick, a Poet, or a Journalift, in every Street, and whole Swarms in the Alleys : Nor would I defire a furer Patent for Fame, than fuch a Shoal of Calumniators. Their Scolding is Compliment , and while they aim Blows at you, they only cudgel themfelves on your Be- half f
'66 CA To's LETTERS.
half; offMwt foliclo 5 you know rflie Fable of the Viper biting the File.
Envy always praifes thofe it rails at. It is indeed the only Way that foul Mouths can make your Panegyrick, or that of any Man. \Vere they to extol you in earneft, it would be downright Scandal and Railing, a foul Confpiracy againft your Reputation 5 like the Fawning of a Whelp, who, to exprefs his Fondnefs, piffes upon you. If therefore they mean their Scurrilities and fatirical Nonfenfe in Love, you would have ground for Provoca- tion : But to mean them as they do, the con- trary Way, is their only genuine Way of thank- ing you for their Food. There are many Sorts of Folks whofe Calumnies I would be proud of, for the fame Reafon why I would be a- fhamed of their Praife. A great Man at Athens^ was followed from a publick Affembly all the "Way home, by a very competent Reviler, with a World of Panegyrical ill Names, and accept- able Abufes. That great Man took all thefe kind Vollies of Defamation, for fo many Huz- za's ; and calling to his Servant, Go, fays he, take a JLigbt, and covdutt that worthy Gentleman^ *n/fco has honoured me with all tbofe civil Acclama- tions, borne to bis Lodging,
Now if this ill-.tongu'd Athenian had not been in earneft, his Courtefy would have been half loft. I hope your numerous Anfwerers and Revilers mean what they fay, elfe the Obligation is but fmall 5 and the fmaller, be- caufe thefe their Panegyricks upon you, are not at all encouraged. The Town is frill pro- foundly ignorant what a Swarm of Retailers,
what
CAfO's LETTERS. 6j
what loud and vehement Flatterers you have in it. They have filled, and do Weekly fill, mighty Reams of Paper in extolling you, ay great a Secret as the World vould make of it, to ufe the Words of a witty Author.
Love, they fay, is blind 3 and perhaps from hence may be fetch'd a Proof, that thefe your pretended Adverfaries are your real Friends, fince in their Writings againft you, that is, for you, (for it is all one) they are guided by no other Rule of Right and Wrong, than, whether Cato affirms" a Thing or denies it, and are always fure to take the contrary Side: Nay, fame of them contradic/fc Cato9 at the Expence of their conftant and favourite Opi- nions. Does not this look like playing Booty ? By their Works, one would think that you had the licencing of your Opponents, and9 but for their hideous Bulk, the overlooking of them : At leafr, by your profound Silence* and great Meeknefs towards them, you feem well pleafed with their Labours. 1 dare fay, you would not. change them for any Set of Defamers that could be pick'd up for you.
A Lady of my Acquaintance is fond of Dogs. She has at prefent two or three little Curs, that are very noify at every Vifitant who is taller than ordinary. The puny Ver- min have a Spite at Elevation. They once, particularly, made an incefTant and fland'rous Clamour at a Noble Lord, well known for his fine Perfon and graceful Mein 5 nor could they be flilPd. The Lady was out of Coun- tenance : She told him /he would have them knock'd on the Head> or given away : By »»
CATo's LETTERS.
mews, 'Madam, fays his Lordfhip, fagely e nough, I kjioiv you cannot be 'without Dogs> am perhaps the next may bite me.
I think I have read you impartially, and caflJ not fay I have found in you any knavi/h Reafon I ing, any bafe or di/honeft Principles, Voi i need not therefore be concerned who write1, againA you. However, as I would truft n<; body in any Circumftances, with any Sort o abfolute Power, methinks I fhould jiot be dif pleas'd to fee you check'd and watch'd a little in that great Authority you have acquired oval the Minds of Men. No Body has /hewn m ' better than your felf, that all difcretionaq * Power is liable to be abus'd, and ought no- to be trufted, or cautioufly trufted, to moita- and firail Men. For this Reafon, tho' you arc Monarch, of the Prefs, I would have you all mited Monarch : As fuch it becomes you tc bear with, and receive kindly the Admoniti-, ons and Remonftrances ©f Men of Honour 1 and Senfe, when fuch differ with you, and ii i is agreeable to your Senfe and Character, tc laugh at the profane Contumelies of Slaves h Your Calumniators do your Bufmefs. The: Viper carries within it a Remedy for its own Poifon. You are fecure by the Bafenefs of i their Fears, againft the Bafenefs of their Ma- lice j and their Malice is harmlefs by beingp obvious.
Their is fomething diverting in the Num- ber and Variety of your Adverfaries, and their different Views. Some are old Stagers ; and being us'd to fpill Ink for Pay in the Quarrel of Parties, made an Offer of themfelves to siv
ten
C A fO's LETTERS. 6$
er the Lifts again, and fcold for Wages at ^fo. The Finances were not in Cato's Difpo- al : This was a good and confdentious Rea- bn for being againft him. But thefe Volun- iers are not fuitably encourag'd. One of hem has in two Years writ near a Dozen Pamphlets againft you; but with ill Succefs ?very Way. The Town will not buy them $ he other End of the Town will not reward he Author $ nor will you take any Notice of -hem. A melancholy Cafe ! That learned is at prefent in the Slough of Def-
Others, who had not been us'd to receive Pay, and I doubt never will, thought them- felves qualified to earn it-: For, alas ! what is fo deceiving as Self-love? So upon Cato they fell, and by way of Anfwer crack'd Jefts, and call'd him Names. Fraught with this Merit, away they footed it fweating to the Office, where, after many Petitions, and much wait- ing, they were admitted to the Audience of one of the Clerks. They begg'd to becon- fider'd as humble Auxiliaries, and to liave an Acknowledgment, the fmalleft Acknowledg- ment. Thefe Gentlemen had better Luck than the above ancient Author : They were fully rewarded, that is to fay, they were civil- ly thank'd by the afore faid Clerk, and owu'd to be well-meaning Perfons . And yet they are ungrateful, and make heavy Complaints, as if they had nothing. They {till hope for more another Time.
A Bookfeller of my Acquaintance tells me, that he has refas'd* within*this Year, five aud
fifty
~o CATo's LETTERS.
fifty Pamphlets writ againft you, and that the Authors, one and all, offer'd to write for nim by the Year. They were all of Opinion, that they could carry through a Weekly Paper with as much Reputation and Succeis as any yet writ againft you : Which he did not deny 5 and yet dtfmifs'd them. He told me, it was but this Winter, that a Man in a Livery came to him, and asked him, What he would give for a Sermon to be preach'd by his Mailer, the Do&or, upon a publick Occasion ? He anfwer'd, Nothing. 0/>, 6VV, fays the Valet, my Mafter's will fell like Wildfire. You can't thinly Sir, bow purely be claws off Cato 5 ^nd you II fee
lill foon be made a You fee, Sir, that you
are a ufeful Man to many, and even confider'd 1 as a Scale to great Preferment. This Sermon is fince out, and it has neither hurt you, nor | exalted the Preacher, tho' he has there la- bour'd the Point very hard. The Doclor wanted no good Will, whatever elfe he wants. Unluckily for him, there is not an Argument (I fhould have faid AfTertion) ufed by him againft Writing, but what will bear fifty times as ftrongly againft Preaching. I'll, however, acquit him from meaning this Confequence, or any other but that which his Man meant, and which feems a Confequence at leaft ex- treamly remote. The Doctor is, indeed, ad- mirable: While he thought himfelf haran- guing^ and fcattering Words againft Libelling,, he was actually inveighing virulently againft Mmfelf, and preaching an angry Libel againft Preaching. May the Prefs and Liberty be ever blefs'd with fuch Foes. The Doclor does not '
want
CAfO's LETTERS. 7V
want Words $ it is Pity but he knew the Ufe of them.
Says Mr. Bayes, in the Rehearfal, I bring out my Bull and my Bear $ and what do you thinly I mak? them do, Mr. Johnfon ?
Johnfon. Do! wty, fight, I fitpfofe.
Bayes. See hoiv you are tniftal^en now ' I would &> foon make them dance $ no9 igad, Sir^ I ma^e them do no earthly Thing.
There is this Difference between the Doctor's Bull, and Mr. Bayes's Bull j the Dolor's Bull bellows y beiides this, he does no earthly Thing neither.
Pray, Sir, be not fo proud and lazy, — read fome of your Adverfaries, and their Bulls will divert you.
Methinks, as great a Man as the World takes you to be, and as you may think your felf, you treat your intended Adversaries, but real Friends, too fupercilioufly, and, I conceive, with too much Contempt. I am told by fome of your intimate Friends, that you have never rea.l any of their Works, and yet, to my Knowledge, feveral of them pleafe themfelves with having mortified you, and do themfelves no fmall Credit amongft their Acquaintance by bragging of it. Give, Sir, your poor Re- tainers, this Confolation, fince they are like to have no other : Confider them as Brats of your own begetting, and iince you have brought them into the World, that you ought to fupport them. Your taking -but the leaft Notice of them, and their Performances, will give them Food and Raiment : But I will beg leave to fay, it is very unnatural, when you
have
7i CATtfs LETT E RS,
have given Birth to fo many innocent arid harmlefs Creatures, to leave them afterwards te ftarve. You fee, Sir, that they want no Induftry or Application, and 'tis not their Fault if they want Succefs. Take, generous Cato, a little Notice of them, and I am fure they will gratefully acknowledge your Indul- gence, Read, O Cato! their Labours, and condefcend to throw away a few leifure Hours in contemplating the Imbecility of human Nature. It becomes the greateft Men to know the weak Sides of it as well as the ftrong 5 at leaft you will learn this LefTon by it, That
"Man differs more from Man, than Man from Beaft,
Give me leave to conclude with a Story : Once upon a Time, I faw a brave'large Bull, of great Comlinefs and Dignity, brought out upon a Green near a Country Village to be baited. Among the Bull-Dogs fetch'd to bait him, were feen feveral dirty, deform'd Currs, call'd Houfe-Dogs, that vented all their Cho- ler in filthy Noife. They bark'd aloud and bitterly, and difturb'd every Body but the Bull, who, at all their fnapping, fniveling, and fnarling, never turned his Head, nor mov'd a Foot or a Horn. At laft the Squire of the Place, who prefided at the Entertain- ment, fhew'd himfelf a Man of Tafte and Equity. Takf away, fays he, with a Voice of Authority, take away tbefe yelping Muttgrels ; vot ttfe to bait Bulls with Turnfpits. I am, <S IK,
Your Humble Servant,
H O R A T J U S.
C AlO's LET TERS. 73
I
SIR,
Intend to consider in this Paper, the Beha- viour and Spirit of the Confpirators, and to fhew what Enemies they are, even to fuch as are favourable to them. But, before I pro- ceed to enquire into the avowed Caufes OL all this outragious DifafFeftion, I will freely own, that many Things have been done which can- not be juftified , fome, perhaps, ignorantly, many ambitioufly, and others, it is to be fear- ed, traiteroufly, to help the Confpirators, by provoking the People, and by rendring the Adminiftration odious. Sure I am, there are many pregnant Appearances that look fadly this Way, and can be conftrued no other Way j and thefe Meafures gave much Sorrow and In- dignation to the belt Friends of the Govern- ment, as I doubt not but they did Pleafure and Hopes to the difaffecled, who faw how faft by fuch Steps their Views were advanced. Treafon is moft fuccefsfully carried on by un- fufpe&ed Tray tors, as Friends are eafieft be* tray'd and undone by Friends. The Cry therefore of the Confpirators againft unpopu- lar Proceedings, was all Hypocrify, and falfe Fire : They faw their mifchievous Influence, and rejoiced in it : They thought they were faved the Danger and Trouble of Plotting j and that all they had to do, was to hold the VOL. IV. D Match
74 CA'fO's LETTERS.
"."Match ready, while other People were laying the Train -5 and to put their Sickle into a Harveft not of their own fowing. How near they were to reaping this Harveft, is now ap- parent.
Every good Man will condemn unjuft Mea- fures, let them come from what Quarter- they will. But the Confpirators could not with a good Grace condemn the worft, even fuppo- img the Refentment fincere. The wildeft and wickedeft Things done by their own Party, have been conftantly and zealoufly defended .and promoted by them : And they have fted- <dity acled for or againft a Party from Paffion or Faction. Nor has the Love of their Coun- try, and the Good of the Whole, fepsrated from Party, ever fway'd them in one publick Aclion, that I remember. Neither is it any Defence of them, that others, who profefs a larger, and more human and publick Princi- ples, have fallen too often into the fame Par- tiality, and been too often govern'd by the fame narrow, felfifh, and paffionate Spirit. Who have ever fworn more blindly in Vejb* Magiflrl than the Confpirators? Who have ever more notorioufly fhewn, that they knew no other Meafures of Right and Wrong, of Religion and Impiety, than the Meafures efpous'd or oppos'd by their own Leaders ? "What Jobb has been fo vile, that they have not blindly approv'd ? Or what Scheme fo juft, that they have not fiercely condemned I Juft as this Scheme, or that Jobb has taken its Rife
this or that Quarter.
•
Nor
's LETTERS. 7$
Nor was the Spirit of Faction ever more man feft, than in the prefent Confpiracy; What did the Confpirators want, but Plunder and Places? But what Advantages was their Country to reap from the violent Change, which they were bringing upon it? Before they could have accomplifh'd it, the Nation and every Thing in it muft have been thrown into Convulfions, find a Chaos. What Order could they bring out of this Confufion ? What Amends could they make for unfettled er plun- dered Property, a Trade ftagnated or loft, Harvefts deftroyed, contending Armies, Blood- fhed, Slaughter and Battles, general Defla- tion, univerfal Terror, every Man's Sword againft his Neighbour, and the foreign Sword againft all, and dyed with the Blood of Bri^ tons, and his Majefty depos'd, and perhaps butcher'd ? For it could not' be poflibie, even for them to fuppofe, that his Majefty and his- Family, pofTefs'd of fo much Power in his Na- tive Dominions, fupported by fuch Numbers, fuch Wealth and Dependances in Great Britain. and by fo many powerful Allies abroad, could be effectually expelled by their bigotted Idol,, and his Champions, but after a long and fatal Civil War, fought within our Bowels : A War in which mod of the contending Powers of Europe would have been Parties, and which: muft have ended in the utter Lofs of our Liberties, which ever Side had prevailed.
In Anfwer to this black Catalogue of \Voesv will they urge that England and Englijh Liber- ty, and the IProteftant Religion, would have been indeed deftroyed j but that they, the
D * Con-
7* CAfO's LETTERS.
Confpirators, would have had Places? And yet what elfe can they urge? For this is the Sum of their Reafoning, whatever Difguifes they would put upen it. Such was their Spirit 5 and I wifh it were as new as it is Shocking and horrible. But alafs ! it is as old as Men : And every Country upon Earth, that has been undone, has been undone to fatiate the Ambition of one, or a few, who aimed at Feizing or extending Power.
The Complaints of Mifcarriages, of wrong Steps, and Abufe of Power, came awkardly and abfurdly from their Mouths, whatever •Grounds there may have been for fuch Com- plaints. What Security could the Confpira- tors give us, that, contrary to the Nature of Man, and of Power, and to their own Nature and Conduct, they themfelves would be hum- ble in Grandeur, and model! in Exaltation, and occupy Power with Moderation, Self-de- nial, and clean Hands ? They, who would overturn the Constitution, and the Foundati- ons of the Earth, and fill the Land with Vio- lence, War and Blood, to come at that Pow- er ! Can we conceive it poflible that any Re- gard^to-Jtlve Publick Good, and to Publick Property, would have the leaft Influence over thofe Men, who would facrifice the Publick, and annihilate all Property, for the Gratifica- tion of perfonal Ambition and Rage ? Or how fhould the Love of Liberty and Peace bind thefe Men, whom neither the Laws of Hu- manity, and of their Country, nor the Reli- gion of an Oath, nor the awful Gofpel of Je- fus Chrift, can in the leaft bind ?
They
CA ro's LETTERS. 77
They exclaim againft Armies and Taxes, and are the Caufe of both, and rail at Grie- vances of their own creating. Who make Ar- mies neceffary, but they, who would invade, and enflave, ordeftroy us by Armies, foreign Popifh Armies ? Who make Taxes neceffary, but they, who by daily confpiring againft our Peace and our Property, and againft that E- ftabliHiment which fecures both, force us to give Part to fave all? And who, but they, can give a Handle and Pretence to fuch as delight in Taxes and Armies, and profper by them, to continue and increafe them ? They are not only the Authors of thofe great Grievances, but of all the Evils and fubfequent Grievances which proceed from them, Had the Confpi- rators fucceeded, can we think, or will they have the Face to fay, that they would have rul'd without Armies? The Yoke of Ufurpa- tion and Servitude is never to be kept on without the Sword. They who make Armies neceiTary now, would have found them ne- ceflary then : Nor would they have redicu- loufly and madly trufted to their Merit and popular Conduct, when in this very In$ance they fhew that no Means were too black, no Pitch of Iniquity and.Cruelty too horrid, for the Accompli/hment of their Treafon $ and geneva"! Plunder and Deviation, Conflagrati- ons and Murder, were the concerted Speci- mens of their Spirit, and to be the hopeful Beginnings of their Reign. Did King James, whofe Misfortunes they caus'd and lament, did he, or could he, pretend to fuppor thisReligion, and his arbitrary Adminiftration, without the
D 3 Violence
78 C^TO's LETTERS.
Violence of the Sword, and without a great and a Popi/li Army? Is the Pretender of a different Religion, or more moderate in the fame Religion? Or does he difavow his Father's Government-, and propofe a better and a mil- der of his own ? Does he pretend to come, or to ft ay here without Armies? And are not Governments continued, and muft be, by the fame Means by which they were founded? A Government begun by Armies and the Vio- lation of Property, muft be continu'd by Ar- mies, Opprefiion and Violence.
What is here faid of Taxes and Armies may be faid of the Sufpenfion of the Habeas Corpus Aft. They complain of the Sufpenfion as a heavy Evil , and by their inceffant Plots and Rebellions, make long and frequent Suf- peniions inevitable. By their eternal Deiigns and Attacks upon us, they force us upon the pext Means of Self-prefervation 5 and then complain of Oppreffion, becaufe we will not fuffer them to opprefs and deftroy us. It is therefore owing to them, that the Subject is taken from under the Proteclion of the com- mon Law, and left to the Discretion of the Court. Who fays that this is deferable? But who makes it neceffary, or gives a Pretence for it?
We were all juftly fill'd with the Appre- henilon of lofing Gibraltar^ and thought that no Doom was too bad for theTraytor that had agreed to give it up, (if there ever was fuch a Tray tor in his Majefty's Service ,) and the Confpirators exclaim'd as loudly as any. But behold their Bafenefs and Iniincerity in this,
as
CATo's LETTER &
as 'mother Complaints, and their extenfive En- mity to their Country in every Inilance ! By the Confpiracy it appears, that they laboured with foreign Powers to have Gibraltar taken from Great Britain, on purpofe to enrage the Nati- on to part with rhe=r Government and their Religion, in Refentment for the Lofs of that
finale, tho' important Fortrefs. t
The late Management of the S0#th-S$a was another Topick of Refentment and Complaint, and a jufl one, whatever unjuft Ufes the Con- fpiratcrs made .of it. It is reafonable to be- lieve, that in their Hearts they rejoyc'd in it, flnce from the univerfal Difpleafure, Confu- iion, and Lofles, occaiion'd by it, and from the Bitternefs caus'd by thofe Loflf?s, they drew Hopes and a good Omen to their Con- fpiracy, which elfe mart have been impotent and languishing. The tender and flow Pro- fecution of the execrable Managers, the gen- tle Punifhment infli&ed upon them, and the obvious Difficulties thrown in the Way of any Punifhment at all, were freih Provocations to a plunder'd and abus'd Nation, and frefh Sti- mulations to the Confpirators. They faw, that great Numbers, who had always hated them and their Pretender, were now, under their heavy Misfortunes, and in the prefent Agonies oF their Soul, brought to think not- unkindly of him and his Gaufe, or to be en- tirely indifferent about it. They faid they were undone, and could not be worfe undone, and that nothing in human Shape, or in any Shape, could ufe them fo ill as the Directors had $ the execrable, rich, and unhang'd Direc- tors! D 4-.
So CATO\ LETTERS.
But of all Men, it leaft became the Con- ipirarors to be rioify about the hellilh Ma- nagement of the Sontk-Sea Scheme 5 flnce one of the £r(l and moft certain Confequences of the Confpiracy, would have been the utter Ruin of the whole South-Sea Stock, and of all the many Thoufands who have their Property in it. The £<*»£, and all other publick Funds, would have had the fame Fate $ nay, one of the firft Steps would have been the plunder- ing of the Ban^ and the Seizure of all the Books of the great Companies.
This was fo much the Defign of the Confpi- rators, that one Reafon given by themfelves for delaying the Execution, of the Plot, was, that a ^principal Confpirator, who had a great deal of Stock, might have Time to fell out. So that they who did fo virtuoufly and difin- tereftedly exclaim againft the Abufe of pub- ifck Credit, would have funk and deftroyed for ever, not only the publick Funds, but the Foundation of all publick Credit, and publick Happinefs, publick and private Pro- perty.
The .Ccnfpirarors likewife profefs a loud Zeal and Concern for the Church 3 and Papifts, Conjurors, and perjured Traytors, were to de- liver a -Proteftant Church from a Proteftant Government, which protected her, to be bet- ter• proteaed by a Popifh Bigot, and his Po- pifh Monks, who all think 'her damned. A Zeal therefore for the Church, was tojuftify tne moft hideous Impieties, a general Perjury, toreign Invafions, and the final Overthrow of ail Liberty, Virtue, and Religion : The re- formed
's LETTERS. 81
formed Church of England was, for a protec- ting Father, to be furrendred to a Nurfling of the Pope's, who by his Religion* is, and muft be, a determined Enemy to the whole Reformation in general, and to the Church of England in particular , and is under the Me- naces and Horrors of Damnation, if he does not exert his whole Policy and Power to ex- tirpate the Proteftant Name, and introduce a Religion which is worfe than none, as it pro- feffedly tolerates no other, and perfecutes Con- fcience, which is the Source and Seat of Re- ligion, the only Source that any Religion can have. While there are Men and Societies of Men, there will be Religion j and where Dread and Tyranny are taken away, different Religions 5 and yet no Religion is prefera- ble to a cruel Religion ; a Religion that curfes and oppreffes Toleration, which is a Principle inieparable from Chriftianity ; a Religion which buries the Bible, or burns it, and all that read it, and damns all Meeknefs and Mercy j a Religion that defaces the Creation, cheats, impoverishes, oppreffes, and exhaufts human Race, and arms its Apoftles with Jails, Tortures, Gibbets, Impoftures, and a bloody Knife..
Every other Complaint of the Confpirator?, might with the fame Facility and Truth be turned upon them. But this Paper is already too long. I will therefore conclude with ob- ferving, that the Conspirators have by the Af- iifrance of malicious Calumnies, blind Preju- dices, grofs ignorance, and conitant Mifrepre- fgnta.tions, mifled and abus'd their Party, and
D 5 g<>
CATors LETTERS.
governed them by abufing them.. That they li?ve wickediy taught them to hate a Govern- ment, \\hich, with all the Faults, true or falfe^ that :helr worfe Malice can charge it with, does jui: as far excel that which they would intro- due, as the Bleffings and Beauties of Liberty tranfcend the horrid Deformities of Slavery, and the implacable and destroying Spirit of Popfe Tyranny. That they have5 wickedly taught them to be weary of their prefent free Condition ; which, with all its Difadvan- tages, Debts, and Taxes, is eafy and happy, greatly and confpicuoufly happy, in Compan- ion of any Condition of any' People under any Pcfifi Prince now upon Earth. That they have, 1>y perpetual Delufion and Lies, work'd them to^a Readinefs, nay, a PaiTioi), to ven- ture and facrifice their whole Property, rather than pay a Part to fecure the Whole 5 and to wiih for a Revolution, a Ronifl Revolution, which will neither leave them their Property, their Ccnfcience, nor their Bible !
SIR,
J H A V E in my laft confidered the Spirit- * of the Confpirators in general : I will in th.;s addrefs my felf to thole of the Clergy, who have joined with them, or are well affec- ted to them, That there are fome fuch, no
CAfO's LETTERS. 8$
Body doubts 5 and our Enemies boaft, I hope unjuiily, of a great Majority : But let them be many, or few, none can be affec- ted by what is hereafter faid, but thofe to whom it is applicable.
I fhall not here urge the facred Ties you are under , Ties fufficient fo bind any Confci- ence, which is not paft all Tendernefs and Senfe of Feeling } Ties awful and folemn e- nough to reftrain Minds that any Religion can reftrain 5 and Ties from which no lawlefs Breach of the Coronation-Oath, nor any A 61: of Tyranny, has difengag'd you 5 tho', accor- ding to your own Doclrines, your peculiar and favourite Doctrine, fo often thundered in the Ears of En^iJlmen^.No AH nor Atts of Ty- ranny can diffohe the Bonds of Allegiance, But I would reafon with you upon the Point of more Weight and Moment with you, your fecuLir State and Intereft.
Pray what Violence has been offered to your Dignities and Immunities ? What Breach made-' upon your Livings and Revenues ? What Good has been done to Religion at your Expence ? What arbitrary Indulgences have been granted to Diffenters, or legal ones, befides that of worfhipping God ? Is it a Sin againit you, to fuffer them to exercife Religion in a Way dif- ferent from you, when every Man who wor- fhips God, muft wor/hip him his own Way, in the Way which he thinks God will accept, dfe he cannot worfhip him at all? What o- ther Worfhip will God accept, but that which Gonfcience dictates ? Every other Worfhip. is Hypccrify 5 which is worfe than a falfe Reli- gion, :
84 Giro's LETTERS.
gion, proceeding from a good Confcience. He who complies with a Religion, which he condemns or defpifes, worfnips not God, but the Pride of Priefts 5 and is therefore their Friend and Favourite; while the upright Man who adores his God in fpite of them, and will not diiTemble in fo nice and facred a Point, is a Capital Foe. The Religion of one's Country, to any Man who diflikes it, is Cant* and no more than the Religion of Lap- <W. ^Befides, would your own °Pride fuffer any of you to comply with the Religion of Scotland, or Geneva , if you were there ? On the contrary, do you not conftantly encourage there, what you conftantly exclaim againft as Schifm here, a Separation from the eftabli/h'd Communion ?
The State which makes you what you are> rind gives you what you have, may by the lame Right and Power confer what Favours^ Privileges, and Bounties it pleafcs upon any other different Bodies of Men : Nor could you- in Mcxkftyyor Common Senfe, complain, that ;i Legiflature difpos'd of its Gifts and Graces according to its own Wifdorn and Difcretion j and yet you have not even had this No-pro- vocation. What Diifenter, what Presbyterian, lias been preferr'd to the Preferments of the Church, or any other, unlefsall who are faith- ful to the Government and to their Oaths, are Diflenterc ? And will you pay DifTenters this Compliment? None but Churchmen are pre- err'd in the Church, or in the State. No Preferments are continued vacant 5 the Church Revenues are not IdTenedj nor impaired, but
LETTERS. 85
every Day increas'd. All the ufual and legal Advantages of theChurch are fecure toChurch- inen, and none but Churchmen poflefs them. All their Honours, all their Emoluments are in their Hands, and they are protected in them 5 nor are any Hard/hips done them, or fuffer'd to he done them, but that of retrain- ing them from putting Hard/hips, Diflrefles and Shackles upon others $ and that of con- fining a Bifliop, and feme of his lower Bre- thren, for Treafon againft their God and their Oaths, their Religion and their King. And the outrageous and brutal Refentments they have fliewn for this necefTary, this legal Pro- ceeding, fliew what Friends you are to that Eftabiifhment, which maintains and fupports you in fuch Enfe, Honours, and Plenty , and which he, and fuch as he, would havedeftroy- ed : You indeed, make it more and more raa- nifeft that your greateft Quarrel to the Go- vernment, is, that it will not put Swords in- to your Hands to deftroy ir. Will you after this, complain that the Government will not particulary diftinguifh you, you only, and your deluded Party, with Honour, Truft, and Edeem, for this your declared Infidelity and Enmity to the Government.
But the Convocation, you cry, does not fit. This, you think a crying Evil : But before we agree with you in this Thought, you, ought to fhew us what Good their prefent Sit- ting w7ould do. And if you would fhevv too,, what Good their Sitting ever did, or ever can do, you would inform many who are ia ut- ter Ignorance as to this grg.u Affair. Do
GQCL-
g<5 C^TO's LETTERS,
Convocations always, or at .any Time promote • Peace and Indulgence, and the tender Charity of Christianity ? Have their furious Contenti- ons for Ecclefiaftical Union ever increased Chriftian Union ? Has their Fiercenefs for Garments and Sounds, and the Religion of the Body and the Breath, had any good Ef- feft upon Humanity, Sincerity, Confcience7 and the Religion of the Soul ? Have not fome of them, and fome not very late ones, gone to open War with Moderation and common Senfe $ and with fuchas only offended by reconciling Religion with Moderation and common Senfe ? And by proving that our Saviour lyed not, when he declared that, bis Kingdom was t?ot of this World ? How did the late Convocation particularly, and their Champions, agree with their Head and Sa- Tiour, the great Bifhop of Souls, upon this Article ? Will fuch as you fay, that for the In- tereft of this Government, the Convocation ought to fit ? And ought it to (it for any other Intereft ? Be fo good to lay before us the Ser- vices done, and the Instances of Zeal fhewn, by the late Convocations, to this Proteftant Eftahlifhrnent.
Another of your common- place Cries is. That the Clergy are contemn'd. What Clergy, Gentlemen ? Are any contemn'd but the Pro- fane, the Forfworn, the Rebellious, the Lewd, the Turbulent, the Infatiable, the Proud, and the Perfecuting, fuch as will be anavoidably con- temn'd, and ought to be contemn'd by all that have Confcience, Virtue, Loyalty, and 'common , Honefty ? And will you fay that the Clergy, or
the
CATo's LETTERS. S7
the Body of the Clergy, feel, or ought to feel this Contempt ? Why fhould the juft Doom of the Tray tors of their Order affect the Credit of the Clergy, or fill with Apprehen- fions fuch as are not Traytors ? If they hate their Crimes, what Credit or Refpecl: is due to the Criminal ? And if any of them refpecl: the Crime, what Refpect is due to them from thofe who abhor Traytors and Treafon, which all good Men abhor?
Your little Regard to Confcience, and your wanton Contempt of Oaths, are fad Proofs how fmall Power the Chriftian Religion, or any Religion, has over you. What can bind the Man whom Oaths cannot bind ? Can Society have any Wronger Hold of him? And are not they Enemies to Society, and to Mankind; they who violate all the Bonda by which Societies fubiiil, and by which Mankind are diftinguifH'd from wild Beafts ? You boaft of your Succeffion from the Apo- flles. Do you do as the Apoftles did ? Or would they have deferv'd that venerable Name, or found Credit amongft Men, or made one Convert from Heathenifm , if they had been the ambitious Di&urbers of Go- vernment $ and by profanely trampling upon Oaths, had publifh'd to the World, by their Practice, an atheiftical Contempt of all Gonfcience and religious Reflraints ? The A- poftles, rather than difown their Faith and Opinion, and d:£fembie a lying Regard for the Gentile Deities, for a Moment, were mi- ferable in their Lives, and Martyrs in their Death ; nor could Racks, Wheels^ Fire, and
all
CATO's LETTERS.
all the Engines of Torture and Cruelty, extort from them one hypocritical Declara- tion, one Profeffion that their Souls contra- dicted. Neither they, nor their pious Fol- lowers, needed to have been Martyrs, had they been guided by a Spirit that taught Reli- gion and Confcience toftoop to worldly Intereft and Luxury.
You fay , I have heard fome of you fay, That you are forc'd to fwear. How were you forc'd? Can Confcience be forc'd? You may as well fay, that Men may be forc'd to like a Religion which they hate. Can any Excufe be an Excufe for Perjury ? Were Ska- drac^ "Mejbacl^ and ^eJl-nego^ forc'd to wor- fhip Nebuchadnezzar's Golden Image ? Were the firft Reformers forc'd to adore a Wafer for a God? Was St. Paul to be forc'd to offer Incenfe, and wor/hip Idols? Or, if he had, would his Preaching been of any E£Fe6t, or ought to have been ? Either the Gofpel con- demns the ProfUtutipii of Confcience and Re- ligion to Eafe and Intereftj or fuch Proftitu- tion,if the Gcfpel allow'd it, would condemn the Gcfpel. You muft therefore either re- nounce the Gofpel, which in Practice you do 5 or condemn your felves, which 1 do not hear you do : And in Honour to the Chri- flian Relig:on, the peaceable, the fincere, the confcientious, and diilntereitcd Chriftian Religion, all P/[en who are fincere Chrillians, or only hcneft MoraMs, muff condemn you, and abhor your Practices.
But how were you forc'd ? Either you muft fwear Fidelity to a Governmje:ar which pro-.
CAfO's LETTERS. 89
tecls you, and takes nothing from you, or you mutt quit the Advantages, and not eat the Bread of the Government j (for that the Go- vernment gives you all you have, I am ready to prove whenever you pleafe.) Now if you have really tender Coniciences, you would not fwear : But if your Tithes and Rents are dear- er to you than your » Confciences, then it is plain your Confciences are not tender. It is a very harden'd Confcience, that is not dearer to a Man than his Belly. Your Perjury therefore is pure Wantonnefs, and an utter AbfenceofallHonefty, Confcience, and Shame, Are thefe Qualifications proper to direcl: the Lives and Confciences of others ? And to promote in the Minds and Practices of others the fcrupulous and upright Religion of our BlefTed Saviour ?
Ceafe, for God's fake, to ufe that Holy Name, or ufe it better. Can you bring Peo- ple to him, by fhewing you felves daily Apo- ftates from him ? Ceafe mentioning the holy Martyrs, you who are a Difgrace and direcT: Antipodes to the Martyrs, and the Spirit of Martyrdom, and would make a Martyr of that Religion for which they died. For fhame, rail not at Atheifm, fpeak not of Atheiib, you who give eflential Proofs of the blackeft Atheifm/ What is "Atheifm, but an utter Disbelief, or, which is really worfe, an utter Contempt of the Deity ? And what is a ftron- ger Demonftration of that Contempt, than a daring, a practical Contempt of Confcience, his Deputy within us, and a wanton and fo- lemn Invocation of his awful Name to Hypp-
crify,
CATo's LETTERS.
crify, Deceit, and determin'd Fal/hood? 'his is making the Godhead a Parry to In- fidelity, and Trcafon agarnft himfeif: It is mocking God, and abufing Men, and making Religion the Means of Damnation. What can equal this horrible Crime, the Root and Womb of ail Crimes ? Or what Words can defcnbeit? This, Gentlemen, is your Ad- vantage : No Language fuffices to paint out vour Wickednefs: You are fecure that your Piclure can never be fully drawn, or the World fee it in half its Blacknefs and De- formity.
Will you after this fcould at the Morals and Impiety of the Age.? You who lay the broadeft foundation for all Immorality and "Wickednefs, by letting loofe the Minds of Men from all the ftrongeft Bonds of Virtue and of human Society, the inviolable Engagements of Confcieiice, and the Awe of the fupreme Be- ing ! After you have thus proclaim'd in the moft effectual Manner, that 'you have no Re- ligion, or that Religion has "no Power over you, will you continue to fill the World and weak Heads with canting Conjectures and barren Speculations, as if Religion confined in Whims, Dreams, and Non-entities ? And when you have, as far as your Authority and Example go, depriv'd Almighty God of the eflential Worfhip arifing from focial Vir- tue, Peace, Charity, and good Confcience to- wards God and Man, will you be flill adding further Indignities to the Deity, be reprefent- ing him chiefly pleas'd with unmanly Grimaces, Words without Meaning, the Nonfenfe of
Meta-
CAfO's LETTERS.
Metaphyficks, the Jargon of Logick, and the Cant of Myftery ?
But this Subject is too long for one Paper : I /hall therefore continue it in my next. In fome following Letters I fhall fhew my poor deluded Countrymen by what wretched Guides in Church and State they are conduc- ted, and whofe Job.bs they are doing, to their own Undoing.
1 am tkc.
I Proceed in my Addrefs to the Difaffecled Part of the Clergy.
Are not you the Men who profefs'd fuch blind, fuch unconditional Subrniflion to Prin- ces, the moft oppreflive and tyrannical Princes-,, and damn'd all who would not go your mad» your impious, and your impracticable Lengths? And are not you the £rft to bring home your own Damnation to your own Doors, by fhewing that no Obligation, human or di- vine, can withoid you from rebelling againR- the moil: legal Government, and mildeft Prince ? To aflert that the Government is not a lawful Government, is to aflert your own Perjury 5 and by difowning the Government, you difown all Honefly and Confcience* The Government is founded upon Reafon, upon Laws, and Cqnfent, the only Founds
92 CATO's LETTERS.
tion of any Government ; and it is admini- fter'd with Equity, and without the Blemifh of Violence, or of difpenfing arbitrarily with Laws : And yet this Government is to be re- fifted, betrayed, and overturned ; while a Go- vernment, founded upon the Chance of Blood, and upon the hereditary Sufficiency of Men, and fuccefiive Chaftity of Women 5 and which ads by Difcretion, Cruelty, or Folly, is of divine Appointment, and irrefiftable. What can be more monftrous ? And what capricious and hard - hearted Folly you would fix upon the good and all-wife God ? By which you only fhew that your hallowed Nonfenfe, if you are in earneil, is as fignal as your Wickednefs.
As to the Pretender's Right, I know not what it is j unlefs it be, That becaufe his fuppos'd Father violated his Coronation-Oath and the Laws, ufurped a Tyrannical Power, and opprefs'd and enflav'd thefe Nations five and thirty Years ago, therefore his fup- pos'd Son has a lawful Right to enflave them now. And I defy you, with all your Diflinc- tions, and Men of Diftinclions, to produce a better Argument upon this Head of Right. Befides, how can the Pretender think that you have any the lead Regard to his Right, when you have fo often and fo folemnly fworn that he had none ? Difpoffels you felves, if you can, of the Spirit of Faction, and of groundlefs Difpleafure and Revenge 5 and then try if you can find any divine, any unalterable Right in the Pretender. He has in truth no Right, but what your own
unruly
CAfCfs LETT E RS. 93
unruly and reftlefs Paflions give him. We all know what would cure you of your Opinion of his Title, of your Fondnefs of his Perfon. The Constitution will not ftoop to you 5 the Government will not be go- vern'd by you 5 you have not the Power $ you have not the Revenues of the ancient Ecclefiafticks before Henry VIII's Days 5 nor would you, if the Pretender was here : And if you had not, in three Months you would be fierce for fending him abroad again, as you did his fuppos'd Father; or ufing him worfe. Of this I am certain, that if he rul'd as his prefent Majefly does, you would treat him, and obey him, and honour him, juft as you do his prefent Majeily, Plead no longer your Confciences, which you have fo long, and fo often, and fo vilely proftituted, and ftill proftitute ! No body will receive the Plea.
Before you can pretend to naake your No- tions and Authority pafs with others, you mutt /hew that you your felves are guided by any Notions of Right or Wrong. If you would clear your felves from the Guilt, the horrid Guilt of confirm and repeated Perju- ry • fhew how faithfully, how religioufly you have kept your Oaths. If you would not be thought difaffe&ed, fhew by fome particular Inftances your Faith and Attachment to the Government, from the Revolution to this Day. What have you done to prevent or reprefs Plots, AiTafiinations, and Rebellions -, to ren- der them odious in the Hearts of your Peo- ple 5
CJTO's LETTERS.
pie 5 or to fatisfy the World that they ;vcre odious in your own ? And is nor this Duty of Chriftians and Preachers, and y-., fworn Duty ? In a ftupid Difpute about Gri- mace and Forms, or about paltry Diftinc- tions and empty Words, you are ail in Flame and Uproar, and fill your Pulpits, and your People, and the Nation with your important Nonfenfe, and the Danger of Senfe : But when Church and State were juft going to be fwallowed up by Popery and Tyranny, what Allarms have you rung ? What Refentment, what Attachment to the Eftabli/hment and your Oaths have you fhewn ? What honeft Teftimony have you born ?
And what have you done, Gentlemen, fince the Difcovery of this horrid Confpiracy ? You that from your lofty Roftrums have feat- ter'd Poifon and epidemical Difternpers over the Land, as if out of Pandoras Box 5 what Antidotes have you applied to the Venom you have difpers'd ? What Satisfaction have you made for all the Mifchiefs you have done, and which glare you in the Face ? What Ser- mons have you preach'd ? What Difcourfes have you printed ? What Deteflation have you fhewn againft this monftrous Deiign, le- vell'd at the Life of the Prince who protects you, againd the Religion you ought to fup- port, and which fupports you, and againft the Liberties and Eflates of your Contrymen, from whofe miftaken Confidence you derive all your Power and Wealth ?
What has been done by the Governors of the Univerlities to promote Loyalty either in
Tutors
's L ET T E R S. 95
Tutors or Pupils, and to fupport the Prin- ciples upon which the Revolution ftands ? What Charges have been given by Archdea- cons (to fay nothing of their Betters1) to en- force Obedience ro this Government upon the Foot of Liberty? How many feditious Priefts have met with Punifhment or Difcou.nten<tnce from their Superiors $ tho' we all know what Refentment they would have found, if any one had dared to have open'd his Mouth a- gainft the Power and Pride of his Order ?
What Care has been taken in the licenfing or approving of School-Maflers, who are al- moft all Jacobites ! What a bitter and difaf- fecied Spirit is there in the Charity-Schools, and all Schools ! Is there a Conteft any where between two Candidates, but the moft Bif- airec~led has the Vote and Intereft of the Coun- try-Clergy ? And is not the fame Partiality praftis'd in mod of the Colleges of the Uni- v-erflties ?
Reconcile, if you can, your wild Conduct to any Semblance of Religion, or of com- mon Senfe and common Honeily, If a Prc- teftant Diffenrer is to be let into a Place by the good Pleafure and Indulgence of the Law j what Booke, Scolding, and Fury ! But when the Pretender and Popery are to be let .into England^ to the .utter Subverfion of Reli- gion and Property, and again ft Law and Oaths j what Refignation ! what Silence ! Tho' you are fworn to oppofe them, ftrongly and folemnly fworn, and have no Provoca- tion not to oppofe them, but that the Hap- jpinefs and Eftates of the Laity, and the Ten-
96 CA To's LETTERS.
dernefs fhewn to Diflenters, by which our I People and our Riches are increas'd, and our } Chriftian Spirit is fhewn, difturb the Pride of the narrow, perfecuting Ecclefiafticks, al- I ways infatiable and difcontented, and always plotting and railing, while the Wealth and Do- minion of Mankind are not entirely theirs.
It would be endlefs to enter into all the late and publick Inftances of your Perjury, your Difaffeftions, and furious Spirit. I fiiali men- tion but one, and one that is a Difgrace to : our Nation 5 an Inftance of a mean Prieft, ; deftitute of Name and Parts, try'd and con- 1 demn'd for Sedition, and yet almoft deify'd for his Infolence and Crimes. Ignorant of the Laws, and defpifing his own Oaths, he publickly attacked the Conftitution, and ii- bell'd it. He afferted the Irreflftiblenefs of all Governments, good or bad, tho' our own was founded upon Refinance. For this daring Offence he was impeach Jd and try'd 5 try'd by one Part of the Legiflature before the other, and condemn'd by all three : So that the Bufi- nefs of the Nation, and of £wro/>*, flood ftill for many Weeks, till this groveling Offender bad a Hearing, and his Sentence 5 a Sentence, which would have come more properly for him from the Chairman of a Petty-Seffions, than from the Mouth of a Lord High Chan- cellor of England I
What Reverence might not have been ex- pected to fuch a Tryal as this, and what Ac- quiefcence as to the Iflue of it, efpecially from thofe who contended, daily and vehemently contended, from the Pulpit and the Prefs,
for
C A TO's LETTERS. 97
for Submiffton, unlimited Submiffion, to Go- vernors, tho* Tyrants and Oppreflors ! But inftead of this, as if they intended to publifh to the World, that the meaneft of the Or- der, how vile and infolent foever, is not to be touch'd for the moft enormous Crimes, even in the moft legal, open, and honourable Man- ner, even by the whole Legiilature, the moft folemn and auguft Judicature upon Earth j there was fuch a hideous Stir made 5 fuch a horrible Outcry and Spirit were rais'd $ fuch Infolences, Tumults and Infurreclions enfucd 5 fuch Contempt was fhewn of Power and Ma- giftracy 5 and fuch Lies and Libels publi/h'd againft thpfe who pofTefs'd them j fuch lying Encomiums were beftow'd upon the fentenc'd Criminal 5 fuch profane Complements were made him 5 and fuch profound and infolent Refpect was paid him , as if there had been neither Religion nor Order in the Land, but both had been banifh'd out of it by many of the avow'd and hir'd Advocates for Religion and Order 5 who, all the while they were thus reviling and refitting Authority, had ftill the Front to prefs and preach abfolute Non~ Refinance to Authority, and to reward what they themfelves were doing with Damnation, unlefs it were fafe and laudable to refift the moft lawful Power, but iinful and damnable to refift that which is lawlefs. For after fo many Oaths to the Government, and fo many Abjurations of the Pretender, they durft not fay the Government was unlawful. But the Rage and Uproar they were in even before the Sentence, were as great as VOL. IV, E
CATO's LETTERS.
if the Priefthood itfelf, nay, all Nature, was to have been overturn'd by the apprehended whipping of a profligate Prieft.
A fufficient Leflbn is this to all Govern-r ments, how this fort of Men are to be trufted with Power, who dare thus aft in fpite of all Power! and a ftrong Proof to all Men how little Regard is due to the Opinions and Doc- trines of thefe Men, who do not regard their own DocVmes ! who teach what no Man ought to practice, and themfelves will not ! who are perpetually contradicting themfelves, and one another, and yet are never in the Wrong ! and who would not fuffer the meaneft, or worft of their Order, to be fubjecl: to the united and original Power of one of the greateft States in
the World !
Sure this cannot be forgot whilft there is a King, or Liberty, in Ifrael!
&c.
G E N T L E U E Nt
YO U are abus'd : You are blindly govern'd by certain Chiefs, who can have no View but to difpofe of you 5 to make Sale of you for their own proper Advantage, By prating Pedants, and difaflfefted Monks, and by Party- Cries, and Party-Revelling, and Hog/heads of OBober, you are brought to adore this Duke, that Lord, and t'other Knight or Squire 5
and
CATO's LETTERS. 99
and to think that the Publick is undone, un- lefs it be under the fole Management of thefe your Idols, who would effectually undo it. They once had Places: Had you then more Money, more Trade, or more Land and Li- berty, by any wife or virtuous Conduct of theirs, than you have now ? And did they not take that Opportunity of your generous Con- fidence in them, to betray you bafely to France and the Pretender ? And have they not ever ilnce been labouring, by Plots and Rebellion, to accomplish that, which from the Shortnefs of their Reign, and the fudden Change, they could not then accomplifh by Power?
Power and Places are flill their only Aim : And to come at them, you fee they would make War upon Heaven and Earth, and in- volve you in Blood and Popery. But you can- not have Places, Gentlemen : Your only Am- bition ought to be the Security of your Pro- perty, and to live like Freemen. And are you not free ? Is not your Property fecure ? Or can thefe Men accompli/h their Defigns and Con- fpiracies, but at the Expence of your Eftates and your Freedom ? They feek their Grandeur, and all their Advantages, from your Ruin and Servitude. You rnuft pay the whole and long Reckoning at laft. You muft fill the empty Coffers of new Shoals of Banditti t who rnuft be rewarded out of your Pockets for their villanous Merit and pretended Sufferings. You will have a whole and black Flight of Harpies to glut, who with ravenous and un- hallowed Claws will devour your Subftance,
£ i and
lao CATO's LETTERS.
and your Children's Bread. All foreign Debts, all the Demands of Spain and Rome, will be brought upon you for Payment $ and all you have will be too little to fatiate needy Tray- tors, whom you madly want to fave your All y which is not touch'd, nor can be hurt, but by them, and but too little to defend you from them.
Think you to be without Armies ? No : Inftead of occafional Troops, which their wicked Plots and Devices, and your own Dif- affeclion, have brought upon you, you will fee your Country and your Houfes fill'd with Popifh Armies, perhaps foreign Popifli Ar- mies. You will be told, that Proteftant and Englifi ones, which already betray'd the Fa- ther, will betray the Son, and -cannot be trufted : That your frequent Rebellions ren- der you unfit to be rely'd on ; and that if you turn'd out a Proteftant Prince, whom you your felves call'd in, you will be apt, upon the leaft Difguft, or Caprice, to turn out your hereditary King as you did his Father.
Think you that your prefent Debts will be cancell'd, and your Taxes made eafy ? No 5 your Taxes and your Funds will be continued : But inftead of being apply'd, as they are, to pay off lawful Debts contracted for your Security, they will be feiz'd by this new Go- vernment, and call'd lawful Prize. It will be faid, that they were given to keep out your lawful King, and ought to be made ufe of to keep him *in : That if you were fo prodigal of your Wealth for the Support of Rebellion and Faction, can you refufe thefe Reveres,
which
CATO's LETTERS. 101
which are now no longer your own, but in PofTeflion of the Enemies of the Eftablifh- ment, who chiefly gain'd them at firft by Stock-jobbing and Extortion, and now keep them as the Prizes of Di (loyalty and Treajon : Can you refufe thefe Revenues (fo ill gof, and as ill applied) to fecure your lineal Go- vernment founded upon a long SuccefTion of your natural Princes ? Thefe Revenues there- tore, which are now your Property, and the Property of your Neighbours and Relations, will then be united to the Crown, £x an ab- folute Power there, and entail lading and ir- retrievable Slavery upon your felves and your Pofterity, and deftroy at one EloW the whole Property and Trade of three great King- doms. At prefent, if prudent Methods be taken, ( which furely Neceffity muft at latt make us take, ) thefe great Debts may be paid honeftly off, and we may again fee our felves a happy and difengag'd People. But upon fuch a dreadful Turn as the Confpirators in- tended, they will be thrown into a free Gift, and your Taxes will be made perpetual/ to perpetuate your Slavery.
Do you expe£t any Redrefs of any kind from fuch a Parliament as can then bechofen, if any is chofen ? No ; hope it not. All that would ferve you faithfully in ir, will be call'd Enemies and Traytors to the new, and Friends to the late Rebellious Eftablifhment, Such therefore will not dare to offer them- felves to your Choice 5 and, if they did, would be mobb'd, or imprifon^d. You mufi chufe only fuch as are recommended to you, the
E 3 ragged
102 CATO's LETTERS. < ragged and fami/h'd Tribe that are brought over, Men of defperate Fortunes, the beg- garly Plotters againft your prefent Happinefs, fiery and implacable Bigots, half Papifts, en- rag'd Malecontents, or rapacious Vultures $ all gaping for Prey, all determin'd to every Mea- iure of OpprefTion, and to facriflce you and your Country to their Ambition and Want. You will then find time for Repentance, when it is too late, when all the Grievances which you now fo wantonly complain of will fall upon you in earneft, and an hundred Fold, without Hope of Remedy or End.
Nor can this blefled Condition be brought ;jpon you, but after the horrid Prelude of a long and cruel Civil War. You will firft fee your Country in Blood, your Cities burnt, your Houfes plunder 'd, your Cattle taken from you, your Stocks confum'd by Dragoons, and your Sons, your Neighbours, and Rela- tions, murder'd before your Faces. Flatter not your felves, that his Majefty will eafily quit the many^ Thoufands of his Subjects, who will certainly and refolutely ftand by him $ or that he will want the Affiftance of all the foreign Powers who are interested in his Eftabli/hment, or even in making this great Kingdom wretched, impotent, and poor. No, Gentlemen, you will have Armies of Germans and of Dutch pour'd in upon you on one Side, Spaniards and Ruffes on the other, and perhaps French on both Sides. Jrlfi Papifls will come over in Shoals j Hofts of Highlander* will fall like Snow from the North, and all the NeceOirous, the Dtbauck'd, the Ambitious,
the
CATO's LETTERS. 103
the Rapacious, the Extravagant, and the Re- vengeful amongft your felves, will think thefe your Calamities their Harveft : They will ban- quet in your Plunder $ and for a Share of you, will greedily join to devour you. Is this a Condition like that which you now enjoy ?
How would you like to fee your Churches drefs'd up like 'Toy (hops, and Vermin of va- rious Fafhions, Shapes and Colours, crawling about in them, antickly dreis'd up in an hun- dred fantaftical Garments , and the fame Ver- min, at other times, filling and polluting your Streets, haunting your Houfes, debauching and corrupting your Wives, perverting your Children, devouring your Subltance, and lording it over you ? You will hardly know, thus tranfmogrify'd, the old Faces you have been us'd to, the Faces of thefe impious Wretches, who would bring all thefe fright- ful Mifchiefs upon you. That they are ready and prepared for this ungodly Change, is evi- dent from their maintaining and afferting all the vileft and moft formidable Tenets of Popery 5 and by their uniting in all the trai- terous Intrigues, and in all the bafeft and bloodieft Counfels of Papifts. But that the Papifls would protect or prefer them after- wards, is more than doubtful : It is not like- ly that they will trufr. thofe whom by Ex- perience they know no Truft can bind. They know that thofe who have betray 'd you, and a King, who has protected and preferr'd them, will betray alfo even Papifts. They know., that neither Religion, nor Confcience, nor Honefty, nor Hard /hip, has any Share in
E 4 their
jo4 C Arc's LETTERS.
their prefent Difaffeclion, which has its whole Root in Pride and Avarice, and the Lufl of Rapine and Power, and that they will in a Moment turn upon them as foon as the firft Preferments go by them, or they cannot all catch the Preferments and Wealth which they ib immoderately thirft after.
Your prefent Deceivers, therefore, will not then be trufted. All Eccleiiaftical Prizes will be the Prizes of Foreign Ecclefiafticks, or of thofe who have been ever ftaunch Catholicks at Home. The others will be left to certain Contempt, Beggary, and if poffible to Shame. It will not be forgot what fervile Adoration they paid, what hollow Complements they made, to the late King James $ Adoration that bordered upon Blafphemy, and Comple- ments that interfered with the incommuni- cable Attributes of God ! And how faithlefly, how readily afterwards they betray'd him, when all his Favours did not fall in their Lap, and as foon as they found that for them alone his Tyranny was not exerted. It will be re- membred how chearfully, or rather how re- vengefully, they run into the Revolution $ and
when they could not ennrofs the whole Ad- * >
vantages of it, and could rot make King William their Inflrument and fcu'ly, how they were continually libelling King Wittiam and the Revolution, continually prating, preach- ing, and plotting againft both, notwithftand- ing their conftant Oaths, their conftant Abju- rations, and Imprecations.
For
CATO's LETTERS. to?
For God's fake, Gentlemen, think what you are doing : Your Lives, your Eftates, your Religion, your Confcience, your Trade, your Country, your Honour, are all at flake, and you are wantonly throwing them all away $ you are purfuing a falfe and miferable Shadow 5 and it would be happy for you, were it only a Shadow : In reality, you are going to catch in your Embraces, Superftition, Beggary, and Servitude. I approve your Love and Purfuit of Liberty, which ever was, and ever will be, a grateful and charming Sound in my Ears $ and 1 will be always ready to lead you, or to follow you in that virtuous and noble Purfuit, This is Wifdom ! This is Honour! But Ho- nour is to be acquired by honourable Means, and not by Rapine, Perjury, and Murder,
I thank God, we have yet the Means left: within our Constitution to fave our felves^ We have, in fpiteof Malice and Contumelies,, an excellent,, meek, and benevolent Prince,, who has in no one Inftance of his Reign at- tempted to flrain his Prerogative above the Laws j which we defy his bittereft Enemies to fay of the beft of their favourite Kings,. his Predeceflbrs, He has every Difpofiti^n to make a People great and happy, and. will be always ready to gratify them in every Thing they can reafonably ask for their Security, But if we would make cur i el yes fecure, we muft make him fecure. It cannot be denied' but there have been fome Excefles of Power,, and' that we have fuffer'd under many pub- lick Calamities r None of them are, how-
E. 5:
CAfO's LETTERS.
, irnputable to him , but to the Corrup- tion and Intrigues of thofe who betrayed him and us, and to the conilant Conspiracies of Tray tors, wh'ch deterred honefter Men from a ievere Animadverfion upon their Crimes, when they faw thempurfued by thofe who rejoiced in thofe Crimes, with no Defign to reclify Abufes, but to inflame Difcontents.
To whom, Gentlemen, do we owe all our prefcnt Debts and Misfortunes? Even to thofe •jt'ho oosed all the Meafures for raitin ef-
ppo
te&ual Supplies in the firft War, and ended tne iecond by a fcandalous Peace, which left us in Iniecurity and Danger, and made more Taxes and more Debts nece£fary to our Se- curity. To whom, as I have obferv'd in a former Paper, do we owe {landing Armies, iuch frequent Sufpenfions of the Habeas Corpus Bill, and fo many confuming Pennons? Even to thofe, who by their conftant Plots, Con- ipiracies, and Rebellions, ' have given Occa- •hons, or Pretences, for thef* great Evils and ExceflVs. And no-w that they have brought ,?U thefe Mifchiefs, and many more upon us^ :md forced the Government upon Meafurca which perhaps would not have been thought 4-.f> and ccrtairl-y would not have been com- plied with, they would impudently throw ia pan his Majei'ty the Burdens and Imputa- tions, which they alone ought to bear, and impioufiy dethrone him, and undo their Coun- try, for their own Crimes..
You are borru Gentlemen, to Liberty 5 and from it you derive all the Bleilings you pofleis,, Fray what AfFe£l;cn have thefe your Leaders
CATO's LETTERS. 107
ever fhewn to the Caufe of Liberty ? It is plain they have never taken the facred Sound into their Mourhs, but to profane it 5 nor pre- tended to cherifh ir, but in order to deftroy it, and make it an unnatural Ladder to Ty- ranny. As often as Dominion has been in their own Hands, Liberty became a Crime, and a Sign of Sedition 5 and as often as they wanted to deftroy Power, that is, as often as they were out of it, they proflituted the Spi- rit of Liberty to the Service of Treafon. Hence their late Cries for Liberty, to ani- mate you againft a Government that pro- tected it, and under the Pretence of affecting Liberty, to introduce a Tyranny that would deftroy Soul, Body, and Property. They could, however, have made no dangerous Progrefs in this Mifchief and Hypocrify, if thofe who have always profefs'd, and whcfe Intereft it would have been always to have fupported and praclis'd, free and beneficent Principles, had not deferted thofe Principles, and arm'd by that Defertion the Enemies to all that is good and virtuous, with an Opportu- nity of turning Liberty upon her felf, Let the real Friends to the Government fupport the Maxims upon which it ftands, and upon which only it can ftand,. and they have no- thing to fear from the well or ill-grounded Popularity of its Enemies.
Such, Gentlemen, are your Leaders, ani fuch are the Grievances which they caufe and complain of , and to cure them, they would introduce the compleateft and moft compre- e cf all,, a total Overthrow of Church
anxl;
io8 euro's LETTERS.
and State.* They have, reduced us to unhap- py Circumftances ; but let us not make them infinitely worfe, and deftroy our felves for Relief 5 let us not, like filly and peevifh Children, throw away what we are in Pof- feffion of, to attain what is out of our Power^ and which attain'd, would undo us : Let us put on Refolutions fuitable to our prefent Condition. Let all honeft Men join with the greateft Unanimity in all Meafures to preferve 'his Majefty and our Eftablifhment ; and then we may red aflur'd, that his Majefty will do every Thing to preferve us. We may then ask with Confidence, and he will give with Pieafure. When the Kingdom is in this de- Arable Calm and Security, we /hall not need1 io many Troops, nor will his Majefty defire them. We may leflen the publick Expences, pay off gradually the publick Debts, encreafe the Trade, Wealth, and Power of the Na- tion, and be again a rich, eafy, and flourish- ing People.
I cannot help perfwading my felf, that the Gentlemen at prefent in the Adminiftration, who have obferv'd and condemn'd fo juftly, the fatal and unfbccefsful Meafures taken By fome of their Predeceflors, the terrible Con- fequences that have fiow'd from them, and' the dreadful Advantages they gave to the 'com- mon Enemies of his Majefty, of themfelves, and of us all, are already convinced, that there is no Poffibiliiry of preferving our happy Eftabli/liment long, but by gaining and' ca- reffing People, making them eafy and happy, letting- them find their Account in his Ma-
jefty's
C^TO's LETTERS,
jefty's Reign, and giving no Handles for juft Reproach, or Pretences for Contumely, to thofe who would make no other Ufe of them but to deflroy us all.
lam, &c,
GENTLEMEN,
I HAVE already addrefs'd two of thefe Letters to the difaffecled Clergy, and will in this apply my felf to the difa&eded Laity, their Followers.
I cannot help faying, Gentlemen, that it argues your great Lownefs of Senfe, and De- pravity of Manners, to be thus blindly in- flam'd by fuch forfworn Apoftates, fuch lying and difaffe&ed Monks, Men of fuch vile Mo- rals : You fee their unruly Spirit, their unhal- lowed Conduct, their daring and impious Perjuries ; and yet will you be led by them into Wickednefs as great, if poffible, as their own, the Wiekednefs of unprovok'd Rebel- lion 5 and of overthrowing a Government,, which, in Spite of their Malice and Lies, does really protect you in your Religion and Property 5 and of facrificing a Proteftant Church, that you think your felves fond of, to a Popifh Pretender, who is bouud by- his Religion to deflroy it?
And what i,s all thus Noife about? For whofe Sakes* think you* Gentlemen^, all this Com-
no CATO's LETTERS.
buftion is made ? Do you bdieve they are fer- ying your Interefts, or their own ? Have they in any Inftance, or any Age, /hewn any Regard, any Concern for your Perfons, your Religion, or your Intere&s ? If they pre- tend to have done fo,they fpeakas falfly as they fwear. Remember all the Reigns fince Queen Elizabeth's Time; thole Reigns that opprefied you 5 and that Revolution that faved you. Did they not make it the whole Bufi- nefs of their Zeal, of their Addreflfes and their Preachments, to give up your Perfons, your Confciences, and your Fortunes, to the Pleafure and Luft of the Prince, and damn'd you if you defended either? Did they not irnpioufly make our Saviour the Author of their inhuman Nonfenfe, and Christianity a Warrant of Indemnity for oppreffing, robbing, chaining, and killing you ? And did they not fill the Kingdom with Atheiftical Volumes of Sermons, Books, and AddrefTes, and with Compliments and Curfes upon this vile Head ? And have they ever fince exprefly and publickly renounced thefe deftroying Princi- ples? When their own Intereft is concern'd,. no Principles can bind them, as we all fee and know 5 but as to the Power of Princes over Laymen, over you, Gentlemen, have they not always afferted it to be boundlefs and difcretionary, and always left you at the meer Mercy of Royal Luft and Madnefs ? *Tis true, they- will not now fufifer you to bear a Prince whom Laws can bind 5 nor would they formerly fu£fer joa ta preferve your
CAfO's LETTERS, in
felves from Tyrants, which neither God, nor Man, nor the Good of Mankind, could bind.
As foon as the great Queen Elizabeth was dead, who was refolv'd to be truly what fhe was call'd, Head of the Church, and in order to be fo, kept her Priefts in a juft and becom- ing Subordination, and would not fufifer them to meddle with or prate about her Government, (for which to this Day you have never heard them fpare to her Memory one good Word,) and a weak Prince fucceeded her, many of the leading Clergy advanced all the vileft Te- nets of Popery : They declar'd that the Church of Row?, contrary to the exprefs Words of the Homilies, was a true Church, (which they might as juftly havefaidofthe Church of Hell,) at the fame time that they denounced Damna- tion againft foreign and domeftick Proteftants for being no Churches at all : So much did they prefer their own notional Power of Ordi- nation before the Precepts of our Saviour, and the Efientials of Religion. They per- fuaded the King to appoint three Bifheps to reordain the Scotch Presbyters, which put that Kingdom in a Flame, as being in effect told, that they were in a State of Damnation before 5 and that their Ministers had no law- ful Gall to ferve God without Epifccpal Dub- bing. And fo he had like to have loft one. of his Kingdom.?, to gratify the Pride of a few. crack-brain'cl Ecclefiallicks.
Then profefs'd Papifts and Popi/h Princi- ples grew in Rcguefl : Liberty of Gonfcienee was once given to them by Proclamation, and always couniv'd at and indulgVi, whilft
ii2 CATo's LETTERS.
Proteftant DifTenters, and the beft Church- men too, under the odious Name of Puritans were every where revil'd and perfected! Then your Parents firft heard, in this Prote-
fifiS*^ °^the Power of the Key*> ^
Indelible Characler, the Uninterrupted Suc- ceffion, the Real Prefence, the Giving the Ho- iy Ghoft, the Divine Right of Kings^d Bi-
(hops 5 all tending to aggrandize the Clercy, and : enflave the Laity : Then was invented that nonfenfical Apothegm, No Bfi0p, *0 &W .. which his Majefty ecchoing feveral times upon Oath at the Conference at Hampton-Court, the Archbifliop declared, That doubtlefs his Majefly was infpiVd , and fpolce by the %cial Affiftance of God's Spirit. Then the Bifhops thougntit was their Time, with the Archbi/hop at their Head, to prefenta Memo- rial to the King, demanding an Exemption of their Courts from the Civil Jurifdi&on, and the Ecclefiaflical Power was every Day fwellmg, and carried to fucb a Pitch in thi High-Commiffior.-Court, as to draw the Par- liament upon them. And to induce his Ma- jetty to fupport them in their Nonfenfe and Roguery, they made him a Prefent of all your ferlons, Lands-, and Liberties. It became current Doarine amongft the Prerogative Clergy, and Books were publifti'd by°fome of them, and approved and applauded by the reft, to maintain that the King was So/utu: ex %^5 that he need not call Parliaments, but might make Laws without them ; and that it was a Favour to- admit the Confent of in giving
CAfO's LETTERS. 113
This weak Prince left one as weak behind him, who having, as is faid, been once de- ftin'd to the Priefthood, and being a Bigot by Nature as well as Education, the Eccle- iiafticks found in his Reign a proper Seafon, and a proper Soil to fow their Tares in, with a fair Profpeft of a plentiful Harveft. Po- pery came into the Kingdom like a Tor- rent, and arbitrary Power appear'd undifguis'd, and in the moft glaring Colours : The King, by pcfitive Order to the Chancellor, forbids the Laws againft Papifts to be put in Execution 5 and, notwithstanding the con- ftant Protections of Parliaments, protects &o= mips Priefts againft legal Profecutions : Popifh Books were licens'd by LauAj and Prote- ftant ones, which defended the Articles and the Opinions of the eftabliih'd Church, were forbidden, fupprefs'd, and punifh'd in the Star- Chamber. Motwtague^ who wasimpeach'd by Par- liament for his Attempts to introduce Popery, was rot only protected, but made Bifliop of Cbicbrfter. Laud iffu'd Injunctions, by his own Authority, for reforming the Church, and bringing it nearer to Popery : He had the Sau- cinefs to declare publicity, That he hop'd to fee the Time when no Jack Gentleman fhould dare to keep on his Hat before the meanef! Curate. The Bi/hops difciaim'd all Jurifdiftion from the Crown in Baftu>ic"s Tryal, and the Inde- pendance of the Church-upon the State was openly affer ted. Then came in the Altar, and the unbloody Sacrifice upon it, and the antick and fopifh Confecration of Churches and Church- Yards, with many other Monki/h
Fool-
ii4 CAT(f* LETTERS. I
Fooleries, to draw us to a nearer Conformity with Rome.
And as Priefkraft and Tyranny are ever fn- feparable, and go hand-in-hand, infinite other Oppreffions were brought upon the poor Peo- ple, and proved by the Priefts to be Jure Divino, as, unlawful Imprifonments, various Monopolies, extorted Loans, numerous Taxes $ all levied without Authority of Parliament. $fylorp and Manivaring, two of Laud's Crea- tures, were fet on to preach, that the King was not bound by the Laws of the Land 5 and that the King's Royal Will, in impofing- Loans and Taxes, did oblige the Subject's Confcience on Pain of Damnation: And his Majefty fent a fpecial Mandate to Archbifnop j&boty to licence thofe Sermons $ and he was fufpended for not doing it. And then it feems it was lawful to fufpend the greateft Clergy- man, and firft Subject of England, for doing his Duty and preferving the Laws $ and now it is a facrilegious Ufurpation of the Divine Rights of the Clergy,, to deprive a Bifhop for the moft traiterous Confpiracy againft his King, his Country, and the Religion he him- felf profefles. To make good all thefe In- vafions upon publick Liberty, a German Army was contracted for 5 and fome Time after, an Irljh and Popifi one was actually rais'd by Str afford in Ireland.
During thefe Reigns, all the High Clergy were the profefs'd Trumpets, the Setting- Dogs, and fpiritual Janizaries of Govern- ments, which us'd you like Cattle, andfbrved you, or flew you for Profit and Sport. They
made
CA fO's LETTERS. nj
made you confpire againft your felves, by a^ larming your Confciences, and filling them with blind and unnatural Refignntion to all the ExcefTes of Cruelty, Plunder, Oppreffion, Killing, Servitude, and every Species of in- human Barbarity 5 but now that you are pro- tefted and iecure in ftanding Laws, which the Adminiftration has never pretended to dif- penfe with 5 when you have the full Enjoy- .ment of your Confciences, which the Govern- ment in no Infbnce re/trains ; when you are fecure in your Elates and Property, whici> the Government does not touch, nor pretends any Right to touch 5 when you have as muck Liberty as Mankind can under any Go- vernment pofTefs, a Liberty which goes to the very Borders of Licentioufnefs : I fay, under all thefe Bleiilngs, Bleflings unknown almoft to all Men, but En^lifl) Men , will thefe implacable and fteady Impoftors let you alone ? Are not their fpiritual Goads continual- ly in your Sides, ftimulating you to renounce your Undemanding, your Freedom, your Safety, your Religion, your Honefty, your Confcience 5 and to deftroy the Source of all your Happinefs and Enjoyments, religious and fecular 5 and to exchange a free Govern- ment, and every Thing that is valuable upon Earth, for the Cruelty, Madnefs, Chains, Mi- fery, and Deformity of Popery, and of Po- pifh Tyranny ?
Look back, Gentlemen, once more, to later Reigns : What Teftimony did they bear a- gainil the bare-faced Encouragement of Po- pery, and the Perfecution of Proteftants in
Charles
n6 CATo's LETTERS.
Charles IPs Reign, againft his fatal Treaties I and Leagues with francf.± his unjuft Wars] with the United Provinces, an4 his treacherous Seizure of their Smyrhz Fleet, to deftroy the only State in the World that could be then call'd the Bullwark of Liberty and the Pro- teftant Religion ? What did they fay againft the terrible Exceffes, the arbitrary Imprifon- | ments, the legal Murders, and Violation of Property, during his Reign ? Did they not en- courage and fanaify all the Invafions and Encroachments of the Court, and curfed all who oppos'd them, or complained of them? Can they have the Forehead to complain of Armies, of Taxes, or any fort of Oppreflton, (however juft fuch Complains may be in others,) they who have never fhewn them* felves for any Government, but what fubfifted by Armies and Oppreffion? They have been I always mortal Foes to popular Liberty, which thwarts and fruftrates all their afpiring infatiable Views, and in every favourite Reign preach'd it as impioufly down, as they preach- ed up every growing and heavy Opprefliom
Nor did they ever quarrel with Kins %mesy but confecrate all his Ufurpations, "his Ar- mies, and difpenfing Power, till he gave Liberty of Confcience to Diffenters, and till fome of their own ili-contriv'd Oppreflions were brought Home to their own Doors 5 and then they curfed their King, and help'd to fend him a begging. They reYifted him, and upon their Principles were Rebels to him, and animated others to be fo, and have been dam- ning you and the Nation for that Refinance
ever
CAfO's LETTERS. 117
ever fince ? Which is a full Confefiion, That when a Popifii Tyrant plunders and oppreffes you, you neithe_r can or ought to have any Remedy j but it' he touches but a Tythe-Pig or Surplice of theirs, their Heel is ready to be lifted up againft him, and their Hands to throw the Crown from his Head, and to put it upon another, with frefh Oaths of Allegiance and Obedience $ and to pull it off again in fpite of thofe Oaths, or without any Forfei- ture, or any juft Provocation. Is not this in- famous Conduct of theirs manifeft to Sight ? Does it not ftare you and every "Bri- ton in the Face ? And yet will you be implicitly led by fuch Traytors to God, to Truth, and to you?
How did they behave towards King IPil- liam^ whom they themfelves invited over? As foon as he gave Liberty of Confcience to Proteftant Diflenters, and he let them fee that he would not be a blind Tool to a priefl- ly Faction, but would equally protect all his Subjects who were faithful to him, and had fet himfelf at the Head of the Proteftant Intereft, and every Year hazarded his Perfcn in dangerous Battles and Sieges for the Liber- ty of England and of Europe, againft the moft dreadful Scourge and OppreiTor of Man- kind that ever plagued the Earth ; they were perpetually preaching and ha ranging, al- ways calumniating, reviling, diftrefling, and plotting againft him, and endeavouring to ren- der all his Meafures, all his generous Attempts for their own Security, abortive and ineffec- tual.
n8 CA TO's LETT E R S. I
tual. Nor did they ufe the late Queen, their , own favourite Queen, or even thofe of their own Party, who ferved her faithfully, one Jot better, till {he fell into the Hands of a few defperate Traytors to herfelf and them ? who i gave away all the Advantages of a long, expen- five, and fuccefsful War , put France into a Condition to again enflave Eurofe, and to place a Popifli Traytor, and an attainted Fu- gitive upon the Throne of thefe Kingdoms, (which he had undoubtedly done, if un- forefeen Accidents had not prevented it). And then what Encomiums, what Panegyricks, what fulfomeand blafphemous Flattery, did they beftow upon her Perfon and Actions, and have done fo ever fince ?
Is not this, Gentlemen, ufing you like Slaves, and worfe than Spaniels, making you the tame Vaflals of Tyrants, and reftlefs Re- bels to lawful Governors ? Is not this ufing you like infenfible Inftruments, void of Reafon, and of Confcience, of Prudence, and of Property? Is this Teaching! this the Price of their Revenues and Eafe ! this the Function of Minifters ! or can human Invention, anima- ted and aided by human Malice, draw the Character of more unlimited, mercilefs, and ontrageous Enemies ?
J AM) ckc.
LETTERS, up
GENTLEMEN,
AS I have in my laft and former Papers given you fome faint Images of the Hypo- crify, Pride, Tyranny, Perjury, Atheifm, and reftlefs Ambition of the Jacobite and Difaffec- ted Clergy, who conftantly miflead you, and conftantly abufe you 5 f o I fhall in this inform you what are their Views, what is the Butt and Mark, to which they direct all their Actions , what the Idol to which they facri- fice their Honour, their Confcience, their Religion, and their God. It is, Gentlemen, to their Ambition and Pride : It is to get you into their Power 5 to have the Difppfal of your Perfons, your Opinions, and your Eftates 5 and to make you ignorant, miferable and flaviih, whilft they riot up- on your Fortunes, and prey upon your In- duftry. They look abroad with envious and wifhing Eyes at the Revenues, Grandeur, and Power of the Romife Clergy 5 and remember with Regret, how they loft all thofe fine Things at the Reformation, and they have ne- ver loft Sight of them fince, but have been con- ftantly involving you in Factions, in Mifery, and often in Blood, to recover them again.
Popery is the moft dreadful Machine, the utmoft Stretch of human Politicks, that ever was invented amongft Men to aggrandize
and
no CAfO's LETTERS.
and enrich the Clergy, and to opprefs and en* : {lave the Laity. All its Do&rines, all its Views, all its Artifices, are calculated for the i fole Advantage of the Priefts, and the De- j ftru&ion of the People, at the Expence of Vir- ; tue, good Government, common Senfe, and the Gofpel. It is an open Confpiracy of the Ecclefiafticks, againft all the reft of Man- kind, to rob them of their Eftates, of their Con- , fciences, and their Senfes $ and to make them the Dupes and tame Vaflals of fwacy and ambitious Pedants. Look, Gentlemen, into their Doctrines and their Practices, and fee whether you can find the leaft Appearance of Honour , Morality , common Honefty , or Religion in them, or any thing but Pride, Hypocrify, Fraud, Tyranny, and Domination. What do they mean by the Power of the Keys, of Binding and Looilng, of Excommu- nication, of their being Mediators and Inter- ceflbrs between God and you, by their pardon^ ing Sins, and their having the fole Power of giving the Sacraments, which they tell you are neceffary to Salvation, and their Doc- trines about Purgatory, but to perfuade you, if you are foolifh enough to believe them, that your future Happinefs and Mifery de- pend upon them ? And then they well know that you will give the moft you have in this World, to be fecure in the next.
What do they intend by telling you that Bifhops are Jure Divino, by the Power of Or- dination 5 and that they can alone make one another j the indeliable Character, their unin- terrupted Succdfton from the Apoftlesj by
their
's LETTERS. 121
their being able to give the Holy Ghoft, and having it themfelves j but to create Reverence to their Perfons, Submiffion to their Authority, and to render themfelves independent on the Civil Government ? And then they know the Civil Government will be dependent on them. What Purpoles does it ferve, to make you believe that Tythes (which they hold by Laws of your making) are Jure Divino $ that it is Sacrilege to refume Lands or Do. nations, once given to the Clergy ; and that they can never afterwards be alienated 5 but conitantly to encreafe their Riches, and con- fequently their Power, and Dependance, till by the natural Courfe of Things they come to be poflefs'd of all ? What do they mean by their Holy Water, their Extreme Undlion, their Exorcifms , their Confecration of Churches and Church- Yards, and their abfurd Notion of Tranfubftantiation, but to gain A- deration to the priefily Character, as if he was able by a few canting Words to change the Nature of Things, blefs dead Earth and Walls, and make a God out of Meal ? Why fo many Monafteries and Nunneries, fo many religi- ous Orders of Men and Women, io many Fraternities, Colleges, and Societies of dif- ferent Kinds, but to engage great Numbers of young People and potent Families in their In- terefl ? Why fo many antick Garbs, fo many rich Veftments, fo many gaudy Shrines, fo ma- ny deck'd Images ufed in their Worfhip, and fo much pompous Devotion ? Why Organs and fo much Mufick, fo many Singing-Men and Singing-Boys, but to attrad the Eyes and VOL, IV. F Ears,
i-22 NATO's LETTERS.
'Ears, and to. amufe the Understandings of •the gaping Herd, and to make them forget tfheir Senfes, and the plain natural Religion of the'Gofpel, and to engage Men and Ladies of rieafure in the Interefis of fo agreeable a De- motion ?
How comes it to be a Part of Religion, not to confefs our Sins to God, but to the •Pri-eft? It lets him into all the Secrets of Fa- milies, the Power of impofing what fevere Pe- nances he pleafes upon fuperftitious Penitents, and of commuting for thofe Penances j ac- quaints him with all Defigns to the Difad- •vantage of his Order ; gives him Opportunities •of debauching Women himfelf, and procu- ring them for others $ and holds them devo- ted to his Will, by the Knowledge of their moft important Concerns. And laftly, what «lo they mean by the terrible Engine of the Inquifition, and by their hellifh Doctrine of Peifecution for Opinions j but to keep all Men in A we of them, and to terrify thofe whom they cannot deceive? Thefe are the favourite Do£lrines of Popery! Thefe the DocTrines .they are concerned for ! If you are rich, or powerful, you may be as wicked as you pleafe, and no Body ihall moleft you , nay, the Priefls ihall be r^ady to aflift you, to^pimp for you, and to pardon you. The fame is true of the fpeculative Opinions held by that Church, that do not a fife ft their Power and Pride: They fuffer their Orders to differ about them, and <lo not trouble themfelves what the Peo- ple believe concerning them j nor are any of the People at all concerned I'D them. The
abfurd '
CAltfs LETTERS, 123
-
abfurd Notions and ridiculous Wor/hip of the PapiMs are only foolifh Things 5 but the Pow- er of Popery is a terrible Thing. If a Man adores rotten Bones, and ufes antick Geftures towards them, he makes a Fool of himfelf, but hurts not me, but if he would fob me* torture me, or burn me, for not playing the Fool too, it is Time to keep him at a Di- ilance, or to hold his Hands. It is the Power of Popery, the cruel, the infatiable, the kil- ling Spirit of Popery, that is to be dreaded. This, Gentlemen, is the Power, this the ter- rible Condition that many of your Proteftant Inftru6K)rs would bring you under, and which you are to guard againft.
Thefe wicked Doctrines, thefe abfurd Opi- nions, were all aboli/h'd, all renounc'd by the firft Reformers, but were kept alive by the corrupt Part of the Clergy, and have been growing upon you ever fince : They have been conniv'd at by fome, openly afTerted by others, and, I wifli I could fay, as openly difcountenanc'd by the reft. It would fill a Volume, inftead of a Paper, to enumerate all the Clergymen, in the higheft Repute a- mongft their own Order, who have abetted moft, if not all of thefe monilrous Opinions $ and 1 have heard as yet of none of them who have been cenfur'd by any publick A61 of their Body. I do confefs, many of the Corrupt a- mongft them have. renounc'd the Pope's Au- thority, as believing they might find fairer Quarter from a King they educated, and hop'd to govern, than from a foreign Prelate, and his needy Priefts, who would plunder
"F 2 therrij
CATO's LETTERS.
them, opprefs them, and give away their Revenues to his Creatures, and to lazy Monks and Fryars, and they hoped too, forae favour- able Opportunities might happen to get away the Regale from the Crown $ and we never had a Prince whom they could intirely go- vern, or who would not be govern'd at all by them, but they have laid Claim to it, and attempted it. But what flood always in their Way, and made all thefe Deflgns im- practicable, was the Power of Parliament, and the Liberties of the People, who preferv'd the Prerogative of the Crown to preferve themfelves $ and therefore they levell'd all their Batteries againft publick Liberty, and to make the Prince abfolute, as finding it much eafler to flatter, miflead, or bargain with one Man, (and often a weak one,) than to de- ceive a whole People, and make them con- fpire againft themfelves $ and if Perfuaiion, Bigottry, and Fear, would not make him practicable to their Defrgns, they knew that Poifon and the Dagger were at Hand.
But now two hundred Years Experience has convinc'd them, that the People will not fuffer the Crown to part with the Regale, nor would they themfelves part with their Liberty 5 and till they do fo, there is no Pcffibility of fettling a pompous Hierachy, and gaining the Domination they afpire to $ and therefore they are reduc'd to accept bare- fac'd Popery, and throw themfelves under the Protection of the Holy Father : And that Is the Game they are now playing. What elfe, Gentlemen, can they propofe by a Po-
pifli
CATo's LETTERS. 125
pifn Revolution, but to fhare in the Power and Tyranny that attends it ? They have not fufficient Stipends for the daily Miichiefs they do : They want greater Revenues, and an Ecclefiaftical Inquifition. Now, at whofe Expence think you muft: this Accumulation of Wealth which they thirft for be acquir'd ? How muft this Babel of Authority which they pant after be rais'd ? Not at the Expence of the Pretender, by whofe AfTiftance they mull: gain them : No, Gentlemen, from your Cof- fers thefe Riches muft be drain'd : Over you this Tyranny muft be exercis'd : The utter Extinction of your Liberties muft conftitute their Grandeur : The final Seizure of your Lands and Properties muft fupport their Do- mination : You muft be the poor harafs'd Slaves of a monftrous two-headed Tyranny, and be conftantly and inhumanly crufh'd between the upper and the nether Miiftone of the Regale and Pontificate, and, in any Difpute betwixt them, be given to Satan on one Side, and to the Executioner on both.
Many of you are in PoiTeflion of Impro- priations, and of Abbey-Lands, and are pro- tected by the Conftitution in thofcPoffeffions, which thefe reverend Cheats would rob you of , and only want an arbitrary and a Popifn Government te enable them to commit that Robbery, to ftrip you to the Skin, and to reduce the Englifb Laity to be once more hum- ble Cottagers and Vaflals to the Monks, Fry- ars, and other Eeclefiaftical Gluttons, to whom the whole Riches of a great Nation will be no more than fufficient Wages for
F 3 cheat-
I2S CATO's LETTERS.
cheating and oppreffing it. I bring you* Gentlemen,, no falfe Charge againft the Jaco- bite Clerer : Do they not claim vour Eftates
J
publickly from the Prefs and the Pulpit 5 and from the Pulpit and the Prefs charge you with Sacrilege, and damn you for keeping them ? Yes, Gentlemen, thefe reverend and (elf-deny- ing Teachers damn you for keeping your own legal j^cfTefftons, and for eating your own Bread. Now I would leave you to reafon upon this Conduct of theirs, to confider how nearly it affects you, and whether it tends, nnd what Sort of Proteflants thefe Doctors are. If the Publick takes nothing from them which they occupied flnce the Reformation, why fhould they deftroy the Government, but 5n hopes of deflroying the Reformation, to get PoffeiBon of Popifh Lands, and Popifh Power j which, while the Reformation and the Government fubfiff, they can never pofTefs.
That this, Gentlemen, is what they aim atv \is impoffible to doubt. Lejlc}\ long their ^Favourite and Director, who knew their Inclinations, knew their Views, and the beft Way to apply to them, and to gain them, in his Letter to the Clergy, (as I think it was,) which was to ufher in the Rebellion at the Beginning of his Majefty's Reign, promifes them an Independance upon the Crown, and that they fhould chufe their own Bifhops. It is Dominion, it is Power, they court 5 it is themfelves they adore ^ When have they con- fider'd you, or your Interefts, when they thought they could make a Bargain for them- fdves ? When King James apply'd to the Bifhops.
upon
CAT&s LETTERS. 127
upon his Fears of an Invafion from your great Deliverer, and defired them to propofe the Nation's Grievances, what Grievances did they reprefent but their own trifling Com- plaints? They faid nothing of Sranding-Arrnies, how much icever they complain of them now, WTho are their Favourites ? Even Papifls and Nonjurors, known Rebels,, or Men of rebellious Principles, the moft ambitious and wicked amongft the Clergy, and. the moil: debauch'd and ftupid amongft the Laity,, "What Sermons have they preach'd,. what Books-, have they wrote, againft Popery,, though their. Flocks are every Day decreasing ? What Ex- hortations againft Popifh Principles, which are conftantly growing upon us? Whom do. they treat as their avow'd Enemies, but the Friends to the Revolution, the moft fted- dy Friends to the Eftabliftiment they have fworn to, the ProteftantDiflenters, and fuch of their own Body as regard their Oaths, and the Principles of the Reformation? What have you gained by all the Favours lately fhewn to them ? Which of them have been oblig'cl, by thefe Conceffions ? You have given them the Firft Fruits: Yrou have in effecl: repeal'd the Statute of Mortmain: You have given them a fhorter Method to recover their Tithes s You have encreas'd their Number and FJches by building more Churches: Yoii* have fate ftill, whilft they have been deftroying- the Modus'* through England, buying up you?, Advowfon?, and extorting upon their Te- nants, and making thole Eftates more pre- carious, which were always before elieem'd
F 4, ' ass
CATo's LETTERS.
as certain Interefts as any in Great 'Britain: las all this obiig'd them? Has it taught them Moderation? On the contrary, it en~ creafes their Demands upon you. Be afTur'd, they will never be fatisfy'd, never think they have enough whilfl you have a.Penny left 5 and-when they have got all your Lands, they nuifl ride and enflave your Perfons.
Will you bear, Gentlemen, fuch conftant and jmpudent Infults ? Will you ftill be go- vern d by fuch abandon'd Deceivers ? Are you Men, free Men, rational Men, and will you bear this wild and prieftly War againft human Nature, againft Freedom, and againft Reafon? Will you indeed believe them, when they pretend any Regard to you and your Interest ? And is it upon your Score that they pra.aice Perjury andRebellion themfelves, and promote it in others ?
I ant) &c.
S I I?,
WHEN, in King William^ Reign, the Queftion was in Debate, Whether En- gland fhould be rul'd by Standing Armies ? the Argument commonly us'd by fome who had the Preemption to call themfelves Whigs, and own'd in the Ballancing Letter, (fuppos'd to be written by one who gave the World to all the reft) was, That all Governments
mud
Carp's LETTERS. 129
muft have their Periods one Time or other s and when that Time came, all Endeavours to preferve Liberty were fruitless 5 and fhrewd Hints were given in that Letter, that England was reduced to fuch a Condition 5 that our Corruptions were fo great, and the Difla • tisfaftion of the People was fo general, that the publick Safety could not be pre- ferved, but by encreaiing the Power of the Crown: And this Argument was us'd by thofe fhamelefs Men, who had caus'd all that Corruption, and all that DiflTatisfaclion.
But that Gentleman and his Followers were foon taught to fpeak other Language: They wereremov'd from the Capacity of per- plexing publick Affairs any more : The Nati- on fhew'd a Spirit that would not fubmit to Slavery 5 and their unhappy and betray'd Mafter, from being the moft popular Prince who ever fat upon the Englijl Throne, became, through the Treachery of his Servants, fuf- , peeled by many of his beft Subjects, and was render'd unable, by their Jealoufies, to defend himfelf and them , and fo confidera- ble a Faction was form'd agamft his Adminiftra- tion, that no good Man can reflec't without Concern and Horror, on the Difficulties which that Great and Good King was reduced to grapple with, during the Remainder of his troublefome Reign.
I have lately met with fome Creatures and Tools of Power, who fpeak the fame Lan- guage now : They tell us, that Matters are come to that Pafs, that we muft either receive the Pretender, or keep him out with Bribes
•F ? and
- CAf'0% LETTERS.
and Standing Armies: That the Nation is corrupt, that there is no governing it by any other Means : And, in jhort, that we mult fubmit to. this great Evil, to prevent a greater 5. as if any Mifchief could be more terrible than the higheft and moft terrible of all Mifchiefs,, universal Corruption, and a military Govern- ment. It is indeed impoffible for the Subtil- t-y of Traitors, the Malice of Devils, or for the Cunning and Cruelty of our moft implaca- ble Enemies, to fuggefl- ftronger Motives for- the undermining and Overthrow of our ex- cellent Eflabli/hmenf, which is built upon the Eteil ruction of Tyranny, and can fland upon no. other Bottom. It is Madnefs in Ex- tremity, to hope that a Government founded upon Liberty, and the free Choice of the A£ fertors of it, can be fupported by other Prin- ciples. 5 and whoever would maintain it by Contrary ones,, intends to blow it up, let him alledga what he will.. This gives me every Bay new Reafons to believe what 1 have long* fi'Jpecled 5 for if ever a Queftion Ihould a- rife2.. Whether- a Nation fhall fijbmit to certain R-uin, or ftruggle for a Remedy? thefe Gen- •riemen well know which Side they will chufe9 and: certainly intend that which they muft chufe..
I am willing to think, that- thefe impotent Babblers fpeak not the Senfe of their Supe- •riors, but woi;ld make fervile Court to them from Topicks whi'ch they -abhor. Their Su- periors muft know-, that it is Raving and Phrenzy to affirm, that a free People can be long governed by impotent Terrors 5 that Mil-.
lions
C'A-TO's LET TE R'S. 131;
lions will confent to be ruin'd by the Corrup- tions of a few, or that thofe few will join in, their Ruin any longer than the Corruption* lails : That every Day new and greater De- mands will rife upon the Corruptors j that no Revenue, how great foever, will feed the Voracioufnefs of the Corrupted 5 and that every Difappointment will make them turn upon the OpprefTors of their Country, and fall into its true Intereft and their own : That there is no Way in Nature to preferve a Revolution in Government, but by making the People eafy under it, and Shewing them their Interefi in it 5 and that Corruption, Bri- bery, and Terrors, will make no larting Friends;,, but infinite and implacable Enemies 5 and that the beft Security of a Prince amongft a free People, is the. Affections of his People,, which he can a] . .,ys gain by making- their/ Imereft his own, and by /hewing that all his Views tend to their Good. They will , then, as they love themfelves, love him, and defend him who defends them. Upon thii faithful Bafis, h:s Safety will be better efta- blifh'd, th.m upon the ambitious and varia- ble Leaders of a few Legions, who may be corrupted, difoblig'd, or furpriz'd, and- ofti'ii- have been fo 5 and hence great Revolution'; have been brought about, and great Nations undone, only by the Revolt of fingle- Regi- ments..
Shew a Nation their Intered, and they will, certainly fall into it: A whole People can have no Ambition but to be govern'd juitly •*• and when they are, fo, v the Intrigues and
CA TO's LETTERS.
of Particulars will fall upon their own Heads. What has any of o.ur for- mer Courts ever got by Corruption, but to difaffecT: the People, and weaken themfelves ? Let us now think of other Methods, if it is only for the Sake of the Experiment. The Ways of Corruption have been tried long enough in paft Administrations : Let us try in this what publick Honefty will do ; and not condemn it, before we have fully prov'd it, and found -it ineffectual ; and it will be Time enough to try other Methods, when this foils,
That we muft either receive the Pretender, or keep up great Armies to keep him out, is frightful and unnatural Language to En- llljh Ears : It is an odd Way of dealing with us, that of offering us, or forcing upon us, an Alternative, where the Side which they would recommend, is full as formidable as the Side from which they would terrify u-s. If we are to be govern'd by Armies, it is all one to us, whether they be Proteftant or Popi/h Armies $ the DiftincTrion is ridiculous, like that between a good and a bad Tyranny : We fee, in Effect, thar it is the Power and Arms of a Country, that forms and direfls the Religion of a Country $ and I have be- fore /hewn, that true Religion cannot fub- M, where true Liberty does not. Jt was chiefly, if not wholly King James's ufurp'd Power, and his many Forces, and not his being a Papift, that rendered him dreadful to his People. Military Governments are all alike 5 nor does the Liberty and Property
o.f
CATO's LETTERS. 133
of the Subject fare a bit the better or the worfe, for the Faith and Opinion of the Soldiery. Nor does an Arbitrary Proteftant Prince ute his People better than an Arbitra- ry Popifh Prince 3 and we have feen both Sorts of them changing the Religion of their Country, according to their Luft.
They are therefore ftupid Politicians, who would derive Advantages from a Diftinclion which is manifeflly without a Difference : It is like, however, that they may improve in their Subtilties, and come, in time, to diftin- guifh between corrupt Corruption, and uncor- rupt Corruption, between a good ill Admini- ftration, and an ill good Adminiftration, between oppreffive Oppreffion, and unop- preflive Oppreffion, and between French Dra- gooning and Enghjh Dragooning 5 for there is fcarce any other new Pitch of Nonfenfe and Con tradition left to fuch Men in their Reafonings upon Publick Affairs, and in the Part they acl: in them.
Of a Piece with the reft, is the fiupid Cun- ning of fome Sort of Statefmen, and praclis'd by moft Foreign Courts, to blame the poor People for the Mifery they bring upon them. They fay they are extremely corrupt, and fo keep them fhrving and enflav'd by Way of Protection. They corrupt them by all manner of Ways and Inventions, and then reproach them for being corrupt. A whole Nation cannot be bribed, and if its Re- prefentatives are, it is not the Fault, but the Misfortune, of the Nation : And if the Cor- rupt fave themfeives by corrupting others,
the
C^TO's LETTERS;
the People who fuffer by the Corruptions of both, are to be pitied, -and not abus'd. Ko- thing can be more fhamelefs and provoking, than to bring a Nation by execrable Frauds and Extortions, . againft its daily Protections and Remonftrances, into a miferable pafs, and, then father all thofe Villanies upon the Peo- ple who would have gladly hang'd the Au- thors of them. At Rome, the whole People could be entertain'd, feafted, and bribed , but it is not fo elfewhere, where the People are too numerous, and too far fpread, to be de- bauch'd, cajol'd, and purchas'd 5 and if any of their Leaders are, it is without the Peo- ple's Confent.
There is fcarcefuch a Thing under the Sun as a corrupt People, where the Government is uncorrupt : It is that, and that alone, which makes them fo $ and to calumniate them for what they do not feek, but fufter by, is as great Impudence as it would be, to knock a Man down, and then rail at him for hurting himfelf. In what Inftances- do the People of any Country in the World throw away their Money by Millions, uiilefs by trufting it to thofe who do fo ? Where do the People iend great Fleets, at a great Charge, to be frozen up in one Climate, or to be'eaten out by Worms in another, unlefs for their Trade and Advantage ? Where do the People enter into mad Wars againft their Interefr, or,, after vic~lorious ones, make Peace,, without stipulating for one new Advantage for themfelves ^ but, on the contrary, pay the. Enemy for having beaten them?. Where.
do
LETTERS. 135
do the People plant Colonies or purchafe Provinces, at a vaft Expence, without reap- ing, or expecting to reap, one Farthing from them, and yet iUll defend them at a further Expence ? Where do the People make di- {haded Bargains, to get imaginary Milli- ons, and after having loit by fuch Bargains almoft all the real Millions they had, yet give more Millions to get rid of them? What wife or dutiful People confents to be without the Influence of the Prefence of their Prince, and of his Venues, or of thofe of his Fami- ly, who are to come after him ? No, .
thefe Things are never done by any People 5 but wherever they are done, they are done w thout their Cv^-ntj and yet all thefe Things have been «ione informer Ages, and in neighbouring Kingdoms.
For fuch guilty and corrupt Men, there- fore, to charge the People with Corruption, whom either they have corrupted, or cannot corrupt, and, having brought great Mifery upon them, to threaten them with more 5 is, in effect, to tell them plainly, " Gentlemen, '* we have us'd you very ill, for which you. " who are innocent of it, are to blarney ** we therefore find it neceffary, for your, 11 Good, to ufe you no better, or rather " worfe : And if you will not accept of «* this our Kindnefs, which, however, we will <fr force upon you, if we can, we will give " you up into the terrible Hands of raw Head " and bloody Bones • who, being your Enemy, " may do you as much M fchief as we, *** who are your. Friends, have done you."
1
CATO's LETTERS.
I appeal to common Senfe, Whether this be not the Sum of fuch Threats and Reafon- ings in their native Colours.
The Partisans of Oliver Cromwell, when he was meditating Tyranny over the Three Na- tions, gave our, that it was the only Expe- dient to ballance Factions, and to keep out Cbaries Stuart :, and fo they did worfe Things to keep him our, than he could have done if they had let him in. And, after that King's Restoration, when there was an At- tempt made to make him abfolute, by enabling him to raife Money without Parliament, (an Attempt which every Courtier, except Lord Clarendon, came into) it was alledg'd to be the only Expedient to keep the Nation from falling back into a Commonwealth 5 as if any Commonwealth upon Earth was not better than any Abfolute Monarchy. His Courtiers forefaw, that by their mad and extra- vagant Meafures, they Should make the Nation mad, and were willing to fave them- felves by the final Deftruclion of the Nation 3 they therefore employ 'd their Creatures to whifper abroad flupid and villanous Reafons, why People fhould be content to be finally undone, left fomething not near fo bad, fhould befall them.
Thofe who have, by abufing a Nation, for- feited its Afreclione, will never be for trufting a People, who, they know, do juftly deteft them 5 but having procured their Averfion and Enmity, will be for fortifying themfelves againfV it by all proper Ways $ and the Ways of Corruptions Depredation and Force,
being
CAfO's LETTERS. 137
being the only proper ones, they will not fail to be praclis'd 5 and thofe who practice them, when they can no longer deny them, will be finding Reafons to juflify them 5 and, becaufe they dare not avow the true Rea- fons, they muft find fuch falfe ones as are moft likely to amufe and terrify : And hence fo much Nonfenfe and Improbability utter'd in that Reign, and fometimes fince, to vindi- cate guilty Men, and vilify an innocent Pec- pie, who were fo extravagantly fond of that Prince, that their Liberties were almoft gone, before they would believe them in Dan- ger.
It is as certain, that King James II. wan- ted no Army to help him to preferve the Con- ftitution, nor to reconcile the People to their own Intereft : But, as he intended to invade and deftroy both, nothing but Corruption and a Standing Army could enable him to do it 5 and (thank God) even his Army fail'd him, when he brought in Irijb Troops to help them. This therefore was his true De- fign $ but his Pretences were very different : He Pleaded the Neceffity of his Affairs, nay, of Publick Affairs, and of keeping up a good Standing Force to Preferve his Kingdoms, forfooth, from Infults at home and from abroad. This was the Bait 5 but his People, who had no longer any Faith in him, and to whom the Hook appear'd threatning and bare, would not believe him, nor fwallowit; and if they were jealous of him, reftlefs under him, and ready to rife againft him, he gave them fuffici- ent Gaufe. He, was under no Hardfhip nor
Necef-
CATo's LETTERS,
Neceffity but what he created to himfelf, nor did his People withdraw their Affeftions from him, till he had withdrawn his Right to thofe Affeftions. ^Thofe who have usvd you ill, will never forgive you 5 and it is no new Thing wantonly to make an Enemy, and then to calumniate and deftroy him for being fo.
When People, through continual ill^Uftge,
grow weary of their prefent ill Condition,
'they will be fo far from being frightened with
a Change, that they will wifh for one 5 and
inftead of terrifying them, by threatniiag them
with one, you do but pleafe them, even in
Inflances where they have no Reafon to be
pleas'd. Make them happy, and they will
dread any Change 5 but while they are ill us'd,
they will not fear the won't. The Authors of
publick Mifery and Plunder, may feek their
only Safety .in general Defolation 5 bur> to the
People, nothing can be worfe than Ruin,
from what Hand foever it comes : A Proteftant
Musket kills as fure as a Popi/h one 5 and an
Oppreflbr is an Oppreflbr, to whatever Church
he belongs : The Sword and the Gun are of
every Church, and fo are the Inflruments of
Oppreffion. The late Directors were all ftanch
Protetlants 5 and Cromwell had a violent Aver-
iion to Popery.
We are, doubtlefs, under great Neceffi- ties in our prefent Circumftances 5 but to increafe them, in order to cure them, would be a prepofterous Remedy, worthy only of them who brought them upon us 5 and who,, if they had common Shame in them, would; conceal, as far as they could, under Silence,
the,
CATo's LETT ERS. 139
the heavy Evils, which, tho' they lie upon every Man's Shoulders, yet lie only at the Doors of a few. The Plea of NecefRtv. if
-. . * -
it can betaken, will juftify any Mifchief, and the worft Mifchiefs. Private Neceflity makes Men Thieves and Robbers, but publick Ne- cefiity requires that Robbers of all Sizes fhould be hang'd. Publick NeceiUty there- fore, and the Neceflity of fuch pedant Poli- ticians, are different and cppofite Things, There is no Doubt, but Men guilty of great Crimes, would be glad of an enormous Power to protect them in the greateft 5 and then tell us there is a Keceifity, for it. Thofe againft whom Juftice is arm VI, will ever talk thus, and ever think it neceffary to difarm her. But whatever fincere Services they may mean to themfelves by if, they can mean none to his Majefty, who would be undone with his Subjects, by fuch treacherous and ruinous Services: And therefore it is fit that Mankind fhould know, and they themfelves fhould know, that his Majefly can and will be de- fended againft them and their Pretender, without Standing Armies, which would make him formidable only to his People, and con- temptible to his Foes, who take juftly the Meafure of his Power from his Credit with his Subjecls.
But I fliall confider what pfefent Occafion there is of keeping up more Troops than the ufual Guards and Garrifons, and fhall a little further animadvert upon the Arts and frivo- lous Pretences made Ufe of, in former Reigns, to reduce this Government to the Condition
and
i4o euro's LETTERS.
and Model of the pretended Jure-Divino- Mo- narchies, where Millions muft be miferable and undone, to make one and a few of his Creatures Iawlefs3 rampant, and unfafe.
lam, &c.
S I R,
TT is certain, that Liberty is never fo much ••• in danger, as upon a Deliverance from Sla- very. The remaining Dread of the Mifchiefs efcaped, generally drives or decoys Men in- to the fame or greater ; for then the Paffions and Expectations of fome run high, and the Fears of others make them fubmit to any Misfortunes, to avoid an Evil that is over 5 and both Sorts concur in giving to a Deliverer, all that they are delivered from : In the Tran- fports of a Restoration, or Victory, or upon a Plot difcover'd, or a Rebellion quelPd, no- thing 13 thought too much for the Benefactor, nor any Power too great to be left to his Dif- cretion, tho' there can never be lefs Reafon for giving it to him than at thofe Times 5 be- caufe, for the moft part, the Danger is pair, his Enemies are defeated and intimidated, and confequently that is a proper Juncture for the People to fettle themfelves, and fecure their Liberties, fince no one is likely to difturb them in doing fo.
However,
CAfO's LETTERS. 141
However, I confefs, that Cuftom, from Time immemorial, is againft me, and the fame Cuftom has made moft of Mankind Slaves : dgatboehs faved the Syracufans^ and afterwards deftroyed them. Pijtftr^ttts pre- tending to be wounded for prote&ing the People, prevailed with them to allow him a Guard for the Defence of his Perfon, and by the Help of that Guard ufurpM the Sove- reignty : Cefar and Mart us deliver'd the Com- mons of Rome, from the Tyranny of the No- bles, and made themfelves Matters of both Commons and Nobles : SyUa deliver'd the Senate from the Infolence of the People, and did them more Mifchiet than the Rabble could have done in a Thoufand Years : Gu- ftxvus Erlcfon delivered the Swedes from the Oppreffion of the Danes, and made large Steps towards enflaving them himfelf : The Ant- •werpians call'd in the Duke of Aliencon^ to defend them againft the Spaniards $ but he was no fooner got, as he thought, in full Poffeflion of their Town, but he fell upon them himfelf with the Forces which he brought for their Defence. But the Townf- men happened to be too many for him, and drove thefe their new Protectors home again : Which Difappointment, and juft Difgrace, broke that good Duke's Heart. Oliver Crom- •well headed an Army which pretended to fight for Liberty, and by that Army became a bloody Tyrant j as I once faw a Hawk very generoufly refcue a Turtle Dove from the Pcr- fecution of two Crows, and then eat him up himfelf.
Almoft
CA ro's LETTERS.
Alaioft all Men clefire Power, and few lofe any Opportunity to get it, and all who are like to fuffer under it, ought to be ftri&Iy upon their Guard in fuch Conjunctures as are irioft likely to encreafb, and make it uncon- troulable. There are but two Ways in Nature to enilave a People, and continue that Slavery over them 5 the firft is Superftition, and the Lfft is Force ; By the'one, we are perfWaded that it is our Duty to be undone 5 and the- other undoes us whether .we will or m . I take it, that we are pretty much out of Dan- ger of the firfl, at prefent 3 and, I think, we cannot be too much upon our guard agamft the other j for, though we have nothing to , fear from the bed Prince iu the World, yet j I we have every thing to fear from thofe who would give him a Power inconfiftent with Liberty, and with a Conftitution which has laOed aimoft a Thoufand Years without fuch a Power, which will neverbe ask'd with an Intention to make no Ufe of it.
The Nation was fo mad, upon the Reflo- ration of King Charles II. that they gave to him all that he ask'd, and more than heask'd": They complemented' him with a vail Revenue for Life, and almbit with our Liberties and- Religion too , and if unforefeen Accidents had not happeaM to prevent it, without doubt we had loft both 5 and if his Succeffor could have had a little Patience, and had ufed no Rogues but his old Rogues, he might have accomplifhed the Eunnefs, and Popery and •Arbitrary Power had been Jtire Dhino at this Day 5 but he made too much hafte to be
C A TV's LETT E R S. 143
at the End of his Journey 5 and his Priefls were in too much hafle to be on Horfeback too, and fo the Bead grew skittilh, and over- threw them both.
Tnen a new Set of Deliverers arofe, who had faved us from King James's Army, and would hav€ given us a bigger in the Room of it, and fome of them Foreigners 5 and told us that the King longed for them, and it was a. Pity that fo good a Prince fliould lofe his Longing, and mifcarry $ but he did lofe if, , and mifcarried no otherwife than by loiing a great Part of the Confidence which many of his beil Subjects before had in his Mode- ration 5 which Lofs made the Remainder of his Reign uneafy to him, and to every good Man who faw it. I remember, all Men then declared againft a Standing Army, and the Courtiers amongft the reir, who were only for a Land-Force, to be kept up no longer than till the King of France disbanded his, and till the Kingdom was fettled, and the People better fatis-fied with the Adminiftration $ and then there w<is nothing left to do, in order to per- petuate them, but to take care that the Peo- ple fnould never be fatisfied : An Art often, praclis'd with an amazing Succefs.
The Re^fons then given for keeping up an Army were, the great Number of Jacobites, tV>e Difaffeclion of the Clergy and Univer- iuies, the Power and Enmity of France y and theNeceility of preferving ib excellent a Body of Troops to maintain the Treaty of Parti- , tion, which they had newly and wifely maae : But notwithstanding the Army was disband- ed 5
i44 euro's LETTERS.
ed ; no Plot, Confpiracy, or Rebellion, bap- pen'd by their disbanding : The Partition- Treaty was broke 5 a new Army was rais'd, which won Ten times as many Victories as the former, and Europe, at laft, is fettled upon a much better Foot than it would have been by the Partition-Treaty. The Emperor is as ftrong as he ought to be. The Dutch have a good Barrier. Another Power is rais'd in Europe to keep the Baliance even, which nei- ther can nor will be formidable to us without our own Fault 5 France is undone, and the Re- gent muft be our Friend, and have Depen- dance upon our Protection 5 fo that fome few of thefe Reafons are to do now, what altoge- ther could not do then, tho' we are not the tenth Part fo well able to maintain them as we were then.
1 fhould be "lad to know in what Situation of our Affairs it can be fafe, to reduce our Troops to the ufual Guards and Garrifons, if it cannot be done now : There is no Power in Europe confiderable enough to threaten us, who can have any Motives to do fo, if we purfue the old Maxims and natural Intereft of Great Britain:, which is, To meddle no farther ivrtb Foreign Squabble^ than to 'keep the Baliance even between France and Spain : And this islefs neceflary too for us to do now, than formerly j becaufe the Emperor and Holland are able to do it, and muft and will do it without us, or at leaft with but little of our Afiiftance 5 but if we unneceflarily engage againft the Interefts of either, we muft thanFoarfelves, if they
endeavour
CATO's LETTERS. i45
endeavour to prevent the Effects of it, by finding us Work at Home.
When the Army was disbanded in King William's Reign, a Prince was in Being who was perfonally known to many of his former Subjects, and had obliged great Numbers of them 5 who was fupported by One of the moft powerful Monarchs in the World, that had won numerous Victories, and had almofl al- ways defeated his Enemies, and who ftill pre- ferved his Power and his Animofity : His pre- tended Son was then an Infant, and for any Thing that then appear'd, might have proved an active and a dangerous Enemy, and it was to be fear'd, that his Tutors might have edu- cated him a half Proteftant, or at lead have taught him to have drfguis'd his true Religi- on : At that Time, the Revolution, and Re- volution-Principles, were in their Infancy $ and moft of the Bifliops and dignified Clergy, as well as many others in Employment, owed their Preferments and Principles to the abdi- cated Family, and the Reverie of this, is our
Cafe now.
France has been torn to Pieces by numerous Defeats, its People and Manufactures deftroy'd by War, Famine, the Plague, and their M/f- ffpft Company 3 and they are fo divided at Home, that they will find enough to do to fave themfelves without troubling their Neigh- bours, and efpecially a Neighbour from whom the governing Powers there, hope for Pro- tection. The Prince, who pretended to the Thrones of thefe Kingdoms, is dead, and he who calls himfelf hks Heir is a bigot ted Papii* ^
Vot.IV, G and
euro's LETTERS.
and has given but little Caufe to fear any Thing from his Abilities or his Prowefs. The Principles of Liberty are now well underftood, and few People in this Age, are Romantick enough to venture their Lives and Eilates for the perfonal Interefts ofr one they know no- thing of, or nothing to his Advantage 5 and we ought to take Care that they fhall not find their own Intereft in doing it ; and, 1 con- ceive, nothing is neceiTary to effecT: this, but to refoive upon it. Alrnoft all the dignified Clergy, and all the Civil and Military Officers in the Kingdom, owe their Preferments to the Revolution^ and are as Loyal to his Majefty as h-e himfelf can wifh. A very great Part of the Property of the Kingdom ftands upon the iame Bottom with the Revolution. Every Day's Experience, (hews us how devoted the Nobility are to gratify their King's juft De- iires and Inclinations $ and nothing can be more certain, than that the prefenf Houfe of Commons, are mo ft dutifully and affeftionate- ly inclin'd to the true Intereft of the Crown, and to the Principles to which his Majefty owes it. And befides all this Security, a new Confpiracy has been difcovered and defeated 5 which gives full Occafion and Opportunity to prevent any fuch Attempts for the future $ which can never be done, but by puniihing the prefent Confpirators, and giving no Pro- vocation to new ones 5 in both which, I hope, ^e fhall have the hearty Concurrence of thofe who have the Honour to be employed by his Majefty j by which they will fliew, that they are as zealous to prevent the Neceffity of
Standing
CAfO's LETTERS. 147
Standing Armies, as I doubt not but the Par- liament will be.
I prefume, no Man will be audacious enough to propofe, that we fhould make a Standing Army Part of our Constitution 5 and, if not, When can we reduce them to a competent- Number better than at this Time ? Shall we wait till France has recover'd its prefent Di&- culties 5 till it's King is grown to full Age and Ripenefs of Judgment ; till he has diffi- pated all Factions and Difcontents at Home, and is fallen into the natural Interefts of his Kingdom, or perhaps afpires to Empire again '• Or Vhall we wait till the Emperor, and King of Spain, have divided the Bear's Skin, and poffibly become good Friends, as their Pre- deceffors have been for the greateft Part of two Centuries, and perhaps cement that Friend/hip, by uniting for the common In terefts of their Religion " Or till Madam Sooiesky's Heir is of Age, who may have Wit enough to think, that the Popifh Religion is dearly bought at the Price of Three \ing- doms ? Or are we never to Disband, till £«- rope is fettled according to iome modern Schemes ? Or till there are no Malecontents in England, and no People out of Employ- ments who delire to be in them.
Tus certain, that all Parts of Europe which are enilaved, have been enflaved by Armies, and 'tis abfolutely impoffible, that any Na- tion which keeps them amongft themfelvps, can long preferve their Liberties 5 nor can any Nation perfectly lofe their Liberties, who arc without fuch Guefts : And yet, though
G a all
i43 CAfo's LET TERS.
all Men fee this, and at Times confefs it, yet all have join'd, in their Turns, to bring this heavy Evil upon themfelves and their 'Coun- try. Cbarles the Second, formed his Guards into a little Army, and his SuccefTor encreafed them to three -or four Times their Number, and without doubt thefe Kingdoms had been enflaved, if known Events had not prevented it. We had no fooner efcaped thefe Dan- gers, but King Williams Miniftry form'd De- iigns for an Army again, and neglecled Ire- land (which might have been reduced by a. Meffage) till the Enemy was fo flrong, that a great Army was neceflary to recover it , and when all was done abroad, that an Army -was wanted for, they thought it convenient to find fome Employment for them at Home. However, the Nation happened not to be of their Mind, and disbanded the greatell Part of them, without finding any of thefe Dan- gers they were threatned with from their Dif- banding. A new Army was raifed again, when it became neceffary, and disbanded a- gain-, when there was no more Need of them 5 and his prefent Majefty came peaceably to his Crowns, by the Laws alone, notwithstanding all the Endeavours to keep him out, by long Meafures concerted to that Purpofe.
It could not be expe<5led, from the Nature •of human Affairs, that thofe who had for- med a Defign for re'&oring the Pretender, had taken fuch large Steps towards it, and were lure to be fupported in it by fo powerful an AHiftance as France was then capable of giving, H;otdd immediately lofe Si^ht* of fo agreeable
or
A rrol-
.
's LETTERS. 149
a Profpea of Wealth and Power, as they Bad before enjoyed in Imagination $ yet it feems vpry Plain to me, that 'all the Difturbance which afterwards happened, might have been prevented by a few timely Remedies 5 and when at laft it was defeated with a vaft and Hazard, we had the Means in our Hands, of rooting out all Seeds of Fadion and future Rebellions, without doing any Thing to pro- voke them 3 and 'tis certain, his Majefty was ready to do every Thing on his Part to that Purpofe, which others over and over promiied us j and what they have done, befides obli- ging the Nation with a Septennial Parliament, encreafing the publick Debts a great many Millions, and by the South-Sea Projea paying them off, I leave to themfelves to declnre.
However, I cont'efs, an Army at laft be- came neceflary, and an Army was rai fed Time enough to beat all who oppofed it : Some ot them have been knock'd on the Head, many carried in Triumph, fome hang'd, and others confifcated, as they well deferred $ and, I pre- fume, the Nation would fcarce have been in the Humour to have kept up an Army to fight their Ghofts, if a terrible Invafion had not threatned us from Sweden, which however, was at laft frightned into a Fleet of Colliers* or Naval Stores, indeed I have forgot which. This Danger being over, another Tucceeded, and had like to have ftole upon us from Caler, notwithftanding all the Intelligence we could poflibly get from Gibraltar, which lyes juft it 5 and this fhews, by the way, the little Uie of that Place: But we have miraculouily
G ! efcaped
ijo CATO's LETTERS.
efcaped that Danger too ; the greatefl Part of their Fleet was difperfed in a Storm, and our Troops have actually defeated in the Higb- innds, iome Hundreds of the Enemy, before many People would believe they were there. Since this, we have been in great Fear of the Ciar $ and laft Year, one Reafon given by many for continuing the Army was, to pre- ferve us again!! the Plague.
But now the King of Sweden is dean, the OL&T ivS gone a Sophi-hunting, the Plague is ceafed, and the King of Spain's beft Troops have taken up their Quarters in Italy, where (\i I guefs rightj they will have Employment enough, and what are we to keep up the Army now to do, unlefs to keep cut the Small Pox? Oh! but there is a better Rea- ion than that, namely, a Plot is difcpvetec!, and we can't find out yet all who are concerned in it, but we have pretty good AuuraB&f, that ail the Jacobites are for the Pretender, and therefore we ought to keep in ReacUnqs :•? great Number of Troops, (who are to ilecp on Horfeback, or lye in their Jack-Boots) which may be fufrkient to beat them all to- gether, if they had a Twelvemonth's Time given them to beat up for Volunteers, to buy Horfes and Arms, to form themfelves into Regiments, and cxcrcife them $ left, infkad of lurking in Corners, and prating in Taverns, and at Cock-Matches, they fhould furprize Ten or Twelve Thoufand armed Men in their Quarters : I dare appeal to any unprejudiced Perfon, whether this is not the Sum of fome Mens Reatonings upon this Subjedl ?
But
CATo's LETTERS. 151
But I defire to know of thefe fugacious Gentlemen, in what Refpeft /hall v/e be in a worie State of Defence than we ?re now, if the Army was reduced to the fame Num- ber as in King William's Time, and in the Litter End of the Queen's Re;gn, and that it confined of the fame Proportion of H'orfe and Foot, that every Regiment had its ccnf- pleat Number of Troops and Companies, and every Troop and Company had its Comple- ment of private Men ? 'Tis certain, upon any fudden Exigency, his Majcfly would have «s many Men at command as he has new, and, I prefume, more common Soldiers, who are rnoft difficultly to be got upon fuch Occafiors^ for Officers will never be wanting, and all that are now regimented will be in Half pay, and ready at Call to beat up and raife new Regiments, as faft as the others could be jailed up, and they may change any of the old Men into them, which reduces it to the fame Thing: By this we fhali lave the Charge of double or treble Officering our Troops, and the Terror of keeping up the Corpfe of Thiny or ferry thoufand Men, though they are cal- led only Thirteen or Fourteen 5 and fure it is high Time to fave all which can be laved, and, by removing all Caufes of Jealoufy, to unite all, who for the Caufe of Liberty, arc zealous for the prefent Edablifhment, 'in or- der to oppofe effectually thofewho would de- ft roy it.
I will fuppofe, for once, what I will not erant, that thofe call'd Whigs, are the only Men amongft us who are heartily attached to
G 4 his
1)2 CA To's LETTERS.
his Majefty's Intereft 5 for I believe the great- eft Part of the Tones, and the Clergy too, would tremble at the Thought of Popery and Arbitrary Power; which muft corne in with the Pretender: But taking it to be otherwife, 'tis certain that the Body of the Whigs, and indeed I may fay almott all, except the Pof- ieiiors and Candidates, for Employments or Pensions, have as terrible Appreheniions of a 6'tandmg Army, as the Tories themfelves ^ and dare any Man lay his Hand upon his Heart and fay, That his Majefly will find greater Security in a few Thouiand more Men ' already regirriented, than in the Steady At- factions of fo many Hundred Thoufamls who will be always ready to be regimented: When the People are eafy and fuhsfied, the whole Kingdom is h.',s Army 5 .and King James found what Dependance there was upon his Troops, when his People deferted him. Would not any wife and honeft Minifter deiire, during his Adminiftration, that the Publick Affairs fhould run glibly, and find the hearty Con- currence of the States of the Kingdom, ra- ther than to carry their Meafures by perpe- tual Struggles and Entrigues, to wafte the Civil Lift by conftant and needlefs Penfions and Gratuities, be always asking for new Sup- plies, and rend'ring themfelves, and all who aflift them, odious to their Country-men?
In fhorr, there can be but two Ways in Nature to govern a Nation, one is by their own Co n fen t, and the other by Force: One gains their Hearts, and the other holds their Hands; The firft is always chofen by thofe
who
» LETTERS. 1 5-5
who defign to govern the People for the People's Intereft, and the other by thofe who defign to opprefs them for iheir own ; for whoever defires only to protect them, will covet no ufelefs Power to injure them : There is no fear of a People's acting againft their own Intered, when they know what it is, and when, through ill Conduct or unfortu- nate Accidents, they become dirTatisfied with their prefent Condition, the only effectual Way to avoid the threatning Evil, is to re- move their Grievances.
When Charles Duke of Burgundy, with moft of the Princes of France, at the Head of an Hundred Thoufand Men, took up Arms a- gainft Lewis the Eleventh, that Prince fent an EmbaiTy to Sfona Duke of Milan, defiring that he would lend him fome of his Veteran Troops 5 and the Duke returned him for An- fwer, That he could not be content to have them cut to Pieces, (as they would afluredly have been) but told him at the fame Time, That he would fend him fome Advice which would be worth Ten times as many Troops as he had j namely, That he fhould give Sa- tisfaction to the Princes, and then they would difperfe of Ccurfe $ and the King improv'd fo well upon the Advice, that he diverted the Storm, by giving but little Satisfaction to the Princes, and none at all to thofe who folio w'd them : The Body of the People in all Countries are fo defirous to live in quiet, that a few good Words, and a little good Ufagefrom their Governors, will at any Time pacify them, and make them very often turn
G 5 u--"<
i54 CATO's LETTERS.
upon thofe Benefa&ors, who by their Pains, Expence, and Hazard, have obtained thofe Advantages fox them 5 and indeed, when they are not outragioufly opprefs'd and Oarved, are almoft as ready to part with their Liber- ties, as others are to ask for them.
By what I have before faid, I would not be underftood, to declare abfolutely againft continuing our prefent Forces, or increafing them, if the Importance of the Occafion re- quires either , and the Evils threaten'd, are not yet diflipated : But I could wifh, that if fuch an Occafion appears, thofe who think them at this Time neceflary, would declare effe&ually, and in the fulleft Manner, that they defign to keep them no longer than du- ring the prefent Emergency 5 and that, when it is over, they will be as ready to break them, as I believe the Nation will be to give them, when juft Reafons offer thenafelves fur doing fo.
I am, &c.
S I R>
THINGS of the greateft feeming Diffi- culty, r.ppear the eafieft to us when found out> There was no Wit neceiTary to iet an Egg on one End, when Cptumlus had Ihewn the \Vny. Jugglers do many Things by flight of Hand, which to a gaping Be- holder appear to be Witchcraft 5 and when he knows how they are done, wonders at himfelf
for
LETTERS. 155
for wondring at them. A Ship as big as a Caftle is failed by a Rudder and a Puff of "Wind $ and a Weight, which a thoufan'd Men can't move, may be eafily manag'd by one, with the Help of Wheels and Pullies. The fame is true in the Direction of Mankind, who will be always caught by a skilful Ap- plication to their Paffions and their Weaknef- fes, and will be eafily drawn into what they will be very difficultly driven. The fierceli Horfes are fubdued by the right Management of the Bit ; the moft furious wild Beads tamed by gratifying their Appetites, or working up- on their Fears 5 and the moft fa vage Tempers are made traclable by foothing their Foibles, or knowing how to manage their Panmcks.
This is what is call'd the Knowledge of Mankind, which very few of them know any thing of. Pedants hope to govern them by Diftmclions and grave Faces $ Tyrants by Force and Terror *$ and Philofophers by fo lemn Lectures of Morality and Virtue. And thefe have certainly a Share in influencing their Minds, and determining their Aclicns : but, altogether, not half fo much as applying to their * reigning Appetires, appearing Inte- refts, and predominant Foibles, and taking artful Advantages of favourable Opportuni- ties, and catching at lucky Conjunctures, to effect at once what a long Series of wife Councils, and the bed concerted Meafures, canrot bring about.
Wife Statefmen well underftand this Foi- ble in human Nature, and, often take Advan- tage from a Plot difcover'd, or a Rebellion
*j 1 1 •> i
quell d j
CA fO's LETTERS.
quell'd 5 from the Tranfports of a Reftoration? or a Victory obtain'd $ or, during the Terrors of a peftilential Diftemper, or the Ra ge of a prevailing Fa&ion, or the Fears of a defpon- ding one, to accomplish what neither Threats nor Armies could extorfr nor Bribes nor Al- lurements perfuade.
The fame Advantages have been as luckily taken by the Leaders of popular Parties, up- on fudden Difcontents and unfuccefcful Afts of Power, to obtain Conceptions and Privi- leges which they durft not think of, much lefs hqpe for, at other Times. My Lord Clarendon furnifhes us with many In fiances of fuch Con- ceflions, which neither the Crown would have granted, nor the People been prevail'd upon to ask, nor perhaps accept before^ or pofiibly after. Whereas a prepollerous and iJl-tim'd Attempt, on either Side, would have increased the Power they defign'd to leflen, or take away. The greateft Secret in Politicks is to drive the Nail that will go.
If we hear a Southfayer, Poet, or Philofo- pher, talk of the Dignity of human Nature, Man is lifted up to a Refemblance with his great Creator : He is Lord of the Univerfe ; all Things are made for his Ufe, even fuch as are of no Ufe to him, but do him Mifchief. The Sun is placed in the Firmament to ripen his Cabbage, and dry his Linnen 5 and infi- nite Millions of Stars are {luck there, many taoufand Times bigger than the Earth, to fup- ply the want of Farthing Candles,, though vadly many of them are not to be feen but by Glafles, and, without doubt, infinite others
not
's LETTERS. 257
sot to be feen with them. He is made wife, difcerning, form'd for Virtue, mutual Help and Affiiiance , and probably it was all true before the Fall : But as he is now degenerated, I fear the Reverfe of all is true. It is plain that he isfoolifh, helplefs, perfidious, impo- tent, eafily mifled and trepann'd, and, for the moft Part, caught by as thin Snares and little Wiles as his Fellow Creatures, which, we are told, are made for his Ufe j and his boafted Faculty of Reafon betrays him to fome, from which the others are exempt.
True Reafon has little to do in his Specula- tions or his Actions. Enthufiafm or Pann'tc^ Fear often fupplies the Place of Religion in him : Obftinacy is call'd Conftancy 5 and In- difference Moderation : His Paflions, which direct and govern all the Motions of his Mind, feem to me to be purely mechanical, which perhaps I may fhew more at Large hereafter ^ and whoever would govern him, and lead him, muft apply to thofe Paffions, that is> •pull the proper Ropes, and turn the Wheels which will put the Machine in Motion. When Cbrijyfpus was introduc'd into the Prefence of DionyfmS) and, according to the Cuftom of that Court, fell upon his Face, and kifs'd the Oppreffor's Feet 5 he was ask'd by Pfato, How he, who was a Greel^ a free Man, and a Philo- fopher, could fall proftrate before a Tyrant, and adore him ? He anfwer'd merrily,. That he had Bufinefs with the Tyrant; and if his Ears were in his Feet, he muft fpeak to him where his Ears lay*
Now
i58 Core's LETTERS.
Now moft People's Ears lie in the wrong Place, and whoever will be heard mutt apply accordingly : We rarely fee a wife Man who does not carry a Half-Fool about him 5 that by foothing his Vanities, flattering his Paffions, and taking Advantages of his other Weaknef- fes, can do more with him than all the World befides , and indeed moft Men are governed by thofe who have lefs Wit than themfelves, or by what ought leaft to influence them. Men, like other Animals, are caught by Springs, Wires, or Subtilties : Foxes are tra- pann'd by Traces, Pheafants by a red Rag, and other Birds by a Whittle j and the iame is true of Mankind.
A lucky Thought, a Jeft, a fortunate Ac- cident, or a jovial Debauch, fhall bring about Defigns and Revolutions in human Affairs, which twenty Legions in the Field could not bring abouf. A filthy Strumpet made Akx- ander^ for a Kifs, burn Perfepolis, the auguft Seat of the Perfian Empire , and I have heard fomewhere or other, of a great Prince, who being prevail'd upon to fwear by his Miftrefs's .Bum, That he would diffblve the States of "his Kingdom, he religioufly kept that Oafh againft his Intereft, tho' he never valu'd all the reft he took upon the Evangelifts. How often hath a merry Srcry in our Days turn'd a Debate, when the moft giave and folemn Ar- guments, and the moll obvious Reprefenta- tions of publick Advantage, could not pre- vail ? And how many a fair and accomplifh'd Lady has been won by bribing her Chamber- Maid, when perhaps all the Solicitations of
her
's LETTERS. 159
her Parents and Relations, and all the Mo- tives of Self-Intereft would have prov'd
effectual. r
The lucky adjufling of Times and Sealons, taTjins Advantage of prevailing Prejudices and Pannicks, and knowing how to humour and lay hold of the predominant Enthufiaims ot human Nature, has given Birth to moft ot the Revolutions in Religion and Politicks which ever happen'd in the World. A Jug- sler fwallowing Bibles and Hour-Glafles, hall do more with a modern Mob than a Philofo- pher ; and a Scarecrow Prater, with diftorted Limbs and Undemanding, fhall make Thou- fands of them weep and wring their iands, when the Oratory of Demoflbenes, or the Kea- fonings of Mr. Lock, fhall make them laugh or hoot. There is a certain AfTirailation ot Paffions and Faculties in Men, which attract one another when they meet, and always ftrike together, as when two Fiddles are tun d up to the fame Pitch ; if you hit the one, the other founds : So Men are eafieft operated up- on by thofe of like Understandings with their own, or thofe who the beft know how dally and play with their Foibles, and can do the fame Thing with Defign as the others do
naturally. , . r
I doubt not but I /hall be cenfur d for ma king thus bold with this Lord of the Creation, by thofe who make much more bold with him OR other Occafions, and who would have Monopoly of enjoying all the Scandal to them- felves : But, by the leave of thofe iolemn Gentlemen, I fhall take the Liberty of con-
fidenng
euro's LET T ERS,
£dering Man as he is, iince it is cut of out Power to give a Model, to have him new made by.
Since then by the Sins of our flrft Parents, we are fallen into this unhappy and forlorn Condition, all wife and hone!} Men are oblig'ct in Prudence and Duty, not only by Leclurcs of Philofophy, Religion, and Morals, to fa- fhion this Sovereign of the Univcrfe into hisx true Interef:-, but to make ufe of his Weak- nefTes to render him happy, as wicked Men do to make him miferable 5 in which I iliall be more particular hereafter.
J amy ckc.
S I R,
MOR A L 1 TT? or moral Virtues, are cer- tain Rules of mutual Convenience or Indulgence, conducive or neceflary to the well- being of Society. Moft of thefe are obvious ; for every Man knows what he defires hirnfelf ; which is to be free from Cppreflion, and the ' Infults of others, 2nd to enjoy the Fruits of his own Acquiiitions, arifing from his Labour or Invention. And fince he can have no R.eafon to expecl this Indulgence to himfelf, unlefs he allows it to others, who have equal Reafon to expe6l it from him, it is the common fntereft of all, who unite together in the fame Society, to eftablifh fuch Rules and Maxims for their
mutual
CATo's LETTERS,
mutual Prefervation, that no Man can opprefs or injure another, without differing by it hirn- felf. " As far as thefe Rules are difcoverable by the Light of Reafon, or that Portion of Un- derftanding, which molt, or all Men have, they are call'd Morality : But when they are the Productions of deeper Thought, or the In- ventions only of Men of greater Sagacity, they are call'd Political Knowledge. But as Men are often in fuch a Situation in refpecl of one another, that the Stronger can opprefs the Weaker, without any fear of having the In- jury return'd ; and moft Men will purfue the^r perfonal Advantage independent from all o- thers j therefore Almighty God, in Cempaf- fion to Mankind, has annex'd Rewards and Punifhmems to the Obfervance or Non-obfer- vance of thefe Rules : The Belief of which a and a Practice purfuant to it, is call'd Reli- gion.
I have often read> with Pleafure, pretty fpeculative Difcourfes upon the intrinfick Ex- cellence of Virtue, and of its having a real Exiftence independent of human Confedera- tions, or worldly Relations : But when I have been able to forget, or lay afide the Dalliances and .Amufements of Fancy, and the beautiful Turns of Expreffion, I could confider it phi- Lofophically, only as an empty Sound, when detach'd and feparated from natural, national,, or religious Politicks ; unlefs in fome few In- {lances, where Conftitution, and innate Ten- dernefs, engage Men to pity others in Eafe to tbemfelves, which is call'd Humanity.
Alt
CATO's LETTERS.
All cardinal and private Virtues are Bran- ches of theie general Politicks. Fortitude en- ables us to defend our felves and others. Com- .paflion is a Fellow feeling of Calamities which we may fuffer ourfelves j and it is evident that People feel them in proportion, as they are likely to fuffer the fame or the like Calamities. Charity obHg.es us to give that Relief to fa- thers, which we, cur Friends, or Relations, may want for ourfelves. And Temperance «md Frugality are necfffary ro the rrefervation of cur Bodies and Eib.tes, and being ufeful Members of Society. I freely confefs, that for my Part I can find out no other Motives in my felf, or others, for thefe Affeclions or Acliony, except Conftitution, Oftentation, or temporal or religious Politicks, which are, in other Words, our prefent or eternal Inrerefis ; and I /hall own my felf beholden to any el it? who can find out any other 5 for there cannot be too many Motives fora virtuous Life.
How far the Systematical Gentlemen will agree with me in this fpeculative Philofophy, I do not know, nor /hall think mv felf much
' *'
conccrn'd to enquire $ but 'tis certain their Practice, and many of the Doctrines they teach, confirm what I have faid. I think all Mankind, except the Brami»s, and the Tranf- rnigrators of Souls in the £«/?, do agree, that we may deftroy other Animals for Food and Convenience, and fometimes for Pleafure, or, to prevent but trifling Prejudice, to our felves, tho' they have the fame, or very near the lame, Organizations as we have, equal or greater
^-^ jfc. t-**1 M
Senfations of Pleafure and Pain, and many of
them
CAfO's LETT ERS.
•them Sagacity and Reafoning enough to over- reach and circumvent us 5 nor are they guilty of any other Crime, than that of acling ac- cording to their Natures, and prefcrving their Beings by fuch Food as is neceflfary to their
Exiflence.
Indeed, as Things ftand at prefent, tho' we had not Revelation for ir, we may be very fure that God Almighty has given us Domi- nion over other Creatures, becaufe he has actually given us the Power, in a good mea- fure, to deftroy and prefer ve them, as far as they may be hurtful or ufeful to us 5 and there- fore we think them not Objects of moral Du- ties, becaufe we can hurt them, and they ean- not make Reprizals, or equal Reprizals, upon us : But if Almighty God had thought fit to have given to Lyons and Tygers theUfeof Speech, Length of Life, to have gain'd more Experience, and had form'd their Claws and Hands to write and communicate that Expe- rience, and by fuch Means had enabled them to have form'd themfelves into Societies for mutual Defence againft Mankind (whom they could quickly have deftroyed, though only by confining and ftarving them in Inclofures and Fortifications.; I fay, in fuch a Circumftance of Affairs, will any Man affirm, that it would not have been our Intereft and Duty to have treated them with Morality and focial Offices : I doubt, in fuch a Cafe, they would have told us, and have made us feel too, that they were not made only for our Ufe.
I will fuppofe, for once, a Dialogue be- tween his Holinefs and a Lyon, fince Poets
J* M* -3
CAfO's. LETTERS.
and fome others have informed us, that BcafLs have fpoken formerly j and I am fare they were never more concern'd to fpeak than upon the prefent Occafion,
Pope. Thou art an ugly four footed Mon-- iler, and thou liveit upon the Dellrudion of thy Fellow Animals.
Lyon. I am as Nature has made me, v. h!ch has given me many Faculties beyond yourfelf. I have more Courage, more Strength, more Aflivity, and better Senfes of Seeing, Hear- ing, &c. than you have : Nor do I deffroy the hundredth Part of my Fellow- Animals iu Companion with thofe you deflroy. I never deftroy my own Species,, unlefsl am provok'd$ but you deftroy yours for Pride, Vanity, Lux- ury, Envy, Covetoufnefs, and Ambition.
Pope. But thou art a great Gormandizer, and eateft up all our Victuals, which was de- fign'd for the Ufe of Men only $ and therefore thou oughteft to be exterminated.
Lyon. Nature, which gave me Life, de- £gn'd me the Means of Living 5 and /he has given me Claws and Teeth for that Purpofe, namely, to defend my felf againft fome Anf- roals, and to kill and eat others for my Sufte- nance , and, amongft the reft, your Reve- rence, if I cannot get younger and better Food. You Men, indeed, may eat and live comfortably upon the Fruits of Trees, and the Herbs and Corn of the Field 5 but we are fo formed, as to receive Support and Nourifti- Bnent only from the Fle/h of other Animals. . Sirrah, thou haft no Soul.
Lvov. '
CA T'o's LETTER S.
Lyon. The greater is my Misfortune. How- ever, I have a Mind and Body, and have the more Reafon to take Care of them, having nothing elfe to take Care of 3 and you ought the lefs to deprive and rob me of the little Advantages Nature has given me, you who enjoy fo much greater yourielf.
Pope. The Earth was given to the Saints ; for ( as St. .dtifttn very judicioufly obfetves ) the Wicked, have Right to nothing, and the GoMy to rJl Things $ .and thou art certainly a very wic- ked Animal, and no true Believer.
Lyon. I have heard indeed before, that fuch Reafonings will pafs amongft you Men-, who have Faculties to reafon yourfelves out of Reafott 5 but we Beads know better Things : For having nothing but our Senfes to truft to,
o o
and wanting the Capacities to diftinguifh our- felves our of them, we cannot be periwaded to believe, that thofe who have no more Ho- nefty, and lefs Underilanding than their Neighbours, have a Right to their Goods and to ftarve them, by pretending to believe what the others do not under ftand 5 therefore-, Worthy Doctor, you fhall catch no Gudgeons here : You may brew as you bake among!} one another, but you will find no fuch Bubbles amongil us.
Pope. In /hort? thou art a fniveling faucy Jackanapes, and a great Rogue and Murtherer; and I wifh thou haclft a Soul that I might damn it, and fend thee to the Devil.
Lyon. Not half fo great a Rogue as your felf, Good Doclor, nor fo great a Murrherer. j.ou do more MiTcliietf in a Year than all the
l.y
166 CA ro's LETTERS.
Lyons in the World did fince the Creation- We kill only with our Teeth and Claws 5 you ufe a thoufand Inftruments of Death and De- duction. We kill fingle Animals 5 you kill by wholefale, and deftroy Hecatombs at once j we kill for Food and Neceffity $ you kill for Sport and Paftime, and out of Wantonnefs, and to do your felves no Good. In fine, you murder or opprefs all other Animals, and one another too.
Pope. Rafcal, thou art made for my Ufe, and I will make thee know it, and order thee to be immediately knock'd on the Head for thy Skin, thou Varlet, and Bead for Satan.
Lyon. Til try that prefently.
Pope, (crojfing bimfelf. ) Jefu ! Maria ! (£>;/> in bttfte.')
Lyon. Farewell, thou Lord of the Crea- tion, and Sovereign of the Univerfe.
I believe 1 may venture to fay, if Lyons could fpeak, they would talk at this Rate, and his Holinefs but little better. But to return to my Subject.
I have faid, That all, or moft of Mankind acT: upon the former Principles, and, without the Motives of Religion, can find out no Reafon to hope they fhould ever aft other- wife , and I am forry to fay, that Religion it fclf has yet wanted Power enough to influence them (for the moll Part) to contrary Senti- ments or Actions. What Nation or Society does not opprefs another when they can do it with Security, without Fear of Retaliation, or being affe&ed by it in their own Interefts,
with
CAfo's LETTERS. 167
with Regard to their Correfpondence with other States ? It is plain, all fbcial Duties are here at an End j for what is calPd the Law of Nations, are only Rules of mutual Intercourfe with one another, without which they could have no Intercourfe at all, but muft be in con- frant Courfe of War and Depredation , and therefore, whenever any State is in no Con- dition to repel Injuries, nor can have Pro- tection from any other, who are concern'd to preferve them, conftant Experience fhews us, That they become the Prey of a greater, who think themfelves obliged to keep no Meafures with them, nor want Pretences from Religion or their own Interefls to opprefs them. Fa- ther Anftins Diiiinclion is always at Hand when they can get no better, and for the molt part (if not always^ they Snd Men of Reve- rence to thank God for their Roguery.
Since therefore Men ever have, and, I doubr, ever will, aft uponthefe Motives, they ought not to be amufed by the Play of Words, and the Sallies of Imagination, whilft defigning Men pick their Pockets 5 but ought to eitablifii their Happinefs, by wife Precautions, and up- on folid Maxims, and, by prudent and fix'd Laws, make it all Mens Intereft to be honeft $ without which, I doubt, few Men will be fo.
I am, &c.
158 C^ro's LETTER S.
w
J R,
E have been long confounded about the . . Origin of Good and Evil, or, in other Words, of Virtue and Vice. The Opinion of fome is, that Virtue is a fort of real Being, and fubfifts in its own Nature. Others make it to confiil in Rules or Cautions, given us by the fupreme Being foi our Conduct here on Earth, and either implanted in our Natures, or conveyed to us by Revelation. A late Phi- lofopher fetches it from the Will and Com- mands of the civil Magiftrate; but, for my own Part, I muft conceive it only as a Com- pound of the two laft $ namely,. a Relation of Mens Aclions to one another, either dictated by Reafon, by the Precepts of Heaven, or the Commands of the Sovereign, acting ac- cording to his Duty.
It is the Misfortune of 'thofe publick-fpirited and acute Gentlemen, who have oblig'd the World with Syflcms, that they always make common Senfe truckle to them , and when they are bewildered, and entangled amongft Briars and Thorns, they never go back the Way they got in, but refolve to fcramble through the Brake, leap over Hedge and Ditch, to get into their old Road, and fo for the mod part fcratch themfelves from Head to Footj and fometimes break their Necks in- to
's LETTERS. 169
to the Bargain. They never look backhand examine whether their Syftem is true or falfe, but fet themfelves to work to prove it at all Adventures : They are determined to folve all Contradictions, and grow very angry with all who are not fo clear fighted as themfelves.
This feems to me to be the Cafe in the pre- fent Queftion. The common Light of Rea- fon has told all Mankind, that there cannot be an Effect without a Caufe; and that every Caufe muft be an Effect of fome fuperior Caufe, till they come to the hft of all, which can be no othervvife than felf- exigent, that is, muft have exifted from all Eternity. Some Seels of Philofophers have thought this firft Caufe to be only pure Matter, not being able to conceive that any thing can be made out 4>f nothing, or can be annihilated again after- wards •* and they fuppofe that Matter has been in eternal Motion, and has the Seeds of Ani- mals, Vegetables, and of every thing elfe within itfelf, and by its confhnt Motion and Revolutions, gives to them Life, Duration,, and at laft Death 5 and throws them into the Womb of Nature again to rife up in new Shapes.
But others, by far the greateft part of Man- kind, are not able by this dark Syftem to ac- count for the exquifite Contrivance and con- fummate Wifdom /hewn in the Formation of Animals and Vegetables, in the regular and ftupendious Structure and Circulation of the heavenly Bodies, and of the Earth, no more than for the Operations of our own Minds 5 and therefore muft reafonably judge? that when
V o L, IV. H fo
170 Giro's LETTERS, I
fo much Contrivance is neceflary to bring about our own little Deiigns- the great Ma- chine of Heaven and Earth, and the infinite and admirable Syftems in it, could not be the fpontaneous or neceffary Productions of blind Matter ; and therefore determine, that the firft Being muft have fuitable Wifdom to contrive and execute thefe great and amazing Works.
But thefe latter are not fo well agreed a- mongft themfelves about the Manner of Acting, or the Operations of this Being. For fome think that he muft act from the Neceffity of his own Nature : For fince his Being is ne- ceiTary, they think that his Will and Attri- butes, (which are Parts of his Being, effen- tial to it, and infeparable from it ) and confe- quently his Actions, which are Refults of that "Will, and of thofe Attributes, mull: be necef- fary too. They cannot conceive how a Being, who has the Principles and Caufes of all Things within itfelf, could exift without ha- ving ieen every thing intuitively from all E- ternity 5 which muft have excluded Choice and Preference in his Actions, which implies Doubt and Deliberation.
They cannot apprehend how Reafon and Wifdom can be analogous in him to what are call'd by the fame Names in Men : For Judg- ment in them, as far as it regards their own voluntary Operations, is only the Ballance of the Conveniences or Inconveniences which will refult from their own or others Thoughts or | Actions, as they have relation to Beings or Events out of their Power, and which depend upon other Caufes : But if a Being can have
no
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no Caufes without itfelf, but produces every Thing by its own Energy and Power, fees all Things at once, and cannot err, as Men may, nor confequently deliberate and debate with itfelf 5 they think it mutt act fingly, and m one Way only j and where there is no Choice, or, which is the fame thing, but one Choice, they conceive there is always NecefTity.
But the contrary is much the more orthodox and religious Opinion, and has been held by far the greateft and belt Part of Mankind in all Ages before, and without Revelation ; They have thought this laft Opinion border a too much upon the material Syftem, as being able to fee but little Difference in the Opera- tions of a Being acting neceflarily, and the Productions of blind Matter conftantly in Action, and acting mechanically 5 fince the Ef- fect is fuppofed to be the fame, tho3 Wifdorn and Contrivance, or what we are forc'd to call by rhofe Names for want of another, are the firft Spring, or chief Wheel of the Machine, or one Link of the Chain of Caufes: And therefore Men have condemned this Opinion as impious and atheiftical.
Indeed the other Speculations have been only the wild and babling Notions of Fairy Philofophers, or of enthufiaftick and viiionary Madmen 5 for all prudent and modeft Men pretend to know no more of this Being, with- out Revelation, than that he is wife, good, and powerful, and made all Things, and do not prefume farther to enquire into the Modus of his Exiftence and Operations. However, their own Intereft and Curiofity were fo much
H 2 concern'd
172 CA^O's LETTERS.
concerned to guefs at his Defigns and Motives in placing them here, that it was impoflible they could be otherwife than felicitous and in- quiiitive about it 5 and finding, or fancying themfelves to be the mod valuable Part of the Whole, it was very natural for them to be- lieve that all was made for their Sakes, and that their Happinefs was the only or chief View of the fupreme Being.
With thefe Thoughts about him, every Man knowing what he had a Mind to have himfelf, and what he beli'ev'd would conftitute his own Happinefs, and not being able to at- tain it without making the fame Allowance to other People 5 Men agreed upon equal Rules of mutual Convenience and Protection, and finding thefe Rules dictated to them by im- partial Reafon, they juftly believ'd they were implanted within them by the Deity $ and as they expected themfelves Returns of Grati- tude or Applaufe for Benefits conferred by them upon others, they thought the fame \\ere due to the original Being, who gave to them Life, and every thing elfe they enjoy'd : And this is call'd Natural Religion.
But as the Motive, which Men had to enter into this equal Agreement, was their own Pleafure and Security, which moil or all Men prefer before the Advantage of others, fo they often found themfelves in a Condition, by fu- perior Power, Will, and Abilities, to circum- vent thole who had Icfs than themielves, either by artful Confederacies, Irnpoftures, or by downright Force> to opprefs them $ and in order to it, have invented Syftems or partial
Schemes
CATO's LETTERS. i?3
Schemes of feparate Advantage, and have an- nex'd fuitable Promifes or Menaces to them : All which they have pretended to receive from this Divine JBeing: They affum'd to have Communication with him, and to know his Will, and denounced his Anger againft all ^ouid not take their Word, and let them do by his Authority, what they would never have been permitted to do by any other 3 and the Herd not daring to oppofe them, or not know- ing how, have^acquiefced in their Tales, and come in Time to believe them. From hence fprang all the Follies and Roguery of the Heathen and Jewifli Priefts, and all the falle Religions in the World ; with all the Perfecu- tions, Devaftations, and Maflacres caufed by them ; which were all heterogeneous Engraft- ments upon Natural Religion.
Almighty God thought it proper therefore at laft to communicate himfelf again to Man, and by immediate Revelation to confirm what he at firft implanted in all Mens Minds, and what was eradicated thence by Delufion and Impofture 5 but though he thought it not ne- ceflary to tell us more than we were concern d to know, namely, to do our Duty to himfeli and to one another, yet we wiUftill be prying into his Secrets, and lifting into the Caufes ot his original and eternal Decrees, which are certainly juft and reafonable, tho' we neither know his Reafons, nor could judge of .them»
if we did.
From hence arifes this Difpute concerning the Origin of Good and Evil, amongft athou- fand others, for our Vanity inducing us to
H
i?4 CATO's LETTERS.
fancy our felves the fole Obje&s of his Provi- dence, and being lure we receive our Beings from him, and conftquently our Senfations, AfFe&ions, and Appetites, which are Parrs of them, and which evidently depend either me- diately or immediately upon Caufes without us, and feeing at the fame Time, that many Things happen in the World feemingly a- gamft his reveal'd Will, which he could pre- vent if he thought fit i we either recur to the
v-/ **
Intrigues of a contrary Being, whofe Bufinefs it is to thwart his Defigns, and disappoint his Providence, or elfe account for it by a Malig- nity in human Nature, more prone to do Evil than Good, without considering from whence we had that Nature , for if the Malignity in it is greater than Precepts, Examples, or Ex- hortations can remove, the heavier Scale rnuft weigh down.
How much more modeft and reafonable would it be to argue, That moral Good and Evil in this World, are only Relations of our Actions to the fupreme Being, and to one another, and would be nothing here below, if there were no Men ? That no Event can happen in the Univerfe but what muft have Caufes ftrong enourh to produce it ? That all Caufes muft firft or laft center in the fupreme Caufe, who, from the Exigence of his own Nature, muft always do what is befl-, and all . his Actions muft be inftantaneous Emanations of himfelf ? He fees all Things at one View, and nothing can happen without his Leave and Permiffion, and without his giving Power enough to have it effe&ed : Therefore when
we
LETTERS. i?5
we fee any thing which feems to contradict the Images which we have prefum'd to form about his Effence, or the Attributes we be* flow upon him, (which Images and Attn- bates are, for the moft Part, borrowed from what we think moft valuable amongft our felves,) we ought to fufpeft our own Igno- rance, to know that we want Appetites to ta- thom infinite Wifdoni, and to reft affur d that aU Things conduce to the Ends and Defigns of his Providence, who always chufes the belt Means to bring them about.
J am &c.
s l R,
T HAVE already faid, that I could confider 1 Good and Evil only as in relation to Mens Aaions to one another, or to the fupreme be- ing 5 in which Aaions they can have for their End their own Intereft alone, in Prefent or Futurity. But when I confider thefe Ideas in regard to God, I muft confider them as Ob- iefts of his Will, which can alone conftitute Rinht or Wrong, tho' they may fometime* not quadrate with the -Notions that we form of Juftice amongft one another, and which are only prudent Rules for our own feparate Con- venience, and take in no Part of the Creation but our felves. We cannot enter into the Ra- tionale of God's punifliing all Mankind for the
H 4 Sin
i76 CATtfs LETTERS.
Sin of their firft Parents, which they could not help $ nor for his punifhing all Ifratl with a Peflilence for the private Sin of DaviJ, which, without doubt, many of them con- derrm'd 5 nor for his bringing Plagues upon the Egyptian*, becaufe he had harden'd Pharaoh's Heart ; no -more than for his destroying all Mankind at the Deluge, for Crimes which he could have prevented 5 and Multitudes of the like Inftances in holy Writ belides, which we cannot account for by our weak Reafonings, (which have for their Object only our own Advantage,) but we are very fure thefe Things were done, and rightly done 5 and all con- duc'd to feme fuperior, wife, and juft End, .Almighty God judges of the Wholeof Things, and we only of them as they regard our felvest The whole Syftem of the Univerfe is his Care f- and all other inferior Beings mud be fubordi- nate to the Interefts of this great One, and nil contribute, in their feveral Stations and Aclions, to bring about at laft the grand Purpofes of his Providence. Infinite Millions of Animals are born with the Morning Sun, and probably fee old Age, and feel the Pangs of Death before Noon : Great Numbers of them by their Death preferve Life, or give Convenience to others, who otherwife could not live at all, or muft live upon very ill Terms. Vegetables rife, grow, decay, die again, and get a new Refurreclion in other Shapes. All Nature is in perpetual Rotation, and working through a thoufand Revolutions to its laft Period, and the Confummation ©f ail Things, when its great Author will know- how
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how to make all Individuals recompenfe for the Evils they have fuffer'd here, and perhaps give us Faculties to know, admire, and glo- rify his Conduct, in thofe Inftances which may feem moft myfterious to our narrow Ca- pacities in this frail State.
But this general and comprehensive Syftera of the Univerfe, and this honourable Con- ception of the Deity, and Acquiefcence in, and Submiffion to his Will, will not fquarc with the Interefts of particular Societies of Men, who think themfelves concern'd to find out a Syftem for themfelves alone , and there- fore, to avoid thofe Confequences (which I can fee no Purpofes of Religion ferv'd in a- voiding) they compliment away his Power, Frefcience and general Providence, to do Re- fpect to the Notions they have phas'd to con- ceive of his Juftice, which they have thought fit to meafure by their own Interefts, or what they think bell for themfelves. They firll determine what they defire to have 5 then call it juft, and immediately interest Heaven to bring it about $ and finding that it contradicts the Experience of Mankind, all the Notions they can conceive of the Workings of Provi- dence, and the Nature of Things themfelves, (which always operate from Caufe to Effect) they fet themfelves to work to form a new Scheme at the Expence of denying all that they fee, or can know.
In order to this, they have made Man the Primwn Mobile, and his Mind the firft Princi- ple or Spring of all his Actions, independent of the Author of his Being, and of all the
H 5 fecond
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fecond Giufes, which evidently influence and concur to determine his Refolutions and his Actions. They fay, that Almighty God (who has infinite Juftice and Power) having given to Mankind a Rule to acl: by, and annex'd Rewards or Menaces to the Obfervance or ISfon-obfervance of this Rule, has given a free, uncontroul'd, and impartial Liberty to him to determine, without being coerced orreflrain'd by any other Power to do, or not to do an Aclion, or to chufe Good or Evil to himfelf: His Juitice, they fay, obliges him to this Con- duel, and his Power enables him to execute and bring it to pafs , and fo by affecting to do Right to one Attribute of his, which they cannot underftand, and which they may pof- fibly miftake, by fuppofing it to be different from his Will, (which alone, as has been faid, can constitute Right or Wrong) they take away and rob him of all or moft of the reft.
His Prefcience or Knowledge (from all E- ternity) of every Event which does or can happen in the Univerfe, is denied at once 5 for whatever is contingent in its own Nature, and may or may not happen, cannot be fore- feen; for when any Being fees that a Thing will be, it muft be, for it is impoffible to &now that any Event will come to pafs, that may not come to pafs; and 'tis equally im- pouible to forefee an Effecl without knowing the Caufes which produce it. 'Tis no Irre- verence to the fupreme Being, to fay, That he cannot do Impcffibilities, and know Things which cannot be known $ and 'tis certain he
muft
CATO's LETTERS. 179
mud know all Things which can be known, becaufe they all depend upon his Will.
It reflects upon his Wifdom or Power ; Upon the firft, as fuppofing he defires or in- tends to bring any Defigns or Purpofes to pafs, and yet that he has not chofen the proper Methods to attain them , or upon the latter, that he cannot attain them if he would, it intrenches upon his Providence and Govern- ment of the Univerfe, by giving Part of his Power out of his own Hands, and by leaving it to theDifcretion of inferior and weak Be- ings, to contradict himfelf and difappoint his Intentions: And even his Juftice itfelf, to which all the re&are fo freely fncrificed, is at- tack'd upon fuch Reafonings, in charging Al- mighty God with Severity in punifhing Crimes committed through Weaknefs, Want, or pre- dominant Appetites, and which he could have prevented by giving others. 1 do not fee what has been or can be faid to thefe Objec- tions more, than that we are not to reafon up- on the Proceedings of Providence, which a&s upon Motives and Maxims far above us, and which are not to be fcan'd by our little Rules and fcanty Capacities $ and if thtfe Gentle- men could but be perfwaded to reafon thus at frrft, they would fave themfelves the Trouble of folving perpetual Contradictions.
For what can be more evident, than that the Aclions of Man, which ieern moft fpon- taneous and free, depend upon his Will to do them 5 and that that Will is directed by his reafoning Faculties, which depend again upon the good or ill Organization of his Body,
upon
i8o CAfffs LE TTERS.
upon his Complexion, the Nature of his E- ducation, imbib'd Prejudices, State of Health, predominant Paffions, Manner of Life, fortui- tous Reafonings with others, different kinds of Diet, and the Thoufands of Events, feem- ing Accidents, and the perpetual Objecls which encompafs him, and which every Day vary and offer themfelves differently to him $ all or moft of which Caufes, and many more which probably determine him, muft be con- fefs'd to be out of his Power. Conflant Ex- perience fhews us, that Men differently con- itituted, or differently educated, will reafon differently, and the lame Men in different Circumftances. A Man will have different Sentiments about the fame Things, in l^outh, in middle Age, and in Dotage, in Sicknefs and in Health, in Liquor and Sobriety, in Wealth and in Poverty, in Power and out of it, and the Faculties of the Mind are viiibly altered by Phyfick, Exercife, or Diet.
The fame Reafon which is convincing to one Man, appears ridiculous to another, and to the fame Man at different Times 5 and con- fequently, his or their Aclions, which are Refults of thofe Reafonings, will be different: And we not only all confefs this, by endea- vouring to work upon one another by theie Mediums, but Heaven thinks fit to choofe the fame 5 for what elfe can be meant by offering Rewards and denouncing Punifhments, but as Caufes to produce the Effects defign'd, that is, to fave thofe whom Almighty God in his deep Wifdom has preordain'd to Blifs, and to be influenced by thofe Motives, We all con- fefs,
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fefs that no Man can do his Duty without the' Grace of God, and whoever has the Grace of God will do his Duty. It is undoubtedly to be obtained by Prayer, but we rnuft have Grace to pray for it $ and I am not fenfible that Almighty God does any other way give bis Grace but by offering to us, or by laying in our Way fuffident Inducements to obey his Will : I am lure I can find none elie in my felf or difcover them in others, whatever the Enthufiaftick and Vifionary Gentlemen may do. 1 doubt much, that what they call Grace, is what I call Enthufiafm, or a iirong Conceit or Perfwafion of their own Godhnels and Communication with the Deity.
What fort of Reafoning then is this, to lay, that Heaven gives to every Man fufficient Power and Motives to chufe the beft, which vet prove inefficient 5 that he has made every Man free to aft or not to aa by a Rule, and vet has plac'd him in fuch a Situation as to find a thouland Obftacles in his Way to that Free- dom 5 and that he has given him a Judgment capable to determine right, and Opportunities rightly to exercife that Judgment 5 and yet by mlkins ufe of that Judgment and thofe Op- portunities, he often judges direaiy contrary: And all this is to make good a Syftem, as yet owned but by a very fmall Part of Mankind, and for which I can find no Foundation in Reafon and Scripture ?
I rr.uft beg leave to think it very audacious in a fmall N umber of Men, to determine the Workings of Providence by their own narrow Schemes, at the Expence too of condemning
the
x8a CATtfs LETTERS.
the Opinions and Reafonings of the greateft Part of the World in all Ages. All or moft of the Seels of Philofophers in Greece and Rome, held Fare or Neceffity as the feveral Seels amongft the Jews did, except the Ejjenes, a very fmall Sect indeed, not exceeding few thoufands. The Mahometans , through the "World, hold Predeftination : The Cnhinifts> and fome other Proteftant Seels, hold it now j and 1 do not underhand the Articles of the Church of England) if it is not the orthodox Opinion amongft us 5 and it certainly was held to be fo, till a few Doctors in King James and Charles 1's Time, advanc'd the contrary Syftem, and who, in the Addrefles of Parliament, were always, in thofe Reigns, rank'd with the Papifts for doing fo j and it is yet undoubt- edly the Opinion of the common People thro* the World : However, I do not condemn any one who may think that this is derogatory to the Attributes of God, in a modefl Manner to offer his Reafons againft any Dogma ever fo well eftablifh'd, (which I think is the Right of all Mankind,) yet I could wifh they would fhew the fame Modefty, in giving other Peo- ple their Liberty of defending tne contrary Opinion wirh the lame good Intentions.
The mod pregnant and ufual Objection a- gainft this Doctrine is, That if Men are pre- deftinated to eternal Blifs or Mifery, their own Endeavours are ufelefs, and they can have no Motives to prefer Good before Evil j which, I confefs, will always be the Reafonings of Men who are predeftinated to the latter, (if 'tis poflible to fuppofe there can be any fuch ;)
but
OATO's LETTERS.
but thofe who are determined to the firft, will always believe, that God takes proper Means to attain his Ends, and that he defigns to fave Men by the Medium of good Works, and of obeying his Will, and this Conviction will be an adequate Caufe to produce fuch Obe- dience in thofe who are deftined to Happinefs. If the End is predeftinated, the Means muft be predeftinated too. If a Man is to die in War, he muft meet an Enemy ; and if he is to be drown'd, he muft come within the reach of Water , or if he is to be ftarv'd, h^ muft not know how to come at any Victuals, or have no Mind to eat them, or Stomach to di- geft them.
As for my own part, I dare not belie ve> that the all-good, all-wife, and moft merciful God, has determined any of his Creatures to endlefs Mifery, by creating and forming them with fuch Appetites and Paffions as naturally and neceffarily produce it $ though I think it to be fully confident with his Power, Good- nefs, and Juftice, to give Inclinations which may lead and entitle us to Happinefs 5 and, as I conceive, there is nothing in the Holy Scriptures which cxpreily decides this Diffi- culty, as I may poflibly fhew hereafter 5 fo I 'fhall not prefume to fearch too narrowly into the fecret Difpenfations of Providence, or to pronounce any Thing dogmatically concerning his Manner of governing the Univerff, more than that he cannot make his Creatures mife- rable without juft and adequate Reafons. And therefore, fince we find in Fa£t, that many of them are fo in this State, we muft account for
this
i84 euro's LETTERS.
this by Mediums agreeable to his indifpute<V Attributes, or own that we cannot account for it at all, though it is unquestionably .juft in it felf. All Means will probably conduce in the End to impartial and univerfal Good, and whatever, or how many States foever of Probation we may pafs through, yet I hope, that the Mercies of God, and the Merits of Jefus Chrift, will at la ft exceed, and prepon- derate the Frailties, Mirtakes, and temporary Tranfgreflions of weak and mortal Men ; all which I fhall endeavour, in Time, to /hew from Scripture and Reafon : The former of which, in my Opinion, is too generally mi- ilaken or perverted, to fignify what it does not intend, by {training fome PafTages beyond their literal and genuine Signification, and explaining others too literally, and not making due Allowances to the Manner of fpeakjng ufed amongft the Eaftern Nations, which was very often, if not moft commonly, in Hyperboles and other Figures and Allegories. But more of this hereafter, when I dare pro- mife to deftrve the Pardon of every candid Perfon, whom I cannot convince.
I rfw, ckc.
LETTERS. 18
S I R,
AS all the Ideas or Images of the Brain muft be caus'd originally by Impreffions of Objeds without us, ib we can reafon upc no other. A Man born blind can have no Imase of Light or Colours 5 nor one who has been always deaf, of Sounds $ whatever Le- fcriptions are given of them. There are many Creatures in the World who want fome Or- gans of Senfe which we have, and probably there are others in the Univerfe which have many that we want, and fucb Beings, if there be any fucb, muil know many Things ot which we have no Conception 5 and they muft jurfge of other Things, of which we have a more partial Conception, in diftere Lights from what we are capable of judging. It is not certain that any two Men fee < lours in the fame Lights ; and it is molt cer- tain, that the fame Men at different Times, according to the good or ill Difpofition i of their Organs, Yee them in various ones, and quently their Ratiocinations upon them will be different; which Experience Hiews us to be true in diftemper'd enthufiaftick or melan- choly Men. t
Our Senfes are evidently adapted to take in only finite or limited Beings ; nor are we ca- pable of conceiving their Exigence, otherwiie
i8<? Core's LETTERS.
than by the Mediums of Extention and Soli- dity, The Mind finds that it fees, hears, taftes, fmells, and feels, which is its Manner of firft conceiving Things, or in other Words, is the Modus in which Objects affect it , and it can reafon no farther upon them, than ac- cording to thofe Impreffions : So that it is converfant only about the Film or Outfide of Bodies, and knows nothing of their internal Contexture, or how they perform their Ope- rations, and confequently can affirm or deny Toothing about them, but according to the Perceptions it has 5 and when it goes further, or attempts to go further, it rambles in the Dark, and wades out of its Depth, and muft rave about Non Entities, or, which is the fame thing to us, about what we do or can know nothing of, or nothing to the Purpofe 5 and yet thefe Things, or thefe Nothings, have employ'd the Leifure, Speculations, and Pens of many very learned Men, as if true Wifdom confifted in knowing what we want Faculties to know.
All that we can know of Infinity, Eternity, ©Y. is, That we can know little or nothing about them. We muft underftand what we mean by the Terms, or elfe we could not ufe them, or muft ufe them impertinently. We perfectly apprehend what we mean by Dura- tion, which is our Conception of the Continu- ance of Things, and contains in it a terminus a quo to a terminus ad quern, that is, it has cer- tain Boundaries in our Imaginations, and we can multiply this Conception backwards and for- wards, without ever being able to come to the
End
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iEnd of it, and To may be fare that it is with- out End* and then the Imagination is lott, ! and can 20 no further. We know that a,L ex- tended Bodies are divifible, and can never he I divided fo often, but they may be divided further 5 and therefore fay juftly, they are m- f finitely divifible * nor can any Body be
larse or Ion* as to come to the End of hxte I Son. And ^ therefore we may fafely affirm, That Extenfion or Space (which is our Con- ception of the Exigence and Immenfity < Bodies) is infinite 5 but then we know north* 1 Properties of Infinity or Eternity, but by the Help of thefe Conceptions, which being 1 -. mited and finite, cannot meafure what is in- finite and eternal 5 that is, we cannot compre- hend what is incomprehenfible to any Being which is not infinite and eternal too; and whofe Exigence is not as immeasurable by I Time and Place as thofe Images are.
All the Difputes, feeming Contradictions, and Abfurdities, which offer themfelves when we think or talk of Infinity or Eternity, anl< from our applying our Thoughts, which are confined to finite Beings, and our Words, which are coined to convey finite Conception, to Subjefts which are infinite, and of whi< we can have no adequate Ideas that can be es prefs'd by Sounds. Nothing is more true in finite Beings, than that the Whole muft con- fift of all its Parts ; but in Infinity, there no Whole, nor confequently Parts. Whe there is no Beginning nor any End, there can be no Middle "; and^ where there .is no Whole, there can be no Half, Time or
i88 euro's LETTERS.
Theory are not divifible, becaufe nothing but Time or Space can divide them, and then they are not divided j yet we know that Time or Space, as they have relation to finite Beings, and our Exigence or Duration, may be di- vided, and arefo; and therefore the Riddles made about them are owing to the Narrownefs of our Capacities, and to our endeavouring to apply fuch Conceptions as we have, to Ob- jects of which we can have no Conception, which is, in effect, to attempt to hear Sights and iee Sounds.
It is the fame Thing to pretend to define Eternity, or comprehend Infinity j which is to put Limits and Ends to what has no Limits and Ends, and to comprehend what is in- comprehenfible 5 which Conceptions contra- dict one another, and cannot itand together in a Propofition. It is the fame to talk of infi- nite Number, for all Number rouft be finite.
How vain therefore is it, to form any Pro- pofitions or Reafonings beyond our Images, or to make pofitive Deductions from Premises wholly negative? From hence I conceive pro- ceed all the Fairy Difputes about the Modus of God's exifting ; what are his Attributes and Manner of acting ; whether Space is a real Beingy or only the Or^r of Things amonpft tbe;n- fehes 5 whether it is the Scnforium of Go<J, or what is the Meaning of the Word Senforium : Which Controverfies have taken up great Part of the Time of two very learned Men, that has been fpent, as I think, moftly in /hewing that they know nothing of the Matter, or ju-xt to nothing. I am fure I have learn'd no- thing
CATo's LETTERS.
:hing from their Elucidations, whatever others may have done.
All that God Almighty has thought fit to tell us about the Modus of his Exigence is, I *m that I am. And this we fhould have known if he had not told it to us $ and I believe it is all we ever /hall know, till he gives us other Faculties. We are very fure that God is $ that fome Being muft have exifted before any Limitation of Time, and independent of every other Being 3 and confequently muft have ex- ifted neceffarily, or what we call eternally. It is exceeding probable, and, I think, cer- tain, that there cannot be two or more fuch Beings as are neceflary and felf exifting ; and if but one, then that muft be the Caufe of all the reft, or, which is the fame thing, mufl produce all the reft ; which mediately or im- mediately muft derive their Exiftence, Facul- ties, Senfations, Capacities, Powers of Aclion, and confequently their Actions themfelves, from him.
But by what Energy or Power he effects this, we are wholly ignorant 5 and though the Wits of learned Men have been employed in folving this intricate Queftion for many thou- fand Years, yet the World is now juft as wife as when they firft fet out ; and therefore I humbly think it is high Time to give over, and to content our felves with knowing all that we can know, that is, that we can know no- thing about it -•) and confequently, ought not to form Proportions about God's EfTence, his Attributes, concerning his Eternity, his Infi- nity, the Moduli or what is the Senforimu of
his
i9o Giro's LETTERS.
_
his Exigence, or of his Ways or Motives for making or governing the Umverfe : For I j conceive in thefe Quefiions we muft walk wholly in the Dark $ like Travellers who are out of their Way, the further they go, the greater is their Journey home again.
However, I think we are left at liberty to reafon about Things which we do know, and therefore may with great Aflurance fay, That God made all Things, and that every Thing depends immediately, or, by fecond Caufes, mediately upon him j and that it is abfolutely impofllble they can dootherwife.
I do not fee how a greater Abfurdity -can be put together in Words, than that one Being fhall make another, create the Matter of which it was made, give it all the Faculties it has, all its Capacities of Reafoning, Powers of Action, Means of Thinking, and prefent it with all its Objeftsfor thinking, and yet leave it at liberty to aft againft them all $ which I conceive is a downright Impoflibility. A Fair | of Scales perfectly pois'd cannot ponderate on I either Side , and a Man who has no Motives ; to aft, will not aft at all. Every thing muft be at reft which has no Force to impel! it 5 but as the leaft Straw breaks the Horfe's Back, or a fingle Sand will turn the Beam of Scales which holds Weights as heavy as the World ; fo, without doubt, as minute Caufes may de- termine the Aftions of Men, which neither others, nor they themfelves are fenfible of 5 but certainly fomething muft determine them, or elfe they could not be determined , and it is nothing to the purpofe to fay, that their
Choice
; LETT ERS. 191
Choice determines them, if fomething elfe muft determine that Choice 5 for let it be what it will, the EfFeft muft be neceffary. To fay that a Man has a Power to aft without any Motives or Impulfe to aft, feems to me to be a direft Blunder : A Man can't have a Will, to aft againft his Will, and if he has a Will to do it, fomething muft determine that Will, and whatever it is, muft be his Caufe of Aftion, and will produce the Aftion $ and that can only be the Appearance of Advantage arifing from it $ and thofe Appearances muft arife from the feeming Relations of Objefts to one another, or to himfelf , which are not in his Difpofal, nor confequently are his Ac- tions in the Senfe contended for.
If a Man can do a voluntary Aftion with- out a Defign to do it, and without any Reafon or Motive for doing it, then Matter without Undemanding has a felf-moving Power ; which is Atheifm with a Witnefs, tho' I will not, ac- cording to laudable Cuftom, call the AiTertors of it Atheifts, becaufe they may^not fee the Confequence ; for take away UndevftanMng^ and there can be nothing left but Matter : And Undemanding is certainly taken away, when a Being has no Reafon for afting ; but when he has a Reafon, that Reafon is the Caufe, or Cc-caufe of the Aftion.
The Queftion therefore is not whether a Man can do what he has a Mind to do, but, Whether he can do what he has no Mind to do ? That is, if his Inclinations concur with his Reafonings, his appearing Interefts, and his predominant Paffions, whether altogether
vviU
C Arc's LETTERS.
will not form his Refolutions, and make him act purfuant to them, whilft thofe Motives continue. One may as well fay a Man can avoid feeing, when an Object ftrikes the Eye, or Hearing, when it hits the Ear, as to believe that he can decline thinking, when the Motion caufed by the Object reaches the Brain, or wherever elfe the Seat of Thinking is, unlefs fome other more powerful Object obstructs or diverts it in its Journey, or afterwards, and when he does think, he mutt think as he can, that is, according as Objects from without are reprefented by their Images to him within, or, in other Words, as they act. upon the ani- mal Spirits, or whatever elfe it is which fets the Machine in Motion. A Man cannot avoid feeling Pain or Sicknefs, which are Senfations of the Mind, nor chufe whether he will feel them or not 5 nor can he avoid defiring to get rid of them, unlefs fome ftronger Motives de- termine him, which promife him greater Ad- vantages than he fuffers Inconveniencies.
But here the Metaphyfical Gentlemen di- ftinguifh between the Motions of the Body and thofe of the Mind: They own the Pulfe will beat, the Nerves, Arteries, Mufcles, and Blood, will move whether we will or not : And is it not as evident, that, according as they move or beat, the Mind receives Altera- tion, is enlarg'd or leflen'd, improv'd or im- pair'd, and determin'd in many of its Refo- lutions. A Man fick, or in Pain, will fend for or go to a Phyfician or Surgeon, which draws after it a Train of other Refolutions or Actions 5 and, according to tbe Succefs he
meets
CMTO's LETTERS,
meets with, may alter the whole Scheme of his Life, and of his After- think ing, and very often of hre Capacity of Thinking. As our Bodies are healthy or diforder'd, we are cou- rageous, jealous, fearful, enthufiaftick, or melancholy, and reafon differently, and aft differently : And is it not then choice Philofo- phy, to fay, that the Contexture and Difpo- fition of our Bodies (which were not of our own making ) often direct or influence the Re folutions of our Minds, and yet are not the Caufes of thofe Reioiutions; and to go on to fuppofe, that our Minds aft independently oi them, as well as of all other Caufes : For 'tis ridiculous to fay, that tho' the Mind rus a Principle of Self-Motion, yet other Caufes co-operate to produce the Aftion j for if any other Caufe makes it do what it would not otherwise do, that is the Caufe or Co-cauie of the Action produc'd to all the Purpofes of this Argument ; nor can I guefs at any one Argument which can be made ufe of to fhew, that fecond Caufes can produce Part of the Aft ion, or co-operate in producing it, which can prove them incapable to produce the Whole. The moft that can be pretended is, that there is a Poffibility that it may be fo $ but I conceive no Reafon can be afllgn'd why it may not be otherwife $ but whether it is fo or not, I think I have fhewn, that the Mind of Man can be only a fecondary Caufe, muft be afted upon by other Caufes, and that God alone is the firft Caufe or Principle of all Mo- tion 5 and that the A ft ions of all other Beings are necdTarily dependent upon him,
VOL. IV. i A
CA TO's LETTERS.
A very great and juftly celebrated Author, fuppofes that a Man has a fclf-moving Power, and, I think, only fuppofes it, endea- vours to determine the Queftion, by reducing his Opponents to account for what no Man yet has accounted for, and yet every Man fees to be true : He fays, * // the Reafons find Motives , upon which a Man zHs^ be the immediate and efficient Caufe of the AftiQn^ then either abftraft 'Notions (as all Reafons and Motives are) are in tbewf elves Sub/lancef, or elfe tbat which has no real Subfiftence can put a Body in Motion.
Now the Force of this Reafoning confifls in putting his Adverfary upon fhewing how the Mind a&s upon the Body, or the Body upon the Mind $ and he would have done kindly to have let us into that Secret himfelf. When he is fo obliging to inform the World how the Eye fees, the Ear hears, or the Pa- late taftes, I dare undertake to folve any other Difficulty he propofes. We find by Expe- rience, when an Object flrikes the Eye, it caufes that Senfation which we call Seeing ; and a Man cannot avoid feeing, no more than in other Circumftances he can avoid feeling Pain and Sicknefs, which are undoubtedly Actions of the Mind 5 or if he chufes another manner of Expreflion, we will call them Paf- fions, (and indeed they are both, viz. the lat- ter as they are impeli'd by other Caufes, and the former as they produce future Events $ and
Dr. ClarkV Remarks upon a Phllgfopbical concerning human Liberty, Page 43.
it
CAlO's LETTERS. 193
it feems very trifling to me, in fo great a Mam to fpend fo many Pages about the Propriety of # Word, when the Meaning intended to be conveyed by it was fully underftood:J but^ certainly they are Species of Thinking, or, if he pleafes, abftraft Notions, which often put a Body in Motion, as all Thinking undoubt- edly does : But how thefe Effects are produ ced we are wholly in the dark.
We fee and feel, that Defires and Fears, that abftra^l Notions or Images of the Brain, alter the Difpofuion of the whole _Fabrick, and often detfroy the Contexture of it. We fee that the Longings of Women with Child, will ftamp ImpreSions upon the Fetus, which Longings are certainly abftraft Notions $ and if thefe are not corporeal, then we muft con- fefs, that what is not fo, will affecT: what is : For as to his Words Subftance and MJiflence, I ihall not pretend to underftand them, without a farther Explanation, if he means any thing by them beiides Body. Methinks this truly- worth y and learned Author fhould not call up- on another, to folve what no Man is more capable of folving than himfelf. I freely own my Ignorance , and iince, as I conceive, Re- velation is filent in the Matter, am contented to continue in that Ignorance.
His other Argument is as follows : If infin- fible Matter, or any other Being or Sulftance con- tinually afting upon a Jvlan, be the immediate and efficient Caufe of bis ARions, then the Motion of that fultle Matter or Subftance muft be caufcd by fome ether Subftance, I would chufe to call it fome other Being, and the Motion of that by
1 2, fome
196 CAo's LETTERS.
fane other, till at loft we arrive at aftee Bein?. Now if inftead of the Words free Being, he had faid a felf-exiftent Being, which 1 Call God, his Conclufion had been inevitable • nor do I oppofe it in the Words he ufe.s : But as we may poflibly differ, and I doubt fhall do, in the Meaning of the Words free Being, fo I neither affent to, nor difient from his Propofition. 1 mean, by a feee Being, one who has nothing, without itfelf, to determine or controul its Adlions , which God has not, and I think Man has. His Conclufions, there- fore from fuch Premises are nothing to sne*
I am, &c.
SIR,
T is juftly obferv'd by Mr. Locke, and by * Mr. Holbs, and others before him, that we have no innate Ideas, nor can reflect upon them before we have them, that is, we can- not think before we have fomething to think upon. All Objects and Materials for think- ing mu$ be Let in upon the Mind thro* the Organs of Senfe ; and when they are there, we reflect or reafon upon them 3 or, to fpeak philofophically, when the Aftion of exterior Bodies itrike upon us, they muftcaufe a fecond Ac/tion or Motion, and continue it in mfinit&it* uniefs it meets Obftruftion. This firji Acli-
OB
's LETTERS. 197
on caufes Senfation, and the fecond Reflecl:i- on, and the firft feems to me as neceffarily to produce the latter, as the Wind fails a Ship, or the winding up of a Clock fets it in Mo- tion.
Every Syftem of Matter has peculiar Orga- nizations, and can perform only peculiar Func-^ tions. A Cow cannot perform the Offices ot a Horfe, nor a Man of a Monkey 5 nor indeed, in many Inftances, can one Man perform thofe of another. As fome Machines or Syftems of Matter confift of vaftly finer and more nume- rous Parts than others, fo they are capable of more Operations. A Watch which points to Minutes or Seconds has more Wheels, than one which only Ihews Hours 5 and a fink- ing or repeating Watch has more than both, though all are wound up by the fame Key. Animals who confift of infinite Tubes, Veins, Arteries, Mufcles, and^ Juices, which alfo confift of infinite globular, and other figur'ci Particles of Matter, mufi have fuitable and very furprizing Operations, though all their Actions muft be confin'd within the Circle of their Machine j but they will be multiply 'd in equal or greater Degree than the Chances upon Dies : Two Dies have fix times as many Chan- ces as one, and three as two, and fo on in hifi- nitum j and therefore there feems to be no Dif- ficulty in accounting for the great Variety of Actions in Animals more than in inferior Ma- chines : And as Mankind never have, nor, I prefume, ever will difcover all the Powers of mechanical Experiments, fo with greater Reafon one may venture to aflert, that no A-
I 3 niraarl
ip8 CATO's LETTERS.
nirnal ever yet has exerted all the Faculties it was endu'd with : A thoufand Dies may turn up all Sexes 3 but I believe this has ne- ver happen'd, nor I believe ever will.
Vegetables feem to me to be Analogous in
c^* tj
many Refpecls to Animals : Their Generarfon appears to be much alike: They both rife from Seeds, or Eggs, and continue their Kinds by the fame: Their Life is contfnu'd alike^ and their Nourishment conveyed through Veins, or other Tubes ; and when that Nour- ifnmcnt ceafes, they die, and as the Action of the Sun, or other Bodies, fets the former in Motion, and caufes that fort of Senfation which we call Vegetation, fo the fame Power, or fome other like it, feems to rouze animal Life, and fets it in like Motion 3 and all Mo- tion mud be progreflive in the fame Syftem till it is deftroy'd, or that Syftem becomes a- nother, or part of another $ which fliall be more fully /hewn hereafter.
This Action is cail'd by different Names, as ir affects the different Parts of the Machine. When it affects the Eye, it is cail'd Seeing 3 the Ear, Hearing 5 the Palate, Taftingj the Nofe Smelling 5 which indeed are but diffe- rent Sorts of Feeling : But when the Motion is continued farther, and gets to the Brain, or other internal Parts of the Syftem, it caufes that Effect which we call Thinking ; which again operates within the Animal, and drives it to farther Action, which is always analogous to the Difpofition of the Fabrick, and regular, or irregular,«according to the prefent Forrnaton of the Machine, and of the Powers which
impel
CATo's LETTERS. 199
impel it. And here we cannot enough ad- mire the exquifite Skill of the fupreme Ar- chitect, who has form'd fuch ftupendious and amazing Works of his Omnipotence; and m many Inftances, I conceive we fliould judge right if we only admir'd them, and not vain- ly attempted to find out what we can never know. We want Faculties to fearch the Caufes of moft Things in Nature, and know nothing of their internal Contexture, and but little ot* the Modus of their Operations. We fee only fome feniible Effects of the Adions of Bodies upon one another j but how they produce thefe Effe&s, we are utterly igno- rant, and I believe ever fhall be whilft we are in this State : We cannot tell why the Fire burns, the Grafs grows, the Eye fees, the Ear hears, or the Mind thinks, only we find in faft, that they do £"05 and here is our ne plus ultra.
It is exceedingly imprudent therefore for Men to pretend to determine the Powers of Matter and Motion, when they know not what Matter is, of what Parts it confifts, or indeed any thing about it, but by a few out- ward Erre&s $ nor can we form any Notions of it but from thofe Effects, which yet pro- bably do not exhauft the Millionth Part of its Powers: And it is ftill more ridiculous to ufe the Word Spirit, (of which we have no fort of Idea,) to account for other Things of which we have very little or no Idea neither,, and in many Inftances, deny what we fee, to pretend to believe what we do not under- {land. Words are only the Signs yof Images,
I 4 * ™
200 CA To's LET TERS,
as Figures are of Numbers; and what Life i» there of a Sound, or Scrall, which fignifies nothing, or, which is the fame Thing, which {lands for what we know nothing of.
Now if a Man fhould ask a modern Philo- fopher, what he meant by the Word Spirit ? he poilibly will anfwer, that it is fornething which wants Extenfion and Solidity. If it be ask'd again, what Conception he has of any Thing which has neither Exteniion or Solidity? and he anfwers, that he has none at all, but that there may be Beings in Nature of which he neither has, nor can have any Idea : If then he be ask'd, why he ufes a Word which has r,o Conception annex'd to it, to explain ano- ther Thing of which he is wholly in the dark ? his Reply, I prefume will be, that he cannot account for fome Operations of that Being by the Images he had before conceiv'd of it, and the Definitions about it which he had been us'd to ; and therefore he was forc'd to recur to negative Ideas. If he be ask'd again, how he knows that his Definitions are right, and take in all the Powers of that Being ? he muft acknowledge, that he knows not the Thou- iandth Part of its Powers 5 but yet perhaps will fay, that he is very fure that it has not Powers inconiiftent with the Nature of Body. It will be ask'd of him, how he, who knows little or nothing of the Nature of Body, can know what is againft the Nature of Body ? which Difficulty I /hall leave to wifer Men to unriddle.
Now it appears to me, that there are many mechanical Operations of the Minds and Bodies
of
's LETTERS. 201
of Animals, which refult only from their pe- culiar Syftems of Matter, or, in other Words, compounded Bodies peculiarly fyftematiz'dr attain new Qualities and Powers which they had not before, and which influence their own Actions, and the Actions of other Bo- dies, as neceflarily as the Loadftone draws Iron, or the Root and Fibres of a Tree or Plant attract the Juices of the Earth, and con- vey them on, till they are tranfrauted into Wood, Leaves,, and Fruit. A Chick, or a young Fheafant, hatch'd in an Oven, as foon as it is out of the Shell, will eat Bread, or Emmet Eggs, and foon after fhew Signs of Love or Fear, and /brink from Danger (like the fenfitive Plant from the Touch) before it has gain'd any Experience, has any Senfe of Injuries, or can know how it can be hurt. Birds hatch'd in a Cage will not only gene- rate together, but will build their Neils in the fame Manner, and of the fame Materials with thofe of the frme Kind, if they can come at them, without having feen any of the fame Sort before. Infant Animals immediately feek the Teats of their Dams, without being taught to do fo $ and all Animals and Vegetables feek or attract the peculiar Nourishment that is proper to their Species, without any Direc- tion but from Nature, and have the fame Affec- tions and Pafftons, with but little Variation ; whkh I think plainly fhews, that their par- ticular Organizations, or Syflems of Matter, by a natural Sort of Gravitation or Attrac- tion direct their Operations $ and though eve- ry Particular of the fame Species differs 4n
1 5 feme
=02 CATo's LETTERS.
lome Refpecls from another, and confequcnt- ly their Aclions will vary, yet they are all confin'd within the Limits prefcrib'd to the whole Species. And this Obfervation runs through all Nature.
Now I conceive this muft be accounted for as above, or we muft recurr to conftant Mi- racle, or elfe fuppofe that God Almighty has given to every Species of Animals peculiar Minds different from all other Kinds, and to every Particular a Mind different from all the reft of the fame Kind 5 which guides and di- re 6ts all its Actions, and makes all the fpeci- £ck as well as identical Differences we fee : Por which Suppofition I can find no Founda- tion in Reafon, or from Obfervation, nor can I perceive what Ufe can be made of fuch a Conccffion 5 for whether the Action of Ani- mals are directed by the Difpofition of the Materials which form them, or they were originally tonftituted with fuch Appetites, they muft a6l the fame Way 5 and this farther raifes our Admiration of the Power and Pro- vidence of God, who has form'd all his Crea- tures in fuch a Manner as to anfuerhis Inten- tions in creating them 3 and has fo difpos'd the Mechanifm and Juices of every living Species) as well as of every individual, as will beft conduce to its Prefervation, and to perform the Function intended.
But here a notable D.iftinftion arifes be- tween the Operations of the Mind,- and thofe in the Body, or in other Words, between Sen- fations and Reflections, between Appetites and ngs 3 which I rr,uft beg leave to think
n
CATO's LETTERS. 203
in this Regard, has no Foundation in Nature* and only exifts in metaphyfical Brains. There can be no Senfations, Inclinations, or Appe- tites, without the Co-operation of that Facul- ty, Capacity, Energy, or whatever elfe it is that we call the Mind. Dead Men can no more hear, fee, feel, &c. than a lump of Earth, be- caufe their Organization is deftroy'd, or the animal Spirits which fet them in Motion can no longer continue that Motion, or the fepa- rate Principle, call'd the Mind, can no longer keep its Habitation 5 but whatever it be, or by what Name foever call'd, it is certainly the caufafme qua non of the Actions of the Animal, and is one Link of the Chain of Caufes which direct and govern his voluntary Motions.
'Tis the Mind which fees, hears, taftes* fmells, feels, defires, or fears 5 and herein con- fifts the Difference between Animals and Ve- getables : They have both Life, and both have Organizations proper to preferveand con- tinue that Life by fuitable Nouri/hment con- vey'd through Veins and Tubes : Both have fur prizing Operations, and unfearchable by our Capacities $ and both muft have a long Train of Caufes from Nature to enable them to produce thofe Operations : but befides many other poilible Caufes link'd together in thofe Chains, and many of them exiting with- in Animals themfelves which we do not know,, there is one which we do, namely3 the Will or Defire to do a Thing 3 and this certainly, in a thoufand Inftances, depends upon Caufes without us, and which are undoubtedly out of oar Power 5 which Caufes without, fet the
cthc-sr
204 euro's LE TT ERS.
other Caules within us at work, and produce the Will, and confequently the Action.
A Chick, or young Pheafant, would no more peck, or a Lamb fuck, than if it was dead, if it did not intend to do it : It feels Unea- finefs by Hunger, and {hives to help itfelf r It certainly fliews Thought and Choice, in- preferring one Sort of Food before another* and in fhrinking or running away from Dan- ger : And thefe are all Actions of the Mind. It is true, as it grows older, and its Contex- ture ftronger, its Experience encreafes, and its Capacity grows with it 5 but the Faculty is the fame, and for any thing which appears to the contrary, refults from the Formation of the 3 y it em $ nor can I conceive how all Birds, Beafts, and Filhes of the fame Species, fhould have the fame, or very near the fame Senfati- ons, Defires, and Fears, and chufc the fame Kinds of Food and Means of Prefervation, and always ufe the fame, or very near the fame Addrefs, Cunning, or Artifice, unlefs their Contexture, the Difpoiition of Materials and Juices, of which they are composed, by a na- tural Mechanifm, produced thefe Effects, ei- ther by conflicting or acting upon that Ener- gy, call'd their Minds, and then directing and coercing thofe Minds to exert the Faculty, call'd the Will, which produces the Action, if it may be lawful to diftinguifh an Opera- tion of the fame Power from its felf.
I am not aware of any other Objection to this Reafoning, but that we can have no Con- ception how Matter can produce an Act or O- peration of the Mind in Brute Animals, and
therefore
CATtfs LETTERS. 205
therefore other Syftems have been invented*, equally unconceivable, to avoid this, and which apparently contradict Fa&. It is plain, that their Minds are affe&ed, altered, and receive Addition and Diminution by Diet,. Phyfick, and Exercife, and partake, in many Refpecls, of the Fate of their material Sy- ftem, and their Faculties are greater or lefs, according to the Difpofition of that Sy- ftem, a-s fhall be more fully fhewn in fu- ture Papers. And fince the whole muft con- fift of the feveral Parts, what Reafons can be aflign'd to prove, that material Caufes may create or produce the Parts and not the Whole, I mean of their Minds 5 for as to the Soul of Man, I ftiall confider it feparately thereafter. For my own Part, I have had always fo un- fortunate a Turn of Thinking, that I could never fubfcribe to Opinions, becaufe others held them before me , nor will I tend into the Clouds for Solutions which lie under my Nofe, orrefufe the Benefit of my Eyes to a- mufe my Understanding, neither fhall I re- gard the Calumnies and uncharitable Cenfures of thofe who dare not peep out of their dark Dungeons, and would meafure all Truth by imbiVd Prejudices, but fhall ever think, that I fhall do more Honour to Almighty God in- believing that he has Co form'd at once the whole Fabrick of Heaven and Earth, as to produce all the Events he intended, than to fuppofe he has often found Caufe to mend and alter his firft Refolutions ; thoj I confefs it may confift with his Wifdom, and conduce to the Ends of his Providence, to fuffer Mat- ters,
CATO's LETTERS.
ters, in fome Refpe&s, and at fome Times> to appear to us in other Lights.
He certainly is a more skillful Artificer who can make a Watch which fhall go fora thou- fand Years, and then break to Pieces at a ftated Time, than another who makes one which muft be wound up every Day, and mended every Month.
I am 6kc.
S I R,
TH E World has always run wot after one Whimfey or another : Aftrology was the Maclnefs of the laft Age 5 and pretended Prophets, Fortune-tellers, Conjurers, Witches,. Apparitions, and fuch like fuperftitious Fool- eries, have been in requeft in all Ages : Drea- mers of Dreams, led, mifled, and governed Mankind for more than two Thoufand Years together, and they are far from being out of Fafhion yet : And it is no fmall Comfort, that this Sort of Divination and Infraction is left to us 5 for I do not find that any Society of Men pretend to have any Jurisdiction over fleeping Dreams, or to have the foie Conduct, Regulation, or Interpretations of them, but e- very Man when he is afleep, is left at liberty to dream as he can, and interpret his Dreams as he thinks fit 5 which Indulgence is not allow'd to our waking Dreams. I ihall there- lore
LETTERS. 207
fore take the Advantage of this prefent To- leration of dreaming, to dream too ; and though 1 will not vouch and be anfwerable for the Truth of my Dreams, yet I dare compare them with thofe of the ancient and fome mo- dern Philofophers. . I conceive, that the Divines of all Religi- ons have ever agreed, That the Soul of Man is a Being feparate from the Body, and in its own Nature capable of fubfiftmg independent of it, and i alfo conceive, that all Chriftian Divines hold, or ought to hold, that it is a diftina Being from what we call the Mind, and fuperadded to it by the divine Goodneis to diftinguifh Mankind from the Brute Creation to continue his Being after the Dilution or the Body, and to make him an Object of ture Rewards and Punifhments j for tis cer- tain, that other Animals have Minds too, and reafon and refolve, though in. an mferioi Degree to our felves; and I think alfo, that it is almoft univerfally agreed, that thofe Minds take the Fate of their Bodies, and die
- The Phiiofophers of all Ages havefet them- felves to work, and employed their Wits to trace the Minds of Brutes to their firfl ces or Principles, and fo to account for their Operations, but have differed as widely as they do in other Matters, about which they know nothing : Some have fuppofed them ta be Modifications of Matter and Motion, and Operations refultinj* from the Organization: and Mechanifm of the Body, like the taking of a Clock, or Watch, or Mufick made by
blowing
CATO's LETTERS.
blowing into or ftriking upon an Infirument j for as the Percuffion of one Body againft ano- ther makes Sound, fo the Inflruments or Ve- hicles upon which or through which it hits or paffes, modify and determine the Species of it.
Thefe endeavour to illuftrate the Power of voluntary Motion (v;t. how a fudden Impuife of the Will can fet a great Machine in Aftion) by what they think is analogous to it in me- chanical Obfervations , as for Instance, a little Agitation of the Air will turn a Windmill, or fail a great Ship 5 and 'tis demonilrable in Me- chanicks, that a Hair of a Man's Head, or a Puff of his Breath, by the Help of proper Springs, Wheels, and Pullies, may have Force enough to move a Body as big and as heavy as the World j and then they realon, that if the little Contrivance and trifling Experiment, we can ma^e of the Powers of Matter and Motion, can convince u-s of its Capacity to produce fuch furprifing Effects and Operati- ons, a Machine organized by the excellent Skill, and moft wife Contrivance, of the fu- preme Architect, and coniifling of fuch fub- tle animal Spirits, and of fuch Infinite Springs, Wheels, and Tubfs, muft have fui- table Operations, and fome of them fuch as are not perceivable by our Senfes, or penetra- ble by our Capacities : They conceive there is fomething in Vegitation analogous to ani- mal Life, and that the Difference of the ap- pearing Senfations between the highefl Vegi- table and the lowed Animal (as for Example, between the fenfatire Plant and a Worm or
Snail)
C A f09s LETTERS. 209
Snail) is fo very little that they can account for them both by the fame Syftem of Reafon- ing, or rather, they are both equally unac- countable by our Reafon : And therefore, fince the former is undoubtedly only a Modus or Opention of Matter and Motion, they think we cannot know but the other may be fo too.
Many Pretenders to Ph;lofophy have thought the Mind of a Brute Annual to be Part of the Body, originally formed with it, and differ- ing only from the other Parts, as it has a finer Contexture, and confifts of more fubtle and volatile Particles of Matter, that cannot keep together without their Cafe or Shell,, and conlequently cannot exiil together in a fe- parate State from the Body, but when the Organization and Mechanifm of its Inclofure is duTolved or broke to Pieces, it muft diffipate into the Mafs of Matter again.
But the greater Number have thought, that there is an Anima Mmd't^ or Univerfal Spirit, that permeats and actuates all Matter, and is the Source of vegitable and animal Life, which receiving its Modification from, and affirm- lating it felf to the Nature and Structure of the Body through which it pafles, or in which it ach, conftitutes all the fpecifick Effefts and Operations which we daily fee, feel, and admire j as in the Inflances before given, the fame Wind, blown into different Inftru- roents, makes different Kinds of Mufick.
Many of this latter Sort have fancied, that all Nature is full of organized Bodies, with each a particular and fufficient Portion of this univerfal and vital Spirit annex 'd to or inhe- rent
210 CATO's LETTERS.
rent in them, which Bodies being in conftant Motion fall gradually into peculiar Matrixes or Wombs, . which are neceiTary to bring them to Perfeclion. They think thefirft Seeds of all Vegetables and Animals (which are indeed the Vegitables and Animals themfelves) muft have been formed at the Creation of the World 5 that the Seeds of the former muft make their Proareffion thro' the Veins and Tubes of
M
Vegitables of the iame Kind, to prepare them to become Fruit, and to produce that gruf- fer fort of Seed which more eafily, and by another Motion, grows into the fame kind of Plant or Tree again ; and thofe of the latter mull pafs through the Body of the Male to awaken their firft Life, who are fent to nurfe mto the Eggs, of the Female for Encreafe and Expantion j and they conceive, that Experi- ence confirms this Opinion, for that an Egg will not produce an Animal till the Male has thrown one into it ; but afterwards, by the Aflifhnce of that vital Warmth which it receives from a living Body, (or that Heat which is equiva- lent to it, and is necelTary to preferve the tender Fibres and Juices of Infant Animals ) it continues Life, nourifhes and encreafes it, till it fwells and breaks out of its firft Enclo- fure, and is ftrong enough to receive grofler Nourifhment.
It feems to me, that the Generation or Pro- ducliori of Vegitables is analogous to, if not the fame with that of Animals, and that they both receive their firit Nourifhment and En- creafe in Eggs 5 and what are vulgarly called the Seeds of the former, are Eggs, that enclofe the
minute
CAfO's LETTERS. 211
minute Specks of Entity, which arejts origi- nal Seeds or Principals, or rather th*e whole Plants or Trees in Migniature, nourifh them for fome Time, and defend them againft the Inju- ries of exterior Bodies, when they fir ft expand themfelves, and fwell our of their native. Beds, and their tender Parts become fufceptible of outward Violence. It is evident, that if we breakup new or Maiden-Ground many Sorts of Vegitables will fpontaneoufly arife, which have undoubtedly their proper Seeds in the Earth, and as undoubtedly none of thofe grofs Seeds which produce the fame Plant asain 5 and it is plain, that the latter are fub- jecl to be deftroy'd by exterior Accidents, and to decay and die, which the others are not, but very probably have had an unmolefled Exigence from the Beginning of Time, and would have continu'd in their firft State, if they had not received a Fermentation, and found a proper Matrix, by the opening the Fibres and Bowels of the Earth, and which muft be a different Matrix from what multiplies the fame Species afterwards.
There have been other Seels of Philofophers (if Folly may be call'd by that Name) who have diilinguifh'd themfelves by fuppofing the Mind and Soul to be the fame Being, and confequently enjoy 'd in common by other Ani- mals, as wellas'Men $ and they have fuppos'd this Being not only to be different too from the Body, and capable in its own Nature, not on- -ly of fubfifting independent of it, but believ'd that it receiv'd Prejudice, and was reflrain'd from the free Ufe of many of its Faculties
by
ii2 CAT&s LETTERS.
by its Imprifbnmentand Union with it $ and yet, when it was difcharg'd from its Goal, was at Li- berty, capable or oblig'd to enter into fome o- tber organie'd Body, and animate it, and per- form the Functions of it. This was the Opinion of the Tranfmigrators of Souls formerly, but juftly is rejected by very many Chriftians 5 is contrary to Revelation, and would put Brute A- iiimals upon a level with Mankind 5 for it cannot be deny cl that other living Creatures haveMind^ and as certainly no Souls 5 nor are they capable of juft or unjufl- Actions, or of receiving future Rewards and Puiiifhments due to thofe Actions, It is certain they have Minds, and consequent- ly Thought, Reflection upon paft Actions, or Memory j Senfations of Pleafure and Pain 5 and in many Inftances they judge well of their own . Interefts, and chufe proper Means to attain them 5 and Mankind have not only the above Qualities in common with them, but poflfefs them in a greater Degree, and over and above en- joy, by the Bounty of Heaven, immortal Souls* capable of continuing their Duration to all E* ternity ; of which fome Traces are difcoverable in our Nature, and the reft are afcertain'd to us by Revelation, which Man alone is capable of receiving : But how this fuperadded Being ope- rates upon, and controlls the Actions of the Mind and Body, we feem to be wholly in the Dark ; but 'tis certain in fome Refpects they are all blended together, co-operate, and act as one Be* ing, and therefore are anfwerable for their joint Actions, and are to take the fame Fate at laft, when they come to be united again. However, in this Difcourfe it may be proper to confider
them.
fs LETTERS.
them feparately, and not to impute the mecha- nical Operations of Matter and Motion imme- diately to our immortal Part, efpecially in fuch Inftancesasare the fame, or analogous to the Actions of Brutes, who are wholly mortal.
Therefore, if we confider this Energy, of Principle, called a M*W, asfeparare from an hu- man Soul, we fliall find that it mingles with* animates, and informs the Bodies of Men, and of all Animals j and whether it is only a Modifi- cation of Matter and Motion 5 whether fubtle, volatile, and elaftick Particles of Matter, called Animal Spirits j ifelementary Fire, or what the Ancients call'd jfnimaMundlr or Divin* Particula JM\C, that is, a Particle of the Soul of the Uni- verfe, or a Spark orlmpulfe of the Divinity, or whatever elfe it is, unknown to us, it is moft cer- tain, that its Power and Adion over fome Sorts of organiz'd Bodies is very furprizing, and not to be accounted for by any other^Syftem of Mat- ter and Motion which falls within ourCompre- henfions ; nor can I conceive it poflible that it e- ver fhould be : For how fliould any Being trace its own Principles, and the Caufes, which gave it Being, know what it was before it was, or be able to think how it came to think, unlefs by refolving all Thinking into the Power of its Creator. To know the" Mo^of Creation, is the next Step to Creation, and to a Creature's crea- ting itfelf, or another Being like itfelf, andren- dring the Op us Operation, or the Work perform'd» equally, or near as valuable as the Artificer.
The Powers of this Principle are very ftupendious. We feem to owe moft, if not all ourSenfations, Appetites, Affections, and Paul-
on?
ai4 CATO's LETTERS.
ons to it, which obvioufly receive conftant Alteration by the Addition of new and ad- ventitious Particles of Matter, which muft more or lefs be penetrated and infpir'd with ^this Spirit, which unites to what is call'd the Mind, as the groffer Parts do to the Body, for neither can grow but by Addition, or be lef- fen'd, but by Subftra&ion, tho' their Actions may be, and are often clogg'd by internal and external Impediments : Our Defires and Feats, which appear to direct, and indeed comprehend all the Actions of the Mind, are only Paflions, or Perturbations of it, made by the Impreflions of external or internal Caufes $ and what we call Judgment feems to me to be no more than a Struggle of thofe PafTions, or, in other Words, the Ballance of the Conveniences or Inconveniences which will refult from what we defire or fear, and the heavier Scale muft weigh down.
When a proper Proportion of this active Force is duly diffus'd through the whole Ma- chine, it will equally receive or reiift the Im- preflions of Objects 5 the Paffions will be alike ballanc'd, and confequently our Thoughts and Actions will be regular, and what we call prudent : But if there is too little to animate the Mafs, or if it meets fuch Obstructions as hinders its Energy, it becomes Stupidity or Folly $ but if it abounds, and over-informs its Tenement, or if it is unequally difpers'd, or is put or kept out of its proper Place by na- tural or accidental Obstructions, it caufes In- difcretion, Extravagance, and, in a greater Degree, Madnefs $ of which feveral Manners
of
's LETTERS. 215
of Thinking, there are as many Kinds and Degrees as there are Irregularities in Man's Conduct , and I doubt there are few Men fo equally tempered, but they have, at different Times, more or lefs of all thefe Qualities by the unequal Supplies of this vital Spirit, or the cccaiional Obrtructions it meets with. When we denominate a Man mad, or a Fool, wemean only, that he is more fo than moft others of his Species j for all Men at Times have a Mix- ture of both j and no Man's Actions will al- ways bear the Teft of juft Reafonings , and if we could enter, and look into their private Thoughts, I doubt they would much lefs dofo. All fudden Paffions is temporary Madnefs, as » continued Paffion is continued Madnefs, and ail Want of Apprehension is Folly.
Madnefs too is undoubtedly to be learn'd and acquired by Habit and Exercife, as well as Covetoufnefs, Pride, Ambition, Love, Deiire of Revenge, and other Qualities : All which, carried beyond a certain Degree, become Madnefs, as every thing elfe is, when Mens Defires or Fears, or the Means chofen to attain the one, or avoid the other, are ex- travagant, and above human Power or Prudence; Nor does Madnefs (as has been faid) depend only upon wrong Organizatiors at firfr, or upon the original ill Temperament of the Juices by an undue Mixture or Super- abundance of this active Spirit, but often up- on the fortuitous Alterations which both re- ceive afterwards by Diet, Phyfick, Action, or Accidents , for when thofe volatile Particles have been long diverted, and ufed to run in
wrong
CATo's LETTERS.
wrong and indirect Channels, proper ones will be clofed up, and they will have no others to go in, which muft over-load iome, and ftarve the reit, and make their Operations as heterogenous and irregular as their Caufes are 5 and daily Experience fhews, that Men who have been long us'd to think, or aft only in one Way, are very difficultly, if ever, put into another.
But of all the feveral Species or Kinds of Madnefs in the World, none is fo flagrant, catching, and mifchievous as the Madnefs of Enthufiafm, which is ftill the worfe, as it adopts and puts on the Mask and Appearance of Zeal, and often pafles for Sobriety and In- fpiration, and confequently is incapable of a Cure, becaufe it will not feek or accept a Remedy. This /hall be the Subject of my two next Papers 5 and then my Dream will be out.
I am, &c.
S I R,
IH A V E fuppos'd, in my laft, that our Defires and Fears are Pafiions or knprefii- ons made upon us by the Actions of other Beings, and tbat a due Ballance of thofe Paf- iions, or equal Impreflions, made upon the ie- veral Parts of the Machine, duly impregnated with vital Spirit, makes it aft regularly, and
confti-
CA TO's LETTERS. 217
conftitutes what we call Prudence $ but when it is over-inform'd, or irregularly informed, or thofe Impreffions are too flrong for the Ma- chine to grapple with, it becomes Madnefs and Di draft ion , for the Truth of which, we need only appeal to Experience. Men of warm Constitutions are eafily animated into Madnefs by fiery Liquors, and high Food, or by occafional Strokes of good or bad For- tune 5 whereas thofe, who have not a fuftlcient Share of vital Spirit, are only elevated and rais'd to a proper Pitch by the former, or whol- ly deprefs'd by the latter, as wanting Vigour to refill: their Power, whiHi Nature, in the o- thers, by an unequal Struggle and Contention with it, over- exerts itfelf, and diforders and fhakes the whole Machine.
This Hypothefis receives farther Confirma- tion from the Methods ufually taken to cure Madnefs 3 namely, by Failing, Bleeding, or Purging, which can operate only be remo- ving, carrying off, or fuffering to exhale or perfpire the fuperabundant Particles of fpiritu- ous Matter, which over-charge and diibrder the Fabrick, till it receives a frefti Fermen- tation from the Addition of new Ones, when the Diftemper again returns. Since there- fore it is evident, that fome of our thinking Faculties receive Addition and Diminwtion from the Action of other Bodies, and from many internal and external Caufes, it mutt be equally evident that they muft be mortal, or peri (liable in their own Nature , for what is Mortality but a Being changing its Form, Shape, or State} and what is Immortality, bur
VOL. IV. K us
2i8 euro's LETTER
its continuing always the fame 5 and every Al- teration makes it a different Being in forae Refpe£ls from what it was before.
It feems therefore plain to me, that all of the Operations of our Minds do. not flow from our immortal Souls j but many of them have much lower Sources: For what can be more abfurd, than to fuppofe that what is immor- tal, and confequentiy not perifhable, can be bleedcd, purged, or ftarved away in whole or in part 5 or that a Being independent of Matter, that pervades and permeets all Mat- ter, and yet (as it is (aid) has no Extenfion,- nor takes up or fills any Place, can be acled upon by Matter, which we cannot conceive to aft otherwife than by Contract or Impulfe, and confequentiy cannot affecl what it cannot touch mediately or immediately j that is to fay, either by inftant Aclion, upon an ad- joining Body, or by ftriking or gravitating upon diftant Ones, by the Communication of mod or all which are intermediate. 1 do not pretend to defcribe the Modus of Gravitation, or to define how material Subilances attraft one another, whether by Lucntius's Syftem of hook'd Atoms, or by an elaitick Principle that God has given to every Particle of Matter, which keeps it in conftant Motion, and impel- ling all contiguous Parts 5 which Motion mull force the more denfe Bodies together, the more fubtle and thin Ones not being able to re- iift their Power, and interrupt their Union.
It is highly probable, if not certain, that every Part of Matter is affe&ed more or lefs by all Parts of Matter 5 and therefore grea- ter
's LETTERS. 219
ter the Quantity is that is united together, the more it mutt impel fome Bodies, and refitt others; and when any Part of Matter are kept from having their full Influence and O- peration upon a denfe and aggregate Subftance by the Interposition of another, afted upon by the Motion of Bodies encompaffing it $ then it feems evident, that thofe two Subftances muft meet together, unlefs fome other Power hinders their Junction j for all circumambient Bodies having their full Force upon them, except in thofe Parts which look towards one another j and they flill preferving their own Force and intrinfick Motion, they muft ne- cefifarily gravitate, and more where they meet with the^leaft Oppoiition. But whether this is the true Caufe of Gravitation, or whe- ther we /hall ever know the Caufe of it whilft we are in thefe frail Bodies 5 yet I conceive we are under no Neceflity to recur immedi- ately to the firft Caufe, when we cannot dive into his Manner of governing the Univerfe; nor, fince we want Faculties to conceive how he has united the Soul to the Body, are we to determine it to be done in a Manner which apparently contradicls the Nature of both ; but we ought to leave and fubmit thofe Searches to the fecret Decrees of Providence, and to the Time of the latt Refurre&ion, when our Minds and Bodies will be as immor- tal as our Souls, and when poffibly all thefe Matters may be reveaFd to us.
I think therefore it is pretty evident, by what 1 have faid in this Paper and the laft, as well as from conftant Obfervation, that Mad-
K a nefs
220 CA'fO's LETTERS.
•nels is a Super-abundance of vital Spirits } which muft burft their Veffel, if they do not overflow, of are let out by Tapping 5 but which Way foever they find their Evacuation, they generally ferment firft, and make a terri- ble Combuftion within. This is the Devil which haunts us, and often carries away Part of an empty Houfe, or blows it up. If he afcends to our Garrets, or upper Regions, he diforders the Brain, and (hews Visions, airy and roman- tick Images and Appearances, carries the Hero out of himfelf, and then fends him armed G^«- •a-Pee in wild Expeditions to encounter Wind- mills, and 'Giants of his own making 5 till at lad he returns Home (if e\Ter he returns Home) tranfported with his Victory, and in bis own Opinion a moft confummate Knight- Errant.
Whenever the Mind cannot be confined within its Inclofure, but flies like Phaeton jnro the great A by ft, and gives the full Reins to Imagination, it will quickly be carried out of its Knowledge, and will ramble about \vherever Fancy, Defire, or Vifion, leads it. It will quickly rife above Humanity, and be- •come proper Converfation for the CelefHal Beings 3 ami when once it can perfwade itfelf into fuch Angelical Company, it will certainly defpife all other, and the Owner will think he has a Right to govern them. If the EKcefs of any Pafllon is Madnefs, the Ex- cefs of them altogether is exorbitant and out- rageous Madnefs j and whoever can get it into his Head, that he has lecret Communications with the Deity, muft have all his Pa (lions
at
's LETTERS.
at Work together. The Awe of a divine fence muftftrike him'ftrongly with Fear and Reverence : The Indulgence and Condefcen- fion fhewn to him, rnuft raife the higheii Love, Adoration, and Tranfports of Joy : So vifible a Partiality of the Deity to him beyond other Men in a. weak Mind, muft create Pride, and Contempt towards others: Such a Sup-- port and Afilftance muft infpire the higheft Courage and Refolution to overcome all Op- pofuion ^ and Hatred, and Revenge, to all who don't believe him, will bring up the Rear ; and at lad. the Jumble of all thefe Paffions, with many more, will make an accomplifli'd Re- former of Mankind.
Religious Enthufiafm therefore is a flaming Conceit, that we have great perfonal Intereft with the Deity,, and that the Deity is eminent- ly employed about us, or in us 3 that he warms and folaces our Hearts, guides our Un- derftandings and our Steps, determines our Will, and fets us far above thofe, who have lefe Pride and more Senfe than our felves, The Enthufiaft heats his own Head by extra- vagant Imaginations, and then makes the All- wife Spirit of God, the Author of his hot Head j and having work'd u,p his Brains into the Clouds, defpifes and hates all that are be- low 5 and if he can, kills them, unlefs they fubmit to be as Mad as himfelf; for, becaufe he takes his own Phrenfy for hifpiralion,' you muft be guided by his Phrenfy ; and if you are not, you are a Rebel to God, and 'tis ten to one but he has a Call to put you to Death,
K * I have
222 C.470's LETTERS.
I have but a bad Opinion of that Devotion which is rais'd by a craz'd Head, and can be improved by a Dram, and a hot Sun, or the Affifhnce of Wine, or can be leflen'd by cold Weather, or by letting of Blood. It is great Madncfs, mix'd with Prefumption, to pretend to have the Spirit of God, unlefs we can Hiew it by doing Works, which only God's Spirit can do 5 that Spirit which can do all Things, but fooli/h. Things. Enthufiafm is doubtlefs a Fever in the Head 5 and like other Fevers, ipreading and infectious 5 and all the Zeal of the Enthufiafr, is only an Ambition to propo- gate his Fever.
You never knew a Madman of any Sort, who was not wifer than all Mankind, and did not defpife his whole Race, who were not blefs'd with the fame Obliquity of Head. Thofe in Bedlam, think they are all mad who are out of it $ and the Madmen out of Bedlam^ pity the Madmen in it. The Finuofo, or Dealer in Butterflies, who lays himfelf out in the Science of blew and brown Beetles, thinks all Science but his own to be ufelefs or trifling.
*_^
The Collectors of £>Id Books, are of Opinion, that Learning, which is intended to improve and enlighten the Understanding, is infepa- rable from Duft, and Dirt, and Obfcurity, or contemptible without them. The Pedant loads his heavy Head with old Words, and fcorns all thofe who are not accompli/h'd with the fame Lumber.
Now all tbefe Madmen, and many more, who might be added, areharmlefs Enthufiaftsj and their Pride being part of their Madnefs,
is
CATO's LETTERS. 223
is only a Jeft. But your holy Enthufiaft, i^ often a mifchievious Madman, who out of pure Zeal for God, deftroys his Creatures, and plagues, and harafi.es, and kills them for their Good. The Saracens, a barbarous, poor, and. defart Nation, half-naked, without Arts, un- skilled in War, and but half-armed, anima- ted by a mad Prophet, and a new Religion, which made them all mad 5 over-run and con- quer'd almoft all 4/X moil part of Africa* and a part of Europe. Such Courage, Fierce- nefs, and Mifchief, did their Enthufiafm m- fpire. It is amazing how much they fuffer'd, and what great Things they did, without any Capacity of doing them, but a Religion which was ftrong in Proportion, as it wanted Chanty-, Probability, and common Senfe. i They faw rapturous Vifions in the Air, of beautiful Damfels richly attired, holding forth their Arms, and calling to them for their Em- braces 5 and being animated by fuch powerful Deities, no Enterprize was too hard for them ; They fcarce ever departed from any Siege, however inferior to it in military Arts or Num- bers. Their conftant Rule, was to fight till they had fubdued their Enemies, either to their Relig;on, or to pay Tribute._ They had God and 'his great Apoftle on their Side, and were obrtinateiy determin'd to die, or to con- quer 5 and therefore they always did conquer. And their Succefs confirm'd their Delufion -y for finding that they performed greater Actions than any Bother Race of Mankind ever did, or ~could do, they believed themfelves affifted by Heaven 5 and fo efteemed their Madnefs to be
K 4 JnfpU
224 CATCts LETTERS.
Infpiration. And then it was very natural to believe that they were the fole Favourites of the Almighty 5 Who interpofed fo nv'raculoufly in their Behalf, that they were employed to do his Work 5 and that all the good Things of this World, were but juft Rewards of their Obedience 3 and confequently it was their Duty to plunder, difhefs, kill, and dellroy all who refilled the Will of God, and denied to give to them their undoubted Right.
Now what was able to withftand thefe in- fpired Savages, who if they lived and con- quer'd, had this World, or, which was bet- ter if they were killed, had the next. They were fure either of Empire or Paradife, and a Paradife too, which gratified their brutifh Ap- petites. There is no dealing with an armed Enthufiaft 5 if you oppofe real Reafon to his wild Revelations, you are curs'd $ and if you refifthim, you arekill'd. It {lenities norhins
.'> O
to tell him, that you cannot fubmit to the Im- pulfes of a Spirit, which you have not, and do not believe 5 and that when you have the iame Spirit, you will be of the fame Mind ; No, perhaps, that very Spirit has told him that he mufl kill you for not having it, though you could no more have it, than you could be what you were not.
Don Quixote was a more reafonable Mad- man : He never beat, nor famifh'd, nor tor- tur'd the unbelieving Savcho, for having a cooler Head than his own, and for not feeing the extraordinary Miracles and Vifions which he himfelffaw. It a Man fees Battles in the Air, cw Armies rifing out of the Sea, am I
to
LETTERS. 22*
to be perfecuted or ill ufed becaufe I cannot fee them too, when they are not to be feen Or ought not rather their dift rafted Seer, to be {hut up in a dark Room, where no doubt he will have the fame Sights, and be equal- ly happy in his own Imaginations. As there is noreafoning with an Enthufiaft, there is no Way to be fecure againft him, but by keeping him from all Power, with which he will be fure to play the Devil in God's Name. would not hurt him for his Ravings j but I would keep him from hurting me for not ra- ving too.
All Men who can get it into their own Heads, that they are to fubdue others to their Opinions, Reafonings, and Speculations, are Enthufiafts or Irnpoiiors, Madmen or Knaves. Almighty God has given no other Light to Men to diftinguifli Truth from Falfhood, or Impofture from Revelation, but their Rea-^ fon , and in all the Addreffes, he himfelf makes to them, appeals to that Reafon. He has formed us in fuch a Manner, as to be capable of no other kind of Conviction $ and confequently he can expeft no other from us 5 therefore^ it muft be the laft Degree of Impudence, Folly, and Madnefs, in impotent, fallible, and faithlefs Men, to affume greater Power over one another, than the Almighty exercifes over us all.
The appointing Judges in Controverfy, is like fetting People at Law about what they are both in PoffeiTion of. A Man can have no more than all he is contending for 5 and there- fore I can compare the Quareiiing of two Mm
K 5- about
euro's LETTERS.
about their Religion, to nothing elfe in Na- ture, but to the Battle between Prince
^
and Prince Prettyman, in the Rebearfal 5 becaufe they were not both in Love with the fame Miftrefs.
I am, &£.
S 1 R,
BESIDES the flaming Enthufiafm men- tioned in our laft, which is there fup- pos'd to be infpired by a Super-abundance of Spirits, labouring for Evacuation, and fhaking, difordering, and fometimes burfting its Tenement to get ready Vent, (like Gun- powder in a Granado or Mine 5 or, fubtcr- raneous Fire enclofed in the Bowels of the Earth :) There feems to me to be another fort of religious Enthufiafm, not at all mif- chevious, but rather beneficient to the World 5 and this has fhewn it felf in feveral Ages, and under feveral Denominations. There is much to be read of it in the mytlick Writers in all Times. Hermits feem to be infpir'd with it, and feveral Seels have built their in- nocent Superftitions upon it 3 as the Alumbra- tt in ty<:/», the Quietifls in Italy, the French Prophets lately amongft usj and I doubt, a very great Party in Eurofe, call'd Quakers^ o\ve their Rife and Jncreafe to it. And bavins rnenrion'd this lafl Sec't. I think my
' felf
LETTERS. 227
felf obliged to declare, that I eileem them to be great, induikious, modcrt, intelligent, and virtuous People, and to be animated with the moft beneficent Principles of any Seel-, which ever yet appeared in the World. They have a comprehenfive Charity to the whole Race of Mankind, and deny the Mercies of God to none. They publickly own, that an univerfal Liberty is due to all, are againft Impofitions of every Kind $ and yet patiently fubmir to many themfelves, and perhaps are the only Party amongft Men, whofe Pra&ifes* as a Body, correfpond with their Principles.
I am not afhamed to own, that I have with great Pleafure read over Mr. Barclay's Apology torQuateifm, and do really think it to be the moft mafterly, charitable, and reafonable Sy- ftem that I have ever fecn. It folves the nu- merous Difficulties raifed by other Seels ; and by Turr.s, thrown at one another, fhews all Parts of Scripture to be uniform and confident ; and as Sir Ifaac Neii-ton, by allowing him Gra- vitation, lias accounted for all the Phceno- menaof Nature, ib if we allow to Mr. Barclay thofe Operations of the Spirit, which the Qua- kers pretend to feel, and which he fays e very- Man in the World has and may feel, if he watches its Motions, and does not fupprefsthem : Then I think all the jangling vain Queftions, numerous Superftitions, and various -Oppreiu- cms, which have plagued the World froni the Beginning,, would ceafe and be at an End*
But "this Pott-alarum will not be granted, and I fear will never be prov'd, though fuch a Difcovery is much to be wifhecl,. arid the
aa8 CA fO's LETTERS.
pinion of it alone, muft render thofe very happy who can perfwade themfelves that they have attained to it. Mr. 4fgH wrote and pubiifti'd a Book to prove, that all true Belie- vers, fthat is all who had attained a Spirit like to this,j fhall be tranflated without pafling through IJeath j and, as I doubt not, but he believed his own Dream himfelf 5 fo if he had publi/hed it before any Man had actually died, I cannot fee how it could have been anfwer'd, or how it can be anfwered now, but by oppofing Fa6l to it, and by making the Words Eternal Death, fignify Eternal Life in Torments, which Liberty no Language will bear in other Difputes 5 and yet his Doctrine cannot be aflented to without fuppofing, that no Man ever had Faith but Elias and Enoch j which is a very wild Suppofition.
For the fame Reafon, I cannot concur with Mr. Barclay, in believing that all Men who cannot find this Spirit in themfelves, do or have fupprefTed it , for 1 believe there are many Thoufands in all Rcfpecls, equally virtuous with himfelf, who have actually tried all Experiments of Watching, internal Prayer, outward and inward Resignation, Separation from worldly Thoughts and Acli- onf, and Acquiescence of Mind, and Subraif- fion to the Operations of the Deity , and yet have found themfelves, after all, juft where they fet out ; nor could recollect any Thing that happened to them in thofe Intervals, but Ahfence of Thought 5 and therefore, till I can feel fomething in my felf, or difcover ibr.e Traces in others, which I cannot ac- count
's LETTERS. 129
count for from lower Motives, I (hall take the Liberty to call the Pretenders to it, Enthu- fiafts, though, I muft confefs, that all or moft religious Parties have laid Claim to this Spirit upon certain Occaflons, and have be- ftowed it upon their Founders, or particular Men amongft them 5 and the Quakers only fay, all Men have it, and may exert it, or rather permit it to exert itfelf if they pleafe.
It is fuppofed that the Power fo claimed, is Jefus Chrift operating within us 5 and as it is allowed by all that the leaft Drop of his natural Blood was enough to attone for the Sins of the whole World $ fo one might imagine that tfie leaft Portion of his Godhead, working within us, might be too hard for and overcome the Depravity tranfmitted to us by our firft Parents, or at leaft be able to engage our Attention or Acquiescence, which is all that is fuppofed requifite to the farther Progrefs and Effuiion of his Deity. It is ve- ry hard to conceive, that we can ferve God by fequeftring for a Time all the Faculties he has given us; by fending our Wits out of Doors to make Room for Grace, and by believing that the Spirit of God will never exert it felf but in an empty Head 3 and therefore I /hall prefume to believe, till I am better informed, that as the Almighty /hews and exhibites to us the vifible World -by the Me- dium of the outward Senfcs he had before gi- ven to us, fo he difpenfes all that we do know or can know of the invifible One, thro' the Vehicles of our reafoning Faculties,
We
230 CATO's LETTERS.
We have not yet been able thoroughly to difcover any Vacuum in Nature, but as Toon as any Body gets out of a Place, another leaps in $ therefore if a Man can once drive his- \Vits out of Houte and Home, fome other Be- ing of a different Kind will certainly get into their Room, and Wind is always at Hand crowding "for Preferment-,, which, in various Shapes, has a great Share in human Tranf- a&ions, and always has contributed much to the great Revolutions in Empire and Super- ftition, which have often overturned the World. But to return to my Dream.
A Clock, or other Machine, made by a skill- ful Artift, will have certain and regular Mo- tions, whilfl it continues in th*at State , but if it gathers filth, meets with Obttruclions, or its Springs and Wheels decay and wear out by Time,, or are hurt by Accidents, ir moves irregularly, or not at all. Experience proves the fame in the Mechanifm of Ani- mals, who have infinitely finer Contextures, as confining of Thoufands of Tubes, Veins? Arteries, Nerves, and Mufcies, every one of which, in a certain Degree, contributes to the Operations of the living Engine ; and as all thefe are more tender and delicate, and con- fequem'y more fufceptible of Injuries, than the Parts which conftitute and give Motion to other organized Bodies, fo they are much more • cafily put cut of Order 5 and we find in Fa fly that a Cold winch flops Perfpiration, and hin- ders the Evacuation of the fuper-abundant Particles of Matter, diforders the whole Fa- brick, clogs and interrupts its Action 5 and
thofo
LETTERS. 231
thofe Effluviums which cannot find their •proper Vent through the Pores, over-fhadow and opprefs the Brain, and render the Mind una&ive, and incapable to perform its Func- tions, till they are let out by larger Paffages, as by bleeding, or vomiting, or forced out by fweating, or other violent Aftion, or by faft- ing, and taking in no new Supplies, there is ifme given to them leifurely to expire , but if they require quicker Vent than thefe Con- duits can give, then Fevers, or other violent Diftempers enfue, when the Brains of Men are fo opprefs'd, that they fee Vifions, Ap- pearances of Angels, Demons, and dead Men, talk incoherently, and fometimes furprizing- ly, and have obvioufly different Senfations* Affeftions, and Reafonings, from what they have at other Times.
The fame is true of Madmen, who through wrong Organizations at firft, or the Indifpo- fition of the Organs, afterwards perfwade themfelves that they are Princes, Prophets,, or Meffengers from Heaven -? and certainly often utter Flights, and Sallies of Imagina- tion, which are amazing, and that never fall from them in their lucid Intervals, and which have often paffed upon the World for Infpi- ration ; infomuch, as in feveral Ages, and m fcveral Countries in our Age, they have been, and are thought to be. divinely infpire<L Now Madnefs fliews itfelf in a thoufand Shapes, and as has been faid in my former Pa- per, there is fcarce a Man living, but at Times has more or lefs of it, though we denominate it from a Train of irregular Aftions,. and
many
23* CATo's LETTERS.
many kinds of it certainly do not fall within common Obfervation, or fcarce within any Obfervation.
When we fee Men in the main of their Conduct feemingly aft with Prudence in fuch Things as we underhand, we are apt to take their Words in fuch Things as we do not un- derftand, efpeciaUy if we fee them do fuch Aclions, fhew fuch Emotions of Spirit, and emit iuch Difcourfes as we cannot othervvife account for, though w;e perceive the fame done by Men in known Diftempers, and in Sleep, and often feel it in our felves : For it is incredible to thofe who have not feen or ob- ferv'd ir, what Energy and Strength Men fhew in Convulfive Diftempers, when too they of- ten vent furprizing Difcourfes, without know- ing what they fay $ and there are few Men, who do not fome times ftrike out fudden and extemporary Thoughts and Expreffions, with^ out being able to obferve by what Traces they came into their Minds j and fanciful and conceited Men eafily perfuade themfelves, or are perfuaded by others, to believe that at thofe Times they are infpir'd from Above.
But if we compare Things we do not know,, with thofe we do, I think we may account for them both by the fame Principles in Nature. Men, as has been faid, in Sleep fee Vifions, hold Difcourfes, mid fometimes very good Ones, with Phantoms of their own Imagina- tions, and can walk about, climb over Houfes and Precipices, which no Man who is awake durft venture to do. Men in Diiiempers fee Spirits,, talk and reafoa with them, and often
fancy
CAfO's LETTERS. 233
fancy themielves to be what they are nor. Melancholy Men have believ'd that they were Glafs Bottles, Pitchers, Bundles of Hay, Pro- phets, and fometimes, that they were dead j and yer, in all other Actions of Life, have be- hav'd themfelves with Diicretion , and as thefe Things have happen'd often, few or none are furpriz'd at them, artf therefore treat them only as Subjects of Jeft or Merriment : But if they had "happen'd but once, or fel- dom, we fhould either not have believ'd them, or have recurred to Miracle or Wftch- craft for the Solution. No Man wonders at the Sun's Rifing every Day, and yet all are amaz'd and frighten'd by feeing a blazing Star once in their Life-time, tho' that is certainly the lefs Wonder of the two.
Now what Stretch will it be upon our ima- gination, to believe that once in an Age, or more, a catching Ditfemperof the Mind fhould actuate a Man or two, and communicate itfelf afterwards to others of the fame Complexion, the fame Temperament of Juices, and confe- quently the fame Difpofitions of Mind, which certainly are as infectious as thofe of the Bo- dy tho' not fo obfervably. We affi'milate to 'the Paffions, Habits, and Opinions of thofe we converfe with, and their Tempers are catching. This indeed is not true in all Inftances $ neither does a Plague infeft every Body, but only thofe who have proper Juices, and fui table Difpofitions of Body to receive it. We fee often, that the yawning of one Man, will make a whole Company yawn j and the Sight of Men in convuliive Diftempers
will
-
234 Giro's LETTERS.
will throw others into the fame $ as many Peo- ple were agitated with the fame Motions and Spirit of Prating, who went to fee the French Prophets fall into their Trances, with a De- iign only to divert themfelves, which Trances undoubtedly were an unufual Kind of Epilep- tick Fits, which often actuate the Organs of Speech without the Patient's knowing it. and
0 O '
have often been miftaken for divine Trances, and their incoherent Rapfodies been efteem'd Revelations.
If we may believe Mr. 'Barclay, and Mr. George Ke';tv, in his Magic'^ of Quakerifi)?, (who was once of that Seel, and afterwards took Orders in the Church of Englar.d,') the fame thing has happen'd to many others who went to infult the Quakers, and were caught by their Shakings, Groanings, and the Solemnity of their fitlent Meetings, and became after- wards fteady Converts. I think it is Tbucidi- des, who tells us, That at Abdera, a City in Greece, upon a hot Day, all the Spectators who were prefent in the Theatre to fee Andromache acled, were faddenly feiz'd with a Madnefsg which made them pronounce lambicks 5 and the whole Town was infecled with theDiitem- p.er, which latted as long as that Weather con- tinued. And he tells us too of another fort of Madnefs, which fei-s'd the young Women of Athens^ many of whom kill'd themfelves | and the Magistrates could not flop the Con- tagion, till they made a Decree, that thofe who did fo fhould be expos'd, and hung up naked. There feems to be no Difficulty, in conceiving that the Effluviums, which fteam from the
Body
.
CA'fO's LETTERS. 235
Body of an Enthufiaft, fhould infecl others fui- tably qualify'd with the fame Diftempers, as Experience fhews us, that the minute Particles, which are convey'd by the Bite of a mad Dog, caufe Madncfs, and will make the Perfon infected bark like the Dog who bit him $ and fuch Particles in other Inflances may convey'd through the Pores, and in a common Inftance undoubtedly are fo j for many People will fwoon if a Cat is in the Room, tho they do not fee her. And all infectious I tempers muft be communicated by thofe
Paflagcs. ,
Some Diftcmpers, cr Difponuons ot body* make Men rave 5 others make them melancho- ly : Some give them Courage, Impetuofi- ty, pro -us Energy of Mind, and raptu- rous Thoughts and Expreflions 5 others fiiik and deprefs their Spirits, give them pannick Fears, jdifmal Apprehenfions, melancholy Images, and fecrct Frights 5 and they will all account for fuch Senfations from their former imbib'd Prejudices by early Education, and by long Ufe became familiar to them.. One of thefe Diitempers will make a flaming falfe Prophet, and the other a defpairing Penitent, in fpite of the Mercies of God ; and after- wards Phyfick, or Abitinence, (hall cure the firft, and a Bottle of Wine, now and then mo- derately and chearfully taken, in agreeable Company, fhall make the other a Man of this
World again.
Opium in different Conftitutions will work both thefe Extremes, and other Drugs will
give
2^6 CATo's LETTERS.
give temporary Madnefs. The Oricular Priefts of old well understood this Secret of Nature. The High Prieilefs of Delfbos fuck'd Infpira-, tion from the Fumes of an intoxicating Well, • which diforder'd her Brain, made her rave, and utter incoherent Speeches, out of which lomething was found out to anfwerthe devout Querift, and tell the Meaning of the God : And in the Temple, as I remember, of An- pbiaraus, where Oracles were convey'd in Dreams, the humble and fubmiffive Votary was let clown into a deep Hole, that had feve- ral fantaflical Apartments, where he faw Sights and Apparitions, which his Mind was pre- pnr'd to receive before by Phyfkk, fuitable Diet, and fometime's by Fafting , and then he was wrapp'd up in the Skins of Victims, rubb'd and impregnated with intoxicating Drugs, which made him Dream moil reve- rendly ; and when he related his Vifions, it was very hard Luck if the Priefts could find nothing in them for their Purpofe } but if that happen'd to be the Cafe, the fame Operation was tried over again ; and if they had no bet- ter Fortune then, the God was angry with the impious Seeker for his Sins, and fo was be- come iullen, and the poor Mifcreant was fent away as an excommunicate Perfon, (if he had the good Luck to efcape fo,) and perhaps hang'd himfelf in his Way home.
We fee and feel, by conftant Experience* that our Thoughts in Dreams are lafcivious, frightful, or pleafing, according to the Tem- perament of our Bodies, the Food we eat, or as our Spirits are opprefs'd orcherifh'd by it.
We
LETTERS. 237
We fee too, that drunken or diftemperM Men are overcome by Liquour, or Diieafe, and made to talk, reafon, and aft differently from what they do in Sobriety and in Health $ and we all confefs fuch Difcourfes and Actions to be the Indifpoiitions of their Organs, and the Operations of external or internal material Caufes, and will yet not account for other Sen- fations equally extravagant from like Mediums, though we cannot fhew any Difference be- tween them : However, as it is not to be de- ny'd, but Almighty God has fometimes com- municated himfelf to particular Perfons by fe- cret Impreffions upon their Senfes and Under- flandings, fo I dare not affirm, that he may not, and does not do fo flill 5 nor will I dog- matically aflferr, that any one who pretends to feel his divine Spirit, is a Lyaror Enthufiaftj but I think I may fafely affirm, that no one is concern'<l. in his Viiions or Revelations but himfelf, unlefs the other feels them too, or he can prove the Truth of them by Miracles.
Almighty God, as has been laid, has given to us Reafon to diftinguifh Truth from Fai- fiiood, Impofture from Revelation, Delufion from Infpiration 5 and when we quit th.it Light, we mult wander through end I efs Mazes and dark Labyrinths, and ramble wherever Fancy, Imagination, or Fraud, leads us. If .Mr. Barclay had meant, only by theTeftimony of the Spirit, that natural Faculty, or Princi- ple, that the Deity has infpir'd into all Men to regulate their Actions, and to acknowledge his Divine Bounty, (which Principle I call and could have reconciPd the Work- ings
CATO's LETT E RS.
ings of his Light to the only one I can find in my felf, I could readily have fubfcrib'd to a very great Part of his Syftem , for I muft confefs it ±0 be moft beneficent to the World, in my Opinion, mod agreeable to the Scrip- tures, and makes them, or rather /hews them, to be moft confident with themfelves, and comprehends every Thing which has been fince faid by the beft Writers for Liberty of Confcience, arid againft all Sorts of religious Impofitions. And this he has done with as much Wit, happy Turn, and Maftery of Ex- prefiion, as is confident with the Plainneis and Simplicity afYecled by thofe of his Seel, and for the moft part ufed in the holy Wri-
tings.
I' am, Sic.
S I R,
KNOW well, that any one muft run a great deal of Hazard, who fhall advance any Opinions againft what is vulgarly call'd Charity, though it be ever fo much miftaken or mifcaU'd, as for the moft Part it is, and ever has been. The giving loofe Money in the Streets to canting and lazy Beggars, has obtained the Name of Charity, though it is ge- nerally a mifchievous Liberality to encourage prefent Idlenefs, or to reward paft Extrava- gancy, and is forbid by fevere Laws. The
Founding
's LETTERS. 239
pounding of Monafteries, Nunneries, and other mifcall'd Religious Houfts, has pafs'd too up- on the World in late Ages for Charity, though they have ever prov'd Seminaries of Superfti- tion and of Papal Tyranny, Difcouragements of Matrimony, the Sources of Depopulation, and have made Multitudes of People ufelefs to the World, and to themfelves : The giving Lands and Revenues to faucy, afpiring, and lazy Ecclefiafticks, has been reputed merito- rious Aftions 3 and yet they have ever de- ftroy'd Religion, increased the Pride and Domination of the Clergy, and deprefs'd, im- poverifh'd, and enflav'd the Laity, for whofe Sakes alone there ought to be any Ecclefi- afticks at all. The Founding and Endowing Universities, Colleges, and Free-Schools, car- ries an Appearance of promoting Sciences, Learning, and true Religion , and yet they have been made ufe of to promote the King- dom of Antichrift, to debauch the Principles of the Nobility and Gentry 3 to deprave their Understandings 3 advance learned Ignorance 5 load their Heads with airy Chimera's and fairy Distinctions 3 fiil States with defperate Beggars and Divines of Fortune, who mull •{orce a Trade for Subfiftancc, and become the Cudgels and Tools of Power or Faciiors. A learned Author juflly compares thefe Efta- blifhments to the Trojan Horfe, which carried Hods of armed Men within its Bowels, to fend them out afterwards to deitroy Kingdoms.
But there is another new-fangled Charity rifen up amongft us, called Cbatity~Scbt)ols, which, I think, threatens the Publick more
' than
i4o CATo's LETTERS.
than all which I have mentioned. I would not be underftood to condemn every Thing of that Nature $ for, under a proper Regula- tion, Cometh ing like it may be commenda- ble : But, as they are now employ'd and ma- nag'd, I can fee no Good that can accrue to the Publick from them, but apprehend a great deal of Mifchief. Thefe Eltablifhments were firft begun and encourag'd by pious Men, and many of them Diffenters; and then our High Clergy every where exclaim'd againft them as dangerous Innovations, and Attempts to fubvert the Church, and the National Religi- on: But now that they have got them under their own Management, and they really prove what they foretold they would prove, they make continual Harangues and Panegyrical Elo- giums upon them, and upon the Perfons who promote them : It is become Part of rtheir Duty, (and much better executed than all the reft,) to prate People out of their Money, to decoy fuperftitious and factious Men out of their Shops and their Bufmefs, and old doting Women out of their Infirmaries, to hear too often feditious Harangues upon the Power of the Clergy, and of the Reverence due to them, and upon the Merit of nurfing up Beg- gars to be the blindTools of ambitious Pedants j and Leisures and Instructions are there gi- ven them, inconfiftent with our prefent Efta- blifhment of Church and State j and we have fcarce a News-Paper but gives Notice of Sermons to be preach'd upon this Occafion.
It is certain there was almoft every where a general Detection of Popery, and Po-
piPn
's LETTERS. 241
pifli Principles, and a noble Spirit for Liber- ty, at or jull before thtf Revolution $ and the Clergy feem'd then as zealous as the fore- moft: But when the corrupt Part of them found themfelves freed from the Dangers they complainM of, and yet could not find their fe- parate and fole Advantage in the Revolution, they have been- continually attacking and un- dermining it 3 and fince they faw it was im- poflible to perfuade thofe who were Witnefles and Sufferers under the OppreiTions of the former Governments, wantonly, and with their Eyes open, to throw away their De- liverance, they went a furer and more arttui Way to Work, though more tedious and dila- tory 5 and therefore have, by infenfible De- grees, corrupted all the Youth whofe Educa- tion has been trufled to them, and who could be corrupted ; fo that at the End of near for- ty Years, the Revolution is worfe eflablifh'd than when it began: New Generations are rifen up, which know nothing of the Suffe- rings of their Fathers, and are taught to be- lieve, there were never any fuch : The Dread of Popery is almoft loft amonpft us ; the vileft Tenets of it are openly afTerted and main- tain'dj Men are taught to play with Oaths; and it is become fafhionable to revile Autho- rity more for its commendable Actions, than for itsExceffes: The Principles of our Nobility and Gentry are debauch'd in our U- niverfities, and of our common People in oiir Charity-Schools, who are taught, as foon as they can fpeak, to blabber out High Church and Ormond j and fo are bred yp to VOL. IV. L be
24* CA TO's LETTERS.
be Tray tors, before they know what Treafon lignifies.
This has been long feen, and as long com- plain'd of; and yet no Remedy has been ap- ply'd, tho' often promis'd : Thofe, who fe Du- ty and Bufinefs it ought to have been, have had their Time and Thoughts /b wholly en- gag'd in modelling Factions, and enriching themfelves, that this great Evil has been fuf- fer'd to go on, and ftill goes on 5 it has been continually increafing, and yet increafes 5 but I hope, at laft, that thofe in Authority will take the Alarm, will think their own Safety, and the Safety of his Majefly and his Peo- ple, are highly concerned to remove a Mif- chief which is levell'd at all their, and our, Happineis, and that they will not, like their Predeceflors, difoblige all their Friends to gra- tify their Enemies, whom yet they cannot gra- tify. If this is not done, any one, without much Skill in Politicks, may fafely affirm, That our prefent Eftablifhment cannot long fubfif}. A free Government muil fubfift upon the AfFeclions of the People, and if thofe Affec- tions are perpetually debauch'd , if the Edu- cation of Youth is all againft it, and it mull de- pend only upon Converts, Penfions, or Armies, its Duration cannot be long, without a con- &ant Succefnon of Miracles : Armies will foon find their own Strength, and will play their own Game : Foreign Armies will neither be thought on, nor born , and 'tis to be fear'd, that domeftick One?, upon every Difguft, or ProfpecT: of Advantage, may fall into the In- trigues and Refentments of their Country*
men
CATO's LETTERS. 243
men when they grow to be general, and con- fequently will be of leaft Ufe when moft wanted : We cannot, fure, fo foon forget what the Parliament- Army did formerly, and King Jamefs lately, and what was expected from our own in the late Confpiracy 5 and without fuch Expectations, it had been direct Madnefs to have form'd or engag'd in fuch an Attempt, and the Criminals had been more properly fent to Bedlam than to Tylum^ though they tieferv'd both.
But to apply my felf more immediately to the Charity-Schools, I fhall endeavour to (hew, that under the falfe Pretence and Af- feclation of Charity, they deftroy real Charity, take away the ufual Support and Proviiion from the Children of leffer Tradefmen, and often of decay'd and unfortunate Merchants ana! Gentlemen, and pervert the Benevolence, which would be otherwife beftow'd upon helplefs Widows, and poor Houfe -Keepers who cannot by reafon of Poverty, maintain their Families.
Every Country can maintain but a certain Number of Shop-Keepers, or Retailers of Commodities, which are raifed or manufac- tured by others -, and the fewer they are, the better ^ becaufe they add nothing to the pub- Jick Wealth ; but only difperfe and accommo- date it to the Convenience of Artificers, Ma- nufacturers, and Husbandmen, or fuch who live upon their Eftates and Profeflions 5 and ierve the Publick only by direcling and go- verning the reft; but as there muft be rna- no Retailers of other Men's Induftry, and the
L a greateft
-44 CAfO's LETTERS.
.
greateft Part of them will be but juft able to fupport themfelves 5 with great Pains, Fru- gality, and Difficulty breed up their Families, and be able to fpare fmall Sums out of their little Subftance to teach their Children to write and call Accompt, and to put them out Apprentices to thofe of their Degree $ io thofe Employments ought to fall to their Share 5 .but now are moilly anticipated, and engrofs'd by the Managers of the Charity-Schools; who out of other People's Pockets, give grea- ter Sums than the others can afford, only to take the lowcft Dregs of the People, frcm the Plough and Labour, to make them Tradef- men, and by Confequence drive the Children of Tradcfmen to the Plough, to beg, to rob, or to (larve.
The fame may be faid pf Servant*, who are .generally the Children of the leffer Shop- Keepers, though fometimes of decay'd Mer- chants and Gentlemen, who have given them an Education above the rower Rank of Peo- j)le-, which has qualified them to earn a com* Portable Subfiftence this Way, without mLch Labour 5 to which they have never been ufed. Now I have often heard, that one Advantage propoftd by thefe Charity- Schools, is to hreed up Children to Reading and Writing, and a fober Behaviour, that they may be qua- lified to be Servants : A Sort of idle and rio- ting Vermin, by which the Kingdom is already almoft devoured, and are become every where a publick Nuifance, and Multitudes of .them daily, for Want of Employment, betake i-h-emfelves to the Highway, Houfe-breakmg,
others
CATO's LETTERS. 24?
others Robbing and Sharping, or to the Stews 5, and muft do fo, if we ftudy new Methods to encreafe their Numbers.
I have mentioned another Mifchief which has flowed from this pretended Charity ; for it has in ErTea, deilroyed all other Chan ties, which were before given to the Aged, Sick, and Impotent. I am told, there is more collected at the Church-Doors in a Day, to make thefe poor Boys and Girls appear in Cap and Livery Coats, than for all other Poor in a Year $ and there is Reafon to prefume,. that lefs Hill is given to private Chanties, where the Givers are almoft the only \Vitnc-fles of their own Aaions $ fo that this Benevo- lence is a Commutation or Compofition for what was formerly given to Widows, Or- phans, and to broken and unfortunate Houfe- Keepers. And how fhould it be otherwife, when the Clergymen in higheft Repute, ftrple about from Church to Church, and print publick Advertifements of Charity Sermons to be preached, recommending the Merit of this Sort of Liberality, the Service it does to God and the Church 5 and but faintly, or per- haps not at all, exhorting to any other, m- fomuch, that the Colkaions made every Win- ter, by Virtue of the King's Letter, for the many Miferable in this great Town, vifibly decreafe, though thefe Collections are made from Houfe to Houfe, though the Names of the Givers, and Sums given, are entered down, and though all Minifters are direc- ted by his Majefty and the Bi/hop of London, in their Sermons, to prefs this Charity upon
F. 2 their
CATO's LETTERS.
their Congregations, which is notwithstanding, feldom done, but in a faint Manner, perhaps, at the End of a Sermon 5 whereas, on the other Occaiion, the Ears of the Auditors are deafned with the Cry of the Preacher, and their Paflions are all inflamed to a profuie Liberality j and thofe who do not give, . and give largely too, muft incur Reproach and Contumely.
Oh ! but fay fome pious, and many more impious and hypocritical People, What would you hinder poor Boys and Girls from being well cloathed, from ferving God, and be- ing bred Scholars? To which I anfwer, That there are few Inftances, in which the Publick has fuffer'd more, than in breeding up Beg- gars to be what are called Scholars j from the grave Pedant and the folemn Doctor, down to the humble Writer and Cafter of Accompts 5 to attain which Characlers does not require the Pains and Acutenefs that are necef-' fary to make a good Cobler , and yet they im- mediately fancy themfelvesto be another Rank of Mankind, think they are to be maintained in Jdlenefs, and out of the Subftance of others, for their fancied Accomplifhments , are above Day-Labour, and by an idle Education, re- quire a LiftlefTnefs to it $ and when they can't find the Sort of Subfiftance they afpire to, are always perplexing the World, and diftur- bing other People 5 fo that no Education ought to be more difcountenanc'd by a State than putting Chimera's and airy Notions into the Heads of thofe who ought to have Pickaxes in their Hands 5 and teaching People to read,
write,
CATO's LETTERS. 247
write, and caft Accompt, who, if they are em- ployed as they ought to be, can have no Oc- caiion to make ufe of them, unlefs it be now and then to read the Bible, which they feldom or never do 5 and befides, are told by their fpiritual Guides, that they muft not under-
ftand it.
What Benefit can accrue to the Pubhck, By taking the Dregs of the People out of the Kennels, and throwing their Betters into them ' By leffening the Numbers of Day-Labourers, by whofe Induftry alone, Nations are Sup- ported, and the publick Wealth encreafed To multiply the Number of fuch who add nothing to it, but muft =Uve out of the Luxury of the reft? To take "Boys and Girls from the low and neceflary Employments of Life, make them impatient of the Conditi- on they were born to, and in which they would have thought themfelves happy, to be Sempftreffes, Footmen, and Servant Maid** and teach them to read Ballads? How much more ufeful a Charity would it be, to give the fame Sums to their Parents to help them to raife their Families, and breed up their Children to Spinning or Hard-Labour* to help to maintain themfelves, and to de- pend for the future upon their own Hands for Subfiftance ? Whereas, this Sort of Charity is of no Ufe, Benefit, or Eafe to their Parents, who muft find them Meat, Drink, Wafhing, and fome Clothes, the >hole Time they fpend at School, and lofe, at the fame time> the little they can otherwife earn, or what they would earn themfelves, whilft they employ
L 4 their
248 CATo's LETTERS.
their Children in going on Errands, and doing little Offices, which they can do as well? And all this for the Pleafure of feeing them a little better Cloathed, hearing them fing Pfaims, and repeating by Rote a Catechifm made for that Purpofe.
The Pretence that this Sort of Education will render them more ufeful Members of Soci- ety, and will make them more virtuous an.i re- ligious, is a meer Chimera. How many are hanged at Tyl-itrn that can write and read , or rather how iew that cannot? And generally they all die for High Church, and for the Right Line! Who are greater Rogues than Scholars, as they are called? And what Set of People have fupplied the Town with more Whores than our fpiritual Fathers, who all have the Practice of Piety by them ? Nothing )ceeps the Herd of Mankind fo honeft, as breed- ing them up to Induftry, and keeping them always employed in Hard-Labour, and letting them have no Time or Inducements from Neceffity to rob, cheat, or Superflui- ties to debauch with. Who are the Perfons who have the Conduct, and are at the Head of thefe Charity-Schools? Are they Men of the moft exemplary Piety and Morals? No, J am told the quite contrary : They are, for the moft Part, ftaunch Jacobites, or, in c- ther Words, furious High-Church-Men, of- ten Men of debauched Lives and Principles $ and the Maflers of thefe Schools are gene- rally Enemies to the Eftablifliment. And what Ufe do they make of their Power ? Why ! they iupply the Children with what
they
LETTERS.
they want out of their own Shops ; get Credit and Intereft amongft their Neighbours, for their charitable Difpofition 5 make ufe of that Credit to promote Difaffe&ion to the Go- vernment 5 engige the Parents and Friends of the Children in the Intereft of a Popifh Pretender, and breed up the Children them- felves to fight his Battels in due Time.
I have been very much diverted to fee, now and then, one of thefe Poor Creatures skip over a Kennel as nimble as a Greyhound,, to get to the other Side of the Way, that it may be ready to make a low Bow to a Par- fon as he paffed by j which Order of Men they are taught almoft to adore j and I have been often told, (though I do not affirm, and can fcarce believe it to be true,) that their Du- ty to the Clergy is inferted in a Catechifm that is or hns been taught them ; but whether fuch a Catechifm is committed to Print or Wri- ting, or not, it is certain their Duty to God is not half fo much, I will not fay, inculcated into them, but obferv'd by them, as the Re- verence and Refpe6t which they are made to be- lieve is due to thefe Holy Men. And what Ufe will be made of this blind Adoration to fuch Perfons and their Power, we may eafily judge by what Ufe ever has been, made of it, which I think is well worth the Time and Thoughts of publick Authority, as of ail Men who wifli Well to their King, their Country, and Themfelves, to ferioufly reflect upon, and to prov;de againft, before it is too late, and the Mifchief is accomplifli'd.
I aw,
L 5
250 CATo's LETTERS.
SIR,
TT is furprizing what minute and contemprr- •*• ble Cuufes create Difcontents, Diforders* Violence, and Revolutions amongft Men 5 what a fmall Spring can actuate a mighty and many-headed Multitude 5 and what mighty Numbers one Man is capable of drawing inta his DifguRs and Dcfigns. It is the Weaknefs of the many 5 when they have taken a Fan- cy to a Man, or to the Name of a Man, they take a Fancy even to his Failings, adopt his- Interest right or wrong, and refent every Mark of Disfavour fhewn him, however juft and tieceflary it be. Nor are their Refentments and Fondnefs the kfs violent for being ill- grounded : If a Man makes them Drunk once or twice a Year, this Injury is a Kindnefs which they never forget $ and he is fure of their Hearts and their Hands for having fo generoufly robb'd them of their Time, their Innocence, and their Senfes. They are grate- ful for the Mifchief done them $ and in Re- turn, are ready to do any for him. He who reftrains them from Drunkennefs, or even pu- nifties them for it, is a greater and a real Bene- faclor-} but fuch a Benefactor as they will never forgive, and he is fure to lofe their good , probably to purchafe their Hatred.
This
LETTERS, 251
This /hews how much their Senfes are ilronger than their Underftandings. They are govern'd not by Judgment, but by Senfa- tions -7 and, one Guinea in Drink, obliges them more than two in Clothes 5 or in any other dry Way. L;quor warms their Hearts, and fills them with the Man who is the Author of To much Joy. So that to inftrud them,, feed them, and employ them, are not fuch fure Ways to win them> as to miflead and in- flame them, and to wafte their Time. For this Reafon, the fober, and the fenfible Cler- gyman is never fo popular, as the loud, the faftiousr and the hot-headed. Rational and fober Infrru&ion is a cold Thing^ and goes no farther than the Underftanding: But Noife and Raving awaken and intoxicate the animal Spirits, and fet the Blood on Fire, and have all the Effeds of Wine.
So that in raifing Parties and Factions, Irc- flaming goes a thoufand Times further than Reafoning and Teaching. A foolifh Speech 3) fupported with Vehemence and Brandy, will conquer the beft Senfe, and the beft Caufe in the World, without Anger or Liquor, Sobriety and Capacity are not Talents that recommend to the Crowd, who are always, taken with fhallow Pomp and Sound, and with Men of little Reftraints. The Debauch'd and the Superfluous have great Hold of them: Men who will fin with them, or Men, who can give them Amulets againft the Vei> gence due to Sinning. But Men who will neither corrupt them, nor deceive them,. are to them diftafleful Stoicks* or frighful Infi
2p CATO's LETT ERS.
dels, and fometimes us'd as fuch. One may at any Time gain an Intereft in a Mob with a Barrel of Beer, or without it, by the Means of a few odd Sounds, that mean no- thing, or fomething very wild or wicked. Let any Superftition, though ever fo wild or fooli/h, be advanced by one who has Credit e- noughto deceive them 5 let any favourite Party Watch- Word be invented, and pronounc'd in fuch a Tone and fuch a Pofture, it foon be- comes Sacred, and in the higheft Efteem 5 and woe be to him that fpeaks againft a Myftery: Every Argument fhall be an Af- front and a Sign of Unbelief 5 which is a Crime always higheft, and moft hated when it is beft grounded. The Managers of the Charm, on- the contrary, are Men of vaft Reverence, Mo- ment, and Popularity, and a Zeal for the Charm creates Guards and Revenues to the Charmers. If you go about to expofe the Im- pofture, and unfold the Cheat, you are a Foe to all Religion, and will believe nothing without Evidence. The Superftiticn grows in eftabli/h'd Repute, and 'tis dangerous to oppofeit, till fome other, often more abfurd, and confequently more prevailing, under- mines and exterminates it: For there is that Propenfity in moft Men to Delufion and Grimace, that they feldom recur to the plain and^aimable Precepts taught in the Scripture, ant! to a Religion without Shew, Pagean- try, and Ceremonies 5 but Superftition almcft always fublifts in fome Shape or other, and grows ftrong and reverenced in Proportion to us Weaknefs> Nonfenfe, and Abfurdity : As it
is
s LETTERS. 253
is admired in Proportion as it is fooli/h or wonderful, it is believed in Proportion as it is incredible : So that the Credulity of the People for the moft Part, follows the wife Improvement of Nonfenfe : CufiMue tngenii Iwnani libentius obfcura credi. Tacit.
Confidering the Weaknefs of Man's Na- ture, prone to imaginary Fears, and to lean upon imaginary Props, and to feek imaginary Cures, limited Dekiders are often to be born ^ but the worft is, they will not be limi- ted, but extend their Guile to Inftances where it is noj: wanted 5 and from managing his Whims, affume a R*ght to direct his Pro- perty, his Eating and Drinking, and every Part of his Behaviour, and turn Canting, and telling Dreams, into Authority and Ruling.
The JEgfft'mns have been always a moft fu- perftitious Nation, always under the Domi- nion of their Prieiis, and confequently prone to Tumults and Insurrections. Their Priefls were at one Time arriv'd to that monflrcus Pitch of Power and Tyranny, that they us'd to difpatch their Kings by a Meflage. If they did but fignify their pious Plealure, that his Majefly was to cut his Throat, he durft not retuTe, but muft humbly take the Razor, and be his own Executioner, But the Power of the Priefls was weakened, and the Danger of frequent Rebellions prevented by the following Stratagem of one of the Princes. He confider'd the Madnefs of the Multitude after their Gods, and their Priefts } and that their Unity in religious Phrenzy and Nonfenfe difpos'd them to Unanimity in
their
254 CATO^s LETTERS.
their Civil Rage. He therefore divided gy^r into feveral Diftri6h, and eadow'd every Diftrift with its peculiar and feparate Deities. He knew, that if they differ'd about their Gods, or divine Cattle, and Vegetables of Worfhip, and about the Rites paid them, they would agree about nothing elfe, and confe- quently never to confpire againft him. One Divifion had for its Deity a Monkey* ano- ther had a Cat, another a Crocodile, another a Kite $ and fome ador'd Leeks and Garlick,, Savoury Gods of their own planting.
0 Santtctsgente*, quilus h*ec nafcuntur in bortir
This Dividend of Deities had the defir'd Effeft. The feveral Diftrifts abhorr'd all the neighbouring celeftial Gentry as intenfiy and madly as they doated on their own 5 and were ready to fpill their Blood, either offenfively, or defenfively, for the Honour and Intereit of thefe their different Divinities. Hence the religious and bloody War between two neigh- bouring Towns, finely defcrib'd by Juvenal with his ufual Force and Indignation*
Inter finitimos vetus atque anttqu(tfimuhasy Immortals odium & nunqtiam Canabile vitlnus jirdet adhucy Ombas OP Tentyra. Summusutrinque In de furor vulgo, quod numina vicitiorum Qdit uterque locus , cum Jolos credit balendos Effe deos quos iffe cofo. — — Juv. Sat. 1 5.
When
CATO's LETTERS.
When People are once divided in their Af- fe ft ions, every Thing, however innocent and indifferent, if it be peculiar to the one, be- comes a Mark of Iniquity, , and an Objecl of Ha- tred to the other. A different Hat or Coat becomes the Source of Refentment, when perhaps a Cloak or a Ruff creates Friend- fiiip and Efteem. A Judgment is made of the Hearts of Men by their Habit, and particular good or bad Qualities are annex'd to Cloth and Colours. "There are Inftances of Mo- narchs depos'd and murder'd by their People for wearing a foreign Drefs, or for fpeakmg a foreign Language : And there are Inftances of Nations perfecuted, wafted, and laid in Blood by their Princes, for uiing, or not ufingy particular Geftures and Sounds, which their Highnefles had taken a liking to j and of Princes us'd the fame Way by their People for the fame Reafon.
If they take an ASFe&ion to the Word A*> Iracadabra, tho5 they join to it no certain Idea, they think themfelves juftified in op- preffing, and fometimes in butchering, all who do not profefs the fame vehement Affection to the fame fenflefs Sound. But the Man who is loud and mutinous for Abracadabra is their Darling : They grow fond of him for being fond of their Word : His Fondnefs is a Compliment to them j and they will Denture Life and Limb for a Cheat, or a Blockhead, who opens his Mouth juft as they do others. Their Zeal is the fiercer, becaufe it is blind* If they fall religioufly in love with an Ape, oran Ox> or with thofe that tend
Giro's LETTERS.
him, as the JE^nans did, he is prefently a Blafphemer, who does not debafe his Under- flandmg, and forfeit his Sincerity, by facri- ficing fhamefuiiy and devoutly to thefe brute Creatures, and by reverencing and pampering the folemn Merry Andrews that look after them.
The great Ifland of Madagafcar is divided into two great Parts and Parties, who are at fierce Strife and everlail'ng War about a fan&ify'd Elephant's Tooth, which both own to have come down n-.i. aven, and both pretend to have it j and I arn not fure whe- ther it has not work'd Miracles on both Sides : But as neither Side wi" 'How the other to have it, they hate one anorher as much as they love and hate the faid Tooth. Great is the Elephant of Madagafcar, and the Tusl^ ubicb fell dawn from Jupiter !
The Turks and the Per flans are equally the devout, the blind, and bigctred Followers of Mahomet, and differ in no Point of Doc- trine. This Doclrinal Unanimity, one would think, muft be a powerful Bond of Union, at leaft of religious Union, between the two Empires. But no fuch Matter. They treat one another as execrable Hereticks and In- fidels, and do not hate the Chriftians more, though their only Difference in Opinion is, that the Twr'</ hold Omar for the true Suc- cefti r of Mahomet, and the Perflnns maintain that All was. They tie their Religion, at leaft the Efficacy thereof, to the Succeflion, and deny that there can be any Salvation in any Church where the uninterrupted Succeflion
is
CA'fO's LETTERS. 257
is not kept up : So that each Side is damn'd jn the Opinion of each. This Hatred and Diviiion is increas'd by another momentous Difference, the Difference of the Colours and Caps which they wear. The Tnr^s wear white Turban ts, arid the Perjiam wear red Bon- nets. Thefe are.fuch abominable Marks of Herefy and Schifm, as deferves to be expia- ted with Blood: And therefore that Herefy has always been aflign'd as a principal Caufe of their many mutual Invaiions, rnercilefs Wars, and Deveftations.
I wifh I could not fay, that the wife and grave Engbfe Nation have had aifo their holy and outrageous Quarrels about V/ords and Motions, Crape and Cloth, Bonnets and Colours, and about the Eaftern and Weftern Situation of Joint-Stools j Thank God it is not quite fo bad at prefent, no Thanks to our Education.
I would, for a ConcIuCon to this Letter, only de fire it to be coniider'd, what Infamy and Contempt it reflects upon the human Underftanding, and indeed upon the human Species, to be thus apt to run into Difcord and Animofiti-es upon fuch wretched and unman- ly Motives; and what Monfters and Impo- ftors they muft be, who begin, or manage, or highten thefe abfurd and impious Con- tentions amongft any Part of the Race of Men, already too unhappy by the Lot of Nature.
258 CATO's LETTERS.
S I R,
A
S I have lately given you the genuine Meaning of two very Nonfenfical Words, 3s they are vulgarly understood, to wit, Heie~. difary K^fcrj fo in this I /hall a little ani- madvert upon tw& other Words in as much Ufe, I mean the Words IndtHlle Cha- ratfer$ which 1 chufe to do, becaufe no fmail Number of Ecciefiafticks, and fome I have heard of the hrghe.il Character, dare to affert, that though the late Bi/hop of Rocbefter is depriv'd of his Bifhoprick, and expellM the Kingdom, yet that Hs remains a Bfoop of the Univerfal Ckurcb, which are fome more non- feniical Words : Indeed, there is fcarce a Theological Syftem in the World, (legal Efta- blifhmerits excepted,) but contains almoft as many Falfhoods as Words, and as much Nonfenfe as Matter. Give the corrupt Priefis but fome odd, unintelligible, and iil- favour'd Word, fuppofe bic btec boc, trim tram* low wow, fee fa fumy or any other Sound that is utterly void of any rational Meaning, and they lhall inftantly find profound My~ fiery in it, and fetch ftubftantial Advantages out of it 5 and when they are got in full Poffef- iion of the (aid Word, you are damned if you deny it to be Senfe, and damned if you endeavour to make Senfe of it.
The
CA TO's LETTERS. 25?
The Indelible Chara&er, is one of their be- loved Phrafes, from which they derive great Importance and Authority, and yet is a pal- pable Contradiction to all common Senfe ; By it they mean a certain invifible Faculty, that is peculiar to themfelves, of doing cer- tain Duties, which they could have done as well before they had it. It is a divine Com- miffion, or Power, to do that every where, which human Powers can hinder them from doing any where : It neither conveys Vir- tue, Holitiefs', nor Undemanding, and has no vifible Operation, but authorizes thofe who are poflefs'd of it to ufe certain Words, and perform certain Actions and Ceremonies, and ad certain Motions, which moft other Men could pronounce, perform, and acl a* well as they can, but they tell us not with equal EffecT: 5 but then this EffecTt is no ways vifible, nor comprehenfible, but through Faith, and is far above all human Concep- tion.
How then, and by what Marks, ftiall we know that any one has attain'd to this Indeli- ble Characler ? Not from Scripture, which i$ wholly fllent about the Matter ? Not by Suc- cefllon from the Apoftles, who claimed no fuch Power, as is unanswerably proved in. the Infyevdant W^iv, No. VI. and VII. Not from Reafon, the 'impoflibility of it being there fully (hewn in No. XV. And the Wide* ednefs of pretending to it being as fully /hewn in No. XLVI. and XLVII. Not from the Laws of England, which oblige all Clergy- men to own, that they receive all Jurifdifti-
©n
Giro's LETTERS.
on and Authority whatsoever from the Crown? as is demonftratively proved in No. XIII. and XIV. and in No. XLVIII. and XLIX. It is as undeniably proved by numerous Texts, as well as the whole Bent of Scripture, that no one Chriftian has more Power than ano- ther, to perform all the Offices of Chriftiani- ty 5 that the Holy Ghoft fell upon all Belie- vers alike, and that they had all the Power of doing Miracles, afrer they had received it j and I think it is as evident, that none of them have now the Power of doing Miracles,. as this would be wirh a Witnefs, if a few Words pronounced, and few Motions perfor- med, fhould give to any one new Qualities and Faculties which he had not before. I am fure, ifthis is a Miracle, it is an invifible One, and much like that of the Popifh Tran- fubftantiation ; where though we are told, that the Bread and Wine are changed into Flefh and Blood, yet as to human Eyes, they ap- pear to be Bread and Wine ftill. We are fa far from being told in Holy Writ, that Elders, Paftor?, and Teachers, (for all Priefthood is. plainly aboli/h'd by our Saviour in any o- ther Senfe than as all Chrifiians are Priefts,J are always to chufe one another, that even an A- poftle in the firft of the 4tts is chofen bv the
*
Congregation, and by the cafting of Lots.
But thefe Gentlemen are fometimes fo mo- deit, as to confefs, that holy Orders do really convey neither Piety, Morals, Learning, nor encreafe the natural Faculties in any Re- fpecl: : I dch re therefore to know of therrv what they are good for. unlefs to declare, that
fuch
's LETTERS. 16 1
fiich a Man has undertaken to execute an Uirice, and that he has natural or acquired Qualifications fufficient to perform it ? And this Trull is for the mod Part committed ro Clergymen, who are prefumed beft to under- Hand their own Trade 5 and the Ceremony they ufe to fignify that Declaration, are laying on of Hands, and a Form of Words, prefer i- bed by Aft of Parliament ; which Ceremony has obtained the Name of Confecration and Or- dination. Now fuppofe the Law had ap- pointed another Form to be executed only by Laymen, as by throwing a Sword over his Head, and by putting a Cap and long Gown upon him 5 would not the fame Man, with the lame Qualifications, be juft as good a Pa- llor 5 or fuppofe the Bifhop, who ordained him through feme Miftake, had not himfelf gone through all the Operation, would the Per- fon ordain'd been ever the worfe ? There is no Appearance that our modern Operators have any Difcernment of Spirits -5 if they had, I prefume we fiiould not have had fo many Jn- tobitis in Holy Orders; and 'tis evident in Faft, whenever the Parifhes chufe their o\vn Parfons, they are at leaft as good Ones as thofe who are recommended to us by our f pi- ritual Fathers. 'Tis certain our Laws know nothing of this Gibbenfh, but declare Lay- men capable of all Sorts of Ecclefiaftical Jurif- diftion j and when the Bifhops confecrate one another, or ordain Prieils, they doit mi* nifterialty from the Crown, and formerly took out a Commiflion from the Crown, to or- dain Presbyters 5 and the King now confti-
tutes
CA TO's LETTE RS.
tutes Bifhops in Ireland by CommiiTIon, and they will be good ones, and be able to per- form ail the Epifcopal Office, though they were nevtr confecrared, and formerly they were granted by Patent in Sect/and, and only durante bene flacito.
Now let us confider, What is the Meaning of the Word Biftiop, and wherein his Office confifts. It is a Power or Jurifdiclion given to do certain Actions within a certain Diftric~r, which Diitrift is limited by human Laws j and he muft not execute his Power in any other Bifhop's Diftricl, under the Penalty of Schifm, and human Punishment , and what is this Jurifdiclion ? It is a Power to name a Lay- Chancellor if he pleafes, who is to enquire after, and punifh certain carnal Crimes, with- out confulting or taking any Notice of the Bifhop himfelf, who conftituted him $ and Excommunication is the legal Procefs he is to ufe, and the Punifhment he is to inflicT:. The Bifhop has, moreover, a Power to examine in- to the Qualifications of thofe who defire to be admitted into Orders, and to admit them, or reject them, as he finds them capable, or incapable , and after they are admitted, to infpecl into their Behaviour, in fbme Refpedts, and to punifh them according to flated Laws. And what is this Prieftly Office? It is to read Prayers, appointed by A61 of Parliament, pub- lickly to the Congregation, to read aloud cer- tain Chapters out of the Bible, appointed by publick Authority to be read on particular Days, to pick out a Text or two every Sunday ^ and harangue upon it to the People 5 to ad-
minifter
's LETTERS.
jninifter the Sacraments by a Form of Words prefcnbed by Law, .to vilit the Sick, exhort and rebuke, and to take the Tythes. The Bifhop befides is to be a Lord of Parliament, to have one or more Thoufands per Annum^ and to blefs People when they are upon their Knees.
Now what Part of all this may not be as well executed, by what Ceremony foever the Perfon officiating is appointed, or if he is ap- pointed without any Ceremony at all. May not a Bifhop conftitute a Lay-Chancellor to hear fmutty Caufes, and to excommunicate the Guilty, till they buy themfelves out of Pur- gatory again for a Sum of Money ? Cannot he equally enquire into the Capacities of thofe who are Candidates for the Prieiihood, as they call it, and to deprive or otherwife pu- nifh them as the Law direcls? Might not he equally fit in the Houfe of Lords, and vote for the juft Prerogative of the Crown, the Good of the Church 5 make the moft of his Revenues, only for the Sake of his SuccefTor, and fay, God L-lefs you to any who will ask it upon his Knees? Might not a private Man, though a Bifhop's Hand had never touched his Periwig, read aloud the publick Prayers and the Chapters for the Day, when he can read at all, without any new infpiration 5 talk half an Hour or more about the Meaning of a plain Text j exhort his Parishioners to be good Churchmen , rail at and revile Diflen- ters ; read the legal Form of Baptifm, and fprinkie an Infant; carry about the Bread and Wine to the Communicants $ repeat the
Words
2(54 CATo's LETTERS.
Words appointed in the Common -Prayer Book to be faid on that Occafion $ gather in Tythes very carefully , and put any One into the Spiritual Court that does not pay them.
Now, Sir, what is Deprivation, but by publick Authority to hinder them from doing thefe Things 3 that is, to take away the Pow- er it has given them ? I think it is agreed by them all, that fome of thefe Powers may be taken away, namely, the Bifhops being Members of the Upper Houfe, their Baronies and Revenues, their Lordfhips, their Digni- ties, their Spiritual Courts, their legal Jurif- diction within their former Diftricls $ but ftill they remain good Biftiops of the Univerfal Church; which Character is Indelible, and can never be taken away. But what they mean by the Univerfal Church, I can't guefs, unlefs they mean all Chriftian Countries, or all Coun- tries wherein there are Chriftians $ and then it feems that Bifliops may ordain Presbyters, and Bifhops and Presbyters both may preach and pray, give the Sacraments, and excommun-'cate wherever there are any Chrif- tians ; and if the Words Univerfal Church will extend to thofe who are no Chriiiians, then they may do thefe Things through the whole World. But how will this agree with another orthodox Opinion, I think held by them all, that no Bifhop can execute his Of- fice in another's Diocefe, and no Prieil in ano- ther's Parifh, again!} their Confenr, without be- ing guilty of Sch5fr>. And here alrnoft all Chriftendom is cut off from their Ecclt?iiaftical
Jurif-
C AlO's LET T ERS.
Jurifdi&ion at once, and a good Part of Turky too, the Chriftians there having all Bi- fhops (fuch as they are :) So that they are reduced to execute this Univerfal Power on- ly in partibus injidelmm 5 and methinks , iince Sovereign Authority is every where the fame, Mahometan or Pagan Princes fliould have as much Power to hinder any one from conferring Offices in his Dominions, as Chri- ftian Princes have to confine him to a fmall Limit, and hinder him every where elfe 5 for no more Power is neceffary to one than to the other.
But to fhew that I am in Charity with thefe Gentlemen, and am willing to agree with them as far as I can, I do admit, that no Government, either Chriftian, Mahometan, or Pagan, has any Authority to hinder a good Alan from doing his Duty to God j from fay- ing his Prayers, and reading the Scriptures publickly 5 from exhorting his Brethren from giving or receiving the Sacraments, or avoid- ing ill Company , which is all that is meant in Scripture, by what we call Excommunication : AH which Offices, or rather Duties, every Chri- ftian is empower'd by the Go/pel to execute. And as the Clergy have been called upon oftner than once already to /hew from Scrip- ture, or Reafon, that thefe Duties, or any of them, are appointed by God, to be per- form'd by any Set or Order of Men whatfoe- ver, independent of other Chriftiansj fo I caU upon them again to fhew it, and I expect they will introduce plain and direct Texts, or* at leaft, as much Evidence as they would pay
V o L. IV. M fir-
euro's LETTERS.
five Shillings upon on any other Occafion. And if they cannot do this, as 1 /hall prefume they cannot, till the contrary appears 5 then all this artificial Cant is plain Juggling, Hypocri- fy, and Priefkraft.
If we will take fome of their Words for it, there are many Things very ftrange and extra- ordinary in this Divine Truft : It may be gi- ven here below, but cannot be taken away a- gain '•) for then it would not be Indeliable. It is a Power to execute Ecclefiaftical Jurifdiclion or Duty through the whole Earth, and yet may be confin'd to Diocefes, or Parifhes r No hu- man Authority can hinder thofe who are pof- fefs'd of it from executing it 5 and yet their Perfons may be imprifon'd, or put to Death, and fo be wholly difenabled to execute it : They may be render'd incapable of performing it by Difeafes, Drunkennefs, Gluttony, and Lazinefs 5 but not by Murder, Robbery, Treafon, Blafphemy, or Atheifm : Non-Exe- cution, or wrong Execution, is no Forfeiture: It is the moft tender and important of all Trufts 5 and yet no Crimes, how heinous or black foever, will difqualify a Man from hol- ding and executing it : Whoever has once got it, can never part with it, but carries it with him to the Pillory and the Gallows 5 but whe- ther it there leaves him, Authors are iilent, or doubtful.
It can be given by one of them to another only by the Motion of the Hand, but not by Aft of Parliament, and the Confent of the States of a great Kingdom, tho' the Head of the Church is one of them 5 and vetitmuft
be
CAltfs LET T ERS.
be given according to the Command of that one, and by a Form of Words enacted by all three. Whoever has it, muft have a Call from the Holy Ghoft, and yet muft be examin'd whether he has common natural Qualificati- ons j and when he has heard this Call, and his Qualifications are found fufficient, he need not execute what he is call'd to, but may hire another to do it for him 3 who muft not exe- cute it neither, unlefs he has an human Dio- cefe, or an human Parifh, or is employed by thofe who have. Is not this pretty Jargon, and worthy to be made an Article of Faith ? Though it has had the ill Luck not to get in amongft the reft, and, what is worfe, fomeof the reft direclly contradict it.
The fame invifible Faculty makes him, who is poffefs'd of it, neither wifer nor better; but yet he is to be much more refpecled, and his Authority to be much more regard- ed, provided he is zealous for the Notions which are Orthodox for the Time being , o- therwife you may abufe him as much as you pleafe, whether he is Moft Reverend, Right Reverend, or only Plain Reverend 5 and you need not have any Reverence at all for him, tho' the Indelible Character fticks juft where it did before. You muft know this Inde- lible Character came down by an uninterrup- ted Succeflion from the Apoftles; but then it being wholly invifible, and making no Al- teration in the outward or inward Man, there is fome. Difficulty, and we are often at a Lofs to know who has it. The moft common out- ward and vifible Signs are a broad-brim'd Hat, a
M z long
CA r0's LETTERS.
long black Gown, and a Band, tho' others hold a Cloak, with a Cape to it, to be a bet- ter Criterion. But what will become of us, if fome Heretick has formerly ufurp'd thefe Holy Garments, without having pafled through ail the precedent Operation $ and if he /hould have happen'd to have confccratcd and or- dain'd a great many others, then, alas! the whole Chain of SucceiTion may have been broke, never to be pieced again by human Skill 5 and we can never know who amongft us are regular Chriftians, or in a regular Way of Salvation. Some are fo wicked as to fay, That this was the Cafe of many of our Proteftant Bifhops at the Reformation 3 which God forbid !
Nay, what is worfe, the Orthodox differ amongft themfelves about what Requifites #re neceffary to continue this Line of Suc- *:eiTion. Many have affirm 'd, That the Holy Ghoft would not inhabit a Heretick, aSchif- matick, a Simoniack, or an Atheifl 5 and fame have went fo far, as to a{Tert,That a Chri- iiian Biihop ought to be a Chriftian. Now it is certain, there have been many Bifhops and Popes too, who did not believe one Word about Jefus Chrift j and if this is Dif- fcpali£caticn, then the Lord have Mercy upon thofe who have pretended to receive Orders from them, or under them, and upon fuch who received the Sacraments only by Succef- fion from them.
Others have ventur'd to affirm. That no greater Power was neceflary to take away Or- ders than to qive them 5 and if fo, the Pope and
Church
CATO's LET T E R S..
Church of Row* have taken away all our Or- ders from us, and excommunicated us to a Man 5 and then a Quedion will arife, Whe- ther any one, who is wholly turn'd out of the Church, can be a Bifhop of the Church ? and if not, all our Bench of Bifhops are gone at once , for we all know that the Church of Rome is a true Church $ and if the Cler- gy have any Authority from Scripture, alt the Ecclefiaftical Authority in the World wasagainft the firft Reformers, and they were all excommunicated together. They had cer- tainly no Power to feparate themfelves from the Church or' Rome, but what every Man in the World ever had, has now, and ever will have, to feparate from any Church which he thinks to be erroneous, and of difowning all Ecclefiaftical Authority, which does not take its Force from the Laws of the Coun- try he lives under $ and then it is only Civil Authority. I defire of the Gentlemen, who- have always fhewn themfelves very happy at Diftinclions, to clear up thofe Matters to us, that we may know whether we are Chriftians or not, and in the ordinary of Salvation.
I am,
LETTERS,
SIR,
T N my lad I endeavour'd to give you a true •*• Anatomy of the Indelible Character, and of the uninterrupted Succeffion, from whence are deriv'd moft of the Abfurdities of the TLomlfj Church, and all the fpiritual Equi- page of their Popes, Patriarchs, Archbifhops, Bifhops, Panfh-Prieits, &>c. as well as all the Powers claim'd by them in the Church. In this I /hall give you their Genealogy , as al- fo the Genealogy of their Cathedrals, their Altars, their lighted Candles upon them at Noon-day j their worshipping God towards the Eaft, and a great deal more of their religi- ous Trumpery. I cannot., after the moft dili- gent Inquiry, find out the lead Countenance for moft, if any, of thefe fine Things, in the Chriftian Religion '-, and the jk?r//£ is long fince abolifh'd. Our Saviour plainly intended to re- duce Men to natural Religion, which was corrupted and defaced by the numerous Su- perftitions of the jfeu-f, anc^ ^Y tne a^^"ur<l Idolatries of the Gentiles. The Doclrine which he taught, confifted only in Wor/hipping one God, and in doing Good to Men 5 and there- fore he inAituted a Religion without Priefts, Sacrifices, and Ceremonies 5 a Religion which was to reficie in the Heart, to confift in Spirit, and in Truth 5 and to fhew itfelf out- wardly
CATo's LETTERS. 271
wardly in virtuous Actions : But fuch a Re- ligion would not gratify the Ambition and Pride of thofe who defir'd to Domineer over their Brethren, and to acquire from their Ig- norance and Fears, Riches and Authority.
AS therefore the yevifi Priefts had, by their Traditions, and their fabulous Legands, cor- rupted the Law of Mofesj fo the Chriftian Clergy did by Degrees blend the Gofpel, and the plain and eafy Precepts of Chriftianity, with the mo ft abfurd Parts of the Jeivifo Tra- ditifcns, and with the ridiculous Foppery of the Religion of the Gentiles $ infomuch, than at the Reformation there was not left in the World any Thing that look'd like Chri- ftianity. The Pope and his Priefts had pick'd out from all other Superftitions their moft ab- furd, cruel, and wicked Parts and Principles , and having incorporated the fame with pecu- liar Abfurdities of their own, made out of all fuch a wild Jumble of Nonfenfe and Impie- ties, as has driven Virtue, good Government, and Humanity, almoft out of the World 5 given Rife to Mahometanifm $ and both toge- ther have almoft extingui/h'd the human Race $ fince there is not in thofe Countries, where thefe Religions entirely prevail, the Tenth Part of the People they could boaft in the Times of the old Romans, nor in Proportion to the Numbers which China and Holland can boaft 5 where the Priefts have no Power, and but little Influence.
It would be endlefs to trace all the numerous Abfurdities of the Romifi Church, and to fearch the Sources from whence they are
M 4 taken
272 CATQ's LETTERS.
taken and ftolen. I fhall content my felf here, to fhew, that their whole Machinery is copied from the Religion of Zoroaftert and the Perfi.m Magi, and fhall quote no other Autho- rity than the excellent and learned Dr. Pri- tlfiiux j but give an Account of that Impo-ftor and his M-tg/, altogether in the Doctor's own Words.
He tells us, That Zoroafter flourifh'd in the Reign of Darius Hyflaffes^ (tho' others fay, very long before, as he fays, the M«g/ dici, who, without doubt, held many of the lame Opinions, he having only revived their Seel with forne Alterations ,) and he taught, that there was one fupreme Being, independent and felf-exiflent from all Eternity $ that under him there were two Angels, one the Angel of Light, and the Author and Direc- tor of all Good 5 the other the Angel of Darknefs, the Author and Director of all Evil $ that this Struggle fhould continue to the End of the World, and then there fhould be a ge- neral Refurreclion, and a Day of Judgment, wherein juft Retribution fhould be rendered to all according to their Works 5 and the Angel of Darknefs and his Difciples fhould go into a World of their own, where they fhould fufFer in everlafting Darknefs, the Pu- nifhment of their ill Deeds 5 and the Angel of Light and his Difciples fhould go into n World of their own, and receive in cver- lafting Light, the Rewards due to their good Deeds.
This Impofior pretended to have been ta- ken up to Heaven, and there to have heard
God
CATO's LETTERS. 27$
God fpeak to him out of the Midft of the Fire , and therefore he order'd Fire-Temples to be built, and erected Altars in them, upon which facred Fires were kept and preferved, without being fuffer'd to go out 5 and all the Parts of their publick Worfhip were per- fbrnVd before thefe publick facred Fires, as all their private Devotions were before private Fires in their own Houfes : Not that they worfhipped the Fire, but God in the Fire j for God having fpoken out of the Fire, he faid, That it was the fureft Sbednab of the Divine Prefence , That the Sun being the per- fected Fire that God had made, there was the Throne of his Glory, and the Evidence of his Divine Prefence, in a more efpecial Man- ner than any where elfe ; for which Reafon he order'd them to direct all their Worfhip towards the Sun, and next towards their fa- cred Fires j and therefore they always ap- proached them from the Weft Side $ that having their Faces towards them, and alfo towards the Rifing Sun at the fame Time, they might di- rect their Worfhip towards both ; for the Kel>la of the "Mayans being the Rifing Sun, they always worfhipped with their Faces to- wards the Eafl.
To gain the greater Reputation to his Pre- tenfions, he retir'd to a Cave, and there livM, a Reclufe, pretending to be abstracted from all worldly Confiderations, and to be whol- ly given up to Prayer, and Divine Meditati- ons. Whilfthe was in this Retirement, he-' composed the Book wherein his pretended Re- velations are contain'dj which confined; of
5 twelve
274 CAfO's LETTERS.
twelve Volumes. The firft contains the Li- turgy of the Mrtg/, and the reft treat of the other Parts of their Religion. In this Book he commands the fame Obfervances about Beafts, clean and unclean, which Mofes com- mands ; gives the fame Law of paying Tythes to the Sacerdotal Order j enjoins the fame Care of avoiding all external and internal Pollutions, the fame Way of cleanfing and purifying themfelves by frequent Wafhings , the fame keeping the Priefthood always with- in one Tribe 5 and feveral other Inftitutions are alfo therein contain'd, of the fame Jewi/k Extraction. The reft of its Contents are an Hiftoricai Account of the Life, Actions, and Prophecies of its Author ^ the feveral Branches and Particulars of his new reformed Superstition ; and Rules and Exhortations to Holy Living j in which he is very preffin'g, and fufficientiy exacl, faving only in one Par- ticular, which is about Inceft, which the Doftor fuppofes is allow'd by him out of Flat- tery to the Rerjiav Kings, who were exceed- ingly given to inceiluous Marriages. This Book he pretends to have received from Hea- ven , and according as the Aftions of his Seft agree or difgrace with it, they are eheem'd cither good or evil.
His Priefts, as is faid, are to be all of one Tibe, and none but the Sen of a Prieft was capable of being a Pried 5 and his Prieft- hood he divklul into tlree Tribes. The low- eft were the inferior Clergy, who fcrved in all the commoi. Cilices of their divine Worfhip. Next above thefe vvers the Superintendents,
who
C^TO's LETTERS. 275
who in their feveral Diftricls governed the inferiour Clergy, as the Bifhops do amongti us 5 and above all, was the Arcbtmagus^ or Arch-Prieft, who was the fame as the High- Prieil amongft the Jew, or the Pope now amongft the Romanes, and is the Head of- the whole Religion : And, according to the Number of their Orders, the Temples and Churches in which they officiated, were of three Sorts. The loweft Sort, were there Parochial Churches, or Oratories, which were ferved by their inferior Clergy, as the Parochial Churches are now with us 5 and the Duties they there perform'd, were to read the daily Offices out of their Liturgy, and at ftated and folemn Times to read fome Part of their facred Writings to the People. In thefe Churches there were no Fire- Altars ; but the facred Fire before which they worlhipp'd, was maintain'd only with a Lamp. Next above thefe were the Fire Temples, in which Fire was continually kept burning on a facred Altar 3 and thefe were in the fame Manner as Cathedrals with us, the -Churches or Temples were the Super- intendent reiided. 'In every one of thefe were alfo feveral of the inferior Clergy en- tertain'd, who, in the fame Manner as the Choral Vicars with us, perform'd all the Di- vine Offices under the Superintendent, and al- fo took Care of the facred Fire, &V.
The higheft Church above all was the Fire- Temple, where the Arcbimagus refided, which was had in the fame Veneration with them, as the Temple of Meccba among the Mi/:o- to which every one -of that Seel
thought
CAfO's LETTERS.
thought themfelves oblig'd to make a Pilgri- mage once in their Lives ^ Zoroafter fettled it at Bd/ffc, and he and the ^rcbimagus his SuccefTors had their Refidence there , but afterwards it was remov'd to Herman. This Temple of the jfrcbim>tsi as alfo their other Fire-Temples, were endow'd with large Revenues in Lands 3 but the Parochial Clergy depended only up- on the Tythes and Offerings of the People. The Doclor obferves afterwards, That this Impoftor having wonderful Succefs in cau- £ng his Impoflure to be received by the King, the Great Men, and the Generality of the whole Kingdom, he returned to Batch, where, according to his Institution, he was oblig'd to have his Refidence, as Jlrchimagus, or Head of the Seel 5 and there he reigned with the fame Authority in Spirituals over the whole Empire, as the King did in Temporals.
The Doclor obferves, and perhaps with Truth, That Zoroafler borrowed a great Part of his new Religion from the jfeotf, efpeci- aliy if he liv'd fo late as he fuppofes him to have done, with foine Appearance of Rea- fon. But if the Impoilor took his Doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul, and of Re- wards and Punishments from them too, (which he alfo fuppofes,) it muft have been from the Efftnes* a Seel: among the jf/oi^, not exceed- ing four Thou fa nd : For I cannot find any Mention made of that Doctrine in the Books of JVfo/V.f, which contain their Laws, and pro- mi fe only temporal B!eflings and Punifhments : And the Doclor himfelf, in, another Place-, tells us, That the iWd«w, who were the
Gentle-
LETTERS. 277
Gentlemen, and Men of Learning amongft them, did wholly disbelieve the Refurreclion, future Rewards and Punifhments, Angels and Spirits, and rejected all the Scriptures but the Law ? And that the Pbarifees, tho' they believ'd the Refurreclion, yet thought it only a Pytiagorean Refurre&ion, or Tranf- migration of the fame Soul into another Body 5 And I think it is plain from the New Teftament, that the full Revealing of this Truth was referved to our BlefTed Saviour, who brought Life and Immortality to Light : Tho* it is undoubtedly true, that fome of the Jews held it as a Philofophical Opinion, pro- bably taken from the Nations they convers'd with : But it does not appear to me, that JVlofes eftablifh'd it as a Sanction to the Religion which he reveal'd, or that it was any Part of the Jewifi Religion to believe it.
But admitting that Zoroafter took the beft Parts of his Religion from the Jews, I think it is much plainer that the Romantfts have taken the worft Parts of theirs from him 5 or elfe they have very luckily or unluckily jump'd in the fame Thoughts. Their Arcbl- mAgus, High-Prieft, or Pope, they can have no where elfe, unlefs they borrow'd him from the Jews, which would be extremely impudent, fince the Chriftian Religion is built upon the Ruins of theirs. Their Super- intendents, whom they call Archbifhops and Biihops, and their Parochial Priefts, whom they do not borrow from the Jeivs, and who, they fay, are not derived from human Infti- tution, cannot be derived, in my Opinion,
from
s78 CATO's LETTERS.
from any other Source than that of Zoroafler-. Where elfe do they find the Division of their Prieils into feverai Orders, which exadly re- femble his, namely, the lower Order in Pa- rochial Temples, to read Offices out of their Liturgies, or Mafs-Books, and Portions of their facred \Vritings at appointed Times ? For the Jews had not that Oeconomy, nor indeed any Synagogue- Wor/hip, till long af~ ter Zoroafler's Time. Where elfe do they find Cathedrals with Altars in them, and lighted Candles upon thefe Altars, in Imitation of the facred Fire of the Magi , and thefe Al- tars (landing to the Eaft, and the Wor/hip in them performed with the Face towards it? Where elfe the many inferior Prieils of- ficiating in fuch Temples, fubordinate to the Superintendent, and in Eafe to him? And where elfe the endowing thefe Temples with Lands and Revenues '<
Where do they find their uninterrupted Succeffion, ©V. and in Confequence their J»- 4t li able CbaraHcr, but in the Succeffion of Zoroafter's Priefis in one Tribe only, who. without doubt were all Holy, had all a Divine Right, were particularly Favourites of the Divine Being, and cloathed with peculiar Pow- ers and D'fpenfations? Where had they the abiurd and blalphernous Opinion of God's being more immediately at the Altar, or in the Eaft, than in any other Pbce, uniefs from the Notion and Dreams of the Mjg/, that the Divine Prefence was in an efpecial Manner in the Sun, or in the Fire ? Where do they find that the Deity ispleas'd with Men's
retiring
5 L E T T E R S. 270
retiring into Caves, Corners, and Mona- fieries 3 with their neglecting the Affairs of the World, and of their Families ; with their being ufelefs to Society 3 and with their dwel- ling only upon Meditations and the Spleen $ but in the Example and Authority of Zoroa- fter ? Where do they find any Command for wild Jaunts in Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and for idle and enthufiaftick Devotions to Shrines, Altars, and Chapels, unlels in the Injunctions of this Impoftor to all his Votaries to vifit the Temple of Balcb ? And where elfe did they adopt the abfurd, monilrous, and wicked Hypothefis, of the Church's having a different Head from the State, and of the In- dependence of the Priefts upon the Civil Power ?
Molt of thefe Opinions and Practices are Parts of the Religion of the ancient "Mavi 3 and from thence it is reafonable to prefume the' Romi/b Priefts have copied them, unlefs they can fhew where elfe they had them, They cannot, with the Appearance of common Senfe, be deduced from the NewTeftament -7 and the Jewi/b Religion has been long iince abolifh'd. They have therefore the Honour of having reftored the old Superftition of the Magi, with this material Difference, That the latter had more Learning, and much more Integrity 5 that they did not do, by the hun- dreth Part, io much Mifchief, and treated with more Humanity thofe who difteied from them.
I aw, &c.
28o CATO's LETTERS.
S I R,
T N my 2tfth Paper, which treats about the •*• Ufe of Words, I have promised to fhew how abfurd and impious it is for Men to fall together by the Ears upon the Account of their Difference in Trifles, when they fcarce agree in any one Thing in the World, and not even in the Attributes annex'd to the Object of all Worfhip, though they know nothins of him but from his Attri-
O
butes 5 and I will now perform the Task I have there undertaken.
There is no Proportion about which Man- kind have agreed and difagreed fo much, as a- bout the Meaning of the Word God. 1 think, very few Inltances excepted, they have all agreed there is fuch a Being , and yet I ap- prehend, that no two Nations, two Se61s, or fcarce two Men of the fame Seel, have ef- fentially agreed in all the Ideas they have an- nex'd to the Sound. All. have aflerted, That he has exifted from all Eternity, and muffc for ever exift, and that he has made or pro- duced every Thing elfe : And thus far Heathens and Jews, Mahometans and Chriftians, Pro- teftants and Papifts, Dcifts and Free-thinkers, Materialists and Immacerialiflft, Stoicks, Pe- ripateticks, and Epicureans, are all Ortho- dox 5 for the laft could not have doubted
but
CA'fO's LETTERS. 281
but fome Being muft have exifted before the fortuitous Concourfe of Atoms , and in this Senfe there are very few, if there is one Atheift in the World : But when they go farther, and explain what they mean by the Sound, doubt molt, or many of them, are Atheifts to one another, as not believing in the Being which the one and the other call God,
Ail the Differences amongft Mankind, as to their Belief of the Deity, are owing to their different Conceptions of him $ and as they difagree in his Attributes, and the Modes of his Operations, and worlhip him under various Images and Reprefentations. As to his Subfbnce, Effence, the Manner or Stnfo- rhtm of his Exigence, we neither know, nor can know any thing, nor can have any Conception about it, and confequently can be- lieve nothing concerning it ; and therefore all that we can believe (befides what I above faid every Man agrees in) is concerning his At- tributes, and the Medus wherein he has com- municated or reprefented himfelf to us, that is, we can only believe in the Ideas we have an- nex'd in our Minds to the Word God j and if we annex different Images to the Word, we are of a different Religion, or rather are Atheifts to one another, though we call the Objeft of all our Worfhip by the fame Name : For fince, as I have faid, we can on- ly worfhip our own Conceptions or Images of the Deity, or (by new placing the Words) the Deity under our Conceptions and Images, if thofe Images are falfe, we worfhip only an Idol of our own Imaginations, and pay Divine
Homage
282 Giro's LETTERS.
Homage to nothing 5 for what is the Diffe- rence to us in faying, that another Man be- lieves in nothing, or believes in what we know to be nothing, which is Atheifm. From hence I think it appears, that no Man has a Right to call another Atheiil, in any other Senfe, than as I lhall make it appear, that moil Men have a Right to call thofe, who differ from themfelves in their Conception of the Deity, Atheiils.
Now, Sir, to begin with the Heathens, who worfhip'd Jtifiter, 'Mars, P'tutu, MtrcK- r>', &.c. which were only bare Sounds and Non-entities : Their paying Divine Honours to nothing, was worfhiping nothing , and be- lieving in nothing, is the fame thing in Sub- fiance as having no Belief; and therefore they were certainly Atheifts, though they did not know themfel ves to be fo. For what is Atheifm, but not believing in a God ? And can any Man be faid to believe in a God, whofe whole Belief is in an imaginary Being that is not God, though I confefs fuch a fancied Belief may influence his Actions, and anfwer many of the Purpofes of Society ? It was ^the fame thing when they believ'd in real Beings, as Images, Stocks, Stones, Monkeys, Garlick, &V. For they worfhipped them for Powers which they fuppos'd were in them, and which were^firot 3 and fo worfhipp'd thofe fup- pofed Powers, and confequently worfliipp'd nothing, and believ'd in nothing which was God, and confequently were Atheifts in Facl, though devout Religionifts in Shew, and in their own Opinion too.
But
CA'To's LET T E R S. 283
But without annihilating the Heathen Dei- ties, the Stoicks and Epicureans, (who dit- fer'd much in the fame Manner, as fome of the Deifts and Orthodox do amongft us,) were Atheirb to one another, as not believing in the Attributes that each annex'd to their dif- ferent Divinities. The Stoicks annexed the Attributes of Wifdom, Mercy, and Juftice, to the Being of the Deity, who was fuppos'd by them to difpence thofe Attributes occafional- ly to the Actions and Neceffities of Men. The Epicureans thought the Deity to be fuiHcient in his own Felicity, and that he did not concern himfelf with our Affairs here below 5 but that ail Things depended upon Fate, and an eternal Caufe, which controuled and was fuperior to even Jupiter himfelf 5 which Fate mutt have been their eternal God, which produceth all Things at fir(f.
They had no Notion of what was meant by wife, merciful, and juft, when applied to the Deity $ and thought they could not be analogous to what was meant by the fame Words in Men 5 for they faid, That Wifdom in Men, was only ballancing the Motives of doing or not doing an Action, and chufmg which was beft j ' which Wifdom was a Knowledge acquired by Habit and Experience, and by obferving the Relations of Things to one another, and was convey'd to them through the Organs of Senfe 5 but they faid, That the Deity had no Organs, but faw all Things intuitively from all Eternity, and could not err: So 'they faid, fhai Mercy in Men was a Paifion caufed by the Feeling or
Appre-
284 CA To's LETTERS.
Apprehenfion of the Sufferings of others 5 but they believ'd that the Divinity could have no PafTions, becaufe no Agent could operate upon him, he himfeif being eternal, and be- fore all Things, and producing all Things 5 nor could fuffer temporary Anguifh and Un- eafinefs, always produced by Companion. In like Manner, they faid, that Juftice was an Adherence to certain Rules, dictated by fu~ perior Powers, or agreed upon by Men for their mutual Convenience 5 but no Rules could be fet to the Divinity, who the Sto;cks con- fdVd had made every Thin-', and had a Right to do what he pleas'd with his uwn Crea- tures. He that made the Relation of all Things, might alter that Relation, and dif- penfe with his own Laws, when and how he thought fit.
Therefore they faid, when thofe Attributes were applied to the Deity, nothing could be meant by them, but to exprefs our Reve- rence for him 5 our Admiration of his Power, and to iacrifice to him our befl- Concepti- ons y not that we pretend to define his Effence, nor the Modus of his Actions, which are whol- ly inccmprehenfible to us. They concluded that he that had done all Things could do all Things 5 but did not pretend to know how he did them ; but thought themfelves ve- ry fure that he did not do them as we do, v/'jc. by weighing the Difficulties on each Side the Queftion, becaufe nothing could be difficult to him 3 nor could he ^deliberate, becaufe Deliberation would imply Doubt $ and the Deity could not doubt, being neceffitated by
the
LETTERS. 285
the Excellence of his Nature always to do the
beft.
They thought, that a Being that could ne- ver have any Caufes before it, nor without it, or after it, but what it produced, nor any Ubjecls to work upon it, rnuft have been always uniform and entire, that is, its Attri- butes, its Will, and its Actions, muft have been one with its EflTence. It muft have beenconftantly moving, oracling, or, as late Divines very elegantly exprefs themfelves, eternally proceeding : For there could be no Beginning of Action, without being at reft before j and then they faid it muft have been from all Eternity at reft, as finding it difficult to conceive, that a Being that had Self-Motion fhould never have exerted that Principle till a particular Period of Time, and in a particular Portion of Space, when E- ternity and Infinity (its infeparable Attri- butes) can have no Periods and Limits ; nor can any Intervals of Time and Space mcafare fuch a Being.
Hence Philofophers have called Eternity a Nunc Stans, or an Inftant, or Punclum, which cannot be divided even in Imaginati- on 5 and though they could not convey any di- ftinft Images "by that Way of (peaking, yet they found themfelves reduc'd to it from the Difficulties which would arife in dividing the Operations of a Being in all Refpecls indi- vifible. Now can any one fay that thefe Sefts believe in God ? Certainly the Object of the Belief of one of them was not God, but only an Idol of their own Brains, and
confe-
CA TO's LETTE RS.
confequently that Seel: believ'd in nothing, and were Atheifls.
The fame Obfervations runs through the different Sefls of Religionifts in the World, and great Numbers of particular Men in eve- ry Seel of Religion. Some reprefent the Deity as a capricious, angry, revengeful Being, fond of Commendation and Flattery, prescribing and dilating partial Rules to his Creatures, laying ufelefs Burdens upon them, and making their future Happinefs to depend upon the Actions of others, and upon fuch Performances, and believing fuch Speculations, as are out of their Power $ others think the Deity has Satiety of Happinefs within itfelf, and muft be incapable of any Paflions to in- terrupt that Happinefs 5 and therefore, as we cannot do Good or Harm to him, <he only Way to recommend our felves to him, is to do Good to one another. Thefe cannot ap- prehend, that any Man's future Felicity lies in another's Power j or, that ufelefs Speculations or Actions, as Bows, Cringes, Forms, Gri- maces, Rotes of Words, or any Thing but a good Confcience, and a virtuous Life, can make us acceptable to the Deity. Now 'tis certain there are great Numbers of Men in the World of both thefe Opinions, and they undoubtedly do not believe in the fame Be- ing y but fome of them believe in a Non-enti- ty, and confequently are Atheifls.
If this Argument was to be traced through alt its Sub-divifions, it would fill a Volume inftead of a Tingle Paper 5 and therefore I fhall tire you no farther upon the Subject $
my
's LETTERS. 278
my Defign in entring upon it being to warn my Countrymen how cautious they ought to be in calling odious Names, which may with equal Juftice be retorted uponthemfelves 5 and therefore let us leave fuch Appellations to thofe who Scold for Hire, and reit fully affured, that as mpft certainly there is a God, fo he is the beft Being in the Univerfe 5 that he expects no more from us than he has given us Means to perform 5 and when we have done all in our Power to pleafe him, that we fhall pleafe him, however, or how much fo- ever we miflake his Being or Attributes, and then it will be of very little Confequence whom elfe we pleafe.
I am> Sic.
S I R,
AS I have with a Succefs which no Man has yet met with (if I regard the Number of my Readers, and the Sale of thefe Papers; carried on a Weekly Performance, under this and ano- therTirle*, for near four Years ; in doing which, it was impoflible 1 could have any other View but the Good of my Country and of Mankind 5 by /hewing them the Advantage and the Beau- ty of Civil and Ecclefiaftical Liberty, and the odious Deformity of Prieftcraft and Tyran- ny : As I have vindicated Almighty God,
and
* The Independent
CA TO's LETTERS.
and the Religion which he has taught us, from the Superftition, Follies, and Wickednefs of Men, who would proflitute it to Ambiti- on and Avarice, and build a vifionary Empire upon the plain and iirnple Precepts of Chri- ilianity 5 and have endeavoured to remove all the Rubbi/h, Grimace, and Pageantry, with which it has been long {lifted and opprefVd, by fhewing to the World, and I think pro- ving, that true Piety confifts only in honour- ing the Deity, and in doing good to Men, and not in Poftures, Cringes, and canting Terms, and in barren and ufelefs Speculati- ons : As I think I have unanfwerably fhewn that Civil Governments were instituted byMen, and for the fake of Men, and not for the Pride and Luft of Governors 5 and confe- quently that Men have a Right to expect from them Protection and Liberty, and to oppofe Rapine and Tyranny wherever they are ex- ercis'd, and have thereby vindicated our pre- fent Ettablifhraent, which can pretend to no other Title.
As I have done all this openly, and in the Face of the World, and have defied and call'd upon all the mercilefs and deteftable Advocates for Superftittbri and Slavery, to fhew that I have tranlgrefs'd the Rules of Mo- rality or Religion, or the Peace and Happi- nefs of Society in any Refpedl:; and no one has yet dared to enter thcLiiis againftme 5 from whence I may reafonably hope that I have removed many of the Prejudices imbib'd by Education and Cuftom, and fet many of
my Countrymen free from the wild, wicked, * • i
and
's LETTERS. 289
and fervile Notions, flrongly infus'd and planted in their Minds by Craft and Deluii- on. I fhall now with Cheerfulnefs lay
down this Paper, which I am well informed will be continued by an able Hand, under another Name, and upon various Subjects 5 and it is probable that I may fo far join in the Undertaking, as to give my Afiiftance now and then, when proper Occafions re- quire it $ at leafl-, I am not determined not to do fo.
There are fome Papers, efpecially thofe fignVl Diogene?, which have given an unde- ligned Offence to fome, whofe Perfons I ho- nour, and whofe Opinions I reverence. For 1 have no Regard to the Perfons, and narrow Notions of Bigots, who will renounce any Opinion as foon as it appears to be rational, and would rather make Nonfenfe of it, than not make it a Myftery. It is a Principle be- come conftittitional to me, that God gave us our Understandings to ufe them, and that we cannot offend him in carrying them as far as they will carry us. However, as the principal Queilion handled in thofe Papers is a Matter of meer Speculation, underftood but by few, and to be underftood but by few 5 the Belief or Disbelief of it, can no Way affect human Society , and whether it be true or not, the Actions of Men will be the fame, and Men will be alike actuated by the Motives that operate upon them, and equally purfue what they take to be their Advantage upon the whole, at the Time, and in the Gircumftances they are then in, whether they
VOL. IV. N arc
's LETTERS.
are oblig'd to do fo, or chufe to cTo fo, with- out being neceffitated to that Choice.
What led me into this Thought, is the Ob- fervation which runs almoft through the World, that the Bulk of Mankind in all Ages, and in all Countries, are violently attached to the Opinions, Cuftoms, and even Habits, which they have been us'd to j that Sounds, Shews, Prejudices, vain and idle Terrors, Phantoms, Delufions, and fometimes Diet and Phyfick, are more prevalent with them, and operate more upon them than true and ttrong Reafons , and that all Animals of the fame Species acl in the fame Man- ner, and have the fame Paffions, Senfations and Affedions, with very little Alterations: All which I could not account for, but by fuppofing thofe Operations to be mechanical, and the Refultsof their feveral Conftitutions, as they were altered and modified by Hab't, and by different Occafions or Motives of making uie of them, which afted upon them.
For the reft, I faw, with a fenfible Concern,, the many Mifchiefs which the Leaders and Deceivers of Parties and Factions in Reli- gion did to the World, by throwing God's Judgments at one another, and by impiouily confining his Providence and Mercies to themfelves, and by applying the common Phenomena and Events of Nature to their own Advantage, and interpreting the fame as Denunciations of his Wrath againft their Enemies j by which unhallowed Prefumption they have r;iVd up and inflam'd implacable
Hatred,
CATo's LETTERS.
Hatred, Animofities and Uncharitablenefs a- mongft Men of the fame Nation, who are all Brethren. I have therefore /hewn, that the Al- mighty difpenfes his Favours to all his Crea- tures j that his Sun /nines upon the Juft, and upon the Unjuil 5 and that it is the higheit and mod daring Boldnefs in any fort of Men to fearch into, and to pretend to unriddle the fe- cret Difpenfations of his Providence 5 to know his Mind before he unfolds it , to throw about fuch Balls of Contention and Wrath 3 and to make the Condition of Men, already too miferable by the Lot of Nature, {till more ffiiferable.
' I faw the many Evils and barbarous Confe- quences arifing from the idle and foolifh Sto- ries of Witches, Spirits, and Apparitions, fird infilled into our tender Minds by Nurfes, Chamber-Maids, and old Women, and after- wards continu'd and improv'd by Tutors and Priefts; which Impreffions and Stories the wifeft and braveft Men often carry a- boutthemto their Graves, and which make them always uneafy till they go thither 5 in- fomuch, that Numbers of People dare not be alone, nor go about their necefTary Affairs in the Night-time 5 but are kept in conftant Dread of Phantoms and Non-entities 3 and Multitudes of Innocents have been murdered under the Appearance of JufHce upon Satan's Confederates. I have therefore fhewn, that there is no Foundation in Nature, in Reafon, or in Religion, for thefe Fairy Tales 5 that they are incontinent with the Mercies, ani even with the Being, of the great and good
N 2 God ;
2pi CA ro's LETTERS.
God j and that the telling or believing of thefe Tales, is endeavouring to give an Empire to the Devil at the Expence of the Almighty.
It is certain, that the Capacities of Men would carry them much further than they are fuffer'd to go, if they were not cramp'd by Cuftom and narrow Education, and narrow Principles taken from thofe who defign and derive Advantages from their Ignorance. I have therefore lamented to fee Men of large and extenflve Genius, fuch as feem'd deiign'd by Nature to carry human Knowledge ma- ny Degrees further than it has yet gone, and to manumit their Country and Mankind from thefervile and wicked Notions infus'd in- to them by prating Pedants and babling Im- poftors ; I fay, I have lamented to fee fuch ex- tenfive Capacities employ'd and converfant on- ly about Whims, idle Speculations, empty No- tions, Fairy-Dreams, and Party-Diftinclions, all tending to contract and imbitter the Mind, to fiifle and opprefs the Faculties, and to render Men Dupes and Machines to the Am- bition, Pride, and Avarice, of felfifh and haughty Ecclefiafticks, or of corrupt Statef- men. Nor can I fee how this great Evil can ever be cured, till we change the Education of our Youth $ and let Gentlemen be bred by Gentlemen, and not by Monks and Pe- dants, whom yet I would fuflfer to dream on with their Bellies full of College- Ale, and their Heads full of College-Diftin&ions $ but I think they ought not to be trufted with the
Educa-
LETTERS. 2^3
Education of our Nobility and Gentry, till they have feme themfelves.
And now I beg Leave again to repeat, that it was impoffible I could engage in this Un- dertaking fo troublefome to my felt, and hope of feme Benefit to my Countrymen, with any View to my own perfonal Advan- tage. 1 hope no one will think io meanly of my Undemanding, to believe that I inten- ded to make my Court to any of the Powers of this World, by attacking Vice, Corrupt! and Folly, wherefoever and in whomlov they were found. I knew that I was to wall over burning Plough-Shares $ that 1 mutt .pro- voke numerous and powerful Societies and Parties 5 that I mult difturb Nefts of Hor- nets, and fomerimes venture too near the Lion's Den, and perhaps within the reach of Jew's Thunder 3 that Men in Poffeffionot verence would not bear being told, that they aidnotdeferve it; that thofe who rioted in Power, and upon" the- publicJt Misfortune, would very unwillingly hear, that they were trufted with that Power for the public!: Act ta*e, and not for their own 5 that they oWieM by all the Motives of Honour, Virtue* and Religion, to ferve an 3 protect the People, out of whofe Induftry and Wealth they were fo hiphly Rewarded ; and that they deferred the fevered Punifhment if they did othei'- wife. 1 had all this before my Eyes: But arm'd with Innocence, and animated by Lov to God and Mankind, I refolved to bra'e the Danger, and was prepared for the \v that could happen to my felf, if I could
' -
euro's LETTERS.
ferve my Country. And I have brav'd the Danger, and have now the Pleafure to fee great Numbers of my Fellow-Subjects approve my Endeavours, and embrace my Opinions. I therefore here lay down this Paper, and with it the moft virtuous and noble Subject: that can employ the human Soul 5 the Subject of Religion and Government. What re- mains to be done, I leave to others, and wifli them Succefs. I rejoice in the Aflurance I have, that my * SucceiTor will give equal Satif- fa&ion to the Town. I am, Sir, to you and all my Readers,
A m&ft fine ere bumble Servant,
C A T O,
FINIS.
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The Works of Mr. SeUen, which will make about 700 Sheets, befides feveral Plates and Maps, &V. In 3 Vols. in large Folio, the Sub- fcribers to pay at the Rate of Two Pence a Sheet for the fmall Paper, and Three Pence a Sheet for the Large. Two Guineas to be paid down at the Time of Subfcribing for the fmall Paper, and Three Guineas for the Large.
The Natural and Political ffiflory of B AR- B A i) o E s , beginning with its firft Settlement about the Year 1620. and ending with the Ad- miniilration of John Frere, Efqj in December 1720. Wherein are particularly contained its ConfHtution by Commiflions, Letters-Patent, and A&s of the Affembly : The whole Procefs and Manner of making Sugar, and all other ex- portable Manufactories, the Produce of that Ifland. Interfpers'd with many curious Parti- culars relating to the Gtrilbees, the Virgin Jflet, and to Virginia. With a Map of the Ifland and Copper Plates of the Towns, Plants, Animals, Infecls, Mills, Curing-Houfes, 8Y. All done from Originals by the beft Hands. >y Arthur Zottfb, Gent, late Clerk of the (Aflembiy of that Ifland. Price to Subfcribers one Guinea.
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