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from
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Truth of the Christian religion In six
Clin
3 1924 029 321 639
the;
T R U T a
THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.
IN SIX BOOKS.
BY HUGO GROTIUS,
CORRECTED AND ILLUSTRATED WITH NOTES
BY MR. LE CLERC. '
TO^HICH IS ADDED,
A SEVENTH BOOK,
CONCERNI'TG THIS QUESTldN, ,
ffh'at Christian Church we ougk^ to join ikrselves to?
BY THE SAID MR. LE CLERC.
THE THIRTEENTH EDITION', WITH ADDITIONS,
?ARTICUI.ARLY OJIE WHOLE BOOK OF MR. LE CLERC'S, AGAINST
INBIFPERENCE OP WHAT RELIGION A MAN IS OF.
pONE INTO ENGLISH
BY JOHN CLARKE, D.D. Deaw of Sarum
LONDON,:
FRINTEDFOR F. C. AND J. RIVINGTON, NO. 62, ST. PADL's CHURCH-
YARD ; W. OTRIDGE AND SON, IN THE STRAND;
R. BAIiDWiN, NO. 47, AND LONGMAN, HURST, REES, AND
ORME, NO. Sg, PATERNOSTER-ROV,'. ■ -
I8O9.
TO THB
MOST REVEREND PRELATE^
THOMAS,
IX)RD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY,
PRIMATE OF ALL ENGLAND.
AND METROPOLITAN AND PRIVY-COUNSELLOR
^ TO HER MOST SERENE MAJESTY,
THE QUEEN OF GREAT BRITAIN.
UPON the reprinting this excel-
lent Piece of that great Man,
Hugo Grotius, concerning the
Truth of the Christian Religion;
whereunto I thought fit to add some-
thing of my own, and also some
Testimonies, from which the good
Opinion be had of the Church of
A 2 England
DEDICATION.
England is evident; there was no
other Person, most Reverend Pre-
late, to whom I thought it so proper
for me to dedicate this Edition, with
the Additions, as the Primate and
Metriipohtan of the whole Church
of England. . I therefore present it
to -you, as worthy your ProteetioH
upon its own Account, and as an
Instance of my Respect and Duty
towards you.^ I will not attempt
htire, either to praise or defend
Grotius; his own Virtue and distin-
guishing Merits in the Common-
wealth of Christians, do sufficiently
commend and, justify hini amongst
all good and .learned Men. Neither
will 1 say any Thing of the Ai pen-
dix which I have added ; it i-s so
short, that it may be read over al-
rnost in an Hour's Time. If it be
beneath Grotius, nothing that I can
say about it will vindicate me to the
c;ensQrious; but if it be. thought not
beneath |iim, I need not give any
Reasons for joining it with a Piece
of his, Pernaps it might be expect-
' ed.
DEDICATION.
ed, most illustrious Prelate, that I
should, as usual, commend you and
your Church; but I have more than
once performed this Part, and de-
clared a Thing known to alh Where-
fore forbearing tha/t, I conclude with
wishing, that both you and the Reve-
rend Prelates, and the Rest of the
Clergy of the Church of England^
who are such brave Defenders of the
true Christian Religion, and whose
Conversations are answerable to it,
may long prosper and floiirish :
Which I earnestly desire of Al-
mighty God.
'^T'Z'Z^c^'' JOHN LE CLERC.
of March, MDCCIX
.^6 THB
READER
JOHN tE CLERC WISHETH ALL HEALTH.
^HE Bookseller having a Design to re^
print this Piece of Grotius's, / gave
him to understand that there were many great
Faults in the former Editions ; espej:ially in the
Testimonies of the Ancients; which it was his
Business should be mended, and that something
useful might be added to the Notes: Neither
•would it be unacceptable or unprofitable to. the
Reader, if a Book were added, to shew where
the Christian Religion, the Truth of which this
great Man has demonstrated, is to be found in
its greatest Purity. He immediately desired me
to do this upon his Account, which I willingly
undertook out of the Reverence I had for the
Memory o/'Grotius, and because of the Useful-
ness of the Thing. How I have succeeded in it,
I must leave to the candi4^eader's yudgment.
I have corrected^MonyErrors of the Press, and
perhaps should have done more, tould I have
found all the Places, I have added some, but
very short Notes, there being very many before,
and the Thing not seeming to require more.
My Name adjoined, distinguishes them from
Gxotius's, / have also added to Grotiu^s a small
Book,
TO THE READER.
Book, concerning, chusing our Opinion and
Church amongst so many different Sects of
Christians ; in^ which I hope I have offered
nothing contrary to the Sense of that great
Man, or at least to Truth. I have used such
Arguments, as will recommend themselves to
any prudent Person, easy and not far-fetched' ;
and I have determined that Christians ought to
manage themselves so in this Matter, as the
most prudent Men usually do in the most
weighty Affairs of .Life. I have abstained
from all sharp Controversy., and: from all
severe Words, which ought never to eriter into
our Det.erminatio7is of Religion , if our Adver-
saries would suffer it, ' / have declared the
Sense of my Mind in a familiar Stile, without
any Flourish of Words, in a Matter where
Strength of Argument, and not the Entice-
inent of Words, is required. Arid herein I
have imitated Grotius, whom I think all ought
to imitate, who attempt to^ write seriously, and
with a Mind deeply affected' with the Gravity
of the Argume.nt upon such Subjects.
As I was thinking upon these Things, the
Letters, which you will see at the End, were
sefit me by that honourable and learned Person^
to whose singular Good-nature I am much in-
debted^ the most Serene ^wff'wo/Great-Britain's
Ambassador Extraordinary to his Royal High-
ness the most Serene Great Duke 0/ .Tuscany.
I thought with his Leave they might conveni-
en-tly be published at the End of this Volume,,
that it might appear what Opinion Grotius
had
TO THE READER.
had of the Church (j/" England; which is obliged
to him, notwithstanding the Snarling of some
Men, who object those inconsistent Opinions,
Socinianism, Popery, nay, even Atheism itself,
against this most learned arid religious Man;
for fear, I suppose, his immortal Wr;itings
should' be read, in which their foolish Opinions
are entirely confuted. In which Matter, as in
many other Things of the like Nature, 'they,
have in vain attempted to blind the Eyes of
others: But God forgiiti tliem, (for I wish
them nothing worje,) and put better Thoughts
into theiz Minds, that- we may at last be all
joined, by the Love of Truth and Peafe, and
be united into one Flock, under one Shepherd ^
Jesus Christ. This, kind Reader,. ^/V wihat
. you ought to desire and wish with me ; and
may God so be with you, and all that bdong to
you, as you promote this Matter, as far as can
be, and assist to the utmost of your Power,
Farewell.
Amsterdam, the Calends of
Marchj MDCCIX.
TO
THE READER.
I Have nothing to add to what I
said Eight Years since, but only, that
in this my second Edition of Grotius, /
have put some short Notes^ and correct-
ed a great many faults in the Ancient
Testimonies.
Amsterdam, the Calends of T f^
June. MDCCXVII. O * K/-
TO THB
MOST NOBLE AND MOST EXCELLENT
HIERONYMUS BIGNONIUS,
THE KING'S SOLICITOR
IK THI
SUPREME COURT OF AUDIENCE AT PARIS.
MOST NOBLE AND EXCELLENT SIR,
I Should offend against Justice, if I should
divert another Way that Time which you
employ in the Exercise of Justice in your
high Station : But I am encouraged in this
Work, because it is for the Advancement of
the Christian Religion, which is a great Part
of Justice, and of your Office ; neither would
Justice permit me to approach any one else
so soon as you, whose Name my Book glo-
ries in the Title of. I do not say I desire to
employ Part of your Leisure ; for the Dis-
charge of so extensive an Office allows you
no leisure. But since Change of Business
is instead of Leisure to them that are fully
employed, I desire you would, in the Midst
of
TO HIERONYMUS BIGNONIUS.
of your forensic Affairs, bestow some Hours
upon these Papers. Even then you will not
be out of the Way of your Business. Hear
the Witnesses, weigh the Force of their
Testimony, make a Judgment, and I will
stand by the Determination.
Paris, August 27. HUGO GROTIUS.
CI3 CI3 XXXIX.
TKANSLATOR'S PREFACE
■TO TH«
CHRISTIAN READER.
THE general Acceptance this Piece of
Grotius has met with in the World,
encouraged this Translation of it, toge-
ther with the Notes; which, being a Collec-
tion of ancient Testimonies, upon whose Au-
thority and Truth the Genuineness -of the
Books of Holy Scripture depends, are very
useful in order to the convincing any one of
the Truth of the Christian Religion. These
Notes are for the most Part Grotius's own,
except some few of Mr, Le Clercs, which I
have therefore translated also, because I have
followed his Edition, as the most correct.
The Design of the Book is to shew the
Reasonableness ofbelieving and embracing the
Christian Religion above any other; which
our Author does, by laying before us all the
Evidence that can be brought, both internal
and external, and declaring the Sufficiency
of it; by enumerating all the Marks of Ge-
nuineness
*rHE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
nuineness in any Books, and applying theni .
to the Sacred Writings ; and by making ap-
pear the Deficiency of all other Institutions of
Religion, whether Pagan, 'Je'wisby or Maho~
metcm. So that the Substance of the Whole
is briefly this j that as certain as is the Truth
of Natural Principles, and that the Mind can
judge of what is agreeable to them; as cer-
tain as is the Evidence of Men's bodily Senses,
in the most plain and obvious Matters of
Facti and as certainly as Men's Integrity and
Sincerity may be discovered, and Their Ac-
counts delivered down to Posterity faithfully;
so certain are we of theTruth of the Christian
Religion j and that if it be not true, there is
no such Thing as true Religion in the World;
neither was there ever, or can there ever be,
any Revelation proved to be'from Heaven.
This is the Author's Design to prove the
Trmh of the Christian Religion in general,
against Atheists, Deists, J ews or Mahomejans y
and he does not enter into any of the Disputes
which Christians have among themselves, but
confines himself wholly to the other. Now
as the State of Christianity at present is, _were
a Heathen or Mahometan convinced of the
Truth of the Christian Religion in general,
he would yet be exceedingly at a loss to
know what Society of Christians to join him-
self with; so miserably divided are they
among themselves, and separated into so
many Sects and Parties, which differ almost
9S widely from each other as Heathens from
Chris*
THE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
Christians, and who are so zealous and con-
tentious for their own particular Opinions,
and bear so much Hatred and Ill-will to-
wards those that differ from them, that there
is very little of the true Spirit of Charity,
which is the Bond of Peace, to be fou|y] amongst
any of them: This is a very great Scandal to
the Professors of Christianity, and has been
exceedingly disserviceable to the Christian
Religion ; insomuch that great Numbers have
been hindered from embracing the Gospel*,
and many tempted to cast it off, because thejp
saw the Professors of it in general agree so lit-
tle amongst themselves: This Consideration
induced Mr. Le Clerc to add a Seventh Book
to those of Grotius; wherein he treats of this
Matter, and shews what it becomes every
honest Man to do in such a Case; and I have
translated it for the same Reason. All that I
shall here add, shall be only briefly to inquire
into the Cause of so much Division in the
Church of Christ, and to shew what seems to
me the only Remedy to heal it. First, to ex-
amine into the Cause, why the Church of
Christ is so much divided : A Man needs but
a little Knowledge of the Stateof the Christian,
Church, to see that there is just Reason for
the same Complaint St. Paul made in the pri-
mitive Times pf the Church of Corinth:
That some were for Paul, some for Apollos^,
and some for Cephas; so very early did the
Spirit of Faction creep into the Church of
God, and disturb the Peace of it; by setting
its Mentibers a^ Variance with each other
who
THE TRANSWTOB'SXPBEFACE;
who ought to have been all of the same corti-
mon Faith, into which they where. baptizedj"
and I wish it Gould not be? said that the same.
Spirit has too much remained amongst Ghds- •
tians ever since. It is evidetit that the Foun"-
dation of jJie Divisions in the Church of So^
n>7/i», was their forsaking their common Lord *
and Master, Jesus Christ, into whose Name
alone they were baptised j and uniting them-
selves^ some under one eminent; Apostle or
Teacher, and some under another, by whom
they had been instructed in the Doctrine of
Christ, whereby they were distinguished into
diflferent Sects, under their several Denomi-
nations: This:-St;i Paul complains -of as a
Thing in> itself very bad, and of pernicious
Consequence; for hereby the body of ChnSt»
that is, the Christian Church, the Doctrine
of which is one and the same at all Times
and in all Places, -is rent and divided? into< se-*-
veral Paits, that clash and interfere with each
othefi Which is the only Method^ if per*
mjttedto have its natural Effect, that can over-si
throw and destroy it. And from the same
, Cause have arisen all the Divisions that, are ot:
have been; in the ; Church < ever since. ? Had
Christians l?een contented to; own but one
Lord, even Jesus Christ, and made the Doc-f .
trine delivered by him the sole Rule of Faith,
without any Fictions or Inventions of Men;
it had been impossible but that the Church
of Chri^ti must have been one universal, re-
gular,' uniform Thing, and not such a Mix^
ture aiKl Confusion as we now behold it.
3 But
THE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
But when Christians once began to establish
Doctrines of their own, and to impose them
upon othefs, by human Authority, as Rules
of Faith, (which is the Foundation of Anti-
christ,) then there began to - be as many
Schemes of Religion as there were Parties of
Men, who had different judgment, and got
thei*ower into their Hands. A very little
Acquaintance with Ecclesiastical History
does but too sadly confirm the Truth of this,
by giving us an Account of the several
Doctrines in Fashion, in the several Ages of
the Christian Church, accoi-ding to the then
present Humour. And if it be not so now,
how comes it to pass that the Generality of
Christians are so zealous for that Schetne of
Religion, which is received by that particu-
lar Church of which they profess thehiselves
Members ? How is it that the Generality of
Christrans in one Country are t,-alous for
Calvinism, and in another Country as zealous
for Armini^nismf It is not because Men
have any natural Disposition more to the one
than the other, or perhaps that one has much
more Foundation tosupport it from Scripture
than the other: But the Reason is plain,
t}izj Because they are the established Doc-
trines of the Places they live in ; they* are by
Authority made the Rule and Standarrd of
Religion, and Men are taught them from
the Beginning ; by this Means they are so
deeply fixed and rooted in their Minds, that
they become prejudiced in Favour of them,
and have so strong a Relish of them, that
a they
THE THANSLATOR'S PREFACfE.
they cannot read a Chapter in the Bible, but
it appears exactly agreeable to the received
Notions of them both« though perhaps those
Notions are directly contradictory to each
other: Thus, instead of making the Scrip-
ture the only Rule oiF Faith, Men make
Rules of Faith of their own, and interpret
Scripture according to them ; which being
an easy Way of coming to the Knowledge
of what they esteem the Truth, the Gene-
rality of Christians sit down very weil satis-
fied with it. But whoever is indeed con-
vinced of the Truth of the Gospel, and has
any Regard for the Honour of it, cannot but
be deeply concerned to see its sacred Truths
thus prostituted to the Power and Interests
of Men; and think it his Duty to do the ut-
most he is able, to take it out of their
Hands, and fix it on it's own immoveable
Bottom. In order to contribute to which,
I shall in the second Place show, what seems
to be the only Remedy that can heal these
Divisions amongst Christians ; and that is,
in one Word, making the Scripture the only
Rule of Faith. Whatever is necessary for
a Christian to believe, in order to everlast-
ing Salvation, is there declared, in such a
Way and Manner, as the Wisdom of God,
\yho best knows the Circumstances and Con-
ditions of Mankind, has thought fit. This
God himself has made the Standar4 for all
Ranks or Orders, for all Capacities and Abi-
lities: And to set up any other above, or
upon the Level with it, is dishonouring
God»
TUB TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
God, ankJ abusing of Meb . All the Authd»
tity in the World cannot make any Thing an
Article of Faith, but what God has made
SO; neither can any Power estabhsh or im-
pose aponMen, more or less, or otherwise
than what the < Scripture commands. God
ihas: given every Man proportionable FacuU
ties and^ Abilities of Mind, some stronger
and some weaker; and he has by his own
Authority made the Scripture the Rule of
Religion to them all: It is therefore their
indispensable Duty to examine diligently, and
study attentively this Rule, to instruct them-
selves in the Knowledge of religious Truths
from hence, and to form the bpst Judgment
they can of the Nature of them. The
Scripture will extiend or contract itself apcord-
ing to the Capacities of Men : The strong<3St
and largest Understanding will there find
enough to fill and improve it, and the nar-
rowest and meanest Capacity will fully ac-
quiesce in what is there required of it. Thus
all Men are obliged to form a Judgment of
Religion for themselves, and to be continu-
ally rectifying and improving it : They may
be very helpful and. assisting to each other in
^h^ Means of cooung to this Divine K.noVfff
ledge, but no one can finally determine for
another; every Man mu^ judge for hinOr
self; and for the Sincerity of his Judgiii«rit
he is accountable to God only; who knows
the Secrets of all Hearts, which; are beyond
the Reach of human Power: Thjs must be
left till the final Day of Account, when
, j3or» a a every
THE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. .
every'Man shall be acquitted or condemned
according as he has acted by the Dictates of
his Conscience or no. Were all Christians
to go upon this Principle, we should soon see
an End of all the fierce Controversies and
unhappy Divisions which now rend and con-
found the Church of Christ: Were every
Man allowed to take the Scripture, for his
only Guide in Matters of Faith, and after
all the Means of Knowledge and Instruction
used, all the Ways of Assurance and Con-
viction tried, permitted quietly to enjby his
own Opinion, the Foundation of all Divisions
would be taken away at once: And till Chris-
tians do arrive at this Temper of Mind, let
them not boast that they are endued with that
excellent Virtue of Charity, which is the
distinguishing Mark of their Profession ; for
if what St. Pau/ szys be true, that Charity
is greater than Faith, it is evident no Chris-
tian ought to be guilty of the Breach of a
greater Duty upon Account of a lesser : They
ought not to disturb that Peace and Unity
which ought to be amongst all Christians,
for the Sake of any Matters of Faith, any
Differences of Opinion ; because it -is con-
trary to the known Law of Charity : And
how far the gi'eaitest Part of Christians will
clear themselves of transgressing this plain
Law, I know not. Wherefore, if ever we
expect to have our Petitions answered, when
we pray that God would make us one Flock
under one Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls,
yesus Christ; we must cease to make needless
Fences
THE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
Fences of our own, and to divide ourselves
into small separate Flocks, and distinguish
them by that whereby Christ has not distin-
guished them. When this Spirit of Love
and Unity, of forbearing one another in
Meekness, once becomes the prevailing Prin-
ciple amongst Christians; then, and not till
then, will the Kingdom of Christ in its
highest Perfection and Purity flourish upon
the Earth, and all the Powers of Darkness
fall before it. * •
JOHN CLARKE.
THE
CONTENTS,
BOOK I.
SECT. PAGE
I. 'jn HE Occasion cf this Work 1
II. -"• That there is a God 3
III. That there is but one God 6
IV. ^11 Perfection is in God 8
V. ^nd in an infinite Degree ibid.
VI. That God is Eternal, Omnipotent^ Omni-
scient, and completely Good 9
VII. That God is the Cause of all Things . . . ibid.
VIII. The OBjection, concerning the Cause of
Evil, answered l6
IX. Against Two 'Principles 17
X. That God governs the Universe 18
XI. And the Affairs of this lower World . . . ibid.
And the Particulars in it I9
XII. This is further proved by the Preservation
of Empires 20
XIII. And by Miracles 21
XtV. But more especially amongst the Jews,
wAo ought to be credited uj^on the Account of
the Ibrig Continuance of their Religion .... 11
XV. From the Truth and Antiquity of miosis 24
XVI. From Foreign Testimonies 26
XVII. The same proved also from Predictions 71
And by other Arguments 73
XVIII. The
THE CONTENTS.
SECT. PAGE
XVIII. The Ohjection of Miracles not he'mg
seen now, answered 75
XIX. -And of there being so much JVickedness TQ
XX And that so great, as to oppress good Men TJ
XXI . This may be turned upon them, so as to
prove that Souls survive Bodies 78
XXII. Which is confirmed by Tradition .... ibid.
XXIII. And no Way repugnant to Reason . . 81
XXIV. But many Things favour it . . ^ 84
XXV. From whence it follows, that the End _
of Man is Happiness after this Life .... 86
XXVI. Which we may secure, by finding out
the true Religion ibid.
BOOK ir.
I. That the Christian Jteligion is true ...... 87
II. The Proof that there was such a Person as
Jesus ibid.
That he died an ignominious Death .... 88
III. And yet after his Death was worshipped
by wise Men 89
IV. The Cause of which could be no other, but
those Miracles which were done by him . . QO
V. Which Miracles cannot be ascribed to any
natural or diabolical Power, hut must be
from God Ql
VI. The Resurrection of Christ proved from
credible Teslimony 94
VII. The Objection drawn from the seeming
Impossibility of a Resurrection answered ... 98
The Truth of Jesus's Doctrine proved
from his Resurrection , 100
VWl. That the Christian Religion exceeds all
others' ibid,
IX. The Excellency of the Rewards proposed . . 1 1
- X. y^^o-
THE CONTENTS.
SECT. ' PAGE
X. A Solution of the Objection, taken from
hence, that the Bodies after their Dissolution
cannot be restored 1 05
XL The exceeding, Ptirity of its Precepts, with
respect to the Worship of God lOQ
XII. Concerning those Duties of Humanity,
.which we owe to our Neighbour^ though he
has injured us 113
XIII. About the Conjunction of Male and
\Female 1 17
XIV. About the Use of temporal Goods .... 1 20
XV. Concerning Oaths . , 123
XVI. Concerning ether Actions . . ibid.
XVII. An Answer to the Objection, drawn
from the many Controversies among Christians 125
XVIII. The Excellency of the Christian Reli-
gion, further 'proved from the Excellency of
its Teacher . . .-. .-.'. . 126
From the wonderful Propagation of this
Religion 1 30
Considering the fVeakness and Simplicity
of those who taught it in the first Age .... 135
XIX. And the great Impediments that hindered ^
, Men from embracing it, or deterred them
from professing it . .^ 136
An Answer to those who require more
and stri)nger Arguments 139
BOOK III.
I. Of the Ai^thority of the Booh' of the New
Testflment 142
II. The Books that have any Names affixtd to
them, were written by those Persons whose
Names they bear , 143
III. Thi
tHE CONTENTS.
SECT. PAGE
III. The Doubt of those Booh, that were for'
merly doubtful, taken away 144
IV. The Authority of those Books which have
no Name to them, evident from the Nature
of the Writings . . . J 45
V. That these Authors wrote what was true,
because they knew the Things they wrote about '146
VI. And because they would not say what was
false 14;
VII. The Credibility of ^hese Ifriters further
confirmed, from their bei^g famous for
Miracles / 149
VIII. And of their ffritings j^ because in them
are contained many Things, which the Event
proved to be divinely revealed 151
IX. And^also from the Care that it was fit-
God should take, that false Writings should
not be forged ; :■ . 1 52
X. A Solution of that Objection, that many
Books were rejected by some ibid.
XI. An Answer to the Objection of some
Things being contained in those Books, that
are impossible 156
XII. Or disagreeable to Reason ibid.
XIII. An Answer to this Objection, that some
Things are contained in those Books which
are inconsistent with one another 158
XIV. An Answer to the Objection from exter-
nal Testimonies : Where it is shewn they
make more for these Books l6o
XV. An Answer to the Objection of the Scrip-
tures being altered , l62
XVI. The Authority of the Books of the Old
Testament ... 105
BOOK
THE COlfTBNTS. v
BOOK IV.
SECT. PAGE
I. A particular Confuiaiion of the Religions
that differ from Christianity 179
II. And first of Paganism. 7 hat there is but .
one God. That created Beings are either
good or bad. That the good are not to be
worshiped without the Command of the Su-
preme God 1 80
III. A Proof that evil Spirits were worMpped
by the Heathen^ andth^ tJnworthmess of ii
shewn , 181
IV. Against the Heathen Worship paid to de-
parted Men ' 1 84
V. Against the Worship given to the Stars and
Elements. 185
VI. Against the Worship given to Brute
Creatures 186
VII. Against the Worship given to those Things
that have.no real Existence , 188
VIII. An Answer to the Objection of the
Heefthens, taken from the Miracles done
amongst them IQO
IX. And ftom Oracles. 1 QS
X. The Heatheh R^tligion rejected, because it '-
failed of its own Accord^ as soon as human
Assistance was wanting , 108
XI. An Answer to this, that the Rise and De-
cay of Religion is owing to the Stars. ..... IQQ
XII. The principal Things of the Christian
Religion were approved of by the wisest
, Heathens ; and if there be any Thing iti it
hard to be believed,' the like is to be found
amongst the Heathens 201
BOOK
THE CONTENTS.
BOOK V.
SECT. PAGE
I. A Confutation of Judaism, leginning with
an Address to the Jews ,. . . 208
II. That the Jews ought to look upon the Mira-
cles of Christ as sufficiently*attested. .... . . 10Q
III. An Answer to the Objection, that those
Miracles were done by the Help of Devils. . 210
IV. Or hy the Power of Words 212
V. That the Miracles of Jesus were divine,
proved from hence, because he taught ., the
fVorship of one God, the Maker of the World ibid,
VI. An Answer to the Objection, drawn from
the Difference betwixt the Law of Moses,
and the Law of Christ ; 'whence it is shewn,
that there might he given d more perfect .Law
than that of Moses. 214
VII. The Law of Moses was observed by
Jesus when on Earth, neither was any Part
of it abolished afterwards, but^nly those Pre-
cepts which had no intrinsic Goodness in them 1\Q
VIII. As Sacrifices, which were never accept-
able to God upon their own Account. ...... 220
IX. And tke Difference of Meats 226
X. And of Days 230
XI. And external Circumcision of the Flesh . . 232
XII. And yet the Apostles of Jesus easily aU
lowed of those Things 234
XIII. A Proof against the Jews, taken from ^
their own Confession of the extraordinary
Promise of the Messiah 235
XIV. That he is already come, appears from
the Time foretold. ibid.
XV. (With an Answer to what is alledged,
that his Coming was deferred upon the Ac-
count of the Sins of the People) 239
XVI. Also
THE CONTIiNTS.
SECT. PAGE
XVI. Also from the present State of the Jews,
compared with the Promises of the Law . . . 240
XVII . Jesus proved to be the Messiah, from those
Things that were, predicted of the Messiah. • 243
XVIII. An Answer to what is alledged, that .
some Things were not fulfilled .......... 246
XIX. And to that which is objected of the low
Condition and Death of Jesus 248
XX. And as though they were good Men who
delivered him to Death 252
XXI. An Answer to the Objection of the Chris-
tians worshipping many Gods . 25 Q
XXII. And that human Nature is worshipped
by tJiem . 25^
XXIII. The Conclusion of this Part, with a
Prayer for the Jews 262
BOOK VI.
I. A Confutation o/"Mahometant^sm ; the Ori-
ginal thereof. • • • 1
II. The Mahometans' Foundation overtiMied
in thai they do not examine into Religion . . . 268
III. A Proof against the Mahometans, taken
out of the sacred Boohs of the Hebrews and
Christians; and that they are not corrupted 269
IV. From comparing Mahomet viith Christ . . 2? 1
V. And the Works of each of them 272
VI. And of those who first embraced each of
these Religions. . . • • • • * • • • ^73
VII. And of the Methods by which each Lavo ,
was propagated. .' 274
VIII. And of their Precepts compared with
one another • • 276
IX. ^ So-
SECT. PAC]
IX. A Solution of the Mahometans* O^V/r//on
concerniug (he Son of God.. IT'i
X. There at e nuiny absurd Things in the Ma-
ihometah Books «... I'Ji
XI. The Conclusion 1o the Christians; who are
admonished of their Duty, upon Oeeasion of
the foregoing Things^ Q,fC
THE
CONTENTS
OF
Mr. LE CLERC's TWO BOOKS.
BOOK I.
S^CT. PAGE
!• "E^/^ must inquire, amongst what Chris-
tians the true Doctrine of Christ flou' A
risheth most at this Time 28g
II. fVe are to join ourselves with those who are
most worthy the Name of Christians 293
III. They are most worthy the Name of Chris-
j tians,who, in the purest Manner of all, pro-
%^ fess the Doctrine, the Truth of which hath
been proved by Grotius. 296
"[S . jCffncerning -the Agreement and Disagree-
ment of Christians '. 298
v. iVherice every one ought to learn the Know-
ledge of the Christian Religion 302
VI. No-
THE CONTENTS.
SECT. p^e^
VI. Notiittg else ought to he imposed upttn
Christians, but what they can gather from
the New Testament , 304
VII. The Providence ofGod^ in preserving the
Christian Doctrine, is very wonderfiil, .... 3d6
VIII. j4n jinswer to that Question, Why God
permits - Differences and Errors to arise
amongst Christians 309
IX. Thty profess and teach the Christian Doc-
trine in the purest Manner of all, who pro~
pose those Things only as necessary to be be-
lieved, practised, or hoped for, which Chris-
tians are agreed in 312
X. All prudent Persons ought to partake of the
Sacrament, with those who require nothing
else of Christians, hut what every one finds in
the Books of the New Testament 314
XI. Concerning Church-Government 317
XII. The ancient Church-Government was
highly esteemed by Grotius, without con-
demning others 3 1 9
XIII. An Exhortation to all Christians who
differ from each other, not to require of one
another any Points of -Doctrine, but such as
every one finds in the New Testament, and
have always been helicved. 320
BOOK II.
I. That we ought to have a love for Truth in
all Things, but more especially in such as are '£'
of great Moment -'324r
II. Nothing can be of greater Moment than Re-
ligion ; and therefore we ought to use our ut-
most Endeavours to came at the true Know-
ledge, of it • 32&
3 III. That
THE CONTENTS.
SECT. PAGE
III. That an Indiffererice'^in Religion is in its
own Nature unlawful, forbidden hy the
Laws of God, and condemned by all Sects
of Christians 328
IV. tVe ought not hastily to condemn these who
differ from us, as if they were guilty of such
a Crime or such unlawful Worship, as is in-
consistent with eternal Life ; so that none
who admit suih Persons, should be capable of
the Merry of God ; nor yet, on the other
Hand, is it lawful, for us to profess that
we- believe what we do hot really believe;
or to do what at the same Time we condemn . . 334
V. A Man that commits a Sin by Mistake^ may
he accepted of God, but a Hypocrite cannot . . 338
Testimonies concerning Hugo Grotius's
Affection for the Church o/" England 343
fO TH£ HOjtOURABLE
hieron;ymus bignonius,
HIS MAJESTY'S SOLICITOR
IN , •• - ,
THE CHIEF COURT OP PARIS.
BOOK L
SECTION 1.
jTAe Occasion of this Work*
"XtpXJ have frequently inquired of me, wof-
thy Sir, (wnpm I know to be a Gentle-
man that highly deserves the Esteem of youf
Countryj of the learned World, and, if you will
allow me to say it, of myself also,) what the
Substance of those Books is, which I wrote in
Defence of the Christian Religion, in my own
Hanguage^ Nor do I wonder at your Inquiry :
For you, who have with so great Judgment read
every thing that is worth reading, cannot but
be sensible with how much Philosophic Nice-
ty (a) R(Emundus Sebundtis, with what entertain-
(a) Rcemundus Sebmdus, &c..] These were the chieLJS^j^s
upon this subject in Grotius's Time ; but, since thenlfa, gr^^
-Numier have wrote concerning the Truth of the OMsH^Ki
Kaligion, especially in FrencA and En^^if^; moved thereto by
the EkampleofGro/JtiJ, whom they imitated, and sometimes
borrowed from him : So that the Qlory of so pious and neces-
sary a Method of Writing chiefly redounds to him. Le Ckrc.
B ing
OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book 1.
ing Dialogues Luddvfcics Fives, and with how
great Eloquence your Mornemis, have illustrated
this Matter. For which Reason it might seem
more useful, to translate some of them into our
own Ijanguage, than to undertake any thing new
upon this Subject. But though I know not what
Judgment others will pass upon me, yet I have
very good Reason to hope that you, who are so
fair and candid a Judge, will easily acquit me, if
I should say, that after having read not only the
fore-mentioned Writings, but also those that have
been written by the Jews in Behalf of the An-
cient Jewish Dispensation, and those of Christians
for Christianity, I choose to make use of my own
Judgment, such as it is ; and' to give my Mind
that Liberty, which at present is denied my Bo-
dy : For I am persuaded that Truth is no other
Way to be defended but by Truth, and that such
as the Mind is_ fully satisfied with ; it being in
vain to attempt to persuade others to that which
you yourself are not convinced of. Wherefore
I selected, both from the Ancients and Mo-
derns, what appeared to me most conclusive; leav-
ing such Arguments as seemed of small Weight,
and rejecting such Books as I knew to be spurious,
or had Reason to suspect to be so. Those which
I approved of, I explained, and put in a regular
Method, and in as popular a Manner as I could,
and likewise turned them into Verse, that they
might the easier be remembered. For my Design
was to undertake something which might be use-
ful to my Countrymen, especially Seamen ; that
they might have an Opportunity to employ that
!]K«n<&» which in long Voyages lies upon their
I^jjidl, and is usually thrown away : Wherefore
Joegan with an Encomium upon our Nation,
vvhich so far excels others in the Skill of Navi-
gation ; that by this Means I might excite them
to
Sect, 2.] CI-miSTIAN RELIGION. ■ 3
to make use bf this Art, as a peculiar Favour of
Heaven ; not only to their own Profit, but also
to the propagating the Christian Religion : For
they can never want Matter, but in their logg
Voyages will every where meet either \yith Paga^,
as in China or Guinea ; or Mahometans, as in the
Turkish and Persian Empires, and in the King-
doms of Fez and Morocco; and also with Jews, who
are the professed Enemies of Christianity, and are
dispersed over the greatest Part of the World :
And there are never wanting profane Persons,
who, upon Occasion, are ready to scatter their
Poison amongst the Weak and Simple, which Fear
had forced them to conceal : Against all which
Evils, my Desire was, to have my Countrymen
well fortified ; that they, who have the best Parts,
might employ them in confuting. Errors ; and
that the other would take Heed of being seduced
by them.
SECT. II.
That there is a God.
AND that we may show that Religion is not a
vain and empty Thing ; it shall be the Business of
this first Book to lay the Foundation thereof in
the Existence of the Deity : Which I prove in the
following Manner — ^That there are some Things
which had a Beginning, is confessed on all Sides,
and obvious to Sense : But these Things could
not be the Cause of their own Existence ; because
that which has no Being, cannot act ; for then it
would have been before it was, which is impoMbl^;
whence it follows, that it derived its Bemgmr^t
something else : That is true, not only of those
Things which are now befoi;erour eyes, or which "
we have formerly seen ; but also of those Things
s 2 out
4 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I.
out of which these have arisen, and so on (a) til
we arrive at some Cause, which never had any
Beginning, but exists (as we say) necessarily, and
not by Accident: Now this Being, whatsoever it be
(of whom we shall speak more fully by and' bye)
is what we mean by the Deity or God. Another
Argument for the Proof of a Deity may be drawn
from the plain Consent of all Nations, who have
any Remains of Reason, any Sense of Good Man
ners, and are not wholly degenerated into Brutish-
ness. For human Inventions, which depend
upon the arbitrary Will of Men, are not always
the same every where; but are often changed ;
whereas there is no Place where this Notion is
not to be fdund; nor has the Course of Time
been able to alter it (which is observed by (b)
jiriitotle himself, a Man not very credulous in these
Matters ;) wherefore we must assign it a Cause as
extensive as all Mankind ; and that can be no
other than a Declaration from God himself, or a
Tradition derived down from the first Parents of
Mankind : If the former be granted, there needs
no further Proof ; if the latter, it is hard to give
a good Reason why our first Parents would deli-
(«) Till we arrive at some cause, &c.] Because as their
Manner of speaking is, there can. be no such Thing as going
on forever;, for of those Things which had a Beginning,
either there is some first Cause, or there is none. If it be de->
nied that there is any first Cause,; then those Things which
had a Beginning, were without a Cause; and consequently
existed, or came of nothing of themselves, which is absurd,
iLe Clerc.
(b) Aristotle hiniself, &c.] Metaphys. Book XI. Ch. 5. where,
after relating the Fables of the Gods, he has these words :
1^ Which, if any one rightly distinguishes, he will keep
^'i^vholly to this as the principal Thing ; that to believe 'the
" Gods to be the first, Beings, is a difine Truth ; , And that
" though Arts and Sciences have probably been often lost, and
" revived ; yet this opinion hath been preserved as aRelick to-
" this very Time." Lc Cltrc.
Vtt
Sect. 2.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 6
ver to Posterity a Falsity in a Matter of so great?^
Moment: R^oreover, if we look into those Parts
of the Worldj which have been a long Time '
known, or into those lately discovered ; if they
have not lost the common Principles of Human
Nature (as was said before) this Truth immedi-
ately appears ; as well amongst the more dull Na-
tions, as amongst those who are quicker, and have
better Understanding ; and, surely, these latter
cannot all be deceived, nor the former be sup-
posed to have found out something to impose upon
6ach other with : Nor would it be of any Force
against this, if it should be urged, that there have
been a few Persons in many Ages who did not
believe a Godj or at least made such a Profession :
For considering how few they were, and that as
soon as their Arguments were known, their Opi-
nion was immediately exploded j it is evident, it
did not proceed from the right Use of that Rea-
son ,which is common to all Men ; but either from
ah Affectation of Novelty, like the Heathen Phi-
losopher who contended that Snow was black ; or
fsora a corrupted Mind, which, like a vitiated Pa-
late, does not relish Things as they are : Espe-
cially since History and other Writings inform us
that the more virtuous any one is, the more care-
fully is this Notion of the Deity preserved by
him : And it is further evident, that they who
dissent from this anciently-established Opinion, do
it out of an ill Principle, and are such Persons,
whose Interest it 'is that there should be no
God, that is, no Judge of human Actions-; be-
cause whatever Hypotheses they have advanced
of their own, whether an Infinite Succession of
Causes,- without any Beginning ; or a fortuitous
Concourse of Atoms, or any other, {a) it is- at-
^ tended
(a) It is attmded with as great^ &c.] Grotius might have
f^id, and that not rashly, that there are much greater Diffi-
cultiei
6 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I.
tended with as great, if not greater Difficulties,
and not at all more credible than what is already
received; as is evident to any one that considers
it ever so little. For that which some object, that
they don't believe a God, because they don't see
him ; if they can see any Thing, they may see how
much it is beneath a Man who has a Soul which
he cannot see, to argue in this Manner. Nor, if
•we cannot fully comprehend the Nature of God,
ought we therefore to deny that there is any
such Being ; for the Beasts don't know what sort of
Creatures Mew are, and much less do they under-
stand how Men, by their Reason, institute and
govern Kingdoms, measure the Course of the
Stars, and sail across the Seas: These Things exceed
their^each: And hence Mara, because heisplaeed
by the Dignity of his Nature above the Beasts, and
ifAa^ not by himself, ought to infer, that He, who
gave him this superiority above the Beasts, is as
far advanced beyond Him, as He is beyond the
leasts 5 and that therefore there is a Nature, whicbj,
as it is more excellent, so it exceeds his Compre*
heqsion.
SECT. III.
That there is but one God.
HAVING proved the Existence of Ihe Defty,.
we come next to his Attributes ; the first whereof
is, That there can be no more Gods than One.-
culties in the opinions of those who would have Jthe World to
be eternal, or always to have been ; such as, that it must have
come out of nothing of itself, or that it arose from the fortuit-
ous Concourse of Atoms ; Opinions full of manifest Contradic-
tions^ as many since Grotius's Time have ej^actly demonstrated;
amongst whom is the eminent and learned Dr. Bulph Cudteorth,
vfho wrote the English Treatise Of the Intellectual System of
the Universe : There are also other very excellent English VlU
Tj»?s »ud Natural Philosophers. Le Gkpc, .
Which
Sect. 3,] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 7
Which may be gathered from hence ; because (as
was before said) God exists necessarily, or is self-
existent. Nowthat which is necessary, or self-exist-
ent, cannot be considered as of any ^ind or Species
of Beings, but as acti|ally existing, (a) and is there-
fore a single Being: for, if you imagine many
Gods, you will see that necessary Existence belongs
to none of them ; nor can there be any Reason
why two should rather be believed than three, or
ten than five : Besides the Abundance of particular
Things of the same Kind proceeds from the Fruit-
fulness of the Cause, in Proportion to which
more or less is produced ; "but God has no Cause
or Original. Further, particular different Things
are endued with peculiar Properties, by which
they are distinguished from eadh other ; which do
not belong to God, who is a necessary Being.
Neither do we find any Signs of many Gods ;
for this whole Universe makes but one World,
in which there is but (b) One Thing .that far ex-
ceeds the rest in Beauty ; viz. the Sun : And in
every Man- there is but One Thing that goyerns,
that is, the Mind : Moreover, if there could be
two or more Gods, free Agents, acting according
to their own Wills, they might will contrary to
each other ; and so One be hindered by the Other
from eflTecting his Design ; now a Possibility of
being hindered is inconsistent with the Notion of
God.
(a) And is therefore a single being, &c.] But a great many ■
single Beings are a great many individual Beihgs ; this Argu-
ment therefore might haViQ been omitted, without any Detri-
ment to so good a Cause. Le Clerc. *
Whoever would see the Argument for the Unity of God,
drawn from hb necessary or Self -existence, ' mgiiA in its full
Force, may find it at the Beginning of Dr. Samuel Clark's
Boyl/s Lectures.
(i) One Thing that far exceeds, &c.] At least to the Inha-
bitants of this our Solar System, (as we now term it ;) as the
fiery Centers the Staisne io other Systems. Le Clerc.
SECT.
8 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I.
SECT. IV.
^11 Perfection is'in God.
THAT we may come to the Knowledge of
the other Attributes of God, we conceive all that
Is meant by Perfection to be in Him (I use the
Latin Word Perfectio, as being the best that
Tongue affords, and the same as the Greek TtXejoTtij-.)
Because whatever Perfection is in any Thing, either
had a Beginning, or not ; if it had no Beginning,
it is the Perfection of God ; if it had a Begin-
ning, it must of ffecessity be from something
else; And since none of those Things, that exist,
3re produced from nothing ; it follows, that what-
ever Perfections are in the Effects, were first in the
Cause, so that jt cduld produce any Thing endued
with them ; and consequently they are 'all in the
first Cause. Neither can the first Cause ever be
deprived of any of its Perfections; Not from any
Thing else ; because that which is eternal does not
depend upon any other Thin^ ; nor can it at all
suffer from any Thing that they can do: Nor
from itself, because every Nature desii'e^ its own
Perfection.
SECTV.
And in an Infinite Degree.
TO this must be added, that these Perfections
are in God, in an infinite Degree : Because those
Attributes that are finite, are therefore limited, be-
cause theCause^ whence they proceed, has commu-
nicated so much of themj and no more ; or else,
because the Subject was capable of no more. But
no other Nature communicated any of its Perfec-
tions to God; nor does he derive any Thing from
any one else, he being (as. was said) necessary or
Bglf-existent, . SECT.
Sect. 4, 5, 6, 7.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 9
SECT. VI.
That God is_Elernal, Omnipotent, Omniscient, and
compTetely Good..
NOW seeing it is very evident, that those
Things which have Life, are more perfect than
those Which have not ; and those which have a
Power of Acting, than those who have none ;
those which have Understanding, than those which
want it ; those which are good, than those which
are not so ; it follows, from what has been already
said, that thfese Attributes belong to God, and
that infinitely : WTierefore he is a living infinite
God ; that is, eternal, of immense Power, and
every Way good, withsut the least Defect.
SECT. VII. '
That God is the Cause of all Things.
EVERY Thing that is, derives its Existence
from God; this follows from what has been al-
ready said. For we conclude, that there is but
one necessary self-existent Being ; whence vveqol-
lect, that all other Things sprung from a Being
different from themselves : For those things
which are derived from something else, were all
of them, either immediately in themselves, or me-
diately in their Causes, derived from him who
had no Beginning,' that is, from God, as was
before evinced. And this is not only evident to
Reason, but in a Manner to Sense t©o, : For .if
we take a Survey of the admirable Structure of
a Human Body both within and without ; and
see how every, even the most minute Part hath
its prcJper Use, without any Design or Intention of
the Parents, and with so great Exactness, as the
6 ' ^sInost
10 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I.
most excellent Philosophers and Physicians could
never enough admire ; it is a sufficient Demon-
stration that the Auth&r of Nature is the most
complete Understanding. Of this a great deal may
be seen in (a) Gdlen, especially where he examines
the Use of the Hands and Eyes : And the same
may be ^observed in the Bodies of dumb Crea-
tures ; for the Figure and Situation of their Parts
to a certain End, cannot be the Effect of any
Power in Matter. As also in Plants and Herbs,
which is accurately observed by the Philosophers.
Strabo {I}) excellently well takes Notice hereof in
the Position of Water, which, as to its Quality, is
of a middle Nature betwixt Air and Earth, and
ought to have been placed betwixt them, but is
therefore interspersed and mixed with the Earth,
lest its Fruitfulness, by" which the Life of Man is
preserved, should be hindered. Novy it is the Pro-
perty of intelligent Beings only, to act with some
View. Neither are particular Things appointed
for their own peculiar Ends only, but for the
Good of the Whole ; as is plain in Water, which
.-.*>■ ■
(fl) In Galen, &c'] Book HI. Ch. 10. Which Place is highly
worth reading, but too long to be inserted. But many later-
Divines and Natural. Philosophers in England have explained
these things more accurately. Le Clerc.
(,b) Strabo, kc] Bo~ok XVH. Where after he had distin-
guished betwixt the Works of Nature, that is, the material
World, and those of Providence, he adds ; " After the Earth.
" was surrounded with Water, because Man was not made
♦' to dwell in the Water,' but belongs partly to the Earth
" and partly to the Air, and stands in great Need of Light ;
" Providence has caused many Eminences and Cavities in
" the Earth, that in these, the Water, or the greatest Part
" of it, might be received ; whereby that Part of the Earth ,
" under it might be covered ; and that by the other, the.
" Earth might be advanced to cover the Water, "^except what '
" is of Use for Men, Animals, and Plants." The same hath
been observed by Rabbi Jehuda Leveta, and Abenesdra,
amongst the Jews, and St. Chrysostom in his gth Homily of
Statutes among Christians.
con-
Sect, 7.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. U
(a) contrary to its own Nature is raised upwards;
lest by a Vacuum there should be a Gap in the
Structure of the Universe, which is upheld by
the continual Union of its Parts. Now the Good
of the Whole could not possibly be designed, nor
a Power put into Things to tend towards it, but
by an intelligent Being, to whom the Universe
is subject. There are moreover some Actions,
even of the Beasts, so ordered and directed, as
plainly discover them to be the Effects of some
small Degree of Reason : As is most manifest in
Ants and Bees, and also in some others, which,
before they have experienced them, will avoid
Things hurtful, and seek those that are profit-
able to them. That this Power of searching
out and distinguishing, is not properly in them-
selves, is apparent from hence, because they act
always alike, and are unable to do other Things
which don't require more Pains, (i) wherefore
(a) Contrary to its oxen Nature, &c^] This was boi rowed
from the Peripatetic Philosophy, by tlais great Man ; which
• supposed' the Water in a Pump to ascend for Fear of a Vacuum;
whereas it is now granted by all to be done by the Pressure of
-the Air. But by the Laws of Gravitation, as tKe Moderns
explain them, the Order of the Universe, and the Wisdom of
its Creator, are no less conspicuous. Le Cl,erc.
(b) Wherefore they are acted upon, &c.] No, they are done,
oy the Soul of those Beasts, which is so far reasonable, as
to be able to do such Things, and not others. Otherwise
God himself would act in them instead of a Suul, which
a good Philosopher will hardly be persuaded of.' Nothing
hinders but that there may be a great many Ranks of sensi-
ble and intelligent Natures, the lowest of which may be in
the Bodies of Brute Creatures ; for nobody, I think, i-eally
believes with lUn, Cartes, that Brutes are mere corporeal
Machines. But you will say, when Brute Creatures die,
what becomes of the Soul ? That indeed I know not, . but
it is nevertheless true that Souls reside in them. There is
no Necessity that we should know all Things, nor are we
therefore presently to deny any Thing because we cannot give
Account ofit. We are to receive those Things that are evi-
dent, and be content to be ignorant of those Things which we
Cannot know. Ifi Clert,
they
12 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I.
they are acted upon by some foreign Reason ; and
what they do, must of Necessity proceed from the
Efficiency of that Reason impressed upon them :
Whi<^ Reason is no other than what we call God.
i^ext, the Heavenly Constellations, but more espe-
cially those eminent ones, the Sun and Moon, have
theirCoursessoexactlyaccommodated to the Fruit-
fulness of the Earth, and to the Health of Ani-
mals, that nothing can be imagined more conve-
nient: For though otherwise, the most simple Mo-
tion had beea along the Equator, yet are they
directed in an oblique Circle, that the Benefit of
them might extend to more Places of the Easth.
And as other Animals are allowed the Use of the
l^acth, so Mankind are permitted to use those Ani-
mals, and can by thePower of his Reason tame the
fiercest of them. Whence it was that (a) the Sto-
ichs concluded that the World was made for the
Sake of Man. Bifit since the Power of Man does
not extend so fap as to compel the Heavenly Lu-
minaries to serve him, nor is it likely they should
of their own accord submit themselves tO|,him ;
Ken,9fe itfoljows, that thereisa superior Understand-
ing, at vshose Command those beautiful Bodies af-
ford theift perpetual Assistance to Man, who is
placed so fa/Setieath them : Which Understanding
is none other than the Maker of the Stars and of
the Universe, {b) The Eccentric Motions of the
Stars,
(a) The Stoicjcs concluded, &c.] See TuUi/ in his^ first Book
pf Offices, and his second of the Nature of the Gods.
(b) The Eccentric J^otions, &c.] This argument is learti'
edly handled by Maimonides, in his Ductor Dubitantium,
Part II. c. 4. And if you suppose the Earth to be ^pved, it
■mounts to the same Thing in other Words.
Ibid. These and some of the following Things are accord-
ipg to the vulgar Opinion, which is now exploded; but
the Efficacy of . the JJivine Power is equally seen in the
constant Motion of the Planets in Ellipsis, about the Sun,
through the most fluid Vortex; in such a Manner as not
to recede from, or approach to, their Centre, more than
thejf
Sect. 7.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 15
Stars, and the Epicycles, as they term them, ma-
nifestly show, that they are not the EfFegts of
Matter, but the Appointment of a free Agent';
and the same Assurance we have from the Position
of the Stars, some in one Part of the Heavens, and
some in another ; and from the unequal Form of
the Earth an<^ Seas : Nor can we attribute the Mo-
tion of the Stars, in such a Direction, rather than
another, to any Thing else. The very Figure of
the World, which is the most perfect, viz. round,
and all the Parts of it inclosed, as itwere, intheBo-
som of the Heavens, and placed in. wonderful Or-
der, sufficiently declare, that these Thingswerenot
the Result of Chance, but the Appointment of the
most excellent Understanding: For can any one be
so foolish, as to expect any Thing so accurate from
Chance ? He may as soon believe, that Pieces of
Timber, and Stones, should frame themselves into
a House; (i) or that from Letters thrown at a Ven-
ture, there should arise aPoem; when the Philoso-
pher, w ho saw only some Geometrical Figures on the
Sea-sftore, thought them plain Indibations of a
Man's having been there, such Things not looking
as if they proceedecf from Chance. Besides, that
Mankind were not from Eternity, 1but date their
Original from a certain Period of Time, is clear, as
from other Arguments, so from the* Improvement
. ' ' '^ . pf
their wonted Limits, but always cut the Sun's Equator at
like Obliquity. LeClerc. Sir Isaac Newton has demonstrated
that there are no such Vortexes, but that their Motions are
better explained without them.
(6) Into a House, &c.] Or Ship or Engine.
• The Improvement of Arti, &cj] TerluUiaA Ucdts of this
Matter, from History, in his Book concerning the Saul,
Sect. 30. Wefind (says he) in all Commentaries, especially of
the Antiquities of Men, that Mankind increase by Degrees, &c.
And a little after, The (Vorld manifestly improvts every Day,
and grows wiser than it was. These two Arguments caused
Aristotle's Opinion (who would jiot allow Mankind any
Beginning)
.14 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I.
of Arts, and those desert Places, which came after-
wards to be inhabited ; and is further evidenced by
the Language of Islands, plainly derived from the
neighbouring Continents. There are moreover
certain Ordinances so universal amongst Men, that
they don't seem so much to owe theirlnstitutionto
the Instinct of Nature, or the Deductions of plain
Reason,
Beginning) to be rejected by the learned Historians, especially
the Epicureans. Lucretius, Boole V, ' ,
If Heaven and Earth had no Original,
HoxD U it, that before the Trojan i£ar,
No Poets sung of Memorable Things ;
Rut Deeds of Heroes dy'd so oft with them ;
And no where Monuments raised to their Praise f
This shews the World is young and lately rAade.
Whence 'tis that Arts are every Day encreas'd,
Or fresh renew'd; and Ships so much improv'd,
And Music to delight the Ear.
With a great Deal more to the same Purpose.
Virgil, Eclogue VI.
From these first Principles
All Things arose, hence sprung the tender World. .^^
And in his Georgicks.
Usefirst produc'd those various Arts we see,
By small Degrees ; this taught the Husbandman
To plow and sow hisfelds ; from the hard Flint
To fetch the hidden sparks ; then Man began
With hollow Boats to cross the Stream ; Pilots ;
Call'dHyzdcs and Pleiades their Signs,
And Charles's Wain : Then Sportsmen spread their Nets
To catch wild Beasts, and Dogs pursued their Game.
Some drain the Rivers, and some seek the Main,
Stretching their Nets to inclose thefinny Prey :
Others with Iron Forge whet Instruments
To cleave the yielding Wood : Then Arts arose.
Horace, Book I. Sat. HI.
When first Mankind began to spread the Earth,
lake Animals devoid of Speech, they strove
With utmost Strength of Hands, for Dens and Acornf;
From thence to Clubs, and then to Arms they came, '"
Taught by Experience ; till Words expressed
Their Meaning, and gave proper Namei to Things:
Then
Sect. 7.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION* 15
Reason, as to a constantTradition, scarcely inter-
rupted inany Place, either by Wickedness or Mis-
fortune : Of which Sort were formerly Sacrifices,
amongst holy Rites ; and now Shame in Venereal
Things, the Solemnity of Marriage, and the Ab-
horrence of Incest.
, SECT.
Then ended JFars, Cities were built, and Laws
Are made/or Thieves, Adulterers^ and Rogues,
Pliny in his third Book of Natural History, about the Be-
ginning : Wherefore I would be so understood, as the Words them-
selves signify, without the Flourish of Men, and as they were
understood at the Beginning, before any great exploits were
performed. The same Author affirms, that the Hercynian
Wood (in Germany) was coeval with the World, Bobk XVI.
Seneca, in Lactantius, It is not a. Thousand Years since Wisdom
had a Beginning. Tacitus' s Ann&h, III. The first Men, be-
fore Appetite and Passion saayed them, lived without Bribes,
and without Iniquity ; and needed not to be restrained from
Evil by Punishment : Neither did they stand in Need ef Re-
ward, eoery one naturally pursuing Virtue; for so long as no-
thing was desired contrary to Morality, they wanted not to be
restrained by F^ar : But after they laid aside Eqiiity and Virtue,
Violence and Ambition succeeded in the Room of Honesty and Hu-
mility ; then began that Power which has always continued
amongst some People. But others immediately, or at least after
they grexo weary of Kings, preferred a legal Government.
And Aristotle could not fully persuade himself, any more
than others, of the Truth of his own Hypothesis, that Man-
kind never had any Beginning. For he speaks very doubtfully
of the Matter in many Places, as Moses Maimonides observes
in his Diictor Dubitantium, Part II, In the Prologue to his
Second Book, concerning tho^^Heayens, he calls his Position,
only a Persuasion, and not a Demonstration ; and there is a
Saying of the same" Philosopher in the Third Book of the
Soul, Chap. III. That Persuasion is a Consequence of Opi-
nion. But his principal Argument is drawn from the Absur-
dity of the contrary Opinion, which supposes the Heavens
and the Universe not to be created, but generated; which
is inconsistent. Book XI. of his Metaphysicks, Chap. 8. he
says. It is very likely that Arts have often been lost, and in-
vented again. And in the last Chapter of tne Third Book of
the Generation of Animals, he has these words, It would
be a foolish Conjecture, concerning the first Rise of Men and
Beasts, if any one sliould imagine, that of old they sprung out
of the Earth orif of these two ways, cither after the Manner
16 OF THE TRUTH OF THE (Booht.
SECT. vm.
T/ie ONeetion concerrdvg the Cause ofEvil, answeredt
NOR ought we to be in theleast slfaken in what
has been said, because we see many Evils happen,
the Original of whicll cannot be ascribed tq God,
who, as was affirmed of him, is perfectly good^
For when we say, that God is the Cause of all
Things, we mean of all such Things as have a real
Existence ; which is no Reason why those Things
themselves should not be the Cause of some Acci-
dents, such as Actions are. God created Man, and
some other Intelligences superior to Man, with a
Lilaerty of Acting; which Liberty of Ac^ting is not
in itself evil, but may be (a) the Cause of some-
thing
of Maggots, or to have come from Eggs. After his Expli-
- cation of each of these, he adds, Jf therefore Animals had
am/ J^eginning, it is manifest it mjist be one of these iwa iiays.
The iSiTat Aristotle, in the first of his Topiths, Chap. XI. There
are some Questions against iihich very good Arguments may
be brought; (it being rery doubtful which Side is in the
right, there being great Probubility on either Hand) toe have
no Certainty of them : And though they be of great Weight, we
find it very difficult to determine the Cause and Manner of
their Existence; as for Instance, whether the World werefrom^
Eternity, or no : For such Things as these are disputable.
And again, disputing about the same Thing, in his lirst Booij
of the Heavens, Chap. X, What shall be said will be the more
credible, if we allow the Disputants' Arguments their dtie
Weight, Tatian therefore did well not to pass by this, where
he brings his Reasons for the Belief of the Scriptures, That
what they deliver, concerning the Creation of the Universe,
is leiel to every one's Capacity, If you take Plato for the
World's having a Beginning, and Aristotle for its having
had none ; you will have seen both the Jewish and Christian
Opinions.
(a) The Cause of something that is Evil, &c.3 God indeed
foresaw, that^ free Agents would abuse their Liberty, ' and
that many natural and moral Evils would arise fr,om hence ;
y?t did not this hinder him from permitting such Abu»e,
and
Sect. S, 9.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 1?
thing that is evil. And to make God the Author
of Evils of this Kind, which are called Moral
Evils, is the highest Wickedness. But there are
other Sorts of Evils, such as Loss or iPain inflicted
upon a Person, which may be allowed to come
from God, suppose for the Reformaiion of the
Man, or as a Punishment which his Sins dqservet
For here is no inconsistency with Goodness ; but
on the contrary, these proceed from Goodness it-
self, in the sanie Manner as jPhysickj unpleasant
to the Tastej does from a good Physiciani
SECT. IX.
Against Two Principled.
And here by the Way we ought to reject their
Opinion, who inlagine that there are (a) two Ac*
tive Principles, the one Good, and the other Evil.
For from Two Principles, that are contradictory
to each other, carv arise no regular Order, but
only Ruin and Destruction : Neither can there be
a self-existent Bping perfectly Evil, as there is
one self-existent peffectly Good ; Because Evil is
a Defect, which cannot reside but in something
ftnd the Consequences thereof; any more than it hindered his
creating Beings endued with such Liberty. The Reason is
plain. Because a free Agent bqing the most excellent Crea-
ture, which discovers the highest Power of the Creator, God
was unwilling to prevei)t those Inconveniences which proceeej
from the Mutability of their Mature, because he can ameni
(hem as be pleases to all Eternity ; in such a manner as is agree-
able to his t>wn Goodness, though he has not yet revealed ii;
to us. Concerning which we have largely treated in French,
in a Book wrote against Pel. Bayle^ the seeming Advocate qf
the Manic/iees. he Clerc.
(a) Two active Principkt, &c.) This has Respect to the
itncieht Disciples oiZoroasires, And to 1^? Mank/iees. Le Clerg,
^ C. which
18 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I;
which has a' Being ; (a) and the very having a Be-
ing is to be reckoned amongst the Things which
are Good.
SECT. X.
That God Governs the Universe^
THAT the World is governed by the Prov^*-
dence of God, is evident from hence : That not
only Men, who are endued with Understanding ;
but Birds, and both wild and tame Beasts (who
are led by instinct, which serves them instead of
Understanding) take Care of, and Provide /or,
their Young. Which Perfection, as it is a Branch
of Goodness, ought not to be excluded from
God: And so much the rather,, because he is
^ll-wise, and All-powerful,' and cannot but know
-every Thing that is done, or is to be done, and
with the greatest Facility direct and govern them :
To, which we may add, what was before hinted,
concerning the Motion of particular Things con-
trary to their own Nature, to promote the Ggod
of the Whole.
SECT XI.
And the Affairs of this Lower World.
AND they are under a very great Mistake, who
confine this Providence (b) to the heavenly Bo-
dies : As appears from the foregoing Reason,which
holds as strong for all created Beings ; and more-
over from this Consideration, that there is an
especial
(a) And the very having a Being, &c.] But here the lAuthor
was speaking'.of moral and not -of natural Good. It had there-
fore been better to have foreborn such kind of reasoning.
Le Clefc.
(6) To the Heavenly Bodies, &c.] This was the Opinion of
'Afintotle. See Ptvtarch coDcerning (he OpinJOBs of the Phi-
iosbphers.
Sict. 16, 11.] Christian reLigicIn. i'§
especial Regard had to (a) the Good of Man, in
the Regulation of the Course of the Stars, as is
confessed by the best Philosophers, and evident
from Experience. And it is reasonable to conceive,
that the greater Care should be taken of that, foi:
whose sake the other was made,^an of that which
is only subservient to it.
^nd the Particulars in if.
NEITHER is their Error less, (b) who allov(^
the Universe to be governed by Him, but not the
particular Things in it. For, if He were ignorant
of some particular Thing (as some of them say. He
would not be thoroughly acquainted with himself.
Neither will his Knowledge fee infinite (as we have
before proved it to be) if it does not extend to In-
dividuals. Now, if God knows all Things, what
should hinder his taking Care of them ? Especially
since Individuals,- as such, are appointed for. some
certain End, either Particular or General: And
Things in General, (which they themselves ac-
knowledge to be preserved by God) cannot sub-
sist but in their Individuals: So that if the Par-
ticulars be destroyed by Providence's forsaking
them, the Whole must be destroyed too,
losophers, Book LI. ch, 3. and Atticas in $,us^Uus*s Gospet
Preparation, Book V. ch, 5. Le Clerc.
(a) The Good of Man, &c.] Though not for man onlyy
for it doth not appear that there are no other intelligent Beings
in other Planets; yet partly for hira, and so far as He makes
Use of them without any Detriment to other. Creatures. Be*
cause we cannot live without the Sun, we ma.y well conclude it
•was made upon our Account j unless we cau ipiiagine Chance
provided every Thing that is necessary for us ; which is very
Absurd : Just like a Man, ivho happening upon a House veil
furnished, should deny that it was built for the Convenience of
Itfen» who are alone capable of enjoying it, Le Clerc,
(6) JVAo alloxe the Universe, &c.] This was the Opinion of
the Stoicks : See Arrms's Dissertations upon Epictetui, Hook I.
ch. I?, and Justin IMsius, in his Stoical Phpmlogi/, Le Clerc/
C2 SECT.
20 , OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I.
SECT. XII.
This is further proved by the Preservation of Empires,
THE Preservation of Commonwealths hath
been acknowledged, both by Philosophers and
Historians, to be no mean Argument for the Di-
vine Providence over Human Affairs. First, in
General ; (a) because wherever good Order in Go-
vernment and Obedience hath been once admit-
ted, it has been always retained ; and, in particular,
eertain Forms of Government have- continued for
many Ages ; as that of Kings among the Assyrians^
■Mgyptians, and Franks ; and that of Aristocracy
among the F'enetians. Now though human Wis-
ddm may go a good Way towards this; yet, if it be
duly considered what a Multitude of wicked Men
there are, how many external Evils, how liable
Things are in their own Nature to change ; we can
hardly imagine any Government should subsist so
long without the peculiar care of the Deity. And
this is more visible where it has pleased God (b) to
change a Government : For all Things (even those
which do not depend upon human Prudence)
succeed beyond their Wish (which they do not or-
dinarily in the Variety of human Events) to those
whom God has appointed Instruments for this
Purpose, as it were, destined by him ; (suppose
Cyrus, Alexander^ Ccesar the Dictator,(c) the Cingi
amongst
Ca) Because viherever good Order, &c,] 'Because \yithout it
tTiere is no such Thing as human Society, and without Society
Mankind cannot be preserved : Whence we may collect, that
Men were crearted by Divine Providence, that they might live
in Society, and make Use of Laws, without which there neither
is nor can be any Society. Le Clerc,
{h) To change a Government, &c.] Thus Lucretius :
Some secret Cause confounds the Exploits of Men.
(c) The Cingi aniongst the Tai"tars, &c.] He seems to mean
Gsnhiz Can, who came out of Eastern Tartari/, und out of the
I City
Sect. 12, 13.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 4 1
amongst the Tartars,{a) Namcaa amongst the Chi-
nese :) Which wonderful Agreeableness of Events,
and. all conspiring to a certain End, is a manifest
Indication of a Provident Direction. For though
a Man may now and then throw a particular Cast
on a Die by Chance; yet, if he should do it a
hundred Times together, every Body would con-
clude there was some Art in it.
SECT. XIII.
^nd by Miracles.
BUT the most certain Proof of Divine Provi-.
denee is from Miracles, and the Predictions we 6nd
in Histories : It is true, indeed, that a great many
of those Relations are fabulous ; but there i« no
Reason to xlisbelieve those which are attested by
credible Witnesses to have been in their Time,
Men whose Judgment and Integrity have never
been called in Question. . Fbr since God is All-
knowing and All-poft-erful, why should we think
him not able to signify his Knowledge or his Re-
solution to act, out of |he ordinary Course of Na-
ture, which is his Appointment, and subject to hjs
Direction and Government? If any one should
object against this, that inferior intelligent Agents
may be the cause of them, it is readily granted ;
and this tends to make us believe it the more
easily of God : Beside, whatever of this Nature is
City Caracorom, and subdued not . only Tartary, hut also the
Northern Sina and India. From him sprung <tli« Jllo^!// Kings,
and the Princes of the Lesser Tartary, His Life was written
in French, and published at Paris, in 1710. Le C/erc.
(a) Namcaa amongst the Chinese, &c.] Here in justice Matica
Capacus ought to be named, who was the Founder of the Em-
pire of Peru, (See Gardlazzi di la Vega, in Incarum Historia.y
done
£2 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I»
done by such Beings, we conceive Grod does hy
thenij or wisely permits them to do them ; in the
same Manner as in well-regulated Kingdoms,
nothing is done otherwise than the Law directs,
but by the will of the supreme Governovir,
SECT. XlV.
^t more especially amongst the Jeivs, who ought
tQ be credited upon the Account of the long Contim
nuance of their Religion,
NOW that some Miracles have really been seen .
(though it should seem doubtful from the Credit
of all other Histories) the /ewwA Religion alone
may easily convince us : Which, though it has
been a long Time destitute of human Assistance,
nay exposed to Contempt and Mockery, yet it
remains (&) to this very Day, in almost all Parts
of
(a) To this very t>ay, &c.i Hecatmm concerniiig the Joss
which lived before the time oi Alexander, has these Words :
" Though they be severely reproached by their Neighbours
" and by Stl'^ngers, and many Timts harslily treated by the
" Persian Kings and Nobility ; yet they cannot be brought off
" from their Opinion, biit will undergo the '.^ost cruel Tpr-
" ments and sharpest Peaths, rather than fors-.ke the Religion
" of t\eir Country." Josephus preserved this Place, in his first
Book against Appion : and he adds another example out of the
s.aid Ifecalceus, relating to Alexander's Time, Whej.-ein the
Jewish Soldiers peremptorily refused to assist at the repairing
the Temple of the God Belus, And the same Josephus has very
-well shewn, in his other Book against Appion, that the firm
Persuasion of the Jews of old, concerning God's being the
Author of their Law, is from hence evident, because they have
not dared, like other people, to alter any Thing in their Laws ;
not even then, when in long, Banishments, under foreign
Princes, they have been tried by all Sorts of Threatnings and
Flatteries. To this we mayadd something of Tacitus about,
the Proselytes : "All that are converted to them, do tl?e like;
"for the first Principle they are instructed in, is to have a
" Contempt of the Gods ; to lay aside their Love to their
♦.' Country^ij.
Sect U.]. CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 23
of the World ; when (a) all other Religions (ex-
cept the Christian, which is as it were the Perfec-
tion of the Jetvish) have either disappeared as soon
as they are forsaken by the Civil Power and Au-
thority (as all the Pagan Religions did) ; or else
they are yet maintained by the same Power as Ma-
hometanism is : For, if any one should ask, whence it
is that the Jewish Religion hath taken so deep Root
in the Minds of ail the Hebrews, as never to be
faced out ; there can be no other possible Cause
assig^ied or imagined than this, that the present
Jews recdved it from their Parents, and they from
theirs, and so on,. till you come to the Age.in which
Moses and Joshua lived : They received, I say, (i)
by a certain and uninterrupted Tradition, the
Miracles which were worked, as in other Places,
so more especially at their coming out oi jEgypt,
ixi their Journey, -and at their Entrance into Ca-
naan% of all which, their Ancestors themselves
were -Witnesses. Nor is it in the least credible, that
a People of so obstinate a Disposition could ever
be persuaded any otherwise, to submit to a Law
loaded with so many Rites and Ceremonies ; or that
wise men, amongst the many Distinctions of Re-
"CouHtry, and to have no Regard for their Parents or Bi:e-
" thren." That is, when the law of God comes in competi-
tion with them; which this profane Aulhor unjustly blames.
See further what Porphyry has delivered about, the Constancy
of the Jews, in his Second and Fouitli Books, against eating of
Jiving Creatures j where he mentions Antiochus, and particu-
larly the Constancy of the Essenes amongst the Jaos.
(a) All other Religions, &c/\ Even those so highly com-
mended Laws of Lycurgiis, as is observed by Josephus and
Theodoret.
-(&) By a certdia and uninterrupted Tradition, &c,] To ^(hjch
we give Credit, because it was worthy of God to institute a
Religion in which it was taught that there was one God the
Creator of all Things, who is a Spiritual Being, and is ^lone t.o
\ije worshipped. Le Clerc.
ligion
24 OP THE TRUTH OP THE -[fiook I,
ligion which Human Reason tnight invent, should
choose Circumcision : which could not be per-
formed (a) without great Pain, and (b) was laughed
at by all Strangers and had nothing, to recommend
it t>ut the Authority of God.
SECT. XY.
From the Truth and An^iijuily q/" Moses.
THIS also gives the greatest Credit imaginable
to the Writings of Moses, in which these Miracles
are recorded to Posterity ; that there was not only
a settled Opinion and constant Tradition amongst
the Jews that this Moses ^s appointed by the
express Command of God himself to be the Lead-
er and Captain of this People : but also becaus6
(as is very evident) he did not make his own
Glory and Advantage his principal Aim, but He
himself relates those Errors of his own,, which He
could have concealed ; and delivered the Regal
and Sacerdotal Dignity to others (permitting his,
own Posterity to be reduced only to common Le-
viles.) All which plainly shew, that he had no.
Occasion to falsify in his History ; as the Style of
It further evinces, it being free from that Varnish
and Colour^ which uses to give Credit to Roman-,
ces ; and is very natural and easy, and agreeable to
the Matter of which it treats. Moreover, another
Argument for the undoubted Antiquity of Afo-je*'*
Writings, which no other Writings can pretend
to, is thisi that the Greeks (from vvhom all other
(a) Without greitt Pain, &c.] Philo says, It was done with
Vejy greaf Pain,
(b) Was laughed at, &C.3 The same Phih says, Tt was a
^iing laughed at by every body : Whence the Jews by the Poets
«re called Ciopt, Circumcised, Fore-^skinned.
Nation*
$ect. 15.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 33
Nations derived their Learning) own, that they
(a) had their Letters from Foreigners; which
Letters of theirs have the same Order, Name, (b)
and Shape, as the Si/riac ov Hebrew : And further
(a) Had their Letters, &c.] H€redatvs in his Terpsichore
says, " That the lonians had their Letters from the Phamicians,
" and used them, with very little Variation ; which afterwards
" appearing, those Letters were called Phoenician (as they ought
" to be) from the Phceniciaiis bringing them into Greece" Hu
palls them,
The Phoenician Characters QfCadmus,
^nd CalUmachtts ;
• ^-: — r- Cadmus,/ra»» whom the Greeks
Their written Books derive.
And Plutarch calls them Phoenician or Punic Ijettprs, in hit
Ninth Book, and Third Prob. of his Symposiachs, where he
says, that Alpha^ in the Phcenidan Language, signifies an Oi,
which is very true. Eupolemus, in his Books of the Kings of
Judaa, says, " That Moses was the first wise Man, and that
" Letters were first given by him to the Jfius, and from them
"the Phxuicians received them ;" that is, the anciejit Lan*
guage of the Jeivs and Phanicians was the same, or very little
different. Thus Lucian : He spake some indistitKt Wm'ds, like
the Hebrew or Phcenician. And Clwerilus in'Ws Verses con-
cerning the SoUni, who, he says, dwelt near the Lake, I sup«
pose he means Asphaltites.
These with their Tongues pronounced Pboeniciitn Words,
See also the Pun/c Scene of Plautus, where you have the Words
that are put in the Punic. Language tvyice, by reason of tht!
double Writing ; and also the iiz^zn Translation ; whence ypu
may easily correct what is corrupted. And as the Phoenician
and Hebrew Language were the same, so are the ancient Hebrew
Letters the same with those of the Phanicians. See the great
Men about this Matter. Joseph Scaliger's Diatriba of the
Eusebiun Year cb bcxvii. and the First Book, Oh. X. of
Gerard Vossius's Grammar (and particularly Sam. Bochart, in
his Chanaan. You may add also, if you please, Clement of
Alexandria, Strom. Book I. and Eusebius's Gospel Preparation,
BookX. Ch, 5.
(6) And Shape, fij.c.'] He means the Samaritan Letters,
which ape the same as the Phxnician, as Lud, Capel^ Sam. Bo'
■fhart, and others have shewn. I also have treated nf the same
in French, in the Biblioth. Select, Vol, XI. Le Clerc.
, Still,
^ OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book L
Still, the most ancient (a) Atlick Laws, from
whence the Roman were afterwards taken, owe
their Original to the Law of Moses.
SECT. XVL
'from Foreign Testimonies,
To these we may add the Testimony of a great
Number, who were Strangers to the Jewish Reli-
gion, which shews that the most ancient Tradition
among all Nations, is exactly agreeable to the Re-
lation of Moses. For his description of the Ori-
ginal q^^e World is almost the very same as in
(a) 4Uk^ Laws, &c.] You have a faraous instance of this,
in Thieves that rob by Night, which we have treated of in the
Secoad Book of War and Peace, Ch. I. Sect. 12. and another .
Jn, film Law which Sopater recites, Let him ihaC is. next a-lcin
possess the Heiress; which is thus explained by Terence:
- There is a '".'.w» ^ tohich TVido'ws ought to be married to the
i* next Kinsmen J and the sttmv Law obliges these Kinsmen tn
inarr^ them.
Donatus remarks upon this Place thus : That iheWidoxc should
he married to the next Kinsman, and he marry her, is the Attick
Law, viz. taken from the Law of Moses, in the last Chap, of
Numbers, which we shall have opportunity of speaking more of
afterwards, A great many other Things may be found to this
Purpose, if any one search diligently for them: As the Feast.in
which they carried Clusters of Grapes, taken from the Feast of
Tabernacles ; the Law that the High Priest should marry none
but a Virgin, and his Countrywoman 5 that next after Sisters,
Kinsmen by the Father's side should inherit: Wherefore the
Attick Laws agree with many of thp Hebrew, because the Atticks
owe many of their Customs to Cecrops', King oi Egypt; and
because God established many Laws amongst the Hebrews-, very,
much like those of the Egyptians, to whigh thfey had been ac-
customed, only reforming such Things as were bad in them ;
as we have often'-observed in our Notes upon the Pentateuch,
and before, as Jolm Spencer in his Book about the Kitual L4vy&
of the Jews, Le Clerc.
the
■Sect. 16.] CHRISTIAN RELtGION. «
the (a) ancient Phoenician Histories, which are
translated by Philo Biblius from SanchuniatkorCs
Collection ;
(a) Ancient Phoenician Histories, Sic."] Euscbius has preserved
them for us in his First Book, Chap. 10. of his Preparation.
" The Theology of the Phoenicians supposes tlic Foundation
" of the Universe to have been a dark and windy Air, or the
" Breath of a dark Air, and a dismal Chaos, covered with
" thick Darkness ; that these were infinite, and had no Bounds
" for many Ages. But when this Spirit or Breath placed its
" Desire or Love on these first Principles, and a Mixture was
" produced thereby, this Conjunction was called Love: This
•' was the Beginnisg of lh& Creation of all Things ; but the
•' Breath, or Spirit, was not created ; and from its Embraces
"proceeded Mar, Mot, which some caH Mud, others the Cor-
" ruption of a watery Mixture. This was the Seminary, and
" from hence were all Things produced." In M3^sa£s iji^tory
we find the Spirit or Breath', and the Darkness ; SLM^iaJ^ebrev
Word riBnlK) Merachepheth, signifies heme, Plutarch, Symposiack
VIII. Prob. I. explaining of Plato, says, that God is the Father,
of the World, not by the Emission of Seed, but by a certain
generative Power infused into Matter ; which he illuslf^s by
this Similitude; s^
Thefemah Bird is oft impregnated
By the quic^ Motioti of the Wind,
And MuT, Mot, Dtai whence the Greeks derive their M«()S>»,
Mutho^i signifies in Hebrew t=)inn dehorn, in Greek "Aft/rcr®-
an Abyss already in Motion. For "aSmto-®-, Abyssos, is in JSn.
nius nothirig else but Mud, if I understand him right.
From. Muddy Tartarus a Birth Gigantick sprung.
Tiiis mud separated into Earth and Sea. Apolonius in the lYth
of his Argonauticks,
The Earth's produced from Mud.
Upon which Place the Scholiast says ; " Zeno affirms. That the
" Chaos in Hesiod is Water, of which all Things were made ;
" the Water subsiding made Mud, and the Mud congealing
'* made solid Earth." Now this Zeno was a P/uxnician, a Colony
of wliom were planted in Cittium, whence the Hebrews call all
beyond the Seas C3»nD Chittim. Not-much different from which
is that of Virgil, Eclogue VL
Then Earth began to harden, and include
The Seas within its Bounds,^ and Things to lake
Their proper Forms.
Nwneniitg^
23 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I.
Kumenius, cited by Porphyry, about the Njinph's Den, af-
firms, That it was said by the Prophet (meaning Mpses) that the
Spirit of God was moved upon the Waters ; the same Expression '
which Tertullian uses concerning Baptism. Now because the
Hebrew Word , numo Merachepheth, signifies properly the
Brooding of a Dove upon her Eggs, therefore it follows in
Sanehuniathon, that the living Creatures, that is, the Constel-
lations were in that Mutl, as in an Egg; and hence that Spirit
is called by the Namepf the Dove: Under the Similitude of
which Dove, Rabbi Solomon e.r.'^Xaaas the Word fiDmn Mera-
chepheth, Nigidus, in the Scholiast oiGermanicus, says, " That
*' there was found an Egg of a huge Bigness, which being rol-
" led about w^s cast upon the Earth, and after a few Days Ve-
" nus, the Goddess of Syria, was liatched thereby." Lucivs
Ampelius, in his Book to Matrinus, says, " It is reported that
" in the River Euphrates, a Dove sat many Days upon a Fish's
"Egg, and hatched, a Goddess, very kind and merciful to the
" Life of Man." Macrobius resembles the World to an Egg, in
the VHth Book and l6th Chap, of his SaturnaUa. It is said to
be the Beginning of Generation in the Orphick Verses mentioned
by Plutarch, Symposiadc XI. Chap. 3. and Athenagoras. And
hence the Syrian Gads are called by Anobius, the Offspring of
"lEggs; by which Gods he means the Stars. For it follows in
the Phtenidan Theology, that The Mud was illuminated with
Eight, whefXeCame the Sun and Moon^ and great andlittle Stars.
/You see here as in Moses, that Light was before the SiiH. The
W-ftrd that Moses uses imraediately^fter, I mean I'lM Eretes ;
where evidently that which|fflg^ fc *d from the Water is called
T)my> ff-^ashah ; the same pTter^^kes, from the Authority of the
Sytians, expresses himself thus, (ap we are informed by others,
.but particularly by Josephus in his first book against Appion ; )
Chthonia, was the name given ts the Earth after that Jupiter had
honourcdit. ThisPlace we find in Diogenes Laerlius, and others;
atid Anaximander calls the Sea, that which remnimtd of the frst
Moisture of Things^ That Things were confused before the Se-
paration (concerning which you have the very Words oi Moses
m Chalcidius's Explication of Timxus) Linus informs us, as he
was himself taught. That
In the Beginning nil Things were confused.
So Anaxagoras, All Things were blended together, till the Divine
Mind separated them, .and adorned and regidatcd that which was
i:onfused. And for this Reason w^s the Name Mind given bj
Anaxagoras, as Philiasius ass\ires ns in his Timon ;
For Anaxagoras that Herofam'd
Was term'd a Mind, 'cause that was thought by him
4 JVJind whiKhfrom Confusion Order brought.
All
Sect. 16;] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 29
Collection; and a good Part of it is to be found
(a) among thelndians (/») and Egyptians; whence it
is
All this came from the Phctnkians, who held a very aticient
Correspondence with the Greeks. The Ancients say that lAnus
was descended from Phtsnix : So Orpheus had his opinions from
the Phoenicians, one of which was this in Athenagoras, That
Mud frocee fed from Water. After which he mentions a 'great
Egg split in- two Parts, Heaven and Earth. From the same
Orpheus, Timotheiu, the Chronographer, cites this Passage ;
"The Chaos was dark as night, in which Darkness all Things
" under the Sky were involved : The Earth could not be seen
" by reason of the Darkness, till Light breaking from the
" Sky, illuminated every Creature." See the Place in Scallger,
in the Beginning of the first Book of the Greek Chroniclie of
Eusebius. In that which follows of Sanchuniathon, it is called
liuavi, which is certainly the ^^^ bohu of Moses: And the Winds,
which, are there called wAsrite, Kolpia, are the same with
n>-B-Vp Kalfhijah, the Voice of the Mouth^of God.
(a) Among the Indians, &c.] -Megaathenes, in the Fifteenth
Book of Strabo, expresses their opinion thus : " That in many
" Things they agree with the Greeks ; as that the jyorld had a
" Beginning, and will have an End ; that it is of a spherica,lL
" Figure ; that God, the Creator and Governour of it, pent'^
" trates all Things : that 'BiiOj^ had different Beginnings ;"€^
" that the World was ma(re5|^¥^5er." Clement has preserved
the Words of Megasthenes himself out of his Third Book of tGo
Indian History, Strom. I. " All that was of old said concerning
" the Nature of Things, we find also said by the Philosophers
" who lived out of Greece, the Brackmans among the Indians^
" and they that are called Jews in Syria"
(6) And Egyptians, &c.] Concerning whom, see Laertius
in his Proeemivm, " The Foundation was a confused Chaos
"from whence the Four Elements were separated, and Living
•" Creatures made." And a little after, " That as' the World.
" had a Beginning, so it will have an End." Diodorus Siculus
explains their Opinion thus : " In the Beginning of the Creation
'• of all Things, the Heavens and the Earth had the same Form
" and Appearance, their natures being mixed together ; but
" afterwards the Parts separating from one another, the World
" received that Form in which we now behold it, and the
" Air a continual motion. The fiery P^rt ascended highest,
" because the Lightness of its Nature caused it to tend up-
" wards ; for which Reason the Sun and Multitude of Stars go
*' in i. continual Round ; the muddy and grosser Part, together'
" with
so OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Bdok I.
"with the Fluid, sunk down, by reason of its Heaviness;
"And this rolling and turning itself continually round, from
" its Moisture produced the Sea, and from the more solid Parts
" proceeded the Earth, as yet very soft and miry ; but when
" the Sun began to shine upon it, it grew firm and hard ; and
" the Warmth causing the Superficies of it to ferment, the
" Moisture in many Places swelling, put forth certain putrid
" Substances, covered with Skins, such as we now see in fenny
" moorish Grounds, when the Earth being cool, the Air hap-
" pens to grow warm, not by a gradual Change, but on a sud-
" den. Afterwards the fore raenlioned Substances, in the moist
"Places, having received Life, from the Heat in that Manner,
" were neurished in the Night, by what fell from the Cloud
"surrounding them, and in the Day they were strengthened by
" the Heat. Laltly, when these Tatvs's were come to th^ir
" full Growth, and the Membranes by which they were in-
" closed broke by the Heat, all Sorts of Creatures immedi-
"ately appeared ; those that were of a hotter nature, became
" Birds and mounted up high ; those that were of a grosser and
" earthly Nature, became Creeping Things, and such like
"Creatures which are confined to the Earth ; and those which
" were of a watry Nature, immediately betook themselves to
*' a Place of the like Quality, and were -called Fish. Now
*' the Earth being very much dried and hardened, by the Heat
"of the Sun, and by the Wind, was no longer able to bring
" forth Living CreiUures, biit they were afterwards begotten
" by mixing wit^i each other. Euripides seems not to contradict
" this Account, who was the Scholar of Anaxaguras the Philo"
-" sophcr : For he says thus in his MemUppe,
Heaven and Earth at first were of one Form,
But when their different Parts were separate.
Thence sprung Beasts, Foiols, and all the Shoals of Fish,
Nay, even Men themselves,
" This therefore is the Account we have received of the Ori-
,"■ ginal of Things, And if it should seem strange to any
" one, that the Earth should in the Beginning have a Pov.er
'Mo bring forth Living Creatures, it maybe further con-
" firmed by what we see come to pass even now. For at
" Thcbais in Egypt, upon the River Nile's very much over-
" flowing its Banks, and thereby moistening the Ground,
" immediately by the Heat of the Sun is caused a Putrefac-
" tion, out of which arises an incredible Number of Mice.
" Now, if after the Earth has been thus hardened, and the Air
'' does not preserve its original Temperature, yet some Ani-
" mals are notwithstanding produced ; from hence, they say,
"it is manifest, that in the Beginning all Sorts of Living
" Creatures
Sect. 16.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 3^
is that (a) in Linus (b) Hesiod, and many other
Greek Writers, Mention is made of a Chaos (sig-
nified
*' Creatures were produced out of the Earth in this Manner."
If we add to this, that God is the Creator, who is called by
Anaxttgoras a Mind, you will find many Things agreeing witli
Moses, and the Tradition of the PUcenicians : ' As the Heavens
and Earth mixed together, the Motion of the Air, the Mud or
Abyss, the Light, the Stars, the Separation of Heaven and
Earth, and Sea, the Birds, the Creeping Things, Fishes, and
other Animals ; and last of all. Mankind. Macrobius in his
Seventh ot his iSafMTiaHff, Chap. 1 6, transcribed the following
Words from the Egyftians : " If we allow, what our Adver-
" saries- affirm, that the Things^ which now are, had a Be-
" ginning ; Nature first formed all sorts of Animals perfect ;
" and then ordained, by a perpetual Law, that their Succes- •
" sion should be continued by Procreation. Now that .they
" might be made perfect in the Beginning, we have the Evi-
" dence of very many Creatures produced perfect, fr^ the
" Earth and the Water, as in Egypt Mice, and in other
"Places, Frogs, Serpents, and the like." And it is with just
Reason that Aristotle prefers Anaxagoras before any of the
ancient Greek Philosophers, Metaphys. Book I. Chap. 3, as a
sober Man, when the rest were drunken ; because they refer-
red every Thing to Matter, whereas this Man added also a
Cause which acts with design; which Cause Aristotle calls
Nature, and Anaxagoras Mind, which is better; sjaA Moses
God ; and so does PlatO'. See Laertius, where he treats con-
cerning the first Principles of Thir^gs, according to the Opi-
nion fA Plato ; and Appuleius concerning the Opinions of Plato.
Thalis, who was before Anaxagoras, taught the same ; as Velleius
in Cicero tells us in his First Book of the Nature of the Gods :
" For Thalis Milesius, who was the fii^st that enquired into such
" Things as these, says, that Water was the Beginning of all
" Things ; and that God was that Mind which formed all
"Things out of Water," Where hy .Water, he means the
Chaos, which Xenophon and others-call Eirth ; and all of them
well enough, if we rightly apprehend them.
(a) In Linus, &c.] In the Verse quoted above.
(b) Hesiod, &c,] In his Theogonia :
The Rise of all Things teas a Chaos rude.
Whence sprang the spaciovs Earth, a Seat/or Gods,
Who dwell en lAgh Olympus' snowy Top,
Nor are excluded from the dark Abyss
Seneath the Earth ; from whence the GodofLove^,
Matt
32 OF tHE TRUTH OF THE fBook f,
nified by some imder the Name of an Egg) and
of the framing of Animals, and also of Man's
Formation
Most amiable of all •who frees the Breasts
Of Men and Gods from anxious Cares and Tfiovgkts,
And comforts each of tAevf with soft Deligjit ;
From hence rose Erebus, 'and gloomy Night.
These produced jEther, and the gladsome Day,
As pledges of their Love.
If we compare this with those of the Phanicians now quoted;
it will seem to be taken from them. For Hesiod lived hard by
the Theban Baotia, which was built by Cadmus- the Phasnician,
''Efsfjj, Erebus, is the same as Moses's nj? Ereb, which Night
and Day follow, in the Hymns that are ascribed to Orpheui.
All Things that are, sprung from a Chaos vast.
In the Argotiauticks, which go under the same name ;
In Verse he sung the Origin of Things,
Nature's great Change ; hew Heaven on high toasfram'd,
The Eat;th establish'd, and begirt with Sea.
How Love created all Things by his Power,
And ga'ce to each of them his proper Place.
So also Epicharmus the most ancient: Comic Poet, relating an
old Tradition.
'Tis said that Chaos was before t he-Gods.
And Aristophanes, in his Play called the Birds, in a Passage
preserved by Lucian, in his Philopatris ; and by Suidas.
First of all was Chaos and Niglif J dark Erebus and gloorny
Tartarus j
There was no Earth, nor Air, nor Heaven till dusky Night,
By the Wind's Power en the wide Bosom of Erebus, br-ought
forth an Egg,
• Of ti/hich tiias hatch'd the God of Love ('when Time began ;J
who, with his golden Wings
Fixed to his Shoulders, flew like a mighty Whirlwind ; and
mixing with black Chaos,
In Tartarus' dark Shades produced Mankind, and brought
them into Light,
For, before Ltrce joined alt Things, the Gods themsekei had nd
Existence ;
But upon this Conjunction, all Things being mixed and blended,
j^Ether arose ;
AndSea andEarth, and theblessedAbodes of the immortal Gods.
These
Sect. 16.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 33
Formation after the Divine Image, and the Domi-
nion given him over all living Creatures ; which
are to be seen in many Writers, particularly (a) in
Ovid,
These appear, upon a very slight View, to be taken from the
Tradition of the Phxnicians, who held an ancient Corres-
pondence with the Inhabitants' of Jttica, the most ancient
of the lonians. We have already spoke of Erebus, Tartarus
is CDinn Tehom- "A&o-o-®- Abyssos, and nSma Merachepheth,
signifies Love, as was shewn before : To which agrees that of
Parmenides :
Love was thejirst of all the Gods,
(a) In Ovid, '&c.] The place is no further than the First
Book of his Metamorphoses, and is very well worth reading;
the principal Things in it being so very like those of Closes,
and almost the same Words, so that they afford much light to
what has been already said, and are likewise much illustrated
by it : t^ .
Before the Sea, and Earth, andUIeaven's high Roof
Were framed. Nature had but one'rorm, one Face ;
The World was then a Chaos, 09ie huge Mass,
Gross, undigested ; iiiherg the Seeds of Things
Lay in Confusion, and Disorder hurl'd,
Without a Sun to cherish with his Warmth
The rising World ; or paler horned Moon,
No Earth, suspended in the liquid Air,
Borne up by his own Weight ; no Ocean vast
Through unknown Tracts of Land to cut his Way ;
But Sea, and Earth, and Air are mix'd in One ;
The Earth unsettled. Sea innavigable.
The Air devoid of light ; no Form remain' d:
For each resisted each, being all confin'd ; •
Hotjarr'd witLCold, and Moist resisted Dry ;
Hard, soft, light, heavy, strove with mighty Force ;
Till God and Nature did the Strife compose.
By parting Heax'nfrom Earth, and Sea from Landf
And from gross Air the liquid Sky dividing ;
All which from lumpish Matter once discharg'd.
Had each his proper Place, by Law decreed :
The Light and fiery Parts upwards ascend.
And fill the Region of the arched Sky ;
The Air succeeds, as next in Weight, and Place ;
The Earth composed of grosser Elements,
Was like a solid Orb begirt with Sea,
Thus the well-ordet'd Mass into due Paris
D WU3
34. OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I.
Ovid, who transcribed them from the Greek. That
all
JVas separated by Divine Command,
And first t the Earth not stretch'd into a Plain, ^
But like an artificial Globe condens'd;
Upon whose surface winding Rivers glide.
And stormy Seas, whose Waves each Shore rebound.
^Here Fountains send forth Streams, there one broad Lak*
Mils a large Plain: Thus mix'd with Pools and Springs,
The gentle Streams which roll along the Ground,
Are some by thirsty hollow Earth absorb'd.
Some in hvge Channels to the Ocean bend,
ind leave their Banks to beat the sandy Shore,
3y the same Power were Plains and Valesvroduc'd,
ind shady Woods and rocky Mountains rms'd.
Vhe Heaven begirt with Zones; two on the Eight,
Vwo on^ the Left, the torrid One between.
Vhe same Distinction does the Earth maintain.
By C(fre Divine, intojive Climates mark'd;
Of which the MiMMuosf, throiigh Heat immense.
Has no Inhabiii^^ixuo with deep Snow
Are cover' d; wno^emffin are temperate.
Next, between Hea&h And Earth the Air wasfix'dtf .
Lighter than Earth, but heavier than Eire,
In this low Region Storms and Clouds were hung.
And hence loud Thunder timorous Mortals frights ;
And forked lAghtning, mix'd with Blasts of Wind.
But the wise Framer of the World did not
Permit them every where; because their Force
Is scarce to be resisted (when each Wind
Prevaileth in its Turn;) but Nature shakes, .
Their discord is so great. And first the East
Obtains the Morn. Arabia's desert Land;
And Persia's bounded by the Rising Sun.
Next Zephyr's gentle Breeze, where Phoebus dipt
Himself into the Sda ; then the cold North,
At whose sharp Blasts the hardy Scythians shake ;
And last the South, big with much Rain and Clouds,
Above this stormy Region of the Air
Was the pure jEther plac'd, refin'd and clear.
When each had thus his propex Boundt decreed.
The Stars, which in their grosser Mass lay hid,
Appear'd and shone throughout the Heaven's Orb,
Then, lest a barren Desert should succeed,
Creatures of various Kinds each Place poisess'd.
The Gads and Stars celestial Regicmsfill,
The Waters with large Shoals of Fishes throng'd.
The Earth with Beasts, the Air with Birds wai stock'd.
Nothing
Sect. 16.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 35
all Things were made by the Word of God, is
asserted
Nothing seem'd wanting, but a Mii^endu'd
With Sense and Reason to ride o'er' the rest ;
Which was supply' dhy Man, fi^Seed Divine
Of him who did the Frame of all Things make ;
Or else when Earth and Sky-^ ——^'
Some of the Heavenly Seed remained, which sown
By Japhet, andwith wat'ry Substance mix'd,
Wasform'd into the Image of the Gods,
And when all Creatures to the Earth were prone,
Man had an upright Farm to view the Heavens,
And was commanded to behold the Starf.
Here you see Man has the Dominion over all infisrior Crea-
tures given him : and also that he was made after the Image
of God, or of Divine Beings. To the same Purpose are the
Words of Emrysus the Pythagorean, in his Book of Fortune :
" His {ihat is, Man's,) Tabernacle, or Body, is like that of
" other Creatures, because it is composed of the same Mate-
" rials ; but worked by the best Workman, who 'formed it
" according to the Pattern of himself." Where the Word
rm®' is put for Body, «s in Wisdom, Chap. ix. Ver* 15. and
in 2 Cor. v. 1 and 4. To- which may be added, that of
Horace, who calls the SoUl.
A Particle of Breath Divine.
And Virgil,
An Mthereal Sense.
And that oi Juvenal, Sat. XV,
— Who alone ^
Have ingenuity to be esteem'd, \
As capable of Things divine andfit > \ ,
Tor Arts ; which Sense we Men from Heanfn derive,
And which no other Creature is allow' d;
For he that from' d us both, did only give
To them the Breath oflAfe, but us a Soid.
And those remarkable Things relating hereto, in Plato's Phccv
don and Alcibiades. Cicero, in the Second Book of the Natur*
of the Gods, says thus : " For when He, {that is, God,) left
" all ether Creatures to feed on the Ground, he made Man
" upright, to exdite him to view the Heavens, to which he is
" related, as being his former Habitation." And SaUust, in
the Beginning of the Catiline War : " All Men that desire
j» to exceed other Animals, ought earnestly to endeavour not
" to pass away their Days, in Silence, like the Beasts which
" Nature has made prone, and Slaves to their Bellies." And
O 2 Plin]/,
36 OF THE TRUTH OP THE [Book I.
asserted by (a) Epicharmus, and(i) the Platonists;
and before them, by the most ancient Writer (I do
not mean of those Hymns which go under his Name,
Fliny, Book II. (J!iap.*i26, " The never-enough te be ad-
" mired Hipparchiis ; than -whom none more acknowledged
" the Relation betwixt Man and the Stars, and who considered
" our Souls as a Parbof the Heavens."
(a) Epicharmus, &c.] " Man's Reason is derived from
"that of God."
(b) The Platonists, &c.] Amelius the Platonic : ".And
*' tliis is that Reason, or Word, by wTiich all Things that
" ever were, were made ; according to the Opinion of Hera-
" clittis. That very Word, or Reason, the Barbarian tneans,
" which set all Things in Order in the Beginning, and which
" was with God -before that Order, ■ and by which every
" Thing was madq, and in which, was every Creature ; the
" Fountain of Life and Being," The Barbarian he here
speaks of is St. JoA« the Evangelist, a little later than whose
Time Amelius lived. Eusebius has preserved his Words in the
Eleventh Book and 19th Chapter of his Preparation; and.
Cyrilin his Eighth Book against JaSan. St. Austin mentions
the same Place oi Amelius, in his Tenth Book, and 29th Chap-
ter of the City of God, and in the Eighth Book of his Confess
sions. And Tertullian against the Gentiles : " It is evident
•' (says he) that with your Wise Men, the Aiy®', togas, Word
" or Reason, was the Maker of the Universe ', for Zeno
"would have this JVord to , be the Creator, by whom all
" Things were disposed in their formation." This Place of
Zeno was in his Book Trifl hfuh, concerning Being, vjhere he
calls the T« TTciSv, the efficient Cause, Acy&', the Word or Reason;
and in this he was followed by Cleanthes, Chrysippus, Arche-
demvs, and Passidonius, as we are told by Laertius in his Life
of Zeno. Seneca, in his LXVth Epistle, calls it the Reason
wMchformeth every Thing. And Chalcidius to Timeeus says,
" That the Reason of God, is God himself, who has a Re-
" gard to Human AfiFairs, and who is the Cause of Men's
*' living well and happily, if they do not neglect the Gift
" bestowed on them by the- Most High God." And in an-
other Place, speaking of Moses, he has these words : Who is
clearly of opinion, " That the Heaven and Earth were
" made by the Divine Wisdom preceding : And that then
" the Divine Wisdom was the Foundation of the Uni-
" verse,"
(but
Sect. 16.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. s7
but) of those Verses which were (a) of old called
Orpheus s ; not because Orpheus composed them,
but because they contained his Doctrines, {b) And
Empedodes acknowledged, that the Sun was not
the Original Light, but the Receptacle of Light
(the Storehouse and Vehicle of Fire, as the ancient
<«) 0/"oW aaHedOrpheus's, &c.] The Verses are these:
I sviear by that first Word the Father spake.
When the Foundation of the Earth was laid.
They are extant in the Admonition to the Greeks among the
Works of Julian : As also these ;
I speak to those I ought, begone, Prophane,
Away : But, Musaeus, harlcen thou.
Thou Offspring of the Moon ; I speak the Truth':
Let not vain Thoughts the Comfort of thy lAfe
Destroy ; the Divine Reason, strictly view,
And fix it in thy mind to imitate ;
Behold the great Creator of the World,
Who's only perfect, and did all Things m^ke.
And is in all ; though we with mortal Eyes
Cannot discern Mm; but he looks on us.
These we find in the Admonition to the Greeks: as alsoln a
Book concerning the Monarchy of the World, in the Works
oi Justin Martyr ; in Clement Alexandrinus, Strom. 5, and in
the Xlllth Book of Evsebius's Gospel Preparation, from Arista-
bulus.
(6) And Empedocles acknowledged, &c.] Of whom Latr-
iius says, " That he affirmed the Sun to be a great Heap of
" Fire." And he that wrote the Opinions of^ the Philosophers,
has these Words : "Empedocles said that the Mther was first
" separated, then the Fire, and after that the Earth ; the
"Superficies of which being compressed by its violent Mo-
"tion, the Water burst out; from which the Air was ex-
" haled; That the Heavens were composed oi ^ther, and
" the Sun of Fire." And Chap. 20. Empedocles affirms,
" There are two Suns, one the Original, and the othf r the
" Apparent." And Philolaus, as we there also read, says,
" That the Sun is of the same Nature as Glass, receiving its
" Splendour from the Fire that is in the World, and trans-
'« mitting its Light to us." An^agoras,Democritusg Metro-
(?oru«, affirmed the Sun to be a certain Mass of Fire ; as you
find itin the same Place, And Democritus shows, that these
were the moit ancient Opinions, as Laertes relates.
Christians
38 OP THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I.
Christians express it.) (a) Aratus, and {h) Catullus
thought the Divine Residence was above the starry
Orb ; in which Homer says, there is a continual
Light, (c) Thales taught from the ancient Schools,
That God was the oldest of Beings, because not
begotten ; that the World was most beautiful, be-
cause the Workmanship of God; that Darkness was
before Light, which latter we find {d) in Orpheus's
Verses, (e) and Besiod, whence it was, that (/) the
(o) Aratus, &c.] Aratus :
As far as the dire Gulph Eridanus,
Under the Footstool of the Gods extends.
(fi) Catullus, &o] Catullus the Interpreter of Callimachus,
introduces Berenice's Hair, speaking after this Manner.
Tho' in the Night the Gods upon me tread.
(c) Thales taught, &c.] As we see in Diogenes Laertius ;
and Herodotus and Leander assert hira to have been Briginally
a Phoenician.
(d) In Orpheus's Verses, &c.] In his Hymn to Night :
I sing the Night, Parent of Men and Gods,
(e) And Hesiod, &c.] Whose Verses upon this Subject are
cited above.
(J) The Nations who were most tenacious, &c.] The Nu-
midians in Lybia reckon their Time not hy Days, hut by Nights,
says Nicolaus Damascenus: And Tacitus aflSrms of the Germans,
that they do not, like us, compute the Number of the Days,, but of
the Nights; so they date their Decrees and Citations; Night seems
to begin the Day with them. See the Speculum Saxonicum, Book I.
Art. 3. 67 . and in other places. So likevfisethe LearnediJB-
debrogius, upon the Word Night, in his Vocabulary of the
German Laws. The neighbouring People of Bohemia and
Poland preserve this Custom to this very Day, and the Gauls
used it*of old. Ccesar, in his sixth Book of the Gallic War,
says, That all their Distances of Time were reckoned, not by the
Number of Days, but of Nights. And Pliny concerning the
Druids, in the sixteenth Book of his Natural History, says,
The Moon with them began their Months and Years. It is a
known Custom amongst the Hebrews, Gellius in his Third
Book, Chap. II. adds the Athenians, who in this Matter were
the Scholars of the Phanicians,
Nations,
Sect. 16,] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 39
Nations, who were most tenacious pf ancient Cus-
toms, reckoned the Time by Nights, {a) Anax-
agoras affirmed, that all Things were ' regulated
by the supreme Mind : (b) Aratus, that the
Stars were made by God; (c) Virgil, from
the
(a) Anaxagoras affirmed, &c.] His words are quoted above,
■which are to be found in La'ertiiis, the Writer of The Opinions
of the Philosophers, and others : As are also the Verses of Timon
concerning his Opitlion.
(5) Aratus, &c.] In the Beginning of his Phxiiomena :
Begin mth Jupiter, ■whose Essence is
Ineffable by mortal Man, whose Presence
Does all Thingsjill; Assemblies, Courts, and Marts^
The deep Abyss, and Ports areJiU'd with Him.
We dll enjoy him, all his Offspring are, '
Whose Nature is benign to Man, who stirs
Them up to Work, shewing the Good of Life.
'Tis He appoints the Time to plow and sow.
And reap the fruitful Harvest
'Twas He that in the Heavens fix' d the Stars,
Allotting each his Place, to teach the Year,
And to declare the Fate vs Men attends :
That all Things are by certain Laws decreed.
Him therefore let us first and last appease,
O Father, the great Help we Mortals have.
That by Jupiter we are here to understand God, the true
Maker of the World, and all Things in it, St. Pau/ shews us
in the Seventeenth Chapter of the Acts, Ver, 28. And we
learn from Lactantius, that Ovid ended his Phoenomena with
these Verses.
Such both in Number and in Form, did God
Upon the Heavens place and give in Charge
To enlighten the thick i)arkness^ofthe Night.
And Chalciditu to Timoeus : " To which Thing the Hebrews
" agree, who affirm that God was the Adorner of the World,
" and appointed the Sun to rule the Day, and the Moon to
"govern the Night; and so disposed the rest of the Stars, as
" to limit the Times and Seasons of the Year, and to b^ Signs
" of the Productions of Things."
(c) Virgil,/»'a»i.-<Ae Greeks, &c.] In the Sixth Book of
his jEneid, which Servius says, was composed from many of
the ancient Grteh Writings :
4t
40 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Bbokl
the Greeks, that Life was infused into Things
by the Spirit of God ; (o) Hesiod, {b) Homer,
At first iht Heav'n and Earth, and. leat'ry Seas,
The Moon's bright Orb, and all the glitt'ring Stars,
Were fed and nourish'd by a Power divine :
Tor the whole World is acted by a Sun,
Which throughly penetrates it ; whence Mankind,
And Beasts and Birds have their Original ;
And Monsters in the Deep produc'd : The Seed
Of each is a divine and heavenly Flame.
which may be explain'd by those in his Georgics IV.
By such Examples^tavght, and by such Marks,
Some have affirm' d that Bees themselves partake
Of the celestial Mind, and Breath Etherial,
For God pervades the Sea, end Earth, and Heavens:
Whence Cattle, Herds, Men, and all Kinds of Beasts,
Derive the slender Breath offieeting Life.
(a) Hesiod, &c.] In his Poem upon Labour and Days:
Then ordered Mulciber, without Delay,
To mix the Earth and Water, and infuse
A human Voice,
(b) Homer, &c,] ^ Iliad VIII.
You all to Earth and Water must return.
"For all Things return from whence they came. Euripides in
his Hipsipyle (as Stoboeus tells us in the Title) uses this Argu-
ment, for bearing patiently the Events of Things ; which is
transcribed by Tully in his Third Book of Tusculan Questions.
——All which in vain, us Mortals vex.
Earth must return to Earth, for Fate ordains
That Life, like Corn, must be cut off, in all.
To the same Purpose Euripides in his Supplicants :
Permit the Dead to be entomb' d in Earth,
From whence we all into this Body came ;
And when we die, the Spirit goes to Air,
To Earth the Body ; for we can possess
Life only for a Time ; the Earth demands
It, back again.
All which, you see, ejfactly agrees with Moses, GeOt iii. ip.
and Solomon, Eccl. xii. 7,
and
Sect. 16.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 41
and (a) Callimachus, that Man was formed < of
Clay; lastly, (b) Maximus Tyrius asserts, that it
was a constant Tradition received by all Nations,
that there was one Supreme God, the Cause of all
Things. And we leaml(c) from Josephus, (d) Philo,
(a) Callimachus, &c.] Who in his Seazqn calls Man PrO'
metheus's Clay. Of this Clay we find Mention made in Juve-
nal and Martial. To which we may add this Place of Censo-
rinus ; Democritus, the Abderite, was of Opinion, that Men
vierefirstformedof Clay and Waler; ajjrf Epicurus iva* macA qf
the same Mind.
(Jj) Maximus Tyrius, &c.] In his first Dissertation : " Not-
" withstanding the great Discord, Confusion, and Debates that
" are amongst Men; the whole World agree in this one con-
" stant Law and Opinion, that God is the sole King and Father-
" of all ; but that there are many other Gods, who are his
" Sons, and share in his Government. This is affirmed by the
" Greek and the Barbarian; by him who dwells in the Conti-
" neiit, and by him who lives on the Sea-shore; by the Wise
■" and by the Foolish." To which may be added those Places
cited in the Second Book oiWar and Peace, Chap. xx. 9» 45.
And that of Antisthenes, related by Tully in his First Book of
tha Nature of the Gods : That there are many Vulgar Gods,
" but there is but one Natural God." And Lactantius, Book I.
Chap. 5. adds, from the same Antisthenes, that He is
The Maker of the lehole World.
So likewise Sophocles :
There is really but one God,
The Maker (f Heawn and Earth,
And Sea, and Winds.
To which may be added that Place ofVarro, cited by St, Austin,
in the Fourth Book, and Chap. 31. of his City e/God.
(c) frojn Josephus, &c.] Against ^/T^ion, about the End
of the Second Book, where he says, " There i« no City, Greek
•' or Barbarian, in which the Custom of resting on the Seventh
" Day is not preserved, as it is amongst the Jews.
(d) Philo, &c.] Concerning the Seventh Day : " It is a
" Festival celebrated not only in one City or Country, but
" throughout the whole World."
Tibullus,
42 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I.
(a) Tihullus, (V) Clemens Alexandr^ntis, and (c) X«-
c/aw(for I need not mention the Heirews) that the
Memory of the seven Days' Work was preserved,
not onlyamong the Gree^i and /^aZ/anj, by honour-
ing the Seventh Day ; but also {d) amongst the
Celtce and Indians^ who all measured the Time by
Weeks; as we learn from (e) Philostratus, (J) Dion
CassiuS) and Justin Martyr ; and also {g) the most
(a) TibuUus, &c.] " The Seventh Day is sacred to the
"Jem."
(i) Clemens Alexandrinus, &g.] Who in his Strom. V.
quotes out of Hesiod, " that the Seventh Day w£^s sacred."
And the like out of Homer and Callimaohus, To which may
be subjoined what Eiisebius has taken out of Aristobuhis, Book
Xni. Chap. 12. Theophiltis Antiochenus, Book XI. to Antoli/'
chus, concerning the Seventh Day, whichis distinguishedby all Men,
And Suetonius, in his Tiberius XXXII ; " Diogenes the Gram-
" marian uses to dispute at Rhodes upon the Sabbath Day."
(The seventh Day of the Month ought not to be confounded
with the last Day of the Week. See what John Selden has re-
marked upon this Subject, in his Book of the Laws of Nature
and of Nations, Book III. Chap. 17. Le Clerc.)
(c) Lucian, &c.] Who tells us in his Paralogist, " That
" Boys were used to play on the seventh Day.
{d) Amongst the Celtje, &c.] As is evident by the Names
of the Days among the different Nations of the Celtce, viz.
Germans, Gauls, and Britons. Holmolius tells us the same of
the Sclavonians, Book I. Chap. 48.
(e) Philostratus, &c.] Book III. Chap, 13. speaking of the
Indians,
if) Dion Cassius, &c.] Book XXXIII. The Day called
Saturn's. Where he adds, that the Custom of comptiting the
Time by Weeks, was derived from the Egyptians, to all Man-
kind, and that this was not a new, but a very ancient Custom,
Herodotus tells us in his Second Book : To which may be added
Isidore concerning the Romans, Book V. Ch. 30 and 32.
(g) The most ancient Names, &c.] See the Oracle and Or-
•phem's Verses in Scaliger's Prolegomena to his Emendation of
Times. (I suspect that the Foundation of Weeks was r.ather
from the Seven Planets, tlian from the Creation of the World,
in Seven days. Le Clerc.)
ancient
Sect. 16.1 CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 43
ancient Names of the Day. The Egyptians tell
uSj that atiirst Men led s their Lives (a) in great
Simphcity, (6) their Bodies being naked, whence
arose the Poet's Fiction of the Golden Age, famous
among the Indians, (c) as Slrabo remarks, (d) Mai-
nionfrfes takes Notice, that(e) theHistory of Adam,
of
(a) In great Simplicity, &c.] See what we have said of this
Matter, Book II. Chap. I. Sect. xi. concerning the Right of
War, and the Notes belonging to it.
(b) Their Bodies being naked, &c.] Whose Opinion Diodo-
rus iSicv/us thus relates; "The first Men lived very hardy,
" before the Conveniences of Life were found out ; being ac-
" customed to 'go naked, and wanting Dwellings and Fires,
" and being wholly ignorant of the Food of civilized Na-
" tions." And Plato in his Politics : "God their Gover-
" nor fed them, being their Keeper ; as Man, who is a more
" divine Creature, feeds the inferior Creatures." And a lit-
tle after : " They fed naked and without Garments in the
" open Air," And Dicearchus the Petipatetic, cited both
by Porphyry, in his Fourth Book against eating living Crea-
tures ; and to the same sense by Varro, concerning Country
Affairs : " The Ancients, who were nearest to the Gods,
"were of an excellent Disposition, and led so good Lives,
" that they were called a Golden Race."
(c) As Strabo remarks, &c.] Book XV. where he brings in
Calanus the Indian speaking thus : " Of old we met every
" where with Bar-ley, Wheat, and Meal, as we do now-a-days
" with Dust.' The Fountains flowed, some with Water, some
"with Milk; and likewise some with Honey, some with
" Wine, and some with Oil. But Men, through Fulness
" and Plenty, fell into wickedness : which Condition Jvpiter
" abhorring, altered the State of Things, and ordered them a
"Life of Labour."
{d) Maimonides, &c.] In his Guide to the Doubting, Part
III. Chap. 29.
(ej The History of Ad&m, &c.] In those Places which Philo'
Biblius has translated out of Sanchuniathon. The Greek Word
Wf*ij-«ye»®', First born, is the same with the Hebrew D1«
Adam ; and the Greek Word enm. Age, is the same with the
Hebrew Word nin Chata, Ave. The first Men found out
the Fruit of Trees. And in the most ancient Greek Mysteries,
they cried out '!Ei«», £ve, and at the same Time shewed a
4 Serpent.
44. OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I,
of Eve, of the Tree, and of the Serpent, was ex-
tant among the Idolatrous Indians in his Time :
And there are many (a) Witnesses in^ our Age,
who testify that the same is still to be found a-
mongst the //eaMew dwelling in Peru, and the Phi-
lippine Ishnds, People belonging to the same Tn-
dia; the Nameof ^c?am amongst the Brachmans;
and that it was reckoned (b) Six Thousand Years
since the. Creation of theWorld, by those oiSiam.
(c) Berosus in his History of Chaldea, Manethos in
his of Egypt, Hierom in his of Phoenicia, Histteus,
Hecatceus, Hillanicus in theirs of Greece, and He-
siod among the Poets ; all assert that the Lives of
those who descended from the first Men, wereal-
Serpent. WliJch is mentioned by Heyschius, Clemens m his Ex-
hortations, and Plutarch in the Life of Alexander, , Chaldiius
to TimoEus, has these Words : " That as Moses says, God
" forbad the first Man to eat the Fruit of those Trees, by
" which the Knowledge of Good and Evil should steal into
" their Minds." And in another Place : " To this the He-
" 6rew* agree,' when they say, that. God gave to man a Soul
" by a divine Breath, which they call Reason,, or a Rational
"Soul ; but to dumb Creatures, and wild Beasts of the Forest
" one void of Reason : The living Creatures, and Beasts being,
" by the Command of God, scattered over the Face of the
"Earth; amongst which was that Serpent, who by his evil
" Persuasions deceived the first of Mankind."
(a) Witnesses in our Age, &c.] See amongst others Ferdinand
Mendesius de Pinto.
(i) Six Thousand Years. &c.] What Simplicius relates out of
Torphyry, Comment XVI. upon Book II. concerning the Hea-
vens, agrees exactly with this Number ; that the Observations
collected at Babylon, which Callisthenes sent to Aristotle, vpere
to that Time cb la ccciii I, which is not far from the Time
of the Deluge.
(c) Berosus «'« his History, &c,] Josephus in the First Book,
Chap. 4. of his Ancient History, quotes the Testimony of all
these Writers, whose Books were extant in his Time; and be-
sides these, Acusilaus, Euphomts, and Nicolaus Damascenus,
Serviits in his Notes upon the Eighth Book of VirgiVs Mneid,
remarks, that the People of ^rcarfJa lived to threehundred Years.
most
Sect. 16.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 4a
most a thousand Years in Length; which istheless,
incredible^because the Historians of many Na-
tions (particularly(a) Pausanias and (b) Philostratus
amongst the GreeAs, and (c) Pliny amongst the
Romans) relate, that {d) Men's Bodies,, upon open-
ing
(a) Pausanias, &c.] In his Laconics, lie mentions the
Bones of Men, of more than ordinary Bigness, which were
shewn in the Temple of Msculapim at the- City of Asepus :
And in the first of his Eliacs, of a Bone taken out of the Sea,
which aforetime was kept at Piso, and thought to have been
one of Pelops's.
(6) Philostratus, &c.] In the Beginning of his Heroics, he
says, that many Bodies of Giants were discovered in PalUne,
by Showers of Rain and Earthquakes.
(c) Pliny, &c.] Book VII. Chap. \6.- " Upon the burst-
" ing of a Mountain in Crete by an Earthquake, there was
" found a Body standing upright, which was reported by some
" to have been the Body of Orion, by others the Body of
*' Eetion. Orestes's Body, .when it was commanded by the
" Oracle to be digged up, is reported to have been seven
" Cubits long. And almost a thousand Years ago, the Poet
" Homer continually complained that Men's Bodies were
" less than of old." And Solinus, Chap. 1. " Were not all
" who were born in that Age, less than their Parents ? And
" the Story of Orestes's Funeral testifies the Bigness of the
" Ancients, whose Bones when they were digged up, in the
" Fifty-eighth Olympiad, at Tegea, by the Advice of ihe
" Oracle, are related to have been seven Cubits in Length.
"** And other Writings, which give a credible Relation of
" ancient Matters, affirm this. That in the War of Crete,
" when the Rivers had been so high as to overflow and break
" down their Banks, after the Flood was abated, upon the
" cleaving of the Earth there was found a human Body oi
" three-and-thirty feet long ; which L. Flaccus, the Legate,and
" Metellus himself, being very desirous of seeing, were much
" surprised, to have the Satisfaction of seeing, what they dad
" not belfeve when they heard." See Austin's Fifteenth Book,
Chap. 1 1, of the City of God, concerning the Cheek Tooth o£
a Man, which he himself saw.
(d) Men's Bodies, &c.] Josephus, Book V. Chap. 2. of Eir
Ancient History : " There remain to this Day some of the
"Race of the Giants, who, by Reason of the Bulk and Fi-
"gure of their Bodies, so different from other Men, are won-
'* derful
46 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I.
ing their Sepulchres, were found to be much larger
in old Time. And (a) Catullus, after qiany of the
Greeks, relates, that divine Visions were made to
Men before their great and manifold Crimes did,
asit were, hinder God, and (i) those Spirits that
attend
" derful to see or hear of; Their Bones are now shewn,
" far exceeding the Belief of the Vulgar." Gabinius, in his
History of Mauritania, said, that Antenus's Bones were found
by Sertorius, which joined together were sixty Cubits long.
Fhlegon Trallianus, in his Ninth Chapter of Wonders, men-
tions th« digging up of the Head of Ida, Which was three
Times as big as that of an ordinary Woman. And he adds
also, that there were many Bodies found in Dalmatia, whose
Arms exceeded sixteen Cubits. And the same Man relates
out of TAeopompus that there were found in the Cimmerian
Bosphorus, a heap of human Bodies twenty-four Cubits in
Length, And there is extant a Book of the same Phlegm,
concerning Long Life, which is worth reading, (That in
many Places of old Time, as the present, there were Men of
a very large Stature, or such as exceeded others, some fwv
Feet, is not very hard to believe ; but that they should all of
thera have been bigger, I can no more believe, than that th^
Trees were taller, or the Channel of the Rivers deeper.
There is the same Proportion between all these, and Things
of the like Kind now, as there was formerly, they answering
to one another, so that there is no Reason to think they have
undergone any Change, (See Theodore Rickius's Oration about
Giants.) LeClerc.
(a) Catullus, &c.] In his Epithalamium on Peleus and
Thetis:
Hut when the Earth was stain'd with Wi<^^^dness
And Lust, and Justice fled from every Breast :
Then Brethren vilely shed each other's Blood,
• And Parents ceas'd to mourn their Children's Death.
The Father viish'd the Funeral of his Son ;
The Son to enjoy the Father^s Relict wish'd :
The impious Mother yielding to the Child,
Fear'd not to stain the Temple of the Gods,
Thus Right and Wrong by furious Passion mix'd.
Drove from us the divine propitious Mind.
(b) Those Spirits that attend him, &c. j Of this, see those
excellent Things said by Plutarch in his Isis ; Meximus Tyrius
in his First and Sixteenth Dissertations, and Julian's Hymn
to
Sect. 16.] CHRISTIAN RELLIGION. 47
attend him, from holding any Correspondence
with Men. We ahoost every where, (a) in the
Greek and (i) Latin Historians, meet with the sa-
vage Life of the Giants, mentione(| by Moses,
And it is very remarkable concerning the Deluge,
that the Memory of almost all Nations ends in
the History of it, even those Nations which were
unknown till our Forefathers discovered them :
(c) So that Parro calls all that the unknown Time.
And all those Things which we read in the
Poets, wrapped up in Fables (a Liberty they
to the Sun. The Name of Angeh is used, when they treated of
this Matter, not only by the Greek Interpreters of the Old
Testament, h\its.\sohy Labem, Aristides, Porphyry, Jamblmu,
Chalcidius, and by Hostanes, who was older than any of them,
quoted by Minutius : The forementioned Chalcidius relates an
Assertion of Heraclitus, That such as deserved it, were fore-
warned by the Instruction of the Divine Powers.
(a) In the Greek, &c.] Homer, Iliad IX. and Hesiod in his
Labours, To this may be referred the Wars of the Gods, men-
tioned by Flato in his Second Republic ; and those distinct and
separate Governments taken Notice of by the same Flato, in
his Third Book of Laws.
(6) Latin Historians, &c.] See the First Book of Ovid's
Metamorphoses, and the Fourth Book of Lucan, and Seneca's
Third Book of Natural Questions, Quest. 30. where he says
concerning the Deluge, " That the Beasts also perished, into
" whose Nature Men were degenerated."
(c) So that Varro calls, &c,'] Thus Censorinus. " Now I
•' come to treat of that Space of Time which Varro calls
"Historical. For he makes three Distinctions of Time:
" The first from the Creation of Man to the first Flood, which,
" because we are ignorant of it, is called the Unknown, The
•'second, from the first Flood to the first Olympiad ; which
" is called the Fabulous^ because of the many fabulous Sto-
" ries related in it. The third ; from the first Olympiad to
♦' our Time, which is called the Historical, because the
" Things done in it are related in a true History." The Time
which Varro calls unknown, the Hebrew Rabbins call void.
Philo in his Book of the Eternity of the World, remarks, that
the shells found on the Mountains, are a Sign of the Universal
Deluge.
6 allow
48 OP THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I.
allow themselves) are delivered by the antient
Writers according to Truth and Reality ; that
is, agreeable to Moses ; as you may see in Be~
roms's (a) History of Chaldea, {h) Ahydenuis of
Assyria,
(a) Berosus's History, &c.] Concerning whom Josephus
says thus, in his First Book against Appion^ " This Berosus
" following the most ancient writings, relates in the same
" Manner as Moses, the History of the Flood, the Destruction
" of IMankind, the Ark or Chest in which Noah, the Father
" of Mankind was preserved, by its resting on the Top of the
" Mountains of Armenia." After having related the History
of the Deluge, Berosus adds these Words, which we find in the
same Josephus, Book I. and Chap. 4. of his Antient History :
" It is reported that Part of the Ship now remains in Armenia,
" on the Gordyoean Mountains, and that some bring Pitch from
" thence, which they use for a Charm."
(6) Abydenus's of Assyria, &c.] Eusebius has preserved
the place in the Ninth Book of his Preparat. Chap. 12. and
Cyril in his First Book against Julian. " After whom reigned
" many others, and then Sisithrus, to whom Saturn signified
" there should be an Abundance of Rain on the fifteenth Day
" of the Month Desus, and commanded him to lay up all
" his Writings in Heliopolis, a City of the Sipparians, which
" when Sisithrus had done, he sailed immediately into Arme-<
" nia, and found it true as the God had declared to him.
" On the third Day after the Waters abated, he sent out Birds
"to try if the Water was gone off any Part of the Earth;
" but they finding a vast Sea, and having no where to rest, re-
" InrneA hack to Sisithrvs : In the same Manner did others:
" And again the third Time (when their Wings were daubed
"over with Mud). Then the Gods took him from among
" Men ; and the Ship came into Armenia, tha Wood of which
" the People there use for a Charm." Sisithrus and Ogyges,
and Deucaiiun, are all Names signifying the same Thing in
other Languages, as Noah does in the Hebrew, in which Mo-
ses wrote ; who so expressed proper Names, that the Hebreic*
might understand the Meaning of them : For Instance, Alex-
ander the Historian, writing Isaac in Greek, calls him TtA«T«,'
Laughter, as we learn from Eusebius : and many such like, we
meet with among the Historians; as Philo concerning Re-
wards and Punishments : " The Greeks call him Deucalion,
" the Chaldeans, Noach, in whose Time the great Flood hap-
" pened." It is the Tradition of the Egyptians, as Diedorus
testifies in his First Book, that the universal Deluge was that
of Deucalion. Pliny lays it reached as far as Italy, Book III.
Chap.
Sett, ll] CHRtSTIAlSI REUGIOJ?, 4$
jfsiyria, (a) who mentions the Dove that was sent
Out of the Ark; and in Plutarch from the Gr'aeks;
and
Chap. 14>. . But to return to the Translation of Names into
other Languages, there is a remarkable Place in Plato's Cri'
tias concerning it : "^ Upon the Entrance of this Discourse,-
" it may be necessary (says he) to premise the Reason, lest
" you be surprised when you hear the Names of Barbariani
" in Greek: When Solon put this Relation into Verse, he in*
" quired into the Signification of the Names, and found that
" the first Egyptians, who wrote of these Matters, translated
" them into their own Language ; and he likewise searching
"out their true Meaning, turned them into our Language."
The Words of Abydenus agree with those of Alexaiider the
Historian, which Cyril has preserved in his forementioned
First Book against Julian: " After the' death of OtiarteSf
" his Son Xisuthrtts reigned eighteen Years ; in whose Time,
" they say, the great Deluge was. It is reported that Xisuth-^
" rus was preserved by Satvm's foretelling him what was
" to come ; and that it was convenient for him to build aa
" Arts, that Birds and creeping Things, and Beasts might
" sail with him in it." The Most High God is named by the
Assyrians, and other Nations, from that particular Star of the
Seven (to use Tacitus's Words) by which Mankind are go-
verned, which is moved in the highest Orb, and with the
greatest Force : Or certainly the Syriac Word, ^>« II, which
signifies God, was therefore translated Kpo»®'', Kronos, by the
Griek Interpreters, because lie was called V'« II by the Syri-
ans. Philo Biblius, the Interpreter of Sanchuniathmi, hath
these Words: lUus, who is called Saturn. He is quoted by
Eusebius: In whom it immediately follows from the sama
Philo, That Kronos was the same the Phoenicians call (Israel ;
but the Mistake was in the Transcriber, who put 'la-fu^, for
lA //, which many Times amongst the Greek Christians is the
Contraction of 'IrfaijA ; whereas t'A is, as we have observed*
what the Syrians call ^'« 11, and the Hebrew b>A El. (It
ought not to be overlooked, that in this History Deucalion,
who was the same Person as Noah, is called «n)f !ri<pp'«s, , that
is, nan« i»'« a Man of the Earth, that is, o Husband-man.
See ray Notei upon Gen. ix. 20. Le Clerc.)
(a) Who mentions the Dove, kc.l In his Book where he
inqtiires which have most Cunning, Water or. Land Ani-
Aials. " They say Deucalion's Dove, .which he sent out of
" the Ark, discovered, at its Return, that the-Storms were
"abated, and the Heaivens clear." It is to be observed,
b»tb in this Place of Plutarch's, and i« that of Alexander the
E ' Historian,
60 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [BoqI^ I.
if^a) an4 in Lucian^ who says, that in Hierappjis of
Sjria, there was remaining a most ancient History
of the Ark, and of the preserving a few not only
of IVIankind, but also of other living Creatures.
The
Historian, as well as in the Book of Nicolaus Do»ja«ce«4w,, and
the. Writers made use of Ijy Theophilus Antiochenus in his Third
!Bp,ok, that the Greek Word A«p«| Larnax, answers to the He-
brev} Word nan Teb,a^, and so Joi-eyte translates it.
(a) And in Lucian, Sec.'} In his Book concerning th-e 'God-
dess of Syria, where having begun to treat of the very antient
Temple of Hierttpolis, he adds : ■ " They say this Tempi* '
" was founded by Deucalion the Scythian, that Deucalion, in
" whose D'ays the Flood of Water happened! I have heard
" in Greece the Story of this Deucalion from the Greeks, them-
'.' selves, which is thus : the present Generation of Men is
" not 'the original one, for all that Generation perished ; and-
" the Men which now are, eame from a second Stocfc;^ tlie
'■' whole Multitude of them descending from Deucalion. Now,
V concerning the first "Race of Men, they relate thus : They were-
" very obstinate, and did very wicked Things : and had no
" Regard to Oaths, had no Hospitality or Charity in them j
" upon which Account many Calamities befel them. For,
" on a sudden, the Earth sent forth Abundance of Water
" great Showers of Rain fell, the Rivers overflowed exceed-
'« ingly, and the Sea overspread the Earth, so that all was
" turned into Water, and every Man perishied ; Deucalion
" was only saved alive, to raise up another Generation, be»
" cause of his Prudence and Piety. And he was preserved
"in this Manner: He and his Wives, and his CJaildren, en-
'< tered into a large Ark, which he had prepared, and after ,
" them went in Bears, and Horses, and Lions, and Serpents,
" and all other Kinds of living Creatures, tliat feed upon the
" Earth, two and two ; he received them aU in ; neither did
" they hurt Jiim, but were very familiar with him, by a di-
" vine Influence. Thus they sailed in the same Ark, as.
'< long as the Water remained on the Earth : This is the Ac-
" count the Greeks give of Deucalion, Now concerning what
" happened afterwards : There was a strange Story related
" by the Inhabitants of HierapoHs, of a great Hole in the -
" Earth, in that country, which received all the Water ; after
" which, Deucalion built an Altar, and reared a Temple to
" Juno over the Hole ; I saw the Hole myself;, it is but a
" small one, under the Temple, whether it was larger for-
'* merly, I know not ; I am sure this which I saw, was but
" small. ~^ To preser^^e this Story, they pprfornaed, .this Cere-
'^ mony ; Twice every Year Water is brought from the Sea into
" the-
Sect. 16.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION, 51
The same History was extant also (a) in Molo and
in(^) NkolatisDamascenus; which latter names the
Ark, which we also find in the History of Dett-
ealion in jipollodorus : And many Spaniards affirm,
that in several (c) Parts of America, as Cuba, Me-
tkoacana, Nicaraga, is preserved the Memory of
the Deluge, the saving alive of Animals, especially
the Ra^eri and Dove ; and the Deluge itself in that
Part called Golden Castile, (d) That Remark of
" the Temple : and not only the Priests, but all the People of
\' Syria and Arabia fetch it ; many go, even from the River
" Euphmtes as far as the Sea to fetch Water, which they poiir
" eut in the Temple, and it goes into the Hole, which, though
" it be but small, holds a vast Quantity of Water : when they
" do this, they say it was a. Rite instituted by Deucalion, in
" Memory of that Calamity, and his Preservaliopi This is
" the ancient Story of this Temple."
(o) In Molo, &c.] Eusebius relates his Words in his Ninth
Book of the Gospel Preparation, Chap. ig. " At the Deluge,
" the Man and his Children that escaped, came out of At'
" menia, being driven from his own Country by the Inhabi-
" tants, and having passed through the Co'.intry between,
" went into the mountainous Parts of Syria, which was then
" uninhabited,"
{b) Nicolaus Damasceiius, &c.J Josephus gives us his Words
• out of the Ninety^sixth Book of his Universal History, in the
fore-cited Place: " There is above the City Minyas^ (whicK
" Strdbo and Pliny call Milyas,) a huge Mountain in Armenia
" called Batis, on which they say a great many were saved
" from the Flood, particularly One, who was carried to the
^' Top of it by an Ark; the Reliques of the Wood of which
«' was preserved a great while : I believe it was the same Man
" that Moses the Lawgiver of the Jews mentions in his His-
?' tory." To these Writers we may add Jerom the Egyptian,
who Wrote the Affairs of Pltanicia and Mnaseus^ mentioned by
Josephus. And Perhaps Eupolemus, which Eusebius, quotes out
of Alexander the Historian, in his Gospel Preparation, Book
IX; Chap, 17.
(c) Parts of America, &c.] See Josephus Acosta, and An-
tonius Herrera.
(d) That Remark of Pliny's, &c,] Book V, Chap. 13. Mela
and Solimua agree with Pliny. Compares it with that which
we have quoted out of Abydmus.
E 2 Pliny's,
52 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book t
PUtiy'sy that Joppa was built before the Flood,
discovers what Part of the Earth Men inhabited
before the Flood. The Place where the Ark
rested after the Deluge (a) on the Gor^^aw Moun-
tains, is evident from the constant Tradition of the
Armenians from all past Ages, down {h) to this
very Day. {c) Japhet, the Father of the Euro-
feans, and from him, Jon, or, as they formerly,
pronounced it, (d) Javon of the Greeks, and
Hamfiion
ill) On the Gorilysean Mountains, &c.] Which Moses calls-
Ararath the. Chaldcean Interpreters translate'd it Kardu ; Jose-
p/iiis Gordiiean; Cnrtius, Cordoean ; St'rabo \tntes h Gordicean,
Book Xyil. and Pllnj/, Book VI. and Ptolemceus. (These, and
what follows in relation to the sacred Geography and the '
Founders of Nations, since these of Grotivs were pablished,
are with great Pains and miich more Accu-racy searched into
by Sum. Bochart, in his Sacred Geitgraphy, which add Weight
to Grotius's A rguraents. Le Clerc.)
(b) To this very Day, &c.J Tkeophilus Antiochemis says, in
his Third Book, that the Reiiques of the Ark were shewn in
his Time, and £;t)i/)/iaw«4- against the Nazarites ; "The
" Reiiques of Noah's Ark are shewn at this Time, in the Re-
" ligion of the Cordiceatis :" And Chrysostom, in his Oration of
Perfect Love : and Isidore, Book XIV. Chap. 8. of his Antiqui-
ties ,\" Ararath, a Mountain in Armenia, on which Histo-
" ries testify the Ark rested ; where at this Day are to be seen
" some Marks of the Wood." We. may add the Words of
Ilaiton Armenian, Chap. IJ). " There is a Mountain in Ar-
" menin, higher than any. other in the whole World, which is
" commonly called Ararath, on the Top of which Mouatain
" the Ark first rested: after the Deluge." See the Nubian GeO'
grapher, and Benjamin's Itinerary.
(c) Japhet, &.C.] It is the very same Word ns' Japheth;
for the very same Letter B is by some pronounced- like sr f, by
others ippA; and the like Difference is now preserved among
the Germans and Dutch. Jerom upon Daniel has observed this
of the Helfre-w Letter.
((/) Javon, &c.] Poi- iaivii iaones is often found amongst
the ancient Writers. The Persian in Aristophanes's Play,
called Achnrnenses, pronounces it taoi/»» iaonan. -Now it was
a very ancient Custom to put a Digamma between two Vow-
els, which afterwards began to.be wrote by e V, formerly
thus
Sect, 16.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 5^
. (a) Hanimon of the Africans, arelSi dmes to beseen in
Moses, {b) and Josephussxid. others observe the like
Footsteps
thus F. In like Manner that whidi was «»•{ anos, is now
«!»5 aos, and (a? eos, ■ra.taii tanos, tkui; taos, a Peacock; tsj
'EAAu»a5 xasAirrw («By»5, the Grcf/rt are called iaunas. Suidas.
{a\ Hammon, &c.} For the Greeks sometimes render the
flefirea; Letter n Cheth by an Aspirate, and sometimes omit it;
as nia-nyn Chatzarmuth, 'AS'^ii^vrr^ Adramytios, or 'A^fu-
fbvTT®", liadramyttos ; niDDn Chachmoth, ^ixt^'ii Achmuth in
Iiencens, and^ojthers : mnn Chabra, a. Companioft, by the an^
cient G reeks aSfn abra ; tiTI Chajah, mm aion, an>AgG. njn
Hanno or Anno ; hsy<in Hanmbd or Aimibal, bvtitn Has-
drubal or Asdrubal ; awn Cas/iim ; «S,>i//>iTcti axoumitai, m, on
is a Greek ending. This Person is transformed not only by the
Libyans, but also by many other Nations, into the Star Jupiter,
as a God. Lucan, Book IX.
Jupiter Ammon is the only God
Amongst the happy Arabs, and amongst
The Indians and Ethiopians.
And the sacred Scripture puts Egypt amongst them. Psalm
Ixxvii. 51. cv. 23. 27. cvi. 22. Jerom, in his Hebrew Tra-
ditions on Genesis, has these Words, " From whom, Egypt, at
" this very Day, is called the Country of Ham, in the Egyp-
" tian Language."
(fi) And Josephus and others, &c.] He says, TofaafUi Goma-
reis the Galatians, is derived from TOJ Gomar, v/lievei Pliny's
Town Comara is. The People of ComuYa we find in the, First
Book of Mela. The Scythians are derived from JUa Magog,,
by whom the City Scythopolis in Syria was built, ajid tlie other
City Mngog; Pliny, Book V.'Ciiap. 23. which is called by
others Hierapolis and Bambyce. It is evident that tihe Medcs
are derived from *iaMedi; and as we have already observed,
Jaxones, Jaones, Jone>>, from. p> Javen. Josephus says, the
Iberians in Asia come ftom_ Van TAefia/, in the Neighbour-
hood of whom Ptolemy places the City of Tliabai, as preserv-
ing the Marks of its ancient Original. The City Ma^aca,-
mentioned by him, comes from y^m Masach, which we find
in Strabo, Book XII. and in Pliny, Book VI. 3. and in Ammea-
nus Marcellinus, Book XX, Add to this the Maschi, men-
tioned by Strabo, Book XI. and in the First and Third Book
of Mela, whom Pliny calls Moschini, Book VI. Chap. <). and
we find in them and Pliny, the Moschiean Mountains. Jose-
phus and others agree, that the TAracians were derived -from
DTD
54 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I.
Footsteps in the Names of other Places and Na-
tions,
DTn Tiras, and the Wprd itself shews it; especially if we ob-
serve, that the Greek Letter | a; at first answered to the Syri-
ac Letter s, as the place of it shews. Concerning those
that are derived from y)3trs* Aschanaz, the. Place is corrlipt in
J0sephus ; but without Doubt Ascania, a Part of Phrygia and
Mysia, mentioned in Homer, comes from thence ; concerning
which see_ Strabo, Book XH, and PKny, Book V. Chap. 32.
The Ascanian Lake, and the River flowing from it, we find
in Strabo, Book XIV. and in Pliny's forecited Fifth Book
Chap. 32. The Ascanian Harbour is in Pliny, Book. V. Chap. 30.
and the Ascanian Islands also, Book IV. Chap. 12. and Book
V. Chap. 31. Josephus says, the Paphlagonians are derived
from nan Ripath, by some called Riphatceans, where Mela, in
his First Book puts the RipAacians, The same Josepkus tells
us, that the aioAEi? aioleis comes from rwif^hi^ Alishah j and the
Jerusalem Paraphrast agrees with him, in nahning the Greeks
Molians, putting the Part for .the Whole; nor is it much un-
like Hella the Name of the -Country. The same Josephus
also says that the Cilicians are derived from m''\t>lT\ Tarshish,
and proves it from the City Tarsus ; for it happens in many
Places, that the Names of thePeople are derived from the Names
of Cities. We have before hinted, that KiVtmv Kittion, is
derived from ca'DD Chitim, The Ethiopians are called Chu-
seans by themselves, and their Neighbours, from ti>iD Chvsh,
now ; as Josephus observed they were in his Time ; from
whence there is a River so called by Plolemy ; and in the Ara-
bian Geographer, there are two Cities which retain the same
Name. So likewise Mureif in Philo Biblius, is derived from
C3>Tyn Mifzraim ; those which the Greeks call Egyptians, be-
ing called by themselves and their Neighbours Mesori, and
the Name of one of their Months is Msrifi, Mesiri. Cedrenus
calls the Country itself MsVf«, and Josephus rightly conjee-,
ture's, that the River of Mauritania is derived from toiB Phut.
Fliny mentions the same Rivfir, Book V. Chap.1. " Pkut,
" and the neighbouring Phufensian Country, is so called to
" this Day," Jerom in his Hebrew Traditions on Genesis,
.says, it is not far from Fesa, the Name remaining even now.
The tW3 Ckenaan in Moses, is contracted by Sanchvniathon,
and from him by Philo Biblius, into X»S Chna, you will find it
in Eusebius's Preparation, Book I. Chap. 10. ^nd the Country
is called so. Stephanus of Cities, says, Chna was so called by
tHe PAamcians, And St. Austin in his Book of E.xpositions
on the Epistles to the Romans, says, in his Time, if the Coun-
try People that lived at Hippo were asked whp they v?ere, they
answered, Canaanites. Aniin that place of Eupulemus, cited-
by
Sect. 16.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. $6
tions. And which of the Poets is it, in which we
do
by Euiebius, Prepaf.lX. 17. the Canaanites are called Mestr^-
mites, Ptolemy's Regiina in ArMa Felix, is derived from
noffi B.aa'Olak, by changing!? into y g, as ixiGomorrha and
other Words. Josepkus deduces the Sabins, from «1D Saba, a
known Nation, whose chief City Strabo says, Book XVI.
was Saba, where Josephus places the Sabateni, from nniD Sa-
batch ; there Pliny places the City Sobotale, Book VI. Chap. 28;
The Word ca'arft Lehabim, is not much different from the
Name of the Lybians ; nor the Word Q>nnB2 NephatMm from
Nepata, a City of Mthiopia, mentioned by Pliny, Book VI.
Chap. 29- Nor Ptolemy's Nepata, or the Fharusi in Pliriy,
Book V. Ch. 8. from CD'OiyB Phatstrasim, the same as Ptole-
my's Phaurusians in JEthiopia, The City Sidon, famous in all
Poets and Historians, comes from JTV Tzidon. And Ptolemy's
Town Gorosa, from'»tr>anj Gergttshi: And Area, a City of the'
Phesnicians, mebtioned hy Ptolemy z.nA Pliny, Book V.Ch. ife.
from ^p'MArki, And Aradns, an Island mentionedin Sfrafio, Book
XVI. and Pliny, Book V. Chap. 20. and Ptolemy in Syria from
♦111K Arodi ; a,nd Amachus of Arabia mentioned by Herodotus
in his Euterpe and Thalia, froita »nnn Hamathi; and the Ely-
mites, Neighbours to the Hides, from 0^»> Pjiim, mentioned
by Strabo; Book XVI. -PJiny, Book V. Ch. 26, and Liiw, '
Book XXXVll. Their Descendants in Phrygia Ird called
Elymites by Athenceus, Book IV. Every one knows, that the
Assyrians are derived from 1W« Ashur, as the'* Indian* are from
"rhLud; from whence comes the iafm Word ZiuJt. Those
which by the Greeks are called Syrians, from the City liy Tzcfr,
are called Aramites to this Day from m« Aram. For v fz is
sometimes translated r t, and sometimes <r «; whence the City
1iy Taur, which the Greeks call 2V»'e ; is by Ennitts, called Sar-
ra, and by others Sina and Tina, Strabo, Book XVI. to-
wards the End : " The Poet mentions the Arimites, whom
" Possidonius would have us to understand, not to be any Part
" of Syria,^ or Cilicia, , or any other Country, but Syria it-
" self." And again. Book Xlll. " Some mean Syrians by
" Arifnites, whom they now call Aramites" And in the
Fir^t Book : " For those we call Syrians, are by themselves
" called Aramites." The Country Ausanptis, mentioned by
the Seventy in Job, is derived from f)n Hutz. 'Aristceus calls
it Austias. And, the City CWia, ^pleiceAhy Ptolemy in Syria,
from Vtn CAol; and the City Gindartis in Ptolemy,, from pnj '
Geher;. and the Gindaren People in P&'/iy, Book V. Chap. 23.
in Ca;lia-Syriee. And the Mountains Mffseii*, not far from
Nisibus, mentioned by Strabo, Book XI. and Ptolemy, in Me-
sopotamia, is derived from \tfO Mash. The Names !np> Jok-
tan
66 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book L
do not find Mention made of {a) the Attempt to
climb
■ tan, and nimyrt Hatzoramuth, and tl^in Holan, are lepre-
.sented by the Arabian Geographers, under the names of Bal-
satjaktan, Hadramuth, and Chaulan; as the learned Capell ob-
serves. The River Qphar ; and the People called Opharitet,
near Mixetis, Pliny, Book VI. 7. if I mistake not retain the
Name iBtS Ophar ; and those Cities, which Moses mentions
in this Place, appear to be the most ancient, by comparing of
Authors. Every one knows from whence Babylon is derived,
^ns Jrach in Aracca, placed by Ptolemy, in Susiana) from
whence come the Araccean Fields in Tibullus, as the famous
Salmas'ms, a Man of vast reading, observes. Acabehe, a Cor-
ruption of Acadene, is derived from ip« Achad, as is proba-
bly conjectured by Franciscus Junius, a diligent Intei'preter of
Scripture, who has observed many of those Things we havo
been speaking of, nj^3 Chalnah is the Town of Caunisus on
- the River Euphrates, whose name Ammianus tells us, in his
Twenty-third Book, continued to hi» Time. The Land nj?Jt»
. Senaar, is the Babylonian Senaas, in HtfstiiEfts Milesius, which
place Josephus h^s preserved in his Ancient History, Book I.
Ch. 7- and in his Chrpnicqn; as has Eustbiu^'xw his Preparation^
He wrote the Affairs of Phanida ; whpm also Stepkem had
re^d. Again being changed into y g, Ptqlemy, from hence
calls the Mountain Singarus iu Mesopotamia. And Pliny men-
tions the Town Singara, Book V. Ch. 24. and hence the Singa-
ranceanQountry in Sextus Rufns, niJ'J Nineveh is undoubtedlythe
I^inos of the Greelcf contracted; thus in Sardanapalus's Epitaph;
I who great Ninus rul'd am now but Dust.
The same we find in Theognis and Strabo, Book XVI. and
Pliny, Book XI. Chap. 13. whose Words are these. " Ninus
<• was built upon the River Tigris, towards the West, a beau-
" tiful City to behold." Lacan, Book III. " Happy JVmw,
" as Fame goes." The Country Calachena has its Name
from the principal City n^3 Chala: Strabo, Book XI. and
afterwards, in the Beginning of l^ookXVI. fon Resin, is Re-
saina in Ammianus, Book XXIII. Sidon every one knows, nyi>
-Azzah, is without Doubt --rendered Gaza in Palestine, by
changing, as before, the Letter s into y g : It is mentioned
by Strabo, Book XVI. and Mela, Book I. who calls it a large
and well fortified Town ; and Pliny, Book XV, Ch. 13. and
Book VI. Chap. 28. and elsewhere. msD Sophira, is Helio-
polis, a City of the Sipparians, in that Place of Abydenus, now
quoted. Sippara is by Ptolemy placed in Mesopotamia. iin Ur
is the Castle Ur, mentioned by Ammianus, Book XXV. pn
Caran is Carra, famous for the slaughter of the Crassi,
(a) The Attempt to climb the Heavens, &c.] See Homer,
pdys, 30. and Ovid's Metamorphoses, BqoIj I.
' . ■ Thi
Sect. 16.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 57
climb the Heavens? (a) Diodoxus Siculus, (b) Siraht
TacituS)
The Giants by Report would Heaven hane storm'd.
See also f^irgil's first Georgic, and Lucan, Book VII. It is a
frequent way of speaking amongst all Nations, to call those
Things which are raised above the common Height, Things
reaching to Heaven, as we often find in Homer, and Deut. i. 29.
and ix, 1. Josephus quotes one of the S^/bils, I know not
which, concerning the unaccountable Building of that Town;
the Words are these : " When all Men spoke the same Lan-
" guage, some of them huilt a vast high Tower, as if they would
" ascend up into Heaven; but the Gods sent a wind, and over-
" threw the Tower, and assigned to each a particular Lan-
•' guage ; and from hence the City of Babylon was so called."
And Euseiius in his Preparation, Book IX. Chap. 14. Cyril,
Book I. against Julian, quotes these Words out of Abydenus:
, " some say, that the first men who sprung out of the Earth,
" grew proud upon their great Strength and Bulk, and boasted
" that they could do more than the Gods, and attempted to
" build a Tower, where Babyhm now stands; but when it came
" nigh the Heavens, it was. overthrown upon them by the
" Gods, with the Help of the Winds, and the Ruins are called
" Babylon. Men till then had but one Language, biit the Gods
<* divided it, and then began the War betwixt Saturn and
" Titan."- It is a false Tradition of the Greeks, 'that Babylon
was built by Semiramis, as Berosus tells us in his Chaldaics, and
Josephus in his. First Book »ga\nit Appibn ; and the same Error
is refuted by Julius Firmicus, out of Philo Biblius, and Darotheus
Sidonius.- See also what Eusebius produces out of Eupolemus,
Concerning the Giants and the Tower, in his Gospel Preparat.
Book XX, Chap. 17-
(a) Diodorus Siculus, &c.] Book XIX. where he describes
the Lake Asphaltitis: " The neighbouring Country burns with
" Fire, the ill Smell of which makes the Bodies of the Inha-
" bitants sickly, and not very long lived." (See more of this
in our Dissertation added to the Pentateuch, concerning the
burning of 5Wo»?. LeClerc.J
(6) Strabo, he."] Book XVI. after the Description of the
Lake Asphaltitis: -There are many Signs of this Country's
-" being on Fire: for ^bout Mfl«fl«/a they shew many cragged
" and burnt Rocks, and in many Places Caverns eaten in,
"and Ground turned into Ashes, Drops oif Pitch falling
" from the Rocks, and running Waters stinking to. a great
"Distance, and their Habitations overthrown ; which makes
f credible a Report amongst the Inhabitants, that formerly
V Miere were thirteen Cities inhabited there, the chief of
" which
$8 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book h
(a) Taeitus, {b) Pliny, (?) SoUnus, speak of
the Burning of Sodom. {J) < Herodotus, _ Dio-
dorus,
" which was 'Sodom, so large as to be sixty Furlongs round;
" but by Earthquakes and Fire breaking out, and. by hot Waters
" mijKd with Bitumen and Brimstone, it became a Lake, as we
" now see it; the Rocks took Fire, some of the Cities were
" swallowed up, and the others forsaken by those Inhabitants
<' rhat could flee away."
(o) Tacitus, &c.] In the Fifth Book of his History ; " Not
" far from thence are those Fields which are reported to have
" been formerly very fruitful and had large Cities built in
" them, but they were burnt by Lightning; the Marks of
" which remain ; in that the Land is of a burning Nature,
" and has lost its P'ruitfulness, For every Thing that is
" planted, or grows of itself, as seon as it is come to an Herb
" or Flower, or grown to its proper Bigness, viinishes like Dust
" into nothing."
(&) Flipy, SiC.1 He describes the Lake .(iip/Mz/fto, Book Vi
Chap. 16. and Book XXXV. Chap. J5.
(c) Solinus, &c.] In the 36th Chap. o{ Salmam/s's Edition;
" At a good Distance from Jerusalem, a dismal Lake extends
" itself, which was struck by Lightning, as appears^ from the
" black Earth burnt to Ashes, There were two Towns therej
" one called Sodom the other Gomorrah ;, the Apples, thafgrow
"there, cannot be eaten,, though they look as if they were
*' ripe ; for the outward Skin incloses a Kind of sooty Ashes,
" ■which pressed by the least Touch, flies out in Smoke, and
•' vanishes- into fine Dust."
(rf) Herodotus, &c.] Wjth some little Mistake, The Words
are in his Euterpe: " Originally only the Colchians, and
" Egyptians, and Mthiopians were circumcised. For the Phct-
" nicians anA Syrians.'m Palestine, confess they learned it from
" the Egyptians. And the Syrians who dwell at TAermodoon,
" and on the Parthenian River, and the Macrons, their Neigh-
" hours, say, they learnt it of the Colchians. For these are
•' the oilly men that are circumcised, and in this Particular
" agree With the Egyptians. But concerning the Mfhiopians
" and. Egyptians, I cannot affirm positively, which learned it
" ofthe other^" Josephus rightly observes, that none- were
circumcised in Palestine Syria, but the Jews; in the Eighth
Book, Chap. 14. of his Ancient History, and First Book against
Appiox, Goncefning which Jews, Juvenal says, " They take
" off: -ie Foreskin ;" and Tacitus, " that they instituted cir-
" cumcisin* themselves, that they might be known by such
, , " Distinction :"
Sect. ^6.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 69
donis, (a) Straha, (b) Philo Bihlius, {c) testify the
ancient Custom of Circumcisioiij which is con-
firmed by those Nations {d) descended from Abra-
ham,
" Distinction :"'i5ee StrcAo, Book XVII. But the Jews /ax^
so far from confessing that they derived this Custom from tb«
Egyptians, that, on the contrary, they openly declare, that
the Egyptians learnt to be circumcised of Joseph.- Neither
were all the £g'^p<ia«« circumcised, as all the jfa>4 were, as
we may see from the Example of Appion, who was an Egyptjan,
in Josephus. Herodotus undoubted ly^put the PhiEnicians' ior
the Idnmceans; as Aristophanes does in his Play called the Birds,
where he calls the Egyptians and Phoenicians, The Circumeised.
Ammonius of the Difference of Words, says, The Idfimteafis
" were not originally Jews, but Phcenicians and Syrians,"
' Those Ethiopians which were circumcised, were of the Posterity
of Keturak, as shall be observed afterwards. The Colchians
and their Neighbours were of the Ten Tribes that Salmanaiar
carried away, and from thence some came into Thrace.- Thus
the Scholiast on Aristophane/s Acharncnses, says, " That the
" Nation of the Odomants is the same as the Thracians; they
" are said to be Jews." Where, by Jews, are to be under-
stood, improperly, liebred's, as is usual. Frrim the Ethiopians,
•.Circumcision went across the Sea into the New World, if it be
true what is said of the Rite's being found in many Places df
that World. (The Learned Dispute whether Circumcision was
instituted first amongst theEgyptians or amongst the Jejrs, con-
cerning which see my Notes upon Genesis xvii. 30. Le Clerc:)
(a) Diodoi-us, &c.] Book I. of the Colchians : " That this
" Nation .sprafig from the Egyptians, a f pears from hence, that
" they are circumcised after the Manner of theEgyptians;
" which Custom remains amongst this Colony, as it does
" amongst the Jews." Now 'since the Hebrews were of old
"circumcised; it no more foUovss from th«' Co/c/a'ans being cir-
cumcised, that thay sprang from the F.gyptians', than that they
sprang from the Hebrews, as we affirm ttiey did. He tells us,
• Book III. that the Trogludiles were circumcised, who were a
Part of the Mthiepians.
tby Strobe, &c.] Book XVI. concerning the Troglodites:
" Some of these are circumcised, like the Egyptians." fa
the same Book he ascribes Circumcision to the Je-ds.
(c) Philo Biblius, &cl] In the Fable oi Saturn, in Eusebius,
Book I. Chiip. 10. ■ , . ^
{d) Descended fromAhr&haTa,ke.1 To which ^ira/djw, that
the Precept of Circumcision was first of all given, Theodorvs
' . tells
60 OF THE TRUTH OF THE fBook I,
ham, not only Hebrews, but also (a) Iduniaans,
Ismaetites, {¥) and others {c). The Historj of Abra-
ham,
tells us in liis Poem upon, the Jews; out of •which Eiisebius
has preserved these Verses in his Gospel Preparaticm, Book IX,
Chap. 22.
He who from Home the righteous Abraham brovght.
Commanded him and all his^ House, mth Knife
To circumcise the Foreskin. He obeyed, ^
(a) Idumeeans, &c.J So caJled from Esau, who is called
Oaraii Qusoos, by Philo Biblius, His other Name was Edota,
which the Greeks translated-'Epa^pisir Eruthran, from whence
come^ the Erythraean Sea, because the ancient Dominions of
Esau and his Posterity extended so far. They who are igno-
rant of their Original, confound them, as we observed, with
the Phceniciam. Ammonius says, the Idumoeans were circum-
cised ; and so does Justin, in his Dialogue with Tiypho ; and
Epiphanius against the Ebionites, Part of these were Homerites,
who, Epiphaniits against the Edionites tells us, were circum-
cised in his Time,
(J) Ismaelites, &c.] These were circumcised of old, but on
the same Year of their Age as Ismael. Josephus, Book 1.
Chap, 12 and 13. " A Child was born to them, (viz. Abra-
" ham and Sarah) when they were both very old, which they
" circumcised on the Eighth Diay ; and hence the Custom of
" the Jews is, to circumcise after so many Days, But the
" Arabians defer it Thirteen Years : for Ismael, ihe Father of
" that nation, who was the Child of Abraham by his Concu-
■ " bine, was circumcised at that Age," Thus Origefi in his
©xcelient Discourse against Fate, which is extant in Evsebius,
Book VI, Chap. 11. And in the Greek Collection, whose Title
is 9a«ui,7i.m ; " I don't know how this can be defended, that
" there should be just such a Position of the Stars upon every
" one's Birth in Judaa, that upon the Eighth Day they must
" be circumcised, made tore, wounded, lamed, and so in^
" flamed, that they want the Help ©f a Physician, as" soon as
" they come into the World, And that there should be such a.
" Position of the Stars to the Ismaelites in 4-i'abia, that they
" must all be circumcised when they are Thirteen Years old ;
" for so it is reported of them." Epiphanius, iij his Dispute
against the Ebionites, rightly explains, these Ismaelites to be. the
Saracens, for the Saracens ahvays observed^ this Custom, and the
Turks had it from them,
(c) And others, &c.] Namely those that descended from iTe-
furah, <;oncerning whom there is a famous Place of Alexander
the
Sect. 16.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. Gl :
ham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, agreeable with Mo-
seS) («) was extant of old in \l>) Philo Bihl'ms out
the Historian in Josephus, Book I. Chap. l6. which Eusebius
quotes in his Gospel Preparation, Book IX. Chap. SO. Cleode-
mus the Prophet, who is called Malchus, in his Relation of
the Jews, gives us the same History as Moses their Lawgiver,
viz. " That Abr-aham had many Children by Keturah, to three
" of which he gave the Names Aftr, Asser, aad Ajfra. As'
" Syria is so Called from Atser ; and from the other two, dfer,
" and Afra, the City Afra, and the Country Africa is deno-
" minated. These fought with Hercules against Ldbya and
" Antteus. Then Hercules married his Daughter to Afra : He
<> had a Son of her, whose Name was Oeodorns, of whom
" was born Sopkon, whence the Barbarians are called So-
" phaces."
Here the other Names, through the fault of the Tran-
scribers, neither agree with Moses, nor with the Books of JosC'
phns and Eusebius, as we have them now. But Aptf is un-
doubtedly the same as lor Apher in Moses. We are to under-
stand by Hercules, not the Thebean Hercules, but the Phanician
Hercules, much older, whom Pkilo Biblius mentions, quoted by
Eusebius often, in the forementioned JlOth Chapter of the First
Book of his Gospel Preparation, This is that Hercules, who,
Sallust says in his Jugurtkine War, brought his Army into
Africa. So that we sec whence the Ethiopians, who were a great
Part of the Africans, had their Circumcision, which they had
in Herodot as' s Time; and even now, those that are Christians
retain it, not out of a religious Necessity, but out of Respect
to so ancient a custom.
(a) IVas extant of old, &c.] Scaliger thinks that several
Things which Eusebius has preserved out of Philo Biblius,
certainly relate to Abraham. : See himself in his Appendix
to the Emendation of- Time. There is some reason to doubt
of it.
(i.) Philo Biblius, &c.] How far we are to give Credit to
Philo' s Sanchyniathon, does not yet appear; for the very learned
Heivry Dodwill has rendered his Integrity very suspicious in
his English Dissertation on Sanchuniathons Phienician History
published at London, in the Year 168I, to whose Arguments
we may add this, that in his Fragments there is an absurd
Mixture of the Gods unknown to the Eastern Grecians in the
first Times, with the Deities of the Phoenicians, which the
Straitness of Paper will not allow me to enlarge upon,
te Clerc.
of
6i " Of the truth of the [Book I.
of Sanchmiathon, in {a) Berosus, (i) Hecat^m,
(c) DamascenuSf {d) Artapanus, Eupehmits, Dem^
trim, and partly (e) in the ancient Writers of the
Orphic
(ft) Eeros^s, &c.] Josephus has preserved his Words in his
Ancient History, Book 1. Chap. 8, " In the tenth Generation
" after the Flood, there was' a man amongst the Ckaldeans,
" vvKo was very Just aiid Great, and sought after Heavenly
"Things." Now it is evident' from Reason, that this ought
to be referised to the Time of Abra^atn. '
(J) H.ecataus, Sic.']. He wrote a Book concerning 4i>'«fo»2,
which is now lost, but was extant in Jesephus's time.
"(c) Damaseenus, &c.] Nicolaus that famous Man, who was
the Friend of Augustus and Herod, some of whose R&iicks
were lately procured by that excelleat person, Nicholas Peire-
sJtM ; by whose Death, Leai^ning, and learned IMen had a very
great Loss. The Words of this Nicolaus Jictmasjceims, Josephus
relates in .tlieforecited Place : " Abraham reigned in Damascus,
" teing a Stranger who came out of the Land of the Chatdxans,
" beyond Babylon; and not long after, he and these that be-
" longed' to him, went from thence into the Land called Car
" naan, but now Jwdxa, where he and those that descended
"from him dwelt, of whose Affairs Ishall treat in another
*' Place. Tbe-Name of Abraham is,, at this Day, famous in
" the Country about Damascus, and they show us the Town'
" which from him is called Abraham)! s Dwelling."
(S) Artcq){inus, Eupokmus, SiC."] Eusebius in his Preparation,
Book IX. Ch. 16, 17, IS, si, 23, jhas quoted several Things,
under these Men's Names, out of Alexander the Historian„but!
the Places are too long to be transcribed ; nobody has quoted
them before Busebius. , Bjit the Fable of the Bethulians, which
Eusebius took out of Philp- Bililius, Prepar. Book I. Chap. 10.
came from the Altar of Bethel, built by Jacob, mentioned
Gen. xxxvi.
(e) III the ancient Writers, &c.] For certainly those that we
find in Clemens Alexandrinus, Strom. V. axi&Eusebius, BookXIIL
Chap. 12. can be understood of no other.
The Maker of all Things is known to none,
But one of the Gbaldaean Race,] his Son
Only begotten, zeho well understood
The Starry Orb, arid by what Laws each Star.
Moves round the JEarth, embracing ail Things in iL
Vfheve' Abraham is called only begotten, as in Isaah li, 2. nnS
Aehad. We have before seen in Berosus, 'ih&t Abraham was
1 famous
Sect. 160 CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 63
Orphic Verses ; and sorpething of it is still extent
'm(a)Jtuim, out of Trogus Pompeius. (h) 3y almost
all which, is related also the History of Moses,
ai;)4 his principal Acts, The Orphie Verses ex-
pressly mention (c) his being taken oUt of the Wa-
•femous for the Knowted'ge of Astronomy ; and Eupoltmui, in
EuKbim%sky% of him, " that he was the Inventor of Astronomy
" among the Chaldeeans,"
(a) In Justin, &c.] Book XXXVI. Chap. 2. « The Ori-
" ginal of the Jews was from Damascus, an eminent City ia
" Si/ria^ of which afterwards Abraham and Israel were King&,"
Tragus Pompems calls them Kiugs,^ as JVicotew did; because they
exercised a Kingly Power in their Families ; and therefore they
are called -4nO!B/erf, Psalm, cv. 15. I
(b) By almosi all teltick, &c.] See Eusebius in thq foreraen-
tioned Book IX. Chap. ZS, 27, 38. Those Things are true,
which are there quoted out of Tragkus Judwus Egechi^l, Part
qf which we find in Clemens Akseandrmus, Strom. I, who re-
ports out of the Books of the Priests, that an Egyptian was
slain at Moses's Word ; and Strom. I. he relates some Things
belonging to Moses, out of Artapanus, though not very exact-
ly. Justin out 6i Tragus Pompeius, says of Moses, " He was
" Leader of those that were banished, and took away the
" sacred Things of the Egyptians : which they endeavouring
" to recover "by Arms^ were forced by a Tempest to return
'" home ; and that.Moie* having entered into his own Country
" of Damascus, took possession of Motint Sinah ;" and what
follows, which is a Mixture of Truth and Falsehood^ where
we find Areas written by him, It should be iea.d Arnas, who
is ^aron, not the Son, as he imagines, but the brother oiMuses^
and a Priest.
• (c) His being taken out of the Water, &c.] As the great Sca^
Uger has mended the Place; who with a very little Variation
of the Shape of a Letter^ instead of sAoyErW hdogenes, as it is
quoted out of Aristohdus, by Eusebius, in his Gospel Preparat,
Book XIII. Chap. 12. bids us yea.d^^oymi hudogenes^ born qf
the Water.- So that the Verses are thus :
So was it said. of old, so he commands
Who is born of Water, who receiv'dfrom God
The two great Tables of the Moral Law.
The ancient Writer of the Orphic Verses, whoever he was,
added these Words, after he had said,- that there was but one
Ood to be worshipped, who was the Cfeator and Governor of
the World.
ter.
54 Ot THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I.
ter, and the two Tabies that were given hirn by
God. To these we may add (a) Polemon : {b) And
several Things about his coming out of Egypt,
from the Egyptian Writers, Menetho, Lysima-
ehus, Chceremon. Neither can any prudent Man
think it at all credible, that Moses, (c) who had so
many enemies, not only of the Egyptians, but
also of many other Nations, as the (^) Idumaans,
(a) Pokmon, &c.] He seems to have lived in the Time of
Tlolemy Epiphanes; concerning which, see that very useful
Book of the famous Gerrard Vossius, of the' Greek Historians*
Africanus says, the Greek Histories were wrote by him; which
is the same Book Athenxus calls, '^>\.XaS{Kw. His- Words are
these: " In the Reign of Apis the Son of Fhqroneus,. Part of
" the Sgyp^eon' Army went out of .Egypt^ and dwelt in S^/ria,
"■called Palestine, not far from Arabia," As Africanus pre-
served the Place of Polemon, so Eusehius, in his Chronology,
preserved that of ^«eas«s. '
(b). And several Things, &c.] The Places; are .in Jok^//ms
against Appion, with abundance of Falsities, as coming from
People who hated ihe Jems; and from hence Tacitus tobk^his
Acpount of them. But it appears from all these compared
together, that th|! Hebrews descended from the Assyrians, Kndi
possessirtg a'great Part of Egypt, MA the Life of Shepherds;
but afterwards being burthened with hard Labour, they came
^.put of Eg3//rf under the command oi Moses, some of theEgyp-
timis accompanjing them, and went through the Coinntry of
:ths,Arabians,\xnto Palestine Syria, and there set up Rites con-"
trary to those of the Egyptians : But Josephus in that learned
Boolv has surprizingly shewn, how the Egyptian Writers, in
,the Falsities which ihey have, here and there, mix*:d with
this History, differ with one another, and s.ome with them-
selves, and how many ages the Books ef Moses exceed theirs
in Antiquity.
(c) Who had so many Enemies, &C.3 From whom they went
away,- by^ Force, whose Laws the Jews abolished concerning
the implacable Hatred of the En-^/j/ww* against the /ew«; see
Philo against jF7acc(/i, and in his Embassy; and Josephus in each
Book against Appion,
(d) The Idumasans, &c.] Who inherited the ancient Hatred
■between Jacob and Esau: which was increased from a new
Cause, when the Idumaans denied the Hebreus a Passage,
Numb, XX. 14.
3 AraUanSt
Sect. 16.1 CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 65
(a) Arabians and (h) Phamciam, would venture
to relate any thing concerning the Creation of
the World, or the Original of Things, which
could be confuted by more ancient Writings, or
was contradictory to the ancient and received
Opinions : Or that he would relate any Thing of
Matters in his own Time, that could be con-
futed by the Testimony of many Persons then
alive, {c) Diodorus Siculus, and {d) Straho, aud
Pliny,
(o) Jrabians, &c.} Those I mean, that descended from
Ismael.
(4) Pkanicians, &c.] Namely, the Caruumtes, and the
neighbouiing Nations, who had continual* Wan) with the
Hdirews.
(c) Diodorus Sicuhu, &c.] In his First Book, where be
treats of those who made the Gods to be the Authors of tbcit
Laws, and adds : "' Amongst tiie Jews was Moses, who called
*' God by the Name of low, lao," where by tiu, laa, he
means nin* Jehovah, which was so pronounced by the Ora-
cles, and in the Orphic Vei-ses mentioned by the Aotients,
and by the Btsilidian Heritics, and other Gnostics. The
same Name the Tynans, as we learn frova Philo BitHtts, pro-
nounced Iw*, leno, others lent, laou, as We see in CAnn«
Akxandrinus. The Samaritans pronounced it 'laSai, Igbai, as
we read in Theodoret; for the Eastern People added to the same
Words, some one Vowel, and some another ; from whence it is
that there is such Difference in the proper Names in thie Old
Testament. PMlo rightly observes, that this Word signifies
Existence. Besides Diodorus, of those who make mention of
Moses, the Ezhortation of the Crreeks, which is ascribed to Jut-
tin, names ApjAon, Ptolemy on Mandesias, Hellamais, Philo'
chorus, Castor, Thallus, Alexander the Historian : and Cyril
mentions some of them in his First Book against Julian.
(rf) Strabo, &c.] "The Place is in the Sixteentli Book,
where he thinks that Moses was an Egyptian Priest ; which he
had from the Egyptian Writers, as appears in Josephus : After-
wards, he adds his own Opinioii, which has some Mistakes in it.
" Many who worshipped the Deity, agreed with him {Moses) :
" for he both said and taught, that the Egi/ptians did aot
" rightly conceive of God, when they likened him to wild
" Beasts and Cattle; nor the lo/bians nor the Greeict, in resem-
" blii% him by a human Shape ; for God is lio other thaH
F " that
66 O^ THE TRUTH OF THE [Book V
(a) Pliny, (b) Tacitus, and after them {«) Dimysius
Longinus (concerning Loftiness of Speech) make
Mention of Mo'ses^-. (d) Besides the Talmzidists,
Pliny
" that Uiy verse which surrounds usj the Earth, and the Sea,
"and the Heaven, and the World, and the Nature of, all
" Things,, as they are called by us. Who (says he) that h^s
" any understanding; would presume to form any Image like
" to these Tilings that are about us? Wherefore we ought to
" lay aside all carved Images, and worship him in the inner-
" most Part of a Temple worthy of him, without any Fi-
" gure." He adds, tha;t this was the Opinion of good Men :
He adds also, that sacred Riles were instituted by him, which
were not burdensome for the Costliness, nor hi'teful,. as pro-
ceeding from Madness. He mentions Circumcision, the Meats
that were, forbidden, and tha like ; and after he had, shown
that Man was ' naturally desirous of civil Society, he tells us
that it is promoted by divine and human Precepts, but more
effectually bjl tfJivine.
(a) Pliny, &c.] Book XXX, Chap. 1. «' There is
" another Sect of Itlagicians, which sprang from Moses"
And Juvenal :
They learn, and keep, and fear the Jewish law.
Which Moses in his secret. Volume gave,
(6) Tacitus, &c,] History V. Where, according to thft
Egyptian. Fables, Moses is called " one of those that weVe
" banished."
(f) Dionysius Longinus, &c.] He lived in theTime of j^a<
r«/ic(«^^e Emperor, a Favourite of Zenobia, Queen of the
-Faln^^ns.. In this Book of the Sublime, after he had said,
that they who speak of God, ought to take CaVe to represent
him, as Great and Pure, and without Mixture : He adds,
" Thus does he who gave Laws to the Jews, who was an ex-
" traordinary Man, who conceived and spoke worthily of the
" Power of God, when he writes in the Beginning of his:Laws,
" let thej-e be Earth, and it was so." Chalcidiid tdok-many
Things out of Moses, of whom he speaks thus: " Meses was
" the wisest of Men, who, as they say, was enlivened not by
" human Eloquence, but by Divine Inspiration.
. (d) Besides- the Talmudists, &c.5 In the Gemara, in the
Title, Concerning' Oblations, and the Chapter, All the Oblations
of the Synagogue. -To which add the TaiicAumcif or Ilmedenu.
Mention is there made of the chief of Pharaoh's Magicians,
and
Sect. 16.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 67
(a) PlinyL and {b)/4pulews, speak of Jamnes and
Mambres, vvho resisted Moses in Egypt, {c) Sotne
Things there are in other Writings, and many
Things amongst the {d) Pythagoreans, about the
Law
and their Discourse with Moses is related. Add also Numenius,
Book III. concerning the Jews, Eusebius quotes his Words,
Book VIII. Chaj). 8. " Afterwards Jamnes and Mambres,
" Egyptian Scribes,.. were thought to be famous for magical
" Arts, about the Time that the Jews were driven out of
" Egypt ; for these w«re they who were chosen, out of the
" Multitude of the Egyptians, to contend with ' Mustevs the
" Leader of the Jews, a mati very powerful with God by
*' Pi'ayers ; and they seem to be able to repel those sore
" Calamities which were brought upon ■ Egypt by Musxus."
Where Moses is called Musan^, a Word very near it, as is cus-
tomary with the Greeks, as others call Jesus, Jison; and Saul,
Paul: Origeii against Celsus refers us to the sanie Place of JVume-
nius, Artapanus in the same Eusebius, Book IX.^ap. 27. calls
them \he Priests oiMeihphis, who were commanded by the King
to be put to Death, if they did not do Things equal to Moses.
(a) Pliny, &c.] In the forecitfed l*lace. ^ «
(i) Apuleiiis, &c.] In his Second Apologetic. . '
(c) Some Things there are, &c.] As in Straho, Tacitus, and
Theophrastus, quoted by Porphyry, in his Second Book against
eating living Creatures, where he treats of Priests and Burrit-
Oiferings; and in the Fourth Book of the same Work, where
he speaks of Fishes, and other living Creatures, that were for-
bidden to be eaten. See the Plaoe of Heca/ceus, in Josephus's
First Book agairtst Appion, and in Eusebius' s Preparat. Book IX,
Chap. 4. You have the Law of avoiding the Customs of
strange Nations, in Justin's and Tacitus's Historic- : of not
eating Swine's Flesli, in Tacitus's Juvenal, Plutarch's Sympos.
iv. and Macrobius from the Ancients. >In tlie same Place of
Plutarth, you Will find mention of the Levites, and the pitch-
ing of .the Tabernacle.
(d) Pythagoreans, &c.] • Hermippus in the Life of Pythago-
ras, quoted by Josephus against Appion, BookJI. "These
" Things he said and did, .imitating t|»sOpinion of the Jews
" a.ad Thracians, and transferring them^tb himself; for truly
" this Man took many Things into his o^yn Philosophy, from
" the Jewish Laws." To abstain from Creatures that die of
themselves, is put among the Precepts of Pythagoras, by Hm
F 2 rocle^
68 - OF THE TRUTH Of THE [Book U
Law and Rites givea by Moses, (a) Sirdh and Jus-
tin, out of Tragus, remarkably testify concerning
the Religion and Righteousness of the ancient Jkwf;
So that there seems to be no need of mentioning
what is found, Or has formerly been found oi Jo-
shua and others, agreeable to the Bebrevo Books ;
seeing, that whoever gives credit \q Moses (which it
Is a shame foe any one to refuse) cannot but believe
rocks, and Porphyry in his Epi&tle to Aufbo, arid Mlian, Book
IV. that is, Qi)t of Xmf. iv.^ IS. Deut. xiv. 21. "Th.ou
" shall not engvave the Figure df God on a Ring," is taken
put of Pytkag9ras,"m' Malchtis's or Porphyry's Exhortation to
Philosophy, and in Wexems Ldertius : and this from the Second
Coiirtnandraont. " Take not away that which thoa didst not
"place," Josephus, in his Second -Book a.gninst App'mn, puts
amiongst the jeidsh Precepts, and Philosiratus anjorigst the
Pythagoreans, Jamhlicus says, " A tender and fruitful' Tree
" ought npt'to be corrupted or hurt." which he had out of
Deuteronomy xx. ip. The forementioned Hermippua ascribes
thiis to Pythagoras, not to pass by a Place where an Ass was
set upon his Knees : 'The foundation of whic^. is the Story
in Ntmb. xxii. 27. Po-p^^vr^ acknowledges that Plata too];.
many Things from the Hebrews. You will see Part of them
in Eusebius's Preparation. (I suspect that Her.mippus, or Jose-
pkxis, instead 'Of Jtws, should have said /rfawns, that is-, the
Priest lofjapj^er Iclxm mCrete, whom Pythagoras envied. See
Sir John Marshain's Collecti6n of these, in his Teiith Age of
the Egyptian AfaiCs. 2.e CkYc.)
(fl) Strabo a«d Justin, &C.3 Siraie iii his, Fourteenth Book,
after the History o( Moses, says, "That his followers fpr a
" considerable Time, kept his Precepts, and were truly righte-
'' ous and godly." And a little after he says that those who
believed iu Moses, " worshipped God, and were Lovers of
" Ecjility. And Jmtin thus says'. Book XXX VI. _ Chap. 2.
"Whose ftigbteousness (viz. the Kings and Priests) ! mixed
"withHeligion, increased beyond Belief." Aristotle also (wit-
ness Clearchys in his Second Book of Sleep, which Josephm
transcribed) give's a great Character of a Jca; whom he had
seen, of his Wisdom and Learning. Tacitus, among his ra'ahy
Falsities, sSy* this one Truth, " that the Jews worshipped
" that Supreme and Eternal Being, who was immutaWe, and
" could not perish ;. " that is, God (as pirn. Cassius speaks,
^eatjiig of the same Jexus) " who is ineffable and invisijife."
Sect. 16.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 6^
those famous Miracles done by the Hand of God;
which is the principal Thing here aimed at, Now
that the Miracles of late Date, such as those of
(fl) Blija, Elisha, and others, should not be coun-
terfeit, there is this further Argument ; that in
tliose Times fudcea was become more knpwn, and
because of the Difference of Religion was hated
by the Neighbours, who could very easily confute
the first Rise of a Lie. The History of JonaJis
being three Days in the Whale's Belly is in {h)
Lycopkf on ^nd j^neus Gas^eus, only under the Naipe
oi Herculfs; to advance whose Fame, every tbiflg
that was great and noble used to be related of
I^m, as (c) Tacitus observes. Certainly nothing
but the manifest Evidence of the History could
compel Julian (who was as great an enemy to the
Jews as to the Christians) to confess {d) that there
were some; Men inspired by the Divine Spirit
amongst the Jews, and {e) that Fire descended
from
(a) Elijah, &c.] Concerning whose Prophecy ^asebifts says,
Prep. Book IX. Chap. 30. that Eupvlemus wrote a Boo^. In
the 39th Chapter of the same Book, Eusebius quotes a Place of
his,, concerning tlie Prophecies of Jeremiah.
(b) Lycopkron, &c.] The Verses are these :
Of that three-nighted Lion, whom of old,
/ ' Triton's_;?(rrce Dog witji furious Jaws devour' d.
Within -whose Bowels, tearing his Liver,
He rolled, burning -with Heat, though without Fire,
His Head with Drops of' Sweat bedew' d all o'er.
Upon which Place Tzetses says, " because he was thre? Days^
"within the ^hale." And Mneus Gazeus in TheppArastus :
" According to the Story of Htrculis, who was saved by a.
" Whale swallowing him up, when the Ship in which he sailed
" was wrecked."
(c) Tacitus, &c.] And Servius, as Varro and Veniws Flac-
«us affirm.
(d) That there were some, &c.] Book III. in Cyril.
(e) That Fire descended, &c.] Julian in the Tenth Book
of Cyril : " Ye refuse to bring Sacrifices to the Altar and offer '
«« them,
70 - 'op the truth of the [Book I.
from Heaven, and consumed the Sacrifices o(
Moses and EUas. And here it is worthy of Ob-
servation, that there was not only very (a) severe
Punishments threatened amongst the Hebrews, to
any who should falsely assume the Gift of Prophecy,
(b) but very many Kings, who by that Means
might have procured great Authority to them-
selves, and many learned Men, (c) such as Esdrai
and others, dared not to assume this honour to
themselves'; {d) nay, some Ages before Christ's^
Time^ nobody dared to do it. Much less could
so many thousand People be imposed upon, in
avouching a constant and public Miracle, I mean
" them, because the Fire does not descend from Heaven and
" consume the Sacrifices, as it did in Moses's Time ; This
" happened once to Moses, and again long after to Elijali tlie
" Tishhite." See what follows concerning the Fire from Hea-^
ven. Cijprian, in III, of his Testimonies, says, '< That ir\
" Sacrifices, all those that God accepted of, Fire came down
" from Heaven, and consumed the Things sacrificed." Me-
nander alsa in his Phcenician History, mentions that great
Craught, which happened in the Time of iVia*, that is, when
Ithoiahts reigned amongst the Tyrians, See Josiphus in his ^«-
cient History, 'Rook Will. Cha.^. 7. ''
(a) Severe Pmishmenis, &c.} See Dcut. xiii. 5. xviii, 20,
and the following.
(6) But iiery many Kings,' &cc.] Npbody dared to do it after
David.
. (t) Such as Esdras,~ &c. The Hebrews used to remark upoii
those Times, " Hitherto the ProphetS;, now begin the Wi^e
" Men,"
((if) Nay, some Ages before Christ' s-Time, &c.] Therefore in
the First Book oi Maccabees, iv, 46. we read, that the Stones
of the Altar which were defiled were laid aside, " until there
" should come a Prophet to shew what should be done with
" them.'' And in the ixth Chap. Ver. 27. of the sattieBookj;^
" So was there a great Affliction in Israel, the like whereoif
" had never been since the Time that there were jio Prophets
.'* amongst them." The same we find in the Talmud,, iri the
Title concerning the Council.
that
Sect. 16.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 71
(a) that of the Oracle, (^) which shlned on the
High Priest's Breast, which is so firmly believed
by all the Jetvs, to have remained, till the de-
struction of the first Temple, that their Ances-
tors must of Necessity be well assured of the
Truth of it.
(a) That oftheOrcKle, &c.] See Exodus xxviii. 30. Levit.
viii. 8. Numb; xxvii. 2). Deut. xxxiii. 8. » 1 Sam. xxi. U.
xxii. 10, 23, 25. xxiii. 2, 5, 9, 10, 11,12. xxviii, 6~- Add
Nehem. vii. 6"5. And Josephus's Book III. Q, This is what is
meant by the Words 'ifaTwi iii^m, " the consulting (an Ora^
" clc) where you will have an Answer as clear as light itself."
In the Son of Sirfichj XXXIII. 4. For the Word <KiA«, clear,
answers to the ffefireiunniM Uiim, and so the Seventy translate
it in the forecited Places, Numb, xxvii. 21. 1 Sam. xxviii. 6. and-
elsewhere '^A»ir«>, making clear, as Exod, xxviii . 26. Lev, viii. 8.
They also translate ts'DD T/iumin, ayA^iuM, Truth: the Egyptians
imitated this, just as'Children do Men. Diodorus, Book. I, re-
Jating the Affaire of the Egyptians, says ^{ the Chief Judge,
"That he hatli Truth hanging aboTit his Neck." And again
afterwards, " The King commands that all Things necessary
"and fitting should be provided for the Subsistence of the
" Judges, and that the Chief Judge should have great Plenty.
" This Man carries about his Neck an Image of precious Stones,
'• hanging on a golden Chain, which' tiiey call Truth, and tbey
"then begin to hear. Cases, when the 'Chief Judge has fixed
" this Image of Truth." And JElian, Book XIV. Chap. 24.
of his Various History, " The Judges in old Time'iimon^t the
" Egyptians, were Priests, the oldest of which was Chief Priest,
" who judgpd every one; and he ought to be a very just Man,
" and one that spared nobody. He wore an Oinaraent about
" his Neck, made of Sapphire Stone, which was calii'fl Truth."
The Babylonish Gemara,C\i. I. of the Book called Joma,' says.
that somethings in the first Temple were wanting in the second,
as the Ark with the Mercy Seat, and the Cherubim's, the Fire
coming from Heaven, the Shecinah, the Holy Ghost, and the
Urim and Thumim. • i , ,
(6) Which shined on the High Priest's Breast, -jrc] This is
a Conjecture of the Rabbins, without any Foundation froni
Scripture. It is much more credible, that the Priest pronounced
the Oracle with his Mouth. See our Observations., on Ej(od.
;{xviji. 3Q. JVaw^. xxvii. 31. Le Clerc.
73 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I,
sect: XVII.
Tie same frovsd also from Pf^dictiofff.
THERE is another Argjimenf to prove the
Providence of God, very like to this of Miracles,
and no less poweriul> drawn from the foretelling
of future Events, which was very often and very
expressly done amongst the Hebrews ; such as the
(«*) Man's being childless w^ho should rebuild Je-
richo ; the destroying the Altar of Bethel, by King
Josiak by Name {b) above three hundred If ears
before it came to pass : So also /jA/'a^ foretold the
{c) very Name and principal Acts of Cyrus ; and
Jeremiah the Event of the Siege of Jerusalenii af^er
it w^as surrounded 'by the Chaldneans ; and Daniel
(d) the Translation of the Empire from the jissy-
rians to the Medes and Persians, and (e) from them
to Alexander of Maced&i', (f) >vhose Successors to
Part of his Kingdom were to be the Posterity of
Lagus and Seleums ; and. what Evils the Hebrews
should undergo from all these, particularly "(^) the
famous
(a) The Man's iting childless, &C.] Compare Joshua vi. Z6.,
witii 1 K^gt xvi. 34. « . , '
'(6) Ahow three hundfedTears,k.c.'\ CCCLW, ^i J Oitphus
thinks in his Ancient Histoty, Boole X. Chap. 5. ■
(c) The very Name, &c,] Chap. xxi{vii. xxxviii. For the
fulfilling, see Ch. xxxix. and lii. BMsehiys, Book IX. Ch. 39,
of his Prepurat. Iwings a Testimony out of Eupalcrmis, both of
the Prophecy, and the fulfilling of it,
(rf) The Trmidtttian qf the Empire^ &c.] Daniel i, Z1. 39.
V, 28. "vii. 5. viii. 3, ZO, x. 20. xi. 2.
(e) 'Fnm them to Alexander, IScc."] In the. foi'ecit(sd Ch. ii.
32 an^,39. vii. 6. viii. S, 6, 7, S, 21. x. 20. "xi. 3, 4. :
Wkose SuccetsorSfkc^ Chap. ii. 33, 40, vii, 7, 19, 2Si
2*, viii. 28. X, 5^ 6, 7, 8, 9. 10, 11, 19, 13, 14, 15, \6, 17,
,18, 19, 20.
(g) The famous Antiochns, &c,] vii, 8, 11, 20, 24, 25.
viii. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 23,24, 25, 26. xi. 21, 8S,'23, 24,
25,
Sect. 17.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. U
famous Antiochus ; so vei-y plainly, (a) that Por-^
fhyryy who compared the Grteeian Histories, extant
in his Time» with the Prophecies, could not make
it out any other Way, but by saying, that the
Things ascribed to Daniel, were wrote aftter they
came to pass ; which is the, same as if anyone
should deny, that what is now extant itnder the
Name of yirgil, and was always thought to be his,
was Writ" by him m Augustus's T\mQ. For there
was n^er any more"'Doubt amongst th© ffehre^s,
concerning trie one, than thfere was amongst' the
Komam, "concernihg the other. Tti' alt wHidi may
be added,' the ; many and express Oracles - (b)
amongst those of Mexkd and Perti, which fdre-
told the coming of the Spaniards into those Parts,
and the Calamities that woiild follow.
. And hy other Arguminfs.
{c) TO thi§ may be referred very many Dreams
exactly agreeing with the Events ; which both as
to themselves and their Causes were so utterly, un-
95, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40,
41, 42, 43, 44, 45. xii. 1, 2, 3, II. Josephus explains tiiese
Places as we do, Book.X. Ch. 12; and- Book: Xy;.Ch. 11;
and Book I. Ch. 1. of his Jewish War. Ciiysast&nll. against
the Jews ; making use of the TestimQny of JosfjiSus^ and Pa-
lickronius, and other Greek Writers.
(a) TAtftPorphyry.&c.l See Jerom upon Daniel t^roxighoat.
(A) Amongst those of Mexico, he,'] {GarciUazza:.de,la Vega)
Jnca, Acosta. Herrtm, and others, relate strange ThijifsQfihese
OracFes. See Peter Ciezza, Tome II. ©f the Ja<iian, Af{a.iTs.
(c) To this may be referred, &c,] Whftt is Jiere said^ does not
to mach prove the Existence of God, -whovtalces Care of the
Affairs^Mien ; as that there are present wjth thera some invisi-
ble Brings, more powerful than Men, which whoevei-believes,
will easily believe tl»at there is a God. For there is no Necessity
^that all Things, ^hich com6 to pass different frora the common
Course of Nature, should be ascribed te God hiinself ; as. if
jrhatfcver cannot be effected Vy Men, pr the Power of corporeal
Things must be done ty him himself, lie Chr<,., ■,, ^ ,
• Hnown
i
7i OF THE THUTH OF THE [Book 1.
fe,nown to those that dreamed them, that they can
not without great Sh'amelessness be attributed to
natural Causes : of which Kind the best Writers
afford us eminent Examples, {a) TertulUan has
made a Collection of them in his Book of the
Soul ; {b) and Ghosts have not only been seen,
but also heard to, speak, as we are told by those
Historians who .have been far from superstitious
Credulity ; and by Witnesses in our own Age,
who lived in Sina, Mexico, and other Parts of j:iine-
(a) TextaWis.nJtas made aCollecHon,&i:c.'\ Chap. xlvi. where
he~ relates the remarkable Dreams of Astyagcs, of Philip of
Macedott, of the Uimerrcean Woman, ofLaodice, of Mithridates,
o{ Illyiiaii Balaris, of M. Tully, oi Artorius, of the Daughtgr
of Polycrates Samius, whom Cicero calls his Nurse, oiCkonomus
Picfa, oi Sophocles, o{Neopt»kmus the Tragedian. Some of these
we find m.Valerius Maximus, Book I. Chap. 7. besides that of
Calphnrnia concerning C<£sar, of P. Decius, and 2". Manlius, the
Consuls, T.Aiinius, M. Tullym his Banishrnent,fl^37i«f6a/, Aleii'
ander tfie Great, Simbnides, Crdms, the Mother of Uioh^MM* the
Tyrant, C.Seniproniiis Gracchus, Cassius oi Parmenia, Ateritis'
Rvfus^he Roman Knight, Hamilcar the Carthaginian, Alcibiades
the Athenian, and a certain Arcadian, There are many remark-
able Things in Tally's Books of Divination ; neither ought we
to forget that of Pliny, Book XXV. Chap. 2. concerning the
Mother of one that was fighting in Lusitania. And. also those
oi AntigQnvs and Artiicules, who was the first of "the Race of
the Osmanidie in the lApsian Monita, Book I. Chap. 5.. and others
collected by the industrious Theodore Zuingerj Vol. V. Book IV.
the Title of which is concerning Dreams.
(b) And Ghosts have not only, &.C.'] See PZw^orcA in th^ Life
pi Dion and Brutus, and Appion of the same Brutus, in the
Fourih of his Civilla, and Tlorus, Book IV. Chap. 7. Add
to these r«ciYi/i,\concerning Cwtivs Rufus, Annal. XI. which
same History is in Pliny, Epist. XXVII. Book VII. together
with another; concerning that which that wise and courage'ous
philosopher Athcnodorus saw at Athens. And those in Valeriii's
Maximus, Book I. Chap. 8. especially that of CaMJws'the Epi-
cvrean, who was frighted with the Sight of Cafi^r, whom he
had killed ; which is in Lipsius, Book I. Chap. 5. of his Warn-
ings. Many such Histories are collected by Crysippus, Plutarch
jh his Book oi the Soul, sldA Numenius in his' Second Book of
the Soul's Immortdlity^, mentioned by Origen, in his Fifth Boole
against CeZra?,' ' " '. '
rica i
Sect, ir, 18.1 CtlRISTIAN RELIGION. 75
riea ; neither ought we to pass by {a) that com-
mon Method of examininsj Persons' Ini^ocence, by
walking over red-hot Plow-shares, viz. Fire-
OMeal, mentioned in so many Histories of the
German Nation, and their very Laws.
SECT. XVIII.
The Ohjection of Miracles not heing seen now, ad'
swered. ■ '
NEITHER is there any Reason, why any one
should object against what has been said, because
no such Miracles are seen now, nor no such Pre-
dictions heard- Fof it is sufficient to prove a Di-
vine Providence, that there ever have been such.
Which being once established, it will follow, that
we ought to think God Almighty forbears them
nowj for aS wise arid prudent Reasons,, as he be-
fore did them. Nor is it fit that the Laws given
to the Universe, for the natural Course of Things,
and that what is future might be tmcertain, shoul4
■ (a) That common Method, Sicl See the Testimonies of this
Matter, collected by Francis Juret, upon the 74th.!5pi&tle iil-
jnon. Bishop of Qhartres. Sophocles's 4ntigone tells us how old
this is where the Tlieban Relations of Oedipus spe&k thus :
We are prepared to handle red-hot Irori)
To pass through Fire, or to invoke the Gods,
That we are innocent, and did not do it.
Which we learn alsoTrom the Report of Strata, Book V. and
Pliny's Natural Hist. Book VII. Chap. 2. and Serviiis upon
yirgil's Eleventh Mneid. Also those Tilings which were je'en
of old, in Feronia's Grove upon the Mountain Soracte. To
these Things which happened contrary to the common Course -
of -Nature, we may add, I think, those we find made use of
to preserve Men's Bodies from being wounded by Arrows.
See als'o the certain Testimonies concerning those who have
spoke after their Tongues were cut out upon the Abcount of
Religion, such as Justinian, Book I. Chapter of the Prcetorian
Oflice; concerning a Praefect in Africa. 'Proctipius-ln the First
of his Vandalks, Victor Utitensis, in his" Btjok of Persecutions,
$nd Aneas Gaza in Theophrastus. ■
always
76 OF THE TRUTH OF THE tBook I.
always, or without good Reason, be suspended,
but then only, when there was a sufficient Cause ;
as there was at that Time, when the Worship of
the true Qod was banished almost out of the
World, being confined only to a small Corner' of
it, viz. Judeeas and waa to be; defended from that
Wickedness which surrounded it, by frequent
Assistance. Or when the Christian Religion,
conceming which we shall afterwards particularly
treat, was, by the Determination of God, to be
spread ajl over the World.
SECT. XIX.
Andof there being so much Wickedness.
SOME Men are apt to doubt of a Divine Pro-
vMence, because they see so much Wick^lness
practised, that the World, is in a Maj;iner over-
whelmed *vith it, like a Deluge : Which they don-
tend should be the ^Business of Divine Providence,,
if there were any. to hinder or suppress. But the
Answer to such is very easy. When God made
Man a free Agent, and at Liberty to do well or
ill (reserving to himself alone a necessary and im-
mutable Goodness) {a) it was not fit that he should
put
(fl) It was not Jit, &c.] Thus TertulUan against Murcian 11.
*' An entile Liberty of the Will is granted him either Way,
" that he may always appear to- be Master Of- himself, by
" doing'of his cwn~Aecord that which is good, and avoiding
" of his own Accord that which is evil. Because Man, who
"is m other Respects subject to the Determination of God,
" ought to do that which is just, out of the good Pleasure of
*' bis own free Will.' But neithtr the wages of that which
" is good or evil, can justly be paid to Jiiin who is found to
" bo gOod or evil, out of Necessity, and not out ei* Choice,
f And for this Reason was the Law app'ointe^c not to exclude,
«'■ but to prove. Liberty, by voluntarily performing Obedience
" to it, or by voluntarily transgressing it; so that in eithe*
" Event the Liberty o£ the Will is manifest." And again
afterwards : " Then the Consequence wduld liave been": that
" Goi would h^ve withdrawn that Liberty, which was once
7 . " granted
Sect. 19, 20.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 7/
put such a Restraint upon evil Actions, as waS" in-
consistent with this Liberty. But whatetet^ Means
of hindering them were not repugnant to sdch
Liberty ; as estabhshing and promulging a Law,
external and internal Warnings, together with'
Threatnings and Promises ; none of these were
neglected IgrGodt Neither would he suffer the
Effects of Wickedness to spread to the furthest ;
so that Government was never utterly subverted^
nor the Knowledge of the IJivine Laws entirely
extinguished. And even those Crimes that were
permitted, as we hinted before, were not without
their Advantages, when made Use 6f either to
punish those who were equally wicked, or to chas-
tise those who were slipt out of the Way of Vir-
tue, or else to procure some eminent Exdmple of
Patience and Constancy, in those who had made a
great Prbgress iii Virtue, {a) Lastly, Even they
themselves, whose Grimes seemed to be over-
looked for a Time, were for the most Part punish-
ed, with a propojtionablQ Punishment, that the
Will of God might be executed against them,
who acted contrary to his Will.
SECT. XX.
And that so great, as to oppress good Men.
AND if at any Time Vice should go unpunish-
ed, or which is wont to offend many weak Persons,
" granted to Man, that is, would have retained within him-
" self his Fore-krfdwledge and exceeding Power, whereby he,
" might have interposed, to hinder Man, from falling into
'• DflBge!-;' by tryirtg to make an ill Use "of his Liberty. For
"if he had interposed, he' would then have taken away that
"Liberty, which his Reason and Goodness had given, them."
OHgm,\i\ fiis Foulrth Book against CeUits, handles this Matter,
a»>he us-es to do other's, very learnedly ; where, amongst other
Things, hfr' says, *' Thijit you destroy the Nature of Virtue, If
" ybu take away Liberty." „t
'^ti)'Li&itfi,Eoai tli&j themselves, &e.] Concerning this w)foIe
Matter, sfete tKe Note at Sect. VUL
some
78 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book ti
some goed- Men, oppressed by the Fury of the
Wicked, should not only lead a troublesome Life,
but also undergo an infamous Death ; we must not
presently from hence conclude against a Divine
Providence ; which, as we have before observed, is
established by such strong Arguments ; but rather,
with the wisest Men, draw this following Inference:
SECT. XXL
This may he turned upon them, so as to protie, that
Souls survive Bodies.
THAT since God has a Regard to human
Actions, who is himself just; and yet these Things
come to pass in the mean Time ; we ought to
expect a judgment after this Life, lest either re-
markable Wickedness should continue unpunish-
ed, or eminent Virtue go unrewarded and fail of
Happiness.
SECT. XXII.
Which is confirmed hy Tradition.
In {a) order to establish this, we.muSt first shew,
that Souls remain after they are separated from
their Bodies; which is a most antient Tradition
derived from our' first Parents (whence else could
it come ?) to almost all civilized People ; as ap-
pears {V) from Homers Verses, {c) and from the
Philo-
(a) In order to establish this, &c.] Whoever has a mind to
read this Argument more largely handled, I refer him to. G|rj(r
sostom on 1 Cor. Ch. xv. and to his Ethics^ Tome VI. agamst
those who affirm that human affairs are regulated hy Dcemmis,:
And to his Fourth discourse upon ProM(/eHce.
(b) From Homer's Verses, &c.] Especially on that Part cal'l-
.ed viKvla, concerning those that art departed To which may be
added, the like in Virgil, in Stneca'&OEdipus, Lucan, Statins,
and that in Samuel, I Sam. xxviii.
(c) And from the Fkilosophers, &c.] Pherecydes, Pythagoras,
AXii Plato, and all the' Dispiples of them. To these Justin
adds
Sect. 21, 22.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 79
Philosopbers, not only the Greeks, bpt also the
ancient Gauls, [a) which were called EXri4ds, and
{i) from the Indians called Brachmans, and from
those Things, which many Writers have related,
{c) concerning the Egyptiaifs (d) ajid. Thracians, and
also by the Germans. And moreover, concerning
adds Emp'edocles, and many Oracles in his Second Apologetic ;
and Zenocfates.
{a) Which were called Druids, &c.] These taught that
Souls did not die. See Ccisar, Book'Vl. of the War with the
Gauls, and Strabo, Booli IV. of the same. " These and others
" say, that Souls are incorruptible;" (see also Lucati, Boolf I.
455.)
(i) AnAfnmi iAe Indians caZZerf Brachmans,' &c.] Whose
Opinion Strabo expkins to us thus,: Book XV. " We are to
*' think of this- Life, as of the State of a Child before it be
" born ; and of Death, as a Birth to that which is truly Life
" and happiness to wise Men." See also a remarkable Place
■concerning this Matter, in Por-phyry's Fourth Book, against
eating Living Creatures.
(c) Con,ce»'7?ing ife Egyptians, &c.] Herodotus in his Enter pt
says, that it was the Opinion of the Egyplians, " That the
" Soul of Man was immortal." The same is reported of them
by Diogenes La'ertius, in his Preface, and by Tacitus, Book V.
of his. History of the Jeus. " They buried rather than burnt
"their Bodies, after the Manner of the Egyptians ; they hav-
" ing the same Regard and Persuasion concerning the Dead."
See Diodorus Siculit.t, concerning the Soul of 0«'m; and Ser-
vius on the Sixth ^neid, most of which is taken- from the
Egyptians.
(rf) And Thracians, &c.'] See again here, the places of
Hcrmippus, concerning Pythagoras, which we before quoted
out of JosepKus. Mela, Book II. concerning the Thracians,
says, " Some think, that the Souls of those who die, return
" again ; othersj that though they do not retnrn, yet they do
" not die", but go to a more happy Place;" And Soliaus con-
cerning the same. Chap. X. -" Some t)f them think, that the
" Souls of those w-ho die, return again ; others, that' they do
" not die, but are made more happy." Hence arose that Cus-
tom of attending the Funerals with great Joy, mentioned by
these Writers, and by Valerius Max. Book I. Chap. ?. 12,
That which we before quoted out of the S'choKast Upon Aris'
tophanes, makes this the more credibly viz. that some of the
Hebrews of old came out of Thrace,
' a Divine
80 OF THE TRUl^ OF THE fBook t.
a Divine Judgment after this Life, we find many
Things extant, not only among the Greeks (a) bot
also amongst the Egyptians {h) and Indians, as
Strahof Diogenes, Ldertius, and {c) Plutarch tell
us : To which we may add a Tradition, that
the World should be Tpurnt ; which was found
of old {d) in Hystqspes and the Sybils, and now
also (e) in Ovid (f) and 'Lucan, and amongst
the
(fl) Bi/^ flZso amo»»^-«f -^e Egyptians, &c.] Hiodprus Siciilus,
Book I. says, that what Orpheus AtYiveieA, concerning Souls
departed, was taken from the Egyptians, Repeat what we
how quoted out of Tucitiis.
(i) jtfuij Indians, &c.] Amongst- whose Opinions, Strabo
Book XV. reckons that " Concerning the Judgments that are
•' exercised amongst th« Souls departed."
(c) And Plutarch, &c.] Concerning those whose Punish-
ment is deferred by the Gods, and conperuing the Face of the
Moon's Orb. See a famous PJace of his, quoted by Eusebius,
Book XI. Ch. 38. of his Gospel Preparat. out of the Dialogue
concerning the Soul.
(d) In Hystaspes and the Sibyls, &c.] See J-nstin's Second
Apolngttic, and Cfemen*,, Strom. VI. whence is quoted that
from the Tragedian. J
For certainly the Day will come, 'twill come.
When the bright Sky shall from his Treature send
A liquid Fire, vhose all-devouring Flames,,
By Laws unbounded, shall destroy the Earth,
And iihet's above it ; all shall vanish then.
The Water 9f the beep shall turn to Smoke,
The Earth shall cease to nourish Trees ; the Air,
Instead of bearing vp the' Birds, shall burn.
(e) Ovid, &c.] Metamorphoses, Book I,
For he remembered 'twas by Fate decreed
Tofutnre Times, that Sea, and Earth, and Heav'n
Should bum, and this tost Frame of Nature frail.
(f) And Lucan, &c.] Book I.
So lohen this frame vf Nature is dissolv'dj
And the lest Hours in future Times, cpproacti.
All to its ancient Chaos shall return ;
The Stars confounded tumbbe inio Sea,
The Earth-refuse its Bank*, and try to throw
The
Sect. 23?] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 81
(c) the Indians m Siam ; a Token o^ which, is the^
Sun's approaching "nearer to the Earth, (J) ob-
served by Astronomers. So likewise, upon the
first going into the Canary Islands and Anierica,axiA
other distant places, the same Opinion conceriiirtg'
Souls and .Judgnaent was found there.
SECT. XXIII. -
And no Way repugnant to Reason.
(«) NEITHER can we find any Argument
drawn from Nature, which overthrows this, an an-
cient
The Ocean off. The Moon attach the Sun,
Driving her Chariot through the burning Sky,
Enrag'd and challenging to rule the Day. ,
The Order of the World's disturb' d throughout,
Lucan was preceded by his Uncle Seneca, in the End o/ his
Book of Murcia; " The Stars shall run upon epch o.ther ; and
" every Thing being on a Flame, that, wliich now shines re-
" gularly, shall then burn in one Fire." ■ '
(c) The Indians in Siam, &c.3 See Ferdinand Mendesius,
(d) Observed Sg Astronomers, &c.] See Gopernicus's Revolu-
tions, Book. III. Chap. l6. Joachim liheeticus on Copernicus, and
Gemma Frisius. See also Ptolemy, Book III. Ch. 4. of his Ma-
thematical Syntax. That the World is not now upheld by that
Power it was formerly, as itself declares ; " and that its Ruin
" is evidenced, by the Proof, how the Things in it fail," says
Cyprian to Demetrius. The Earth is nearer to the Sun in its
Peri/ielions, tbat is, when it is in the extreme parts of the lesser
Axis of its Parabola, though the Earth always approaches at the
same Distances; yet it is manifest from hence, that at the Will of
God, it may approach still nearerj and' if it so pleases him, be
set on Fire by the Sun, as it hap|)en8 t-o Comets. Le Clerc.
" It were to be wished that the learned Remarker had left out
" this and some other Notes of this Kind, unless he had studied
" such sort of things more." ir
(e) Neither can we find any Argument', &c.] This Matter
might be handled more exactly, and upon better Pr.ii\ciples of
Philosophy, if our Room, woiild allow it, I. We ought to de-,
fine what we mean by the Death of the Sou/, which would hap-
pen, if either the Substance of the Sovil were reduced to no-
thing, or if tliere were so great a Change made in it, that it
■ G Wjere
82 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book I.
cient and extensive Tradition : For all those Things
which seem to us to be destroyed, are either de-
stroyed by the Opposition of something more pow-
erful than themselves, as Cold is destroyed by the
greater Force of Heat ; or by taking avcay the Siib-
were deprived of the Use of all its Faculties; thiis material
Things are said to be.destroyed, if either their Substance ceases
to be, or if their Form be so altered, that they ai;e no longer
of the same Species; as when Plants are burnt orputrefigd ;
the like to which befals Brute Creaturei. II. It cannot b&
proved that the Substance of the Soul perishes : For Bodies are
not entirely destroyed,^ but only divided, and their Parts sepa-
rated from each other. Neither can any Man prove, that the
Soul ceases to think, which is the Life of the Soul, after the
Death of the Man; for it does not follow that when the Body
is destroyed, the Mind is destroyed too, it having never yet
been proved, that it is a material Substance. III. Nor has the
contrary yet been made ajjpear, by certain philosophic Argu-
ments, drawn from the Nature of the Soul ; because we are
ignorant of it. It is true indeed, that the Soul is not, by its
own Nature, reduced to nothing ; neither is the Body ; this
must be done by the particular Act of their Creator. But it
m3y possibly be without any Thought or- Memory; which
State, as I before said, may be called the Death of it. But».
IV. If the Soul, aftor the Dissolution of the Body, should re-
main (or ever in that State, and never return to its Thought or
Memory again, then there can be no Account given ^of Divine
Providence, which has been proved to be by the foregoing
Arguments. Gpd's Goodness'and Justice, the Love of Virtue^
and Hatred to Vice, which every one acknowledges in him,
would be only empty Names; if he should confine his Benefits
to the short and fading good Things of this Life, and make no
Distinction betwixt Virtue and Vice ; both good and bad Mea
equally perishing for ever, Vfithout seeing in this Life any Re-
wards or Punishments dispensed to those who have done well or
ill : And hereby God will cease to be God, that is the most
perfect Being ; which, if we take away, we cannot give ,any
Account of almos^any other Thing, as Gro<?a« has sufficiently
shewn, by those Arguments, whereby he has demonstrated,
that all Things were created by God, Since therefore there is
a God, who loves Virtue and abhors Vice i the Souls of Men
must be immortal, and reserved for Rewards or Punistrtients in
another Life. But this requires further Enlargement, i^e Clerc.
The Proof of the Soijl's Immortality, drawn from the Considera-
tion of the Nature of it, may be seen in its full Force in Dr.
Clarke's Letter to Mr. Dodvielly&ni the Defences of it.
"Sect. 23.} CHRISTIAN IIEOGION. 83
ject upon which they depend, as the Magnitude of
a Glass, by breaking it ; or by the Defect of the
efficient Cause, as Light by the Absence of the
Sun. But none of these can lie applied tc^ the
Mind ; not the first, because nothing can be con-
ceived contrary to the Mind ; nay, such is the pe-
culiar Nature of it, that it is capable equally, and
at the same Time, of contrary Thltigs in its own,
that is, in an intellectual Manner. Not the second,
because there is na Subject upon which the Nature
of the Soul depends ; (a) for if there were any, it
would be a human Body ; and that it is not so,
appears from hence, that when the Strength of the
Body fails by Action, the Mind only does not con-
tract; any Weariness by acting, (i) Also the Powers
of the Body suffer, by the too great Power of the
Things whiph are' the Objects of them, as Sight
by the Light pf, the Sun. .(c) But the" Mind is
(«) For ^ they ■were any, &C,'] That there is none, Aristotle
proves very well' from Old Men, Book I. Ch. 4. conterning the
Soul. Also Book III. Ch. 4. he commends Attasagorat, for
saying, that the Mind was sitiiple and unmixt, that it might
ciistinguish Other Things.
(b) Also the Powers nfthe Body, &c.] Aristotle, Book III. of
the Stml, says: " That there is not the like Weakneit in the
" intellectual Part, that there is in the sensitive, is evident from
" the Organs of Sense, and from Sensation itself; for there
" can be no Sensation, where the Object of such Sensatiop is
" too strong ; that is, where .the Sound is too loud, there is
"no Sound; . and where the Sraell is too strong, or the
" Colours too bright,' they cannot be smelt nor seen. But the
" Mind, when it considers Things most excellent to the Under-
" standing, is not hindered by then) from thinking, any more
" than it is by meaner Things, but rather excited by them ;
" because the sensitive Part cannot be separated from the Bodjr,
" but the Mind hiay." Add to this, the famous Place of Pw-
tinus, quoted by Eusebius, in his Preparat. Book XV. Chap. 22l
Add also, that the Miod can overcome those Passions whicb
arise from the Body, by its own Power; and^ can choose the
greatest Pains, and even the Death of it.
(e) But the Mind is rendered, &c.] And those are the most
Excellent Actions' of the Mind, which call it off most from the
Body.
G 2 rendered
84 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Bpok IT,
rendered the more perfect, by bow much the
more excellent the Things are, about which it is
conversant; as about Figures abstracted from
Matter, and about universal Propositiorjs. The
Powers of the Body are exercised about fhps^
Things which are limited, by Time and Place, but
the Mind,' about that= which is Infinite and Eter-
nal. Therefore, since the ; Mind, in its Opera-
tions, does not depend upon t'hfe Body,' so neither
does its Existence depend upoii it ; for we cannot
judge of the Nature of those Things which \ye
do not see, but from their Operations. Neither
has the third Method of being destroyed any
Place here'. For there is no efiteient Cause, frotii
which the Mind continually flbws : Not the Pa-
rents, because the Children live after they are
dead. If we allow any Cause at all from whence
the 'Mind ilowSi it can be no other than the first
and universal Catisej' whicli as to its PoWer, can.
never fail; and as to its Will, that, That fehould
faili that is, that God shpuld will the Soul/ to be
destroyed, this can never be proved, by any Ar-
gument. ' ' . * .
• .'' '■' " ;;'.'sEict. xxiv-^:,., .'■ ' ,.,
. _ Bi4i many Things favour it, ■
_Nay, there are' many not inconsiderable Argu-
ments, for the contrary; ; such as («) the.absDJutii
• ifl) 'The absolute Pomer etery Man has over, his own Actions^
&c.] ■ And over all other living Creatures, To which may b&
added, the KnO;y»ledge of God, and of Immortal Beings. "An
".Immortal Creature i& not understood by any mortal one," say*
Sallusi the ^ilosop.her, Oi?e remarkable Token of his Know*
ledge is, .that jthere is, nothing ,so,grieyous, which the Mipd will,
not despise, for l;he Sake of Qod. Besides, the Pojwer of un-
derstanding and acting is not limited, as it is in other Creature*,
but unwearied, andextendsitself infinitely, and is by this Means'
Dke untd God j whicli piffe;rehce of Men from other. Creatures,
was taken Ndtice of By Ga^en. ' "~"
4 Power
Sect. 24.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. i$
Power every Man has ovep>bis own Actions; a
natural Desire of Immortality ; the Power of Con-
science, MOk\da comforts him when he has perform-
ed any good Actions, jthough never so difficult;
andj on the contrary, (a) torments him, when he
has done any bad Thing ; especially at the Ap-
proach of Death, as it were, with a Sense of iin-
pendirig Judgment ; (b) the Force of which, many
Times could not be extinguished by the worst of
Tyrants, though they have endeavoured it ever
so much ; as appears by many Examples.
(d)Torments.him whence has 4one, &c.] See Plcfto's Vatt
-Book of his Coinmonieeulth: " When Death seems to approach,
".any one, 'Fear and Solicitude come upon him, about those
" Things which before he did not think of."
(6) The Force of which, &c.] Witness that Epistle of Tiieria*
to the Senate.' " What I should write to you, O Senators, or
" how I should write, or whati should not write, at this T?ime,
" let the Gods and Goddesses destroy me, worse than I flow
" feel myself to perish,' if I know."' Which Words, after
Tacitus had recited in the Vlth of his Annals, he adds, " So
" far did his Crimes and Wickedness turn to his Punishment.
•' So true is that Assertion of the Wisest of Me», that if the
" Breasts of" Tyrants were laid open, we might behold 'the
" Gnawiflgs and Stingings of them ; for as the Body is bruised
" with Stripes, so the Mind is torn with Rage and Lust and
" evil Designs." Tha Person which Tacitus here means, is
Plato, who says of a' Tyrsint, in Book IX. of his Common-
wealth : " He would appear to be. in Reality a Beggar, if any
" one could but see into his whole Soul ;' full of Fears all hjs
'* Life long, full of Uneasiness and Torment." The same
Philosopher has something like this in his Gorgias, _ Suetonius,
Cfr. 67. being about to'recite the furementianed Epistle of Tibe-
rius, introduces it thus: " At last when he was quite wearied
*' put, in the Beginning of such an Epistle as this, he confesses
"almost all his Evils." Clavdian had an Eye to this Place of
JPtoo, when he describes Btt^flMS in his Second Poem. '
Stains ivithin
Deform hii Breatt ; which bears the Stamp qf Vice,
SECT.
S5 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [BookL
SECT. XXV.
From whence itfoUoivs that the End of Man is
Happiness after this Life.
IF then the Soul be of such a Nature as con-
tains in it no principles of Corruption ; and God
has given us many Tokens, by which we ought to
understand, that his Will is, it should remain after
the Body ; there can be no end of Man, propo-s
«ed more worthy of Him, than the Happiness of
that State ; and this is what Plato and the Pytha^
goreans said, (a) that the End of Man was to be
made most like God. "Thus what Happiness is^
and how to be secured, iVIen may make some
Conjectures ; but if there be any Thing concern-
ing it revealed from God, that ought to be
esteemed most true and most certain.
SECT. XXVI.
Which we must secure^ by finding out the true
Religion.
NOW since theChristian Religion recommends
itself above all others-; whether we ought to give
Credit to it or no, shall te the Business of the
Second Part of this Work to examine.
(o) That the End of Man wat, &c.] Which the Stoics had
from Flato, as Clemens remarks, Strom. V.
BOOK
Sect. 1, 2.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 87
BOOK II.
SECT. I.
That the Christian Religion is true.
npHE Design then of this Second Book, " (after
having put up our Petitions to Christ, the
Xing of Heaven, that he would afford us such
Assistance]^ of \m holy Spirit, as may render us
sufficient ^t so great a Bivsiness) is not to treat
particularly hi all the Opinions 'in Christianity ;
but only to shew that the Christian Religion itself
is most true and certain ; which we attempt thus.
SECT. II.
The Tfotfthat there was such a Person as Jesus.
THAT Jesus of Nazareth formerly lived in
Judaa, in the Reign of Tiberius the Roman Empe-
ror, is constantly acknowledged, not only by
Christians, dispersed all over the World, but also
by all the Jews which now are, or have ever wrote
since that Time ;'the same is also testified b^ Hea-
thens, that is, such as did not write either of the
Jtwishf oroftheChristianReligion,(<7)<S'»«/o»m, {b)
Tacitus f .
(fl) Suetonius, &c.] In his Claudius, Chap. Z5. vikereChresto
is put for Christo, because that Name was more fitiown to the
Greeks and Latins.
(6) Tacitus, &c.] Book XV. _where he is speaking of the
Punishment of the Christians. " The Author of that Name
" was Christ, who in the Reign of Tiberius sufl^red Punis^-
" ment under his Procurator Pontius Pilate." Where the great
Crimes and Hatrecl to human Kind they are charged with, is
nothing
5
«8 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book II.
Taciius (a) Pliny the Younger, and many after
these. *
That he died ah ignominious Death,
THAT the same Jesus was crucified by Pontius
Pilate, the President of Judaa, is acknowledged by-
all the same Christians, notwithstanding it might
seem dishonourable to th^m who worship such a
Lord, [h) It is also acknowledged by the /ifwj,
nothing elge but their Contempt of false Gods ; which same
Reason yacJfM liad to curse the Jews; and Pliny the Elder,
when he calls the Jews " a People remarkable for Contempt of
" the Gods." That is, very many Of theJloma;?* were come to
this, that their Consciences were not affected; by that Part of
their Theology which was Civil (which Seneca commends) but
they feigned it in their outward Actions, and kept it as a Com-
inand of the Law ; looking upon Worship as a Thing of Cus-
tom, more than in Rea;lity. ' See the Opinion of Varro and Se-
neca about this Matter, which is the same with that ofTqcitus;
in Augustin, Book V. Chap. 33. and'Book VI. Chap. 10. of.his
City of God, In the mean Time it is worthy observing, that
Jesus, v/ho was punished by Pontius Pilate, was acknowledged
by many at RomCf in Nero's Time, to be the Christ, Compjire
that of Justin in his Second Apologetic concerning this His-
tory ; where he addresses himself to the Emperors wclA. Roman
Senate, who might know those Things' from the Acts.
(a) Pliny theYoiinger, &c.] The Epistle is obvious to every
one, ot'z. Book X. Chap. 97. which Tertullian mentions in
his Apologetic, and £u«eto«, in his CArojiicon,; where we find,
. that the .Christians were used to say a Hymn to Christ as God,
arid to bind themselves not to perform any wicked Thing, but
to forbear committing Theft, Robbeiy, or Adultery ; to be
true to their Word, 'and strictly perform their Trust. Pliny
blames their Stubbornness and Inflexible Obstinacy in this one
Thing ; that they would not invoke the Gods, nor do Homage
with Frankincense and Wine, before the Shrines of Deifies,
nor curse Christ-; nor could they be compelled to do it by^a■ny
Torments whatsoever. . The Epistle, in Answer to that of
Trajctn, says, that He openly declares himself to be no Chris-
tian, who supplicates the Roman Gods. Origen, in his Fourth
Book against Celsus, tells us, there was a certain History .of'
Jesus extant in Numenius the Pythagorean.
(b) It is also acknowledged, &c.] Who calls him iVn, that
is hrniged, Benjaminus Ttt^lensis, . in his Itinerary, acknow-
Jedges that- Je««4" was slain at Jerusalem,
though
Sect. 3, 3.] ' CHRISTIAN RELtGlON. 85
though they are not ignorant^ how much they lie
under the Displeasure of the Christians, under
whose Govetnment they every where live, upon
this Account, because their Ancestors were the
Cause oi Pilate's doing it. Likewise the Heathen
\y^fiters, we mentioned, have recorded the same to
Pp&terity ; (<z) ^nd a long Tiipe after, the Acts of
Pilate were extant, to which the Christians some-
time appealed. Neither did Julian, nor other
Opposers of Christianity, ever call it in Question.
Sp that no History cap be imagined more certain
than this ; whicK is confirmed by the Testimo-
nies, I don't say, of so many Men, but of so
many People, which difered from each other,
(h) Notwithstanding which, we find him wor-
shipped as Lord, throughout the most distant
Countries of the World.
SECT. m.
^nd yety aftefhis Death, was worshipped hy wise
Men.
AND that not only in our age, or those im-
mediately foregoing; but also, even in the first,
the Age next to that in which it was done, in the
Reign of the Emperor Nero; at which Time the
forementioned Tacitus, and others attest, that
very many were punished because they professed
the Worship of- Christ.
(fl) And a Idng time after, &c.] See Epiphanius in his TeS'
sarescadocatitas. It were better to have omitted this Argument,
because some imprudent Christians might appeal to some spu-
rious Acts ; for it does not^appear that there were any genuine
ones. Le Clerc.
C6) Notmthitanding which, &c.] Chrysoitem handles this
Matter at large, upon 2 Cor. v. 7.
SECT.
90 , OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book H.
SECl:. IV.
The Cause of which could he no other, hat those
Miracles which were done by him.
AND there were always very many amongst the
Worshippers of Christy who were Men of good
Judgment, and of no small Learning; such as
(not to mention Jews') {p) Sergiusihe President of
Cyprus (h) Dionysius the Areopagite, {c) Polycarp,
(d) Justin, (e) Irenteus, (f) ^thenagoras, (g) Origen,
{h) Tertullian, (i) Clemens Alexandrinus, and others:
Who being such Men, why they should them-
selves be Worshippers of a Man that was put to
an ignominious Death, especially when almost all
of them were brought up in other Religions, and
there was neither Honour nor Profit to be had by
the Christian Religion: Why, I say, they should do
thus, there can be no reason given but this one;
that upon a diligent Inquiry, such as becomes pru-
(ffl) Sergius <'Ae President, &c.] Acts xiii. 12.
(b) Dionysius the Areopagite, &c.] Ads xvii. 34.
(c) Pblycarp, &c.] Who suffered Martyrdom in Asia, in
the CLXJXth Year of Christ, according to Eusebius.
(d) Justin, &c.] Who published Writings in Defence of
the Christians in the CXLlId Year of Christ. See the same
Eusebius.
(e) Jrerueus, &C.3 He flourished at Li/ons, in the dLXXXIId
Year of Christ.
(fj Athendgorat, &c.] This Man was an Athenian. He
flourished about the CLXXXth Year of Christ, as appears
from the inscription qf bis Boole.
(g> Origen, &c.] He flourished about the CCXXXth
' Year of Christ.
{h) Tertullian, kc] Who was famous in the CCVHIth
Year of Christ.
(i) Clemens Alexandrinus, t(Ci} About the same Time. See
Eusebiuf. , •, ;
dent
Sect. 4, 5.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 91
dent Men to make, in i Matter of the highest
Concern to them ; they found, that the Report
which was spread abroad, concerning the Mira-
cles that were done by him, was true and founded
upon sufficient Testimony; Such/ as healing sore
Diseases, and those of a long Continuance^ only
by a Word, and this publickly ; restoring Sight
lo him that was born blind ; increasing Bread for
the feeding of many thousands, who were all
Witnesses of it ; restoring the Dead to Life again,
and many other such like.
SECT. V.
Tf^ich Miracles cannot he ascribed to any Natural
or Diabolical Power, but must be from God.
Which Report Wd so certain and undoubted
a Foundation, that Neither (a) Census, nor (b) Julian,
when they wrote against the Christians, dared to
deny that some Miracles were done by Christ ; (c)
the Hebrews also confess it openly in the Books of
the Talmud. That they were not performed by any
natural Power, sufficiently appears from hence, that
they are called Wonders or Miracles ; nor can it
ever be, that grievous Distempers should be healed
immediately only by a Word speaking, or a Touch,
by the Power of Nature, If those Works could
have been accounted for, by any natural Efficacy,
it would have been said so at first, by thpse, who
(a) Celms, &c.J Whose Words, in Book II. of Origen^
are: " You think he is the Son of God, because he healed
" the Lame and the Blind."
(i) Julian, &c.] Nay, he plainly confesses the Thing, wh«n
he says -in the Words recited by Cyril, Book VI. "Unless
" any one will reckon amongst the most difficult Thipgs,
" healing the Lame and the Blind, and casting out Devils in
" BetAsaida and Bethany." «
(c) Tie Hebrews also, kc] In the Title 4buda Zara.
either
St OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book IL
either professed themselves !^nemies of Christ when
he was upon Earth, or of his Gospel. By the' like
Argument we gather, that they were nob juggliitg
Tricks, because very many of the Works were dolie
openly, («) in the Sight of all' the People ; and
amongst whom were many learned Meh, who bore
no good Will to Christ, who observed all his
Works. To which we may add, that the likd
Works were often repeated, and the Effects were
not of a short Continuance, but lasting. All which,
rightly considered, as it ought to be, it will plainly
follow, according to»the Jews' own Confession that
these Works were d0n6 by some povver more than
human, that is, by some good or bad Spirit : That
these Works were not the Effects of any bad Spiriti
is from hence evident, that this Doctrine of Christ
for the Proof of which these Works were performed,
was opposite to those evil Spirits : For it forbids
the Worship of evil Spirits ; it draws Men off
from all Immortality, in which such Spirits delight.
It appears also, from the Things themselves, -thkt
wherever this Doctrine has been received, the
Worship of Demons and {i) Magical Arts have
ceased ; and the one God has been worshipped,
with an Abhorrence of Demons ; whose Strength
and Power (r) Porphyry acknowledges were br&ken
upon the coming of Christ. And it is not at. all
credible, that any evil Spirits should be so impru-
dent, as to do those Things, and that very often,
from which no Honour or Advantage could arise
to them, but, on the contrary, great Loss and
Disgrace. Neither is it any Way consistent with
(s) In the sight of all the People, kc.'\ /4c/* xxvi. 28, liiiicXii.
(i) Magical Arts, &c.] The Books about which were burnt
by the Advice of the Disciples of Christ, Acts xix, 19,
(e) Porphyry acknowledges, &c.] The Place is \t\Eu^h^'s
Frceb. Book V. Ciiap, 3. " After Christ was worshipped
" nobody experienced any public Benefit from the Gods."
the
Sec*. 5.] CHRI§TI4^,:^EU^0N. 93
thfi Goodness or. Wisdom of Qod, t^^ foe, shpi^ld
be thought to suffer Men, wtip were fr^^ from all
wicked designs, and who feared hinij to be de-
gpiyed by the Cunning of ,II^evil^; and such.:were
the first Discipl<?s of Christ, as is manifest frpm
their unblameable Life^ and their suffering very
many -Calamities for: Conscience-sake. If any one
should say, that these Works were done by good
Beings, who yet are inferior -to God; this is to
cpnf^s,; that they were well pleasing to God, an(]l
redounded to his 'Honour ; because good Beings do
nothing but what is ' acceptable to God, and for
his Glory. , Not .to mentioa that sonrie of the
Works of ChristVere such as seem to declare God
higjself to bq., the Author of them, such as the
raising more than one; of those that were dea,d to
Life. ^Moreover, God neither does, nor suffejrs
Miracles to be dojoe without a Reason ; for it does
not become a wise Law-giver to depart from his
Laws, without ^.reason, .and that a, weighty on^.
Now no Qthpt ii^^on. can be given, why these
Tbing&were done, but th^t whiph is alledged by
Chnsti,vfz. (a) tj9>give Credit to his Doctrini? ; nor
could they, who beheld them, conqeive any.otb^r
Reason in .their Minds :. Amongst whom,, since
there were many of a pious Disposition, as w^s
said before, it would be prophane to think God
should do . them > to impose upon ^sjich. , And this
was the rale Reason why many of the Jews, who
(a) To give Credit to hUPoctrin?, &c.] We may add that;
the Event itself, in th^t so great a Part of Mankind embrace^
theClvnstian Religion, shew, that it was a Thing ^0 worlhy
n^ £iod as iTor him to confirm it vvith Miracles at the Begin-
1? ff he diaTo many for the Sake of one Nation, and
Sno very great one, I mean the Jew^; how muph more
agrerble I Us goodness was it to bestow this heavenly Light,
*ITo gteat a Part of Mankind, t*te^lay m the thickest Dark-
ness. Le Clare.
lived
54 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book II,
lived near the Time of Jesus, {a) who yet could
not be brought to depart from any Thing of the
Law given by Moses, (such as they who were called
Jifazarenes and Ebionites) nevertheless owned Jesui
to be a Teacher sent from Heaven.
SECT. VI.
The Resurrection of Christ proved from credihte^
Testimony.
CHRIST'S coming to Life again in a wonderful
Manner, after his Crucifixion, Death and Bu-
rial, affords us no less strong an Argument for those
Miracles that were done by him. For the Chris-
tians of all Times and Places assert this not only
for a Truth, but as the principal Foundation of
their Faith : which could riot be, unless they, wh<)
first taught the Christian Faith, had fully persuaded
their Hearers, that the Thing did not come to pass.
Now they could not fully persuade Men, of anjf
Judgment, of this, unless they affirmed themselves
to be E^e-witriesses of it ; for without such an Af-
firmation, no Man in his Senses Vvould have be-
lieved them, especially at that Time, when such a
Belief was attended with so many Evils and Dan-
gers. That this was affirmed by them with great
(a) IFho yet could not be brought, &c.] See Acts xv. Rom,
xiv.. Jerom in the Easebian Chronicon, for the Year of Christ
CXXV. after behadnamedfifteenChristianBishops af Jerusalem,
adds. " These were all Bishops of the Circumcision, who
" governed till the Destruction of Jerusalem under the Em-
*' peror Adrian." Stterus Sulpitius, concerning the Christians
of those Times and Places, says, " They believed Christ to be
" God, whilst they observed also the Law ; and the Chtifch
had a Priest out of thos^ of the Circumcision." See Epipka-
nius, where he treats of the Nazarenes and Ebionites. Nazarenes
was a Name not for any particular Part, but all the Christians
inPakstine were so called, because theirMaster was a Nazarene.
Constancy,
Sect. 6.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. , 95 '
Constancy, their own Books, (a) and the Books of
others, tell us ; nay, it appears from, those Books,
that they appealed to (b) five hundred Witnesses,
who saw Jesus- after he was risen from the Dead;
Now it is not usual for those who speak Untruths,
to appeal to so many Witnesses. Nor is it possible
so many Men should agree to bear a false Testi-
mony. And if there had been no other Witnesses,
but those twelve known: first Propagators of the
Christian Doctrine, it had been sufficientr No-
body has any ill Design for nothing. They could
not hope for any Honour, from saying what was
not true, because all the Honours were in the
power of the Heathens, and Jews, by whom they
were approached and contemptuously treated : Nor
for Riches, because on the contrary, this Profes-
sion was often attended with the Loss of their
Goods, if they had any ; and if it had been other-
wise, yet the Gospel could not have been taught
by them, but with the Neglect of their temporal
Goods. Nor could any other Advantages of this
Life provoke them to speak a Falsity, when the
very preaching of the Gospel exposed them to
Hardship, to Hunger and Thirst, to Stripes and
Iniprisoo(ment, Fame, amongst themselves only,
was not so great, that for the Sake thereofy Men
of upright Intentions, whose Lives and Tenets
were free from Pride and. Ambition, should under-
go so many Evils, Nor had they any Ground to
hope, that their Opinion, which was so repugnant
to Nature, (which is wholly bent upon its own
(a) And the Books of others, &c.] Even of Celsus, who
wrote against the Christians. See Origen, Book II.
(A) Five hundred Witnesses, &€."] Favl, 1 Cor. xv. 6, He.
says', some of them were dead at that tipie, but their Chil-
dren and Friends weie alive, who might be hearked to, and
testify what they had heard, but the greater Part of them were
alive when Paw/wrote this. This Appearance was a IVlountain
in Gaiilee.
Ad van-
95 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book II.
Advantages) and to the Authority which every
where governed, could make so great a Progress,
but from a Divine Promise. Further, they could
not promise to themselves that this Fame, what-
ever it was, would be lasting; because (God on
purpose concealed his I-ntention in this Matter
from them) they expected that (a) the End of the
whole World was just at Hand, as is plain from
their own Writings, and those of the Christians
that came after them . It remains therefore, that
they must be said to have uttered a Falsity, for
the Sake of defending their Religion ; which, if
we consider the Thing aright, can never be said of
them ; for either they believed from their Heart
that their Religion was true, or they did not be-
lieve it. If' they had not believed it to have
been the best, they would never have chosen it
from all other Religions, which were more safe
and honourable. Nay, though they believed 4t
to be true, they would not have made a Profession
of it, unless they had believed such a Profession
necessary ; especially when they could easily fore-
see, and they quicldy learnt by Experience, that
such a Profession would be attended with the Death
of a vast Number ; and they would have been
guilty of the highest Wickedness, to have given
such Occasion without a just Reason. If they
believed their Religion to be true, nay, that it
was the best, and ought to be professed by all
Means, and this after the Death of their Master; it
was impossible this should be, if their Master's
Promise concerning his Resurrection had failed
(a) The End of the whole World, &(r.] See 1 Thess. iv, 15.
16. 1 Cor. XV. 52. Tertullian of having but one Wife:
•' Now the-Time is very short." Jerom to Gerontis : "What
*• is that to us, upon whom the Ends of the World are
« come ?"
them}
Sect. 6.3 CHRISTIAN RELIGIOi^. 97
them ; (a) for this had been sufficient to any Man
in his Senses, to have overthrown that belief which
he had before entertained : Again, all Religion,
but particularly the Christian Religion, forbids
(b) Lying and False Witness, especially in Diving
Matters : they could not therefore be moved to
tell a Lye; out of Love to Religion, especially
sQch a Religion. To all which may be added,
that they were Men who led such a Life, as was
not blamed even by their Adversaries ; and who ,
had no Objection made against them, (c) but only
their Simplicity, the Nature of which is the most
distant that can be from forging a Lye. " And
there was none of them, who did not undergo
even the most grievous Things, for their Profession
of the Resurrection of Jesus. Many of them en-
dured the most exquisite Death for this Testimony.
Now, suppose it possible, that any Man in his
Wits could undergo such Things for an Opinion
he had entertiained in his Mind ; yet for a Falsity,
and which is known to be a Falsity ; that not only
one Man, but very many should be willing to
endure such Hardships, is a thing plainly inct:e-
dible. And that they were not Mad, both their
Lives and their Writings sufficiently testify. What
has been said of these first, the same may also be
said of Paul, {d) who openly declared that he saw
(fl) For thishad been sit/^cient, &C;] Chrysostom handles this
Avgument at large, upon 1 Cor i. towards the end.
(6) 'Lyirig andfalse Witness, &c.] Matt. xii. S6, ■ John viii.
44, 45. Eph. iv. 25. Rom ix. ]. 2 Cor. vii. 19. xi. 31,
Gal. i. 20. Col. iii. 9- I.Tim, u 10. and ii. /.• Jam iii. 14.
JUatt. xxii. 16. Mark xii. 14. LuJce xx. 21. John xiv. 16.
Eph. v'. 9. and elsewhere.
. (c) But only their Simplicity, Sec] Even Cehits. See Origen,
Book I.
(d) Who Openly declared, &c.] 1 Cor. xv. Q, 2 Cor. xii, 4.
Add to this what Luke the Disciple of Paul writes, Acts ix. 4.
S, 6. and xxii. 6, 7, 8.
H Christ
9S Of TH£ TRUTH OF tHE {tookllj
Cjirist' reigning in tieaven, (a) and he did not'
want the Learning of the Jews, but had great
JProspect of Honour, if he had trod the Paths
oi his Fathers. But on thfe contrary,, he thought
it his duty, for this Profession, to expose himself
to the Hatred of .his Relations ; and to undeftak©
difficult, • dangerousy and troublesome Voyages all
over the World, and at last to suffer an ignomi-
nious Death.
SECT. vir.
? . ■ . - - . .
The Objection drawn from the seeming Im-posdhUtji
of a Resurrection answered.
INDEED, nobody can withstand the Credibi-
lity of so many and so great Testimonies, without
saying, that a Thing of this nature is impossiblie to
be, such as we say all Things that imply a Contra-
diction are. (b) But this cannot be said of it. It
(a) And lie did not want the 'Learning, &c.]J Acts xyni. 3.
TJiere were two Gamaliels famous amongst the Hebrews on
account of thpir Learning, Paul was the. Disciple of one of-
tl\?m, who was very skilful, not only, in the Law,, but also
in those ' Things that were delivered' by the Doctbrs. Sec
Jspiphanius,
(py But this cannot be said of it, &c.J See the seventh An-
swer to the Objections concerning, the Resurrection, in the^
Works of Justin. " An Impossibility in itself, is one Thing ;
"and an Impossibility in any Particular is another;: an Im-
" possibility in itself is, that the Diagonal of a Square should
" be cornmcnsurate with the Side ; a particular Impossibility
" is j^ that Nature should produce an Animal without Seed'.
" To which of these "t\vo Kinds of Impossibles do Unbelievers
" compare the Resurrection ? If to the first their Reasoning
" is false; for a new Creation ,is not like making the Diagenal"
" commensurate with the Side ; but they that rise again,'
" rise by a new Creation, If they mean a particular Impo^i-
" bility ; surely all things are possible with God, tliough'
" they may be impossible tor any else." Goncerning this Dif-
ference of Impossibilities, see the learned 'Holes oi Mcdmwii'de^
ia his Guide to ihe Doubting, Part IIL Ch. 15.
wight
Sect, r.j CHRistiAN RELtGJtON. S9
might indeed, if any one should affirtn, that th6
same Person was alive and dead at the same
'Time : But that a dead Man should be restored to
Life, by the Power of him who first gave Life to
Man, (a) there is no Reason why this should be
thought impossible. Neither did wise Men believe
it to be impossible : For Plato relates it of [b) Er
the Armenian ; (c) Heratlrdes Ponlicus, of a Certain
Woman ; (^d) Herodotus, of Arhtaui ; and (e) Pht-
iaroh,
\a) There is fio Reason -mhy, &c.] All those who are skilfnl
in the true f hilosophy, acknowledge that it is as hard to
tinderstaiid how the F(ctus is formed in the Mother's Womb-,
as how the Dead should be raised to Life; But ignorant Men
are not at all surprised at the Things which they commonly
see ; nor do they account them difficult, though they know
not the Reasoa of them : Bui they think those Things .which
thay never saw, are impossible to be done, though they are
not at -all more difficult than those Things they see every Day.
' Le Clerc.
(b) Er the Armenian &c.] The Place of Plato concern*
iDg thisMatter, isiextant in his Tenth Book of Republics ^ trans-
cribed by Emebins, in MslGospel Preparat^ Book XI. Chap. 33.
The Report of which History is in Valerius Maximus, Book I.
Chap. €. the first foreign Example. In the Hortatory
Discourse among the Works of Justin ; in Clemens, Strom. V.
in Origen, Book II. against Celsus ; in Plutarch, Sympo-
siac. IX. 5. and in Macrubius, in the Beginning upon Scipio's
Dream.
(c) Heraclides Ponticus, &c.] There was a Book of his
Concerning the Dead^ mentioned by Diogeties Ldertius in his
Preface, and in his Empedocles; and by Galen in tlie Vlth.
concerning the Parts that are affected. Pliny speaks thus of
him. Book Vll. Chap. 32. " That noble volume of liera-
" elides amongst the Greeks, of a Woman's being restored to
" Life, after she had been dead Seven Days." And Diogenes
Laertius, in the latter place, assigns her' thirty Days.
(d) 'Herodotus, &c.] In.his Melpomene, See Pliny's Nat.
Hist. Book VIII. Chap. 53. Plutarch's Romulus, and Hesi-
chius concerning the Philosophers.
(e) Plutarch, &c.] of Thespesius. Plutarch has this in his
Discourse of God's deferring Punishment. sAnd Antylbis,
concerning whom Emebius has preserved that Place oi.Plu-
H 2 iarch.
100 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book. It.
tar eh, out of another : which, whether' they were
true or false, shews the Opinion of learned Men,
concerning the Possibility of the Thing.
The Truth of Jesus s Doctrine proved from his
Resurrection.
IF it be not impossible that Christ should return
to Life again, and if it be-proved from sufficient
Testimonies, such as convinced (a) Bechai, a
Teacher of the Jews, so far as to acknowledge the
Truth of it; and Christ himself (as both his own
Disciples and Strangers confess) declared a new
Doctrine, as by a Divine corjimand : It will cer-
tainly follow, that this Doctrine is true; because
it is repugnant to the Justice and Wisdom of God
to bestow such Endowments upon him who had
been guilty of a Falsity, in a Matter of so great
Moment. Especially when he had, before his
Death, declared to his Disciples, that he should
die, and what Manner of Death ; and also that he
should return to Life again ; {b) and that thesfe
Things should therefore come to pass, that they
might confirm the Truth of his Doctrine.
.SECT. vm.
Thc^t the Christian Religion exceeds all others.
THESE Arguments are drawn from Matters
of Fact ; we come now to those which are drawn
tnrch, from his First Book of the &oul, in bis Frepar, Book
XI. Chap, 38. and Theodoret, Serra. XL
(a) BecHni, &C.J It were to be wished that Grotius had
quoted the Place, for though his Reasoning, drawn from the
Resurrection of Christ, does not want the Approbation of
R. Bechai, yet perhaps the Jews might be affected with his
Authority. Z^ Clerc.
(b) And that these Things, &c.] See John xvii. Luke xxiv.
4.6, 47-
from
Sect. 8, 9.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION, 101
from- the Nature of the Doctrine; Certainly all
Manner of Worship of God must be rejected ;
(which can never enter into any Man's Mind,
who has any Sense of the Existence of God, and of
his Government of the Creation ; and wljo consi-
ders the Excellency of Man-'s Understanding, and
the Power of chusing moral Good or Evil, with
which he is endued ; and consequently that the
Cause, as of Reward, so oaj^jiftnishment, is in
himself?) or else he must recave this Relia^,
not only upon the Testimony of the Facts, wf^h
we have now treated of; but likewise for the Sajce
of those Things that are intrinsical in ReligioS j
since there cannot be any produced, in any Age
or Nation, whose Rewards are more^i^cellent,
or whose Precepts are more perfect, or^ps Me-
thod in which it was commanded to be propa-
gated, more wonderful,
V
SECT. IX.
The Excellency of the Reward proposed.
TO begin with the Reward, that is, with the
End proposed to Man; because, as we are used to
say, that which is the last in Execution, is the
First in Intention ; (a) Moses, in his Institution of
the Jewish Religion, if we regard the express Con-
dition of the Law, made no Promises beyond the
good Things of this Life, such as a fruitful Land,
abundance of Riches, Victory over their EnemieSi
long Life and Health, and Hope of their Poste-
rities surviving them. And if there be any Thing-
more, it is only obscurely hinted, and must be col-
lected from wise atid strong Arguing: Which is
the Reason why many who professed to follow the
(a) Moses, in his Institution, &c.] Deut. xi, and xx<viii.
Heb. viji. 6.
7 I Law
102 OF THE TBUTH OF THE [Book U,
Law of Msses {a) (as the Sad^ucees) cast off all
Hope of enjoying any Good after this Life. The
Greeks who derived their Learning from ^& Chal-
deans and Egyptians, and who had some Hope of
another Life after this, {h) spoke very doubtfully
concerning it, as. is evident (c) from the Disputes
of Socrates, apd from the Writings of {d)- TuUy,
(a) ^s </;e Sadducees, &c.] Matt.yi\\\. '23. Luke m Acfs,
xxiii. 8, Josep/ius: " The Sad(lucees argue, that the'Sou-l
'.' perishes with the Body." And in anotlier Place, "They
" deny the Soul's Immortality, and Revvards and Punishments
" in another Life." Jcrom says of them, " "^hat they lielieve
?' the Soul peri^hes wiih the Body.'" ''
(J)) Spoke i^ery dovhtfully, &«.J 'This is abserve^l by Chryt
sostam, on i Cor, i. 25.
(c) From the disputes of Socra.tcs, kc.} In Plato's Phcedokf
" Now I would have you to understand, that I hope to go
" amongst good Men ; but J will not be too positive in af»
"■ firming it." And afterwards, " If tbose Things 1 a'm
'( speaking of should prove true, it is very well to be thus
"persuaded concerning them; but if there be nothing after
" Death, yet I shall always be the less concerned for the
" present Things of this Life ; and this my ignorance will
" not continue long (for that would be bad), but will shortly
«f vanish." And Tertullian concerning thci Soul : " From
" such a firm Steadiness and (joodness of Mind, did that
*' Wisdom of (Socrato proceed, and not from any certain Dis-
*' covery of the Truth." The same is observed of Socrates iq
the Exhortation amongst the Works oi Justin.
(d) Tully, &c,] In his First Tusculan Question ; " Shew
" m& first, if you can, and if it be not too troublesome, that
" Souls remain after Dealhj 'or, if you cannot prove this
M (for it is difficult) declare how there is no Evil in Death."
And a little after. " I know not what; mighty TJiing they
^' have got by it, who teach, that when the Time of Death
" comes, they shall certainly perish; -vyhich, it it should he,
" (for I do not say any Thing to the contrary) vv^at Ground
" of Joy or Glorying does it affbrd ?" And again, " Now
" suppose the Soul should perish with the Body, can there be
*' any Pain, or can there be any Sciioc at all in the Body
" after (Death ? Nobody will, say so." Lactantivg., Book VH.
Chap. 8. cites the followifig Passage oijt of the same Cicero,
spoken after a Dispute about the Soul : " Whicli of these
•f Opinions is true, God only kno^ys."
4 Senec^^
Sect. 5-] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 103
(a) Seneca (b) and others. And though they Search-
ed diligently for Arguments to prove it, they
could offer nothing of Certainty. For thoSe which
they alledge, (c) hold generally as strong for Beasts
as they dp for Men. Which when some of thetti
considered, it is no Wonder that they imagined
that Souls (d) passed out of Men into Beasts, and
out of Beasts into Men. Again ;. because this
could not be proved by any Testimonies, nor by
any certain Arguments, and yet it could not be
denied but that thi&re must be some End proposed
for Man ; therefore others were led to say, (e) that
Virtue was its own Reward, and that a wise Man
was very happy, though in Phalaris's Bull. But
others disliked this, and not without Reason ;
for they saw very well, that Happiness, especially
in the highest Degree (unless-we regard only the
Sound of Words, without any Meaning) could
iiotffj consist in that which is attended with Dan-
ger,
(a) Seneca, &c.] Epistlie LXIV. " And, perbaps (if the
" Report of wise Men be true, and any Place receives lis)
" that, whiclj we think perishes, is only sent before,"
(b) And others, Sec] Jvstin Martyr says, in general, in his
Dialogue with Trypho : '- " The Philosophers knew Nothing of
" these Things, nor can they tell what the Soul is."
(c) Hold generally as strong for Beasts, &c.] As that Argw-
mcat of Socra^s to Plato, that " That which moves of itself
" is Eternal." See Lactantin^ in the forementioned Place.
(d) Passed out if Men into Beasts, &c.] As the Brachmans
of old, and now also ; from whom Pythagoras and his Schor
lars had it,'
(e) That Virtue isas its own Rexuard, &e.] See Tully's Se-
cond Tvsc. Quest. And Lactantiusls Institutions, Book IIP,
Chap. 27. where he-strenuously disputes against this Opinion ;
and Augttstin, Epist. III.
(f) Consist in that, &c.] Lactantius, Book III. Chap. 12.
" Virtue is not its own Happiness, becaiise *,he whole Power
** of jt consists^ as I said, iii bearing Evils.", And a little
after.
104. OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book II.
ger. Loss, Torment and Death : And therefore
Ihey placed the [chief Good and End of Man in
sensual Pleasjare. And this Opinion, -likewise,
was solidly confuted by very -many, as a Thing
which overthrew all Virtue, the Seeds of which
are planted in the Mind ; and degraded Man,
who was made for nobler Purposes, to the Rank
of Brute Creatures, who look no further than the
Earth. In so many Doubts and Uncertainties did
Mankind at that Time wander, till Christ discovered
the true Knowledge of their End ; promising to his
Disciples and Followers another Life after this,
in which there should be no more Death, Pain, or
Sorrow, but accompanied with the highest Joy:
And this not only to one Part of Man, that is, his
Soul, of whose Happiness after this Life there was
some Hope, partly from Conjecture, and partly
from Tradition; but also to the Body, and that
very justly, that the Body, which oftentimes ought
to endure great Losses, Torments, and Death, for
the Sake of the Divine Law, might not go without
a Recompence. And the Joys which are promised,
are not such mean Things (a) as those Feasts, which
the duller Jews hoped for after this Life, {b) and
the Embraces which the Mahometans promise to
after, when he had quoted a Place o{ Seneca's, he adds: " But
" tha Stoics, whom he follows, deny that any one can be happy
'' without \'iFtue. Therefore the Reward of Virtue, is a happy
" Life : if Virtue, as is^rightly said, iriakes Lif? happy, Vir»
" tue, therefore, is not to be desired for its own Sake, as they
" affirm, but for the Sake of a happy Life, which necessarily
•' attends Virtue: Which Argument might instruct them what
" is the chief Good, But this present bodily Life cannot be
" happy, because it is subject to Evils, by Means of the Body."
Flirty, in his Nat. Hist. Book VIL Ch. 7. says well, " That
" no mortal Man is happy."
(a) Js the Feasts, &c,] The places are quoted beneath in
the Fifth Book.
(A) And the Embraces, &c,] See the Alcoran, Azoara. II,
V. XLVIL LIV, LXV. LXVI.
theni-
Sect. 10.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 105
themselves ; for these are only proper Remedies
for the Mortality of this frail Life ; the former,
for the Preservation of particular Animals, and the
latter for the Continuance of their Species : But
the Body will be in a perpetual Vigour, and its
Brightness will exceed the Stars. The Mind will
have a Knowledge of Qod and of Divine Provi-
dence, and whatever is now hidden from it,
without any Mistake : The Will will be calm,
employed in Wonder and Praises, in beholding
God ; in a Word, all Things will be much greater
and better, than can be conceived by comparing
them with the greatest and best here.
SECT. X.
ji Solution of the Objection taken ftom hence, that
the Bodies after their Dissolution cannot be restored.
BESIDES the Objection which we have now
answered, it is commonly alledged, that the Bodies
of Men, after their Dissolution, cannot be restored
to the same Frame again ; but this is said without
the least Foundation, {a) For most Philosophers
agree, that though the Things be never so much
, (a) For most Philosophers agree, &c.] If any one be nbt s.a-
tisfied with this Account of Grotius, he may be answered, that
it is not at all necessary, that the Matter which is raised, should
be numerically the same with that which the dying Man
carried to the Grave with him : For he will be as much the
same Man, though his Soul were joined to Matter which it
was never before joined to, provided it be the same Soul, as
a decrepid old Man is the same as he was when a Child
crying in a Cradle, though perhaps there is notj in the old
Man, one Particle of that Matter there was in the Infant, by
reason of the continual Effluvia which fly from the Body. It
may very well be called A Resurrection of the Body,, when a
like one is formed "by God out of the Earth, and joined to the
Mind ; therefore there is no Need of reducing ourselves to so
great Straits, in order to defend too stiffly the Sameness of the
Jtlatter. Le Cierc.
changed,
106 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book II,
changed, the Matter of them still remains capable
af being formed into different Shapes ; and who
will affirm, that God does net know in what Places,
though ever so far distant, the Parts of that Mat-
ter are, which go to the making up of a human
Body ? Or, that he has not Ppwer to bring them
back and reunite them ? And do the same in the
Universe, that we see Chymists do in thgir Fur-
naces and Vessels, collect those Particles which are
pf the same Kind, tho' sepai^ated from one another.
And there are Examples in Nature, which show,
that though the Shape of Things be ever so much
changed, yet the Things themselves return to their
original Form 4 as in Seeds of Trees and Plants,
J^either is that Knot, which is objected by so many,
such as cannet be loosed ; viz. concerning human
Bodiespassinginto Nourishment pf wild Beasts and
Cattle ; who after they are thus fed, are eatefi
(again by Men, For the greatest Part of whgt is
eaten by us, is not converted into ^ny Part of our
Body, but goes intp Excrements or Superfluities,
S:Uch a? Spittle ^nd Chpler : And much of that
which has nourishment in it, is consumed by Disr
eases, internal Heat, a^d the Awbient Air. Whiclj
being thus, God, who takes such Care of allKinds,
even of dumb Creatures, may have such a parti-
cular Regard to human Bodies, that if any Part of
them should come to be Food for other Men, it
should no more be cpnverted into their Substance,
than Poison or Physic is ; and so much the ra-
ther, because human Flesh was not given to be
Food for Men. And, if it were otherwise ; and
that something which does not belong to the
latter Body, must be taken from it ; this will not
make it a different Body ; (*) for ihere happens a
greater
(a) For there happens a greater Change, &g.] See Al/enm,
in Lib, Ptoponebafur. D. de Offlciis. « If any one should
" thi^k,
Sect. 10.-] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 107
jgreater phangp qf it? Particles jn this Life : {a) Nay
^ Butterfly is ppntajned in 9 Worm ; apd the Sabr
gtancp
" think, that \)y altering th,e Parts, any Thing ij; ma4e differ?
" ent |"roru what it was. before ; accorjjng fo such Reasoning,
" yve ourselves should be different from what we were a Year
*' since ; Because, as Philosophers say, those small Parfs, of
"which \ii'e consist, coutinuully fly off from our Bodies, and
" other foreign ones come in their Room." And Seneca^
Epist. LVIII. " Our bodies are ir; a continual Flux, iik6
" a River; all that we see runs away as Time does: None of
" those Things we see are durable. I myself am changed, while
f I am spealiing of their Change." See Methoditts's excellent
Pissertatioo tipon this subject, whose Words £;j/p^a»ji/i ha§
preserved In his Confutation of th? Origenists, Number XII,
XIII. XVI. XVII.
(a) Nay, a Butterfiy, &c.] See Ovid in the last Book of his
Metamorphoses : ' ' '
Wild Moths (a Thing hy Countrymen observed)
Betuiit the Leaves iit tender Threads involv'd,
Transform their Shapes into a Butterfly.
We rnay add something out of Pliny's Natural History, Book
X. Ch. 5. concerning Frogs : He .says ; " For half a Year of
" their Life they are turned into Mud, and cannot be seen-;
'- and by the Waters in the Spring, those which were for-
merly bred, are bred again ."ifresh." And1n the same Book,
Chap. 9- " Tlie Cuckow seems to be made of a Hawk,
" changing his Shape in the Time of Year." And Book XI.
Ch. 20. " There are who think, that some Creatures which
*' are dead, if they be kept in the House in the Winter, will
" come to Life again, after the Sun shines hot xipon them in
" the Spring, and they be kept warm all Day in Wood
"Ashes." . And again, Ch. 23, sjx'aking of SilkrWorms, ■
" Another Original of them may be from a large sort ot
*' Worm, which shoots forth a double Kind- of Horns ; these
" are called Canker Worms, and ^afterwards become what
*' they call the Humble-Bee; from whence comes another
" Sort of Insect, termed Necydalus, which, in six Months'
" Time, turns into a Silk-Worm." And again. Chap. 23.
speakins; of the Silk-Worm of Coos, he says, "They were
H first small and paked Butterflies." And Ch. 26. concern-
ing the Grasshopper : "It is first a small Worm, but afrcr-
" wards comes out of what they call Tettygometra, whose Sl;ell
" being broke. they fly away about Midsummer." Ch. 30.
^' Flies drowned in Liquor, if they be buried in Ashes, re-
" turn
108 OF THfi TRUTH OF THE [Book II.
stance of Herbs or of Wine {a) in some very little
Thing, from whence thy are again restored to
their true Bigness. Certainly, since these, and
many other such like Suppositions, may be made
without any Absurdity, there is no Reason why
the restoring of a Body, after it is dissolved, should
be reckoned amongst the Thingsthat are impossible.
Especially since learned Men, (Jb) such as Zoroaster
among the Chaldeans, {c) almost all the Stoics,
ami
♦< turn to Life again." And Ch. 32. Many Insects are bred
in another Manner." " And first the Horse-Fly, out of the
" Dew: In the Beginning of the Spring, it sticks to a Radish-
*' Leaf, and being stiffened by the Sun, it gathers into the Big-
" ness of a Millet. Out of this springs a small Worm, and in
" thjree Days after, a Canker- Worm, which increases in a few
" Days, having a hard Shell about it, and moves at the Touch
" of a Spider ; this Canker- Worm, which they call a Chrysalis,
" when the Shell is broken, flie> away a Butterfly."
(a) In some very little Thing, &c.] If Grotius had lived
till our Days, he would have spoken more fully; since it is
_ evident that all Animals, of whatever Kind, spring from an
E^, in which they are formed, as all Plants do from Seeds,
though never so small. But this is nothing to the Husurrec-
tion, for Bodies will not rise again out of such Principles,
JLe C'/erc,
(&) Such as Zoroaster, &c.] See Clemens, Strom. V.
(c) Almost all the S>tQic%, &c.J Clemens, Strom. V. "He
" (Heraclitus) knew, having learnt it from the Barbarian
" Philosophy, that Menj, who lived wickedly, should be puri-
" fied by Fire, which the Stoics call Iks-ujoo-iv, whereby they ima-
" gine every one shall rise again such an one as he really is,
" thus they treat of the Resurrection,"
And Origen, Book IV. against Cehus : " The Stoics say,
" that after a certain Period of Time, the Universe shall be
" burnt, and after that shall be a Renovation, in which all
" Things shall continue unchangeable." And afterwards :
•' They have not the Name of the Resurrection, but they
" have the Thing." Origen here adds the' Egyptians. Chry-
sippus concerning Providetice, quoted by Lactantius, Book VI.
of his Institutions, has these Words : Which being thus,
" there is evidently no Impossibility, but that we also, wJien
" we
Sect. 10, 1 1.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. I0§
(a) and Theopompus among the Peripatetics, be-
lieved that it could be, and that it would be.
SECT. XI.
The exceeding Purity of its Precepts, with Respect
to the Worship of God.
. ANOTHER Thing in which the Christian Re-
ligion exceeds all other Religions that ever were,
are, or can be imagined, is the exceeding Purity
and Holiness of its Precepts, both in those Things
which concern the Worship of God, and also in all
other Particulars. The Rites of the Heathens, al-
most all over the World, were full of Cruelty; {b)
as Porphyry has largely shewn : and as we are con-
vinced by those in our Age, who have sailed to
those Places. For it is an established Principle,
almost every where, that the Gods are to be paci-
fied with human Blood ; which Custom neither
the Greek Learning, nor the Roman Laws, abo-
lished : as appears from what we read concerning
(c) Sacrifices offered up to Bacchus Omesta, amongst
" we arc dead, after a certain Period of Time is past, may be
" restored again to the same State, in which we now are." He
that is at Leisure may look into Nathaniel Carpenter's Sixteenth
Exercise of Free Philosophy.
(a) And Theopompus, &c.] Concerning whom, see Diogenes
Laertius in the Beginning of his Book. " And Theopompus in his
" Eighth Fhilippic relates, as the Opinion of the Wise Men,
" that Men shall live again, and become immortal, and every
'• Thing shall continue what it is."
(b) j4j Porphyry, &c.] In his Book prohibiting eating Living
Creatures; whence Cyril took many Things, in his Fourth
against Julian.
(c) Sacrifices offered up to Bacchus, &c.] Plutarcji mentions
them in his Tkemist'ocks, and also Pausanias. The like Rites of
the Messanians, Pellceans, Lictyans in Crete, Lesbians ^PhsccenC'
sians you have in the Hortatory Discourse in Clemens,
the
ItO OF THfi tfeUxtf 01? tU^ [Book it.
the Oreeh; concerning a Grecian Man and a Gre-^
cian WdiTfian, arid concerning {a) a Man and Wo-
Uian amongst the Gauls, that were sacrificed to
Jupiter Latialts. And the most holy Mysteries^
both of Cefes and of Bacchus, were full of Lewd-
ness j as was plain, when once tlie Secrets of theif
Kfeligibh BegEfh.to be pubftckly discovered ; as is
at large declared by (Jb) Clemens Alexandrinus, (c)
arid others. And there were such Sights shown opon
those Days,' that were consfici'ated to the Honour o'f
their Gods, tiiat {d) Cato was ashafnfed tb be present
at them . In the Jewish Religion, indeed , there was
(a) A Mail and Woman atfiongst the Gauls, &c.] Diont/sius
Halicarnassctisis tells us in his First Book, tha!t it Wa^ a vefy
ancient Custom in Italy, to sacrifice Hen. How long it re-
ftiained, P/fw^ says, Booli XXVIII. Ch. 1. " Our Age hath
** seen in the Beast Market, a Grecian Man and VVom'an slain,
" or th6se_of some other Nation with whom they dealt.'*
This Ciistotn remained till Justin's and Tatian's Time : For
Justin, in his first Apologetic, addresses the Romans thus:
" That Idol which you worship ; to whom not only the Blood
*' of irrational Creatures is poured out, but also human
"Blood; which Blood of slain Men is poured out by the
'-' ijiost noble and eminent Person ainong you." And Tutidrt;
^' 1 find among the Romans, thai Jupiter Latiaiis was delight*
" ed with human Blood ; and with that which flows from
" Men that are slain." Porphyry tells us, that these Rites
I'cmained till Adrian's Time. That there was a very ancient
Custom amongst the Gauls, of offering human Sacrifices, we
learn from Tullfs Oration iii Defence of Af. Fonteius; and out
of Plutarch, concerning Superstition. Tiberius abolished it,
as we find in Pliny, Book XXX.' Chap. 1. See the same Pliny
there, concerning the Britons, and Dion in Nero, and Solinus ;
aho Hermold-us concerning the Sdavonians, Book I, Chap. 3.
Porphyry, in his Second Book againsteating Living Creatures,
says, that'it remained till his Time, in Arcadia, in Carthage,
^nd in the Great City, that is, Rome, where he instances in the
Rite of Jupiter Latiaiis.
(h) Clem. Alexandrinus, &c.] In his Hortatory DiBcoUi'se/
(c) AndotMrs, &c.] Especially Arnobius.
[d) That Cato was ashamed, &c.] See Martial in the Begin-
ning of his Epigrams,' Gellius X, 13. aiid Kdlerius Maximiis.
Book XI. Chaji, 10.
nothing
Se'ct. Ill CHfttSTIAK RELlGiOivf. ill
nothing uttkwful or immoral ; but to preVeffit tHa€
People, (a) who were prone to I<k>!atry, from re-
volting from the true Religion, it was burthened
with many Precepts, concerning Things that iveVe
ift themselves neither good nor bad : Such as the
Sacrifices of BesistSj Circumcision^ strict Rest ort
the Sabbaith Day, and the forbidding many SotW
of Meats; someof which the Mahometans have bor-
rowed, arid added to them a Prohibition of Wine.-
But the Christian Religion .teaches us to worship
God, who is a most feoly Being, (t) with a pure
Mitid, . (c) and with such Actions, as are in their
oWti Na,tu'ffe virtuous, if they had not been com-
ifiiatiided. Thus it does not bid us to- (d) cifcumciSe
our Ftesh, but our Dtesires emd Affections ; not to
abstain (e) from all Sorts of Works, but only from
all such as are- unlawful : Not to^fFer the Blood
and Fat of Beasts in Sacrifice to God: but, if there
be a just Occasion, (f) to offer our own Blood' for
a Testimony of the Truth : And (§■) whatever
Share of our Goods we give to the Poor, we are to
look upon it as given to God : Nor to forbear cer-
tain Kinds of Meat arid Drink, (h) but to use both
(a) W/io were prone fo Idolatry, &c.] This is< th(? Reason
given for such Precepts by Maimonides, whom Josephis Albo
foUbWs.
(i) With a pure Mind, &c.J John iv. S*.
(c) And leitk such Actions,. &c-] Whence it is called a rea-
sonable Service, Roni. xii. 1 Phil. iv. 8.
(d) Circumcise our Flesh, &c.] Rom. il 28, 29. Phil. m. 3,
(e) From alt Sorts, Sec. 1 Cor. v. S.
CfJ To offer mr own. Blood,, &c'.] 1 Cor. x. l6. Heb. xii. 4.
1 Pet. ii. 21.
(g) Whatever share of our Goods, kc. 2 Matt. \i. i. Luke
xii. SCS. 2 CV. ix. 7. Heb.m.6.
(h) But- tousebot^ of them, &c.] Luke xxi. 34, Eote.'xiii.
13. Eph.y. 18. Gal, v, 31, . 1 Tim. v.^. 1 Pet. iV. 3.
of
112 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book H.
of them with such Temperance as may most secure
ou;- Health; (a) and sometimes by Fasting, to ren-
der our Bodies more subservient to the Mind, that
it may >yith more Freedom advance itself towards
higher Objects. But the chief Part of Religion is
every where declared to consist in such (b) a godly
Faith, by which we may be framed to such (c) a
sincere Obedience, as to (d) trust wholly upon God,
and have {e) a firm Belief of his Promises ; (f)
lyhence arises Hope, (g) and a true love both of.
God and of our Neighbour, which causes Obe-
dience to his commands ; (h) not a servile Obe-
dience, proceeding from the Fear of Punishment,
(i) but because it is well-pleasing to him, {k} and
because he is our Father, (/) and Rewarder, out of
his
(a) And sometimes by fasting, kc] Matt. yi.l&. xvii. 21.
1 Cor. vii. 5.
(b) A godly Faith, &c.J John xii. i*.
(c) A sincere Obedience, fee] Luke xi. 28. John xii. 7-
and the following Verses; 1 Cor. vii. 19, 1 Pet. i, .2.
((f) Trust wholly upon God, &c.] Mat. xxi. 21.2 Tiin. i. 12.
(e) Ajtrm Belief of his Promises, &c. j Rom. iv.' 20. 2 Cor,
vii. 1. Gfl/. iii. 2'9.
(f) Whence arises Hope, &c.] Heb. vi, 2. Rom. viii. 24.
XXV, 4.
(g) And a true Lffce, both of God, &c.] Gal, vi. 1 Thess. iii. 6.
(/*) Not a servile Obedience, &CC.] Rom,\'n\. 15.
(j) But because it is •well-'pleasing, kc^ JSefr. xii. 28.
{k) And because he is our Father, &c.] Rom. viii.
(I) And Rewarder, kc] Coloss. u\.24i. ZThess.i.S. To
which we mUy add, that we can easily apprehend, that his
Precepts are most worthy of liim, and so exactly suited to our
Nature, that better or more agreeable cannot be conceived
by anyone ; therefore we ought to render ourselves obedient
to Him, out of a grateful Sense of his Commands, because
• they are the best and most excellent that can be; and this,
though there were no Punishment to be inflicted on the Diso-
bedient,
Sect. 11,12.] CHRISTIAN RELK3I0N. 113
his exceeding Goodness towards us. (a) And we
are commatided' to pray, not to obtain Riches oi*
Honours, and such other Things^owhich many
h^ve desired to their own Hurt ; but/ in the first
Place, for such Things as are for the Glory of
God ; and. so much only for ourselves, of those
perishable Things, as Nature requires, permitting
the Rest to Divine Providence ; being contented
vvhich Way soever they happen : But for those
Things that lead to Eternity, we are to pray with
all Earnestness, viz. for Pardon of our past Sins,
and for the Assistance of the Spirit for the'futurei
that being established firmly against all Threats
and Temptations, we may continue on in a godly
Course. This is the Worship of God required
by the Christian Religion, than which certainly
nothing can be conceived more worthy of him.
SECT. XII.
Concerning the Duties of Humanity, which we aWf
to our Neighhourt though he has injured us.
THE Duties towards our Neighbour, required
of us, are all of the like Sort. The Mahometan Re-
ligion, which was bred in Arms, breathes nothing
else ; and it is propagated by such Means only.
{b) Thus Aristotle takes notice of, and blames the
Laws
be(ii«nt, beside the Baseness of the Fact itself .-This is to obey
God like Sons, and not lilse Servants. Le Clerc,
(a) And vie are commatuled to pray, &c.] Matt, vi, 10.
(6) TAtts Aristotle, &c. 3 Polit. VII. Chap, 14. "Liica
" unto these are some, who afterwards .declared theii* Opi-
" nions in their Writings. For in praising the Government .
" of the Lacedcemoniant, they commend the Dgsign of the Law-
" giver, because the whole Establishment tended to Power
">and War ; Which may easily be confuted by Reason, and
I -j^j
114 OP THE TRUTH OF THE [Book 11.
Laws of the Laconians, which were so highly
commended above any other in Greece, even by
the Oracle o( j^ollo^ becduse they tended directly
to Force of Arms. But the same Philosopher af-
firms, the War against Barbarians was lawful :
Whereas the contrary is true amongst Men, who
were designed by Nature for Friendship and So-
ciety, (a) For what greater Iniquity can there
be, than to punish single Murders ; but expose
to public View, in their Triumphs, ^hdle Na^
tions whom they had slaip, as a gloripus'Exploit ?
And yet that most celebrated City of Rome, how
did it procure that Title, but by Wars, and those
(p) many Times very unjust ; as they themselves
confess concerning, {c) the Wars against Sardinia
(d) and Cyrus f And in general, as the most
fainous Compilers of Annals have related ;
very many Nations did not account it infa-^
«' is now confuted by Facts." Fjiripides, in Andromacka, said
it before Aristotle: i
If War ani Glory ^
And the Sword, were from the Spartans taken,
"Therms nothing excellent tjiat would remain.
(a) For what greater Iniquity, &c.] To this Purpose is tha
96th Bpi^le of Seneca, and Book II. Chap. 8. concerning An-
gei'i and the Second Epistle of Cyprian.
{6^. ]|^iany Times very unjust, &€.] Pctronius.
If any secret Holey,
If any Land did shUiing Gold contain,
They War proclaim.
{c) TJie Wars against Sardinia, &c.] See Poityijas, Hist. III.
{dy And Cyprus, &c.] Florus, Book HI. Chap. 9. " So
"great wasLthe Report, and that very justly, of its Riches;
" that though they were a People that conqijered Nations,
" and were :accustomed to bestow Kingdoms ; yet at the In-
", stance of Pvblius Clodivs the Tribune, it was given in
" Charge, to Confiscate the King, though alive, and their ,
"Ally." Plutarch mentions the same Thing, in his Life of,,
Cato and Appian, Book II. of his Politics ; and Dim, Book ,
XXXVIII. See the same.f/w-w*, in his War of Numantia
and Crete.
a mous.
s«m2l] christian religion, , lis.
mouSj (a) to coimnit Robberies oiat of theji"
own Bounds, (h) Executing of , Revenge isj
by Aristotle and Cicero, , made a t*9rt of Virtue.
' ' ,4 "■■*'■■■■ *
(a) To commit Robberies, &c.] Thucydides, Book I. " Fof-
" inerly the Greeks, as well as the Barbarians, whether thty
" Uyed on the Contiuent near the Sea-shore, or whrthsr they-
**'inhabited the Islands ; after they began to hold Corres-
" pondence ^ith one another by sailing, fell to robbhig,
"led on by great Men, either for the Sa^e of Gain to them-
" selves, or to procure Victuals for' them that wanted. And
" happening upon Cities which were not walled, but ibha.'-
" bited like Villages, -they plundered them, and the greatest
" Part made theii; Advantage of them, ib«ii)g not ashaoied as
"yet of doing thus, but rather accounting it glorious. This
" is evidently the Practice of some tliat dw^ll upon . tlie Cbn*
" tinent now, who account it honourable to do thUs'; and
"-amongst the aacient Poets, it is very frequent for. them who
" met Sailors, to ask them if they were Pirates; knowing
" that they who were so asked, would not disown it ; nor
" they who asked th<»n, think it any .Reproach. Nay, they
" robbed one another, upon the very Continent; and a great
" many of the Greeks live now in this ancient Manner, as the
" Ozolan Locrians, the Mtoliai^, t\i& Acarnmtians, and those of
" the adjoining Contirifent," The Question Thuofdides here
mentions, is in Homer's Odyss. T'. tJpon which the Scholiast
says, " To plunder, was not accounted infamous, but glorious,
" by the Ancients," Justin, Book XLIII.'Chap. S.concern-
inig the PAoce««aff«. " They were more diligent in occupying
", the Sea, than the Land, in fishing, and trading; and very
" often they spent their Lives in plundering" (which at that
Time was looked upon as honourable). Concerning the Spa-
niards, stePlutarch in Marius; and Diodiirus, Book V. concern-
ing the Tyrrhenians. Servius on the Eighth and Tenth Mneids,
Casar, Tacitus, axidSaxo-Grammaticui, concerning the Germans.
(b) Egeeuting of Revenge, &c.] Aristotle's Ethics to Ni-
chomackus, IV. IL " Such an one seems to be no Ways af-
" fected or concerned, not to feveng* himself, unless pro-
*'' voked ; but it shqws a mean Spirit, to bear contemptuous
" Treatment." And TuUy, in his Second Book of Intention,
places Revenge amongst the Duties that belong to the Law of
Natwre : " Whereby either in our own Defence, or by Way
♦^ of Revenge, we keep off Force or Reproach." And to
Atticus, " I hate the Man, and wiH hate him: I wish I could
" revenge mysetf upon him," And aj^imi. Antony : "1 would
" revenge ey?ry single Crime, accoro&ng,tO'lhe Degree, of Pro-
'' vocation in each."
11 • The
Iltf OF THE TRUTH OF THE |Book IL
^a) iTlte^ drladiators tearing cme another to Reces,
^as one of the public Entertainments amongst
the Hfeathens ; {l) and to Expose their ChiMrett,
was , a daily Practice. The Hehews, indeed, had
ahetter Law, a more holy Discipline; hut yet
there was some Things overlooked or allowed
in that People, whose Passion was ungovern-
able ; (c) such as the giving up to thefr Power
seven Nations, tho' indeed they deserved it :
With which they not being contented, (d) per*
secuted with cruel Hatred, ail that differed from
them ; (e) the Marks of which remain even to
this Day, in their Prayers uttered against Chris^
tia;ns : And the Law itself allowed a Man {/)
to revenge an Injury by the Punishments of
Retaliation, and that a Man-slayer might be
killed by the private Hand of the neaft Rela*
tion. But the Law of Christ {g) forbids re-
quiting any Injury that hath been done us, either
(a) The Gladiators, &c.] ^ee Lcfctantiws, Book 11. and
Tertidlian concerning Sht-ws, Cbap^ I9,
{h) And to- expose their Children. kcJ] See JvsHn's Second
Apologetic, Chap. y. and Lactantius's Institution, Chap. 20.
and Terence's Hecyra.
(c) Such as the giving, &C.'] Exod. xnxiv. 11,12. Deut.
vii. 1, 2.
(rf) Persecuted with <ruel Hatred, &c.] R. Ltvi Ben Gerson
tells as they were to endeavour to injure.them any Manner of
Way. Beehai says, that what was taken from them by Theft,,
was not to be i-estorod.
le) The Marks of which, Sec.'] See a little Book of Prayers,
put out at Venice, in a small Volume, Page S. and a German
Book oi Antonius, Margarita, and Maimonides, on the Thirteen
Articles, where ire says, they are- to be destroyed, who do not
lielieve them-. And it is a frequent. Saying in the Mouths of
the Jev's, " Let all Sectariefs suddenly perish." The like
Saying we find in Ji., Isaac's Rerischith liabba, and thfe Talmud
in Baba Kama, and lief/a Bathra,
(f).To revenge aninjury, aec] ieo. xxiv. 20. Dettt.x\x. 21.
is) J^&rlfidsr>eqmtitiganyInjuri/,Scc.'] Matt.y.Sg.ii.
by
Spot. 12, -M.] CHRIS^^AN RELIGtpN,. , U7
by Word or Deed ; lest, by tnjitf»^ing , tb^t , B<f alice
we coi^denio in oU^rs, we shpijld on the ^ontj^iy
aj)pt0ivi& it. It would h»ye us do good in tb^ first
PUce, to thos? that are good ^ and theja tp the
bad »lso, («) ^fter the Example of. Godj (roffi,
whotn we receive Gifts in common with all other
Men ; such as the S^n^ ^e Stgrs, t^ Air, the
WiiidSj and the Rain. ^
SECT. XIII.
About the Conjunction of M^h (ind Femak.
THE Conjunction of Man and Womm,
whereby Mankind is propagated, is a Thing
that highly deserves to be taken Care of by
Lav/ ; which that the Heathen neglected, is no
Wonder, when they relate {V) Storids of the
Whoredoms and Adulteries of those Gods which
they worshipped. And which is woi'se, (^)
the Conj auction of Males with one another
(a) Afitr the Bauntph<^ God, &c.] Matt. v. 45.
(V) Stones of the Whoredoms, &c.] See Euripidis's lone.
1 — I can't forhear.
The Jjeudness of Apollo to reprove,
Who forces Virgins to hit nuptial Bed,
Jnd murders his own Children privately.
ts this to practice Virtue you enjoin !
If Mortals sin, you Gods revenge the Wrong;
And is It just that you, xoho Laics prescribe
To all Mankind, should live by none yourselves ?
Though it mil never be, ytt 7 must speak ;
7f Phoebus, Neptune, and the King of Gods,
Should punish all unlawful Marriages^
None would remain to v-orship at their Shrines.
§ee this Matter fully handled b}' Clemens in his Hortatory Dis-
fcourse; by Athenagoras, Tatian, Arnebius, Book IV. Nimanxm,
ifj his First against juliam, and Theodoret^ Discourse III.
(c) The Caitjuncilon of Males, &c,] See this also> in the
foiemcstion«d Places of Clemens a.id Theoderet,
is
11* OF TriE TRUTH OF THE [Book IL
is defended by the Examples of their Gods:
III the Number ctf which Ganyniedei of old,
(a) and ^n^tonius afterwards, vyere reckoned upon
thisAcqount; which horrid Crime is also often
esteemed lawfal amongst the Mahometans, Chi-
nese, and other Nations. The Gretk Philoso-
phers seem to' take great Pains {h) to put a vir-
tuous Name upon a vicious Thing. The most
eminent of which same Greek Philosophers, (r)
reeommending Intercourse with women ; what
did they do else but turn a whole City into one
<:ommon ,Stevy, (d) when even Brute Creatures
pbs§rve some Sort of conjugal League ? How
much
(a) ^«J Antonjus afterwards, &c.] Mentioned hy Justin,
in his Second Apologetic ; by Clemens in his Hortatory Dis- -
course; by Origen in his Second and Eighth Books against Ce^-
sm; by EitSebms in his Ecclesiastical. History, IV. S. by Thea.f
doret 8, and the Historians of those Times.
{b) Toputa thtuousName, &c.] So indeed it was thought,
-rot only by Luiiian, in his little Bo&k' concerning Love; -but
by Gregory Nazianzen, Orat. HI. against Jilian ; and by EUat
Crefensis, and Nmnus, upon him.; And jalsp by Cyrt/, in his
§ixth Book against Jidian ; and by Theodoret, v^ry largely, in
his Thirteenth Book to the Greeks. I cannot bniit a Place of
PMlo's, who had a great Opinion pf Plato, ,out of his Book
concerning a. contemplative Life. " f/o^o'* Feast .is spppt al-
f most wholly upon Love, not oply pf, IVIen eagey after Wo-
" men and Women pager after'Men ; fo;r ,§uplj pesires may
" be satisfied by the Law of Nature ; but of lilea after j^en,
'? differing from themselves only in Age ; and if any Thing
«' be speciously said concerning Love and heavenly Venus, those
" Names are' used only for a cover.^' Tertultian concerning
the Soul, preferring the Christiati Wisdom' to that of Socrates,
-adds, " Not brjng'"g 'I) r^ey/Pcernons, "but driving out the
" old ; not corrupting Yonth^ bijt ipstructing them in all tlie
f Goodness of Modesty."
(c) Recommending Intercourse "wit^ Jfotnen, &c.] Se?
J?/«tp,.as in other flaces, so more parjiculsirly in his Fourth
Republic.
(d) When even Brute Creatures, &c.] See Pliny, Book X.
Chap. 33. " The Actions of Doves are mightily take^
?; Notice of by these, upon the sarae'Account ; their Customs
<< ^r@ the same, but the highest Degree of Modesty belongs
M suecii "
Sect. 13.1 CHRISTIAN HEIIGION. lip
rooch mo^e rea^B^ble is itthen, that Man who
is; the most divine Creature, should not be born
from an uncertain Original, whereby the mutual
Afl^ction betwixt Parents and Children is de-
stroyed? TheHthew Law indeed forbad all Un-
cleanness, (<?) but a Man was alloVired to have
more Wives than one at a Time, ^ and the Hus-
band had a Power {b) to put away his Wife for
any Cause whatsoever ; which is the Custom at
this ' Day among the Mahometans: And formerly
ih&, Greeks and Ltf/ins took so great a Liberty,
that {c) the Laeonians and Cato permitted others
to have their Wives for a Time. But the Law
of Christ, which is most perfect, strikes- at the
very Root of Vice, and {d) accounts him guilty
before God (wfjo can see into, and judge the
Hearts of Men,) that lusts after, though he has
not committed the Crime ; or that' attempts the
Chastity of any Woman, or looks upon her with
such Desires, And because all true Friendship
is lasting, and not.to be broke; it would, with
very good Reason, have That to be so (e) which
contains the Union of the Bodies, as well as
■** specially to them ; AduUeries are not known to either of
"thiem',-tbey do not violate the Fidelity of Wedlock." Con-
cerning the eionjugal Chastity of Ring-Doves, see Porpht/ry in
'i«s Third Booji.against eating living Creatures.
(a) But a Man iuat allmeed, he.'] Tiiis appears from Deuf.
xvii. 16, 17J xxi. 15. 1 Sam. xii. 8. So the Hetrew* under-
stood the Law; and -CAryiOrfo/B, iCbr.xi. a.nA Augustine, Book
III. Chap. i'Si concerning the Christian Doctrine ; and othefS
of the Ancients. Josephus, who best understood the Law, says,
in the Fifteenth of his Antiquities, " It was the Custom of our
«' Fathers to have many Wives,"
(b) To put away Ms Wife, &c.] Deut. xxiv. 1, 2, 9. *•
JLevit. xxi. 14. . '
(c) The Laconians^nrf Cato, &c.] See Herodotus, Book VI.
and Piutarch, in lusValo Utkensis, and Lycurgus.
;((/) Aceountshim guilty before Qod^ Sic.'] Matt.v.SS.
.Ae) Which contains the Union, &c.3 Mat^^. v. 3. ti)*. 9.
'- ■ th?
126 OF THE TRUTH OP THE [Book M.
the Agreement of their Minds ; and which, with-
out Doubt, is more convenient for a right Edu-
cation of their Children. Ambng the Heathen,
«ome few Nations were content with one Wife
as the Germans'and Romans ; and in this they are
{a) followed by the Christians: Namely, that
the Wife, having resigned herself entirely to
her Husband, may be {b) recompensed with a
like Return; (<r)/that the Government of the
Family may be better riianaged by one Govern
nor, and that different Mothers might not bring
a Disturbance in amongst the Children.
SECT. XIV.
About the Use of Temporal Goods.
TO come now to the Use of those Things
which are commonly called Goods ; we find
Theft allowed by some Heathen Nations, {4)
as the Egyptians (e) and Spdrtans ; and they
who did not allow it in private Persons, did
(a) Follmoed hy the Christians, Sk.] Pavl the Apostle,
1 Cor. vii. 4', LactantiUs's, Instftations, VJ. 23;' Hieroiiymus
against Oceanus.
(b) Reiomp&tsed with a like Return, &c.] Sallust well ex-
, presses it in his Jiighihine War. " Amongst those that have
" many Wives, there is but little Affection, because the Mind
" is 4istracted with a Multitude, so as to have none of ihera
" for an intimate Companion; but they are all equally esteemed
" of no Value.". Ammianm concerning the Persians, £ook
XXni, " By Means of various Lust, divided Love grows
"faint." And Claudimi, in his GildenicWsLTi
T hey have a thousand Marriages,
Tor they regard no Ties, no sacred Pledge,
But their Affection is in Number lost.
(c) That tlie Government, &c.] Euripides in his Jndro-
macha, •jightly apprehends and expresses them both,
"((f) .i4* </ie Egyptians, &c.] See Diodora* Sjcate's History,
Book L
(e) And Spartans, &c.] See Plutarch in his Lycurgus..
scarce
Sect. 14.] CHRISTIAN REUGION.' 121
scarce any Thing else in the; Public ; as the
Romans', of whom 'the Roman Orator said, (a)
if every one shouild have his Due restored to
him, they must go back again to their Cottages.
Indeed, there was no such Thing amongst the
Hebrews ; but they were permitted (fr) to take
Usury of Strangers, that the Law might in some
Measure be fitted to their Disposttiom ; and there-
fore amongst other Thin^, (c) it. promised
Riches to those that obeyed it. But- the Chris-
tian Law not only forbids {d) all Kind of In-
justice towards any Persons ; but • also forbids us
{e) setting our Affections upjon perishing Things;
because our Mind is of such a Nature, that it
cannot diligently attend to the Care of two
Things, each of which requires the whole Man,
and which oftentimes draw bJdi contrary Ways':
And besides, (X'-'SolicitoMsness in procuring and
jf>reserving Riches, is attended with a certain
Slavery an^ Uneasiness, which spoils that vecy
Pleasure which is expected from Riches: {g}
but Nature is satisfied with a very few Things,
and those such as can easily be procured, with-
out any great Labour or Charge. And, if God
has granted us something beyond this, we are not
jcommanded to cast it into the- Sea, (/&) as some
(a) If every one sliould-haiie, &C.3 Lactantius in his Epitome,
Chap. 1. cites the Words of Tully to this Purpose out of his
Third Republic.
(i) To takeUsury of Strangers, &c.] I)««^ xxiii. JP.
(f) It promsed Riches, Sic.'] Levit.xxvi. 5. Deut. xviii.
4,5,6,7,8, 11, 12.
{d) All Kind of Injustice, Sec] Matt. n'l. 12. Ephes.v.S^
(e) Setting our Affections, &c.] Matt. vi. 24. and the fol-
lowing Verses, xiii. 22. LttAe viii. 14. . 1 I'm. vi, 9,
{f) Solicitousness in procuring, kc.] Matt. \i. Si. PMl.iv.6,
(gy But Nature is satisfied, ice.) 1 Tim. vi. 7, 8. '
(A) As some Philosophers, &c.J La'eriivs and S-uidas affirm
this oi ArisRppus and Philostratiis, of Crates,
PhiIoso«
122 ^ OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book 11.
Philosophers imprudently did ; nor to let it lie
useless by us, nor yet to lavish it away : But -out
of it, to supply the Wants of other Men, (a) ei-
ther by giving (b) or lending. to those that ask. it ;
(s) as becomes those who believe themselves, not
|o be Proprietors of these Things, but ojily Ste-
wards and Deputies of the Most High God their
Parent; for a Kindness well bestowed, (d) is a
Treasure full of Good.. Hope, against which nei-
ther the, Wickedness of Thieves, nor variety of
Accidents can prevail any thing. An admi-
rable Example of which- sincere and undis-
sembled Charity, the first Christians afford us ;
when things were sent from so great a Distance
as {e) Macedonia and Achaia, in order to supply
the Want of those in Palestim; as if the whole
Woj-ld had been but oneJFamily^ . And here this
Caution is added also, in the Law of Christy (f)
that no Hope, of Reeom pence, or Honour ought
to diminish from our LiberaJity ,; because, if we
have regard to any Thing' else but God, (^) it
takes away his Acceptance. ' And, lest any one
should pretend, as is commonly done, to cloke
.his Sparingness, as if he were afraid he sliould
want what he has, when he comes to be an old
Man, or if any Misfortune should befall him ;
the Law promises, {h) that a particular Care shall
(a) Either hy giving, ltc.1 Matt. v. ^2.
{b) Or lending, &c.] In the same Matt. Luke vi. 35,
(c) As becomes those, &c.] 1 Tim. »i. 17, 18.
' (rf) Is a Treasure, &c.] Matt. yj. 20.
-(e) Macedonia, and Achaia, &c. Ro»t, jiv. 25, 26, and th«
following Verges. 2 Cor. ix. 1,'2, 3, 4. ^Philip iv. 18.
(f) That no Hope of Recommence, &c.] Matt. vi. 1, 2,
Luke XV. 12.
(g) It takes away Ms Avueptance, &c.] I^ee the forccited
Place in Matt. .i,,,4. .
(*) That 4 partitulur Care, Sec] Malt, vi. 32. Jjuke xii.
7. xxi, 8.
"j. he
Sect. U, 15, 16.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. n3
be taken of those who keep these Precepts ;
And, that they ma^ the more rely upon it, re-
minds them of (a) the remarkable Providence of
God, in providing for wild Beasts and Cattle, in
adorning Herbs and Flowers ; and that it would
be an unworthy Thing' in us, not to believe so
good, so powerful a God, nor to trust him any
further than we would do a bad Debtor, of whom
we never think ourselves secure without a Pledge.
SECT. Xt.
Cottcerifing Oaths,
OTHER Laws forbid Perjury; (b) but this
would have us entirely to abstain from Oaths, ex-
cept upon Necessity ; and to have so great Regard
to Truth, in our common Conversation, {c) that
there should be no Need of requiring an Oath of us.
SECT. XVI.
Concerning other Actions, ;
AND indeed, there is nothing excellent to be
found in the phUisophic iWritings of the Greeks,
or in the Opinions of the Hebrews, or of any other
Nation, which is not contained here, and more-
over ratified by divine Authority. For Instance;
concerning (d) Modesty, (<r) Temperance, (f)
(a) The Remarkable ProiHenceof God, kc."] Matt. vi. 26, 28.
I (b) But thk teould Mve vs, &c.] Matt, v. 33, 34, 35, SS,
37, Jam. \.\2. ,
'' (c) That there should be no need, &c.] See the foreraen-
tioned Place of Matthew.
{d) Modesty, 6ic.'] 1 Pe^ iii. 3.
(e) Temperance, kc.'] Tit. ii. 12. 1 Tiwt. ii, ip.
(fj Goodiiess, Hic.'i a Cor. -vi. 6. Gal, v. 22. Chios, iff .
}^, Qor. xiii. 4,
124, OF THE TRUTH OF THJL [3dofc If.
Jt^opdness (a) Morhl Virtue, (h) Prudence, (<)
the Duty of Governors and Subjects, (d) Parents
and Cbydren, {e) Masters and Servants, (f)
Husbands and Wives ; and, particularly, abstain*
ing trom those Vices, which, under a Shew of
Virtue, deceived niany of the Greeks and Ramam,
viz. (g) the Desire of Honour and Glory. Tb«
Sum of it is wonderful for its Substantial Brevity ;
{A) that we should love God above all Things,
and our Neighbour, as ourselves ; that is, (/') we
should do to others, as Vv'e would have them do
to us. Perhaps some may obgect against what
we have now said, of the Excellency of Christ's
Commands ; the great Difference of Opinions
amongst Christians, from whence have arisen so
many various Sects.
(a) Moral Virtue, &c.] ThU. iv. 8. 1 Tim. ii. 2. iri, 4.
Tit. ii. 7.
(i) Prudence, &c.] Matt. x. 16. Ephes. i. 8.
(c) The Duty of Governors, &c.]. 1 Tim. ii. 2. Rom. xiii.
1 Pet. ii. 13, 17.
(d) Parents and Children, &c.]| Colos. iii. 20, 21. Ephes,
vi. 1, 2, 3,4. , "
(f) Masters and Servants, fcc], Ephes. vi. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
10. C.D?o«. iii. 22, 23, 24, 25.
(f) Husbands and Wives, .&c.] Ephes. v. 22,_ 23, 24, 23,
2«, 33. Colos. iri. 18, 19. 1 Tim. ii. 2.
{g) The Desire of Honour , &e.] Matt.iLiihn. 4. xxiii. 12.
Jjuke xiv. 11. xviii. 14. John v. 44. Ephet. iv. 2, Colos. ii.
18. iii. 23. 1 John ii. ]6, Phil. ii. 3. 1 Tkess. ii. 6. 1 Pfi.
i. 24. V. 5.
(A) That xoe should love God, &cJ]. Matt. Ix. 18. xxii. 37,
39. Lukes.. 27. Rom. xiii. 9) 10, 11. Gal. v. 14. James
ii.8.
(j) We should do to others, &c.] Matt, vii, 12. Luke vi.
31. This was commanded by the Emperor Alexander; see'
Dion, and he that wrote the Life of this Emperor in Latin.
SECT.
Sect. 17.1 CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 1S5
SECT, XVII.
An Answer to the QhlHiion, drawn- from the many
Controversies amongst CArhfians.
BtJT the Anawer to this is evident: ITiere are
scarce any Arts, but the same Thing happens to
them, partly through the Weakness of huma.n
Nature, and partly because Men's Judgment is
hindered by Prejudices: But for the most Part,
this Variety of Opinion Is limited within cer-
tain Bounds, in which Men are agreed ; and
whereby they determine Doubts: As in the
Mathematics, it is a Dispute whether the Cir-
cle can be squared or not but whether, if you
take Bquals from Equals, the Remainder will
be equal; this admits of no Dispute: And thus
it is in Natural Philosophy, Physic, and other
Arts. So the Difference of Opinions that is
amongst Chrisfians, ciannot hinder their Agree-
ments in the princijjal Things ; that is, (a) those
Commalads, by which we have now recommended
the Christian Keligton : And the Certainty of these
appears from hence, and those who being highly
enraged against one another, have sought for Mat-
ter of Disagreem«it, never ventured to go so far
as to deny, that these were the precepts of Christ ;
no, not even they, who would not direct their
Lives aiccording to this Rule. And if any should
attempt to contradict these, he ought to be looked
upon to be like those Philosophers who denied
that Snow was white. For as these were confuted
(a) Those Commands, &c.] We may add also, in those
Opinions that are necessary, and upon which the Observation
of Commaaids depends ; such as are raen'tioned in the most an-
cient Creeds, whidi are extant, in Irenans and TertuUian, and
«hat we now call the Apostles' Creed, as I have somewhat
more fiilly shown in that little Piece annexed hereto, concern-
ing the Cboic? of our Opinion, &c. Sect, IV'. Lt Clerc,
by
126 OF tHE TRUTH OF THE [Book II,
by their Senses, so are they by the Consent of all
Christian Nations, and by those Books which were
wrote by the first Christians ; and those after
them, who were followed by learned Men ; and
such who bore Testimony to the Faith of Christ
by their Death. For* that which all these ac-
Itndwledge to be the Doctrine of Christ, ought
to be accounted so, by all fair and equal Judge* ;
for the same Reason that we believe Plato, Xeno-
phon, and other Disciples of Socrates ; concerning'
the Opinions of Socrates ; and the Schools of
the Stoics, for what Zeno delivered.
SECT. XVIII.
Tke Excellency of the CJifishanr-ReJigion further
pr^oved from the Ex^cellency of its Teacher.
THE third Thing wherein we said the Chris-
tian Religion exceeds all other Religions, that are,
or can be imagined, is the Manner in which it,
was delivered and propagated : In the Conside-
ration of which Particular, the first Thing that
offers itself, is the Author of this Doctrine : The
Authors of the Grecian Wisdom and Knowledge,
themselves eonfessed, that they alledged scarce
any Thing for Certainty ; because Truth was
sunk, as it were, (a) to the Bottom of a Well ;
(h) and the Mind, as dim-sighted in Regard to
divine Things, as the Eyes of an Owl in the Sun-
shine. Besides there was hardly any of them, but
(a) To, the Bottom of a Well, &c.] It was a Saying oi De^
mocritus, " That Truth lay at the Bottom of a Well," as we
find in Tulli/'s Academical Questions, and in other Writers.,
(i) And tlte Mind, as iim-sighted, &c.] See Aristotle's
Metaphysics, Book ,11. Chap. 1 . "As the Eyes of a Batt are
" dazzled at the Light in the Day-time ; so is the understand-
-" ing in our Soul confounded at the plainest Thiilgs in the
«' World."
was
Sect. 18.} CHRISTIAN RELIGION. . 137
was addicted to (a) some particular Vice ; some
were (^) Flatterers of Princes, others devoted to
(c) tlie Embraces of Harlots, others to (d) snarU ,
ing Impudence ; and one -great Argument of the
Envy and Hatred theyv all had against one an-
other, is their (e) quarrelling about Words, or
Things of no Moment ; and as good ap Argu-
ment of their Coldness and Indifferency in the
Worship of God is, that they who believed that
there was feally but one God, did yet lay him
(a) Some particular Vice, &c.] Socrates is most commend-
ed, by the Consent of all ; yet Cyril in his Sixth Book against
Julian, sets before us in the Words of Porphyry, the high De«
gree of Anger he discovered in his Words and Sayings.
(b) Flatterers of Princes, &<;.] Plato and Aristippxu.
(c) The Embraces of Harlgfs, Stc."} Zeno, the Chief of the
Stoics, was addicted to the Love of Men ; and Plato, AristO'
tlcy Epicurus, Aristippus, and almost all of them, to the Love of
Women ; witness Atkanaus's Books III. and XIII. Laertms
and Laciantius, t/ieognis mentions it of himself in many
Places. '
■(d)- To snaring Impudence, &c.] Whence they are called
Cynics.
(e) Quarrelling about Words, &c.] This it well observed
by Timon Pkliasius :
wretched Mortals, nought but Sin and Flesh,
.. Always deceiv'd with Words, and fierce Contests ;. -
Vain Men like empty Bladders, pi^'d with Wmd^ ^
And again, . ,
Sharp Contest walks about feith mighty Noise,
Sister of mortal Hatred and Confusion ;
Till wandering to and fro, at last she fix
Herself in human Breasts and raise their Hopes,
And again,
Who has inflam'd them with such deadly Strife ?
The noisy Multitude, who silence hate.
From whom the Plague of Tattle has its Rise.
You will find these Verses in Clemens, Strom. V. in Euseblus,
at the End of bis Preparation, and in Theodorel^s Second Dis-
course.
aside,
i«8 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [BooR'M.
aside and paid Divine Worship to otners, whom
they believe to be no Gods : '(a) ma:king that only
the Rule of their Heligibfti wM^ was publickly
received: And, as for_ the Reward of Kety, they
courld affirm nothing for certain ; as appears from
(i) the last Dispute of Socrates, a little before
his Death. Mahomet, the Author of that Reli-
gion, which has Spread itself so far, (c) aban-
doned himself to Lust, aH his Life Ipng, which
his Friends 'themsdves do not deny. Neither
did he give any Assurance wherebyit might ap-
pear, that those Rewards he promised, whim
consisted in Feasts, and Women, would ever really
be ; since they do not pretend to say, that he is
restored to Life again in his Body ; so far from
that, that it now Jies buried in Medina. But
MoseSy the Hebrew Lawgiver, was an excellent
Person, however not entirely free from Faults ; for
with great Reluctance he would scarce {d) under-
take an Embassy to the King of Egypt, tho' at the
: ^a}. Making that only .the'BAde, &c.] Xenophpn in hjs Sixth
Memorab. recites theOracle,' by which the Gods are commanded
t0 be worsliipped according to the Laws of every City. Here
we may repeat' the Wor<35 of Seneca, before quoted out of
Augustine; after which Augustint adds these; ." He worshipped
" that which he blamed; he did that which he condemned ;
" and that. which he foimd fault with, he paid Adoration to."
According. to .what Plato says, in his Timaus, and other Places;
and Porphyry, 1n that Place of Eusebius's Preparat. Book IV.
Ch. 8. that it is dangerous to speak the Truth, in Divine Mat-
ters, before the Vulgar. The Fear of which Danger, hoth in
the Greek and Latin, and Barbarian Philosophers, prevailed
over the sincere .Profession of the Truth; whicb Thing alone
is sufficient to hinder any one from thinking that siich Men
were to be followed in every Thing. Juttin Martyr^ in his
Exhortation' to tX%t'Greeks, observes this of Plato.
(6) The last Dispute of Socrates, &c,] See what we have
before quoted concerning him.
. (c) Abandoned kmself to Lust., -^c.} See what is said in
tbe Sixth Book. .
(d) Undertake an Bntbassy, Sec.} Exodus iv. 2, 10, 13^, 14.
Com-
lect; 18.1 CHRISTIAN, RELIGION. lt?9
Command of God ; aild he disfcoyered some (a)
Pistrust of God's Promise, concerning striking
Water out of the Rock, as the H'ebretv^ acknow-
ledge. And he himself partook of scarce any of
those Rewards, which he promised to his People
by the Law, {b) being driven to and fro iii desert
Places, by continual Tumults, (c) atid nSver en-
tering the h^ppy Land: Elut Christ' is described
by his Disciples, (J), to be without any Manner
bf Sin: {e) Nc^r cohld he ever be proved to hava
committed anj^, by the Testimonies ^ of others i
And v&liatever he cominanded btWfers, (f) he
performed himself; for he faithfully fulfilled all
Things that God conimaridfed him ; {g) he was
most sincere, in the whole Course of his Life;
he was the {ft) niost palient of Injuries and Tor-
inents, as is evident from his Punishment on the
Cross ; he was so gredt a Lover of Mankind, of
his Enemies, e^eri of those by vvhoni he was led'
to Death, (i) that he prayed to God for them.
(a) Distrust of God's Promise, &c.] Numbers xk. 10.
, (6) Bepg driven, to and fro, &c.] Exod. xxii. Numb, xi.
xii. xiv. xvi, xx. xxv.
(c) And never entering the Jtappy Land, &c.] Numb. Xx. 12-
Deut. xxiiv. 4.'
(d) To be without' any Manner- of Sin, &c.] John viii. 4^.
i. 32, 2 Cor. V. 21, 1 Fet. ii, 20. Heb. iv. Tliat his Piety
was commended by the Oracle among the Gentiles, we shall
shew in the Sixth Book.
. . («) Nor could he ever beproved, &c.] Ongen- observes this iti
-liis Third Book against Celsus.
. (f) He performed himself , &c.J LactanHus, in the End of '
his Institutions, well observes, " That he not only shewed the
',' Way, but walked before, ia it, iest. any one should drefid
" the Path of Virtue; on account of its difficulty."
'(g) He was most sincere, &c.J 1 Pet. ii, 22. »
(hj Most patient of. Injuries, &c.] Matt. xxvi. 50, 52,
7oA» viii. 23. ,.4cts viii. 32.
(/) . That he prayed to God for them, &c.] Luke xxiii. S4.
K And
130 OF THE TRVTH OF THE [Book IT.'
And the Reward that he promised to his Fol-
lowers, he was possessed of himself, in a most
eminent Manner ; as is declared and proved by
certain Testimony, (a) Many saw, heard, and
handled hinp, after he was returned to Life again ;
(I?) He was taken up into Heaven in the Sight of
Tvvelve: And that he there obtained the highest
Power, is manifest from hence ; that he endued
his Disciples with a (c) Power to speak those Lan-
guages which they had never learned ; and (^)
with other miraculous Gifts, (^)^as he promised
them, when- he departed from them : All which
put together shew, that there is no Reason to
doubt of his Faithfulness, or of his Power, to re-
compense us with that Reward, he has promised.
And hence it is we collect, that this Religion ex-
ceeds all others in this Particular also ; that the
Author of it performed himself, what he com-
manded ; and was possessed of what' he promised.
From the wonderful Propagation of this ^Religion.
WE come now to the Effects of the Doctrine
by him delivered ; which indeed, if rightly con-
(«) Many saw, heard and handled him, &c.] John xx. 27,
28, ap. Jchni. Epist.\. AZo//. xxvii. Mark w\. Lukt ^\\\.
1 Cor. XV, 3, 4, 3, 6, 1, S,
(i) He was taken up into Ilcatcn, &c.] Mark y^\\. ig. Luke
xxiv. 51, oC. Acts i. y, 10, 11. also Acts vii. bb. ix. 3, 4, 5.'
xxii. 6. 1 Cor. XV. 8.
(c) A Power to speak those Languages, Sec] Acts ii. 3, 4.
X. 46". XX. 6. 1 Cor. xn. 10, 28, 30. xiii. 1, S. xiv. 2, 4, 5,
6-, 9, 13, 14, 18, 19, 22, 23, 27, 3y.
(rf) And with other miraculous Gifts, Sec.'] Acts iu. v. viii.
ix. x. xi. xiii. xiv. xvi. xix. xx. xxi. xxvii. Rom. xv. 19.
2 Cor. xii. 12. Heb. ii. 4. The Truth hereof is shewn by Justin
in his Dispute with Trt/pho; by Irenceus, Book If. hy.Tertul-
lian, in his Apology; by Origen, in his Seventh Book against
Celsus; by -ZJactoifiui, and others.
(e) As he promised them, &c.] John xiv. 12. xvii. 21. Mark
xvi. 17.
sidej-ed.
Sect. 18.} CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 131
sidered, are such, that if God has any Regard or
Care of human Affairs, tliis Doctrine cannot possi-
bly but be thought Divine. It was agreeable to Di-
vine Providence, to cause That to spread the farr
thest, which is in itself best. And this has happened
to the Christian Religion, which, we ourselves see,
is taught all over Europe; (a) even the farther
Corners, of the jSTorth not exempted ; \b) and no
l;pss throughout all Jsia, (c) even in the Islands in
the Sea belonging to it ; {4) through Egypt also {e)
and Ethiopia, (f) and some other Parts of Africa,
{g) and at last through America. Nor is this done
now only, but was so of old ; as the History of all
Ages testify, the Books of the Christians, and the
Acts of Synods ; and at this Day, there is a Tra-
dition preserved amongst the Barharians, (A) of the
(a) -Even the further Corners of the North, &c.] See Adam
Bremensis and Ilelmoldus, and the Writers concerning Iceland
(A) And no less throughout all Asia, &c.] See the Acts o
the General Councils.
(c) Even the Islands in the Sea, &c.] See Osorius in his
Lusitanks,
(rf) Through Egypt also, &c.] This appears from the Acts
of the General Cowncils ; from the ancient Ecclesiastical His-
tories, and particularly Eusebius, VI. 34. out of the Coptic
Liturgy.
(e) And Ethiopia, &c.] See Franciscus Alvarenus.
Cf) And some otner parts of AMcBL, Sec."} See Terfullian, Cjt-
prian, Augustin, and the Actsof the African Councils: .especially"
that Council, which is subjoined to the Works oi Cyprian.
{g) And at last through America, &c.] See Acosta and
others who have wrote about the Affairs oi America.
(h) Of the Journies and Miracles ofThoinas, &c.] See Ab-
dias, Book IX. Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History, Book I. to-
wards theTind ; and Book H. Chap. 1. and the Beginning of
Book III. Riiffinus, Book X. Chap. 9, Add to these Osorius-
and Ldnschotius, concerning the ^ffairs of East-India; and
Freita concerning the Empire of the Lusitanians in Asia: The
Sepulchre of this Apostle is now to be seen in the Country of
Coromandel^
K ^ Journies
13!^ of THE TRUTH OF THE fBook tt.
Journies and Miracles of Thomas (a) and Andrew,
and the other* Apostles. And {b) Clemens^ {c) Ter-
tullian, {dy and others have observed, how far the
> Name
(a) And 'Andrew, &C.3 See Eusebius in the Beginning of
his forementioned Tliird Bookj and Origen upon Genesis,
(i) Clemens, 8fc.] He says, Strom. V. that- Christ was
known in ail Nations.
(c) Tertutlian, fee] Xn his first Book against the Jews.
'' In whom else ha.veall Nations believed, but in Christ, who
" lately came ? In whoto nave all these Nations believed, Par-
" t /linns, MedeSj Elamites, and the Dwellers in Mesopotatnidi
" Armenia, Phrygia, Cappcducia; the Inhabitants o{ Pontus, urti
''Asia, and Pamphylid: they that dwell in Egypt, and *hey
" who live in the Country oi Africa, beyond Cyrene : Remans
'• and Strangers; Jews and other Nations in Jerusalem; the
"different Sorts of People in Getulia; the many Countries,
", of the Moors ; all the Borders of Spain ; the different
'" Nations of Gaul: and ihose Places of Britain, which the
'' Komans could not come at, are yet subject to Christ ; the
*' Sarmatce, and Deed, the Germans and Scythian's; and many
" other obscure Natiens^ and many Provinces and Islands un-
♦' Jmown to us, so many that they cannot be reckoned ? In all
" which Places, the Name of Christ, who lately came, reigns."
Presently after, he shows how much larger the Kingdom of
Christ was in his Time, that is, the End of the second. Cen-
tury, than those of old, Nebuchadnezzar's Alexander's, or the.
Romans' : " The Kingdom pf Christ overspreads all Places, is
" received every where, in all the a,bove named Nations (he had
" mentioned the Babylonians, Partkians,. Indians, Ethiopia,
" Asia, Germany, Britain, the Moors, Gertulians, and Rornuns)
" it is in great Esteem : He reigns every where,^is adored in
" all. Places, is divided equally amongst them all.^'
(d) And others, &c.] Irenceus, who wasancienter than T(?r->
tidlian, Book I. Ch. 3. " For though there be different Lan-
" guages, the Power of Tradition is the same; neither the
■ " Churches founded in Germany have any other Belief, or
"any other Tradition: For yet those m Iberia, n«r' thos6
*' among the Celiee, nor those which are in the East, nor those
" in Egypt, nor those in Lybio, nor those that are established
" in the Middle of the World : But like the Sun, which God,
" created, and is one and the same throughout the whole
"World: So the Lights the preaching of the Truth, shines
" every vvherC;, and enlightens all Men, who are willing to
4 , " come
Sect. 18.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 133
Name of Christ was famous in their Times, amongst
the Britons, Germans, and other distant Nations.
What
'' come to the Knowledge of the Truth." And Origetfs
Homily upon the ivth of Ezekiel : "The miserable Jeru^
*' confess, that these Things were foretold of the Presence of
" Christ ; but they are foolishly ignorant of his Person, though
"they see what is said of him fulfilled ; for wh^n did tlie'
'' Biifish Land, before the comjng of Christ, agree in the
" Worship of one God > When did ihe C'luntry of the Moors,
" when did the whole World together do so ?" And Arnof
'* hilts, Book II. "The Powers which, they saw with their Eyes,
" and those unheard-of Effects, which were openly produced,
"either by him, or which were proclaimed by his Disciples,
" throughout the wh'ole World, subdued those violent Appei-
" tites, and caused Nations and People, and those whose Man-
" ners were very different, to» consent with one Mind, to the
" same Belief: For we might enumerate, and tiike into our
*' Account those Things which were done in India among
'• the Serx, Persians, and Medes, in Arabia, Egypt, in A^ia^
" Syria, among the Galatians, Parthians, Phrygians, in Achaia,
"Macedonia, Epirus: in those Islands and Provinces, sur-
" veyed by the East and Western Sun; and lastly in Home,
M the Mistress of the World," And Athanasius, in his Syno-
dical Epistle, %vhich we find in Theodoret, Book IV. Chap. 3.
mentions the Christian Churches in Spain, Brifain, Gaul, Italy,
J)almutia, Mysia, Macedonia, Greece, Africa, Sardinia, Cyprus,
Crete, Pt.mphylia,Lysia, Isauria, Egypt, Lybia, Pontus, avidCop' '
padocia. And Theodoret, in his Eighth Discourse against the
Greeks, speaks thus concerning the Apostles : " When they
♦' were conversant in the Body, they wept about, sometimes
" to one Sort, and sometimes to another ; sometimes they
•' discoursed to the Romans, sometimes to the Spaniards, and
"sometimes to the Cellans ; but after they returned to him
?' that sent them, all enjoyed their Labours without Excepf
" tion not only the Romans, and they that loved the Romaa
" Yoke,. aJid were subject' to their Government, but also the
." Persians and Scythians, and Massagetx, and Sauromatx, and
" Indians, and jElhiopians ; and to speak in one WQ4;d, the
'• Borders of the whole World." And again in his Ninth
Book among the converted Nations, he recktms the Persians,
the Massagetce, the Tibareni, the Hyrcani, the Caspia^f, and Scy-
thians. Jerom, in the Epitaph of Nepotian, reckoiis amongst
ithe Christians the Indians, Persians, Goths, Egyptians, Bessians,
and the People cloathed with. Skins : In his Epistle to Lceta, he
reckons up the Indians, Persians, Goths, Ethiopians, Armenians,
jffwis, Scythians, and G-etans y And in his Dialogue between an
orthodox
134 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book J|.
What Ifleligion is there that can compare with it,
for the Extent of its Possession? If you answer.
Heathenism : That indeed haS but one Name,
but is not one Religion : For they -do not all
worship the same Thing, for some worship the
Stars, others the Elements, others Beasts, others
"things that have no Existence ; neither are they
governed by the same Law, nor under one com-
mon Master. The Jeixs indeed, though very
hiuch scattered, are but one Nation ; however,
their Religion has received no remarkable Increase
since Christ : Nay, their own Law is made more
known by the Christians than by themselves,
Mahometanism is settled in very many Countries,
but not alone ; for the Christian Religion is cul-,
tivated in those same Countries, and in some
Places by a greater Number: Whereas, on the
contrary, there are no Mahometans to be found
in many Parts where the Christian Religion is,
ortttodox Man and a Luciferian, he mentions the Britams,-
Gauls, the East, the People of India. The Iberians the Ce.ltij
berians, and thfMlhiopians. And Chrysostom in his Sixth Ho-»
mily upon 1 Cor. says, " If ihey were not worthy to be be-
" lieved in what they said, how should their Writings havs
" spread all over barbarous Countries, even lo the Indians,
" and those Countries beyond the Sea ?" And again, in his
last Homily upon Pentecost. " The Holy Spirit descended in
"the Shape of Tongues, divided its Doctrine .amongst the
" several Climates of the World : and by this Gift of Tongues^
" as it were by a particular Commission, niade known to every
" one, the Limits of that Command and Doctrine that was
"committed to him." And again, in his' famous Oration,
concerning Christ's being God : " We must say then, that a
" mere Man could not, in so short a Time, have overs^preatj
" the World, both Sea and Land ; nor have so called Men to
" such Things, who were wilh-held by evil Customs, nay, -pos-
" sessed with Wickedness : Yet he was sufficient to_deliver
" Mankind from all these, not only Romans, but also Persians,
'•' and all barbai'ous Nations," See also what follows, whiclj
'' is highly worth reading.
Considering
. Sect. -1 S.J CHRISTIAN RELIGION. J3J
Considering the JVeainess and Simplicity of those who
taught it in the first Ages. ^
WE come next to examinej in what Manner the
.Christian Religion made such a Progress, that in
this Particular also it may be compared with
others. We see most Men are disposed to com-
ply with the Examples of Kings and Rulers, es-
pecially if they be obliged to it by Law, or com-
pelled by Force. To these the Religions of the
Pagans, and that of the Mahometans, owe their
Increase, But Jthey who first taught the Christian
Religion, were not only Men without any Autho-
rity, but of low Fortune, Fishers, Tent-makers,
and the like: And yet, by the Industry of these
Men, that Doctrine, within thirty Years, or there-
abouts, spread' not only through {a) all Parts of
the Roman Empire, but as far as the Parthians
and Indians, And not only in the very Beginning,
but for almost three hundred Years, by the In-
dustry of private Persons without any Threats,
without any Enticements, nay, opposed as much
as possible by the Power of those who were iji
Authority ; this Religion was propagated so far,
-that is possessed the greatest Part of the Roman
Empire, {h) before Constantine professed Christi-
anity. They among the Greeks, who delivered
Precepts of JVIorality, at the same Time rendered
themselves acceptable by other Arts : as the
Platonics, by the Study of Geometry ; the Peri-
patetics, by the History of Plants and Animals ;
(a) All Parts of the Roman Empire, &c,] Rom. xv. ip,
(b) Before Constantine professed Christianity, &c.] Terfvl-
lian said in his Time, Apology II. "We are but of Yesterday,
"- and have filled all Places belonging to yow, your Cities, Is-
" lands, Castles, Towns, Councils, your very Camps, Tribes,
" Companies the Palace, Senate, and Forum ; we have leff
" you only your Temples."
5 the
136 OF THE TEUTH OF Ttt^ [Book II.
the StpicSj by Logical Subtility : the Pythago-
reans, by' the Knowledge of Numbers and Har-
mony. Many of them, were 'endued with admi-
rable Eloquence, as Plato, Xmaphon, and Theo-
fhrastus. But the first Teachers of Christianity
had no such Art. {a) Their Speech was very
plain, without any Enticements ; they declared
only the Precepts, Promises, and Threats in bare
Words; wherefore, since they had not in them-
selves any Power, answerable to such a Progress,
we must of Necessity allow that they were attend-
ed with Miracles ; or that the secret Influence of
God favoured their tJndertaking; or both.
SECT. XIX.
j4nd tJie great Impediments that hindered Men fron^
embracing it, or deterred them from professing it. ".
TO which Consideration vve may add this ;
that, the minds of those who embraced the Chris-
tian Religion, taught by these Meji, were not ea-
tirely free and unprejudiced from aiiy establisheci
JEiule.of Religion, and consequently very pliable;
as they were, who first embraced the Heathen
JRites, and the Law of Mahomet: And much les^
-were they prepared by any foregoing Institution ;
as the Hebrews were rendered fit for the Recep-
tion of the Law of Mo^^s, by Circair)cision,*and
, the Knowledge of one God. But on the contrary,'
their Minds were filled with Opinions, and had
acquired Habits, which are a second Nature, re-
pugnatjt to these new Instructions; having been'
educated and confirmed by the Authority of
Law, and of their Parents, in the Heathen Mys-
teries and /^wijZi Rites. And besides this, there
(a) Their Speech was tery plain, &c.] This was wisely ob-
served by Chrysostonij oa 1 Cor. i. 17. and by Theodoret, after
the Words now quoted.
was
pect. 19.3 CHRISTIAN RELIGION. IS?
yji^s another Obstaqle as great, namely, the, most
grievous Sufferings, which it was certain thej^
who professed Chri-stianity must endure, or be
in Fear of, upon that Account : For since such
Sufferings are highly disagreeable to human Na-
ture, it follows, _ that those Things which are;
the Ganse of such Sufferings cannot be received
without great Difficulty. The Christians, for
a long Time, were kept out of all Places of
Honour, and were moreover fined, had their
iSroods confiscated, and were banished : But thesfe
were small Things ; they were condemned to the
Mines, had the mostcruel Torments, .that it was
possible to invent, inflicted upon them ; and the
Punishments of Death were so common, that the.
Writers of those Times relate, that no Famine,
no Pestilence, no War, ever consumed more Men
at a Time. Neither were they the ordinary Kinds
of Death: («) But burning of thenx alive, cru-
cifying them, and such like Punishments ; which
one cannot read or think of Without thfe greatest
Horror; And this Cruelty, which, without any
long Interruption, and that not every where,
continued in the Uoman Empire, almost till the
Time of Canstantine, and in other Places longer,
}vaS so far from diminishing them, that on the
contrary, their Blood was called the Seed of the
Church, they so much more increased as they wet-0
cutoff. Here, therefore, let us conipare other
Religions with Christianity. The Gfeeh'AnA other
|leathens, who were wont to magnify their own;
Matters, reckon a very few that suffered Death for
Opinions; some iratf^^w Philosophers, Socrates, and
not many more ; and it can hardly be denied, but
(S) But burning of them alive, &c.]J DomiUus Ulpianus, a
famous Lawyer, wrote seven Books about the Punishments
that Christian^ ought to have inflicted on them. Lactantius
ftientions them. Book V, Chap. 7. ♦
that
J 38, OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Bodk H.
that in these famous Man, tlifere was some Desire
of transmittirig their Fame to Posterity, But
there were very many of the common People,
scarce known to their Neighbours, among tlse
Christians, who suffered Death for their Opinion ;
Women, Virgins, young Men, who had no De-
sire nor probable Hopes, that tlieir Names would-
continue long after them ; and, indeed, there, are
but a few, whose Names remain in the Martyro-
]ogies, in Comparison of the number of them
that suffered for this Cause, and are {a) reckoned
only by the Heap. Further, very many of them
might have escaped this Punishment, by some
small Dissimulation, such as throwing a little
Frankincense upon the Altar ; which cannot be
affirmed of them, who, whatever private Opinions
they had in their Minds, yet in their outward
Actions, conformed themselves to the Customs
of the yulgar. So that to suffer Death for the
Honour of God, could scarce be allovyed to any
but the Jews and Christians ; and not to the Jews
after Christ's Time ; and before, only to a very
^evf, compared with the Christians ; more of
which suffered Punishment for the Law of Christ,
in one Province, than ever there did Jews ; a\\
who$e sufferings of this Kind may almost be re-
duced to the Times of Manasses and- Jntiocht/is.
Wherefore, seeing the Christian JReligion, in this
Particular also, infinitely exceeds others ; it ought
justly to be preferred before them. It must be in-
ferred from such a Multitude, of every Age and
(a) Reckoned only by the IJeap, &c.] As the innocent Conj-
pany of three Hundred nVCartAage, mentioned in the xxivth
Roman Martyrology of Augustus ; very many in Africa, under
Severus ; under Valerian ax Antioc/i ; and in Arabia, Cappa-
docia, and Mesopotamia, in Phrygia, in Pontus, xmiev Maximin;
at Nicomedia, in Numidia ; at Rome, in Thebais, Tyre, Trevers,
under Dioclesian ; in Persia, under Cabada and Sapores. All
which are mentioned in the Martyrology, without any Names.-
Sex.
Sect. 19.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 339
Sex, in so many Different Places and Times, who
Fefused not to die for this Religion ; that there was
some great Reason for such a constant Resolution,
which cannot be imagined to be any other but the
Light of Truth, and the Spirit of God.
^n Answer to those who require more and stronger
Arguments.
IF there be any one who is not satisfied with
the Arguments hitherto alledged, for the Truth of
the Christian Religion, but desires more pow^erful
on«es : he ought to know, (a) that different Things
must have different Kinds of Proof; one Sort in
Mathematics, another in the Properties of Bodies,
another in doubtful Matters, and another in Mat-
ters of Fact. And we are to abide by that, whose
Testimonies are void of all Suspicion : Which, if
it be not admitted*, not only all History is of no
further Use, and a great Part of Physic ; but all
that natural Affection, which is betwixt Parents
and Children, is lost, (i) who c^n be known no
pther Way. (c) And it is the Will ,of God, that
those
(a) That different Things, &c.] See Jrisfotle's Ethics to Ni.
comachis. Book I. " It is sufficient, if a Thing be made ap-
" pear according to tlie subject Matter of it; for tiie same Evi-
" dence is not to be expected in all Tliipgs," AnA in the
latter Part of his First Metaphys. the labt Chap, ^' Mathemati-
" cal Certainty IS not to be met with in all "Things." And
Calicidus on Timteus, according to the Opinion of Plato. " A
" Disposition to believe precedes all Doctrines ; especially if
" they be Asserted, not by common, but by great, and almost
•' divine Men."
(i) JVho can he hnowmo other Way, &c.] Thus Homer:
No Man for certain knows, whose Son he is. i"?^
.That is, with the most exact Kind of Knowledge,
- (c) Jnd it is the IVill of God, &c.] There ^re tvvo Sorts of
Proj30''itions in the Christian Religion; one Sort of which may
be philosophically demonstrated, the other cannot. Of the
former are such as these: The Existence of God, the Creation
of the World, » Divine Provid.ence ; the Goodness and Ad-
vantage
140 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book II.
those Thingswhich he would have us believe, so
as that Faith should be accepted from us as Obe-
dience, should not be so very plain, as those Things
weperceiyeby our Senses, and by Demonstration;
but only so, far as is sufficient to procure the Be-
lief, and persuade a Man of the Thing, who is
not obstinately bent against rt : So that the Gospel
is, as it were, a Touchstone to try Men's honest
- pispositions by. For since those Arguments,
which we have brought, have gained the Assent of
so many good and wise Men, it is very manifest,
that the Cause pf Infidelity in others, is not froni
the Want of Proof; but from hence, (a) that
they would not have that seem true, which contra-
dicts their Passions and Affections. It is a hard
Thing fnr them lightly to esteem of Jlonours and
other Advantages ; which they must do, if they
vvould receive what is related cSnceming Christ,
' ^nd for that Reason, think themselves bound to,
obey the Precept? of Christ. And this is to be
vantage of the Precepts of Religion 5 all which are capable of a
Deirjonstration, and are actually demonstrated hy Grotius and
Others; so that a Man must renounce his Reason, or else admit
them. But those Passions which are contrary .to them.hind?:^
Unbelievers from receiving them, because, if they should own
them to be true, they must subdue those, Passions, which they
are unwilling to do, because they have been so long accustomed
to theip. Of the latter Sort, are the historical Facts, upon which
the Truth of the Gospel depends, and which are explained by
Cfrotius, and proved by historical Arguments. WhicK same
Arguments would be allowed to be good by Unlielievers, in
the same Manner as they do the 'Proofs of all those Histories,
which they believ*, though they dp not see the Facts : if they
were not hindered by the Prevalence of their Passions ; and
which they must entirely subdue, if suchArgumentscame once
to take Place. See a little Book of mine in French, concerning
Infide^ty. Le Clerc.
(a) That they would not hate that seem true, Sec.} Chrysostom
treats very handsomely of this, in the Beginning of 1 Cor.
Chap. 3. And to Demefrius, he says ; " that they do not be-
" Jieve the Commandments, proceeds from their Unwilling*
" ness to keep thera." ,
discpvere4
Sect. 19.1 CHRISTIAN RELlGlO]^. Ul
discovered by this one Thing, that they receive
many other historical Relations as trqe, the Truth
of which is established only upon Authorities, of
which there are no Marks remaining at this Time:
As there is in the History of Christ ; partly by the
Confession of the Jews, which are now left ; partly
by the Congregation of Christians, every where to
be found ; for whicli there must gf Necessity have
been some Cause. And since the long Continu-
ance of the Christian Religion, and the Propaga-
tion of it so far, cainnot be attributed to any
human Pqjver, it follows, that it must be attri-
buted to Miracles : Or if any one should deny it
to have been done by Miracles ; this very Thing,
fehat {a) it should, without a Miracle, gather so
much Strengtli and Power, ought to be looked
upon as greater than a Miracle.
(a) It shmld, without a Miracle, Stc.'] thrysostom handles^
this Argument on 1 Cor. Ch. i. towards the End ; and August
tin, conconiing the City of God, Book XXII. Chap, 5.
f *?■ OF THE TRUTH OF THE CBofife lit
BOOK III.
6 E C T. I.
H'
Of the Authority oj the Boohofthe New Testament.
"E, who is persuaded of the Truth and Ex-
cellency of that Religion which Christians
profess, having been convinced either "by the Ar-
guments before offered, or by any other besides
them, in order to understand all the several Parts
of it, he must go to the' ancient Books, which
contain this Religion ; and they are what we call
the Books of the New Testament, or rather Cove-
nant : For it is unreasonable. for any one to deny,
that Religion is contained in those Books, as
all Christians affirm ; since it is fit that every Sect,
good or bad, should be believed in this Asser-
tion, that their Opinions are contained in tWs or
that Book ; as we believe th& Mahometans, that
the Religion oi Mahomet is contained in the Alco-
ran : Wherefore, since the Truth of the Christian
Religion has been proved before, and at the same
Time it is evident, that it was contained in these
Books ; the Authority of these Books is suffi-
ciently established by this single Thing : How
ever, if any one desire to have it more particularly
made appear to him, he must first lay down that
common Rule amongst all fair Judges, (.2) That he
who would disprove any Writing, which has been
received for many Ages, is obliged to bring Argu-
(a) Tliat he who would, &c,] See Baldus in his Rubric con-
cerning the Credibility of Writings ; and Gailus, Book II. Obs.
CXLIX. Numb. 6aud 7, and those he there cites.
' ments
Sect. 1,0.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. .143
merits that may diminish the Credibility of such a
Writing ; which, if he canaot, the Book is to be
defended, as in Possession of its own Authority.
SECT. II.
TPhe Booh that "have any Names affixed to them, were
writ hy those Persons whose Names they bear.
WE say then, that the Writings, about which
there is no Dispute amongst Christians, and which
have any particular Person's Name affixed to them,
are that Author's, whose Title they are rharked
with ; because the first Writers, such as Justin,
Iremeus, (a) Clemens, and others after them, quote
these Books under those Names : And besides {b)
TertulUan says, that in his Time some of y^e origi-
nal Copies of those Books were extant.^^And be-
cause all the Churches received th,sm aS such, be-
fore there were any public CoBticils held : Nei-
ther did any Heathens or Je^vs raise any Contro-
versy, as if they were not the Works of thole
whose they were said to be. And {c) Julian
(a) Clemens, &c.] There is only Clemens's Epistle to th«
■Corinthians extant, in which he quotes Places of the New Tes-
tament, but does not name the Writers; wherefore C/eme«jV
Name might have been oraitterl ; and so rnight Justin's who is
not used to add the Names; Le Ckrc.
■ (A) Tertullian says, &c.] In his Prescription against th«
Heretics. " Let any one who wonld exercise his Curiositj
" principally in the Affair of his Salvation, let him run over
" the Apostolical Churches, over which the Seats of the Apo-
" sties have now tlie Rule, in their respective Places ; in
" which the authentic Letters themselves are recited." And
why might not the Hand of the Apostles be then extant, when
Qiiiittillian says, tHat in his Time Cicoo's, Hand was extant
and Gellius says the same of Vitgil's in his ?
(c) Julian openly confesses, &c.] Xlie Place is to be seen in
Cj/n7'4 Tenth Book. (See also our Annotations, in the Disser-
tation on the Four Rvangelists, added to tha Harmony of the
Oospels, ' Le Ckrc.) . . ,.
openly
144 , OF TtiE TRUTH OF Me ([Book III.
Openly confesses, .that those were Peters, PauVs,
Matthew's, Marlis, and Lukes, which were read
by the Christians, under those Names. Nobody in
hisC 3rtses makes any Doubt oi Homer s or Firgil's
Works being theirs, by Reason of the constant
Testinrtony of the Greeks concerning the one, and
of the Latins concerning the other; how tnucH
more then ought we to stand by the Testimony
of almost all the Nations in thfe World/ for tile
Authors of these Books ?
SECT. 1th
The Doubt of ihbse ^ooh that were formerly douU-
ful, taken away. ,^
THJERE are indfeed in the Volume we tidw usOj'
some Boc-ks which were not equally received frorff
the ^^eginriihg ; (a) as the SecOiid of Peter, that
bf James and Juae, tw<5 under the Name, of Johi
the Presbyter, the Revelations; Atid the ^Epistle tq
the He.hrews : However, they were acknowledged
by many Churches, as is evident froni the ancFfehf
Christians, who use their Testimony as sacred i
which makes it credible', that thosfe Churches,"
which had not those Books from the Beginning,
did not know of them at that Time, Or else were
doubtful concerning thfern ; but having afterwards
learned thfe Truth oC- the Thing, they began to
Use those Books aftei* the ]Example of the Rest ; as
we now see done in almost all Places : Nor cari
there be a sufBcient Reason imagined, why any one
should counterfeit those Books, whfen nothing can
(a) As the sicond o/" Peter, &c.] However, Grbtius himself
doubted of this ; the Reasons of which Doubtj he himself gives
ts, in the Begihnihg of his Annotations upon this Epistle.
But though one or two Epistles could be called in Question,'
this would not render the rest doubtful ; nor would any Part
of the Christian Faith be defective, because it is abundantly
delivered in other Places. Le Cldrci
be
Sect. 3, *v] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. U5
be gathered from them, but what is abundantly
contained in the other Books that are undoubted.
SECT. IV.
TAe jduthority of thase Books which have no N^me
to them, evident from the Nature of the Writingi,^
THDERE is no reason why any one should de-
traqt from the Credibility of the Epistle to the He-
brews, upon this Account only, because we do not
know who wrote it ; and so likewise of the two
Epistles of John, and the Revelation, because some
have doubted whether John the Apostle wrote
them, or another of the 'same Name, {a) E'er in
Writers, the Nature of the Writings is more to be
regarded than the Name. Wherefore we receive
. many historical Books, whose Authors we are ig-
norant of, as that of Casars Alexandrian War, vi^,
because we see, that whoever the Author was, he
lived in those Times, and was present at those
Mattefs: So likewise ought we to be satisfied,
when those who wrote the Books we are now
speaking of, testify tha,t they lived in the first Age*
and were endued with the Apostolical Gifts. Arid
if any one should object against this, that these
Qualities may be feigned, as may the Names in
other Writings, he would say a Thing that is by no
Means credible, viz. that they„ <vho every where
press the Study of Truth and Piety^ should without
any Reason bring themselves under the Guilt of a
tie, which is not only abhorred by all good Men
iff) butwas punished with Death by theiJowaw Laws.
(a) Jbr in TFpiters, &c.] It had been more proper to say in
Writings, or Books, which 'is the Meaning of Grothis, as ap-
pears from wha^ follows.
(b) But was puftislied with Death, kc] SebL. Falsi Nominii.
D. de Lege Cornelia : and Paw/, Book V. Sent. Tit. XXV. Sect.
10 and 11. See Examples of fhis Punishment, 'Et the End of
the Books^-of Vukrius Maximus, and in CapitoUnus in Pertinax.
L ' SECT.
ii6 OF THE TRUTH OF THE E^ook lit
SECT. V.
Thaf these j^uthors wrote what was true, because
they knew the Things they wrote about.
IT is certain, therefore, that the Books of the
New^Testament were wrote by those whose Names
they bear, or by such Persons as thej profess them-
selves to be ; and it is moreover evident that they
had a Knowledge of the Things they wrote about,
and had no Desire to say what was false ; whence it
follows, that what they wrote must be true^ be-
cause every Falsity proceeds either from Ignorance,
or from an ill Intention, Matthew, John, Peter,
and Jude, were of the Company of those Twelve,
which Jesus chose to be Witnesses of his Life and
Doctrines: (i3) So that they could not want the
Knowledge of those Things they relate : The same
may be said of James, who either was an Apostle,
or, as others would have it, {b) a near Relation of
Jesus, and made Bishop oi Jerusalem y>y the Apos-
tles. Neither could PauJ be deceived through
Ignorance, concerning those Doctrines which he
professes were revealed to him by Jesus himself
reigning in Heaven ; neither could he be deceived
in the Things which he performed himself; no
more could Luke, who was " his {c) inseparable
Conipanion in his, Travels. This s&me Luke could
easily know what he wrote, concerning the Life
and Death of Jesus ; because he was born in a neigh-
bouring Place, and had travelled through Palestine,
(a) So that they ccndd net want the Knowledge, icc.J Johnxv.
27, also 1 Epist. i. Acts i. 21, 22,
'y (i) A near relation of Jesus, &c.] So others,, and they not
a few, think; and S^. CAr^/sorfo?^ every \yhere. Sue Josephus
also. (Add to these Eusehius, H. E. Book II. Ch. K and 23.)
(c) Inseparable Companion, &c.] See Acts xx. and the follow-
ing ; Colossians iv, I*. 2 Tim. iv. U. FMlem. 24.
where
Sect: 5,6.] CHRISTIA-J^ RELIGION. "" 147
where he says, {a) he spake with them who were
Eye Witnesses of these Things. Without Doubt'
there were many others (besides the ApostlfeS with
whom he was acquainted) who were then alive,
having been healed by Jesus, and who had seen
him die, and come to Life again. If we believe
Tacitus and Suetonius, concerning those Things
which happened long before they were born, be-
cause we rely upon their diligent Inquiry, how
much more reasonable is it to believe this Author
who says he had every Thing fromEye-Witnesses?
{b) It is a constant Tradition that Mark was a
continual Companion of Peter ; so that what he
wrote is to be esteemed as if Peter himself, who
could not be ignorant of those Thing, had dictated
it : Besides, almost every. Thing which he wrote,
is to be found in the Writings of the Apostles.
Neither could the Writer of the Revelations be
deceived in those Visions, which he says {c) were
caused from Heaven ; {d) nor he to the Hebrews^
in those Things which he professes he was taught,
either by the Spirit of God, or by thp Apostles
themselves.
^ SECT. VI.
And because they would not say what was false.
THE other Thing we affirmed, vix. that they
would not speak an Untruth, belongs to what was
(a) He spake with them, kc.'i In the Preface of his Gos'pel
History.
(6) It is a constant Tradition, &c.] Irenceus, ^ook III. Ch. 1.
and Clemens in his Hypotpposes, cited in Eusebius's Eccles, Hist,
(c) TFere caused from Heaven, &c.] Rev. i. 1, 2. iv. 1. and
the following; xxii. 18, 19> 20, 21.
(J) Nor he to the Hebrews, &c.] Heb. ii. 4. v; 14. xiii. 7.
•' 23. ■ , .
1 2 before
1*8 ^ OF THE T!tUTH OF THE [Book Ilf/
before treated of, when we shewed the Credi-
bility of the Christian Religion in general, and of
the History of Christ's Resurrection. They, who
would disprove Witnesses in this Particular relat-
ing to the Disposition of their Mind and Will, must
of Necessity alledge something to make it credible,
that they set their Mirid against the Truth. But
this cannot be said here; for if anyone should ob-
ject that their own Cause was concerned, he ought
to examine upon what Account it was their Cause.
Certainly not for the Sake of getting any Advan-
tage, or shunning any Danger ; when, on the Ac-
count of this Profession, they lost all Advantages,
and there were no Dangers which they did not ex-
pose themselves to. It was not therefore their owa
Cause, unless dut of Reverence to God, which cer-
tainly does not induce any Man to tell a Lie, espe-
cially in a Matter of such Moment, upon which
the eternal Salvation of Mankind depends. We
are hindered from believing such a wicked Thing
of them, both by their Doctrines, which are ia
every Part ,{a) full of Piety ; and by their Life,
which was never accused of any evil Fact, no, not
by their Enemies, who only objected their Unskil-
fulness against them, which is not at all apt to pro-
duce a Falsfty, If there had been in them tfee least
Dishonesty, they would not have set dowft their
own Faults to be eternally remembered; (B) as in
(a) Full of Piety,- &c.] And abhor Lying, John, xiv. 17.
XV. 26. xvi. 13. xvii, 17, ig. xviii. 37. Acts xxvi. 25. Horn.
i. 25. ZTkess.ii. 20. 1 John i. 6, 8. ii. 4, 21. 2 Cor. vi.
8. Ephes.iv. 15, 25. Colos. iVi. 9. , Rev. xxii. 15. 2 Cor.
ii. 31. Gal. i. 20. Observe how industriously iS^ Paul dis-
tinguishes those Things which ?irc his own, and those which
are the Lord's, 1 Cor. vii. 10, 12. how cautious in speaicing of
what he saw, whether he saw them in the Body, or out of th«
Body, 2 Cor. xii, 2...
{by Js in ike Flight of them all, &c.} Matt, xxvi, 34, 56.
the
Sect. 6,7.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. UQ
the Flight of them all, when Christ was in Dan-
ger, and (</) in Peters thrice denying him.
SECT. VIL
The Credihility of these fVriters further confirmed,
from their being famous for Miracles.
BUT on the contrary, God himself gave re-
markable TestimofBes to the Sincerity of them ;
by working Miracles, which they themselves and
their Disciples (^) publickly avouched wiih the
highest Assiiranae ; adding the Names of the Per-
sons and Places, and other Circumstances : The
Truth or Falsity of which Assertion might easily
have been discovered by the Magistrate's Inquiry ;
amongst which Miracles, this is "worthy Observa-
tion, (c) which they constantly affirmed, viz. their
speaking Languages they had never learned, be-
fore many thousand People ; and healing in a Mo-
ment Bodies that were diseased, in the Sight of the
Multitude ; nor were they at all afraid, though they
knew at that Time, that the Jewish Magistrates
were violently set against them ; and the Roman
Magistrates very partial, who would not overlook
any Tftng that afforded Matter of traducing
them as Criminals and Authors of a new Reli-
gion ; nor did any of the Jews or Heathens, in
those nearest Times, dare to deny that Miracles
were done by these Men : Nay, Phlegon, who was
(a) In Peter's thrice denying Urn, Src] Matt. xxvi. 69, and
the iollowing; Mark, xiv, 66, and the following; Luhexsii.
54, and the following.
(6) PvbUckly avouched, &c.] See the Acts of the Apostles
throughout, and 2 ■Cor. xii. 12.
Kc) Which th^ constai^y (0rmd, &c.] The Places are
quoted befoje.
a Slave
150 OF THE.TRUTH OF THJl [Book III
a Slave of the Emperor Adrian, (a) mentions the
Miracles of Peter in his Annals : " And the Chris^
tians themselves in those Books, wherein they
give an Account of the Grounds of their Faith,
tefore the Emperors, Senate, and Rulers (^) speak
of thesp FactSj as Things known to every Body,
and about which there could lae np Doubt:.
Moreover they openly declared, that the wonder-
ful Power of them (c) remained in their Graves
for some Ages; when they could not but know,
if it were false, that they could easily be disproved
by the Magistrates,' to their Shame and Punish-
(a) Mentions the Miracles (f P'e'tev, Src] Book- XIII. As
Qrigen sa3's in his Second Book against Celsus. This is that
F/ilegon, whose Remains we have yet, concerning Miracles,
and long-lived Men.
(b) Speak of these Fads, as Things, &c.] The Places are
very many, especially in Otigen. See the whole Eighth Chap-
ter of Augustine's Twenty-second Book of the Cil,y of God.
(c) Remained in their Graves, &c.J The Miracles at the Se-
pulchres of holy Men'theii began'to be boasted of, when the
Christians having the Power in their Hands, began to make an
Advantage of the dead Bodies of Martyrs and others, that were
buried in their Churches. Wherefore 1 would not have this
Argument made use, of, lest we diminish from the Credibility
of certain Miracles, by these doubtful or fictitious ones. Every
one kriows how many Stories are related after the Fourth Gen- ,
tury, about this Matter. But Origen does not mention any
§uch Miracles : But in his Seventh Book against Celsus, ^sb.ys,
" Very many Miracles of the Holy Spirit were manifested at
" the Beginning of Jesus's Doctrine, and after his Ascension,
" but afterwards they were fewer; however there are now some
" Footsteps of thenn in some few, whose Myids are purified
" by Reason, and their Actions agreeable thereto." Who can
bejieve that so many Miracles should be done in one or two
Centuries after Origen, when there was less Need of them?
Certainly it is as reasonable to derogate from the Credibility
of the Miracles of the Fourth and Fifth Centuries as it would
be impudent to deny the Miracles of Christ and hia Apostles.
These Miracles could not be asserted without Danger,; those
could not be rejected without Danger, nor be believed witl^o<it
Profit to those who perhaps forged Them ; which is a great Dif--
ierejice. Le Ckrc.
ment,
Sect, r, 8.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION, 151
merit. And these Miracles, now mentioned at their
Sepulchres, were so common, and had so many
Witnesses, (a) that they forced Porphyry to con-
fess the Truth of them. These Things which we
have now aUedged, ought to satisfy us ; but there
are Abundance more Arguments, which recom-
mend to us the Credibility of th,ese Books.
SECT. viri.
And of their Writings ; because in them are contained
many Things, which the Event proved to he re-
vealed by a Divine Power.
FOR we find in them many Predictions, con-
cerning Things which Men could not possibly
know of themselves, and which were wonderfully
confirmed by the Event; {b) such as the sudden
and universal Propagation of this Religion ; {c)
the perpetual Continuance of it ; {d) that it should
be rejected by very many of the Jews, (e) and em-
braced by Strangers ; (f) the Hatred of the J(?wj,
against those^who professed this Religion; (§•) the,
severe Punishments they should undergo upon the
(a) That they forced Porphyry, &c.] See Cyrif* Tenth Book
against Juliatt, and /erom against a Book of Vigilantisus.
(b) Siich as the sudden, .&c.J Matt. xiii. 33, and following
Verses. Luke x. 18. John xii. 32.
(c) The perpetual Continmnce of it, Sec.'] Luke i. 33. Matt.
xxiii. 20. Johnxiv.lG.
'(d) That it should be rejected, &c.] Matt. xxi. 33, and fol-
lowing Verses ; xxij. at the Beginning; Lukexv. 11, and fol-
lowing Veises.
(e) And embraced by Strangers, &c.] In the same Places, '
and also Matt, viii. 2. xii. 21. xxi. 4.3.
(f) The Hatred of the Jews, &c.] Matt, x.,17. :'
(g) The severe Punishments, &c.] Matt. x. 21, 39. xxiii. 34.
Account
152 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book III.
Account of it ; (a) the Siege and Destrufction of
Jerusalem, and the Temple, {h) and the sore Ca-
lamities of the Jews.
SECT. IX. "^
Jind also from the Care that it was Jit God should
take, that false Writings should not be forged.
To what has been said may be added, that if it
be granted, that God takes care of human Af-
fairs, and especially those that concern his own
Honour and- Worship ; it is impossible he should
suffer such a Multitude of Men, who had no other
Design than to worship him with Sincerity, to be
deceived by false Books. And, after there did
arise several Sects in Christianity, there was scarce
any found, wVio dfd not receive either all, or most
of these Books, except a few, which do riot con-
tain any Thing particular in them; which is a
v'ery good Argument why we should think, that
nothing in these Books could be contradicted ;
because those Sects were so inflamed with hatfed
figainst each other, that whatsoever pleased ane>
for that very Reason displeased another. ^
^>l
^ SECT. X.
A solution of that Objection, that many Booh werf
rejected by some.
THERE were indeed amongst those who were
willing to be called Christians, a very few, who
rejected all those Books which seem to contradict
their particular Opinion ; such as they, who out
(a) The Siege and Destmctiov, &c,] Matk xxiii. 38. i&iv.
16. LwAe xiii. 34. xxi, 24.
(b) And the sore Calamities of the Jews, &€.] Maatt. xiif
33, and the following Verses, xxiii. 34, xxiv. 20.
of
Sect. 9, 10.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 153
of Hatred to the Jevos, {a) spoke ill of the God
of the Jews, of the Maker of the World, and, of
the_ Law : Or, on the contrary, oiit of Fear of
the Hardships that the Christians were to under-
go, {h) sheltered themselves under the Name of
Jews, {c) that they might profess their Religion,
without Punishment, (d) But these very Men
were disowned by all other Christians every where,
{e) in those Times, when all pious Persons, that
differed from one another, were very patiently
borne with, according to the Command of the .
Apostles. The first Sort of these Corrupters of
Christianity are, I think, sufficiently confuted
above, where we have shewn that there is but one
true. God, whose Workmanship the World is-v
And indeed it is sufficiently evident from those
very Books which they, that they might in. some
(a) Spoke ill of the God of the Jews, &c.] See IcenctuSi
Book I. Chap. 29. Tertitllian against Marcion, and Eyiphanius
concerning the same.
(b) Sheltered themselves vnder the Name, kc."] See Gal. ii. 2.
vi. 13, 14. Philip, iii. 18. Irerums, Book III. Chap. 28.
Epipkanius concerning the Ebionites. ^
(<■) That they might profess their Religion, &c.] Ae^ ix to P.
xiii. and many times in that Book. Philo against Flaccus ;
and concerning the Embassy. Josephus every where. Td which
may be added L. GenerafoVer. D. de Decurionibus, and Lib. p.
C de Judceis. Terlullian; in his Apoiogy, says, " But the
"Jews read their Law openly; they generally purchase
'' Leave by a Tribute, which they gather upon all Sabbath"
" Days."
(d) But these very Men "mere disowned, &c.] Tertullian, in
Jiis First against Marcion, says, " You cannot find any Church
" of Apostolical Order, who are riot Christians out ot Regard
" to the Creator."
(e) In those Times, Sec. See what will be said of this Matter
at the End of the Sixth Book. Add also Irenceus's Epistle to
Victor, and what Jerom writes concerning it in his Catalogue ;
and Cyprian in his African Council, " Judging no Man, nor
" removing afiy one from the Right of Communion, for hit
'* diflfering in Opinion."
S Measure
154 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book 11 1.
Measure appear to be Christiaos, receive ; (a) such
as the Gospel of St. Luke in particular : It is, I say,
evident that Christ preached the same God, which
Moses and the Hebrews w..o'rshipped. We shall have
a better Opportunity to confute the other Sort,
when -we. cotne to oppose, those w^ho are Jews,' and
willing to be called so. In the mean Time I shall
add only this ; that the Impudence of those Men
is very surprising to undervalue the Authority of
Paul, when there was not any one of the Apostles
who founded more Churches ; nor of whom there
were so many Miracles related, at that Time when,
as was before observed, the Facts might be easily
inquired into. And if we believe these Miracles,
what Reason is there why we should not believe
him in his heavenly Visions, and in -his receiving
his Instruction from Christ ? If he was so beloved
of Christ, it cannot possibly be, that he should
teach any Thing disagreeable to Christ, that is,
any Thing false ; and that one Thing', which they
find Fault with in him, namely, his Opinion con-
cerning the Freedom procured to the Hebrews
from the Rites formerly enjoined hy Moses, there,
could be no Reason for his teaching it, but the
Truth ; {b) for he was circumcised himself, {c)
and observed most of the. Law of his own Accord:'
And for the Sake of the Christian Religion, {^
he performed Things much more difficult, and
underwent Things much harder than the Law
commanded; or than he had Reason to expect
(a) Such as the Gospd of St. Luke, &c.J Teftitllian, in his
Sixth Book against Marciun, makes it appear very plainly,
(6) Tor he was cirqiimcised, &c.] Philip, iii, 5.
(c) And observed most of the Law, &c.] Jicts xyi. 3. xx, 6,
isi. and the following Chapter.
,((/) He performed Things, &c.] 2 Cor. xi. 23, and the fol^
lowing Verses ; and every where in the Acts., See alsp 1 don
xi. 3. 2 Cor, xi. 30. xii. 10.
upon'
Sect. 10.3 CHRISTIAN RELIGION. v 155
Upon the Account of it; (<z) and he was the Cause
of his Disciples doing and beartrtgthesameThing:
Whence it is evident, he did not deliver any Thing
to please the Ears of his Hearers, or for their Pro-
fit; when he taught them (b) instead of the Jewish
Sabbath, to spend every Day in Divine Worship ;
instead of the small Expenc6s the Law put them
to, {c) to-bear the^Loss of all their Goods, (d) and
instead of offering Beasts to God, tooffer theirown
Blood to him. And Paul himself openly assures
us, (e) that Peter, John, and James, gave him their
Right Hands, in Token of their Fellowship with
him ; which if it had not been true, he would not
have ventured to say so, when they were alive,
and could have convicted him of an Untruth.
Except only those therefore, which I have now
mentioned, who scarce deserve the Name of Chris-
tians ; the manifest Consent of all other Assemblies,
in receiving these Books ; besides what has been
already said, concerning the Miracles which were'
done by the W"riters of them, and the particular
Care of God about Things of this Nature ; is suf-
ficient to induce all impartial Men to give Credit
to these Relatfons ; because they are ready to b&.
lieve many other historical Books which have not
any Testimonies of this Kind ; unless very good
Reason can be given to the contrary ; which can-
not be done here.
{a) And he was the Cause, &.C.'] Acts xx.'ZQ, Rom. v. 3;
8. xii< J2. 2 Cur. i. 4, 8. ii. 4. vi. 4. 1 Thess. i. 6. 2 TAess.
j. 6". • ' /
[b) Instead of tie Jewish Sabbath, &c.] Acfsii: 46; v. 42.
J Tim. V. 5. 2 Tim. i. 3.
(c) To bear the Loss of all, &C.3 2 Cor. vi. 4. xii. 1 0.
(_d) And instead of offering Beasts, &c.] Rom. viii. 3ff.
ZCor.'w. 11. Vhil. \.Zb. :
(e) That Peter, John, and JameSj &c.J Gal. ii. 9. Anii
1 Cor. XV, 1 1. 2 Cor, xi. 5. xii. 1 1 .
SECT.
us OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book III:
SECT. XI.
An Answer to the Objection, of some Things being
contained in these Books ^ that are impossible.
FOR if any one should say, that there are some
Things related in these Books, that are impossible
to be done ; {a) \ve have before shewn, that there
are sorne Things which are impossible to be done
by Men, but are possible with God ; that is, such-
as do not include any Contradiction in themselves ;
amongst which Things, are to be reckoned those
which we account most wonderful, the Power of
working Miracles, and calling the Dead to Life
again ; so that this Objection is of no Force.
SECT. XII.
Or disagreeabh to Reason.
NOR is there more Heed to be given to them,
who say, that there are some Doctrines to be found
in these Books which are inconsistent with right^
Reason . For first, this may be disproved by that
great Multitude of ingenious, learned, and Wise •
Men, who have relied on the Authority of these
Books, from the very Beginning: Also, every
Thing that has been shewn in the first Book, to be
agreeable to right Reason, vi%,. that there is a God,
and but one, a most perfect Being, all-powerful,
loving, wise," and good ; that all Things which are,
were made by him ; that his Care is over all his
Works, particularly over Men; that he can reward
those that obey- him, after this Life ; that we are to
bridle sensual Appetites ; that there is a natural
Relation betwixt Men, and therefore they ought
to love one another : All these we may find plainly
(a) We have lefore shewn, &c.J Book II.
delivered
Sect. 11,12.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. Uf
delivered in these Books: To affirm any: Thing
more than this for certain, either concerning the
Nature of God, or concerning his Will, (a) by
the mere Direction of human Reason, is ah un-
safe and fallible Thing; as we rnay learn from the
many Opinions of the Schools different from one
another, and of all the Philosophers. Nor is this
at all to be wondered at, for if they who dispute
(l>) about the Nature of theii' own Minds, fall into
such widely different Opinions ; must it not neces-
sarily be much more so with them, who would de-
termine any Thing concerning the Supreme Mind,
which is placed so much out of our Reach ? If
they who understand human Affairs, affirm it dan-
gerous (c) to pry into the Councils of Princes, and
that therefore we ought not to attempt it ; who is
sagacious enough to hope, by his own Conjectures,
to find out which it is, that God will determine of
the various Kinds of those Things that he can free-
ly willP Therefpre Plato said very well, that (d)
none of those Things could be known without a
Revelation : And there can be no Revelation pro-
duced, which can be proved clearly to be such,
by greater Testimonies than those contained in
the Books, of the New Testament. There is so far
from being any Proof, that it has never yet been
asserted that-God ever declared ^ny Thing to Man,
concerning his Nature, that was contradictory to
{a) By the mere Direction of , &cc^ Matt.^i. 27- Rom, %l.
33, 34, 35. 1 Cor.ii. 11, 16'.
(6) About the Nature xif their own Minds, &c.] .See P/a-
tarch's Works, Book IV. or the Opinions of the PhiIosopb«i's.
And Stobmus's Physics, Chap, xi,
(c) To pry. into the Councils of Princes, &c.] Tacitus says
so in the VI th of his Annals.
(rf) None of those Things could be known, &c.] The Place is
mhh Phcedon,.a,nd also in Timieus. It was well said by Am-
brose, " Who should I ratlier believe concerning God, than
«' God himself."
these
158 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book HI.
these Books ; nor can there be any later Declara-
tion of his Will produced, that is credible. And
if.any Thing Was commanded or allowed, before
Christ's Time, of these Sort of Things, which are
plainly indifferent, or certamly not at all obliga-
tory of themselves, nor plainly evil; this does not
oppose these Books ; {a) because in such Things
the former Laws are nulled by the latter.
SECT. XIIL
j4n Answer to this Objection, that some Things are
contained in these Books which' are inconsistent
ivith one another.
IT is objected by sonrie, that the Sense of these
Books is sometimes very different: But whoever
fairly examines this Matter, will find, that, on the
contrary, this is an Addition to the other Argu-
ments for the Authority of these Books ; tliat . in
those Places which contain any Thingof Moment,
whether in Doctrine or History, there is every
where such a manifest Agreement, as is not to be
found in any other Writers of any Sect, {b) whe-
(a) Became in such Things, &c.J " The latter Constitutions
" are more valued than the former." It is a Saying of Mo-
destinas, h, Ultiiru^, D. de Constitutionibus Principum. Ter-
tnlliaii, " I think (says he) that in human Constitutions and
" Decrees, the latter are more binding than the former." And
in his Apology : " Ye lop and hew down the ancient and foul
" Wood of the Laws, by the new Axes of the Decrees and
" Edicts of the Princes." And concerning Baptism, ," In
" all Things we are determined by the latter, the latter Things
" are more binding than those that went before." Plutarch,
Sympos, IX. " In Deprees and Laws, in Compacts and Bar-
" gains, the latter are esteemed stronger and firmer than the
" former."
(b) Whether' they be Jews, &c.] The different Opinions
amongst whom, as they are to be seen in other Places, so like-
wise in 'Manas'sts the Son of Israel, a very learned Man in this
Sert of Learning, in his Books of "the Creation and Resurrection. '
ther
Sect. IS.]' CHRtSTIAlvr RELIGIOK. iS9
ther they he Jews, (a) or Greek Philosophers,
(h) or Physicians, {c) or Roman Lawyers ; in all
which we very often find, that not only they of the
same Sect contradict one another, (d) as Plato and
Xertophon, (e) but very often the same Writer
sometimes asserts one Thing, and sometimes
another; as if he had forgot himself, or did not
know which to affirm : But these Writers, of
whom we. are speaking, all urge the same Things
to be believed, deliver the same Precepts ' con-
cerning the Life of Christ, his Death, and Return
fo Life again: The main and principal Things
are every where the same. And as to some very
minute Circumstances, which make nothing to-
wards the main Thing, we are not wholly at such
a Loss for a fair Reconciliation of them, but that
it may easily be made, though we are ignorant of
some Things, by Reason of the Similitude of
Things that were done at different Times, the
Ambiguity of Names, one Man's or Place's hav-
ing many Names, and such like. Nay, this
very Thing ought to acquit these Writers of all
Suspicion of Deceit ; because they who bear
(a) Or Greek Philosophers, &c.J See the forecited Book of
die Opinion of the Philosophers,
(6) Or Phifsicians, &c.] See Galen of Sects, and of the best
Sect; and Ce/iK« of Physic, ia the Beginning ; to which the
Spagirici may be added.
(£) Or Romim Laiayers, &c.] There was a remarkable
. Difference of old, between the Sabiniani and Froeuliani ; and
now betwixt those who follow Bariolus and his Followers, and
those who follow Cujac'ms and others who were. more learued.
See Gabriel's Common, more common, and most common Sen-
tences.
(d) As Plato and Xenophon do, &c.] See Xenophon's Epis-
tle to .^^cAfne*, the Disciple oi Socrates. Athencens I. La'er-
iitis's Life of Plato ; and Gellius, Book XIV. '
(e) But very often the same Writer, &c.] Many have jhewa
this olAristolh ; and others of the Roman Lawyers.
Testimony
169 OF THE TRUTH-OE THE [Boolsr I,I|.-
Te?-t'n^°"y *° ^^^^ wJjiich is false^ (a) are use4..t(?
relate all Things so ]^y Agreement, , th^t ^^
sliould n9t be, any Appearance, of Difference, ^i^
if, uponthe.^gGbunrt of .some smalj Di^erenge,
which cannot "be reconciled,, wemnstinjmediately
^isTjelieve wjiqlg Bopk^ ; then^ there is. no Boole,
especii\ny offiisiory, to b^ believed ; and%yejt jp^^
fitilJSelicarnassensis, Livy, and Plutarch, in.;whqjp
suqIi Things are to be found, keep .up their Aut
thority;,,^mQngst us,, in. thp ; principal ,, Things?
lipw mijch n)ore rea,sonable' then is it, that such
Tilings ^|io^d not destroy the-^Credibility.o^tljg^e,
whoro^e seejjfroni t^eir own, W^ritingSj, hajre.f^'^
Tvays. a, vejy great Begard to Piety and Truttt.,?
There rerr^^ins another Way of confuting Testi'^
mpqiq§^ from contrary external Testimonies.
n-
sEcf:^ XIV.
Jin Aniwer Xa the Objections froii external Tesf^mp^
niei : Where it. is, shewn that they make .iheitnorlf
' for these Books. ^';
- , BUT I confidently affirm, that there are no aii^h
ThiHgs to be; found ; "unless any one will reckon
amongst these^"what isiaid bj' those who vf^^hpfti
a long while after ; and they such,: whO; professed;
themselves Eneiiries.fto thse Napieo^ Christ, apd
wlip therefore ought not to be look^ upon as Wit-
nesses. Nay, on the contrary,- though there is no
Need'of them, we ha\re many Testimonies', ^hifcli,;
confirm .goipeJParts pf the History d,eliyers4 J"*
(«), 4«;c tiscd to relate all. T/ii7>gs,Ac,2 This is whatjitbetSfi"
■ peioT Adrian affi.rms; in Witnesses^we are to'i^anjjne.vyhgt&i"'
tliey offer one;.and the same preuieditated Speech .• L. Tfs^ilm
D. dfi Testibus. .,. Speculator, Lib. I. Part IV. de Teste in^, '«".
81. -A yery exact Knowledge ot.all. .Ci.rcunis|XinGes 4^. Hot
nt^ceswcy ill a VVituess, Se,e Li(/{? i. 56>jiii. 23i JoJ^'iyffi'
'i^^-ui'r,,-!', these'
Meet. U.3 CHRISTIAN RELIGION, I6l
these Books. Thus, that Jesus was crucified, that
Miracles were done by him and his -Disciples, both
Hebrews ahd Heathens relate. Most clear Testi*
monies of Josephus, published a little more than
forty Years after Christ's Death, are now extan^
concerning Ue/od, Pihte, Festus, Felt*, Join the
Baptist, Gamaliel, and the Destruction of Jerma^
km ; which are exactly agreeable to what we find
amongst the Writers of the Talnmd, concerning
those Times : The Cruelty of Nero towards the
Christians is mentioned by Tacifus : And formerly
there were extant Books of private Persons, (a)
such as Phlegon, {b) and the public Acts, to which
the Christians app^ed ; {c) Wherein they agreed
about the Star that appeared after the Birth of
Christ ; about the Earthquake, and the preterna-
tural Eclipse of the Sun at full Moon, about th^
Time that Christ was crucified.
(a) Such as Phlegon, &c.] Book XIII. of his Chronicon or
Olympiads, in these Words, " In the fourth Year of the CCIId
" Olympiad, there happened the greatest Eclipse of the Sun
" that ever was known ; there was such a Dantness of Night
" at the sixth Hour of the Day, that the Stars were seen in the
" Heavens ; and there was such a great Earthquake in Bithj/^
*' ma, ^hich overturned a great Part of Niaea." These Words
are to be seen in Eusebiia's and Jerom's Chronicon, And Origan
mentions the same Tiling, Tract. XXXV. upon Matt, ana in
his Second against Cclsus.
(p) And the public Acts, iic.'\ See Tertullian's Apology,
CXXI. " This Event, which has befallen the Word, you
:" find related ia your Mystical Books."
(c) Wherein they agreed, &c.] Chalcidius the Platonist, in
Ills Commentary on Tinueas : " There is another more Holy
" and more Venerable History, which relates the Appearance
" of a new Star, not to foretel Diseases and Death, but the
" Descent of a venerable Cod ; who was to preserve Mankind,
" and to shew Favour to the Affinirs of Mortals ; which Star
" the Wise-Men of C^^a observing, as they travelled in the
*' Night, and being very well skilled in viewing the Heavenly
"•Bodies, they are said to have sought after the New Birth of
" this God } and having found that Majesty in a Qhild, they
*' paid him Worship, and made such Vows as were agreeable
"to so great a God.*'
M SECT,
162 OP THE TRUTH OF THE [Book lir.
SECT. XV.
jiti Ansii}er to the Ohjeetion of ih'e Serif tures being
altered. "S
I SEE no other Objection can be made against
these Books ; uijiless it be that they have not conti-
nued to be the same as they were at the Beginrjing,
It must be owned, that as in other Booksy so, in
these, it might happen, and has happened, that
throu^ Carelessness or Perversenessin the .Tran-
scribers, someLetters, Syllables, or Words, may be
changed, omitted, or added, {a) But it is very
unreasonable, that because of such a Difference
of Copies, which could not but happen in so long
Time, there should arise any Controversy about.the
Testament or Book itself ; because both Custoin
apd Reason require, that that shovXd ,be, preferred
before the Rest, which is to be found in the most
ancient Copies. Btit it can never be proved that
all the Copies are corrupted by Fraud or any other
Wiay, especially in those Places which contain any
Doctrine, or , remarkable Point of History ; for
there are: nq Records tbatiell us that they were so,
nor any Witnesses , in those-Times : and if, as w,e
hefore observed, any Thiiig be alledged bythpse
who lived a longTime after, and who shewe4.tbe
most cruet Hatred against those v*?h6 were Defen-
(o) Bitt it i» veryunreasanabfe,6ic.] I'his is now very mani-
fest from the' most aCcurateColi^clionoi'tbe various Readings
oftheNewTestaioent, and especially from the EditiojuJf Ch
'^Uls, Thoiigh-there is a great Variety, yet "no jtew Doctrine
can be rafseii fro'm thence, nor no received one confuted; ^p
History of'any Moment, in regarcl to ^e Trutlv of the Christian
SeHgion, which was befarebelievedfrom the Books of the New
Tcitament, is on that Account to be rejected ; nor any that was
before uhknow JO, to be cdlktftedrfnMW'tlie various Readings.
And what is' said of the Books of tJje New Testamesit/ the sime
we are ta. conceive said of ilas Old Testauj«D*,j LtCkra^
'- '■' ders
S«fct. 15.] CHRISTIAN RELIGIOM. i6s
'ders of these Books ; this is to be looked upon as
Reproach, and not Testimony. And this, which
^ve have now said, may suffice in Answer to those,
V^ho object l:hat the Scriptwernay have been alter-
ed : Because he that affirms this, especially against
a Writing which has been received so long:and in
so Than^ Places, (0) ought himself to prove that
which he presumes. But that thePolly of this Ob'-^
jection may more plainly appear, we will show that
that which they imagine to be, neither is, nor can
te done. We have before proved these Books to
have been wrote by those whose Names they bear;
vrhich being granted, it follows that one Bo(^ is
not forged for the Sake of another. Neither is any
remarkable Passage altered ; for such an Alteration
mast have something designed by it, and then that
'Part would plainly differ »from thos6 other Parts
and Books which are not altered, which is no where
to be^een : nay, as we observed, therfe is a wonder-
ful Harmony in the Sense every where. Moreover,
as soon as any of the ApOstlfes, or Apostolical Men,
published any Thing, doubtless the Christians took
great Care to have many Copies of it, as became
pious Persons, and such as were desirous of pre-
serving and propagating the Trdth to Posterity;
and these Were thierefbre'disiiersed, as far as the
Nafne bf Christ extendetl itself^ through Europe,
'jisia, ahd Egyptt ih whfchTlapes the Qnei Lan-
guage ffourished; arid, ^s We before observed,
soipe of the origiinal.gJopies were pj^es^rved for two
hundred Years., Now no Book, of whichso many
Copies had been taketn^ that were kept, n'bt^by some
few'private PefSonfey bLrt by th'6 Care of Whole
Chiirche^jt ,(^) ca^ b?; corrupted. To which we
;;.< I •. .1 '>.' '..■..,'-, t may
(a) Ought Jimse^taprdve, &c.] L. ult.C deEdictO'^M'
ani toUendo. > ■ ,' V f^jl <• > •■■.■ • -■'•
(b) Can be <xiVtUfted, i&fe. j' Tfcat Is; so a* that it sfaduld run
through all the Copies, and corrupt all the Version? ; for
M? otJier*
164. OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book HT;
may add, that in the very next Ages these Books
were translated into the Syriatr, \^thiopc, and
Xfl#i« Tongues ; which Versions are now extant,
and do not any where differ from the Greek Books
in any Thing of Moment. And we have the
Writings^ of those, who were taught by the Apos-
tles themselves, ^r their Disciples, who quote^ a
great maiiy Places of these Books in that Sense
which we now understand them. Nor was there,
at that Time, any one in the Church of so g^-eat
Authority, as to "have been obeyed, if he had 9e-»
signed ^to alter any Thing; as is sufficiently ma-
nifest from the Liberty taken by Irenaus, Tertull
Udhfaxid Cyprian, to differ from . those who wee©
©f the highest Rank in the Church. And afterthd
Times now mentioned, many others followed^, wha
were Men of great Learning, and as great' Judg*
inent ; who, after a diligent Inquiry, recsw&i
those Books, as retaining their original PurMyL
And further, what we now said conoerriing the
different Sects of Christians, m^y be ^plied her^
glso ; that all of them, at least all that own God
to be the Creator of the World, and Christ to M
a new Lawgiver^ make use of these ^ooksas w^
rioW-havfethem. . If any^'attehipted to put incany
Thin^, they were accused of Forgery by thejlesti
AM that no Sect was allowed the liiberty vto ^ter
these Books, according to . their own Pleisqi®, i^
sufficiently evident from hence ; that alLiSei^
fetched their Arguments against the Rest from
hence. And what- we hinted concerniiig^the.pi^
vine Providence, relates as mueh to the principal
PartSj, $3 to th^ whole ]|ooks ; that it is iiot^gree^^
p^ierwisewicked Meiij, wfaox^re obstinately bep^ on their o)(i^n
OpinioD^ may liere an| there corfupt ; their own Copies ; ,iw
^ot only Marewiti^id, but-aba some libraryrkeepei^^who had
abetter Judgment ; as wfi have shown m put Ars VriticOit
Partlll.SJeet. l.Chap. 14. LtCkr,e.
^ able
Sfet/lS,l60 CHRISTIAN :RELE3J0N. 1^5
able thereto, that GqA shoald suffer so many thou-
sand Men, >^o were regardfuKof Piety, and sought
after etettid Life with a sincere Intention,rto fall
mto an Error that they could not possibly avoid.
And thus much may suffice for the Books of .the
New 13estament,' which^, if they were atone extant,
were sufficient to teach us the true Reiligioiii
SECT.XVL
*rhe 4«th)r4ty of ike Books of the Old Testament.
BUT since God has been pleased to leav;^ us the
Records of t\\^ Jewish Religion, j,which was of old
the true Religion, and afibrds no small Testimony
to the Christian Religion, -it is not foreign to our
Purpose, to see upon what Foundation the Credi-
bility^f these is built. That these Books aretheirfi,
to Tvkimi they are ascribed, appears in the same
Manner at we have proved of our Books. And
they, whose Nartiesthey* bear, were either Pro-
phets, oi- Menworthy to be credited ; such asEsdras,
who is supposed to have collected them into one
Volume, at that Time, when the Prophets Baggai^
MaJachi, wEiA. Zacharias, were yet alive. J will not
hererepeat what was sjud: before, in Commenda-
tion of Mases, And not oply that first Part, ddi-
vered by Mases^as we hav6 shewn in the. first Book,
i>ut the latter Hbtocy is confirmed by tnoDyFa^ftf,
{ay Thus the Phmtkiatf Annals mention the
'T^'t' , • u ^ Names
(o) I^iwrfile Phoenician- ^ftna?*, &c.3 See what Jos^kit
atcs out 9i'-thim, Bookyiir;Chap. 2. of his Ancient History;
where he aslds, *' that if aoy one 'would see the Copies of those
" Epistles, which Solomon and Hirom wrote to each other,
" the^ may be procured of the. public Keepers of the Records
" at Tt/nui.", (W^ niost beCautious.how we believe, this; boW«
eveir, see what I havfesaifl uponl Kings v«i3.) , There is a re-
tnarkable Place concemiil)g>J)«iit'<C quotedifcy. /sf^Azw, Book
VH. Cai..6. of hJsAnoientHistoity*. ouliiofithelVth trf Pa-
matcmui't History. " A 16)Dglwhi}6 aftet:t^ig> there was. a
,' :/; ct "certain
166 OF THE TRUtH OF THE [Book III
Names of David and Solomon, and the Le^Qe
, they
"certain Man of that Cquntry, who was yery powerful,
" his Nsime was iirfa(te, who. "reigned in I7a^<»Sca«j fin4 the
•' other Parts of Syria, except Phcmice : He waged War
" with David King of Judea, and having fo)|ght . many Bat-
" ties, the last was at £2//)^ra^es, where he wa,5 overcame :
*' He was accounted one of the best of Kings, , for Strength
" and Valour : After his Death, his Children reigned fer ten
" Generations, each of them continuing his Fathpr'i, Go-
" vernraent and Name, in the same Manner as the Mgt/p'
"tian Kings are called Ptolemies. The Third Jbeing the
** most potent of them all, being willing to recover the Vic-
"toryhis Grandfather had lost, made War upon the Jews,
" and laid waste that which is now called Samaria." The
.£r»tPart of tliis, History we have in 2 Sam. viii,,5, 1 CAron.
iviii. and the latter Part in 1 Kings xx. where see Jo-
aephus. ^'!a.\sAdadushta)\cdi}i^,Josephm,Adar: inA Adores
by Justin, out of Trogfts. Emebius, in his Gospef Prepar.
Book IVi Ch. 30. tells us more Things concerning I)a!md,
out of EupolemuSi Ani the aforementioned Josephns, in the
same Ghap. and in his Fifst against Appion, brings this Place
but of Dius's Phdmidan History. " After AbStth^'s Death,
<' his Son Hirom reigned; this Man increased th^ Eastern
,. " Part of the City, and much enlarged the Gity ; and he
*? joined J^piferQ/^MjpJMsV Temple to the City; which before
'•stood by itself in an Island, by filling up the Spacp.be-
*' tween ; Snd he adoTB'd it with the Gifts of Gold offered
""10 the Gods; he also went Up to UbamiStaxA, CAt down
♦*' Wood to adorn the Temple with. And they say that Solo-
" mmi,'. Who leigned in Jerusalem, sent Riddles tp Hirom, a^d
" received some from him ; and he that could iiot resolve the
" Riddles, was to, pay a large Sum of Money. Afterwards
"i^irfemoniM, a Man of y^re, resolved the J Riddles that. Were
'.' proposed, and sent others, which So/oj»o». not , resolvii^,
" paid a large • sum of Money to liirom." He afterwards
aidds rt ifanao'Us Place of'iW«fa«c?er, the^£pAeMa«,,.who wrote the
Affairs of the Greeks and Barbarians, '-' After Abibalus'.s J)ea.th,
*' hi» Son JE/iVoM succeeded in the- Goverj}nient;,-he. lived
'! thirty-four Yearsj.and inclosed a, large Country, and erected
« the Golden Pillar in J?/ji!Jtr*i. Temple. He afteiwards
•" cut down Wood from the Mountain called ,jt?6)?«2wj' Ce-
" dar Trees for the Roof of the Temple, and pulled ^own
"the pld Teniple?, and^ built new. j^'He consecrated the
- 'f 6TQV&ei:Hcrc^les und Astartey Hie first laid the Eounda-
, ♦'■'tioffl of JifercM^es'tf in -the Month .JPeni'izM,' , and afterwards
" Astart^i, about the Tisne that Ire invaded the fyrians for
Sect,l5.3 , CHRISTIAN Jl^tlGION. iSf
they made with the T^ritms, And J^erosus, as
well
" not paying Tribute, and returned after having reduced
"them. About this Time, there was one Abdetnonus, a
"young Mao, who overcame in explaining the Riddles
*' proposed by Solomon, th* Kiijg of Jermalem. The Time
" from this King, to the BuildiWg of Carthage, is reckoned
" thus : After Sipom's Death, Beleazar his Son succeeded in
*' the Kingdom ; who lived forty-three Years, and reign-
" ed seven. After him was his Son Abdastratus, who lived
" twenty-nine Years, and reigned nine. This Man was
" slain by the four Children of his Nurse, who lay in
" Arabush for him;^th« eldest of which reigned twelve
" Yiears. After these was Astartus, the Son of Delcestartus,
" who lived fifty-four Years, and feigned twelve.- After
" him came his Brother Asergmus,.vi\ioli^ed fiftj'-fou» Years
*' and reigned nine : This Man was killed by his Brother
♦' Phdetes, who seized the Kingdom, and reigned ei^ht
" Months ; he lived fifty Years ; he was slain by Ithobalus
" the Priest of :/i*^Qr?e, who reign*d thirty-two Years, ' and
** Kved sixty-eighh- He was succeeded by his Son Badezorits,
" who lived forty-five Years, and rdgned six. His Smcces-
" sor was Mafgemus his Son, who lived thirty-two Years, land
" reignfed nine. He was succeeded by PygroaZjon, who lived
" fifty-six Years, and reigned forty-seven, -In his seventh
" Year, his Sister, who fled from him, built the City of Car-
*' tAnge in Libya." Theopkilus Aittiochams, in his Third Book
to AutolydhuSfhas set down thi$ Place of Menander, but has
contracted it. TertnUian in his Apology, Chap: 19. Says,
" We' must look into the Records of the most Ancient N.a-
" tions, - Egyptians, Chaldoeans, PhanidanS', by whom we
" are supplied with Knowledge. Such as Mtmtthon the
" Egyptian, or Berosus the Chaldctan, or Hirom the PJtaitician,
" King of Tyre; and their PoZZoiiBer*, Mendesus," Ptolomseus,
" And Menander *Ae EphesTan, and Demetrius Pbalar4ms,' and
" King J-abai and Appion, and Thalltts." This Hirom; and
■5a/omoir, who 'was -contemporary with him, are . me^itioned
also byAiexander^PolycMster, Menander, Pergamenus, and
Lxtus in the Phxnidari Accounts as Clemens aStxrati Strom. I.
when we may CairedTatian, who wrote XiMTej Chcettts, for
Aair«( Lcttits, who is reported to have translated it into Grtek,
whatTheodotut, Sypsicratei and Mochus wrote about Phamcia.
The Memory of ifuzdrfKingof Syrio, whpseName is in 1 Ki^s
Jtix. 15. ZKings\\n.\\, xii. if. jeiii.S. 34. is preserved at
Damascus, with Divine W^orsbip, as Joseplais relates,' BookDL
Ch. 2. pf his Aridetft History. The satee Name is in Justin,
but «rf Tragus. Concerning Sttlmanasar, who carried the
Ten
i6S Of tHE TRUTH OF tME fBookllf.
ivell as the Hehrew Books, mention {a) Na-
huchadonosorj
Ten Tribes into Captivity, as it is related in 2 Kings jcviii.
3, ^c. and who took Samaria. Z Kings Xviii. 9' there is a
I>lace of Menander the Efheiiaui which I mentioned before,
in Josephus, Book IK. Ch. 14< " Elukew reigned thirty-~«ix
" Years ; this Man with a Fleet reduced the Cittteans} who
" revolted from hinii . But the King of Assyria «ent kn Ar>
" tny against themi and brought War upon all Phanida; and
" having made Peace with them all« returned back again^
" But Sidon, Arce, Paletyrus, and many other Cities, who
" had yielded themselves to the King of Aiiyria, revolted
" from thS Tpian Government ; yet the Tyrians not safamit>
" ting, the King of Assyria returned upon them ag^iDi^ af-
"• ter he had received' from the Phcenicians sixty . $hips>.and
•V«ight' hundred Rowers. Agunst which the Tyri/ms com-
••ing oat witBf twelve Ships, broke their Enemies' Ships in
"Pieces, and took five hundred Mew Prisoners ; hereupon
•* the Price of every Tiring was raised in Tyre. Then the
" King of u^««^n'a depai^ted, and placed Guards .upon the
'< fiiver, and upon the . Water-pip«, that they might, hiA'
•• ier the TyriaAs from drawing any ; and this '. they did, for
*^ five Yearsi' and they were forced to drink' out of Wdl«
"which they digged." Joiepkus adds ia the same Place, that
: Salntanasar, the Name of this Kii^, :remiained ^ill his Time
in lh« Tj^Won Records. Sennacherib, who subdued almost all
tfudiea, except Jeriisaknif as it is islated, 2 Kings x>/\ii.- 13.
S C^ron^ Xxxii. 1. Isaiah xxxvii,, his Name and Expeditions
.into Asia aadEgypf. are found in Berosu^sChaldaics, as 'the
i^me Josephus tssti&es, Book X. Chap. 1. and. ifero^a^, in
-@s SecOtidcBook, mentions the same. SfanacAen^^- and jjalls
' feimiiCiHg of Ihe Aratnans iLni'Assyrims. Baladan 'King ^f
sBhli^on ife mentioned in S Kings sxt ^S. and Isaiai xsxit,
'And lithe, same Name is iir Berosm's Babylam/^, asJosq>htM
testifies in hi^ Atxi^i History^ Book X.iChap.,3. HeK«dotUt
mentions the Battle in Megeddo,. in which Nechao King «r
i^y;j* overcame the/eaw; ^ winch History is in 2-€Ar«MX»x*.
22; Zedf. xih 1.) iff the foresaid" Second Book, inbtljieseWflfdS:
Atid Ne<?ho encountered tht .15yriani_{f<ir so Herodotus alvtay*
calls the Jrbs, as do others aJ«o) in a Land Baftte^imi aver»
came them in Magiohis. > , , , ,. (, ,
(a) Nabuehadonmor, SccJ Concerning hiiti/ /<ue^%t»iha»
preserved us a Place bf Berosus, ih^he Tenth ©f his Ancieni
History, and in his_' First Book against jf^'on; which may
be compared with Eksebiils, who in £is Chronicon about the^
Times, and in his Prewar. BocJc'ik. Ch. 40, and ilT pro*
ducei titis and the fbllowiii^ Flac& of ^bydenus. " MboipiUla-
■ - .' ■ r ^/.i-i ■ f^sans
" sarus his Fatheviiearing that he» who was appointed Go«
" vernor,pver £gyp?, and the Places about Cmla-Syria, and.
" Phtmice, had revolted, being himself unable to bear Hard-
" ships, be invested his Son Nflbuchad^Osor, who was . a
"yotmgMagi, wi^ parCtithis Power, and sent him against
" him. -y&nA- Wabucktideims^r, coming to a Battle with the
" Rebel, smote him, and took him, ai^d reduced ih& whole
'* Land ts. his Subjection agefin... It happened about this
"Time, that his Father JTofcipoWasorKg,. fell sick and died
"in the 'City of Babyloa," iiStex i^ had j:ejgned twenty-nine
"years. Nabntchadonosar in . a Jhtle.Tirte hesiring of the
" Deatli of his Father, aftef.Jt^.had put in order hit Af-
" fairs in Egypt and the'JRest of the Country, and comnut-
-" ted to some. oC his -Friends -^e Power over the Captives
•• ofi^tKe Javsf Phanicianf, Syrians, -&nd the People about
" ^^P^ and ordered eve?y 3Hiing that was left of any Use to
-M be sGomi^yed to: Eabyl(m\r-^e himself, with a few, came
" thtoSgh^ the Wilderness to Babylon: where he found Jkf«
" fairs Settled byfiie C/i(rfiiR»w, and the Government n^ain^
** taine'H' under one of the most emitient amongst tliem, so
" that he inherited his Father's Kingdom entire; and having
*' taken a View of the. Captives, he ordered them to be
" dispersed by .Cdlonies, tliroughottt all the proper Places
" Hi the Coantcy about Babylon. And he richly adotned the
"^Teniple of Be/w,' andlothersf with the Spoil^ of the Warj
" and he renewed the ancient. City- of Babylon, by adding
*• another to it; so as that ^afterwards, in a Siege, the River
" might never he turned out of its Couise^ to assault the
" City. He iriso enfeoihpassed -the City with., three Walls
" witbia, and three without, some made of Tile and Pitch,
*< others of. Tile alone. The City being, thus well walled,
"and the Gates beauti&lly .adorned, he added to his Fa>
*' ther's Palace a new onfefnt'^ exceeding it in Height
** and Costliness ; to relate t^e Particulars of which would be
"tedious. However, as> exceeding great and beautiful as it
" was, it was finished in Fifteen ]%j^s,; on this Palace he
** built very high: Walls of Stone, which to the Sight ap«
''Beared like Mountains, and planted \hem with all. Sorts of
♦^Tfefes, and made "what they call a Peasile Garden for his
3V. Wife, who was brought up itk Media:, to delight herself
"-'Witn the Prospect of the mountainous Country, After he
*' had b^un the forementioned Wall, he fell sick and died,
?' having reignpd fbrty'three Years." This Wife of Nabw
ehadonosor iiNitocfit, aficording to Herodqf as, in his First Book,
as-Ave leam^fro^ tjhe great Sc«jiger, in his famous Appendix
to .|hsgi.^^ati9n of Time. Th^se Things are eXplaip^d
hy Qiirtius,r in his Fifth Book, to. which I refer you; and
partly by Strabo, Book jX Vf and Diodorm, Book H. Berq^us,
ottt.of wbon we have quote4 these Things, and those before,
was
176 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book III.
was the Priest of Belus, after Alexander the Great's Time ; to
whom the Athenians erected a Statue with a golden Tongue,
in the Public Gaming Place, for his Divine Predictions. This
is mentioned by Pliny, Baok VII. Chap. 37. of his Natural
Sktery. Athenceiis, in his Fifteenth, calls bis Book Babylo-
nica. , Tatiaii (who himself also affirms^ that Berosm mentions
Nubuchadanosor) and Clemens call it Chaldaica. King Jub'a
confesses, that he took out hence what he wrote concerning
the Affairs of Syria, as Tatian observes. He. is also mention-
ed by Vitruvius, and by TertuUian in his Apology, and by
the Writer of the Alexandrian Chronicon. Eusebim, both in his
Chronicon, and in the End of the Ninth of his Preparat.
tells us, that Nabuchadonosor is mentioned also in Abydenus,
•who wijote of the Assyrians. The Words are these : " Me-
" gasthenes says, that Nabuchodrosorus was stronger thaaHer'
" cules, and waged War against I4bya and Iberia, and hav.
" ing overcome them, he planted them in Several Qolonies
'* on the Right Shore of the , Sea. And the Chaldatanf relate
" moreover concerning him, that as he was going 4nto his
" Palace on a certain Time, he was inspired by a Qp4j and
" spake' the following Words : I Nabuchodrosorus foretel a. sad
" Calamity that will befal you, O Babylonians ; which neither
" BeluSf our Forefather, nor Queen Beltis, could persuade
" the. Fates to avert : There shall corae a PcmcwJ^ul^, who,
" assisted by your Gods, shall bring Slavery upon yxiu f Me-
" dus, the Glory of the Assyrians, will also help to do this.
" I wish that before he betrays his Countrymen, some CAu'
" rybdis, or Sea, would swallow hini up, and destrpj/bim ;
" or tfciat he were direct^ed another Way, through tbe-Wilder-
" Hess, where there are no Cities,, or Footsteps of Men,
.f,' where the wild Beasts feed, and the Birds fly abput:/ That
"he might wander solitary amongst the Rocfcs and Dens;
>' and. Ji&t a hapjy End jiiid overtaken me, before these
•> 'Things were put into my Mind. Having prophesied ,|,his,
" he suddenly disappeared." Compare this jast w4th that which
is said of this Nabuchjodanosor, in the Book of Daniel i^the
first out of Megttsthenes, we have also in Josephus, Booli X.
Chap. 2. o{ hiS: Ancient History; andhe.says.it is in the Foiirth
of his Indig.n History. Eusebius likewise has this., concerning
Nabuchadonosor, out of Abydenus: "It. is reported (cfjthe
" Place where Babylon stands J that at first it was all '^ater,
" called Sea, but Belus drained it, and allotted tp every.one
" his Portion of Land; and encompassed £a6^/on with a Wall
" which Time, has worn out. But Nabuchadonosor walled it
'"again, which jemained till the Macedonian Empire; .and
" it had brazen Gates," And a little after: " When Nidincha-
" donosor came to the Oovernraent, iti fifteen Dai^s' Time
" he walled Be6j//o« with a trjpIe-Wall, and he turned out
" of their Course the Rivers Armacale and Acracanus,
" which
Sect. 1 6.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. , 171
buchadonosor, (a) and other Chaldaans. Va-
phreSf
" which is an Arm of ihe Euphrates. And for the City of the
" Sifparenians, he digged a Pool forty Furlongs round, and
" twenty Fathoms deep ; and made Sluices to open, and
" water the Fields ; they call them Guides to the AqtuB-
" ducts. He also built up a Wall to exclude the Red Sea, and
" he rebuilt Teredon, to hinder the Incursions of the Arabi-
" ans ; and be planted his Palace with Trees, called the Pensile
" Gardens." Compare this with Dan. iv. 27. And Strabo,
Book XV. cfuotes these Words also out of the same Magast-
henes. " Ndbuchadonosor, whose Fame amongst the Chaldceans
' ''^ is' greater than ffe?-CM?ej,' went as far as the Pillars." There
were others who touched upon the History of this King, but
we' have only the Names of them remaining. Diodes in the
Second of his Persian History, and Philostratus in that of the
Indians and Phcenicians, who says that Tyre was besieged by
him' thirteen Years, as Jdsephus tells us, in the forecited Place
of MsVlncient History', and in his First Book against Appion,
\vhere he quotes the following Words oiit of the public Acts of
the Piicenkims. " When Ithobalus was Kin© Nabvckadonosor
•• besieged'' Tyre thirteen Years. After him Baal reigned ten
O Yeats;" after him, Judges were appointed to govern Tyrei
" Scdbalia, the Son of Baslacvs, two Months ; Chelbes, the
'* Son-of i^Jifto*, ten-Moiiths; Abbarus, the High Prfest, three
" Months ; Mufgonvs and Gerastratus, the Sons of Abdelinus,
'*' w'ere Judges six Years; betwixt whom, Belalorue reigned
"^ one. After his Death they sent an*d fetched Cerbalus from
*' Babyldh; he reigned four Years. After his Death they sent.
" ?bi* Ms Brother Hirom, who reigned tiVenty Years. - In bis
->« "nsife (Syrus the Persian flourished.". For the exact agree-
metrt of' this Computation with the Sacred Books, seejosephus
' in the' fptedted Boole against i^//«'(»!: Where follows in Jose-
l phiU^ thesd Words concei-ning Hecata^us. 'iThe Persians,"
Says'' he, '^ drew many Millions of tis to Babylon." And cofi>
ceraiB^ the- War of Senpac/ierib, arid Nabuchadenosdr's Cap-
tivity, see 'the Place of Demetrius \n Clemens, Strom. I. He-
catdeufs Authority, fe'very little'to the Purpose,- because he is a
Splarious Writer. "^See Ger. X. Vossius upon the Greek Histori"
ahs. Le C/erc.
(a) A^d other Chai'dxsLns, &c.} After the forecited Words
of Berosus, follow jhese, according to Josephus, in both the
Places now, mentioned,. " His Son Evilmaradoch was made
"Head of tijp, Kingdom ; he manajged Affairs unjustly and
" wantonly ; after he had reigned, two Years, he was trea-
" cherously slain by Neriglissoroorus, who married his Sister :
> " after
1?S Of THE TRUrk' Of itit ffeook IlL
" after his Death, Net igtissirroorvs, who thus killed hi m> p6s<
" sessed theGovernmenf, and reigned four Yearst His Son
" Laborosoarchodtis, a Youth, leigned nin^ .Months ; but -be^
" cause there appeared in him many evil Dispositions,, he was
"slain by. the Treachery of his Fnends. Ajter lis Deaths
*• they who killed him agreed to rfevtflve the Goverrfiiient
" iipoh Nabonnidus, a certaiti- Sab0>nidii,' Who. wks ailSo tone
" of the Conspirators. In ,this Reign,' th^VVdfe of th^jlJitjr
" Babylon, along the River, wer^ ibeautilied vi.'i^l^'- b^j;^]t
"Brick and Pitch. In the sesenteeiith Ye^r of his, Reigii,
*' Ci/rus came out of Persia \frith a greats AJmy, and having
•' subdued all the Rest of Jsia, he came as far as Bubi^i
*' Nabonnidus, hearing of his coming, niet hiip^^with^Ti 'i^eat
** Army also, but he was overcome in the Battle, and fled
" away with a few, and shut himself up in the City of-thd!
" B«rsippeni. Then Cyrus having taken Babylon,' ordered the
" outward Walls of the City to be razed, because the Pepple
" appeared to be very much given to .change, and the Tpwii
" hard to be taken ; and went from thence to Bqrsippus, to
" besiege Nabonnidus ; but he not enduring the Biege, yield*
" ed himself immediately; whereupon Gyras ^treated him
" kindly, and giving him Carmania to dwell in, he Sent him o'ut
'* of Babylonia / and Nabonnidus passed the Remainder of his'
" Days in that Country, aud died there." Eusebius,\xi the fore-i
mentioned Platie, has preseived the following WordsbfJiSyifmaj,
immediately after those now quoted concermngNabuchadohosor :
*' After him reigned his Son Evilmaruruchus : His Wife's Bro-
*' ther Neriglosatus, who slew htm, "left a Son, whose Name was
« Labossoarascus. He dying by a .violent Death, they made
" Nabannidacus King, who was not related tOihim. Cyrvs^ when
" he toojt^ Babylon, made this Man- Governor of Carmamtt»\
This Evilmerodach is mentioned by Name in 2 Kings xxv. 27.
Concerning the Rest, see Scaliger. That of Cyrus's^ ts>ki,)^g Bofey-
Ion agrees with this of Herodotus : " Jfo Qyrus made ao Irrup*
" tion as far as Babylon ; and the J3i>iy/imian«'he.ving[ provided
" an Army, expected him :. As soon as he approached the Gity
" the Babylonians fought With him ; but to save themselves from
" being beaten, they shut themselves up'in the City." Com-
pare this with the Fifty-first of Jerenmh, 20, 30, 31. Con-i
cerning the Flight at Borsippe, see Jeremiah ii. 39- Con^
cerning the drying up the River's Channel, Herodotus agrees
with Jeremiah li. 39. The Words oi Herodotus are, " He.
"divided the River, bringing it* to a standing Lake, so that
" he made the ancient Current passable, having .diverted the
" River." It is worth considering, whether what Diodona.
relates in his Second. Book, concerning Belesis the Qhtildfeafi,
may not have respect to Daniel, whose Name in Chaltleewas
Btltusha^ar, Dan, i. 7, The Truth of what we read in
Scripture,
Sect. l6.J CHRISTIAK RELIGION. 173
phreSf (a) tbe King of JE^^* ih Jermkh {h) is
the same with Afries in fferodotus. A"^ the
Greek Books {<;) are filled with Cyruf and his Suo»
cessors (d) down to Darius / and Josephus, in his
Boqlt against yf/^ifo», quotes many other Things
relating to the Jfvsisk.^ixoia : To which may be
added,! that we above took {e) out of .S/ra^a
z^fVjtgus. ?ut there is no Reason for us Chris-
tians t» dbutt qf the Credibility of these Books,
$SEi|,ti^ poDfl^iniing the CkaUc^m Kings, is strongly con-
infieir.by Jthejgitppology of the Astronomical Canon of ^^'•
lotiaKfi''^ 9s yqb t^yi fx% iQ Sir John Marsham's Chronological
<^^\^V^t^;ihe1^i»g of Egypt, &c,3 So the Seventy and
£tisiB«u9%ahslat#' Ihte Hebrew Word yian Chephr?. He. wjis
Cont«(nporafy ^th Mabuchadonomr.
^^(5)~ is Me tame wUk Apries in Herodotus, &c.] IQooH II*
(c) ^rpjilkd we/SA Cyrus, &c.] See the Places already
i^<fVi(i„^)^Tu\,Jiiud,orus /Stcu/uf, Book II. and Ctetim in his
4^^^«.- and Jistin, Bo<;>k IV. Chap. 5. and th<e following.
Th% f^oundatioq of tjbe Temple of Jerufolfm. was laid iq
Cyrus's 7unc> 'Ond was finished in Dq,nwfs, according to
BerosuSf.iiitTAeppMlifS: Andochenus proves,
(dyD&wn4oJDsitias,&c.J. Cadommnm. See the foremen*
tioiied Petsons^ and -^se^lu/i Account of Persia, and the
Writes of the^AfMiea oi Aletander. In the Time of this
HifMusi Jadius was the High Priest of the H^rexvs, Nehem.
api."'22. 4hf, same tba* went out to meet ^teonrfer lAe^r^at
according to the R^aticin of Jostphus, in his Ancient History,
BfHAk 3[I>^ Si' At this Time lived- Hwatceus Abderita, ao fa-
indtis in, Plutarch in his Book concerning /m ; and Laertiits
in Pyrrha.; - he wrote a aii^gie Book concerning 'the Jews,
whence j{tg^lm,ia Book 11. against Appiqa, took a famous
DeicHption of th<e' City and ^emple of Jeru^a/em; which
t'lace we 'find JnEtweMus, Book IX. Chap. §. of his Gospel
freparatitik ; arid in each of thein> there is a Place of Clears
cite, who J ComiAends the Jeinsh Wisdom, in the Words of
^ristotle," And Josephtu, in the san;e Book, names Theophi-
t&t, Theodckrei, Mmueas, Aristdphanes, Hfrmogen^s Epemettts^
Conoroit, Zopyrion, and others, as Persons who commended the
Jewsi and gave Testimony con^ernipg the Jewish A^^^'^s.
{e) C(ut of ^tiho. m4 Trogus, kc.} Book I,
l)ecac(59
174 OF THE TRUTH OF THE ' [Boole III
because there are Testimonies in our Books, but of
almost every one of theinythfe same as they are
found in the Hebrew. ^Nor <li(l Christ when he
blamed many Things in the Teachers of the Law,
and in the Pharisees of his Time, ever accuse them
of falsifying the Books of Moses and tlje Prophets,
or of using supposititious or altered Books,,^ Ajxd
it can never he proved pr made credible, that after
Christ's Time, the Scripture should te corrupted in
any Thing of Moment ; if we do but consider how
far and' wide the Jewish Nation, who every .where
kept those Books, was dispersed over the whole
World. For,first, the ten Tribes were carried into
Media by the ^ssjrianst and afterwards the other
, two. And many of these fixed themselves in fo-
reign Countries, after they had a Permission from
Cyrus to return; (n) the Macedoninns 'myitsd them
into Alexandria with great Advantages ; the Cruel-
, ty of Jlniiochus^: ihQ |Qivi].War of the ^smotitei, and
the foreign Wars of Pompey and Sossius, scattered
a great many ; {b) the Country of Cyrene was
filled with Jews ; (c) the Cities of Asia, {d) Ma~
{a) The Macedonians invited them, '&e;] Hecatxus, transcri-
bed by Josephus in his First :Book-. against Afpion, speaking
oi xht Jttos, Not a few (viz. thousands, as appears from <lie
foregoing VVoi-ds) dfter the Death of Alexander, wfpt into
Eg\pt and Phoenicia, bj/ Aeaspn of the Commotio^ im Syria.
To which we may add that of Philo against Flaccus. " There
" are no less than ten hundred thousand Jfw*, Inhabitants of
" Alexandria, and the Country about it, from the lower Parts
" of Libi/a, to the Borders of MMopia." ' See moreover Jo.
*e;)to,. Book XII. Chap. 2, 3, and th\? following; Book XIII.
Chap. 4, 5,' 6, 7, 8. XVIU. 10. And the Jews were-fcee of
Alexandria, Josephus XIV. 1.
(ft) The Country of Cyrene -mas filled mth Jexvs, &c.] See
Josephus, Book XVI. 10, of his Ancitnt History. Acts \\ 0.
XI. 20. ■
(c) The Cjties of Asia, &c.] Josephus, XII. 3. XI V, If,
XVI. 4. Ads xix.
(d) Macedonia, &c,] Acts xvii*
cedonttfj
Sect. 16.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 175
cedoriia, (a) Lj/eaoma, (jb) and the Isles of Cyprus,
(c) and Crete, and "others, were full of them ; and
that there was a vast Number of th^n {d) in Rome,
we learn from (e) Horace, (f) JteoenaJ, and {g) Mar^
• ,.. , '^'^
(a) I^caontff, &c.] Acts \\fm\%.
(fr) And the Isles of Cyprus, fcc] Acts xiii. 5.
(c) ^nrf Crete, &c.] Acts ii. 11.
"(rf) In Rome, &c.] Josephus XVII. 5. of his Ancient Hism
tort/, Acts xviii. 2. xxviii. 17.
,(e) Horace, Sec] Book I, Sat. IV.
—— For we are many,
' And like the Jews, will force you to our Side,
And Sat. V,
— '■ Let circumcised Jews believe it.
And Sat. IX.
This is the Thirtieth Sabbat^, &c.
ffj Juvenal, &c.] Sat. IX.
Some are of Parents bom who Sabbaths keep.
And what follows. Sat. XIV.
(g) Martial, &c.] III. U ' '
The Sabbath-keepers' Fasts.
And in other Places;: as VII. 29, and J4. XI. Si7. XII. 571
To which we may add that of RutUius, Book I. of his Itini'
'•a'y •■
I with Judaea ne'er had been svbdi^d
By Pompey's War, or Titus's Command :
The mote ^apjrres^d, the dire Qontagion spreads ;
' The conquered Ifation crush the Conqueror.
'.'''*'■' '
Which -is taken out of Seneca, who said of the same Jews;
'^[Jftre Castom^ of the most wicked Nation have prevailed so
",fa,i, that they are embraced all the World over: so that the
" conquered gave Laws to the Conquerors.", The Place , is
in Augustine, Book IV. Chiip. 2, of his City' of God. He
calls theiin the most wicked Nation, only for this Reason,
because their Laws condemned the Neglect of the Worship of
one Gpd;^- as we .observed before; upon which Account Cato
M'tyor blamed 'Socrates. To Which may be addc'd the Testi-
mony of Philo, in his Embassy, on the^ vast Bijitent .of the
Jewish Nation, " That Nation consists of so great a Num-
, . ' " b<!r
176 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book IK.
tial. It is impossible that sucH distant Bo^es of
Men should be imposed iipon by ady Art wh^tf
soever, or thaj thiey should agree in a Fslsity.
We may add further, {a) that almost three hun-
dred Years before Christ, by the Care of the EgyP'
tian Kings, the Hebrew Books were translated into
Greek by those who are. called the Seven^; that
the Greeks might have them in another Langus^e,
but the Sense the same in the Main ; upon which
Account they were the less liable to be altered ;
And the same Books were translated into Chaldee,
and into the Jerusalem Language; that is, Half
Syriac; (h) partly a little before, (c) and partly a
little after Christ's Time. After which followed
other Gr^e/i Versions, ihzioi Aquila, Symmachus, andf
Theodotion ; w hich Origen^^nd others after him,
compared with the seventy Interpreters, andfouhd
no Difference in the History; or in any weighty
Matters. Philo flourished in Caligula's Time, and
Josephus lived till Vespasiaris. Each of them quote
out of the Hebrew Books .the same Things that we
find at this Day. By this Time the Christian Re-
<' ber of Men, that it does not, like -other Nations, take up
*' oue Country only, and confine itself to that ; but possesses
*' almost the whole, World; for it overspreads every Continent
" and Island, that they seem not to be much fewer than the
<• Inhabitants themselves." Dion Cassius, Book XXXVI. con^
Cerniftg the Jewish Nation, saysj "That thaugh it has been
<< often suppressed, it has increased so much the more, so an
*' to procure the Liberty of establishing its Laws."
•
(a) That almost three hundred Years, Sfc,"] See ArUtatu
^d Josephus, Book XII. 2. ■ .
•*\ •
(A) Partlif a little before, Sfc,} By Oakelm, and perhaps by
Jonathan.
(c) Aitd paHty a Uttk after, &c.} By the Writer of the
Jerusalem Targum, and by Josephus, Cxcus, or by him, who*
ever he was, one Man, or many, who translated /<*, fsalmt,
f reverts, and what they call Hagfography,
Ijgion
Se(rt.l6.5 CHRISTIAN RE^IGtON. ITf
ligion began to be more and more spread, (a) and
many of its Professors were He Ifrews : (b) Msftiy
had studied the Hebrtpi Learning, who could very
easily have perceived and discovered it, if the Jews
had received dny Thing that Was false, in any re-
markable Subject, I mean j by comparing it virith
more ancient Books^ But they not only do this>
bttt- they bring very many Testimonies out of the
Old Testament, plainly in that Sense in which they
are received amongst the Hebrews, which Hebreivs
may be convicted of any Crime, sooner than (I
will npt sayof Falsity, but) of Negligence, in Re-
lation to these Books; {c) because they used to
transcribe and compare them so very scrupulously^
that they could tell how often every Letter came
ovier. We may add, in the first Place, an Argu-
ment, and that no mean one, why the Jews did
not alter the Scripture designedly i because the
Christians prove, and as they think very strongly,
that their Master Jesus was that very Messiah who .
was of old promised to the Forefathers of the
(a) Jnfl m<my of its Utofesson leere Hebrews, &c.] Or next
to Uebrem, as Justin, who was a Samaritan.
{h) Many had studied the Hebrew 'Learning, &c.] As Origen,
EpiphtmiuSf and especially /ero»z.
(c) Because they used to transcribe, &c.] Josephus in his First
Book against j^jpjnon. " It is very manifest, by our Deeds,
♦* how much Credit we give to our own Writings ; for after
" so many Ages past, no one has presumed to add, take away,
" or change any Thing." See the Law, DeiU. iv. 1. and the
Talmud, inscribed Shebnoth. (We are to understand this of
the Time after the Ma«ora ; for it was otiierwise before, in.
the Time of their Commonwealth ; and after it was overturned
by the ChaUxans, they were not so accurate as is commonly
tiiought-. This is evident from Lud Capellus's Critics upon tXe
Bible, and from the Comm^taries of learti^dMen upon the
Old Testament, and likewise from Grotius's own Annotations.
And we have also shewn it to be so on the historical Books of
the Old Testamenty Le Cierc.)
• ' ■ N^ Jews :
178 ' OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book HI;
Jews ; and this from those , very Books, which,
were read by the Jews. Which the Jews woulcl
have taken the greatest .Care should never l^ave
been, gfter there arose a Controversy between them
and the Christians ; if it had ever been in their
Power to have altered what they vvoiild. ,
CHIIISTUN .ftEUGlON, 179
BOOK IV.
SECT. I.
A particular Confutation of the Religions that differ
from Christianity.
'T'HE Fourth Book (beginning with that Plea-
sure Men for the most Part take at the Sight
of other Men's Danger, when they themselves
are |)laeed out of the Reaeh of it) shews, that the
principal Aim of a Christian ought to be, not only
a Satisfaction upon his having found out the Truth
himself, btit also an Endeavour to assist others,
who wander in various crooked Paths of Error,
and to m^ke them Partakers of the same Happi-
ness. And this we have in some Measure at-
tempted to do in the foregoing Books, because the
Demonstration of the Truth contains in it the
Confutation of Error. But, however, since the
particular Sorts of Religion, which are opposed to
Christianity ; as Paganism, Judaism, or Mahome-
tanism, for Instance ; besides that which is com-
mon to all, have some particular Errors, and some
special Arguments, which they use to oppose us
with ; I think it may not be foreign to our present
Purpose, to attempt a particular Examination of
every one of them. In the mean Time, beseech-
ing our Readers to free their Judgment from all
Passion and Prejudice, which clog the Under-
standing ; that they may the more impartially de-
termine concerning what is to be said.
N 2 SECT.
180 OF THE tRUtH OF tHE [Book IV.
SECT. II.
And first of Paganism. That there is lut one God.
That created Beings are either good or bad. That
the Good are not to be worshipped without the
Command of the Supreme God.
AND first against the Heathens, we say, if
they suppose many Gods, eternal and equal, this is
sufficiently confuted in the first Book ; where we
have shewn that there is but one God, the Cause
of all Things. If by Gods, they mean created
Beings superior to Man, these are either good or
bad ; if they say they are good, they ought in
the first Place to be very well assured of this,
{a) lest they fall into great Danger^ by entertain-
ing
(a) Lest thty fall into great Danger, &c.] 2 Cor. xii. 14,
Torphyri/ in his Second Book about abst<iining from eating Ani-
mals, says, that " By those who are opposite {to the Gods,)
" all Witchcraft is performed ; for both these and their
" Chief are worshipped by all such as work Evil upon Men's
" Fancies, by Enchantments ; for they have a Power to de-
*' ceive, by working strange Things : By them evil Spirits
*' prepare Philtres and Love Potions : .All Incontinence, and
" Love of Riches and Honour, and es])ecialiy Deceit, pro-
" ceed from them ; for it is natural for them to lye: they
" are willing to be thought Gods ; and the highest of them
" in Power, to be esteemed God." And afterwards concern-
ing the Egi/ptian Priests : " These put it past all Disputci
"that there are a Kind of Beings, who give themselves
" up to deceive ; of various Shapes and Sorts ; Dissemblers,
" sometimes assuming the Form of Gods or Damons,' or of
" Souls of dead Men ; and by this Means they can efifect
" any seeming Good or Evil ; but as to Things really good
" in themselves, such as those belonging to the Soul ; of
" producing, thcje, they have no Power, neitlier have they
" any knowledge of them j but they abuse their Leisure,
" mock Others, aftd binder those who walk in the- Way
" of Virtue j they are filled with Pride, and delight in Per-
" fj^mes and Sacrifice." And Arnobius, Book IV. against
the Gentiles ; " Thus the Magicians, Bretliren to the Sooth-
"-sayers in their Actions, mention certain Beings, opposite
"to
Sect. 2, 3.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 181
ing Enemies instead of Friends ; Deserters instead
of Ambassadors. And Reason also requires, that
there should be some manifest Difference in the.
Worship, betwixt the Supreme God, and these
Beings : And further we ought to know of what
Hank these Beings are, what Benefit we may ex>
pect from any of them, and what Honour the
Supreme King would have us to pay themr All
which Things being wanting in their Religion, it
sufficiently appears from thence, that there is no-
thing of Certainty in it ; and it would be much
safer for them to betake themselves to the Wor-
ship of the one Supreme Grod ; (a) which even
Plato owned to be the Duty of a wise Man ; be-
cause as good Beings are the Ministers of the Su-
preme God, (3) they cannot but be assisting to
such as are in Favour with him.
SECT. III.
A Proof that evil Spirits were worshipped hy the
Heathen, and the Unfitness of it shewa,
BUT that the Spirits to which the Heathen
paid their Worship, were evil, and not good,
appears from many substantial Arguments. First,
*' to God, who often impose upon Men for true Gods. And
•'these are -certain Spirits of grosser Matter, who feign
" themselves to be Gods." Not to transcribe too much, we
find, something to the same Purpose mjatnblichus, concerning
the jEgj/f>fto» Mysteries, Book III. Chap. 33. and Book IV.
Chap. 17.
(a) WMch even Plato owned, &c.] " Jupiter is worshipped
" by us, and other Gods by others." The Words are quoted
by Origen, in his Eighth Book against Cehus.
(6) They cannot but be asststing, &c.] This iSiVetyjvelVpro-
secuted by Arnobius, Book III.
because
1S2 OF THE TRUTH OF' THE IIBoak IV.
(a) because they did not direct their Worshippers
to the Worship of the Supreme God ; but did as
much as they could to suppress such Worship, or
at least, were willing in every Thing to be equalled
■with the Supreme God in Worship. Secondly,
because they were the Cause of the greatest Mis-
chiefs coming upon the Worshippers of the one
Supreme God, provoking the Magistrates and. the
People, to inflict Punishments upon them: For
though they allowed their Poets the Liberty to
celebrate the Murders andAdulteriesof theirGods ;
3nd the Epicureans, to banish the Divine Providence
out of the World ; nor was there any other Re-
ligion so disagreeable in its Rities , but they ad-
mitted it into their Society, as the Egyptian, Phry~
gian, Greek, and Tuscan Rites at Rome : (h) yet
the ^ews were every where ridiculed, as appears
from, their Satires and Epigrams, {c) and were
sometimes banished, id) and the Christians had
moreover themostcruel Punishments inflicted upon
them : For which there can be no other Reason as-
signed, but because these two Sects worshipped one
God, whose Honour the Gods they established op-
posed, being naore jealous of him than of one an-
other. Thirdly, from theManner of their Worship,
(a) Because they did not direct, &c.] This is v'ery well
treated of. by Augustin, Book X. Chap. 14, l6, 19, of. his
Cili/ of God.
(b) Yet f^e. Jews were every vihere ridiculed, &c.] '" As be-
" ing cropt, circumcised, Sabbath-keepers, Worshippers of
" .the. Clouds and Heavens^ merciful to Swine."
(c) Ahd icere sometimes banished, &c.] Josephus, XVIII. 5,
Tadtiis, Annal, 11. Seneda, Epist. XIX. Jets, xviii. 1. Sue-
tonius in Tiberius, Chap. 26.
(d) And the Christians had moreover, &c.] Tacitus, Annal.
XV. to which that of Juvenal relates :
■ ■ ^. ■- — You like a Torch, shall burn.
As they who j^ainin^ stand, stifled with Smoke,
And with their Body's Print have marked the Qrmmd.
such
■Sect, 3.3 CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 1^
suph as is. unworthy of a good and virtuous Mind ;
(n) by h+iman Blood, (j&)i)y Men's runjiing naked
about their Templqs, (c) by Gatiies an4. Jpancings,
filled wittiUncleanness; such as are now to be seen
amongst the People pf .^erica And. Africa, wKp
are overwhelmed in the ;pg,rkness qf Heatheniai^.
Nay more than this ; there were of old, and still
are. People VKho worship evil; Spirit^, which they
know and own to be swch ; {a) as the Arimanesoi
the Persians^ the Caco^amons of the Greeks, {e) and
the Fejoves of the Latins ; and some of the JEthir
epans and Indians now ha|Ve others ; than which,
nothing can be imagined more impious. . For
what else is religious Worship, but a Testimony
of the exceeding Goodness \yhich you acknow-
ledge to be in him whom you wofahip ; which, if
it be paid to an ^vil Spirit, is false an4' counter-
feit, and comprehends in it the Sin of Rebellion;
because the Honour due to the King, is not only, '
taken from him, but transferred to a Deserter and
his Enemy. And it is a foolish Opinion, to ima-
nine that a good God will not revenge this, be-
cause that is not agreeable- to his Goodness ; (J) for
(a) By human Blood, &c.] Siee what was said of this,
Book II.
(6) Bi) Men's running naked ahbUt, &c.] As iti their Rites
dedicated to Pan. See Lji>y, Bookl. Plutarch in Antmius,
and others. *»
, (c) By Games and Dandngi, &c.] As in ,the Rites of Flora.
See Ovid's Fasti, Book IV. and Tafian, and Origen, in his
Eighth against Celsus.
(d) As^the Arim&nes o/<Ae Persians, &c,3 See Plutarch's Isis
and Osiris, a.nd Diogenes Laertius in his' Preface. See also Tho-
mas Stanley, of the Piulosophy of the Persians.: and our Obser-
vations upon the Word Arimanesm the Index. lie Clerc.
: (e) And the Vejoves of the Latins, &c.] CicetOf Book III.
of the Nature of the Gods.
(/) ForClemency,ifitbe reasonable, Szc^ " How can you
" love, unless you be afraid not to love ?" TertuUian • First
.against Marcion.
5 Clemency,
184 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book IV.
Clemency, if it be reasonable, hath its proper
Bounds ; and where the Crimes are very great.
Justice itself foresees Punishment, as it were,
necessary. Nor are they less blameable, who say,
that they are driven by Fear to pay Obedience to
evil Spirits; for He who is infinitely good, is also
in the highest Degre^ ready to communicate ; and
therefore all other ^eings were produced by him.
And if it be so, it will follow that he hath an ab-
solute Right over all Creatures, as his own Work-
manship ; so that nothing can be done by any of
them, if He desires to hinder it: Which bdng
granted, we may easily collect that evil Spirits
cailnot hurt him who is in Favour with the Most
High God, who is infinitely good ; any further,
than that God suffers it to be done for the^ake of
some Good. Nor can any thing be obtained of
evil Spirits, but what ought to be refused ; {a) be-
cause a bad Being, when he counterfeits one that
is good, is then worst ; and (^) the Gifts of Ene-
mies are only Snares.
SECT. IV.
Against the Heathen Worship faid to departed Men.
THERE have been, and now are, Heathens,
who say that they pay Worship to the Souls' of
Men departed this Life. But here in the first Place,
this Worship is also to be distinguished by mani-
fest Tokens, from the Worship of the Supreme
God. Besides, our Prayers to them are to no Pur-
pose, if those Souls cannot assist us in any Thing ;
(rt) Because a bad Being, &€.] See the Verses of Syrvt tlie
Mitiiic.
(b) The Gifts of Enemies are only Snares, &c.] Sophocles.
fyemics' Gifts are nv Gifts, no Adtantage,
and
Sect. 4, 5.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION, 185
and their Worshippers are not assured of this, nor
is there any more reason to affirm that they can,
than that they cannot : And what is worst of all,
is, that those Men ^Jo are thus had in Honour,
are found to have been Men remarkable for very
great Vices. A drunken Bacchus, an effeminate
Hercules, a Romulus unnatural. to his Brother, and
a Jupiter as unnatural to his Father. So that their
Honour is a Reproach to the true God, and that
Goodness, which is well- pleasing to him ; {a) be-
cause it adds a Commendation from Religion to
those Vices, which are sufficiently flattering of
themselves.
SECT. V.
j4gaimt the Worship given to the Stars andElentents.
ij}) MORE ancient than this was the Worship
of the Stars, and what we call the Elements, Fire,
Water, Air, and Earth ; which was indeed a very
great Error. For Prayers are a principal Part of
religious Worship, which, to put up to any but
Beings' that have Understanding is very foolish ;
and that what we call the Elements are not such,
(a) Because it adds a Commendation, Sec] See an Example
hereof in Terence's Eunuch, Act III. Scene V, Cyprian,
Epist. II. " They imitate tinose Gods they worship ; the.
" Religion of those wretched Creatures is made tip of Sin.
" Augustine, Epist. CLII. Nothing renders Men-so unsoci-
" able, by PerverscnesB of Life, as the Imitation of those
" whom they commend and describe in their Writings." Chsl-
eidius in Timaus ; " So it comes to pass, that instead of that
" Gratitude that is due to Divine Providence from Men, for
" their Original and Bjrth, they return Sacrilege." See the
wholaTlace.
(ft) More ancient than this, &c.] There are Reasons to per-
$uade us that Idolatry began with the Worship of Aagcls;' and
the Souls of Men, as you may see in the Index to the Oriental
Philosophy, at the Word Idiolatrifi, fit Clerc.
186 OF THE TRUTH Ot- TFIE [Book IV.
is evident in a good Measure from Experience. If
any one affirms jotherwise of the Stars, he hasnQ
Proof of itj because no such Thing can be gathered
from their Operations, wbsfeh ^re the only Signs
to judge of Beings by.^* But the contrary may be
sufficiently collected from the Motion of them,
which is not various like that of Creatures endued
with Freedom of Will, (a) but certain and deter-
minate. We have elsewhere shewn, that the Course
of the Stars is adapted to the Use of Man ; whence
Man ought to acknowledge, that he, in his better
Part, bears a nearer resemblance to God, and is
dearer to him ; and therefore ought not to dero-
gate so much from his own high Birth, as to place
himself below those Things which God has given
him ; and he ought to give God Thanks for them,
which is more than they can do for themselves^
or at least more than we are assured of.
SECT. VI.
j^gainst the Worship given to Brute Creatures,
BUT that which is of all.Things most abomina-
ble, is that some Men, particularly the Egyptians,
(b) fell ii^o the Worship even of Beasts. For,
though iri some of them there do appear, as it were,
some Stiadow of Unders-t^nding, yet it is nothing
compared with Man ; for they cannot express theis
inward Conceptions either by distinct W^ords or
(a) But certain and determinate, &c.] By which Argument
a certain King of Peru was persuEicled to deny that the Sun
could be a God. See the HiStojy of the Incas. '
{b) Fell into the Worship eben of Beasts, &c,] Concerning
whom, Philo, in his Embassy, says, , " They esteem Dogs,
" Wolves, Lions, Crocodiles, and many other wild Crea-
" tures in the Water and on the Land, and Birds, as Gods."
To which may bearded, a long Discourse of this Matter, in
the'Virst "Book a{ Dioiorus Sicuks,-
' Writings;
Sect. 6.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 187
Writings ; nor do they perform Actions of different
Kinds, nor tiiose of \he same Kind, in a different
Manner ; and much less can they attain to the
Knowledge of Numbers, Magnitude, and of the
Coelestial Motions. But on the other Hand, (a)
Man, by his Cunning and Subtlety, can catch the
strongest Creatures ; wild Beasts, Birds, or J'ishes ;
and can in some Measure bring them under Rules,
as Elephants, Lions, Horses, and Oxen ; he can
draw advantage to himself, out of those that are
most hurtful, as Physic from Vipers ; and this
Use may be made of them all, which themselves
(a) Man by hisCwming and Subtlety, SiC.'] Eutipides'in Molns:
Man has hut little Sirength,
Yet C(iu, hy tiariovs Arts,
Tame the wiliesl Creatures
In Sea, Or Earth, or Air.
And Antiplion :
They us in Strength, we them in Artf exceed.
Which affords us no bad Explication of Genesis i. 26. apd
Pgfilmym, 8. He that ^esjrps a large piscpurse of| this Mat-
ter,. iMay look into Upjiianus, in the Beginning of- his Fifth
Book qf Fishing, and: Basil's Tentii Homily on the Six Days
ofCrefttion. Origen, in his Fourth Book against Ce/jtif, has these"
Words : " And hence you may^learn^, for how great a Htflp
" our Understanding was given nsj and how far it exceeds all
*' tl^e Weapons of wild Beasts; ior pur .Bodies are much
" weaker than tho^e of other Creatures, aiid vaStly less than
" some of them ; yet by our 'Understanding, we' bring wild
-" Beasts under our Pbwer, and hunt huge lilkphants,; and
", those whpse Nature is such, .that they .may be pamejd, we
" mak6 subject to us ; arid those that are of a different Nature,
*' or the taming of which seems to 'be of no Use to \is, we
" manage these wild Beasts with such safety, that as we will,
" we keep them shut up, or if we vfrant their Flesh for Meat,
"we kill thein as we do other Creatures th^t are not wild.
" Whence it appears that the Creator madj all living Creatures
" subject to hiin, who is endued with Reason, and a Nature
*• capable of understanding hjm.";, Claudius Neopolitanus, m.
PwyAyry'* First Book against eating Living Crealuies, speaks
thus coJiceriTing IVian : "He is Lord over all Creatures void
of Reason, as God is over Man."
are
1«8 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book IV.
are ignorant of, . that by viewing the Structure and
Situation of the Parts of tiieir Bodies, and com-
paring together their several Species and Kinds,
he learns his^own Excellency, and how much more
perfect and noble the Frame of the human Body
is, than others ; which, if rightly considered, is
so far from inclining him to worship other Crea-
tures, that he should rather think himself ap-
pointed their God in a Manner, under the Supreme
God.
SECT. VII.
Against the PTorship given io those Things which
have no real Existence.
WE read that the Greeks and Latins, and others
likewise, worshipped Things which had no real
Existence, but were only the Accidents of other
Things. For, not to mention those outrageous
Things, (a) Fever, Impudence, and such like;
Health is nothing else but a just Temperature of
the Parts of the Body ; and good Fortune a Cor-
respondence of Events with the Wishes of Men:
And the Affections, such as' Love, Fear, Anger,
Hope, and the like, arising from the Consideration
of the Goodness or Badness, the Easiness or Diffi-
culty of a Thing, are certain Motions, in that
Part of the Mind, which is most closely connected
with the Body, by Means of the Blood; and they
have no Power of their own, but are subject to
the Command of the Will, which is Mistress of
them, at least as far as respects their Continuance
and Direction. So likewise the Virtues, which have
different Names. Prudence, which consists in the
Choice of what is advantageous : Fortitude, in un-
dergoing Dangers; Justice, in abstaining from what
, (a) Fever, Impudence, and such nice, he."] See TwWyyThir^
Book of the Laws.
is
Sect.?.] timiSTIAN RELIGION. li^'
is not our own ; Temperance, in moderating Plea-
sure, and the like: There is also a certain Disposi-
tion or Inclination towards that which Ss right,
which grows upon the Mind by long Exercise;
which, as it may be increased, so it may be di-
minished by Neglect, nay, it may entirely be ide-
stroyed in a Man. (a) And Honour, to which we
read of Temples being dedicated, is only the Judg-
ment of one concerning another, as endued with
Virtue ; which often happens to the Bad, and not
to the Good, through the natural Aptness of Man-
kind to mistake, {b) Since therefore these Things
have no real Existence, and cannot be compared
in Excellence with those that have a real Exist-
ence; nor have any Knowledge of our Prayers or
Veneration of them ; it is most disagreeable to
(a) And Honovr, to ■whic& vie read, &c.] Tally in the fore-
muntioned Place ; and Livif, Book XXVII.
(6) Since therefore these Things have no real ^Sdstence, &c.]
Perhaps some may explain this Worship of the Heathens in
this Manne/; as to say, that it <vas not so mucli the Things,
which were commonly signified by those Words, that lhe5r
worshipped, as a certain Divine Power, from wliich they
flowed, or certain Ideas in the Divine Understanding. Thus
they may be said to worship a Fever, not the Disease itself,
which is seated in the human Body ; but that Power, which
is in God, of sending or abating a Fever ; to w^)rship Im-
pudence, not that Vice which is seated in the Minds of Men ;
but the, Will of Godj. which sometimes allows Men's Impu-
dence to go on, which he can restrain and punish : And the
same may be said of the rest, as Love, Fear, Anger^ Hope,
which are Passions which God can either excite or restrain ;
or of Firtues, which are perfect in the Divine Nature, and of
which we see only some faint Resemblance in Men, arising
from the Ideas of those Virtues which are most complete in
God. And ofHonoUr, which does not consist so mucli in the.
Esteem of Men, as in the Will of God, who would have Vir-
tue honourable amongst Men. But the Heathens th^niselves
never interpreted this iVIatter thus : and it is'absurd to worship
the Attributes and Ideas of God, as real Persons^ under ob-
scure Names, such as may deceive the common People, It is
much more sincere and holiest to worship the Deity himself
without any ferpiexities, tt Clerc.
right
190 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Beok IV.
right Reason to worship therp as Qojd; and. He is
rather to be worshipped upon their Account, who
can give ps them, and preserye them for us.
; SECT. VIII.
An Answer to the Ohjectton <of the Heathens, takett
from the Miracles done amongst jhem.
THE Heathens used to recornmend their Re-
h'gion,- by Miracles : but they were such as were
liable to many Exceptions. For the wisesfe Men
amongst the Heathens themselves rejecteq many
of them, ia) as not supported by the Testimony of
sufficient Witnesses, (b) but plainly counterfeit :
And those that seem to have been done, came to
pass in some secret Place, in the Night, before one
or two Persons, whose Eyes might' easily be de-
ceived with a false Appearance of Things, by the
Cunning of*the Priests. There were some, which
only caused the People, who did not understand the
Nature of Things, especially their occult Qualities,
to wonder at them ; much in the same Manner,
as if any one should draw Iron with a Loadstone,
before People who kne;w nothing of it ;/and it is
(o) As hot supported by the Testimony, &c.] So lavy, in the
Beginning ; " I do not design either to ^.fiirm or deny those
"Things related before, or upon the Building of the City :
" as fitter for Poetic Fables, than the sincere Memorials of
" Affairs that were transacted: Thus much must be allowed
"Antiquity, that by "mixing human Things with Divine, the
" Original of Cities was rendered the more venerable."
(6) But plainly counterfeit, &c.] It were much better to ac-
quiesce in this Answer, than to allow of their Miracles, or
that such Things were done, as Men could not commonly
distinguish from Miracles ; such as Oracles, Wonders, curing
of Diseases, T.yhich if they were done, could scarce be distin-
guished from true Miracles, at least by the common People.
See what I have said upon this Matter in the Prolegomfna to
my Eccltsiastisal History. Sect. II. Chap, 1. Lt^Urc-
related
Sect. S.] C;HSISTIAli.fiJ;f IGION, 191
related by many, (a} that, tti^e were. t|y^ Arts in
which Simon and ^polloniu^ Tjanaus were so skilful.
I do not deny, but that some greater than these
were seen, which could r^otbe the Effect of natural
Causfes, by human Power alone; -but they were such
as did not require! a Power truly Divine, that is.
Omnipotent; for these Spirits, w'ho were inferior to
God, and superior to Man, were sufficient for these
Things; because by their Swiftness, Strength, arid
Cunning, they could easily remove distant Things,
and so compound different Sorts of Things, as
to produce Effects which should "be very surprizing
to Men. But the Spirits by whom this was effected,
were not good, and consequently neither was their
Religion good; as is evr^^J: from.' what was said
before, and from this Cpnsideration also, because
they said that they were compelled (^) by certain
Inchant-
(a) That these were the Arts, &c.] Tatian : " Tliere are
"' certain Diseases and Contrarieties of the Matter of which
" we are compounded ; when i these happen, the 'Dcemom
" ascribe the Causes of them to themselves," '
(6) Br/ certain Inchaiitments, &c.}i^Iius the Oracle of i/ec«f«
in Porphyry: ;.
I come, iwcok'd by viell-considted Prayer, .
Such as the Gods have to Mankind reveal'd.
And again,
Why have you call'd the Goddess Hecate
From Heaven ; andforc'd her by a Charm Divine?
And that of Apollo in the same Writer,
Hear me, for I am, fore' d to speak against vy JFill.
These are the Rites of their secret Arts, by which they ad-
dress themselves to 1 kno^y not what Powers, as Arnobius ex-
presses ft, as if they compelled them by Charms to be' their
Servants ; so Clemens explains it. There is a form of their
Threats in JamMichus, Book V. Chap. 5, 6, J- of his Egyp-
tian Mysteries. The same we meet with in Liican, Book IX;
in thft-\Yp,rds of Po«t;?ej/ the Less, and in Eusebius, out of i^r-
fhyry, Book V. Chap. 10. of his Gospel Preparat. Other
Forms
195 OF tHE TRimj OF THfi [Book iVi
Inchantmcnts against theif Will : And yet the
wisest Heathens agree, that there could not possi-
bly be any such Force in Words; but that they
could only persuade, and this according to the
Manner of their Interpretation. And a further
Sign of their Wickedness is, that they would un-
dertake many Times (a) to entice some to the
Love of others, notwithstanding their own En-
deavours against it, either- by false Promises, or
by doing them, some Hurt; (l>) which Things
were forbidden by human Laws, as Witchcraft.
Neither ought any one to wonder that the Su-
preme God should suflfer some Miracles to be
done by evil Spirits ; because they who were al-
ready fallen irom the Worship of the true God,
(c)' deserved to be deluded by such Deceits. But
this is an Argument of their Weakness, that their
Works were not attended with any remarkable
Grood; for if any seemed to be called to Life
again, they did not continue long in it, nor exer-
cise the Functions of living Persons. If at any
Time, any Thing proceeding from a Divine Power
appeared in theSigiit of the Heathen; yet it was
not foretold that it would eome to pass, in order
to prove the Truth of their Religion, so that no-
Forms of Threatnings you have ih Lucan, where he spealis of
Erichthon, and in Papinivs about Tiresias.
(a) To entice some to the Love of others, &c.] See the Phar-
maceutria of Theodritus and Virgil, and the Confession o{ Por-
phyry in Eusebius, Book V. Chap. If. of his Preparat. and
Augustine, Book X. Chap. 11. of his C^y of God. And the
same Porp%>ry against eating living Creatuies, Book II. and
Origen against Celsus, Book VII.
(fi Which Things were forbidden by Jiunian Lmt,kc.1 L.
J^'usdem, Sect. Adjectio D. ad Legem Corneliam de Sicasus 8f
Veneficis, L.si qvis sect, t/ui abortionis. D. de Pteni*. Paidus
Sentenliarum, Lib. V. Tit. XXIII.
(e) Deserved to be deluded by inch Deceits, &c.] J)eut. xiii.
3. 2. TAfM. ij. 9. 10. Ephes. i\. 2i 3.
thing
Sect. 8, 9.3 CHRISTIAN fiELIGtON. Ij)^
thing hinders, but the Divine Power niight pro-
pose to itself sortie other Enrf, widely different
from tWs. For Instance ; suppose it true, that d
blind Man: was testored to his- Sight by Vespdsidh;
it^might be donCj {a) to render him more vene-
rable upon this Acdount ; and that he' might
thereby the more easily obtain \h& Roman Empire ;
arid was therefore chosen by God, to be the Exe-*
•cutioner of his judgments upon the Jews ; and
other like Iteasons there might be for othei-
Wonders, {b) which has no Relation at all ib
Religion.
SECT. IX.
And from Oractes.
AND almost all the same Things tiiay be ap-
pliedy to solve that which they alledge concerning
O^aeles; especially what was before said, that
such Men dd^erved to be imposed upon-, who de-
spised that linowledge, which Reason and ailcietxt
Tradkion suggested to every. Man. Moreover,
(df To-rOider him iMre venerable, &c.]' Tacitus, Hist. IVi
" Mkn5r^Miraclt!s were done, whereby the Favour of Heaveiij
" and the good-Disposition of the Gods towards Fespasian, apf
•^■pearedi" He had saSd before in Hist. I. "We believe that
**'aftet previous good'Lucfc,. the Empire was decreed to Vespa*
" siaa and his 'Children, by the secret Law of Fate, and by
*•- Wonders and Orades." Suetonius ushers in his Relation of
the same Miracles thus. Chap. 7. " There wai a certain Au*
" thority and Majesty wanting, viz. in a new and unthought-o^
" Prince f to which this was added." See the sattte Suetmiut
a jittle before. Chap. V. Josephys says of the same Vespasiahi
Book III. Chap, 27. of the Wars of the Jews, "That God
•* rafised hira up to the Government, ".and foretcdd hini of tlje,
" Sceptre by other Signs."
(fii) Whith'has no'' Relation, &c.] But see the Exanrinktioil ftf
Mitf^dks; ffeigried tobe done in Favour of Vespasidtir aird Jdrfon,
itttikyMti^siastisid Si»tori^,CentutfJl. 13^¥ear. LeClerct
O the
194 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book. IV.
the Words of the Oracles (a) were for the most
Part ambiguous, and such as might be interpreted
of the Event, beit what it would. And if iany Thing
was more particularly foretold by them, there is
no Necessity of its proceeding from ah Omniscient
Being ; because either they were such as might be
perceived beforehand, from natural Causes then
appearing, (h) as some Physicians foretell future
Diseases ; or they might with Probability be con-
jectured, from what we usually see come to pass ;
which we read was often done '(c) by those who
were
(a) Were for the most Pari ambiguous, &c.] See- tlie Places
ofOenomdus, conceruing this Subject, in Euselnus, Book IV,
Chap. 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26. Hence ^/)oWo was by the
Greeks called Ac|>«j Ambiguous, Cicero, in his Second Book of
Divination, says, the Oracles of Apollo were ambiguous and
obscure. " Whichsoever of them came to pass, (sa^s he) the-
" Oracle was true." (Perhaps many of the Oracles werecoun*
terfeited after the Event: And there are many Reasons to sus-
pect, that Abundance of Frauds were used by Diviners ; con-
cerning which, D. de Fontenelle has written an excellent Book
in French, which I refer you to, and what is said in Defence of
it. Vol. "Xlll. of the Choice Library ; and what Antony Van
Dale has written of this Matter above all others, in his Book
of Oracles.)
(4) As some Fhysiciansforetel future Diseases, &c.] Chaki-
dius on Timceus. " Men are forewarned, either by the flying
" of Birds, or by Entrails, or by Oracles, some propitious
•" Dcemons foretelling, who knew all Things that will after-
" wards come to pass ; just as a Physician, according ta the
" Rules of Physic;, declares either Death or Health, and as
" Anaximander and Pherecides did an Earthquake." Pliiiyi
Book II. Chap. 79- , , •
(c) By those who were sTdlful in. civil Matters, &c.] See the
Writers of the Life of Atticus. " A plain Evidence of this
"Thing, besides those Books wherein he (^Cicero) mentions it
" expressly, (which aire published among the common People,)
" are sixteen Volumes of Epistlessentto^«icJW, from his Con-
" sulship to the End of his Day« ; which whoever reads, will
" not think that he wants a complete and regular History of
" tho^e Times ; there is such a full Description of the Inclina*
" tions oi Princes, of the Vices of great Men, and the Alter
' "rations
Sect. 9;] CHRISTI^l^. RELIGION. 155
were skilful in civil Matters. And if at any Time,
God made Use of any of those Works, done by
the Diviners among the Heathens, to foretell such
Things as could have no other real Foundation
but the Will of God ; it did not tend to confirm
the Heathen Religion, but rather to overthrow
it; such as those Things we find (a) in FirgH's
Fourth Eclogue, taken out of the Sibylline Verses $
{h) in which, though unknown to himself, he
describes
"rations in tlie Republic, that these is nothing which is not
"laid open; so that one would easily be led to think Prudence
" to be'a Kind of Divination. For Cicero did not only foretel
" future Things that would happen in his own Life time, but,
" like a Diviner, declared those also that came to pass lately."
Cicero affirms truly of himself, in his Sixth Epistle of his Six-
teenth Book : " In that War, nothing happened ill which I did
" 'not foretell. Wherefore, since 1 who am a public Augur<
" like other Augurs and Astrologers, by ray former Predictions,-
" have confirmed you in the Authority of Augury and Divi-
" nation, you ought to believe what I foretell. I do not make
" my Conjecture from the flying of Birds, nor from the
" Manner of their chirping, as our Art teaches us, nor from.
" the rebounding of the Corn that falls from the Chickens*
" Mouths, nor from Dreams ; but I have other Signs, which
" I observe." Thus Solon foretold that great Calamities would -
come upon Athens, from Munichia. And Thales, that tha
Forum of the Miksi would one Time be in a Place then, despj'*
sed. Plutarch in Solon.
(a) In Yir^Vsfourth Eclogue, &c.] See Augustine's City of
God, Book X, Chap, 27.
(6) Inyohich, though unkilown, &c.] It is now sufficiently
evident, that all the Prophecies of the Sibyls are either doubt*
ful or forged ; wherefore I would not have Virgil, an Inter-
preter of the Sibyl, be thought to have declared a Kind of
Prophecy, without any Design ; like Caiphas, who was igno»
rant of what he prophesied : I know not what Sibyl, or rather
Person under the Disguise of such a one, predicted, that
the Golden Age was a coming; from the Opinion of those
■who thought that there would be a Renovation of all Things,
^nd that the same Things w ould come to pa,ss again/ . See
vihat Groiius h&s said of this Matter, Book II. ISect. 10. and
the Notes upon that Place. Wherefore in this, the Sibyl was
sot a Prephetess, nor did ^^>^,^7 write thence any Prophecies
15S OF THE TRUT'H OP THE [Boakm
deser-ibesi the Commg of Ctirk^, aiwi the BeHefit*
we should receive from him : Thus in- the same
Sibyh, that {a) he was to be acknow-ledged'
as Kingj who was to be truly our King^;
(h) who" was to rise otit of the East, and be
Lord of all Things. (^) The Oracle ©f A^olii^
is ta be seen {df in Por^hytij^; m whkn he-
says^
of Cbnst: See Servius upon the Place, and Isaac Vbssius's In-
terpretation of thajt Eclogue. Le Clerc.
(a) Hewas.ta be aclcnmokdged, as King, 8fc.] Cker» men-
tions him in his Second Book of Divinaiioii.
(&) Jfhowas to rise ouf of the East, &c.] Suetoniu^of Ves-
pas/^, Chap. 4. Tacituj, Hist. 4.
(c) The Ot:acle of, A^yoUo, kc.'],SeeAugusUneoit]iS.Cii^.q'f'
Qoiy Book XX. Chap, 23. andi£j«s6J««'*^Keparaf. Book IV.
Chap. 4. And thesiune PorpAiyjf, in his Booltof the Oraeks,
says, "^The Gd^^ (Apolh) testifies that the, EgyptiamSi Ghal'-
" dmans, Phmnidans,, Lydians., and Hekreivg^ are theyi who
" htive found- out the. Truth," He that wrota the EUiortfl-
tion to the Greeks, amongst the Works, of Justin, quotes this
Osacle :
T,hfi Hpbrpwp imltj afidi C,haldees are wise,
Who truly^ wprs/tiji_ God tli^ eternal Kins.
And this,
Who the fir St _ Mor^talform'd, and^call'dhim Adam.
There are two Oracles oiCato's concejijingjJeisys,, which,:£«^^,
bius, in his. Gospel D^mo^sti;ationtia,nsci;ibed, out, of Porphyry •"
Soiik, of their- Bodies stripf, immortal ate.;
This wise Men knew ; and that whichM. endued
WMhigrtatestWiety, exeehthnLrest:
T-/m Smds' ofpioysMen to. Heaves ascend.,
, Thoughivarious Torments.dOitheir.Badie& vex..
The, same are, m^otioned hyAugu^fine, Book XXIX. C^a^ 2^,
oi' hi^ City of God, out of the, saxxiiC, Por/)/(^rj/ j where he bfmM
another Oracle, ' in, which Apollo, said that the Father wjiom ,the
pioys Hebrews worshipped, was a Law. to all the|,Go|is.
(d) In Porphyry, &c.] This i» justly. enoU^- said upon
Farphyry, atid those who are of- the same Opioion . withi himt
concerniDS
Sett. 9-1 CHRISTi-AN REUGrON. 197
says, the other Gods were aerial Spirits, and
that the one God of the Hebr^s was to be wor-
Shiipped : Which Wferds, if the Wotshlp^ df
iUpblioxihefed, 'they ■cea^ to be his Wbrshippters ;
if they did not obey him, they accused their
God of a Lye. To which liiay be ^dded, that if
these Spirits woald, in their OraekiSi have con-
sulted the Good «tf Manfrkind; they would, above
all Thing*, have proposed to them a geneiM
ilu'le of ijlfe, 'and assumed them of a R&vdrdj
whicfe they who so lived might exipect ; but they
did neither of them. Oh the etmtrar}', (*) they
many Times in their VerSes applauded Kings,
thoc^ never so witked ; (if) decreed £9itirl«
ifonGfifg to Champions, (c) entieed Men to uti-
lawfol iBfinbfaceSj {d) to parsae unjust Gain, (^)
and to tomttAt Mwdet^ whidi niay M Gvvimaasi
by mfcny Instances.
Eoncerning those OacJes, and Jnay fee liwaghjt afe ah Ai^ttment
adMominem, as Logicians cdl it ; but since it does appear, |l)at
tiies'e Oracles were feigned ; nay, there are very good KeaJ-
sons to ^iiiktkey were fictitiyfrs, tHey'oiight tobe t/f flo W'efgiA
' ttiAofogst Christieuii. Lt Ckl-t.
(«) Thty Maiy Tihies in tM( f^riii, &tt,\ fm. illiosi8alM|»
cd by Oenomam in Emebiys's Gospel Preporat. Book V^ <}ha^. .
23, and 35.
(Ji) Decreed Divine Hanotirs to Qkampons^ fi?c.] See {he same
Au&er, Chap.. 32. diCleom'edess which we fend als'o in Ortgin'i
f hfrd fcook agdrniit Ce&W.
(c) Ehtited Min to tmlaiiftil MiffAce^, Sd.} f hKvfds Sfe^wft
{i) Topwiueu/ijiKt&m, &g.] &ki EkmU^'s&dSpSl Pfir
frndt. Book V. Chap. 22.
(e) And to comt^it-Murder, &c.] Oe«oma«« recites Oracles-
of this Kind, wliith youifiay find iti the foV6it»^*Mlofl6ti -J&bok
of EitsebiuSi Chap. 19, and 2J,
SECT.
158 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book IV.
SECT. X.
^he Heathen Religion rejected, because it failed of
its own Accord, as soon as human Assistance was
•wanting.
BESIDES those Things already alledged, the
Heathen Religion affords us a very strong Argu- ,
ment against itself, in that wheresoever human
Force was wanting, it immediately fell, as if its
only Support were then taken away. For, if you
turn yolir Eyes towards all the Christian or Maho»
metan Empires, you will find Heathenism no where
mentioned but in Books: Nay, History informs us,
that in those Times, when the Emperors made use
of Force and Punishment, as the first Emperors
did; or of Learning and Cunning, as Julian did,
to support the Heathen Religion ; even then, it
continually decreased ; no Force being made use
of against it, no Greatness of Family (for it was
commonly believed that Jesus was the Son of a
Carpenter ;) no Flourish of Words, no Bribes (for
they were poor ;) no Flattery, for they on th§
contrary despised all Advantages, and said there
was no Adversity, but they ought to undergo, upon
Account of their Law. And now, hbw weak must
the Heathen Religion be, to be overthrown by
such weak Helps ? Nor did the vain Credulity of
the Heathens only vanish at this Doctrine, (a) but
Spirits themselves came out of Men, at the Name
of Christ; were silenced; and being asked the
Reason of their Silence, (b) were forced to own, that
they could do nothing when Christ was invoked,
(a) But Spirits, themselves cameout of Men, &CC.'] Acts v, ig.
•viii. 7. xvi. 18..
(i) Were forced to own, &c.] Tertullian in his Apology.
$ee also Lucan against false Diviners. ApuUo in Daphne: " This
" Place, Daphne, is filled with dead Bodies, which hinder the
" Oracles." Babylas and other Christian Martyrs died there.
See Chrysmtom against' the Gentiles.
" ^ SECT,
Sect. U.3 CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 199
SECT. XI.
An Ansnioer to this, that the Rise nnd Decay of Re-
ligion is owing to the Stars.
THERE were some Philosophers, who ascribed
the Rise and Decay of all Religion to the Stars ;
but this starry Science, which they profess to know
and understand, is delivered in such different Rules,
(a) that there is nothing certain to be found in-it,
but this one Thing, that there is no Certainty in
it. I do not speak of those Effects, which naturally
follow from necessary Causes ; (^) but of such as
proceed from the Will of Man, which is in its own
Nature so far free, as that no external Necessity can.
be laid upon it : For if the Act of Willing flowed
from such a necessary Impression, (c) that Power,
which we experience in. the Soul, of deliberating
and choosing, would be given us to no Purpose ;
(^ and the Justice of all Laws, and of Rewards
and Punishments, would be entirely taken away ;
because there is neither Blame nor Desert due to
(a) That there is nothing certain to be found in it, &c.] See
the excellent Dissertation of Bardefanes, the Syrian, concerning
this Matter ; which you may find in the Philocalia collected from
Origen, and in Evsebius's Preparat, Book VI. Chap. 10.
(6) But of such as proceed from the Will of Man, &c.] See
Alexander Aphrodisceus's Book concerning this Matter.
(c) That Power which we experience, &c,] See Evsebius's
Gospel Preparat. Book VI. Chap. 6.
(rf) And the Justice of Laws, &c.] See Justin's Apo-
logy II. " If Mankind be not endued with a Powerof choosing
" freely ; to avoid that which is bad, and to comply with that
" which is good ; the 'Cause qf either of them cannot be said
" to be from himsSf." See ' also what follows. And thus
Tatian : "The Freedom of the Will consists in this; that a
"wicked Man is justly punished, because his Wickedness is
' " from himself; anda good Man isrewarded, because he has not
'" voluntarily transgressed the Will of God." To this may be
ad^edCAflta'i/«w'«Disputatiouconceraing this Matterin imceut,
that
OF THE TRUTH OF THE pook IV,
that which is plainly unavoidable. Further, since
some Actions of the Will are evil : If they are
caused by a certain I^ecessity of the Heavens, and
•l>ecaqse God has given *u<5h;9 Poiver to the Hea-
vens and the heavenly 3Q4ies ; it will follow, that
Qod, who is perfectly gppd, (0) is the true Cajise
of moral Evil; and gt the.same Time that he prp-
.fesses his utter Abhorrence of Wjckedness in his
positive Law, he has planted the e^dent and ine-
vitable Cause of it in the Nature of Things ; there-
fore he wills two Things contrary to each other,
viz. that the same Thing should be, and not be i
.and that that should be a Sin, which is done by a
Divine Impulse. (^) It js said by others,, with a
^eater Show of Probability, that first the Air, and
afterwards our Bodies, are affected by the Influence
of the Stars, and so imbide certain Qualities, which
forthempst Part excite in the .Soul Desires an-
swerable to them; and that by these the Will is
enticed, and oftentimes yields to them. But iif
thi& be granted} it makes, nothing to the Question
in Hand. For the Religion of Christ could not
possibly have its Rise frpm the Affections of the
Pody, nor consequently from the Power of thg
^tars; which, as was said, act upon the Mind no
ptherwise than by such Affections ; because this
Religion, in the highest Degree, draws Men off
from thpse Things that delight the Body. • The
(a) Is the tirue Cause of ptoral. Evil, &c,] Plato speaks
against this, in his second jRepwhlic, " The Cause is from
him that chooses, God is ■ not the Cause." Thus Chakidius
translates it mTimaus, which Justin, in the foremeDtfoned
Place, says, agrees with l^mes.
(fi\It is said by others with a greater S,hoxB ofProhahility., fee,]
But they speak most truly, who deny any such Influence, at all ;
and acknoiyledge nothing else in the Stars but Heat and ^ight j
io which we may add, their Weight resulting from their Bigr
Sess ; but thegp havpi properly §pieajsing^ no Relation to th^
Jind. I^CJ^c.
V wisest
S»ct. n, 12.] CHRISTIAN JIEUOION, 201
wisest ,Astnologers do (a) except truW knowing
apd good Men from theXaw of the Stars t and
such were they who first proposed the Christian
Religion, as their Lives plainly shew : ,And if vsfi
altpw & Pow.er in Leacmng and Kjiowle^e, to
hinder their Bodies from being thus infected-;
there always were a«iongst Christians some, Who
might be coTP mended upon this Account. Fur-
ther^ theEiJectg of theStarg, as the most learned
confess, respect only particular parts of the World,
and are ternpomry: But this Keligioo has con-
tinued already for above sixteen huivdned Years,
not only in one, but in very distant Parts of the
World, and such as are under very <iiflFerent
Positions of the Stars.
SECT. XII.
'Tie principal Things of the Christian Religion txert
approved ofhy the wisest Heaihens: And tf there
he^ any Thing in it hard to .he believed, the like is
to ie found amongst the Heathen.
THERE is the less Reason for the Heathens
to oppose the Christian Religion ; because all the
Parts of it are so agreeable to the Rules of Virtue,
that by their own Light they do in a Manner con-
vince the Mind ; insomuch that there have not
beep wanting some amongst the Heathen, who
hav« aaid these Tbi«g« singly, which, in our Reli-
gion, are all put together. For Inst/moe, {b) that
Religion
(a) Except fnili/ knowing and good Mat, &c.] Thus Zoro'-
tfsier: •* Po not increase your fate." And Ftohmceut: " A-
*' wise .Man nia,y avoid many Influences of the Stars."
(b) That Religion does not eonmtin Ceremmks, &c J Measmdef :
With a chau Mind do Sacrifice to God ;
Not to much neat in doiAu^ asput'e in Heart.
Cicero
202 OP THE TRUTH OP THE [Book IV.
Religion does not consist in Cereffionies, but is in
the
Cicero in his Second Book of the Nature of the Gods : " The
" best Worship of the Go3s, which is also the most innocent,
" the most holy, and the most full of Piety ; is to reverence
" them always with a pure, sincere, uncorrupted Mind and
" Expression." And again in his Second Book of Laws : "The
" Law commands us to approach the Gods sincerely ; that is
',' with our Minds, which is all in all." Persius, Sat, II.
This let^s offer to the Gods (which blear'd
, MesSala's Offspring can't, with all their Cost,)
Justice and Bight in all our secret Thoughts,
An nndissembled Virtue from the Breast :
Bring thfse, and what you please, then sacrifice.
These Verses seem to have Respect to the Pythian Oracle,
Vvhich we find in Porphyry's Second Book against eating. living
Creatures ; where any Thing offered by a pious Man, is pre-
ferred to Hecatombs of another. In the same Book Porphyry
has these Words to the like Purpose : " Now they esteem him
'' not fit to offer Sacrifice worthily, whose Body is not clothed
" vvith a white and clean Garment ; but they do not think it
*' any great Matter, ifsome go to Sacrifice, having.their Bodies
" clean, and also their Garments, though their Minds be not
" void of Evil : As if God were not most delighted with the
" Purity of that which in us is most divine, and bears the
" nearest Resemblance to him. For it is written in the Tem-
" pie of Epidaurus,
. Let all who come to offer (^t this^ Shrine
Be pure; so we command.
" Now Purity consists in holy Thoughts." And a little after :
" No mortal Thing ought to be offered or dedicated to God,
" who, as the wise Man said, is above all ; for every Thing
"material is impure to him who , is immaterial; wherefore
" Words are not proper to express ourselves by to him,
" not even internal ones, if polluted by the Passions of
" the Min4." And again : " For it is not reasonable that
" in those Temples which are dedicated to the Gods by
" Men, they should wear clean Shoes without any Spots ;
" and in the Temple of the Father, that is, in this World,
" not keep their inner " Clothes (which is the Body) neat,
" and converse with Purity in the Temple of their Father."
Neither can I omit what follows out of the same Book:
•' Whoever is persuaded, that the Gods have no Need
" of these (Sacrifices) but look o^ily to the Manners of
" those
Sect. 12.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION.' , 203
the Minds ; {a) that he who has it in his Heart to
commit Adjiltery, is an Adulterer : (^) that we
" those-who approach them, esteeming right Notions of thera
" and of .Things, the best Sacrifices ; how can such an one he
" otherwise than'Sober, Godly, and Righteous ?" Where we
find these three known Words of Paid, Tit. ii, €. Sober^^
Righteously, and Godly. Charondas, in his Pieface to the Laws:
" Let your Mind be void of all Evil ; for the Gods defight
*' not in the Sacrifices and Expences of wicked Men, but ija
*' the just and virtuous Actions of good Men." ^-^enecdf
quoted by Lactantius in his Institutions, Book Xi. Chap, 2-!,.
" Would you conceive God to be Great, Propilious, and to
" be reverenced, as meek in Majesty, as a Friend, and iilways
"at hand? You must not worship him with Sacrifices, and
" Abundance of Blood, but with a pure Mind, and an upright
" Intention." To the same Sense is that of Dion Prds(eensis,
Orat. 3. Thucydides, Book I. " There is no other Festival,
" but a Man's doing his Duty." Diogenes : " Does not a good
" Man think every Day a Festival ?"
(a) Tliat he who has it in his Heart, &c.] Thus Ovid:
He tcho forbears only because forbid.
Does sin ; his Body's free, his Mind is stain' d :
Were he alone, he'd he an Adulterer.
Seneca the Father: " There is such a Thing as Incest, without
•' the Act of Whoredom; viz. The Desire' of it." And iu
another Place : " She is reckoned amongst Sinners, and not
f without Reason, who is modest out of Fear, ^nd not foi-
■»' Virtue's Sake." ■
(&) That V)e ought not to rtturn an Injury, &c.] Se^ Plato's
Priton, and Maximus Tyrius's Second Dissertation, Menander;
Gorgias, he's theverxj best of Men,
Who can forgive the greatest Injuries.
Ariston Spartianus : " To a certain Person who said tluit it
*' was a princely Thing to do good to Friends, and Evil to
" Enemies : ' Rather, answered he, to do Good to Friends,
'' and to make Enemies^ Friends." And the same Dion, the
Deliverer of Sicily, in Plutarch says : that a true Demonstra»
tion of a philosophical Disposition consists not in anyone's
being kind to his Friends'; but when. he -is injured, in being
easily entreated, and merciful towards those who have offended
him.
ought
204 OF THE' TRUTH OF THE fBobk IV.
ought not to return an Injury ; (a) that a Husband
ought to have but one Wife ; {h) that th6 Bands
of Matrimony ought not to be dissolved ; (c) that
it is every Man's Duty to do Good to another,
(i/) especially to him that is in Want; (e) that, as
much as possible. Men ought to abstain from
Swearing;
(a) Tkat a Husband ought to have but one Wife, &c.J See
■what is before quoted out of Saliust and others, about this
Matter. Euripides In his Adromache :
It is III no Mehnsjit
One Man should o'er two Women hace the Rule :
One nuptial Bed will a wise Man suffice.
Who would have all Things regulceted Well.
And more to the same Purpose, and in the Chorus of the same
Tragedy.
(b) That the Bands of Matrimony ought not to be dissolved, &c.i
Soitwas amongst \X\eRomans till the five hundred and twentieth
Year of the City, as Valerius Maximiis informs us, Book III.
■ Chap. 1. Anaxandrides to tlie same Purpose :
'Tis shameful thus for Men to ebb and flow.
(c) That it is ecery Man's Duty to do Good to another, kcJ]
Terence's Self-Tormenter :
I am a Man, and think every Thing humahe belongs to tne. •
" We are by natur§ related to each other," says Floreniinus
the Lawyer, L. ut vim. D. de Jvstitia, And this is the Mean-
ing of the Proverb, " One Man is a Kind of a God to an-
" other." Cicero, in his First Book of Offices, says, there is
a mutual Society betwixt Men, all of them being related to
one another,
(d) Especially to Mm that is in Want, &c.] Horace, Book II.
Wretch ! why should any want, when you are rich ?
In Minus :
Mercy procures strong Security,
(e) Tkat as much as possible Men ought to abstain from Swear-r
ing, &c.] Pythagoras: "We ought not to swear 'by the
" Gods, but endeavour to make ourselves believed without
" an Oath." Which is largely explained by Hierodes, on
bis Golden Verses. Marcus Antoninus, Book III. in his De-
scription
Sect 12i] CTIRISTIAN RELIGION. 2ff5
Swearing'; («) that in Meat and' Clothes, they
otig+ifc to be content with- what is necessary to- sup-
ply Nature* And if there be any Thing in the
Ghristian Heligiotii difficHlt to be believed, the
like- is to- be found amongst the wisest of the Hea-
thens, as we have before mad« appear, with re-
spect to the Immortality of the Soul, and Bodies
being- restored to- Life again. Thus Piatn, taught
by the €kaid^ms, {S) distinguished the Divine
Nature
Bcriptton of a, gooi^ Man,, says, " such one needs no Oath."
Sophoctes- in- h is Otdipm Coloneus- :
I •mould' not have you swear, hepause 'tis had.
Clinius the FytKagorean would sooner lose three Talents in a
Cause, than affirm the Truth with an Oath. The Story is re-
lated by Basilius concerning reading Greek Authors.
{a) That ill Meat and Clothes, Sec] .Euripides:
There are but two Things which Mankind do want,
A. Crust c^Br^ead, and Draught of' Spring Water;
Bothofmidt are near, and. st^icefar L^'e.
And Lucan :
There is enough of Bread and Diink'for all.
And Aristides:
We want nothings but GiatAeSf. Sauces,,, ami Food^
{b y Mstin^ished the Dimne Nature,, &c.] See Plato's Epistlfi
tctDiQnymiS. 6Mo calls the first Principle the Father, theseeond
PHncipfe the Cause or Governor of all Things, in his Epistla
to Hernias, Eroitus, and Coriscus. The same is called the Mind
By Ptotinm, i n- his Bbok. of the three Principal Substances. Nu-
meniu-^ calls it the Workman,, and also the Son : And Ameltus
the Word^, as you may see in Eiisebius, Book XL. Chap. 17,
IS, 19. Se^ also Cyril's Third,. Fourth, and Eighth Books
against Julian. Chalcidius on Timaus, cdls the first the Su-
preme God ; the second, the Mind, or Providence ; the
tbrrdi the Soul o£ the WorW, or the Second Mindi In
aaetber Ptece- he distingwishes tWese three thus: The
Contriver, the Commander, and the Effeeter. He speaks
thus- of the second : " The Reason of God, is God
"consulting the Affairs- of Men; which is the Cause of
"Men's living well and happy, if they ^o not negleet that
« Gift
it&& OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Bbok IV,.
Nature into the Father; the Father's Mind,
wJiich he also calls a Branch of the Deity, the
Maker of the World ; and the Soul, which com-
{irehends and contains all Things. That the "Di-
-vine Nature could be joined with the Human,
(a) Julian, that great Enemy to the Christians,
believed, and gave an Example to ^scula^ius,
who he thought came from Heaven to deliver to
Men the Art 'of Physic. Many are offended at
the Cross of Christ; but what Stories are there
which the Heathen Authors do not tell of their
Gods ! Some were Servants to Kings, others were
struck with Thunder-bolts, ripped up, wounded.
And the wisest of them affirmed, that the more
Virtue cost, the more delightful it was. {b) Plato,
m
" Gift which the Supreme God has bestowed on them. The
" Pythagoreans iiiixga to the Supreme God the NumberThree,
" as perfect," says ServiuS, on the Seventh Eclogue. Not
much differing from which, is that of J ristotle, concerning the
same Pythagoreans, in the Beginning of his First Book of the
Heavens. (This is more largely handled by the very learned
&, Cudtmrth, in his English Work of the Intellectual System
of the World, Bbok I. Chap, 4. which you will not repent
consulting.)
(a) Julian, that great Enemy to the Christians, &c.] Book
"VI. '* Amongst those Things which have Understanding,
•' Jupiter produced Msculapius from himself, and caused him
*' to appear upon Earth, by means of the fruitful Life of the
•' Sun ; he, taking his Journey from Heaven to Earth, ap«
" peaked in one Form in Epidaurus." Thus Porphyry, as Cyril
relates his Words in his forementioned Eighth Book : " There
" is a certain kind of Gods, which in proper Season are trans-
" formed into Men." What the Egyptians' Opinion of this'
Matter was, see Plutarch, Sympos. VIII. Qucest. I. to which
may be added that Place of Acts xiv. 10. J '
(J) Plato, in his Second Republic, &c.] The Words are
these, translated- from the Greek : " He will be scourged,
** tormented, bound, his Eyes burnt out, and die by Cruci-
" fixion, after he has endured all those Evils." Whence he
tad that, which he relates in his. Third Book of Republic :
*' That a. good Man will be tormented, furiously treated,
" have
Sect. 12.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 207
in his second Republic,' says in a Manner pro-
phetically, that for a Man to appear truly good,
it is necessary that his Virtue be deprived of all its
Ornaments, so that he may be looked upon by
others as a wicked Man, may be derided, and at
last hanged : And certainly to be an Example of
eminfent Patience is no otherwise to be obtained.
"have his Hands cut off, his Eyes plucked out, will be
" bound, condemned, and burnt." tjactantius in his Instil
/ufioR*, Book VI. Chap. 17. haspreserved this Place of 5f«eco;
" This is that virtuous Man, who though his Body suffer Tor-
" ments in every Part ; though the Flame enter into his Mouth,
•' though his Hands be extended on a Cross ; does not regard
" wliht he suffers, but how well." Such an one Euripides ie<-
presents to us in these Verses:
Bum, scald this tender Flesh } drink your full Glut
Of purple Blood. Sooner may Heaven and Earth
Approach each other, and bejdn'd in one.
Than I mi your express a flattering Ward.
To which that of Mschylus, mentioned by Plato, in the fore-
cited Place, exactly agrees :
He strives to. be, not to be thought, the best;
Deep-rooted in Ms Mind he btars a Stock,
Whence all the wiser Counsels are deriv'd.
BOOK
20« OF TflE TRUTH OF THE (tookV;
BOOK ¥.
SECT. I.
A . Confutation of Judaism, ieg'mnirig njbith an A0'
dress to the Jews.
"{CfOWwe ar6 coming, out of the thick' tJark-
ness of JEJeathenism- : the Jewish Religfc)n»
which is a Part and the. Beginning of Truth, ap-
pears taus^ much likeTwiligJit t&a PersoH' gra-
dually advancing out of a very dai'k Cave : Where-
fore I desire the Jews, that they would ftdt lock
upon us as Ad-vfeCsaries;. W'e know very well^
(a) that they are the Offspring of holy Meny wh©nft
God often visited by his Prophets aad his Asgels ;
that the Messiah was born of their Nation, as were
the first Teachers of Christianity : Thfey were the
Stock into which we were grafted ; to them were
committed the Oracles of God, which we respeqt as
much as they ; and with Paul put up our hearty
Prayers to God for them, beseeching him that that
Day may very speedily come, {i) when the Veil
which now hangs over their Faces, being taken
off, they, together with us, may clearly perceive
(e) the fulfillmg of the Law ; and when, according
to the ancient Propheqies, many of us, who are
(a) That they are the Offspring of holy Men, &e.] This, and
what follows, is taken out of the ixth, xth, and xith, of the
Romans; to which may be added Matt. xv. 2.
(i) When the Veil, &c.] 2 Cor. iii. 14, 15, \6.
(c) The fulfilling of the Law, &c.] Cor. iii. 24. viii. U.
T^-^ xiii. 24i.
Stranger^,
Sect.l,^^.] 'CHRISTIAN RELtGION. 2O9
Strangers,, shall lay bold' of {a) the Skirt of a
Jew\ praying him, that with equal Piety we may
worship that one God, the God of 'Abraham^
Isaac, Andi Jacob. ' . ^ • '
SECT. n.
That the Jews ought to look ufon the Miracles of
Christ as stf^ciently attested.
FIRST, therefore they are Requested not to
esteem that unjust, in another's Cause, which they
think ju§t in their own : If any Heathen shouM
ask them, why they believe the Miracles done bj
Moses ,' 4hey can give no other Answer, but that
the Tradition concerning this Matter has been so
continual and constant amongst them, that it
.could npt proceed from any Thing else but the
Testimony. of those who saw Ihem. Thus, {b)
that the 'widow's Oil was increased by El'isha, \c)
and the iS>ri««. immediately healed of his Leprosy;
{d) and the Son of her, who entertained him, raised
to Life again; with many others ; are believed
by the Jews for no other Reason, but because
they were delivered to Posterity by credible Wit-
nesses. And concerning (*) MUjah's bging taken
up into Heaven, they give Credit to the single
(a) The SkWt of a Jew, &c.] Zechar. viii, 20. and followingi
Js(dah ii. 2. xix. 18. and 24. Micah iv. 2.. Hosea vn. 4. Rom^
'Xi. 25.
(b) That the Widow's OH was increased, &c.] % Kings, Ch. iv*
(c) And the Syrian immediately healed, &c.] Ch. v.
(d) And the Son of her, wha. entertained him, &c.] In the
forementioned ivth Chapter.
(e) Elijah's being taken «jf> into Heaven, &c.] Chap. ii. of the
forecited Book. .^ . •
P Tesjimony
2fia OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book V",
Testimony of Elisha, as a Man beyond allvExcep-
tion. But {a) we bring twelve Witnesses, whose
Lives were unblameable, (^) of Christ's ascend-
Jng into Heaven, and many more of Christ''s beitig
seen upon Earth after his Death ; which, if they
be true, the Christian Iteptrine mast of Necepsity
be true also 5 and it is plain that the Jews can say
nothing, for. themselves but what will hold as
Stfong or stronger for us. But, to pass by Testi-
monies : (c) the Writers of the Talmud and the
Jews themselves own the miraculous Things done
by Christ ; which ought to satisfy them : For God
cannot more effectually recommend the Authority
of any Doctrine delivered by Man, than by work-
ing Miraclesv
SECT. III.
An Answer to the Objection, iliai those Miractes
were done ly the Help of Devils.
BUT some say, that these Wonders were done
by the Help of Devils : But this Calumny has
been already confuted from hence ; that a& soon
as the Doctrine of 'Christ was made known, all
the Power of the Devils was broken. What is
added bysome, that Jesus learned Magical Arts in
Egypt, carries a much less Ajapearance of Truth,
than the like Objection of the Heathen against
Moses, which we find in \d) Pliny and {e) Apu-
(a) We bring twelve Witnesses, &c.] Mark xvi. 19. Luke
*xiv, 53. Acts i,
(b) Of Christ's ascending into Heaven, &c.} Matt, xxriii.
Mark. xvi. Luke xxiv. John. xx. xxi. 1 Cor. xv.
(c) The Writers-qfthe Talmud, &Cy] . See what is quoted,
Bdok. II. , .
((f) In. Pliny, &c.] Book XXX. Chap. 1.
(«) 4ni Apuleius^ &c,] In his second Apology, \
Itius^
Sect. 30 CHRISTIAN RELIGION. •• CM'
leiss. For'it does riot appear, but from the Book^
of his Disciples, that Jesus ever was in Egypt ; and
they add, that he returned from thence a Child,
But it is certain that Moses spent a great* Part of
his Tiitie, when he was grown up, in Egypt, both-
(4) from his own Account, {b) and the Relation
of others. But the Law of .each of them strongly
clears both Moses and Jesus fropn this Crim.e, \c)
because they expressly forbid such Arts as are
odious in the Sight qf God. And if iti the Times
of Christ and his Disciples there had been any
such Magical Art any where, either in Egypt, or
other places, whereby those Things related -of
Christ, could be done ; such as dumb Men being
suddenly heialed, the Lame walking, and Sight
given to the Blind ; the Emperors {d) Tiberius^
{e) Nero, and others, who would hot have spared
any Cost in inquiring after such Things, would
undoubtedly have found it out. And if it be true,
(f) what the Jews report, that the Counsellors of
(ju) Tromhisown, iic] Ejodw ii. iy. and following.
, If)) And the Relatioiiqf others, kcJl Maneihon, CAxremori,
Lysimaclms in Josephun's First Book against Appion, and Justin
and Tacitus.
(c) Because they expressfy forbid such Arts, lie.] Exod.xxu,
28. jDewY. XX. 6. 7. Numb. xxn\. 23. Deut. xviii. 10. I Sam.
xxviii. 9. 2 Kings xvii. 21. 6. Acts xni. 8, 9, 10. xvi. 18.
xix. 19: ' • . ■
(d) Tiberius, &C.'] Tacitus; Annal. XVI. Sji^tonius in his
Life, Chap. 63, and 69.
(«) Nero,&c.'] Concerning whom P/iny, Book XXX, Chap.
11. in his History of Magic, says, "He had not a gl-e^ter
" Desire after Musical and Tragical Singing." And after-
wards: " No Man favoured any Art with greater Cost; for
" these Things he wanted neither Riches^ Abilities, norDis-
" position to learn." Presently after, he relates how he was
initiated into the magical Suppers of King Tiridates. ^ ^
ffj What the Jsv/s report, kc.y See the Talmud, entitled,
Cmieerning the Comcil ; and that Concerning the Sabbath.
V 2 the
iti , Gt THE TRtJTH OF THE [Bopk V.
the gi'eat Council were skilled in Magical Arts,
in order to convict the Guilty ; certainly they
who were so great Enemies to Jesus, and so much
envied his RepQtation, which contjnually increased
by his Miracles, w^ould have done the like Works
fey some Art ; or have made rt plain by urideniabk
Argunients, that his Works coald proceed from'
ftotMng else.
SECT. W.
Or hy the Power of JP^ords.
SOME of the Jews ascribe the 'Miracles of
Jesus to a certain secret Name, which was put inttf
the Temple by Solomon, and kept by two Lions
for above a thousand Years, but was conveyed
thence by Jesus j which is not onfy false.^ but an
impudent Fiction; Fof, as to the Lions, which
is so remarkable and wonderful a Thing,; neither '
the Book of the Kings, nor the ChfonicieSi nor Jo-
sephus, mentions any Thing of them : Nor did the
Romans, who before the Times of Jesus entered
the Temple with Pomfey, find any such Tbing.^
SECT. V.
Thai the Miracles of Jesus ixiere divine, proved fr^utt
'hence ; heeause he taught the: tVorship of one Gody
the Mdier^ of the World.
NOW, if it be granted that Miracles were
done by Christ,! which the Jews acknowledge;
we affirm, that it follows from the La\^ of Mcjf*
itself, that we ought to give Credit to him : For
God ha9 said in the iviiith Chapter of Demerty-
nomy, that he would raise up other Prophets be-
sides Moses-, which the Peoyle were to hearken'
to J
Sect. 4, 5.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. SI3
to ; and threatens heavy Punishments if they did
not. (tf) Now the mpst certain Token of a Pro-
phet, is Miracles ; nor cap any Thing be con-
ceived more flagrant. Yet it is said, Deut. xiii.
that if any one declares himself to be a Prophet,
by working Wonders, he i« not to be hearkened
to if he entices the People to the Worship of new
Gods : For God permits such Wonders to be
done, only to try whether his People be firmly
established in the Worship of the true God. From
which Places compared together, (^) the Hehnv?
Interpreters rightly collected, (^) that every one
who worked Miracles, was to be believed, if he
did not draw them off from the Worship of the
true God, for in that Instance only, it is declared,
that no Credit is to be given to Miracles, though
never so remarkable ones. Now Jesus did not only
not teach the Worship of false Gods, but on the
contrary {d) did expressly forbid it as a grievoss
Sin ; and taught us to reverence the Writings of
Moses f and those Prophets which followed him:
So that nothing can be objected against his Mira^
cles; for^hat some object, that the Law of Jesus
in some Things diftisrs from that of Moses, is not
-sufficient.
(a) Now the most certuin Token, &c.] And the foretelling
future Events, which may justly be reckoned amongst Mirac
cies, Deitt. xviii, 22.
(6) The Hebrew Interpreters, &c.] See Moses, Maimonides,
and others quotedin Manasses'sCmiciliator, Quest, IV. onDeut.
(t)' That every one -who worked Miracles, ice] And whose
Prophesies came to pass ; this Arguuient is sttongly urged iu
Chrysostom's Fifth Discourse against the Jews ', and Sn his Dis-
course concertsing Christ's Divinify, VI. Tom. Savil,
{d) Did exprexsly forbid it, kc.^ Matt. xii. 29, 32, John
xvii. 3. Acts XV. 28. 1 CV. v. 10, IJ, 18. n. 9. x. 7. xii. 2.
^Cor.y'i.lS. \TkK,y.$. lJo)mv.2\.
SECT.
2i4 OF THE TRUTH OF^THE [Book V,
SECT. VI.
jin Answer to the Objection, drawn from the^Dip
ferenc6 ietwijci the Lais/ of Moses, and the Law
p/" Christ ; inhere it is shown, that there might' h.e
given a more'perfect Law than that o/Mpses,"
For the Hebrew Doctorg themselves lay doyva
this Rule {a) for the Extent of a Prophet's Power,
that is, of one that works Miracles ; that he may
surely violate any Sort of Precept, except that of
the Worship of one God, And indeed the Power
of making Laws, vvhich is in God, did not cease
upon his giving Precepts by Moses ; nor is any
one, who has any Authority to give Laws, thereby
hindered from giving pthers contrary to them. The
Objection of God's Immutability is nothing to the
Purpose, for we do not speak 6f the Nature and
Essence of God, but of his Actions. Light is
turned into Darkness, Youth, into > Age, Sumrner
iato Winter ; whicii, are all the Acts of 'God.
Formerly God allowed to Adam all other Fruit,
{b) except that of one Tree, which he forbad him,
viz. because it was his Pleasure. He forbad kill-
ing Men in general, (f) yet he commanded Abra-
ham to slay his Son. : {d) He forbad some, and ac-
cepted other SacrificeSi, distant from the Taber-,
nacle. Neither will jt follow, tl^at because the
.(c) "Eur the Eiptenf of a Prophet's Power, &c:] This Rule is
laid (lo»;n in tire Talmud, entitled, Cancei^ning the Council.
Thus at the Commq.ud oi Joshua, the La\y of the Sabbath was
broken, Jos. v. And the Prophets often sacrifice^ out of the
Place appointed by the Lavy, as Samitel, 1 S^m. vii. '^7. xiii. 8.
and Elijah, 1 Kings xviii. 38.
(b) Except thit of one Tree, &c.J Gen. ii. 17.
(c) Yet he commanded Abraham, &c.J Gen, xyii, 2,
(d) He forbad some, and accepted, others, &c.J As we sai^
just before.
Sect. 5.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. SIJ
jLaw given by Moses was good, therefore a better
could not be given. Parents are want to lisp with
their Children, to wink at theiFaults of their Age,
to tempt them to learn with a Cake: But as they
■grow up, their Speech is corrected, the Precepts
.of Virtue instilled into them, and they are shewn
the Beauty- of Virtue, and what are its Rewards.
(a) Now that the Precepts of the ]Law were not
absolutely perfect, appears from hence; that some
holy Men in those Times, led a Life more perfect
than those Precepts required. Moses, who allowed
revenging an injury, partly by Force, and partly
by demanding Judgment; when himself was al-
ilicted with the worst of Injuries, {b) prayed for
his Enemies, {c) Thus David was willing to
have' his rebellious Son spared, {d) and patiently
bore the Curses thrown upon him. Good Men
are no where found to have divorced their Wives,
though the Law allowed them to do it. (<?) So
that Laws are only accommodated to the greater
Part of the People; and ia that state it was rea-
(a) Nmo that the Precepts of the Law, &c.^ Heb. viil. 7.
(6) Prayed for his Enemies, &c,.] Exod- xxxii. 2, 12, 14, 31.
Numb. x\. 2. xii. 13. xiv. 13, and followipg Verses, xxi. 7, 8.
Deut. ix. J 8. 26. xxxiii.
(e) Thus David was witling, &C,] 2 ISam. xviii. 5.
(d) And pdfiently bore the Cvrses, *:c.] 2 Sam. xxi. 10.
(e) So that the Laws are only accommodated, ^c] Qrigen
against C^sus, Book III. ""As a certain Lawgiver said to
•" one who asked hira, if he gave to his Citizefis the most
^« perfect Laws ; not, says he, the most perfect in themselves,
*' but the best they caa bear." Poryhyry, Book I. against
eating living Creatures, concerning Lawgivers, says thus : If
-" they have Regard to the middle Sort of Life, called Natural,
^' and according to what is agreeable to most Men, who mea-
^ sure Good and Evh jby external Things, which concern the
" Body : If, I say, with this Vfew they make Laws ; what
" Injury.is done to Life, if any one adds something more ex-
''cellent than this?" , , ,
sonable
2lS OF THE TRUTH OF TffE [BookV,
sSftalble Some Things should be overlooked^ which
were then to be deduced to a mofe perfect Rule,
when God, by a greater Power of- his Spirit; was
to gather to himself ia new PeoJ)le out of all Na-
tions. And the Rewards which were expressly
pfottised by the Law of Moses, do all regard this
mortal Life only : Whence it must be confessed,
(a) that a Law better than tbi# might be given,
which should {propose everlasting Rewards, riot
lindter Types and Shadows, but plainly anii Openly,
9S we say the LavV of Christ does.
SECT. VIL
The Law q/" Moses was observed by Jesus when on
Earth, neither ivas any Part of it abolished after-
•mards, but on those Precepts which had no intrin-
sic Gaodnes's, in them,
^ WE may here observe by the way, to shew
the Wickedness pf those. Jetps who lived in our
Saviour's Time, that Jesus was very basely treat-
ed by them, and delivered tip to Punishment,
wben they could not prove that he had done any
Thing contrary to the Law. (b) He Was ciVcum-
cised, (f), made use of the Jewish Meats, (d) was
cloathed likie them ; (e) those whq were cleans^
from their Leprosy,, he sent to the Priests ; (f) he
(a) Thfit.aliavi better than tliist &c.] Heb. viT. I9. 22.
viii. 6. 2 Tim. i. 10.
(6)- He a!fl« drcamciierf, &c.] Luke i\. 21.
(c) Made me of the Jevihh Meats, &c.] Gal. iv, 5.
(d) 4Fa& cloathed like them, fee] Matt, ix, 20,
(e) Those who were cleansed, &c,] Matt, viii, 4^ Marh. i. 44.
Jjuke V. 14.
~(f) iSe religiously observed the P'asSover,^c.'] Luke ii. 41,
j^siIb i). 13, 23. xi. 5$. :fii. 1. John vii, 2
religiously
Sect. 7.] ' CHRrSTlAN RELIGION. 217
Religiously observed the Passover, and other Festi-
"tf-al Days, If*he healed any on the Sabbath Day,
he made it appear, (<?) not only from the^ Law,
(^) but from their received Opinions, that such
Works were not forbidden on the Sabbath. He
then first began (c) to discover the abrogating some
Laws, when he had overcome Death, was ascended
iflto Heaven, had endued his Disciples with re>-
markable Grifts of the Holy Spirit^ and had shewn
by those Things, {d) that be had obtained a
kingly Power, (e) in which is included an Autho-
rity to make Laws, according to that Prophecy
of Daniel, Chap, rii, and Viii, the viiith'atid xith
being compared together; who foretold, that after
the overthrow of the Kingdoms oi Syria and Egypt,
(the latter of which came to pass under Augustus)
God would give to a Man, (/) who should appear
to be anordinary Person, a Kingdom extending
to the People of all Nations and Languages, and
which should never have an End. Now thdt Part
of the Law,' the Necessity of which was taken
awdy by Christ, did not contain in it any Thing in
its own Nature virtuous; but consisted of Things
indifferent in themselves,, and therefore not unaL
terable: For if there had been any Thing in the
Nature pf those Things to inforce their Practice,
(<t) Not mlyfrom ike Lcm^ &c.] Matt, xii 5.
(6) But from their received Opinie/is, &c.] Matt. xii. 11.
(c)- To^scaver the abrogating, he."] Acts -a. Colos. ii. 14,
id) That he had obtained a kinglif Poi^r, &c.] Acts ii. 35,
iier. i, 5.
(e) In which is included, &c.] James i.2.'t.
ff) iVho should appear to be an ordinary Person, &c.] Dan,
ii. 45. vii 13. For ihe Son of Man expresses, ill Hebrew, a
pertam Meanness ; and sq the Prophets are called, cobipared
^yith Ang'^Jsi ''s '^ observed by Jachiades, on Dqn. x. l6,
Qod
218 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book V,
God would have prescribed' them {a) to all the
Worldj and not to one People only; aad that from
the very Beginning, and not two thousand Years
and more after Mankind had beea created. Abel,
Enoch, Noah, Melchisedech, Job, Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, and all the enrtinently pious Men, who
were so beloved of God, were ignorant of all, or
almost all this Part of the Law; and yet neverthe-
less they received Testimony of their Faith to-
wards God, and of his divine Love towards them.
Neither did Moses advise his Father-in-law Jethrn
to perform these Rites, nor Jonas, the NinevkeSy
nor did the other Prophets reprove the Chaldeans,
Egyptians, Sidonians, Tyrians, Idumaans, and Moab'
ties, to whom they wrote, for not embracing them,
though they particularly enumerate their Crimes.
These Precepts, therefore, were particular, and in-
troduced either to hinder some Evil, {b) to which
the J-ews were especially inclined, or for a Trial df
their Obedience, or to signify some future Things.
Wherefore there is no morfe Reason to wonder at
their being abolished, than at a King's abrogating
some municipal Laws, in order to establish the
same Ordinances all over a Nation : Neither can
there be any thing aliedged to prove that God
(a) To all the World, and not to one People only, fee,-] So far
from that, that some Laws, such as those of First Fruits,
Tithes, Assembling upon Festivals, relate expressly to the
Place of Judea only, whitter it is certain all Nations could not
<;ame. See Exodus xxjtiii. Ip. and xxxiv. 26. Deut. xxvi. 2,
and what follows. Also Deut. xii. 5. and following, xiv. 23,
'and following. Also Exodus xxiii. 17. xxKiv. 2, 23, 2^.
Deut. xvii l6. The iijost ancient Custom interpreted the Law
of Sacrifices in the~same Manner. The Talmud, entitled,
Concerning the Councils, and that entitled Ckagiga, tells us''
that the Law of Moses was given to the Hebrews only, and not
to Strangers. See Mijiimonides on Deut. xxxiii. and Becliai,
{b) To which the Jews were especially inclined, &c,] Peing
very much addicted to Ri.tes, and, on that Account, prone
to Idolatry. This the. Prophets every where show, especially
Ezekiel xvi.
had
■Sect. 7.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. . 219
had obliged himself to make no Alteration herein.
Forif it be said, that these Precepts are still perpe-
tual ; (a) Men very often make use of this Word,
when they would signify only, that what, they com-
mand in this Manner, is not limited for a YearV
Continuance, (b) or to a certain Time; suppose of
War or Peace, accommodated to the Scarceness of
Provision ; now this does nbt hinder but that they
may appoint new Laws concerning these Matters,
whenever the public Good requires it. Thus the
Precepts which God gave to the Hebrews, were
some of them temporary, (c) only during the Con-
tinuance of that People in, the Wilderness; (d)
others confined to their Dwellings in the Land of
Canaan. That these might be distinguished from
the other, they are called Perpetual ; by which
may be meant, that they ought not to be neglected
any where, nor at any Time/ unless God should sig-
nify his Will to the contrary. Which Manner of
speaking, as it is common to all People, the He-
brews ought the less to wonder at, because they
know that in their Law, that is called {e) a
perpetual Right, and a perpetual Servitude, which
-conti-
(a) Men very often make vse of this W<yrd, &c.] L. Hac
- Edict ali Cod. de ^ecundu Nuptiis. L. Hac hi perpetuum. Cod.
de diversis Prmdis, Libra XL anij in many other Places.
ifi) Or to a certain Time,'&c.'] L. Valerius in Livy, XXXIV.
" The Laws which particular Times required, are liable to be
" abolished, and I find are changed with the Times ; those that
" are made in the Times of Peace, are abrogated in War ;- and
" those made.in War, abrogated in Peace."
(c) Only during the Continuance, &c.J As Exodus xxvii.
Deitl. xxiii. 12.
(d) Others confined to their Dwellings, &c.] Deut, xii. 1, 20.
Numb, xxxiii. 52.
(e) A perpetual Righti &€.'] Exodus Xvi. 6. iSaw. i.22.
And thus Josephus Albo, in his Third Book of Foundations,
Ch. l6. thinks the Wprd af?lj?^ Le-olam in the ritual Law,
may
2^0 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Dook V,
continued only from Jubilee to Jubilee, (a) And
the conning of the Messiah is by themselves called
the falfilling of the Jubilee, oi^ the Great Jiubilee.
And moreovei*, the Promise of entering into a
.lew Covenant is to be found arhongst the old
Prophets, (h) as Jeremiah xxxi; where God pro,
mises that he will make a new Covenant, which
shall be writ upon their Hearts, and Men will have
no need to learrt Religion of each othgr, for it
shall be evident to them all: And moreover, that
he would i^ardon all their past Transgressions :
Which is much the same, as if a Prince,^ after his-
Subjects' had been at great Enmity with each
other, in order to establish a Peace, should take
away their different Laws, and impose upon them
all one common Law, and that a perfect one ;
and for the future promise them Pardon for all
their past Transgressions, upon their Amendment.
Though what has been said might suffice, yet we
will go through every Part of the Law that is abo-
lished ; and shew that the Things are not such as
are in their own Nature well-pleasing to God, or
such as ought to continue always.
SECT. VIIL
^s Sacrifices, which were never accepi&ble to God
upon their own Account. ■ >
THE principal, and which first offer themselves
to us, areSacritTces; concerning whicli riiany jHS?-
jnay be understood. And -Phineas's Priesthood is called, Psal,
cvi. 30, 3), C^^s -W ^d-ijiam,everlastipg. And by the Son
ci Hiradi, XLV. 28, 29, 30. an everlasting Priesthood, anU
1 Mucc. ii. 55. . : ""
(fl) And the coming of the Messiah, &c.] \\\ Perech Chelecle,
and elsewhere, and in ismah\ii\. 2. {Peieck Chtleck is the xith
Chapter of the Tc/mj/d concerning Councils ; but what Grotius
mentions isnot to be "found there, at least in the MiipAwa Text;
these Citations ought to ha've been more exact.)
(b) .4* Jeremiafa xxxi. &C.3 Ver, 31, and following.
4 hrews
Sect. 8.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 221
brews ave of Opinion (a) that they first prpceeded
from the Invention of Men, before they were com-
manded by God. Thus much certainly is evident,
that tht Hebrews were desirous of very, many
Rites ; (b) which was a sufficientvReason why Crop
shouldenjoin them such a Number, upon this Ac-
count, lest the Memory of their dwelling, in Egypt
should cause thera to return to the Woiship of
false Gods. But when their Posterity set a greater
Value upon them than they ought ; as if they
were acceptable to God upon their own Aceount^
and a Part of true Piety ; they are reproved by th^
Prophets : (cj As iQ Sacrifices, says God in David's
(a) That they Jijist .proceeded from the Twoention of Men, &c.]
Chiyaostoh, XII. concerning Statutes, speaking of Abel, says,
" that he offered Sacrifices which he did not learn from any
" other Person, nor did he ever receive any Law, that esta-
•' blisihed any Tiling about •Fifst'fruits; but be had it from
" himself, and was moved to it by his own , Qpnsciienge only."
In the Answer to the Orthodox, in the Words of Jiislin, to
the Eighty-third Query : " None of those who sacrificed
" Beasts to God before the Law, sacrificed them at the Divine
" Command ; though it is etiident that God accepted them,
*' and by such Acceptance discovered that the Sacrifices we^e
" welJ pleasing to him." (This Matter is largely handled by
Dr. Spencer, concerning' the Ritual Law of the Jeies, BookllL
Disc. 2. to which I refer you. Le Clerc.)
(A) IHiich vias a sufficient, Reason, &c.] .This very. Reason
for the Law of Sacrifices, is alledged by Maimonides in his
Guide to the Doubtit/g, Book IH. Chap. 32. TertuUian, against
■-Marcion, Bobk II. " Would you have nobody find Fault with
" the Labour and Burthen of Saccifices, and the busy Scrupu-
" lousncbS of Oblations, as if God truly desired such Things,
" when he so plainly exclaims against them : To what Purpose
" is the Multitude of your Sacrifices ? And who hath required
" them at your Hands ? But \Qi such observe the Care God
" has taken, io oblige a Peopleprone to Idolatry and Sin, to
" be religious } by such Duties as that superstitious^ Age was
" most conversant in, that he might call them off from Super-
"stition, by commanding those Things to be done upon his
*' .'\ccoijnty as if he desired it, lest they should fall to making
'•' Images."
(c) As to Sacrifices, &c.] This is, Groiius's Paraphrase
upon Psalm I. not a literal Trunslation : And so are the fol-
lowing.. Le Clerc.
Fiftieth
222 ' OF THE TRUTH OF TttE ■ [Book V.
Fiftieth Psalmi according to the Hebrew, 1 tuUl
not sfeak to you at all concernirig themt v'lz. that
you shall slay Burnt-offerings upon Burnt-offerings,
^or that Iwill accept young Bullocks or Goats out of
thy Fold : For all the living Creatures, ijuhich feed
in the Forests, and'wander upon the Mountains; are ■
mine ; I number both the Birds and the wild Beasts ;
so that if I be hungry, Ine^d not come to dedliare it
to you ; for the whole .Universe, and every Thing in'
it is mine. Do you think I will eat the Fat of Flesh,
and drink the blood of Goats? No: Sacrifice Thanks-
giving, and offer thy Fows unto i God. There are
some arrjongst the Hebrews, who affirm, that this
was said, because they who offered these Sacrifices
were unholy in their Hearts and Lives. But the
Words themselves, which we have quoted, tell us
the contrary, viz. that the Thing was not at ail
acceptable to God in itself. And if we consider
the whole Tenor of the Psalm, we shall find that
God addresses himself to holy Men ; for he had
before said. Gather my Saints together, and after-
wards, i?«^r, my People. These are the Words
of a Teacher ; then having finished the Words be-
fore cited, he turns his Discourse, as is usual, to
the Wicked: But to the Tricked, said God ; and in
other Places, we find the same Sense. As Psalmi
li. To off^r Sacrifices is not acceptable to thee, neither
art thou delighted with Burnt-offerings : But the
Sacrifice which thou truly delightest in, is a mind
humbled by the Sense of its Faults ; for thou, God,
wilt not despise a broken and contrite Heart : The
like of which is that of Psalm I. Sacrifices and
Oblations thou dost not delight in, but thou secur£St
me to thyself, (a) as if 1 were bored through the Ear ;
thou dost not require Burnt -sacrifices, orTrespass-of-
ferings; therefore have 1 answered, Lo, Icome; and I
(a) As if I were bored, &c.] A Mark of Servitude amongst
the Hebrews,
am
Sect. 8.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 223
am as ready to do fhyWtJl, as any Covenant catf make
me ; for it is my Delight. For' thy Law is fixed in
my whole Heart ; the Praises of thy Mercy, I do not
keep close in my Thoughts ; hut I declare thy Truth
and Loving kindness every where; hut thy Compassion
and Faithfulness do T particularly celehate in the great
Congregation. In Ghap. i. of Isaiah, God is intro-
duced speaking in this Manner : What are so many
Sacrifices to me? I am filled with the Burnt offerings
of Rams, and the Fat of fed 'Beasts ; 1 do not love
the Blood of young Bullocks, of Lamhs, or of Goats,
that you should appear with it before me : For who
hath required this of you, that you shall thus pollute
my Courts ? And Jeremiah vii. which is a like Place,
and may serve to explain this. Thus saith the
Lord of Angels, the God of Israel, ye heap up your
Burnt-offerings withyour Sacrifices, and yourselves
eat the Flesh of, them. For at the Time when 1 first
brought your Fathers up out of Egypt, 1 neither re~
quired nor commanded themany Thing about Sacrifices,
or Burnt offerings. But that which I earnes,tly cotm-
mandedthem, was, that they should be obedient to me;
so would I be their God, and they should he my Peo-
ple; and that they should walk in the Way that I
should teach them, so should all Things succeed pro-
sperously to_ them. And these are the Words oCGod
in Hosea,, Chap. vi. Loving-Jiindness toi/uards Men
{a) is much more acceptable to me than Sacrifices ; to
think aright of God, is above all Burnt-offerings^
And in Micah, when the Question was put, flow
-any Man should render himself most acceptable to
God ? by a vast number of Rams, by a huge
Quantity of Oil, or by Calves of a Year old i
God answers, / will tell you what is truly good and
(a) Is much more acceptable to me, &c.] So the CAaWee In-
terpreter explains this Place.
acceptable
^24 , OP THE TRUTH OF THi: ^ook \\
acceptable .to me, viz. {a) that you render to every Man
h^s Due, that you do Good to others, and that you
become humble and lowly before God: Since there-
fore it appears from these Places* that Sacrifices
are not reckoned amongst those Things wbich are
primarily, and of themselves acceptable to ?God j
liut ihe People, gradually, as is usual, falling' ihtip
wicked Superstition, placed the principal Part of
their Piety in them, and believed that their Sacal-
fices mad^ a sufficient Compensation for thei^Sins:
It is not to be wondered at, if <j6d, in Time, ^b'6-
lisheda Thing in its own Nature indtffet'ent, but
by Use converted into Evil ; especially (i) when
King Hezekiah broke the brazen Serpelit erectfe^
by Moses s because the People began \o worship it
with religious Worship, Nor are there wanting
Propheqies, which foretold that those Sacrifices,
about which the Controversy now Js^ should cease's
Which any one will easily understand, who will
but consider, that according, to the Law of MoUs,
the^Sacnficing was co.nomitted entirely to the Pos-
terity of Aaron, and that only in their own Coun-
try. Now in Psalm ex. according to the Hebrew^
a King is promised, whose Kingdom should be
exceeding large, who should begin his Reign in
8'ton, and who should be a King and a Priest for
ever, after the Order of Melchisedech., And Isafahf
Chap. xix. saith, that an Altar should be seen in
Egypt, where not on\y \he Egypjians, but the As-
syrian^, aho and Israelites should worship Pod; a.iid
Chap. Ixvi. he saith, that theraosft distant N^tionSj
and People of all. Languages, as well as,, the Israel-
ites, should offer Gifts unto God, and out of them
(a) That you render to every Man Ms Due, &c.J Therefore
the Jews ^uy, that the 202 Precepts of the Law are by Isaiah
contracted into si.N,, Chap, xxxiii. 15. by Micah into three in
this Place ; by Isaiahmto iv/o. Chap. Ivi. 1. by Habakkuk iDta
one. Chap. ii. 4 as also by\^wo*, v. 6.
(jb) When Khig Hezekiah, &c,] 2 Kings xviii. 4,
should
Sec^, 8.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION, 22«
should be appointed Priests and Levites ; all
which could not be, (</) whilst the Law of Moses
continued. To these we may add that Place (b)
in MAlachi, Chap. i. wfhere God, foretelling fu^
t4ire Events, says that the offerings of the He-
brews wdbld be an Abomination to hirh ; that
ftom the East to the West, his ^ame should be
celebrated among' all Nations; and that Incense,
and the purest Things should be offered him.
And Daniel in Chap. Ik. relatipg the p^ophedy
of the Angel Gabriel, concerning Christ, says,
tiaf he shall aholish Saer^ces and Offerings : Atid
€r©d has suffieifintly signified, not only by Words,
but by the Things themselves, that the sacrf-
fices, -pi?!ESQribed by Moses, are no longer approved
by him : ■ Since he has su^red the Jews to be
above sijiteen hundred Years without a Temple,
or AltRify or aoy DistinetiotP of Families, whence
they iftight know who those are who ought to per-
form these sacred Rites. ,
(a) WAi/st tjie'Lav) (^Moses continved, &(:,'] Add this Place
of jerenii/, Chap, iii, 16. " In those Days, sailh the Lord,
" tlicy sliull see no more the Ark of. the Covpn^nt of , the
"Lord, neither shaU it come into their Minds, neit^er'shall
" tbeyyemehjher it, neither sliall they visit it, neither shall
" that he done any more." !(Even the Jews themselves could
HO logger obsefve their Law, aftei- they were so much scattered.
For it is impossible that all the Males should go up thrice in a
Year to Jerufalem, according to the Law, Exod, xxiii. J7. fronj
all tjiose Countries which were inhabited by them. This Law
could be given tp noother, than a Pebple not very great, nor
much distant from tlie Tabernacle; Le Ciere.J
(J>) Malacki, Chap. L &C.] See Chrysttst urn's excellent Para-
graph upon thi^ Place, in Jfeus S|j:pti* pi^cpiirse against the
Ci^Qtilef.
Q SECT.
2^6 OF THE TRUTH OP THE [Book V.
SECT. IX.
And the Difference of Meats:'
WHAT has been said concerning the Law of
Sacrifiiaes, the same maybe affirmed of that, in
which different Kinds of Meat are ^prohibited.
It is manifest, that after the universal Deluge {a)
God gave to Noah and his Posterity a Eight to
use any Sort of Food; which Right, descended
not only to Japhet and Ham, but also to Shem
"and his Posterity, Ahraham, Isaac, and Jqcoh.
But afterwards, when the People in Egypt were
tinctured with the, vile Superstition of that Na-
tion; then it was, that God first prohibited the
eating some Sort of living Creatures ; either be-
cause for the most Part (6) such were offered, by
the
(ff). Garfgaeei'o Noah a«d AwPa^^erify, &C.] The Mention
of clean and unclean Creatunes, seems to be an Objection ag^iiist
this, in the History of the Deluge; but either this was said by
Way of Prolepsis to those who knew the Law ; or by unclean,
ought to be understood, those which Men naturally avoid for
Food, such as Tacitus calls prophane, Hist. VI. Unles?. any
one had rather understand by clean, those which are nourish-
ed by Herbs ; and by uncLeau, those which feed on Other
living Creatures. .
(b) Such were offered by the Egyptians, &c,] Origen in bis
Fourth. 6ook against Celsus: " Some wicked D(emons, ^d '
"(as I may call, them) Titanic or Gigantic ones,' who
"were rebellious . ag,ainst the true God, and the heavenly
" Angels, and fell from Heaven, and are continually movVig
" about gross and unclean Bodies here on Earth ; having
" some. Foresight of Things to come, by reason of their Free-
" dom from earthly Bodies; and being conversant in such
'' ThingSj and being desirous to draw off Mankind from the
" true God : they enter into living Creatures, especially those
" that are ravenous, wild and sagacious, and move them to
" what they will: Or else they stir up the Fancies of.su.ch
"living Creatures, to fly or move in such a Manner; tjiat
" Men, taken by the Divination in these dumb Creatures,
f might not seek the God that comprehends the Uhivej-je,
•' nor- inquire after the pure Worship of God; but suffer
" their Reason to degenerate into earthly Things ; such as
" Birds
Sect, p.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. ^7
the Egyptians to their GodSj and they made Di-
vination by them; or because (a) .in that typical
Law,
" Birds and Dragons, Foxes and Wolves. For it is observed
" by those who are skilled in these Things, that fiiture Pre-
" dictions are made by such living Crcatijres as these; the
" Damons having no Power to effect that in Tame Qreatures,
" which by reason of their Likeness in Wickedness, not real,
" but seeming Wickedness in such Creatures'", they are able
"to effect in other Creatures. Whence, if any Thing.be
" wonderful in J\foses, this particularly deserves our Adini*
" ration, that discerning .the different Natures^ of living Crea-
"tures;'and whether instructed by God concerning, thein,
"and the Damons appropriated to every one of them; or
" whether he understood by his own Wisdom, the several
"Ranks and Sorts of them; he -pronounced them unclean,
" wliicli were esteemed hy the Egyptians, and other Nations
" to cause Divination, and he declared the other to be clean,"
The like to which we find in T/ieodoret, Book VIL against the
Greeks: And not very different from this, is that of Manetho,
" having established in the Law many other Things, particu/>
" larly such as were contrary to the Customs of the Egyptians."
And that which TaciHis says of the Jews: " All Things are
" profane amongst them which are sacred amongst us." And
afterwards : " They slay u Ram in Contempt of Jupiter Am-
" mm ; and sacrifice an Ox, which the Egyptians worshipped
" the God Apis by."
(a) In that typical Lam, &c.] Barnabas in his. Epistle:
" Moses said, ye shall not eat a Swine, nor an Eagle,, nor' a
" Hawk, nor a Raven, nor any Fish which hath no Fins. By
" which he meant three Opinions figuratively expressed.
*' What he aims at, is evident frotii these Words in Deutero-
" nomy : And my Judgments shall be established among my
" People. Now the Commandment of God is not literally to
" prohibit eating them; h\xi'Moses spake of them in a spiri-
" tual Sense. He mentions Swine for tjiis End, that they
" should not converse with Men who resemble Swine ; for
"when they live in Luxury, they forget their Master; but
"when they want, they own their Master: Thus a Swine,
" while he is eating, will not know his Master ; when he is
" hungry, he cries out, and when he is full he is quiet.
" Again, Thou shalt not, says he, eat the Eagle, or the
" Hawk, or the Kite, or the Raven. As much as to say, you
" shall not converse with such Men, who know not how to
" get their Food , by-Labour and Pains, but unjustly steal it
«' from others ; and-who walk about as if they w«re sincere,
« 2 ," wh«n
228 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book V.
JLaw, t:he particular Voices of Men \Vere represented
i)^ certain Kihds of living Creatures. That thesfe
Precepts
" when they lie in wait for Others. Thus these Slothful Ciea-
*' til res contrive how they ftiay devour the Flesh of others^
"beiWg'^stileiit by 'their Witikedness. Again, Thou shall
"not eat, says he, the Lam{)rey, • nor the Pourcontfel^ nor
" the Cuttle ; that Js to say, you shafl not conver^fe with
*' those Men who are fihally wicked, and coademned to
" Death : As these Sort of Fish atone are dboraed to swim at
*' the Bottbin of the Sea, not like others to hover on the Top
"of the Water, but to dwell On the Ground at the Bottom'.
"Also he says, thou shalt not eat the Coney : Wherefore;?
" That you rnay not bfe a Corrupter of Children, no,r such
" Tike ; for the Hare has a new Place to lay her E'jtc'rements
" in ev6r5' Year, for so many Years as she lives, so many
" Holes ii-ks she onder Ground. Further, thou sliitlt not eat
" the Hyaena ; that is, thou shalt not be an Adulterer, oi-
" umrlean Person, or suCh like : For what Reason ? Because
" this Creature changes its Nature every Year, and Somfe
" times is a Male, and sornetimes a Female. And he justly
"hated the Weasel J as much as to say, you shall not belike
" «uch Persons who, we have heard, have committed Iniquity
" in their Mouths, by Uncleanness ; neither shall you have
" Correspondence with such Workers of Iniquity ; for this
" Ariinnal conceives in its Mouth. Concerning Meats, thfere-
" fore, Moses meant three Things spiritually} hut they,
" throtigh fleshly Inclinations, undeTstot)d him of Meats. 'But
" David knew these three Opinions, and therefore agreeably
"■ thereto he says. Blessed M the AIa» thit Hiqiktth mt in the
" Cowisel of the Ungodly, as Fishes wander in Darkness at the
" Bottom of the Sea : ^nd hath not stood in the •way of Sinters,
" viz, like them, who though they wonld seem -to ffar God,
" sin like Swine : Jftd hath not sat in the Seat of the, ScprffUl,
" like Birds watching for they Prey. Thus you have the End
" and the Meaning of them. But Moses commanded to eat
" every Creature that is cloven-footed, and that cheived the
" Cud. And what does he mean by this ? He that receiveth
" Meat, knoweth him that feeds him, and is satisfied with
•■'it, and seems to rejoice: which is very well' said, if W€
,"■ cpnsi«ler the Command. What, therefore, is the Meaniflg
" of it ? Why, converse with those who fear their Master ;
*' with those who meditate in their Hearts upon the Word
" they have receivied ; with those who speak of, and keep
" the Judgments of their Master j with those vvho know that
" Meditation is a pleasant Work, and belongs to those who
" tkoloughly consider their Master's Word. But what means
" cloven-
Sect. 9.] GHRISTIAN- BjELIQ],OJ|I. 829
Precepts were not universal, appears from the
Instance of what is appointed concerning the
Flesh of a Beast tljiat die^, of itself, Deut. xiv.
that it was not lawful for the Israelites: to eat it,
■(d) but it was lawful for Strangers, tviwcS Stran-
gers the Jews were commanded to perform aU
good Offices to, as esteemed of God. And the
"ancient Hebrew Teachers openly declare, {h) that
in the Times of the Messiah, the Law of the
Prohibition of Meats should cease, and that Swine's
I^lesh should be as cfean as tljat of an Ox. AM
certainly, since God designed to gatti^r a People
to hiniself out of all Nations, it was more reason-
able that he should inake Liberty and not Bondage,
in such Things', common to dl. Now follows an
E:?:amination of Festival Days.
** doven-footed^ That a Man should walk uprightljr iji this
" World, iji ExpectatJwn of Sinather Life, S?e fiiiite^cdleivt
" Lawjs are established bjr Mase*." ,,Qfl»Je»«-comrnends tins' o,f
Bifirnaias, in his Fifth Strome. Yon may find also rnaiiy Things
partly like, and partly the same with these, in PMlo's Book af
il^ricuUitre J >and in the Book entitled, T/tg JViekei^- la^ .Sfiares
fvr the Uighteav^ ; vyfaich «re toolong to be transcribed. Th«*
{ike is to. be seen iu Emubius, out fif AtUfaus, Boojc VIII.
Chap. £».
(a) But it was laiefvil for Strangers, &c.] Holy Men, biit
li6t circumcised, which you find mentioned^ Lerit. xxii. ?fi.
and XXV. 4, 7. and the Talmud, Chap, of the King, and of the
Council ; and In MaimaMes' s ^oQ)i. of Idolatrj.
ip") That itttTifiTimfs of the Messiah, &i.c.\ Thus jR.iSowWin
MechQr Chaim. The Talmud, entitled A^trfa, says, the Law
was to continue but till the Tinies of the Messiah. VVe mky
moreover observe, that sortie Hebrew Teachers, araoiig whom
is Bechai, wer6 of Opinion that the I^aws, co.nftt;rning forbidr
den Meats, were peculiar to the L,9.nd of Canaan, nor was any
one obliged to observe them out of the Bounds tHereof. And
beside, the Jea;s themselves are ignorant, or fit leas^ dispute
about tlie Signification of many of tjie Names of those Ani-
mals ; which we cannot think God would have permitted, if
the Obligations to observe 'that Law yvcre to have -continued
till this Time.
SECT.
230 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book V.
SECT, X.
yttid df Days.
THESE were all instituted in Memory of the
Benefit they had received from God, when they
were delivered from the JElgj/ptian Bondage, and
brought info the Promised Land. Now the. Pro-
phet Ji?r«ff«flA says. Chap. xvi. and xxiii. that the
Time would come when ne,w and much greater
Benefits should so eclipse the Memory of that
Benefit, that there would scarce be any Meiir
tion made of it. And moreover, what we now
said of &crifices, is as true of Festivals; the
People began to put their Trust in them so far,
that if they rightly observed them, it was no
great Matter how they offended in other Re-
spects. Wherefore in Isaiah, Chap. i. God says,
that he hated their New Moons and Feast-Days,
they were such a Burden to him, that he was not
able to bear them. Concerning the Sabbath,
it uses particularly to be objected, that it is aii
universal and perpetual Precept, not given to
one People only, but in the Beginning of the
World, to jidam the Father of them all. To
which I answer, agreeable to the Opinions of
the most learned jFfe^r^wj, that this Precept con-
cerning the Sabbath is two- fold: («) A Precept of
Remembrance, £a;o<5?to xx. 8. and (^) a Precept
of Observation, Exodus xxxi. 31. The Precept
of .Remembrance is fulfilled, in a religious Me-
mory; of the Creation, of the World ; the Pre-
cept of Observation consists in an exact Absti^
(a) A Precept of -Remembrance, hcJ^ TH.
(6) A Precept qf Observation, &ic.] Toitf. T\\\is Moses Qe-
fundejisis, si.ndi Isaac Aramas distinguish. Observation anA Re^
»«m6rance signify the same Thing in Moses, as to this Matter,
as we have: shewn '\n' Deuter.y, J. however the Thing here
treated of is trup. Le Clerc.
nence
Sect. 10.3 CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 231
nence from all Manner of Labour. The first
Precept was given from the Beginning, and with-
out Doubt (a) the pious Men before the Law
obeyed it, as Enoch, Noah, Ahraham, Isaac, Jacob;
the latter of whom, though we hare a relation of
many of their Travels, {h) yet there is no Sign of
their stopping their Journey on the Account of
the Sabbath ; which Thing we frequaitly meet
with, after their coming out of Egypt^ For after
the' People were brought out of £^^/, and. had
safely: passed through the Red-Sea, they kept the
first Day a Sabbath of Rest, and sung^ an Hymn
to God upon that Account ; and from this Time
that exact Rest of the Sabbath was commanded,
the first Mention of which is in the Gathering of
Manna, Exod. xxxv. 2. Levit. xxiii. 3. And in
this Sense, the Reason alledged, Deut. v. 21. for
the Law of the Sabbath, is the Deliverance out
of Egypt. And further, this Law had Regard
to Servants against the Severity of those Masters,
who allowed them no Respite from their La-
bours, as you find it in the forecited Places. It
is true indeed, that {e) Strangers were obliged
by this Law, and that for this Reason, that there
might be an universal Rest of all the People.
But that this Law of Perfect Rest was not given
to other People, appears fram hence, that in
many Place it is called a Sign, and a particular
Covenant between God and the hraeliUii Exod.
(a) The pious Men before^the Lai!o, Sic'l Fiora wjiom a cer-
tain Veneratiop fpr the S§y,eijtl) Day was derived to the Qreekt,
ai Plenietis observes. See what' is said in Relation to' this, Bookl.'
(b) Yet there isno Sign, &c.] That the pious 'Men of those
Times did in this Sense rciSSuTiTeit, that is, observe tlie'iSabbath,
is denied by Justin, in his Dialogue with Tryplion, and by Ter-
tullian in two Places against the Jews.
(c) Strangers were obtiged by this Law, &c.] Not those
others, who out of Judtea obsef^ed the Precepts given to the
Posterity of Noah. This is the Opinion of ih,e Hebrews.
. ;* . xxxi.
232 OF THE TRUTH OF THE (Book V;
sxxi. IS, 1^. And further, that those Things
which were instituted in Memory of the -coming
out of Egypt, are not such as ought never to dease,
w6 have before shewn, from the Promise of much
greater Bendits. To which may be added, that if
the Law concerning ReSit on the Sabbath, had
been given from the Beginningj and in such> a
Manner as never to be abolished ; ce^tainly.that
Layv' would havBf prevailed over all other Laws, the
contrary to which we now find. For it is evident
{a) that Children were. rightly circumcised on the
Sabbnth-Day : and while the Temple' stoodj {h)
the Sacrifices were slain on the Sabbath-Day, as
well as on other Days. The Hehrew Teaeherj
themselves shew, that this Law is changeable,
when they say that Work may justly be done on
the Sabbath at the Command of a Prophet, which
th^ prove by the Example of th^ taking of JeHeii
on th6 Sabbath*Day by the Command of Josbudf.
And. that in the Time of the Messiah, the Differ-
ence of Days should be taken away ; some of therti
,shew very well, from that Place of Isaiah Ixvi. 33.
where it is foretold, that there should be a cbntiniaal
Worship of God from Sabbath to Sabba-th, from
New Moon to New Moon.
S^CT. XL
AfiS tircufnchion of t-hi Flesh. ,?
WE <Some now to Circumeision, which is in-
deed ancienter than Moses / as being commanded
to Air'aham and his Posterity ; but this very Pre-
cept was the Beginiiing oit the "Covenant de-
(a) That Children "were rightly circumcised, &c,] Thus the
Jic6r«jii ,Pi/)verb : " The Sabbath gives way to Circumcision."
See John vi. 22. ,; /
(6) The Sctcrifices uere slaitfeic ^ JVwS. xxviii. ^,
olafved
qlaredby Moses. Thus we fiad Gad said to JtknO-
ha^iif Oenesis otftfii. /«»«?/ give arito thee, imditotkf
Setd:^t^ sthp^ the I^sMd wherein, •thou art > a
Stmn^er, eivien thei-L^nd of Qsassca, fw an -ever*
la^tirtgiPossfssiom ihertfam h&ep my- Covemintj ihau
4titd ti^ Seed for ever; this is the Gav^tiantv^etmifst
itte and thee mtdthy Seed, &v6ry Mde*sh^ he cir-
eumdsed. But we have before seen, that there wds
to succeed a new Covemml in .the Room of this
0!)venant, such as fihrnildt be common to all Peo-
ple; for which Rieasdn thei^ecessity of a Mark .of
Distinction must cease. And this is further evi-
dent ; that there was some mystical and higher
Signification contained under this iVecept ^of
Gketlnieis^on; as appears from the .Prophets,
when tbejr command {a) the heart tobecireum-
liised, to which all the Precepts of ChrSab tend.
So hlbewise the Fromisds addai to Cxrbmtickston;
must of NeceSscty retdte to something further:
Natnely, that of an earthly Possession, (J?) to the
!Etifnelatioa 'Of an everlasiiiRg Fossiessidn, ' iwiiich
w%s hereir .tnadet n>ore mailtftsft thain by Jesus ;
(c^' and' that of making Abrahamra. Father of
mfeny, Natiotis;.' tdl> that [Fime, when not ouily
somp fe*v iteople, bat innHmarable of them,
spread all over the Worldj should itnitate. that
ftrefflorabk Faith of jibpahatH towards God;
wbieh rfetfer yet, came to pass, but By the Gos-
pel. .Nqw it is no Wonder, that wEjfn the Work
is fini^ed, the Shadow of the Work that was
designed, should be taken av^y. (^) Arid that
.Gbd's
(a) The Heai-t to be ciiximcised, &e.] Dieut. x, iff. x^'|:. 6.
Jer.iv.4. -^ ■' ■'• ■ '■ ' '■ ^'- :7" ';-
Hby, Tv th^^e^latiofi,^ &c.\->,/fe6. w., . ' - v,
(tsj Akd that of tka^ng Abraham aiFather, &c."] '.G«W.'xvii. 6.
fiom, iv. 11, 13, l6, 17. lmkexbi.9. Gal. in. f.
(d) And that God's Mercy, &c.] JusMtt ih his Dialogue
^I9^0ryphon, says, " Circumcision was given for a Sign, anil
"not
23* OF THE TRUTH OF THE l«mV V.
GtocTs Mercy was not confined to this Sign, is
from hence manifest • that not only those who
lived beforie jihraham, but even Abraham himself
was acceptable to God before he was circum-
cised : And Circumcision was omitted by ihe His^^
iretas {a) all the while they journeyed through
the Deserts'of Arabia, without being reproved of
God for it.
SECT. xri.
And yet the Apostles of Jesus easily allowed of those
Things.
THERE was certainly very good Reason why
the Hebrews should return their hearty Thanks to
Jesus and his Ambassadors ; in that he freed them
from that heavy Burden of Rites, and secured
their Liberty to them, (^) byMiracles and Gifts no
Way inferior to those of Moses. But yet they who
first^delivered this Doctrine, did not require this
of them, that they should acknowledge such their
Happiness ; ,but if they wcHild perform the Pre-
cepts^of Jesus, which were full, of all Virtue, they
easily allowed them, in indifferent Things, (e} to
follow what Course of Life they would; (d) pro-
" not for a Work of Righteousness." Arid Ifenaus, Book IV.
Ch. 30. " We learn from Scripture,, that Circumcision is not
" that which perfects Jlighteousness : but God gave it, that
*' jibraAam'sPosterhy might continue distinguishable. For God
" said to Abraham, het every Male pi you be ciroamcited, and
" circumcise the Flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be for a
" Sign of a Covenant betwixt you dnd me.."
(fl) Jill the •while they journeyed, &c.] Josh, v. 5, 6.
{b) By Miracles and Gifts no Way inferiofi &c.J H. Led
Ben Gersm said", that the Miracles of the M^iah ought to .be
greater than those oi Moses, which is most evident in the Dead
restored to.Life.
(c) To follow tnhat Course of Life they would, &c.] Acts Kvi.
3. sxi; 24. Rom. xiv. 1. 1 Cor. ix, 17- Gal. v. 6. Colos. iii.2.
(d) Provided they did not impose, &c.] Actsxv, Gal. i. 3.
6, 15. iv, 10. vi. 12.
vided
Sect. 12, 13.1 CHRISTIAN RELIGION. ^si
vided they did not impose the Observation of it,
as necessary, upon Strangers, to whom the Ritual
Lawr was never given j which one thing sufBci-
ently shews, that the Jewi very unjustly reject the
Doctrine of Jesus, under Pretence of the Ritual
Law. ' Having answered this Objection, which is
almost the only one commonly opposed to the
Miracles of Jesus, we cqme now to other Argu-
ments suited to convince the Jews.
SECT. XIII.
A: Proof against the Jews, taken from their own Con^
fession of the extraordinary Promise of the Messiah.
BOTH they and we are agreed, that in the Pre-
dictions of the Prophets, there is a Promise ; that
aroongat the many Persons who should make
known to the Jews^ from Heaven, very great Ad-
vantages, there should be One, far exceeding the
Rest, whom they call the Messiah; which, though
a common , Name, did more eminently agree to
this Pe/son only. We assert, that he came Ibng
since ; they expect that he is yet to come. It re-
mains therefore that we put an End to the Con-
troversy, from those Books, the Authority of
which is equally acknowledged by~ both.
SECT. XIV.
That he is already come, appears from the Timefore'
told,
DANIEL, (a) Testimony of whojie great Piety
Ezekiel afFofds us, could neither deceive us, nor
x: »• ' ■'"' - he
(a) Testimony (^ whose great Piety, &c.] xiv. l*. xxxviii.
3. Josephus, concerning Daniel, at the End of the Tenth
]^fc, says, " That the Spirit of God was with him." And
' ' after-
836 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book V.
b6 deceived himself by the Angel Gabriel : And
he, according to the Direction, of the Angel, has
left us upon Record, Chap, ix. that there should
not pass above six hundred Years between the
Publication of the Edict for rebuilding the <Qiy
of Jerusalem {a) and the Coming of the Messiah.
But there are above two thousand Years passed,
since that Time to this Day, and he, wham the
Jews expect, is not yet come ; neither can they
name any other, to whom that Time will agree.
But it agrees so well to Jesus, that (/^) a Hebrew
Teacher, Nehendah, who lived five hundred Years
before him, said openly then, that the time of
the Messiah, signified by Daniel^ could not be
deferred above five hundred Years. There is
another Mark before hinted at, which agrees
with this of the Time; and this is, {c) that a
Government over all Nations should be ap-
pointed
afterwards, " Tiiat lie was endued with every Thing in an
" incredible Manner, as being one of the Gi'eatest of P/o-
" piiets. In his Life-time be was had in great Honour aiid
" Esteem, both by the Kings and the People ; And after his
" Death he was had in everfeting Remembrance ; the Boolis
*' wrote by hini, and left to us, we read at this Day, and their
•' Testimony eonWncesps, that he hg.d a iCoramUnication with
"God."
(a) And the Comhig of the Messiah, &c.] -The great Hebreiu
Doctors, such as Solomon Jarchi, Rabbi Josue, quoted by Abe-
nesdrfts and Saaida, agree, that the Son of Man in Daniel, is
the Messiah : Thus Re^bi Josue, who saw the raising of the
Temple, said that the Time of the Messiah was then past, as
Jt. Jacob in Capthor, testifies.
(b) A Hebrew Teacher, Nehemiah, &c.] Grotivs ought to
have told us whence he had this. If 1 remember right in some
fifristle of his to his Brother William Grotius, he says he re-
ceived jt from a Jew. Le Clerc.
(c) That a Government over all Nations, &p.] R. Levi Ben
Gerson tells us, that that Stonei by the Blow whereof that
Image which represented the Empires should be broken to
Pieces, was the Messiah. Rahbi Solomon, R. Abenendras, and
R. Saaida, say, that that Kingdom, which would consume the
Rest
Sect. 14.] , CHRISTIAN RELlCrON. 237
pokited from Heaven, after (a) the Posterity of
Sdeucus and Lagus should cease to reign; the
latter of which ended in tHhopatro, not long be-
fore Jems was born. A third Token is in the
fOfemehtioned Chap, ix. of Daniel; that after
theCottlitigof the Messiah, the City of Jerusaletb
should be razed; which Prophecy of the Destruc-
tion of that City, (h) Jqsepkus himself refers -to
his own Age. From when<;e it follows, that the
Time limited for the Corning of the Messiah was.
then past. To this may be referred that of Hag~
gai. Chap. ii. where 0od comforts Zerubhahel, a
HeMhen Prince, and Joshtia the Son of Josede.ch,
the High-Priest, upon their Sorrow, because the
Temple built by them did not answer the Great-
ness of the former Temple, with this Promise;
that there should be greater Honour done to
that Temple, than to the former ; Which could
be said, neither of the Bigness of the Work, nor
of the Materials, nor of the Workmanship, nor
of the Ornaments, as is very plain from the
History of those Times, in the sacred Writings,
and in Josephus, compared with that of the Tem-
ple of Solomon: To which we may add, which is
observed by the Hebrew Teachers, that there
were wanting two very great Endowments in
ihe latter Temple, which were in the former.
Rest of the Kingdoms, was the Kingdom of the Messiah, i{,
Lai Ben Gerson and Saedda a^r;n the Son of Man in Daniel,
to be the Messiah.
(a) The Posterity o/'Seleucus and Lagus, &c.] See the An-
notations up&n this, ill the First Book.
(6) Josephus Mnuelf refers to his own Age, &c.] Book X.
Chap. 12. " Daniel wrote concerning this Time, stnd con-
cerning the Romem Empire, and that (our Nation) should be
destroyed by it. God " having discovered all these Things
" to him^ he left them us in Writing ; so that whoever reads
" them, and considers what has come to pass, cannot but ad-
** mire the tlonotir God did to Daniel" Jaccides also upon
Dan, ix> 24. teljs us^ that the "Seventy Weeks of Years were
finished in the t)estructi<^n of Jirusalem.
6 1,1%-
Z3& OF mt TRUTH OF THE [^ook V.
wa. (a) a visible Light, as a Token of the Di-
vine Majesty, and a Divine Inspiration: But
wherein this latter Temple was to exceeii the
former, God briefly declares, 'when he says, (^)
that he. would establish his Peace, that is> his
Favour and Good-will, in that Temple, as it
were by a firm Covenant : Tliis is further pro-
secuted by Ma/«c^^, Chap. iii. BeJtoJd Iwillsend
my Messenger, who shall prepare my tVays ; {c)and
the Lord whomye seek, shall suddenly come to his
Temple, (now Malachi lived after the latter Tem-
ple was built,) eve7i the Messenger of the Covetiant
•whomye delight in. Therefore the Messiah oijght
to come while the second Temple stooc^ [dj in
which Account, is reckoned by the Uehrew^y all '
the Time from Zerubbabel to Vespasian; for the
Temple in the, Time of Herod the Great, was
not rebuilt from the Foundation, but only («)
gradually renewed by Parts; notwithstanding
•which Alteration, it might be called the same
(a) A visible Light as a Token, &c.] In the Title concerning.
Instruction, and tha Jerusalem Gemara, Chap. 3. ^■
(i) Thai he lomld establish his Peace, &c.] We must observe
what goes before. " The Desire of all the Nations shall come,
." and I will fill this House witk Glory." Which wonderfully
agrees with what we have taken out of Malachi; so that these
two Prophets may serve for Interpreters of each other. Rabba
AkibOj, and many others, as Rabbi Solomon testifies, -were of
Opiijion, that the Messiah ought to come in the second
Temple. - j
(c) And the Lord whom ye seek, &c.] This Place of l^lalachi,
the Jevis commonly explain of the Messiah. , :,,',
{d) In tahich account is reckoned, &c.] As in the -Tak^ud,
Chap, the last, concerning the Council 3 and that entitled
Jama, and that entitled Roch. Hasschana..
(e) Gradually reneieed by. Parts, &c.,3 Philo, concerning the
World ; " That is not corruptible, all the Parts of which.are
'• corrupting gradually ; but that all the Parts of whiqh ate
'* destroyed together at the - same Time." Add to this, L.
proponebatur. D. de Judiciis, Sf- L. quid tatnen. Sect, in tiavis
D. quibus modis usvsfrucUis^ amittatur, ; i , '
Temple,
Sect 14, 15.] . CHRISTIAN HEUGION. 235
Temple. And indeed therecwas so firm an3Ejfpec-
tatioftof ihe Messiah at that Time, amongst the
.^if^rfiWf, and their NeighbourSj {a) that Herod
was thought by some to he the Messiah, {b) Judas
. Qaidonita by others, {c) and some more by others,
who lived about the Time of our Saviour.
SECT. XV,
XJVtth an Answer to what 'is alledged, that his
Coming was deferred u^n the Account of the
Sins of the People.)
THE Jews see themsdves put^to Difficulties hy
these Arguments: That they may elude the Foroe
of them, therefore, some say that their Siras-were
the Cause why he did not come at the promised
Time. Now not to mention, {d} ihat in the fore-
dted
(o) That Herod was thoDgkt-by-some, &c.] These were tlie
Herodians, Matt. xii. l6. Mork iii. 6. viii. 13. xii. 15. Ter-
tulHan, in his Enumeration of Heretics ; " Amongst these were
" the Herodians, who said that Herod was the Christ," And
Epiphanius says the same of them : Agreeable to which, isthai
of the ancient Scholiast on Perseus ; " Herod reigned, amongst
" the JewSf in the Time of Augustus, in the Parts oi, Syria;
** therefore the Herodians keep the Birfh-day of Herod, as
*' they do the Sabbath, upon which Day they put lighted
" Candles crowned with Violets on their Windows."
(6) Judas Gaulonita by others, &c.] See Josephus XVIII, 1.
Acts V. 36.
(c) And some morelni others, SccI Acts xxj, 38. Josephus
has many Instances in the Time of Felix, and some after the
Destruction ci Jerusalem,
(d) That in theforedied Prophedes, &c.] This is expressly
iiffirmed by R. Jochnaan in Scliemotfi Rabbi, and it. David
Kaimcii, on Ptalm i:viii. 5, Josephus, Book X. towards
the End, says well of Daniel : " That in his Prophecies, lie
" not only foretold what was tb come, like the other Pro-
" phets; but be determined the Time in which those Things
" jthould come tg pass. That the Decree of the Messiah's
5 " being
240 OF THE TRUTH OF THE |;&)ok V.
cjted Prophecies, what is d^ternlined by tHerfi,
has ho Signs of being suspended upon any Condi-
tioiis; how cdujd'iiis Coming be dpfetred on' tire
Accotint of their Sins, wTien this also was fore-
told, that for the many and great Sins of the
People, (a) the City should be destroyed, a little
after the Time of the Messiah ? Further, the Mes-
siah was to come for this very Reason, (I?) that he
might bring a Remedy fpr themos.t corrupt Age^
and together with the Rules of reforming their
Lives, assure thetn of Pardon of their Sins.,
"Whence it is said \n,i^a(h$ry, Ct^ap.xili. concern-
ing his Time; that a Fountain should thfa be
opened to the House of David and to all iii Je-
rusahth, to was*f away their Sins; and it is a com-
mon Thing among the Jixvs, to call the Messiah,
{c) IsGH CoPHEfi, that is, the Appeaser. It is
therefore very repugnant to Reason to sa^, ik&i
that was deferred upon the Account of the Disease,
wWch was directly appointed for that Disease.
SECT. XVI.
^ho from the Present State of the Jews, comparfd
•with the Promises of the Law.
AS to what we say, that the Messiah is long
gince come upon Earth, even Experience might
being sent at that Time was not suspended upon any 'Con-
ditions, appears also fFom Jffl/cc^ iii. 1. Besides, siJeitag tliat
the Messiah was to be the Author of the New Cov€Ba»t)--as
Maiitchi in thiat Place, and other Propliets shew $ his Coming
could not be suspended on the Condition of observing that
Covenant he came to abolish.
{tt)Tii£Citys^ovMbe:'destroy€d,f»e.'!i JDais. ix. 24. '
(ft) That ^e might t ring a Remedy, &c.J Isaiah, liii. 4i atid
following Versea. Jererrdah xxxi. 31. and what fellows.
fcefa'rfxi. 1S.21,
(c) Jseh Copher, nt3Utt>'«] Sge the Chaldee Paraphrase pn
Cant. i. I*. R. Judas in Chasidim, and on R. Simeon in £«-
xcschith Rabbah, say, that the Messiah should"bear our Sins.
convince
Pect.16.] CHRISTIAN RIJLIGION. 241
con-vitice the Jews.- {a) God promised them in
the Covenant made with Moses, a quiet Possession
of ithe Land of Palestine, so long as they conform-
ed their Lives to the Precfepts of tne Law : And
on the contrary/ (^) if theysinnedgrievouslyagainst
it, he threatened to drive them out; and such like
Evils: Yet, notwithstanding this, if at any Time,
when under the Pressure of these Calamities,
and led by Repentance of their *ns, they return-^;
ed to Obedience, he would be merciful towards
his People, and cause them to feturh into their
own country though dispersed into the farthest
Parts of the World; as you mayse6 in many Places,
particularly Deut'; Xxx. and Nehemiak i. But
now it is above fifteen hundred Years since the
Jet}oi haVe been out of their own country, and
withbiit a Temple: And if at any Time they {c)
attempted to build a new one, they were always
hindered! (^):Nay, Ammianus MarcelUnus, -who'
was not a Christian Writer, reports that Balls of
Fire broke out of the Foundation, and destroyed
their Work* When of old, the People had de-
filed themselves with the greatest Wickedness,
every where sacrificed their 'Childreti to Saturn,
looked upon> Adultery as nothing; spoiled the
W^4ows a,!^, the Orphans, shejd innocent Blood in
^i;v, -f, : - , . - -. ; . i,-i -
(aj God promised them in the Covetmnt, &c.] Exodus xv.
XecJft'xviiL- Lmf. vi. vii. xi. xxviii,
(6) If they sinned grievously uguinst it, &c.] i,e»/f„,xxvi.
De<2<. iv. xi^xxviii. - ,
{e^ Attempted to kifilda new one; &c.] IntheTimesof ^rfn«»,
Constant ine, and Julian. Cliiysostomll. against the Jczos.
(rf) Nay,- Aramianus Marcellinus, &c,] Book xxiii. C/iry-
sostom 11. Agedast the Jtws. "Fire immediately brok^ out of
•' theFoundatibh, and burnt many Men, and also the Stones
" of that Place." The whole Place is worth reading. The
same Author has the like Words in his Fourth Homily upon
Matthew, »nd in his Discburse of Christ's treing Ohd.
R greatei*
242 OF THE TRUTH OP THE [Book. V.
greater Plenty ; (a) all which the Prophef s reproach
them* with; they were driven out of their Country f.
(^) but no longer than seventy Years: And in the
mean Time God did not neglect (c) speaking to
them by "Pcophets, and comforting them with
Hopes of their Return, (d) telling them the very
Time. ((?) But now, ever since they have been
driven out of their Country, they have continued
Vagabonds and dSpised, no Prophet has come to,
them, no Signs of their future Return ; their
Teachers, as if they were inspired with a Spirit of
Giddiness, have sunk into low Fables and ridicu-
lous Opinions, with which the Books of the Tal"
7«a^ abound; which yet they presume to call the
Oral Law, and to compare them, nay, to prefer
them, above what is written by Moses. For what
we there find (/)' of God's Mourning, because he
suffered the City to be destroyed, (j:),of his daily
Diligence in reading the Law, (A) of the Be^e-
(a) All •which the Prophets reproach them with, &c.] Isaiah.
i. 17. iii. 14,-15. v. Ti. xi.2,. 3. lix. Ixv. Amos ii. 6". Jere-
miah ii. iii. V. vii. 21. viii. x. ?ti. xvi. xxii. Ezekiel ii. vi. vii.
viii.xvi. xxii. xxiv. Daniel vn. Micahn. I, 2, 3.
(b) But not longer than seventy Years, &c.] R. Samuel inake&
this Objection in his H. Isaac.
(c) Speaking' to them by Prophets, &c,] Jeremiah xxx. xxxi,
xxxiii. liiekiel xxxvi. xxxvii,
• (d) Telling them the very Time, Sec J\ Jeremiah xxv. 15,.
xxix. 10..
(e) But note, ever sinccthey hate been,driven out, &c.] Tfie
Talmud in Baba Bathra.
(f) Of God's Mourning, &c.T See tl;e Preface of Echad
Rabbathi; the like tp which we find in the Tcdmud, entitled
Chagiga, in Debarim Rabba^ and in Berachoth.
(g) 0/ his daily Diligence, &c.] Thaanith and Aboda Zara.
^h) Of ike Behemoth and Leviathan, &c.] See the Talmud
Baba Bathra, and thfs Chaldee Paraphrast on the Song oSSolo,-
tnon, viii. 2.
5 mofh
S^cti IS, 17.] CiHRISTJAN RBLfQION- ^S
moth ^nd Leviathan, (a) and many other Things,
is so absurd, tl^at ij: i; troublesome to relate theii^.
And yet in tliis JoQg Sp^ce of Time, the J^iVf.
hsve neither gonp asi4p to the Worship of fals^
Gods, nor diefii,ei4 themselves with Murder, ngf
are accused of Adultery; (b) but they encjeavpwf
to appease Gpd by Praying and Fasting, 'a,ip4^
yet they are not heard : Which being thus, vsr§
must of Necessity ppnclude one of thcise twp
Things, that either that Covenant rnade by ikToi^f
is entirely dissolved, or that the whole Body of
the Jews are guilty of some grievous Sin, whiclj
has continued for so many Ages: And what tha|t
is, let them tell us themselves; or, if they canpot
^ay what, kt them believe us, that that Sin is,
the despising the Messiah, who came before thies?
^yilg b@gan tobefal then;i.
SECT. XVII.
Jesus proved to he the Messiah, from those TJungs
thatwere ■predicted of the Messiah.
AND these Things do indeed prove, as we be-
fore said, that the Messiah did come so many AgeiS
since; to which I add, that he was no other tl^an
Jesus; for all others, who were willing to have
themselyes thought the Messiah, or were^ really
thought so, l^ft no Sect in which tl^t Opinion
continued. None^now profess, themselves to Jb(e^
(a) Andtmni/ other Thb^s, Sec.} Many of which Gerson the
Christian has transcribed in his Bopk against the Jep.s; s^e
those Chapters in it concerning Devils, concerning the Mes-
siah, concerning the Revelations by MHus, coEicerning Hell,
concerning the Kingdom of the Ten Tribes beyond the ^iver
Sabaticus, and concerning the Deeds of the Rabbies.
(6) But they endeavour to appease God, &c.] Whereas, if we
may believe themjelv.es, they highly merit of God for reject-
ing a false Messiah, who was received hy so grreat a Part of
Mankind. - 1 "
R 2 f^oUowers
244 ' OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book T.
FoWowersof Hef odor Judas Gauhnitd, (a) or of Bar^
ehochebas, -who, in the Times of Jdrian, dechxtA
himself to be the Messiah, {h) and deceived many
learned Men, But there have been such as owned
Jesus, ever since be was upon Earth, to this very
■^^y* .C*^) ^"d they a great many, not in one Coun-
try, but all the World'over. I might here'alledge
many other Things, formerly predicted, or be-
lieved of the Messiah, which we believe to have
been completed in Jesus, and which were not so
much as affirmed of any other; such as these, {d)
thai he was of the Seed of David; (e) that he was
born of a Virgin; (/) tliat this Thing was dis-
covered from Heaven, to him who had. marri^jd
that Virgin, and would not keep her in Marriage,
because she was big with Child by another; (g)
ihaiht Ms.shornm Bethlehem;- {h) that he began
(a) Oro/'Barchochebas, &c.] Whom Justin stiles, The Chief
of the Revolt of the Jews, He is mentioned by Eusebius, Jerom,
Ofosius, in the Talmud, entitled concerning the Council, in BerC'
schitk'Rabbah, by the Habbies John khd Abraham Salmanticensis,
and others, in many Places.
(6) ^nd deceived many learned Men, &c.] As Rabbi Akiba ;
see, the Talmud, entitled concerning the Council, and the Book'
Zentach David.
(c) And they a great many, &G;] See vvlikt is said of this in
the Second Book,
{d) That he tvas of the Seed of David, &c.] Psalm Ixxxix. 4,
Tsaiuh iv. 2. xi. 10. Jeremiah xxiii. 5. Ezekiel xxxiv. 24,
Mich. V, 2. 'Matt. i. 1 , 20. ix. 27- xii, 23. xv. 22. xx. 30, 31,
xxi. 9. 15,xxii. 42, and following Verses, Mark x, 47. xii.
35, 36, 37. hnkei. 27, 32, 69. 11.4, 11. xviii, 38, 39. xx,
42, .44-,' John vii. 42. Acts xiii, 34. xv. 6. Rom. i. 3.
2 Tim. )i. 8. Rev. v. 5. xxii. 16.
(e) That he was born of a Virginj&c.'] Isaiah^W. 14. Matt.
i. 1 8, 22, 23. Luke i, 3. 5.
(/) That this Thing was discovered from Heaven, &c.] Matt,
i. 20.
(g) That he was born in Bethlehem, &c.] Mich, v, 2. Matt.
ii. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Lukei'uA.
{h\ That he began to spread, &c.] Isaiah iv. 1. Matt.lv, 12,
13. Mark i,4. laike iv. 14, Id, l6. and in many other Places.
to
Sect. 17.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 24*
to spread his Doctrine first in Galilee ; (r?) that he
healed all Kinds of Diseases; made the. Blind to
see, and the Lame to walk: But I shall content
myself with one, the Effect of which remains to
this Day: and is manifest from the Prophecies
of {l>} David, (c) Isaiah, {d) ZachariaA, and (e)
Hosea, viz. that the Messiah was to be the Instruc-
tor of all Nations ; (/) that the Worship of false
Gods should .be overthrown by him ; and that he
should bring a vast Multitude of Strangers to. the
Worship of one God. Before the coming of Jesus,
almost the whole World was subject to false Wor-
ship; which began to vanish afterwards by De-
grees, and not only particular Persons, but whole
Nations and Kings, were converted to the Wor-
ship of one God. These things are not owing
to the Jewish Rabbies, but to the Disciples of
Jesus and their Successors. Thus (g) they were
made the People of God who were not not so before,
and that Prediction of Jacoh, Gen. xlix. was ful-
filled, that before the Civil Power was taken from
the Posterity of Judah, Shihh should come, (A)
whom
(a) That he healed all Kinds of Diseases, &c.] Isaiah xxxv.
9jxi. 1. Matt. xi. 5. Lu/teiv. 18. and every where else.
Further, he aJso. raised the Dead, which R. Levi Ben Gerson
reckons among tho principal Marks of the Messiah.
(6) David, &c.] Psalm M. 8. xxii. 28. Ixviii. 32. Ixxii. 8, 17.
(c) Isaiah, &c.] ii. 2. xi. 10. xiv. J. xix. 18. xxvii. 13.
XXXV. xlii. and xliii. particularly xlix. 6". li. 5. lii. 15. liv. Iv.
4, 3. ix. 3, and following ones, Ixv. J, 2. Ixvi, JJ), and fol-
lowing.
(d) Zachariah, &c.] ii. 11. viii. 20, and following, ix. 9,
10, n. XIV. 16. .4/1
(*) Hosea, &c.] ii. 24. JU,»l»^e4^ ' ^ ' '
{f) That the Worship of false Gods, &c ] Isaiah ii. 18, 20.
xxxi. 7. xlvi. 1. Zephaniahi. i, 5,6. ZcfA.xni.S.
(g) They were made the People of God, ifc,^ Hosea ii, 24.
(/() ^FAom *Ae Chaldee, &c.] Both Jo«fl//wn, the Author of
the Jerusalem Paraphrase, and the Writers of the Talmud, in
\ixeTit\e concerning the Council; BcreschithRahba, Jdkutnnus on
3 the
24(S OP THfi tftUTH Ot* 1*ttt tfiook V.
fyfidtti thie Chkktfe and othfer I'ritfefpretferk dsifl^iH
to be the Messiah, (t/) whom foreigh Katioiis al§6
^ttk to obey.
•"■'r
SECt. XVIII.
u4n Answer to what is alle^ed^ thai some Titj^
'were notfu^iled.
llEltE the Jews commonly object, that ihefd
itvere Lottie Things predicted of the Times ol" tftfe
M^siah, which we do not see fulfilled. But thbsfe
Vi\iA^ they alleidge ai-e obscure, ahd inay have a
different Significatioh; forWhifchwe diight not to
iieject tho%e that are plain; sUch as the Holiness of
theJPrecepts of Jesus; the Excellency of thle Re^
ward; the Plainness of Speech in which it was de-
livefed; t6 Which >Ve Way add the !l\fit-aeles; aAd
all togethei- ought to engage us (36 embi-ace his
Doctrine. In order to understand aright {b) thfe
Prdphecies of the sealed Bdok, as it iscomrtionly
calledj there is many Times h«ed (^ some Divihl
Assistance, which is justly withheld frdin \\idsh
■who neglect those things that are plain. Now
that tjiose Places, which they object, may be vari-
ously explained, they themselves are not ignoraMt
of: And if anyone cares to compare the ancient
the Pentateuch, Rabbi Solomon., and others, nitt^, which . the
Jews now would have to ,be a Rod of Chastisement; the Tar"
gtim in Chaldee ekplains'by ]ohv>, and the Greeks «m;^'j a
Governor I AquiUa, trKvrTfai, a Scepter; Symmachus t^nrrk,
Power. And nh^itf is e3tpla,ined by pa his Son, by the'C&?(fee
jR, Siloh, R. Bechai, R. Solomon, Ahenesdras, and Kimchi. ■
See what is excellently sSid coocernitig- this Place in CB-j/hs-
tom, in his Discourse, that Christ is God.
(a) Whom foreign Nations also were to bhey, &c. ] Se'e the
forecited Plate of Istdah xi. 10. which affords Light to this.
(6) The Prophecies of the sealed Book, &c.] Isaiah xsJaa. 11.
Pan, xii. 4. S- and Jacchiades upon them. SeeChrysostom's
Pissertation about this Matter, Discourse II. why the Old Tes-
tament i« obscure.
Interpret
Sect. 18.} CHRISTIAN RELIGION. U7
Interpreters, (a) who were in the Babyhmh Capti-
vity, or elsewhere, concerning the Times of Jesus^
with those who wrote after the Naijie of the Chris-
tians began to be hated amongst the Jews, he will
find thai Partiality was the Cause of new Expli-
cations; and that those, which were formerly re-
ceived, agreed very well with the Sense of the
Christians. They are not ignorant of themselves,
that many Things in the Sacred Writings are not
to be understood according to the strict Proprief^'
of the Words, (^Vbut in a figurative Sense; {c) as
when God is said to have descended ; when {d)
Mouth, {e) Eiars, (f) Eyes, and (^) Nose are
ascribed to him. And what hinders but that many
Things, spoken of the Times of the Messiah, may
be explained in this Manner? As {h) that the Wolf
and the Lamb, the Leopard and the Kid, the Lion
and the Calf, should lie down together ; that a
(a) Who ■were in ihe Babylonish Cciptwitif, &c.J Grotius
seems to have Respect to xheChaldee Interpreters of the Old
Testannentj and. to speak according t<j the Opinion of the Jews,
who thought them older than they were. See Brion Walton's
Trolegmitentr to the Polyglot Bible, Chap. XII.
(i) But in ajigurittive Sense, &c.J Thus Maimomdes, in his
First Book, would have that Place of Isaiah xi. 6. of the Times
of the Messiah understood uU«:gorically ; and thus JMvi^Kinchi
speaks of the same Place of Isaiah, who also says the same of
Jeremiah ii. 15. v. 6.
(c) , Js -when God is said to have descended, &c.J As Oen. jji. 5.
xviii. 62. See Maimonides of fbese and the like Forms of Speech,
in his Guide to the Doubting, Part. I. Chap. X. XI. and XXIX.
and following; and also upon Deut, where .he speaks of the
King^ In the Cabalistical Book, Nazael Israel says, that the
Things belonging to the Messiah would beheavendy.
{d) Mouth, &C.J As Jeremiah ix. 12.
((f) Ears, &c.] As Fsalm xxxi. 3. xxxiv. \6.
(f) Eyes, &C.3 In the Place of the forecited Psalm.
(g) Nose, Sicl Psalmx.mi.9. Jer, xxxji. 37.
^A) That the Wolf and the Lamb, &c.] In the foreinention,ed
Place of Isaiah xi. 6, and following Vwses.
young
248 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book V.
young Child should play with tKe Snakes; (a) that
the Mountain of God should rise higher than the
Vest of the Mountains; that Strangers should come
thither to perform holy Rites. Jhere are some
Promises, which appear from the foregoing ajid
following Words, or from their own Sense, to
contain in them a tacit Condition. Thus God
promised many Things to the Hebrews, if they
would receive and obey the Messiah when he
came ; which if they, did not come to pass, they
must impute it to themselves. , And if .there be
any, which are expressly and unconditionally pro-
mised, and are not yet fulfilled, they may yet be
expected. For it is agreed even amongst the
Jews, {b) that the Time or Kingdom of the Mes-
siah was to continue to the End of the World.
SECT. XIX.
And to that which is objected of the low Condition
and JDeath of Jesus.
MANY are offended at .the mean Condition of
Jesus, but without any Reason ; for God says every
where i^ the sacred Writings, {c) that he exalteth
the Humble, and casteth down the Proud, {d) Ja-
cob went over Jordan^ carrying nothing with him
but his Staff, and returned thither again enriched
with great Plenty of Cattle. Moses was banished^
and poor, and a Feeder of Cattle, {e) when God ap-
peared to him in the Bush, and made him Leader
{d) That the Mountain of God, &c.] Isaiah n. Micahvf,
1. and following.
(6) That the Time or Kingdom of the Messiah, kc] Perek
Cherek, i. 79- '
(c) That he exalteth the Humble, &c.] 1 Kings fi. S. Psalm
xxxiv. 19. Prm. xi. 2. Isaiah Ivii. 15. Ixvii. 2.
(rf) Jacob toent over JordaPj &c.] Gen. xxxH. and following.
(e) tf^hen God appeared to him in the Bush, ice.'] Exodm'm.
of
Sect: 19.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 249
of his People, (a) David also/ when he was feed-
ing his Flock, was called to be King ; and the
Sacred History is full of other such like Examples.
And of the Messiah, we read that he was to be
(h) a joyful Messenger to the Poor, (e) that he
should not lift, up his Voice in the Street, nor
make use of Contention, but should act mildly,
so as to spare a shaking Reed, and to ch.erish the
Heat which remained in the sraoakingFlax. Nei-
.ther ought his other Hardships^ and Death itself,
to render him more odious to any one. For God
often permits pious Men, not only to be vexed l^
the Wicked, (d) as Lot was by the Men of Sodom,
but also to be killed ; as is manifest (e) in the Ex-
ample of Ahl, slain by his Brother : (fj of Isaiah,
who Was cut in Pieces-; . (j[) of the Maccabees Bre-
thren, tormented to Death with their Mother.
The Jews themselves sing the Ixxixth Psalm ; in
which are these Words : They have given the dead
Bodies of thy Servants to the Fowls cf the Air, and
the Remains of them whom thou lovest to the Beasts :
They have poured out thiir Blood within the Walls
0/^ Jerusalem, fl«^ there was tione to bury fhem; and
so on. And that the Messiah himself was to ar-
rive at his Kingdom, and to the Power of bestowing
(fl) i)avid flfao, xchen he was feeding his Flock, &c.] 1 Sam,
xvi. 7,'ll.
(b) ■AJoyfulMessengertotheFeor,hc.'\ Isaiah\xi. I, Matt.
xi. 5. and ZacL iyt. 9- • .
(c) that he should not lift up hi^ Voice, &c.] Isaiah xlii. 2,
3, 4. Matt. xii. 19, 20.
(d) As Lot was by the Men of Sodom, &c.] Gen. xix.
'' (e) In the Example of Ahe\, &c.] Gen. W.
Cf) Of Isaiah, who was cut in Pieces, &c.] So says the tra-
dition of the Jews, to which the Author to th^ Hdrews has
Respect, xii. 37, and Josephus X. 4. Chalcidius on Tilmxvs,
" As the Prophets by wiclied Men, one. cut in Pieces, another
overwfielmed with Stones." ...
(^OftAe Maccabees Brethren, &c.] 2 Maccab, vn. Jose-
pA^n his Book, Of the GQvernmcnt of Reason.
on
250 OF THE TRUTH OT THE [Book V,
on his Disciples the greatest good Things, through
Troubles and Death, no body can deny, who reads
those Words of liaiak .with an attentive Mind,
(a) Ch. liit. Who hath helieved our Report, andwho
hath acknoijuledged the Power of God? And that for
this Reason, because he hath arisen in the Sight of God
as a tender Plant, as Grass out of the sandy Ground;
there is no Beauty or Comeliness in his Countenance,
neither if you look upon him, is there any Thing de-
lightful; he was exposed to Contempt, and was as the
Most despised amongst Men; he endured many Sorrows,
piaf7y Griefs : All men turned away themselves from
him : he was so much despised as to he thought of no
Value i (b) but indeed he hath endured our Diseases,
he hath botfte our Calamities. We esteemed him as
struck fTdm Heaven, as sfriitten and afflicted of God:
But he ivas wounded for 6uf- Sins, he was bruised for
our Crimes; (i) the Punishment whieh should procure
Safety for us, was laid on him; his Stripes were a
. Remedy for us, fef assuredly we have all wandered to
afid fro like Sheep ; God hath inflicted on him the
Punishfiietit due to our Cities. Andyet when he was
afflidted and grievously tormented^ he did not lift "tip
his Voice, but was silent as a Lamb going to be slain,
<ind a Sheep to he shorn. After Bonds, after Judge-
tnent, he was taken from among Men ; but now who
can worthily declare the Continuance of his Life f He
was taken out of this Place wherein we live ; but this
Evil befel him for the Sins of my People. He was
delivered into the Hands of powerful and -wicked Men,
(a) Chap. liii. &c.] Which Place is interpreted of the Mes-
siah, by the ChdUee Paraph rast, and the Babylonish Gemara,
entitled concerning the Council.
(6y But indeed he hath endured our Diseases, Stc] Abarbo'
nel upon this Place, tells us, that by Diseases, are to be under-
stood any Evils.
(c) The Funishinent which should procure Safety forMs, &c.]
B.abboth, and Solomon Jarchi, on the Gam&ri, entitled concern-
ing the Council, explain these Words concerning the Messiah.
, even
*6ct. 19.] GHRIiSTlAbr ftEtlGto^. ffSl
4veH unto Dedih and Bt&iaJ, when he had dohe na
Iv^Uty to any one, hot- was Deceit eve'r fdund in^is
Speech : But althotigh God perrhitied him to be thus
faf' hridsed and ■aj^cted with Pains, {a) yet hecduse
he has inade himself a Sacrifice for Sin, [l>) he shall
ste hii Posterity, he shatl live a long Life ; and those
Idlings which are kcctftaUt to God, shall happily suc-
ceed throdgh him : Smiig Umself fYeed from E^il,
says Osd, {c) he shall be satisfied HSoith Pleasure, and
that principal^ for this Reason, because by his Doc-
trine my righteous S&rvant shall acquit nlAny, bearing
MiiKtlf their Sins. I will give thefn a large Portion
i^d) when the Spoil shall be divided anumgst the War-
riors; because he submitted hhiself to Death, and
was reckoned amongst the Wicked: and when he bore
ihe Punishment of other Men's Crimes, he made him-
self a Petitioner far the Guilty. Which of the Kings
or Pfophets can be named, to whoitt these Tilings
will agfee? Certainly none of them. And as to
what the modern Jews coneieit, that tlie Hebi-ei^
People thetttiselves are h«re spoken of, who hreing
tdi^ersed into all Natione, shoiild by their Exam-
ple and Ii)iscOurse make Proselytes ; this Sense,
in the first Place, is inconsistent with many Testis
(a) Yet becavse Ae has fnack hirn:self a Sacrifice, &c.] /Ilsech
says, that Evils borne with a willing Min^ are here spoken of.
(6) He'shaltsee'hisJ'os'terity,8iC.] a!<ftrecA- here says, thai by
the Word Seed in the liebreiv; A meaht Disciples:. Thus the
Seed of the Serpent is by the HeBrews interpretetl the Cavaan-
itcs; and so some understand it to mean thtir Chihlren. Isaiah
Vili. 18. as 'the Jerusalem Talmnd observes, under, the Title
concerning the Council.
■(c) He shall be satisfied with Pleasure, ^c.l Abarbanel refers
'these Words to a future Age.
(d) When the Spoil shall be divided, he] The Bdby/onish Gc
mara, entitled naiD, tells us, that these Words aie to tre un-
derstood in a spiritual sense. Alseck n'pon tins Place says,
that by Spoils are to be understood the Honours and Rewards
of vTise Men.
monies
252 OF THE TEiUTH OF THE [Book V.
monies of the Sacred Writings, which declare^
(a\ that no Misfortunes should befal the Jews^
which, and much greater than which, they have
not deserved by their Actions. Further, the Order
itself of the prophetic Discourse, will not bear
such an Interpretation. Fol* the Prophet, or which
seems more agreeable to that Place,' God saysj
This Evil hath happened to him for the Sins of my
P-eople.'. No^ IsaiaVs People, or God's People,
are the Hm^m} People ; wherefore he who is sai
by Isaiah, tofiave endured such grievous Things,
cannot be the sameTeople. The ancient Hehmw
Teachers more rightly confessed, that these Things
were spoken of the Messiah ;, which when some of
the letter saw, {b) they imagined two Messiahs ;
one of which they call the Son of Joseph, who en-
dured many Evils^ and a cruel Death ; the other
the Son of David, to whom all Things succeeded
prosperously ; {c) though it is much easief, and
more agreeable to the Writings of the Prophets,
to acknowledge one, who arrived at bis Kingdom
through Adversity and Death, which we believe
concerning Jesus, and which the Thing itself
shews us to be true.
SECT. XX;
jind as though they were good Men who delivered
him to Death.
MANY are withheld from embracing the Doc-
trine of Jesus, out of a prejudiced Notion they
(a) That no Misfortunes should befal the Jews, &.C.] This ap-
pears from those Places of the Prophets cited above, and from
Daniel ix. and Nehemiah ix. To which we may add, that he
of -whom Imiah speaks, was to pray to Gud for the Heathens,
which the Jems do not do.
(b) 1 hey imagine^, two Messiahs, kc] See the Talmud, en-
inled, Siiecha, R, Solomon, and li. David KincAi. '
(c) Though it is much easier, &c.] Which Abarbanel follows,
not in one Place only, on this Chapter ot'Jsaiah,
have
Sect. 20.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 253
have entertained of the Virtue and Goodness of
their Forefathers, and especially of the Chief
Priests ; who condemned Jesus, and rejected his
Doctrine, without any just Reason. But what Sort
of Persons their Forefathers often were, that they
may not think T falsely slander them, let them
hear ia the very Words of the Law, and of the Pro-
phets, by whom they are often called (a) Uncir-
cumcised in Ears and Heart ; (b) a People who
honoured God with their Lips, and with costly
rites, but thejr Mind was far removed from him.
It was their Forefathers, (c) who were very near
killing their Brother Jostph^ and who actually sold
him into Bondage ; it was their Forefathers also
{d} who made Moses t^ir Captain and Deliverer,
whom the Earth, Sea, and Air obeyed, weary of
his Life by their continual Rebellions ; {e) who
despised the Bread sent from Heaven; (f) who
complained as if they were in extreme Want, when
they could scarce contain within them the Birds
they had eaten. It was their Forefathers {g) who
forsook the great and good King David, to follow
his rebellious Son: It was their Forefathers (k)
who slew Zachafias, the Son oiJehoida, in the most
Holy Place, making the. very Priest himself a Sa-
crifice of their Cruelty. (i)4^.nd as to the High-
Priests, they were such as treacherously designed
•
(a) Uncircumcised in Ears and Hearty &c.J Jer. iv. 4. vi. 20.
(6) ji People Kho honoured God it,iih their Lips, Sec."] Deuf.
xxxii. 5,6, 15, 28, Isaiah xxix. 13. Amos v. 21. Ezekielxvi. 3.
(c) Whovierevcrynear killing their Brother, ice.'] Ge«.xxxviii.
(d) Who made Moses, &c.] The Places are observed before
in the Second Book.
(p) Who despised the Bread, &c.] Numb. xi. 6.
(fj Who complained as if thty were in extreme Want, &c.]
Id the forecited xith Chapter, towafda the End.
(g) Who/orsookthegreatandgoodKiHgI>a,yi6i,Scc.1 2.Samx\.
(A) Who slew Zacharias, &e.] 2 Chron. xxiv. 21.
(i) And as to the High-Priesis, &c.] Jer. xxvi.
the
254 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book V.
the Death of Jeremiah,, and had effected it, if they
had riot been hindered by the Authority, of sonie
of the Rulers ; however, they extorted thus much,
{a) that he should be held a Captive till the very
Moment the City was taken. If any one think
that they who lived in the Time of Jesus were
better, Josephus can free them from this Mistake,
who describes their most hoirid Crimes, and their
Punishments, which were lieavier than any that
were ever heard of; and yet. as he himself thinks,
{b) beneath what they deserved. Neither are we
to think better of the Council, especially when at
that Time the Members^of it were not admitted,
according to the ancient Custom, by the Imposir
tion of Hands, but werey^wont to be chosen {s)
at the Will of great Men; as the Chief Priests also
were, whose Dignity was not now perpetual, {dyhnl
yearly, and oftentimes purchased. So that we ought
not to wonder that Men swelled with pride, whos6
Avarice and Ambition were insatiable, should b^
enraged at the Sight of a Man, who urged the most
holy Precepts, and reproved their Lives by their
Difference from his. Nor ^as he accused of any
Thing, but what the best Men ©f old were: {e)
Thus Micaiah, who lived in theTime oiJehosophat,
was delivered to Prison, for resolutely asserting, the
Truth against four hundred false Prophets^ (f)
Ahab
(o) That he should he held a Captive, &c.] Jer. xjucviii.,
(i) Beneath wiat they deserved, Sic.'] He says no other
City ever endiured such Calamities, nor was there ever any Age
so fruitful of all Kinds of Wickedness;- The Jews brought
greater Mischiefs upon themselves than the Romans did, who
came to expiate their Crimes.
(cj At the Will of great Men, &c.] Josephus XIV. 9.
((Z) But yearly and oftentimes purchased, &C.3 Josephus
XVI1L3, and 6. ,
(e) Thus Micaiah , &c.] 2 Kings xxii.
{j) Ahab cAarg-ed Elijah, &c.] \ Kings x\v\. V7 . Ahah
said to Elija/t, Art not thou he that troubles Israel ? And thus the
High
Sect. 200 CHRISTIAN RELIGIO^T. 2S!i
Ahab charged Elijah, just as the Chief Priests did
Jesus, with being a Disturber of the Peace of
Israel, {a) And Jeremiah was accused, as Jesus
was, of prophesying against the Temple. To
which may be added, what the- ancient Hebrew
Teachers {h) have left us in Writing, that in the
Times of the Messiah, Men would have the Im-
pudence of Dogs, the Stubbornness of an Ass,-
and the Cruelty of a wild Beast. And God him-
self, who saw long before, what Sort of Men many
of the Jews would be in the Times of the Messiah,
foretold that they {e) who were not his People,
should be admitted to be his People, {d) and that
out of every City and Village of the Jews not
above one or two should go up to the Holy Moun-
tain ; but that what was wanting in their Number
should be filled up by Strangers. And also {e)
that the Messiah should be the Destruction of the
Hebrews i but that this Stone, which was rejected
by the Master-Builders, should be put in the Chief
Place, to hold the whole Fabric together.
High Priests said oi Jesus, Luke xxiii. 2. We found this Man a,
Troubkr of Israel.
(a) And Jeremiah was accused,. &c,] Jei\ viL 4, and follow- '
ing, xxvi. 6, II,
(6) Have left us in Writing, &c.] See the Talmud concern-
ing the Council ; Kelmboth and Sola. R. Solomon on the fore-
mentioned Title, concerning the Council, c. Helech, and the
Talm^) entitled concerning Weights. And also the Traditioa
of Rfdibi Judah, in the Getnara, on the same Title, concerning
the Council, c. Helech. " At that Time, when the Son of
David shall come, the House that was appointed of God, shall
be made a BrothM-House." See Jeremiah x.. ;31. xix. 14.
(Here was a great Mistake, for the Masoreth was put instead
of the Gemara, for these Words are to be found in the Gemara,
Chap. XI. entitled concerning the Council. " At the Time
•' when the Son of David shall come, the House of assembling
" together, wnn n'S, shall be made a Brothel-House." ^d.
Cocc'eiw, Sect. 27. Le Clerc.J
(c) Who vxre not his People, &c.] Hosea ii. 24.
(d) And that out qfevtry City. See.'] ' Jerem. iii. 14, \7. and
Isaiah liii.
{fi)That the Mestiah should bt the Destruction, &c.] Isaiah
iii. 14. ftalm cwiii. its. SECT.
255 OF THE TRtTH 6t f H£ [Hlook V.-
S^CT, XXL
j4n Answer to tWe Objection of tpe 'Chi;isf^tc^m ;vi}of^
■^ shipping' Wa'nfGo'S\ '" ' ' ''
It remains, that we answer two ,4c9us^tiQns,
which the Jews assault the Doctrine, and WoTshipB
of the Christians with. The first is this; tbeyjaffiism:
that we worship many Gods^:; But this is'hcJ \m0rb ■
than an odious Explication of a Dcictriiil^whiph i|p3-
pears Stfange t©the,?r|. Fdrthere is no moreEeasQia-.
why this should be blajected against the Christlansi"
(a) than against Philo the Jew, whbtoften a&tms,
that thereare three Things in God ; and he' calls thl'
Reason {h) or JVordofGod, the Name of God, (c) |he,
(a) Than against Pliilo the Jew, &c,3 Concerning ;t.h6?lS4-'
crifices of Abel and Caiit. " When God, atteiTde,d;\^it.hitiisiwo-
" principal Powers, Government aiad Goodnesi ; Him?e.tf, \sr.ho!
" is one only, being betweep them, he fra,me.dithree Canceptions!
" in the Contemplative Soul ; each of which can bytna MeanS'
" be comprehended, for his Powers are unlimited, they edcb'
"contain the whole." Afterwards he' calls Go'Q&nmM'}>^
Force f ; and' Goodness he^calis Beiiefictnce; find says, thdt tbejs
are not prbiiounced by a pious Mind, but,kept|Pi silent SecrecyJ
And' the sam^ we find in his Book" of Cherubiinr In the Second'
Book of the Husbandry of Ni^ah, he montipiis Enstence, tke Gv-
verning Power, the Merciful Pmoer. Maimonides, in thei Begi»-:
ning of his'-Bo,ok of Fundamentals, and after hivfiJofephAllM^
distinguish \aGo^,tKat which under standeth,; that byiebieh an^
thing is Understood; and the understanding. We findsom^
thing'belongihg to this Mdtiev in jiibefifCsdras, or Gen. sviii.and
MciimOiiides's Guide t<) the Doubting. ,, , 'ii
(b) Or JPvrd of Cod, &c.] In his Allegories, and M the
Confq|ion of Tongues. ,i ' :)• .r
{c%^The Mother of the World, &c.] Iii' his Allegories: '.'His
" Wprd, ib);j making Use of which, as of an Iiistruine.nt, he
" m<T,die,,it-he World." Concerning Caiii : "The VVorfi,, pf
" Go4,was the Iflstrameut by which, it {the World) was mn<ie;'|'
(The \y.ord..Aov«5 .might better be translated' Rcasoii, here ij»
Philot^eis I have abundantly shown iji the Dissertation'on the
Beginning of St. John. Ln C/erc.J
- Maker
§ect,21.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. mf
Maker of the Worid (a) not unbegotteji, as is God
the Father of all ; nor yet begotten in like Manner
As Men Sire : Thfe same is likewise called (^) the
Angel, or .th^ Ambassadofr, who taked care of thd
Universe j by PMo himself ; and by (c) Mbses the Son
of
(a) Nof iiftbegomri, a* is God the fothet of alt, ^c] .I'he
I'ltree is in the Book Entitled, Who shah inherit Divine Things,
The »ame Word is called by Philo, the Image of God, in his
Book of Monarchy : and in that of Dreams sent by God ; sotne'
times ccsT-Eixofir^a, the Aesemblance, as in the Book entitled,. T^e
iVicked lay Snares for the MighteoUi, Soitetinres X)*(»»t>^,ihe
TirrH, as in Book IL bf Agrii:ij^ture.-Gbim^a.x& lohn i. Hei: i. S:
(i) The Angel, or the Ambassador, &c.] He calls him Ayyj^
Ae«, Angel, in his Allegories, and in his Book of Cherubm;
•*f»«WM, Archaitgel, in his Book entitled, Whp shall inheHt
dimne good Things, and in his Book of theConf'ution of Tongues,
And the same is called Angel, and nin», Jehovah, by A, Searinet
in Mechor Chaim.
(c) Moses the Son of Nehemannus, &c.]' The learned Mdsius
has translated his Words thus, on the vth Chap, of Joshua :
"Ihiat Angel, to" speak the Truth, is the Angel, the Re-
'' deemer, of whort'it is written, because my Name is in him.
*' lliat Angel, I say, \/ho said to Jacob, I am the. God at
" Bethel. He of whom it is said, And God called Moses ont
" of the Brtsh. And he is called an Angel, because he ko"
" Verns the VS^orld. For it is written Jehovah (that is, the
" Lord Gi>d) brought as out of Egypt; and m other Plac^es, hp
" sent his Angel, and brought us out of. ^gypt : B&siil^
" it is written'. And the Angel of his Presence hatli made
" them safe. Namely, That Angel which is the Presence of
" Grod, concerning whom it is said, my Presence shall go be^*
" fore, and I will cause thee to rest. Lastly, this is that Aiv^
" gel of whom the Prophet said, And suddenly the Lord wh(na
" ye seek, sTiall eome into his Temple, even the Angel
" of the Covenant, whom ye desire." And again, ottvet
Words of the same Person to this Purpose : " Consider
*' diligently what those Things me^n ; for Moses and the I^
" raelites always wished for the first Angel ; but they ceold
" not rightly understand who he was. .For tbey had it not
" from others, nor could they arrive fully at it by prophetic
" Knowledge. But the Presence of God signifies God, bim-
" self, as is confessed by all Interpreters; neither could any
",one understand' those Things by. Dreams, unless he wjefp
" skilled in the Mysteries of the Law. And again, " ]M[y
S " Presence
258 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book V.
oi Nehemannus : {a) Or against the Cohalisfs, who
distittguish God into three LightSj,.and some of
them by the same Names as the Christians do, of
the Father, Son or Word, and Holy Ghost. And
to take that, which is chiefly allowed amongst all
the Hebrews : That Spirit by which the Prophets
were moved, is not any created Thing, and yet it is
distinguished from hiiTi that sent it; as likewise that
which is (b) commoTily called the Schechinah. Now
(<r) many of the Hebrews have this Tradition, that
that Divine Power, which they call Wisdom^ should
dwell in the Messiah, (/^ whence the ChaldeeFaxZ'
phrast
" Presence shall go before, that is, the Angel of the Covenant
" whofii ye desire, in whom my Presence will be seen. ,0£
" whom it is sajd, I will hear thee in an acceptable Time} for
" my Name is in him, and I will make thee to rest; or 1 will
" cause him to be kind and mercifuLto thee. Nor sh^l he
" guide thee by a rigid Law, but kmdly and gently." Com-
pare with this, what we find in Mananses Conciliator', in the
XlXih Qufest. on Genesis. (The Name of this Rabbi*s Father
may better be pronounced Nachman, for it is written janJ,
Ifathman.J
(a) Or against the Cabalists, &c.] See the Appendix to
Sehindler's Hebrew Lexicon, in the Characters 13S. And the
Book called Schep'tal says nnsD Siperot/i. Number in God
doe^ .not destroy his Unity. . ^
(b) Commonli/ called the Schechiaah, Sec."] < And they distin-
guish it fiom the Holy Ghost. See the Jerusalem. Gemara, en-
titled concerning Instructions, Chap. 3. And the' Babylonish
Getnara, etititled Jomach 1. R. Jonathan in his Preface tp
Ecka Rabbathi, says, that the Schechinah remained three Years
and a Half upon Mount Olivet, expecting the Conversion of
the Jews; which is very true, if we apprehend him right.
■ (c) Many of the-Hehrews have this Tradition, &c.] Rabbi
' Solomon, on Genesis xix. 1 8. acknowledges, that God can take
ii'pon him human Nature, which he thinks was formerly done
for a Time j to which agrees the Talmud, entitled Schebnoth
and Sabbathoth.
{d) Whence the Chaldee Faraphrast, kc."] As IJosea xii.
(But they are mistaken who think that the Chaldee Piaraphrast
"means any Thing else by the Name of Godj but God himself i
as a very learned Man, hath shewn, in the Balani:e of Truth,
published
Sect. 21* 22.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION, 959
phrast calls the Messiah, the Word of God } as the
Messiah is also called by David, and others, (a)
by the venerable Name of God, {h) and also of
the Lord.
SECT. XXII.
And that human Nature is worshipped by them,
TO the other Objection they make against us,
namely, that we give the Worship due to God,:
to a Being made by God ; the Answer is ready :
For we say, that we pay no other Worship or Ho-
nour to the Messiah, (i:) but what we are command-
ed in PsaJm ii. and ex. the former of which was
fulfilled in David only in an incomplete Manner,
and belonged more eminently to the Messiah, (d)
as David Kitnchi, a great Enemy to the Christians,
acknowledges ; and the latter cannot be'explained
of any other but the Messiah : For the Fictions of
published in the Year 1700, a long Time after the Author's
Dekth." (Le Clefc.)
(a) By ihe venerabk Name of Godj &c.] Namely, mn» /e»
hffoak; Jonathan and David Kimchi, on Jerendah xxiii. 6; with
which agrees Abba in Ecka Rabbathi, niNir nin», Jehovah Sa-
booth, Zachariah xiv. 16. The Talmud in Taanith from' Isaiah
XXV. 9. saith, in that Time God^ nin> Jehovah, shall be shewn
as it were with the Finger,
(5) And also of the Lord, &c.] ci>n^« Elohim, Psal. xMr. 7.
which Psalm, the Chaldee Paraphrast tnere owns, treats of the
Messiah, as he did before in that Place of Isaiah now cited,
Aiso JHK Adonai in Psatm, ex. which treats of the Msssiah,
as will presently appear,
(c) But 'wkat we are commanded, &c.] The very learned
Rabbi Saaida explains these Places, and Zachariah, ix. 9. of
the Messiah.
(d) As David Kipchi, &c.] This same Second Psalm isexi-
pounded of the M^ssisih. by Abraham Esdras, and R. Jonathan
in Beresith Rabba.
s a the
250 OF THE TaWH OF THfi po6k V.
theMterJg'ivs; &om& of ^^haiams sQUae of David,
md othtf^ of Hezekiai,' are very trifling. Tbt He~
Ifrew; Inscription sheWs usj that it was a Psalrh of
David's own. Therefore what David says was said
io Ms Lord, cannot agree tP 2><?w^/ himself, nor to
He%eUah, who was of tlie Posterity of David, and
no Way more excellent than Bavid. KxA Abra-
ham had not a more excellent Priesthood ; nay,
Mekhkedech gave hiim a Blessiiig, («) as infesioy to
himself. But Both this, and that which is added,
coiieernittg {V) a Scepter's comifig out of Bion, anil
exffedttg to the most distant Places, pbiwly^rees
to the Messiah ; (c) as is clear from those Haces
Vvhich, without tJOttbt, speak ofth^ Messiah; nei-
ther did the ancient Hebrews and Paraphrasts un-
defstand them otherwise. Now that Jesvls ofNaxa^
reith wats truly the Person-, id whoffl these Things
wefefcrlftlled, I cotiid believe npon the Affirmatioa
of his Disciples only, tfpon tite Aeoount of theic
great tlcmesty; in the sSirte Manner as the Jewt
belieVe ifoJ^j, without any other Wittiess in those
Things which he says were delivered to him from
God. {d) But there are very many and very strong
A*guments besides this, of tha^t exceeding Power
which we affirm Jesus to have ob'tained. He him-
self was seen by many after he was restored to
Life : He was seen to be taken up into Heaven ^
Moreover Devils were cast out, and Diseases healed,
by his Name only ; aijd the Gift of Toqgues was
given to his Disciples ; which Things Jesus him-
(&) As inferior toJiimself, &c.]> And received the Tithe 6f
him by a Sacerdotal Rightj Gen. xiv. Ig, 20.
(6) A Scepter's coining out gf Sion, &Ci] Psalm, ex. 2.
(c) As is clear from those Places, &c.} As Geneiis' xlix. 10.
and those before cited out of the Prophets.
• (d) But there are very many, Sec.] See them handled before
in the Second Book ; and vrhat is said in the Beginning of this
Book,
self
gect. 23.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION- . 25l
self promised, as Signs of his Kingdom. Add to
this, that his Scepter, that is, the Word of the
Gospel, came out ttf !^on, aftd, without any human
Assistance, exteijded itself to the utmpst ttiiniti^
of this Ealrth, by the Divine Power alone;' atid
-made Nations and Kings subject unto it, as the
Psalms expressly foretold. The Cabaligtic^l '^s
{m) made the Son of Em'ch a Oeptaint i«iddle Pefr
son betwixt God a»d Men, who had wo'Tokeft of
any such great Power. How mueh more fetfoaf.
aWe then is it, for ua to do it C&him w^bo gavg us
flucH Instructions \ Neither ^oes- this at »U t^n'd to
the tessehing of God the Father, (i>)- from wbtw
this Power of Jesus was derived, {c) ^nd to mkom
it will return, {d) and whose Honour it lepv-^s.
(a> Hetite iif Sm of SJnoc^, ?fc.] ."^ N^^f fH'fl^tlip
Udirewsgne him, is, ni^ap MetaJ^or. Soj:l)8 l^Jfn^ ca^l l»'m>
who prepares the Way fbr>the,King. Thiis Lucan,
■ As Harbinger to the He^peji^n Fields, I bpMy cdijie.
Vegetius, Book 11. says, " They we're calteJ Metaiore^y H^r-
" bingers, in tlie Camps, who went before aiiH cho'se'a Pl^c'e
" fit for the Camp." J^nA ihm Smdcii i MexATup, ," A Hp?T
" binger, is a Messenger who is before from the Prince."
(Tb0 Rabbies rathier c^ll it Met^tran. pmi5l3, ^«iS>cfSjping
whichr, See JoJm Buxtorfs CAaldee and Robbical Lexicon.)
(6) From whom this Poiver, .&c.] As himself confesses,
Jokn, V. 19, 30,36, 43. vi. 36, .'57. viii. 28, 43. x, 18, 29.
xiv. 28,31. xvi. 28. xx. 21. And the Apostle to the Hebt^
V. S. Rom. vi. 4. 1 Cor. xi. 4,
(c) And to whom it leill return, &c.] As the Apostle con-
fesses, 1 Cor. XV. 24.
(d) And whose Honour it serves, &c.] John xiii. 31. xiv. 13.
Horn. xvi. 27. Therefore the Talmud, entitled concerning the
Council, denies Jesus to be the Name of an Idol; seeing the
Christians in honouring -him have a Regard to God the Mfiker
of the World.
SECT.
262 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book V
SECT. XIII.
The Conclusion of this Part, with a Prayer for the
Jews.
IT is not the Design of this Treatise, to exa-
mine more nicely into these Things : nor had we
treated of them at all, but to make it appear that
there is nothing in the Christian Religion, either
impious or absui'd, which any Man can pretend
against embracing a Religion recommended by so
great Miracles, whose Precepts are so virtuous,
.jand whose Promises are so excellent. For he who
has once embraced it, ought to consult those
Books, which we have before shewn to contain
the Doctrines of the Christian Religion, for parti-
cular Questions^ Which that it may be done,
let us beseech God, that he would enlighten the
Minds of the Jews with his own Light, and ren-
der those Prayers efFectual, {a) which Christ, put
up for them, when he hung upon the Cross.
(a) W^dh Christ put up for them, Jrc] Luke xxiii, 34.
BOOK
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. a£^^
BOOK VI.
SECT. I.
A Confutation of Mahometanism : tfie Original
thereof.
INSTEAD of a Preface to the Sixth Boole,
which is designed against the Mahometans; it
relates the Judgments of God against the Chris-
tians, down tb the Original of Mahometanism;*
namely, {a) how that sincere and unfeigned Piety,
which flourished amongst the Christians, who
were most grievously afflicted and tormented, be-
gan by Degrees to abate ; after Constantine and the
following Emperors had made the Profession of
the Christian Religion not only safe but honour-
able ; but having as it were (b) thrust the World
into the Church,, first, {c) the Christian Princes
(fl) Ho'iD that sincere and vrifeigned Piety, &d,] See Ammia-
nus MarceUimis, at the End of tKe Twenty-first Book concern*
ihg Canstantius : " And above all, he was very ready to take
" away what he had given 5 confounding the Christian Reii-.
" gion, which is perfect and sincere, with old Wives' Fables ;
" by more intricately searching into which, rather than seriously ,
" settling them, he caused a great many Difliirooces: which
" spreading further, he kept up by quarrelling about Words ;
'* that the Body of Prelates, who were the public Pack^-hor'ses,
'* running here and there in Synods, as they call them, might
" cut the Nerves of their Carriage ; by endeavouring to make
" every Rite conformable to their own Opinion."
{b) Thrust the World into the Church, &c.] See what is" ex-
cellently said about this, in Chrysostom's Second floral Dis-*
course on the xiith Chapter of 2 Cor, after Ver. 10.
(c) The Christian Princes ■waged War, &c.] It is a commend'
able Saying of Martian in Zonoras, " That a King ought not
'*to take up Arms, so long as he can maintain Peace."
waged
26* OF THE. TRUTIJ OF THE [BooLVI.
waged War without Measure, ever> when they
might have enjoyed Peace, {a) Th© Bishops <j,uar-
el^.i -, . ..3V< relied
(a) The Bishops quarrelled with each other, &c.] Ammianus,
Book XXyil. '< The Cruel Seditions of the quarrelsome Peo-
" pie, which gave Rise to this Business, frighted this .Man
^' also (Viventius, chief Commissioner of the Palsice). Damasus
" and Ursicinus, being above all reasonable , Measure de-
" sirous of seizing the Episcopal Chair, contende4 with each
*', Otjier most vehemently by diffrent Intetestsj tljjBJ^ .^c-
" complices on each Side carrj" ing on their Differences as far
" as Death and "Wounds j which Viventius not being able to
" eorref t or sotteij, being conjpelled by a gre^t, Forcg, • re-f
" tired into the Suburbs ; E^ijd Damasus . overcame, in th^
"^Contest, the Party which favoured him, press;ing hard.
'< And it ts evideni, that in the Palace of Siciuius, Wnere
*f the Asspmbiips of. the Christian used to be, there WMfa
*' fpund the dead Jodies of ^ne hundred and th,irty-seveij.,_5liij;i
**i4 one Day; aq^ it was a long Time before the eijrag?d
"common People could be appeased. Nor do I deny, wlien
" I copsider the City's Pomp, but. that they who are aesirous.
". of such Tilings, n^y lawfully contend, by styetching.'tljpir
W Lungs to the utmost in order to obtain what they aiin'at.
5' Because wheii they are arrived at it, they will be So'^secure,
'* that t^ey may enrich themselves with the Gifts ofMa^ons,
** m^y sit and ride ip their Chariots, be neatly dressed, h^vQ
f large Fea,sts provided, insoipiich that their Banquets \vili,
•' exceed the Royal Tables ; but such Persons might have
" been more truly happy, if they had despised the Grandeur
«' of the City, which flattered their Vices; and, had lived
" after the Manner of some of the Provincial Bishops, w^pse
" sparingness in eating and diiiiking moderately, and Mean^
" ness in Clothes, and Eyes fi?ced on the Ground contin.uallyj
•' recommend thein as pure and modest to the Deity, and tq
<' those that Worship him." And a little after ; " Th6 Chief,
" Justice, whilst he^ takes Care of the Government in q,
" higher Degree j amongst other Things, by manifold Actj,
" of Integrity and Goodness, fer which he has been famou?
*' from the Beginning of his Youth, has obtained thaf whicl^
" seldom happens ; that at the same Time that he is feared
" hidoes not lose the Love of his Subjects ; which iS seldom
*' very strong. towards those Judges they are afraid of. By
"" whose Authority and just Determinations ef Truth, the
" Tumult, raised by the Quarrels of the Christians, was
" appeased ; and Urdcinus being driven away, the Roman
'^Subjects grew into a firin Peace jointly, apd with ontj.
f Mind; which k the! Glosry of. aa eminent Ruler, ijegvi-
5 " lating
S?^. 1.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 965,
felled with each other most bitterly, abottt thi?
fei^h^ Places : And, as of old, the (<?.) preferring
the Tree qf Knowledge to the Tree of life, v/qs
the Occasion of the greatest; evils; so the» nice
Ia%wries weFe esteemed more than Piety, (b) an4
ReligijHi
" lating ifl^ijy and advantageous Tliingsl" ThU. was that CJbief
JustJceoiP whom Jerome tells a Story, tiat unworthy to bemea-
tipnfed here, to Pammaehms, agaanst the Errors at John of Jeruin
mkin. " The Chj^ Justice tIat died when he was deaigh«4 for
" Consul, used tq say jeslipgly to the holy Pope Damasus; ^ake;
" me Bishop of the City of Home, and I wiW be a Christian im-
" mediately."' See also what the same Ammianus says, Book
3CV. The African Council did not withput reason adinqnish.
the Bishop of the City of Rome thus : ".That we may riot seem
" to bring the v^in Arrogance of the Age into the Church, o£
" Christ, which Affords the Light of Simplicity, and the Bay
" of Humility, to them who desire to see God." To which
we may ad'd the noble Epistles of the 'Romctk Bishop Gregory,
truly^fiied the Great, Book IV. 32, 34, 36. Book VI. 30.
Book VII. Indict. 1. Egist. 30. '
(a) F referring thv tree of Knoii/ledge, &f .] Gen, ii. and iii.
- ^k) And&eM^«» was made an Artf &g>]) See what was he'>>
fere qttoted out of the Twenty-first Book of 4'uimiimuf. The;
same Historian, Bpok XXIII. in the History of Julm»^ says,
** And that his Disposition of Things might produce a more-
" certain. Effect, having admitted the disagreeiri;? Prelates of
"the Christians, together with the dividiad Multihjde, into the
''•Palace; he adrnouished tham that every one, laying asiqe
•^ their civil Discord, should 'apply himself without Fear tw'
♦' his Religion; which he urged the) more eamesitly, -bocause
" Liberty is apt to -increase dtssensioas, that he mighi^ have
" riie less Reason to fear the common People, When they wer&
"all ef »*ie Mind, knowting tiikt no Beasts are so miscbjewous
*' toi^MiSui, as veiy many of the Christians were,i who were
" so outrageous against one aiiftther." Sse- aXsoa ^r-ocapius,- in
the first of his-.Go»hics, to be read : will* some Abateinent
here, as in trther Places. "Ambassadors came from Bi/-
" zantium, to the Bishop of Bjome,-\'iz. Hj/paiiajs, Bitlwip of
" J^h^svs, ^ni £>eOTefw«, Bisbai* 'oi.Philippi in MofedfimOt
'* cpJicerniDg an Opinion, which was cfmtroverted; siitangst
" the Christians. Though I know what Opposition they
"madWyet I am very ijinwilling to relate it; for L, think
" it the maddest Folly to Search nicely into the Nature of
"GoiH'
i66 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book Vli
Religion was made art Art. The Consequence of
which was, that after the Example of them (a) who
built the Tower of Bahel, their rashly affecting
Matters, produced different Languages and Con-
fusion among them ; which the common People
taking Notice of, many times not knowing which
Way to turn themselves, cast all the Blame upon
the Sacred Writings, and began to avoid them, as
if they were infected. And Religion began every
where to be placed, not in Purity of Mind, but
in Rites, as if Judaism were brought back again ;_
and in those Things, which contained in them.
ip) more of bodily Exercise, than Improvement of
" Goil, and wherein it consists. For, as I conceive, Man,
" cannot fully comprehend human Things, much less those,
" that appertain to the Divine Nature, I may therefore 'se-
" curely pass by these Things in Silence, and not dis.turb
" what they reverence. As for myself, I can say nothing
"more of God, but that, he is every Way good, and upholds
" all Things by his Power; he that knows more, whether
" he be a priest or one of the common People, let him speak
" it." Gregoras, Book XH. cites the saying of lysis the
FytkagOreanf' and afterwards of Synesius ; " That talking
*« Philosophy: among the Vulgar, was the Cause of Men's
" so much {^^ntemnitig divine Things." So also Book the
Xth, he mucft dissuades Men from such Disputes ; and speak-
ing of the Latins of his time, he says, " I blame and coii-
" demn the Italians highly, because they run into divine
"Matters with great Arrogance." Afterwards he adds;
" Amongst them the Mechanics utter the Mysteries of Di-
" vinity, arid they are all as eager of reasoning syllogisti-
" cally, as the Cattle are of Food and Grass. Both . they
" who doubt of what they ought to believe rightly, and
" they who know not what they ought to believe, nor what
" they say they believe ; these fill all the Theatres, Forums,
" and Walks, with their Divinity, and are not ashamed to
" make the Sun a Witness of their Impudence."
(o) WJio built the Tower of Babel, &c.J Gen. xi. Mahomet
often reproaches these Controversies of the Christians, parti-
cularly if) Azoara, XXVI. XXXH.
(6) ilore of bodili/ Exercise, &c.] 1 Tim, iv. 8, Colos, ii
23. ' ' ■ ,
the
iect. 1.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION.. Sffr
the Mind ; and also in a violent adhering to (a) the'
Party they had chosen ; the final Event of which
was, that there were everywhere a great many
(h) Christians in Naipe, hut very few in reality.
God did not overlook these Faults of his Peo-
ple ; but from the farthest Corners, (c) of Scytkia,
(d) and Germatty, poured vast Armies, like a De-
luge, upon the Christian World : And when the
great Slaughter made by these did not suffice to
reform those which remained ; by the just Permis-
sion of God, (e) Mahomet planted in Arabia a
new Religion, directly opposite to the Christian
Religion ; yet such as did in a good Measure ex-
press in Words, the Life' of a great Part of the
Christians. This Religion was first embraced by
the Saracens, who revolted from the Emperor He-
radius ; whose Arms quickly subdued Arabia, Sy-
ria, Palestine, E^pt~, Persia ; and afterwards they
invaded Africa, and came over Sea into Spain.
But the Power of the Saracens was derived to
others, (f) particularly to the Turks, a very war-
like People ; who after many long Engagements
(a) The Tatty they. had chosen, &c.] Roman, x. 2. 1 Cor. i. 1 2.
and following Verses.
(6) Christians in Name, &c.] See Salvian, Book III. con-
cerning the Governnienl of God. " Excepting a very few who
•' avoid Wickedness, what else is the whole Body of Christians,
" but a Sink ef Vice?"
(c) 0/"Scythia, &c.J Huns, Avari, Sabiri, Alani, Entha-
Htes, and Hurks.
(d) And Germany, &c.] Goths, Eruli, Gepida^, Vandals,
Franks, Burgnndians, Swedes, Almaias, Saxons, Varni, and Loot-
bards,
(e) Mahoxaei planted in Arabia, &c.] Dr. Prideaux's Life of
Mahomet, wrote in English, is very well worth reading, pub-
lished at London, Anno 1697, Le Clerc.
(f) Particularly to the TaAs, 6cc.J Set Leyndavi7ts's History
of Turkey, and Laofiicus Chakocondilas.
with
268 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book VJ,
with the Saracens, being desired to ^nter into 9
J^eague, they easily embraced a Religion ag#ee*
^ble to their Manners, aijd transferred the Impe.,
rial Power to themselves. Havmg taken the Citiin
of jisia and Greece, and the Success of their Arms
increasing, they came into the Borders of Hungarjii
and' Qermany.
SECT. 11.
The Mahometans' Foundation cserturned^ in ^t
ihey do not exam^pe into Religion,
THIS Religion, which was plainly calculate^
for Bloodshed, delights much in Ceremonies,
(fl) and would be believed, without allowing Ltr
berty to inquire into it; For which Reason the
Vulgar are prohibited reading those Books virhieh
they accdunt sacred ; which is a manifest Sign of
their Iniquity. For those Goods rtiay justly be
suspected, which are imposed upon us with this
Condition, that they must not be looked ihtd.
It is true^indeed, all Mert have not like Capacities
for ilnderstanding every Thing ; many are drawn
into Error by Pride, others by Passiofl, and'so'tne
by Custom : (b) But the Divine Goodness will not
allow
(a) And would be believed, &c.] See the Alisoran, ^!X>ura
^l^III. , according to the first Lffl^m Ec}itiop, wHicbf for the
Reader's Sake, we here follow.
(J)) But the Divine Goodness tnill not allow us. Sec-"] See fhe
Answer to the Orthodox, Questioii the Fourth, among th^
Work^ ofjitsiin: " That it is impossible for him not to fin (j
" the Truth, who seel^s it with all his Heart and Power; this
" our Lotd testifies^ when he says ; he that asks receives, he
^' that seelcs shall find, and to him that knocks, it shall be
<' opened." And Origin in his Thirteenth Book against
Celsns ; " He ought to consider th.at b« who sees and hefirs
" all Things, the cpramori Parent aad Msksx of the Unj.
" verse,
Seet.3,3.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 269
allo>¥ us to believe, that the Way to eternal Salva-
tion qannot be kqown by those who seek it, with-
out any Reg-ard to Profit or Honour ; pubniitting
themselvea, and all that belong to them, to Go£^
^d begging Assistance from him. And indeed,
since God has planted in the Mind of Man a
Power of judging ; no part of Truth is more
worthy to employ it about, than that which they
Caanqt be ignorant of, without being in Danger
6f missing eternal Salvation.
SECT. III.
Ji Proof agaimi the Mahometans, taken out of the
sacred Books of the Hebrews and Christiails; and
that they are not corrupted.
MAHOMET and his Followers confess (<?)
that both Mos0s (b) and Jesus were sent by God;
and that tbey who first propagated the Institution of
Jesu9, (f) were holy Men. (d) But there are many
Tfeipgs related in the Aieoran, which is the Law of
" verse, judges according to Men's Deserts, of the Dispositiob
" bi every one that sedcs him, and is willing to \yorship him ;
" ftiid he will re&dca: to every one of these the Fruit of his
» Piety."
(0) That both Moses, &c.] dzoaru V. XXI.
(b) And Jesus, &c.] Azoara V. VII.
le) Wvfe holy Men, &c.] Azoara V. LXXI.
(^) But there ate many Thmgs related, &c.] As the Templic
of Mscha, built by Abraham, Azaara XT. And many other
ijhings of Abraham, Azoara XXXI. A confused History of
Gideon saxdSaiiltAaoar a III. Many Things in the History
df Mxodus, Azoara XVII. XXX. and XXXVIH; Many
!toli6gs in. the History of Joseph, A%6ara XII. concerning
the Btcds cut in pieces by Abraham, and called to Life again,
AzoaralY. concerning Mar/« being brought up With ZtfcAfl-
iktlh AaaarA V. concerning the Birds made qf Glay by Jesus,
iW. andXm. J,
Mahometi
279 OF THE TRUTH OF THE XBook VT.
Mahomet, directly contrary, to what is delivered by
•Moses, and the- Disciples of Jesus. To instancein
one Example out of inany : All the Apostles. and
Disciples of Jesxis entirely agreein this Testimony,
that Jesus died upon the Cross, returried to Life
upon-the third Day, and was seen of many : On
the contrary, Mahomet says, {a) that Jesus was pri^
vately taken up into Heaven, and that a certain
ResemblaHce of him was fixed to theCross; and
consequently Jesus was not dead^ but the Eyes of
the Jews were deceived. This Objection cannot
be evaded unless Mahomet will say, as indeed he
does, (b) that the Books both of Moses, and of the
Disciples of fesus, have not continued as Jthey
were, but are corrupted ; but this Fiction we have
already confuted in the third Book. Certainly, if
any one should say, that the Alcoran is corrupted,
the Mahometans would deny it; and say, that was
a sufficient Answer to a Thing which was not
proved. But they cannot easily bring such Ar-
guments for the Uncorruptness of their Bookj
as we bring for ours, viz. that Copies of them
were immediately dispersed all over the World ;
and that not like the Alcoran in one Language
only ; and were faithfully preseryedj by so many
Sects, who differed so much in other Things. The
Mahometans persuade themselves, that in the xvith
Chapter of St. John, which speaks of sending the
Comforter, there was something written of JI4»-
homet, which the Christians have put out : But
here we may ask them ; do they suppose this Al-
teration of the Scripture to have been made after
the coming of Mahomet, or before ? It is plainly
impossible to have been done after the coming of
Maftomet, because at that Time there were cxtaiit
(a) That Jesus -was privately taken up into Hewcen, &c.Q
Ai^iiira XI. ,
. (b) That the Books both of Moses, &c.] Jzoara IX.
all
Sect. 3, 40 CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 271
all over the World, very many. Copies, not only
Greek, but Syriac, Arabic, and in Places distant
from Arabia, JElhiapic, and Lalin, of more Versions
than one. Before the coming oi Mahomet, there
was no Reason for such a Change ; for nobody
could know what JMbAoff/c/ would teach: Further,
if the Doctrine of Mahomet had nothing in it
contrary to the Doctrine of Jesus, the Christians
would as easily have received his Books, as they
did the Books of Moses and the Hebrew Prophets.
Let us suppose on each Side, that there was no-
thing written either of the Doetrine of Jesus, or
of that of Mahomet : Equity will tell us, that that
is to be esteemed the Doctrine of Jesus, in which
all Christians agree ; and that the Doctrine of
Mahomet, in which all Mahometans agree.
SECT. IV.
From comparing Mahomet with Christ.
LET us now compare the Adjuncts and Cir-
cumstances of each Doctrine together, that we
may see which is to be jireferred to the other :
And first let us examine their Authors. Mahomet
himself confessed {a) that Jesus was the Messiah
promised in the Law and the Prophets; he is
called by Mahomet himself {b) the Word, {c)
Mind, {d) and Wisdom of God ; he is also said
,(o) That Jesus was the Messiah, &c.] Azoara XXIX.
(6) The Word, &c.] Azoard V. and XI. and in the Book of
Mahmefs Doctrine ; Enthymius Zigabenus, in his Disputati6ns
against the Saracens, says, that Jesus i» called by Mahomet,
" the Word and Spirit of God."
(c) Mind, &c.] Azoara IV. XI. XXIX. and in the fore-
inentioned Book.
(d) And Wisdom, fee] In the forecited Places.
by
i72 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book VI.
by him, (a) to have had no Father ambrig Mett.
Mahomef is acknowledged, by his oW-n Discipfesi
(b) to have been begotten according to thfe com-
mon Course of Nature. Jesus led an innocent
Lifej against which no Objection can be made^
Mahomet (c) was a long HAieJ a Robber,^*/),
and always effeminate* (*) Jesus was taken u^
into Heaven, by the Confession tjf Mahxmwt i
hat 'Mahomet remains; in the G^favei And now
can ai^ one doubt which to follow J
SECT. V.
jind the 0arh of each of them.
LET us now proceed to the Works of eacl\
of them, (f) Jesus gate sight to the Blind, made
the Lame to walk, . and recovered the Sick ; nay,
as Mahomet confefsses, he restored the Dead to
Life : Mahanei says, (^) that he hiiiHsdf Was not
seat with Miracles, but with Arms ; howevw, there
were some afle^vy'afds, who ascribed Miracles to
(d) To Mve had no Fdther amongst Men, &c'.] Asoara XXXif,
(i) To have biecn begotten, &c.] See the Boole of Mahomef i
Getreratfon.
(e) Was a Umg Time a RoBer, &!c.] See Ma'homtt's CUkati^
em, trandated aut aij^tabic^ Siee a Dispute bf%wi^ a SstttSHIt
fc&d ■a.^m&'flB, pmblished by Peter, Ahbdt of Ch^ty.
{d) And always effeminate, &c.] Azoara XLlI, XLlII.
LXXV. and LXXVI. Se^ tte foi'ementioned DlspBt^ion.>
^ Jesus. was takin up into Meamen, &!c.] Amat-a XI.
(f) Jesus gave Sight to ihe Blind, &c.] Azoara V. 35!]0f.
(g) That he himself was not sent with Mirades, iac!l AzogNl
III. XIV. XVII. XXX.'LXXXI.~ Concerning ttis Matter, see
tfie Life of Mahomet, publislied in English, ty the learned Dr.
Frideaux, P. 30, where he shews at large, that tllB false Pitfa
piiet dared mi boast Of any KJi^acles. Ls Ckn.
him,.
Sect. 5, 6.3 CHRISfaAN RELIGION. m
him -hint -wja^ ware -tl^^ None tmt such as migiit
easCy bp t^e Effects pf Iwmain Art? as that 0f
the Dove flying to hi& Ear; or .such as had no
WiiLn^sses, as that of the C^meVs speaking to him •
by,^ight; of else such' as are cqnfu ted by their
owjgyAbsur^ty ; .(«) as that of a great Piece ©f fjt^
Mpbrf'fallipg ipto hi^ S|e^e, and , sent back again
by ^{|^,^ to .nrake the jEftanet foupd. Who is-tbere
th^Will ,hot say, ,1^ that ,^n a doybtful Cause, \v^
are to stick to that,li4w, .w^icii.has on its .^ideitHf!
most certain Testimony of the Divine Apprpjaa-
tion? ifit us al^o examine them, wlio firsit em-
braced ^ch of ihe&e Laws.
SECT. VI.
THEY, wborenabracedtheliaw of Christ, were
Men who feared God, and Jed innocent Lives;
and it.is not reasonable thait Ood should sufFe^ such
Ferspkis to he deceived with cunning Words, oi*
with«Shew of Miracles. :(^)''But they who first
embraced
I/:-. - - . '
(QJ,- ^ <^<«* ff o^eai Piece of ike. Moon, &c.] Moarg,,
12uvl See this Fable more at large, in the Chapter CeramteSt
mCan^a^zeniis's Qi:»tion against Mahomet, Sect. 23.
(6) Bvtthei/ who Jint embraced Mabometanism, gto.] This
(lihe Word SaraceM shews,- which. signifi^ Robber. SeeScoS-'
gel's ^^nenclation of the Times, Book III. Chap, of the AraMan
Period; The first Followers of Mfhpmet were injleed truly
Robbers; but the' Arabiati 'Woid, to which Scaliger jefer:^
jignlfies./^ utealjirivatety, pot ta rofcj'noris it credible lih'at
they.^ould take upon themselves '^uc'h ao infamotis Name;
Dot toineijition that this was more ancient than Mahomet, iar
yi^^f^i'rtra Ptolemy and Philostorgvus; whepeforel rath?r)fol-
low the Opiniun of those wbu deduce the INain« of iSoroteir
irom, the Vioici]p^'\tt &phar.k, which signifies fWera, whence
comes i^^a lihar,kiin, Saracens, or Pppp^fdinfilling pi the ^a^
as Uk ^nfiians are called io Scripture. About which see Ed'
T leard
274 OF THE TRUTH OF THE [Book VI.
embraoed Mahometanism, were Robbers, and Men
void of Humanity and Piety.
SECT. VII.
And of the Methods hy which each Law was fro '
pagated.
NEXT let us see the Methods by which each
Religion, was propagated. As for the Christian
Religion, we have already said several Times,
that its' Increase was owing to the Miracles not
only of Christ, but of his Disciples and their
Successors; and also to their patiently enduring of
Hardships and Torments. But the Teachers'of
Mahometanism did not Work any Miracles, did riot
endure any grievous Troubles, nor any severe
Kinds of Death for that Profession, {a) But that
Religion follows where Arms lead the Way, it is
the Companion of Arms; {h) nor do its Teachers
bring any other Arguments for it, but the Success
of War, and the Greatness of its Power; than
which nothing is more fallacious. They them-
selves condemn the Pagan Rites, and yet we know
how great the Victories of the Persians, Macedo-
nians, and Romans were, and how far their Eneniies
extended themselves. Neither was the Event of
War always prosperous to the Mahometansi (c)
there are remarkable Slaughters which they have
received
■wurd Pococh on the Specimen of the History of the Arabians
in the Beginning. LeClere.
(a) But that Religion followi where Arms lead the Way, &cl]
.^zoara, X. XVIII. XXVi:
lb) Nor do its Teachers bring any other Argutnentsf &c.]
Azoara, XXXIU. XLVII. , .
(c) There are remarkable Slaughters, &ci] And greater
since the Time oi Grotius, For they were driven, after many
Slaughter*,
Sect.T^l CHRISTIAN RFXIGlONi 2/3
lifeceived in very rnliny Places, both by Land and Sea.
They are driven out of all Spain. That Thing
cannot be a certain Mark of true Religion, whi<^
has such uncertain Turns, and which may be com-
mon both to good and bad: And so much the
less, because their Arms were unjust, (a) and often
taken up against a People who no Ways disturbed
them, nor were distinguished for any Injury they
had clone ; so that they cpuld have no Pretence
ibr. their Arms, but Religion, which is. the most
profane Thing that can be; (^) for tfeere is no
Wiarship of Gody^but such as proceeds from i a
willing Mind. Now the Will is inclined only by
Instruction and Persuasion, not by Threats and
Force. He that is compelled to believe a Thing,
does not believe it j but only pretends to believe
it, I that he may avoid some Evil. He that would
extort Asseni; from a Sense of Evil or from Fear,
shews by that very Thing;, that he distrusts Argu-
ments. And again, they themselves destroy this
very Pretence of Religion, 'when they suffer those
Slaughters, J from the Austfian Dominions, from , Hungary,
Wrait^yteania, and Peloponnesus, noV many years since. And
sincethatTime the Turkish Empire seems to decrease. In the
Year 171-3, after these short NoteS were first published, the
Tar^* recovered;the Morea, which was poorly defended by the
■J^efflfiiioB 'TSovernprs ; but in the following Year, 17l6> when
they attempted to invade -Hmgarv and the Island of Corsica,
tl^ey were, first, overthrown in a great Fight by the Germans,
under the cotntnand of Prince Eugene of Savoy, and lost Te-
^esvtaer, which, was fotced to, yield after, a stout Siege j then
being repulsed by the V a.\oUT oi Coimt Sciulembourg, not with-
out Loss, they retired to their Flpet, . Whi(g I-was writing this,
April 1717, they threatened they would attemptthe.saijie again
with new Forces-, but thfe Germans did not see'm to be much af-
fected with it. Le Clerc.
(a) And often taken vp agdinSi a People, &c.] Afoara XIX.
, (b) Fgr there is no Worship of God, ice] Loftantitts, ^ook X-
Chapi 20; ^^' For there is nothing so voluntary as Religion :
" In which if the Mind of the SaCrificei: goes conujary, it it
"• takfi) aWay ; there remains non&"
-T 2 who
a76 OF THE TRUTitt Off TKE [Bbdk VI.
who are mduced to their Ofeedkiiiffiej to be of what
'Religibn they please: nay, (a) and sometitnes they
openly acknowledgej that Christians may be saved
by thifiir awn Law.
SECT. VIII.
jdnd of their Prece^pts compared with one anoiher,
LET us also comipare their Precept* together.
The case commands Patience, nay, Kindttiess, tOr
wards those who wish ill to us: The otiher;Jl'6i
veiige. The one commands (that the Bonds ef ]Vfe-
trimony should be perpetual, that they BhouM
bear with eadh other's Behavaioiir; {b) the otlrer
gives a Liberty of separatitig r Here the Husband
floes the same himself, which he requires of ' his
Wife ; and shews by his own Example, that Love
is to be fixed OH one. {c) TOere, Women vipofa
Women are alldw^, *as hieing always new Incite*
ments to Lust. Here, Religion is reduced inwardr
ly to tt^'e Mind ; that being well cpltiyated there^
jl may bfii^g forth Fruits profitable i;o iVIankihd;
there, almost the whole Force. of it is spent (<^ in
Ciretimcision, {e) and Things indiffeiient in them-
selves. Here, a moderate Use of Wine and Meat
is aUcrwed : (/) There the eating Swine's ^lesb,
i(a) Jimisometmesthey-openlpaokn&di1ed§e,&c.']Atoara, I.^nd
Xif. The Book of the SoctaiiQe of Mahomet; see Entfijfnttus.
(i) 'i'he other gives a Liberty of separating, &c.] See Ent^-
mius and others v?ho have vvrote of the Turkish Affairs.
(c) There, Women ifpon JVomen, &c.] Azoara, III, VIJl.-
IX, XXX. LII. ,.
- -(d) Z»if Circumcision, &c,] Sep also JSartholpmew G^OKgiia^i/*
of the i^ites of the !ijir1(s,.
\e)4ndThiiigsindiJp\ent int^s^ltfeSySic.], As ^shlijgs, ■
jize^roj iXm &ee also Enthywiius^.
(/) There the eating SwwW 'Mesh, 8tc.] Mmifa, II. ^XVl,
and
*ct. 8, 9.] CHRISTlAK RELIGION. 277
and (<?) drinking Wine, is forMddera ;> which is
the great Gift of God, for the Good of the Mind
and Body, if taken moderately. And indeed it is
no Wonder, that Childish Rudiments should pre-
cede the most perfeet Law, such as that of Christ
is; but it is very preposterous, after the Publica-
tion thereof, to return to Ffgures. Nor can any
Reason be given, why any other Religion ought to
be published, after the Christian Religion, which
is f»r the best.
SECT. IX.
A Solution iif fJie Mahometans' Oly'eetkn concermng
the Son of God.
TH^ Mahometans say, they are offended, becai^e
we ascribe a Son to God, who i^^k^s no use oi a
Wife; as if the Word Son,, as it refers to God,
eould not have a cnore divine Signification., But
Mahomet himself ascribtes many Thiaags to God, no
less unworthy of him, than if it were said he had a
Wife ; for instance, {&) that he has a cold Hand,
and that himself. experienced it by a Tpuch ; (c)
that he is carried about in a Chair, and the like.
Now we, when we call Jesus the Soil of God, mean
thesam e Thing, that he did, {d) when he calls him
the Word of God: for the Word is in a peculiar
,{Br) 4i:d irinkiagWine, kc"] See EntAymm, aud others,
who have wrote of the Affairs of the Saracnts.
if) That he hfis a eofd Handr&.cJ],S)ee theFl^cein Rd^:ntirdus
a^inst the Mtihometans, Ch. 1. and 14. and Iti Caiitacu^e^ut,
in the 8acoj>d Qratjon a^^insit MaAowe^, Sect. XXVlljt, aiadih
the Fourth Oration, not far from the Beginning,
{c) ^Thst J\pjs C0nied ahovi,t in a Chair, ^C] In jW same
Place.'
(d) When he calls him the Word ef Corf, kc]. See above.
Manner
2-8 OF THE TRUTH OF -^HE [Book VL
Manner (a) produced from the Mind : To which
we may add, thathewa^ born qf a Virgin, by the
Help of God alone, who supplied the Power of a
Father; that he was teken up into Heaven by the
Ppwer of God; which: Things, and those thjaf; M^-
homef confesses, shew, (3) that Jesus may, and ought
to be called ^the Son of God, by a peculiar right.
SECT. X.
T^ere are many ahsurd Things in the Mahometan
Books.
BUT on the other Harfd, it would be tedious to
relate how many Things there are in the Mahome-
tan Wntmgs, {c) that do not agree to the Truth
of History:; and how many that are very ridicu-
lous. Such as {d) the Story of a beautiful Woman,
who learnt a famous Song from Angels overtaken
with Wine ; by which she used to ascend up into
Heaven, and to descend from thence ; who when
she was ascended very high into the Heavens, was
(a) Produced from the Mind, &c.] SeePlato in his Bar.quct
and Abarbanel in his Dialogue, which-is commonly callpdithat
of liiQ Hebrxus. See .Evih>/mius eonceirning this Matter, in
the forernentioned Dispute, where he says, " In like Manner
" a.s.our Word proceeds from the Mind, ^c." And Cardinal
Cusdn, Book I. Chap. 15, t^c. against the Mahometans ; and
KicAo/'rfzM, Chap. 9 and 15._
(i) That Jesus may and ought to be called, &c.] Luke i. 3S.
John X. 56. ^c<*iii, 13, ;*, ,J5.. xiii. 33. Heb. i. 3. \. 5, In
the forementioned Book of the Doctrine of Mahomet, Jesus is
brought in, calling God bis Father.
^(c) That do not agree to tie Truth of History, &c.] As that o^
jilfxaniler the Great, who came to a Fountain whfere the Sun
Stood still. ^2ua7a XXVIII. concerning So/pmoft, XXXVII.
(d) The Starr/ of a beautiful jVoman, &c.] This' Fable is in
the Book ot the Doctrine of M«^o;wW, ' taken out of the Book
of ^narrations. See also Cantacuzetius, in his Second Qr^tipq
against Mahomet, Chap. 15.
appre-
Sect. 10, 11.] CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 279
apprehended by God, and fixed there, and that she
is the Star Femis. Such another (a) is that of the
Mouse iti Nodk's Ark,- that sprung out of the Dung
of an Elephant ; and on the contrary, {b) > that of
* Cat bred'out of the Breath of a Lion. And par-
ticulariy, (c) that of Death's being changed into a
•Ram, which was to stand in the ^middle Space be-
twixt Heavien and Hell ; and (d) that of getting
rid of Banquets in the other Life by Sweat ; and
{e) that of a Company of Women's being appoint
ed to every one, for sensual Pleasure. Which
Things are really all of them such, that they are
deservedly given over to Senselessness who can
give any Credit to them, especially when the Light
of the Gospel shines upon them.
SECT. XL
Tbe Conclusion to the Christians; who Ore admonished
oftheir Duty upon Occasion of the foregoing Things.
' HAVING finished this last Dispute, IcOmenow
to the. Conclusion, which regards not Strangers,
but Christians of aU Sorts and Conditions; briefly
shewing the Use of those Things which have been
hitherto said; that those which are right may be
done, and those which are wrong may be avoided.
(a) Is thai vf the Mouse, Sec.'] This is in the forementioned
Book of the I)octrinB of Mahomet.
(J) Of a Cat, iSfc] In the same Book.
(c) O/DeatfCf being changed into a Ram, &c.] In thej^ndof
the forementioned Book of the Doctrine of Mahomet.
(d) Of getting rid ^f Banquets, Sic.2 In the forecjtedfipbk
of the Doctrine; of Mahomet.
(e)Ofa Company of Women' t, Sfc.^, See wh^t wasajjove al-
ledged on the second Book.
...-,!'■ -First,
280 OF THE TRUTH OF THE JBook VI.
Witst, (tf) that they lift up undefiled Hands to that
<56d (b) who made all Things, visible and inivisix
ble, out of" nothing; (c) with a firm Persuasion that
fee takes Cjare of Mankind, (d) since not a Sparrow
fdJs to the Ground without his Leave : (e) Ahd
that they do not fear them, \<fho can only hurt the
Body before him who hath an equal Power over
Voth Body and Soul : (/) That they shoulfl trust
hot only on God. the Father,, but! also on Jesus>
since there is (g) none other Name-on Earth, bj
which ,we can be sdv^d; (h) which they wiH rightly
perfornti, if they consider that not they, who call
one by the Name of Father, and the other by the
Name of the Lordj shall liveeternaily ; but they who
conform their Lives tt) his Will..; They are more-
over exhorted, caftfuUy to preserve (i) the Holy
Doctrine of Ghrist^ as a most valuable Treasure ;
(a) That they lift up unified Hands, Sec.'] 1 Tim. ii. Janus
iv. Si Tertullian in his Apology: " Ttiither- the Christians
«? direct their Eyes, With HUtid's exiended, because innocent;
" ^ith Head uncovered, because they are not ashamed : with''-
^' out any,j|iistruct6r, because from our Heart we pray for all
" E-mperors, that they may enjoy alongLife, a secure Go-
" Viettiiinent, a safe. House, courageous Armies, a faithful
^' Senate, an honest People, and a peaceful Land."
{b\ Who made all Things, &c.], Golos. i. l6. Heb. xi. 3,
ActsAv. S4i^ ' 2 Mac. y'li.is. , ■■
(e) With a Jirm Persuasion, &c.] 1 Pef. iii. ll.'v. 7.
(d) Since not a Sparrow, &c.J Matt. x. 29.
(e) And that, they do not fear them, &c.] Matt. x. 28. Luke
xii. 4. • ">' ■ '. "- ■ '
(/) That they should trust, &c.] John xlv. 2. Heb. xiy. 15,
16. Ephes. iii. 12, and if.
(g) if one other sj^atne on Earth, Src] Acti iv. 12.
(h) Which they pill rightly perform, kc."] John viii. 43, and
following. Ma«! vii. 21. Johnw.li. 1 /iS» ii. 3, 4i
(0 The holy Doctrine of Christ, &c,] Matt. xiii. 44^ 45.
1 Cor. iv. t: i Tim. vi. 20, '2 Tim. i. 14.
Se«.n.J CHRISTIASr BffiUQIONw ttt
and to that Endi (a) often to read the ss^rod Writ<
imigs-: by which no one c^tn possibly be <^etved,
n^ho.bas not first de«seived himself. t(^).fiW the
Authors, of them were more faithful, and mcn-e
full of the Divine Inifiuekice^. than either wiHiini^ljir
to dedeive us in any necessary Truth, or to hide it
in Obscurity ; but vre must bring (e) a ^Mind i pre* '
pared to obey, w&ich if we do, (d) none of those
Thingsvwill.; escape us, which we^are to beH^ev^
hope^ or do 9 and by thiS' Means^ («) thatHSpitit
■ti^Hl be cherished and excited in uS', whic^ is^ giirmi
I us as (/) a Hedge of future HAppinfes. . Further,
they are to be deterred fromimitatihj^athe Hea*
then; First, (g) in the Worship of false GcKiSj^i|A)
iwhich are nothing but empty Names; (i)' which
{ai Ofttu to feadHeiiStidiinilWritiii^, i&id.] Gbhs. iii. 161
I Theit. V. 37. fiifo. i. 3,. , . .
(6) For the Authors of them were more faithful. &c.] Tet'
tvUiaii speaks thjis cuncerning the Heretics in his Prescrip-
tion : "They were wont to say, that the Apostfes ditf not
" know all Things; being actuated by this same Madness, by
" which thtfy again chSingB, and^ay that the Apostles did in*
" deed know all Thinggy, but did not deliver all Things to
" all iVlen; in both of which they make Christ subject to Re*
"j)roach; wha sent, Apostles either not well instructed> or
" not very honest." See what thel* follows, which it- Very
useful. ^v
(c) A Mini prepared to ohey, fic] JbSki til. Vf. vi 44.
Mutt: xi. 25. Philip: iiii IS. tPit-. m\ iS,, Hestaxiv. itt
(d) None of those Things will escape iti; 8tc.] t J'ate. ii. 15,
IB. j0kiix%.3L 1 fW.~ii 23.
{eyHdt Spirit will 6e cherished, &c.3 zfim.n. HTHet,
V. 19.^ '•
. (ff A Pl'edg&bf future Bappiness, &c,] I/phts. i. 14. t tlor.
i. 22. V. 3.
(g) In tHeWvtship If false G^dS', &cc.} iCer. viii.15iU
{%) Which are nbtMtig but tmpty MtAnei^ fefc.]- la tl>« sime,
V, 4. X. 19, ' '
{i)Wlack evil Angels mttHe use of, &c.] 2 <?or. k. '^O. Rev.
jx.2.
evil
2H OF THE TRUTH OF THE [BbokYT.
eV'il An|;els make use of (a) to turn us from the
Worship of the true God; wherefore (b) we carr*
not partake of their Rites, and at the sameTirtie
be profited by the Sacrifice of Christ. Secoridfy,
(c) in a licentious Way of living, having no other
Law but what Lust dictates, (<^) which Christiaws
ought to be farthest from; because they ought
not only (^) far to exceed -the Heathen; (f) but
also the Scribes and Pharbees among; the Jews ;
whose Righteousness, which consisted in certain
extern^ Aetsy was not sufficient to secure them
a Heavenly Kingdom. (j') The CircUnicisiOH
made with, Hands availeth nothing now, but that
Other mternal Circumciaon of the Heart, (k)
Obedience to the Commands of God, (/) a! new
Creature, (k) Faith which is effectual by Love,
(/) by which the true Israelites are distinguishedi
(m) the Mystical Jews, that is, such as praise God.
(a) To turn vsfrpm the Worship of the true God, &c.] Ephes.
li. 2. iler,ix.5. iThes.W. 1,2.
(fi) We cannot partake of their Rites. &c.] 1 Cor. x. 20, ,
' (c) In a licentious Warf of living, &c.] Kphes^W^ S,' Tit,
ii. 1*.
frf) Which. Christians inight to be the farthest from, &c.]
SCor.vi, 15.
(f) Par to exceed the Heathen, &c.] Matt. v. 47. vi. 7. 32.
I/) .But also the Scribef and Pharispei,, &c,] .Matt. v. 20.
xxiii. 23. Jfom. iii. 20. Gat.ii.l6.
(g) The Circumcision mttde with H^ids,'&cc.'] 1 Cor. vii. 19.
Gahv. 6. yi. l&. Philip.in.B. Ephes. ii. 11. Colas. ii.li.
Rbm.ii.i9- ' -■
(h) Ohedieni^ to the Commands of God, &c.] 1 Cor. vii. Ip.
if) A nexo Creature, &c.] Gal. yi. 15.
{kyTaiti vijikhiis effectual by l/uve, &c.] GmI, v. 6.
. " (/) By ■which the true Israelites are distinguished, &c.3 Rom.
3X.6. iCor.'x. \8. 'i^ttl.vi.16. JoA»i. 47.
i(,«) The Mystical Jews, &c.] Rom. ii. 28. Philo concern-
ing Allegories : " Judas was a Symbol of him that prbfesses
" (GodJ."
The
Sect, no CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 283
(a) The Difference of Meats, (^) Sabbaths, (^c)
Festival Days (d) 'were the Shadows of Things,
which really are in Christ and Christians. Mahomed
tanism gave Occasion for mentioning the following
Admonitions; («) it was ibretold by our Lord- Je-
sus, . that after his Time there should come some
who should falsely say they were ^ent of God; but
though (/) an Angel should corfie' from Heaven,
we are not to receive any other Doctrine but that
of Christ, (g) confirmed by so many Testimonies.
In Times past indeed, (A) God spake in mkoy and
variousManners, to the pious Men that then were;
but last of all he was pleased to call us by his Son,
(/■) the Lord of all Things, (^) the Brightness of
his Father's Glory, and the express Image of his
Substance ;(/) by whom all Things were made,
which were or shall be ; (tn) whd acts and upholds
(a) The Difference of 'Ueats, &c.] 4cti x, 13, 14, IS, i6.
XV. Ig, 20. 1 Cor.%. 15. Colos.n.}6, 21.
(ft) Sabbaths, &c.] In the forecited Place of the Co/twsioa*.
, \c) Festival Dam, &C.3 In the same iPlace, and Rom. xiv. v.
(d) Were the Shadows of Things,. Sic] Culost ii. l7. Heb.
X. 11.
(i) It was foretold by our Lord Jesus, &c.] John v. 34.
C TAw. ii. 9. Matt, vii, 15. xxiv.il. Mark xm. 2i.
-iJohh iv. 1.
^(/) An Jngel should come from Heaeen, &c.] GaL'ui.
: (g) Confirmed by so many Teitmonies^.&c.'] 1 lobi v, 7, 8.
Heb. ii. 4. xii. 1. John i. 7, 32. v. 32, 37, 39, 46. Luke
xiv. 27. -^ets ii. 22, 23. x. 43.
(k) God spake in many and various MannerSy&C,'] Heb.').^.
(i) The Lord of all TMngs, &c.J 1 Cor. xv. 27. Heb. ii. 6.
(k) The Brightness of his Father's Glory, &c.] Heli. i. 3.
(/) By whom all Things were made, &c.] In the gameCh.
Colos. i, l6.
(»k) Who acts and upholds all Things, &c,] Heb. i. 3, Rev.i.v.
all
284 OP THE TRUTH Of THE [BobtVI.
allThings by his- power; and who (a) having rnade
Atoneffleftt for his Sins, is adVanfced to the Eight
Hand of God, having obtained (i) a higher Dig-
nity than the Angels ; and therefore nothing more
noble can be expected, (c) than such a Lawgiver.
They may also take Occasion from hence to re-
member; (d) that the Weapons appointed for the
SoIdiej"s of Christ are not such as Mahowtei depends
upon, but proper to the Spirit, fitted for the puJlf-
jngdownof StrongHolds, erected against the Know-
ledge of God, (^) the Shield of Faith, which may
repel the fiery Darts of the DeviJ ; the Breast^plate
of Righteousness, or Holiness of Life; for a Hel-
met which covers the weakest Part, the Hope of •
eternal Salvation; (/) and for a §wDrd the Word
delivered by the Spirit, which can enter jjito the
innermost Partsof the Mind. Next follows an Ex-
hortation (^) to mutual Agreement, which Christ
seriotisly commended to his Disciples when he ^Vas
about to leave them: {h) We ought not to have
(a) Hatiri^ made, atonement for oiir Sins, &P.] Heh. i, 3.
iSc. 1?. MaU.-xx. 28. '1 John ii'. i.W. 10. Matt.wi. 64,
AftfrAxvi. \y. Antsn. 33, 34. vii. 55, 56. Eom. viii. 34.
Ephts. i. 10. Colas, iii. 1, Heb. viii. 1. x, 12. xii. 5.
(6) A higher Dignity than the Angelsi, . &c.] 2 Pet . iii. 22.
Heb.i.xs., :^fhes.'\.ii.,; "' ' ". ■'
(fc) Thdih Such a Ldiv'gWer, Szc."} Seb.'ii.S, 4, 5, 6, 7', 8.
iii. ^, 4,, 5, 6,
(ii) That the JFcapmsappointed/orfheSoldierief Christ, &c,]
Rom. xiji. 12. 2 Cor. vi. 7. x. 4. Ephes.yy'u H, IS, 13, 14,
15, \6, 17^i&- .
(e) The "Shield of Faith, &c.3 ' See, beside tke aforecited
Place to the Ephesituis:, I Thes.-v,^.
If J -^ndfor a Sword, &c.]- See, beside the foreraeiitioned
Wlstee, Ephes.vU TtJ.Heblw.l^.t^tt.'i. 6. '
{g) To-niutmalAgfee^nf,,Sii:,2 .^oA». xiv. 27. xiii^ 34,i 35,
XV. 12, 17. ivii. 20, and foUowins, xx. 19, 26". I Jote iii.
SSf.' A\soEphes. iii. t4, kMMibwitig, Vi; 16. ffeb. xili.20.
Malt. V. 9.
{i) Wtoughtnot to tavsmton^mmim^ MaaUns^&c.'}Matt.
xxiii. 8. James \\i, 1.
1 amongst
Sect, la.] CmHSff/^W-RmiGfOiN. S85
8iPK>ngst us mimy Masters, but otijly Jesus Christ t
(«,) All Christians \ver« h9ptieed into ihei^same
'Nmtie, therefore therig ought (b) to be no Sects or
t>ivi#ionB amOrngst them : To which that' there may
be tome Remedy applied, t-hoae Words of thi^
Apostle are suggested, (e). to be jtepiperate in our
Wisdotn^ (d) according to the l!>ieasure of the
Knowledge God -has afforded 14s : (g) if any have
not so good an Undei}si;anding. of all Things, that
We bear with their Infirmities, .(/) ^at they naajr
quietly, ftnd without quajxelling, unite with us;
(g) if any exceed the l^mt in Understanding, it Is
resonable he should exceed in Good-will towasrds
&em : And as to ifehose ^) who in some Thinga
think otherwise than we do, we are to wait till God
shall tnake .time ifeiddera Truth manifest unto thera :
In the tBoeaii ^Cime^ (i) we are to holdiast, and fal-
fil those Thiaga weare agreed in. (k) Now weknaw
(a) All Christians were baptized, &c.] Rom, vi. 3, 4. 1 Cor.
i. 13, i''5. Qah iii. 27. J^^e*. iy. .5. 'Colas, ii. 12.
(ft) To be no Sects or Divisions amongst them,.Scci] 1 Cor.i,
10. xi. 18. xii. 23. : i. ,
Cc) To be temperate in our JVisdotiif &c.] Rom. xii. 8, iS.
i Cor. iv.6. ~
Xd) According'to the Measure of the Knowledge, &c.J In the
farecited Place tp tl),e Romans, a,nd xii, Q. 2 Cor. x. 13. ^h.
ii. 7, 1 5, 16.
l[«f) If yOfg/ have not ^if good an Understanding, &c,] Rom^,
Xiv. XV. 2. 1 Cor. viii. 7-
, (/) That ih^ mav iuietly^ &c.] Rom. xiv. 1. 2 Cor. xii.
^0» Gal. V. 20. Hiliv. i. iS, ii. 3, 15. 1 Cor.txi. 16.
■^^) 'If any exceed the S-est, &c.] Jtow. viii. 1, 2, 3, 9- xii. 8.
xiii.'S, 14, 16. iCor, xiii, 2. 2 Cor. vi. 6. viii. 7. 2 Bet.
ij 6,9.
(h) Who in Sorfie Things think -otherwise, Sec] PMlip. iii, 15,
^Ae^.-iv. 2. l.Cor. xiii. 4, 7- iTte. iv. 14. 2Cor. vi. 6.
Gal. V. 22. C0IOS. iv. 11. 2 Km, iv. 2. £i(fe ix. ^4, 'SiS.
(j) '/^? #re76 holdfast, &c.] PAJ/zp. iii. 16. Jawae* i. 22,
23;,24, 23.'
(h):^gll).'wei»^inFart.,^(i.\ 1 Cor. xiii.;9, 12.
285 OF THE TRUtH, kt. [Book VI.]
in Part ; (a) the Time will come, when all Things
shall be most certainly known. But this is required
of every one, (i) that they do not unprofitably keep
by them the Talent committed to their Charge ;
(c) but use their utmost Endeavours to ^ain others
ttnto Christ ; (d) in order whereurito, we are not
only to give them good and wholesome Advice,
but to set before them (e) an Example of Reforma-
tion of Life ; that Men may judge of the Goodness
of the Master by the Servant, and of the Purity of
the Law by their Actions. In the last Place, we
direct our Discourse, as we did in the Beginning,
to common Readers, beseeching them to give God
the Glory, (/) if they receive any Good from what
has beeti said ; (^) and if there be any Thing they
dislike, let them impute it to the Errors all Man-
kind are prohe to fall into ; (A) and to the Place
and Time in which this was delivered, more ac-
cording to Truth, than elaborately.
(a) The TmwuAllc«me, &c.] 1 Cor. v. 10, 12. 1 John iiu
2. Malt. V. 8. ■ ■ .
(i) That they do not unprofitably keep, &c,] Matt. xxv. 15,
and following.
(c) Butvsetheir utmost Endeavours, &c.]lCor.ix.'lS>^0,Zl,22,
(d) In Older whereunto, &c.] Gal. vi. 6. Ephes. iv. 29.
2Tim. i. 13. Titus ii. 8.
(< ) An Example of Reformation of Life, &c.] 1 Pet. iii. 1, l6.
Eph. vi. 6". 2 Tim. ii. 24. 1 Pet. ii. 12. Eph. iv. 1. Phil. i. 27.
(/) If they receive any Good, &c.] James i. 17. 2 T'hes, i. 3,
iCor.i. 4.
(g) And if there be any Tfiing they dislike, &c.] James iii.
Gal.\\. 1,2. > '
ill) And to the Place and Time, &c.] Because this very ex-
cellent and learned Man was kept in Lipstadt Prison, to wHich
he was condemned for Life; at which Time, and in which
Place, he could never havie taken so great Pains in accomplish-
ing so many Pieces remarkable for great Learning, and accurate
Judgjnent, and singular Brightness, without incredible Firni-»
ness and Constancy of Mind, and unshaken Failkin God ; for
which Endowments bestowed upon him by God, for the Be-
nefit of Christendom, let every one who reads his other Works,
or this, with a Mind intent upon Truth, give Thanks to God, a»
I do from the Bottom of my Heart. Li Clerc.
TWO
BOOKS
STf
MONSIEUR LE CLERC.
BOOK I.
Concerning the Choice of our Opinion amongst
the different Sects oT Chkistians.
BOOK 11.
Against Indivfbbbnce in the Choios of our
R&LIOI0N.
( 289 )
BOOK I.
CONCERNING
The Choice of our Opinion amongst the diiEFerent
, Sects of Chkistians. '
SECT. L
We must inquire amongst what Christians thi iriic
Doctrint 6f Christ floUrisheth mast at this Time.
\\7'HOEVER reads over the Books of the
New Testament with a Desire to come
at the Knowledge of the Truth, and dofes not
want Judgment ; will not be able to deny, but
that every one of the Marks of Triith, alledged
by Hago Grotius, in his Second and Third Books,
are to be found there. Wherefore, if he has
any Condern f©r a blessed Immortality, he will
apprehend it to be his Duty to embrace what is
proposed to him in those Books as Matter of Be-
lief; to do what he is commanded, and to expect
what he is there taught to hope for. Otherwise, if
any one should deny that he doubts ofthe Truth of
the Christian Religion, and at the sameTitiie thinks
the Doctrines, Precepts, and Promises Of it not fit
to be believed or obeyed in every Particular; such
an one would be inconsistent with himself, and
manifestly shew that he is not a sincere Christian.
- U ,N<^w
390 . M'HAT CHRISTIAN CHURCH , [Boole I.
(a) Now this is one of the Precepts of Christ and
his Apostles, that we should profess ourselves the
Disciples of Christ before Men, if \Ve would have
him own us for Jiis, when he shall pass Sentence
on the Quick and Dead at the last Day ; and if
we do not, as we have denied him to be ourMaster
before Men, so he also, in that last Assembly of
Mankind, will deny us to be his Disciples before
God. (h) For Christ would nothave those that be-
lieve on him td be his Disciples privately ; as if
they were ashamed of his Doctrine, or as if they
valued the Kindnesses, Threats, or Punishments
of Men, more than his Precepts, and the Promises
of eternal Life ; but be Christians openly .and be-
fore all the World, that they may invite other
Men to embrace the true Religion, and reiider
back to God (c) that Life which they received
from him, in the most exquisite Torments, if it
(a) Now this is one of the Precepts of Christ, kc."] Thus Christ
saith,' Matt. x. 32. " Whosoever therefore shall confess me {to
" be his Master) before Men, him will I confess also (to be my
" Disciple) before my Father vyhich is in Heaven. But whoso-
" ever shall deny me {to be Ms Master) before Men, him will
" I also deny {to he my Disciple) before my Father which is in
"Heaven." See also 2 T/m. ii. 12. Ii«'. iii. 5,
• [b) Tor Christ would not have, &c.] Therefore he says,
,Matt. V. 14. " That his Disciples are the Light of the Worid,
" That a City set on a Hill cannot be hid ; neither is a Can-
" die lighted to be put under a Bushel,' but set in a Candrp-
" stick, that it may give Light to all that are in the House,
-^ ((.■) That Life which they receitedfrom him, &c.] Luke xii. 4,
Christ bids us " not to be afraid of them that kill the B6dy,
" arid after that have no more that they can do;" and com-
mands us " to fear him, which after we are killed, can cast
" us into Hell Fire." And moreover, he foretells all Man-
ner of Evils to his- Disciples; JMa<^. X. 29, and follovvirig;
and says, "that he who shall lose his Life for his Sake, shall
'" find it {again), tuc." which Precepts were particularly ob-
served by the primitive Christians; who, for the Testimony
they gave to the Doctrine of the Gospel, are called Martyrs,
that is, Witnesses.
3 SO
Sect.!.] WE ARE TO JOIN WITH. 291
so seem good to him ; whilst they openly, profess
that they prefer his Precepts above all Thingg*
And thus St. Paul teaches us ; ^hat if we confess (<z)
with our Mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in
our Heart that God hath raised him from the Dead,,
we shall be saved: i^or, says he, with the Heart Matt'
helieveth unto Righteousness, and with thy Mouth
Confession is made unto Salvation ; for the Scripture
saith. Whosoever helieveth in him shall not be ashamed.
Which being thus, it is his Duty, who thinks the
Christian Religion to be pure, to discover and pro-
fess boldly and without Fear, this his sincere Opi-
nion, upon all Occasions- that offer themselves.
And it is further necessary for him to inquire ;
if 'there be any of the same Opinion with him-
self, and (^) to maintain a particular Peace and
Friendship with them ; for Christ tells us, this is
one Mark his Disciples are to be known by, if
they love one another, and perform all Acts of
Love and Kindness towards each other. Moreover
he exhorts them (c) to have Congregations in his
Nafne, that is, such as should be called Christians ;
and ' promises that he would be present thei'e,
where two or three are met together upon that
Account ; by this Means, beside the mutual Love
and strict Friendship of Christians united into one
Society, there is also a Provision made (d) for pre-
serving
(a) Confess with our Mouth, &c.] Rom. x, 9, 10, 11. ,
(b) To maintain a particular Peace, &c.] John xiii. S5i
" A hew Commandinent give I unto you, that ye love one
" another,, that as Ihave loved" you, so ye love one another;
" by this shall all Men know" that ye are my Disciples, if
" ye have Love one towards another." See 1 John ii. 7. iii.
11, l6, 23.
(c)' To have Congregations, &c.] Matt, xviii. 19, 20,
(rf) For preserving their Doctrines, &c.] Thus likewise all
the Philosophers transmitted their Doctrine • to Posterity, by
V a the
2a« WHAT CHRISTIAN CHURCH {^ipofi l^'
serving their Doctrines; which can harclly continue,
if every one has a private Opinion to himself, and
does not declare the Sense of his Mind to another,
unless for his own Advantage ; for those Things
that are concealed, are by Degrees forgotten^ and
come in Time to be quite extinguished; buf
Christ would have his Doctrine, and the Churche?
which profpss it, be perpetual, that it may not
cease to be beneficial to Mankind.
: Wherefore whoever derives bis Knowledge of
the Christian Religion from the New Testament,
and thinks it true ; such an one ought to make
Profession of it, (a) and to join himself with those
of the like Profession;. But because there is not
at this Time (neither was there formerly) one Sort
of Men only, or one Congregation of such as are
gathiered together injhe Name of Christ ; we are
not, therefore presently to believe that he is a true
Christian, who desires t<i be called by that holy
Name ; neither ought we to join ourselves [b)
without Examination, to any Assembly who
stile themselves Christians. We must consider,
above all Things, whether their Doctrines agree
•mth. that Form of sound Words, which we have
the Help of Schools in whieh it was taught; but the Christian
C^Mrches, which are united by _ a much $,rii3?r apd stro^ngei:
iiorid, willjwith more Certainty and Ease, propagate tlie Docf-
tTjne they receive from their M'asfer, lo tlie End of theVVwrld,
which can hardly be done without Congregations. -Pytkagmas
would, have effected this, but in vaiii, beeauaehis Doctr^e
had nothing dtvifie in it. See Laertius and Jatnblichus^
(a) /ind to join himself loUk thosfi, &;c.^ See the Epistle^ to
Timoifiy and Tiius, where ihey are commapded to found-
Churches, And Heh. x. ^&.,
(V) Withofit EximinationfScQ,'] See-.r T/tess. v. 21. BuS
more expressly, 1 John iv. 1. " Beloved (says he), believe
" not every Spirit, but try., thp Spirits whether they be, , of
" God ;' for many false Prophets are come into the World,
**-S,e."
eotep-
SM. I, 2.] WE AHE TO JOIN WITH. 29'§
entertained in our Mind, frbm an atteRtiye read-,
ing of the New Testament ; othejiwise it may
happen that we tnsi/ esteern that a Christian Con-
gregation, which is no further Christianvthan ii%
Name. It is therefore the Part of a prudent
Man, not tbenteV himself into any Congregation,
^ ieast for a Continuance ; unless it be such, irt
wtiitih' he perceives that Doctrine established,
^hich he truly thinks to be the Christian Doctrine ;
lest he should put himself linder the Nfecessity of
ssiying or doing something cftntrai-y to what he
thinks delivered and comrrfanded by Christ.
SECT. II.
, ff^e are to join ourselves with those who are most
worthy the Name of Christians.
AMONGST Christians that differ from each
other, and not only differ, but (to their Shame!)
condemn one another, and with, cruel Hatred ba-
'Dish them their Society ; to agree to any of them
without. Examination, or, according to their Or-
^er, to condemn others without Consideration,
shews a Man not only to be imprudent, but very
rash and unjust. That Congregation which rejects,
though but in Part, the true Religion (a Repre-
sentation of which he has formed in his Mind) and
condemns him that believes it; cannot be thought
by such an one, a truly Christian Congregg.tiqn in .
all Things; nor can it prevail with him to condernn
every Man which that Church shall esteem worthy
to be condemned, and cast out of the S^ociety 6i
Christians. Wherefore a wise and honest Man
ought above all Things to examine, in these Dis-
sensions amongst Christians, who are they which
be^t deserve the holy Name of Disciples of Christ,
and to adhere to them. If any one should ask,
what
294 AVHAT CHRISTIAN CHURCH [Book I;
what we are required to dp by the Christian Reli-
gion, supposing there was no such Christian So-
ciety at all, amongst whom the true Doctrine of.
Christ seems to be taught, and amongst whom
there is not a Necessity laid upon us of condemn-
ing some Doctrine which, we judge to be true :
In this Case, he who apprehends these Errors,
ought to endeavour to withdraw others from
them ; in doing of which, he must use (a) the
greatest Candour, joined with the highest Pru-
dence and Constancy ; lest he offend Men with-
out doing them an Advantage, or lest any Hopes
of bringing' them to Truth and Moderation, be
too suddenly cut off. In the mean Time we are
to speak modestly and prudently, what we think
to be the Truth ; nor should any one.be condemn-
ed by the Judgment of another, as infected with
Error, who seems to think right. God has never
forsaken, nor never will forsake the Christian
Name so far, as that there shall remain no true
Christians ; or at least none such as cannot be
brought back into the true Way ; with whom we
ntiay maintain a stricter Society, if others will not
return to a more sound Opinion ; and openly
withdraw ourselves from the Obstinate (which yet
we ought not to do without having tried all other
Means- to no purpose;) (J?) if it be not allowed
you
(fl) The greatest Candour, &c,] Here that Precept of Christ's
takes Place, Matt. x. l6. ^where we are commanded " To be
" wise as Serpents, and harrnless as Doves ;" that is, to be so
far simple, as not to fall into Imprudence ; so wise, as not to
be crafty, and oflFeiid against Sincerity ; in which Matter, there
are but few who know how to steer their Course in all Things,
between the Rocks of Imprudence and Craftiness,
(6) If it be not allowed, Sac,'] Whilst it is allowed to have
a different Opinion, and to profess our Disagreement, there
is no Reason to depart from a public Society, unless the
Fmidaraentals of Christianity be' perverted by it; biit where
this
Sect. 2.] WE ARE TO JOIN WITH. 295"
you to speak your Opinion fairly and modestly
among them, and to forbear condemning those
whom you think are not to be condemned. The
Christian Religion forbids us speaking contrary
to our Mind, and falsifying and condemning the
innocent; nor can he be unacceptable to God,
who, out of Respect and Admiration of those
Divine Precepts, can endure any Thing riithe;jr
than that they should be broke. Such a Disposi-
tion of Mind, arising from a Sense of our Duty,
and a most ardent Lo^e of God, cannot but be
highly well-pleasing to him.
Wherefore amongst Christians who differ
from each other, we are to examine which of them-
all think the most right -^^ nor are we ever to con-
demn any but such as seem to us worthy to be
condemned, after a full Examination of the Mat-
ter; and we are to adhere to those who do not re-
quire any Doctrines to be believed, which are
esteemed by us to be false, nor any to be con-
demned which we think to be true. If we cannot
obtain this of any Christian Society, we, together
with those who are of the same Opinion with our-
selves, ought to separate from them all, that we
betray not the Truth, and utter a Falsity.
this is not allowed, and we cannot without dissembling or
denying the Truth live in it; then we ought to forsake that
Society ; for it is not lawful to tell a Lye, or to dissemble the
Truth, whilst a Lye possesses the Place of it, and claims to
itself the Honour due to Truth only. If this be not done,
" the Candle is put under a Bushel." Thus Christ did not
depart from the Assemblies of the Jews, neither did the
Apostles forsake them, so long as they were allowed to pro-
fess and teach the Doctrine of their Master in them. See Acts
xii. i6.
SECT.
2Q$ WHAT CHRISTIAN CHURCH [Book" I.
SECT. III. • ;
^hey are most worthy the. Name of Christians, ipko^
in the f>ures.t Manner ^f ail, profess the Doctrine^
the Truth sf which hathheen proved ^ Grotius.
BUT it is a Question of no sinall Importance,
find not easily to be resolved, who of all the So-!,
pieties of the present Christians have the truest
Ppinions, and are most, worthy of that Name by
which they are called. All the ChHstian Churches,
as well as those who have long since separated
from the Romish Church,,, as the ftomish Church
jtself, do every one of. them claim this, to them",
selves; and if we lay aside all the Reasons, wq
ought no more to give Credit ' to the one than tq
the other; for it were a very foolish Thing, tp
suffer such a Choice [a) to be detei-mined by
Chance, and to decide all Controversies as it were
by the Cast pf a Die.
Now since Grotitis has not proved the Truth of
the particular Opinions of any present Sect of
Christians, but only of that Religion which was
taught Mankind by Christ and his Apostles; i^
follows, that, that Sect qf Christians is to be preT
ferred before all others, which does most of all
(defend those Things which Christ and his Apos-
tles taught. In a Word, that it is in every Par-
ticular truly the Christian Religion, which, with-,
out any Mijfture of human Invention, may be
wholly ascribed lo Christ as the Author. To
this agree all tjiose Arguments of Truth, which
are laid down in the Second J^ook Of the Truth ef
the Christian Religion ; nor dp they agree to any
other any further than it agrees with that.
(a) To be determined b^ Ckqnee, Sec.'] See Note the 9tlv,.oii
Section III.
Sect. 3.] WE ARE; TO K)IN WITH.^ - 987
If any one adds to, or diminishes from, the
Doctrine delivered 'by Christ ; the more he adds'
or- diminishes, so much the farther he goes from
thd Truth. Now when I speak of the Doctrine of
Christ, I mean by it, the Doctrine which all Chris-,
tians are clearly agreed upon to be the Doctrine -
of Christ, that is, which, according to the- Judg-^
ment of all Christians, is either expressly to be
found in the Rooks of the New Testament, or is,
by necessary Consequence, to be deduced from
-them only. As to those Opinions, which, as some
Christians think, were delivered by Word of
Mouth, by Christ and his Apostles, and deriVed
to Posterity in a different Method, 'namely^ either
by Tradition, which was done by speaking only ;
or which were preserved by some Rite, as they
imagine, and not set down in Writing till a great
while after; I shall pass no other Judgment upon
them here, but only this, that all Christians are
not agreed upon them, as they are upon the
Books of the New Testament. I will not say
they are false, unless they are repugnant to right
Reason and Revelation ; but only that they are
not agreed about the Original of them, and there-
fore they are controverted amongst Christians,
who in other Respects agree in those Opinions, thTfc
Truth of which Grotms has demonstrated : for no
wise Man will allow us (fl) to depend upon a Thing
as certain, so long as it appears uncertain to us ;
especially if jt be a Matter of great Moment.
(a) To depend upon a TMiig as certain, &c.li This i* th« very
Thing St. Paul means, Rom. xiv. 23, where he teaches us that
." whatsoever is not of Faith is Sin." On which Place we have
fjHbted the Words of Philo, out of his Booii concerning Fugf-
tives, Ed. Paiis. P. 463. " The best Sacrifice is being quiet^
f and not meddliiig in those Things which we are noj; per-
," suaded of." And a little after, " to be quiet-in the IXark is
,♦.' most safe;" that is, whare we are not agreed what is to be
done.
SECT
258 WHAT CHRISTIAN CHURCH [Book I.
SECT. IV.
Concerning the Agreement and disagreement of
' Christians.
THOUGH the Controversies amongst Chris-
tians be very sharp, and managed with grfeat Heat
and Animosity, so that we may hear Complaints
made on all Sides, of very obvious Things being
denied by some of the contending Parties ; yet
notwithstanding this, there are some Things so
evident, that they are all agreed in them. And it
is no mean Argument of the Truth of such, that
they are allowed of by the common Consent of
those who are most set upon Contention, and most
blinded by Passion.. Ido not mean by this, that
all other Things about which there is any con-
tention, are doubtful or obscure ; because all
Christians are not agreed in them. It may easily
happen that that may be obscure to some, which
would be very plain, if they were not hindered
by Passion ; but it is hardly possible that the
fiercest Adversaries, who are most eager in dis-
puting, should agree about an obscure Point.
First theti, all Christians now alive are agreed
concerning the Number and Truth of the Books
of the New Testament ; and thoiigh there be some
small Controversies among learned Men about
{a) some Epistles of the Apostles, this is no great
Matter ; and they all acknowledge, that there is
nothing but Truth contained in them, and that the
Christian Doctrine is hot at all altered, ^either by
keeping or rejecting them. And this Consent is
of no smiall Moment in a Discourse about the un-
doubted Original of a Divine Revelation under
{a) Some Epistles of t/ie Jpostks, &c.] The Epistle to the
IZfirew*," the second Epistle of Peter, the last two Epistles of
John, the Authors of which are disputed by learned. Men.
the
Sect. 4.] WE ARE TO JOIN WITH. 299
the new Covenant. For all other Records or Foot-,
steps of ancient Revelation, that have been pre-
served according to the Opinions of some, are cal-
led in question by others.
Further, Christians are agreed in many Arti-
cles of Faith, which they embrace, as Things
to be believed, practised, and hoped for. For in-
stance ; all who have any Understanding, believe
(I shall mention only the principal Heads here)
I. That there is one God, eternal, all-powerful,
infinitely good and holy; in a Word, endued with
all the most excellent Attribiites, without the
least Mixture of Imperfection : that the World and
all Things contained in it, and consequently Man-
kind, were created by this same God ; and that
by him all Things are governed and directed with
the highest Wisdom. II. That Jesus Christ is the
only Son of the same God ; that he was born at
Bethlehem, of the Virgin Afary, without the Know-
ledge of a Man, in the latter Fart of the Life of
Herod the Great, in the Reign of Augustus Casar;
that he was afterwards crucified and died in the
Reign of Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was Gover-
nor of Judeea; that his Life is truly related in the
History of the Gospel; that he was therefore sent
from the Father, that he might teach Men the
Way to Salvation, redeem them from their. Sins,
and reconcile them to God by his Death ; and that
this his Mission was confirmed by innumerable
Miracles ; that he died, as I before said, and rose
again, and, after he had been very often seen by
many who had discoursed with him, and handled
him, he was taken up into Heaven, where he now
reigns, and from whence he will one Day return,
to pass a final Judgment according to the Laws of
the Gospel, upon those who were then alive, and
upon all them that are dead, when they shall be
raised out of their Graves ; that all the Things
that
■SOO' WHAT 'CHfti'STI'AfT CHURCH [Book f:
that he taught are to be believed^ and all that he
commanded are to be obeyed, whether they re-
late to the Woi •lip of God, or to Temperance in
restraining our Passions, or to Charity to be exer-
cised towards others ; that nothing could be ap-
pointed more holy, more excellent, more advan-
tageous, and more agreeable to Human Nature than
these Precepts ; however, that all Men (Jesus only
excepted) violate them, and cannot arrive at Sal-
vation, but through the Mercy of God. III. That
there is a Holy Ghost, who inspired the Apostles
of Jesus Christ, worked Miraclesto recommend
<hem, and inclines the Minds, of pious Men con-
stantly to obey God, and supports them in the
Affiictions of Life : that, we are to give the same
Credit, an<l in all Things' -to obey this Spirit
Speaking by the Apostles,, as we do the Father
and the Son. . IV. That the Christian Church
owes its Original and Preservation, from the Days
ef Christ to this Time, to the Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost ; that all they who believe these
Things, and observe the Precepts of the Gospel,
shall obtain Mefcy of God, whereby they shall
be rt>ade Partakers of the Resurrection (if they
be d^ad when Christ shall tome) and of a happy
Life to Eternity ; on the contrary, all they who
have diminished from the Faith of the- Gospel,
and have not observed its Precepts, shall rise (if
they be dead) to be punished, and their Punish-
hifnt shall be eterrial Death. V. Lastly, That
Christians ought to pfofesS all these Things, both
at their Baptism, in which we declare that we
ivill lead a Life free frbm the FilthinesS of Ini-
quity, according to the Direction of, the Gospel ;
and also at the Lord's Supper, in which we cele-
brate the Death of Christ, according to his
Command, till he comes ; and shew that we dre
VV'illing to be esteemed his Disciples, and the
Brethren
sect. 4.,] WE ARE TQ JOtN WITH. ' 301
Brethren of those who'celebrate it in like Manner;
moreover, that those Rites, it they are observed by
i^s^ as is reasonable, and if celebrated with a
religious Mind, convey heaveAly Grace, and the
Divine Spirit to us.
, (a) These Things, and others that are- neces-
sarily connected with them (for it is not to oui*
present Purpose to mention them all particularly),
all Christians believe ; nor is there any other Dif-
ference but only this, that some add many other
Things to these, whereby they think the foregoing-
Doctrines ought to be explained or enlarged with
Additions ; and those such as they imagine were
delivered tp Posterity, not by the Writings of the
Apostles, but by the Tradition and Custom of the
Church, or by the Writings of latter Ages. Con-f
cerning these Additions, I shall say nothing more
than what I before advised; that Christians are
riot agreed upon them, as they are upon the Doc-
(a) .These Things and others, &c.7 In the foregoing Explica»
lion of the Ctxristian Doctrine, we have followed~t.he Meihpd
of that which they call the Apostles' Creed, and have avpided
all Expressions, which have caused anj' Controversies amongst
Christians; because we are treating of those Things in whicb
they are agreed i And we do not for this Reason condemn as
false, any Thing that m^y be added by Way of Explication or
Confirmation;- on the contrary, we highly approve ofjheir
Endeavours, who explain and confirm Divine Truths : and we
doubt not butthat many Things have been already found, ami
may yet be found, to illustrate it. Tertuliian jadges rightly of
this Matter, in the first Chapter of his Book concerning veili,ng
Virgins: " The. Rule of Faith is altogether one and the samej
" entirely firm and unalterable ; namely, that we believe in one
" all powerful God, the Creator of the World, and in his Sort
"Jesusi Christ, who was born of, the Virgin Maty, was cruci-.
" fied under Pontius Pilate, was raised from the Dead ihe Tliird
^' Day, was taken up into Heaven, sits now af the Right Hand'
*' of the Father, and will come to judge the Quick and the
•' Dead by the Resurrection of the Flesh. Keeping to thi»
" Rule of Faithj other Matters of Discipline {or Dorfrwe) and
" Behaviour, admit of Correction, viz. the Grace of Goi
" operating and assisting (o the End, djC."
trines
30S W'HAT CHRISTIAN CHURCH [Book I,
trines now explained, which are put beyond all
Manner of Doubt by their own Plainness, if we
allow but the Authority of the Holy. Scripture,
which no Christian in his Senses can refuse.
If any one weighs the Arguments, by which the
Truth of the Ciiristian Religion is proved, with
these Doctrines in his View ; he will observe (and
if it be well observed, it will be of great Use) that
all the Force of the Argument is employed about
these Things, and not about those Points which
divide the Christian World, as was before hinted.
SECT. V.
Whence every one ought to learn the Knowledge of
the Christian Religion.
IN this Agreement and Disagj-eement amongst
Christians, prudent Men will judge it most safe,
to take their Knowledge of the Christian Religion
from the Fountain, which is not in the least sus-
pected, and whose Streams all confess to be pure
and undefiled. And this Fountain is not the Creed
or the Confession of Faith of any particular
Church, but only the Books of the New. Testa-
ment which all acknowledge to be genuine. I
confess some Christians do sometimes say, that
those Books cannot be understood but by the
Doctrine of their Church ; but others again deny
it; and (to mention but this one Thing) that
Opinion is very suspicious, which depends only
* on the Testimony of those that affirm it ; and
they such, whose Chief Interest is, that it should
seem true. Others say, that there is Need of the
extraordinary Assistance of the Holy Spirit, not
only in order to the Belief of the Scripture (which
may without any great Difficulty be allowed) but
also
Sect. 5.] WE ARE TO JOIN WITH. 303
also in order to understand the Meaning of the"
Words contained in it ; which I do not see how
it can be proved ; but we will: grant this also, pro-
vided they will acknowledge that all Men, who
read the Books of the New Testament with a re-
ligious Mind, intent upon the Truth, are afforded
this Spirit by the Goodness of God ; there is no
Need of contending for any Thing more than this.
Every one, therefore, may wisely and safely gather
his Knowledge of the Christian Religion from
these Books ; yet making use of those Helps that
are necessary or profitable for the Understanding of
such Book ; which we will not now inquire after.
Whoever therefore believes, that the Revela-
tion of the Will of God made by Christ, is faith-
fully related in the Books of the New Testament;
such an one must of Necessity embrace all Things
which he there meets with, according as>he un-
derstands them, as Matters of Faith, Practice and
Hope ; for whoever believes in Christ, ought to
receive with a religious Mind, every Thing which
he thinks comes from him ; he cannot defend
himself with any Excuse, whereby to admit some
and reject others, of those Things which he ac-
knowledges to come from Christ. And such are
those Doctrines I before explained, and concerning
which all Christians, as I said, are agreed.
As to the Rest, about which they contest ; since
they are not so very plain, a religious and pious
Man may and ought to deliberate coocerning
them, and with^-hold his Judgment till they ap-
pear more evident to iiim : For it is very imprur
dent to admit or reject any Thing, before it suf-
ficiently appears to be either true or false* Nor; is
eternal Salvation, in the Books of the New Testa-
ment, promised to any one who embraces this or
that controverted Opinion ; but to him who
heartily receives in his Mind, and expresses in his
Actions,
S6* WHAt CHRISTIAN CHURCH [Book I,
Actions, the Sum of the Christian Religion, a»
we have described it.
SECT. VI.
Nothing else ought to he imposed upon Christians, but
•what they can gather from the Mew Testament'.
{a) THIS, therefore, is the only Thing that can
justly be imposed upon all Christians, viz. that
they embrace whatever they think is contained in,
the Books of the New Testament, arjd obey those,
Things which they find there commanded, and ab-
stain from those Things which are there forbidden ;
if any Thing further be required of them as neces-
sary, it is without any Authority. For would any,
i-IiX Judge require a Christian to believe a Doc-
trine came from Christ, which he does not find in
the only faithful and undoubted Records, in which
all are agreed the Revelation of Chri&t js derived-,
down to us? Let other Doctrines be true ; let us
take this for granted a little while ; they cannot
however be esteemed as true by him, who amongst
the different Sorts of Christians,^ follows the midr
die Way, and allows of no certain Record of the
(a) This, therefore, is the only Thing, &c*] To this belongs
«vhat Christ saith, Maii. xiiii. Ver. 8. and following : "Be
" ye not called Rabbi, for one is your Mast^T, even Christy
" gnd all ye are Brethren. And call no Man your Father upon
" the Earth,. for one is your Father, which is in Heaven;
" Neither bfe' ye called Masters, for one is your Master, even
" Christ." See also James iii. 1. To (he same purpose. Rev.
iii. 7. where Christ is said ta'have the " Key of David," vi'hich
is thus dcscpibed, " which opens (nmnety HefKen), and no one
" shuts, and wlfich shutt.eth and no one openeth." If we are
to believe Christ only, and there remains no other' certain
fcecord of the Revelation rnade by .Christ, :but the New- Testa*
ment; it is manifest^ from heiice, that in Matters.of Faith,: w«>
ought to gWe Credit only to these Books, , .
A Revelation,
Sect. 6.]! #E AR£ TO'Jdm Wltft m-
Reifelatisn of Christ, btft the Bobfcs of the N6#
Testafrteftt. Whilst he believes this; hothing" eilsS
oan justly be required of hiiri ; arid he will belifev*
tJjis/titl it' shall be made appear to him by pkJrt
Argmnents, that the ILriowlek^ pf Christianity i*
safely to be had somewhere else, which I believ*
wiSiAevdr be do*i#. :- * > ''- 's^t
(a)ftlw asny one thei*efore attempts to-take awkj^
frbm Christians the Books of the New Testanient;,
or to add to them such Things as do not app6^¥
to "be trde, we -are by no means to hearken t6'
sadH an oh©; because' he requires that of us>
wMch no prisdent Man will allow, viz. that we^
shoilH believe that which we are hot certain of,
or neglect that Which all own to be the'sure Re-
cord of the Revelation of the Gospel. There ti'
noxNeed of ekamining all Controversies singly,
and one by one; whicli Would be' an endl^s^
Thing, arid 'cantlpt be done but by very l^krfiea
Men, who have Abundance of Leisure. Who-
ever imposes any Thing upbrt us; *as necessary to
be beTievedj which we cannbt believe ; he drivel
us ifirom himself; because Belief cannbt be extort-
ed by Force ; nor will any one^ who fears^ God,
and IS a Lh^er of Truth, suffer himself to ^rofei^S
wh^t he does not believe, for the Sake of an*'
other.
But they who differ from this, object ; that if
every one be left to theif oavh Liberty, in judg-
ing^ of the Meaning of the Books of the New
Testament; there will be as many Religions a#
(a) If an^ one therefore attempU, Sec."] To thiarelaips tl^at
Spying of' Paul,' 6 al i. 8. ^" li we, or an Angel from ttia«
"•veil preach any other Thing for the Gospel tbaln that'Gos*
"jid jvhich we,have j)reached to you, let hiih'bes£<Jcurs#d^''
Ai^imleed it i-> n6 Mun'i Business to add any Thing to the
Gospel,' as unnecessary j nbr to ditniniith any Thing from it,
ft* unprofitable.
X there
SOS WHAT CHRISTIAN CtfURCH £Book B,
there are Men; and Truth, which is but one,^
will immediately be oppressed by a Multitude of
Errors. But I think, that before an Opinion,-
which is established upon solid Arguments^ be
opposed by Objections, the Foundations upon
which it is built ought to be overthrown ; because
so long as that remains firm, the whole Super*
structure raised Upon it cannot be shaken ; as we
see here. For, if any Inconvenience should fol-;
low from what has been said, it is nevertheless
true, till it be made appear noti»4o be fixed on a
firm Bottom. But to pass by this now ; it is false
that the Revelation of the New Testament is so
obscurcj that the Sum of the Christian Religion
cannot be truly learned from it, by any one of a
sound Mind, who is desirous, of Truth. It is
evident from Experience, that it 'may be truly
learned from thence ; for all Christians, as has
been already shewn, agree in the principal Parts- of
k; which was observed hy GroUuSy Book II. Sect.
XVII. We have no regard here to a few simple
or wicked Men ; since vvhole Societies of Chris-
tians, who in other Respects, out of their too
great Eagerness of Contention, are apt to differ
-from one another, and to run into the contrary
Extremes, are here agreed.
SECT. VII.
The Providence of God, in preserving the Christian.
Doctrine, is very wonderful.
IN this Particular, as in numberless others which,'
relate to the Government of human Affairs, the
Divine Providence is very wonderful, which, not-
withstanding so many Differences, as were of old,
aod are at this Day amongst Christians, yet hath
pre5erve4
Sect. 7.] WE ARE TO JOIN WITH. aof
preserved the Books of the New Testament en-
tire, even to our Times ; that the Christian .Doc-
trine, may be recovered out of them, as often as
it happens to be corrupted. Nor, has it only de-
livered down to us this Treasure entire ; but a\m,
in the Midst of the hottest Differences, has so
secured the Christian Doctrine . itself, that the
Sum of Religion has never been forgot amongst
Christians.
No inconsiderable Number of Christians at this
Day contend that many Errors, in former Ages,
crept, by Degrees, in amongst the Sects of Chris-
tians ; which when others denied, in the Sixteenth
Century after the Birth of Christ, that famous
Separation in the H^est was made upon that Ac-
count, by which Christianity was divided into
two Parts, not very unequal. Yet> in those Ages,
whose Errors are reproved by that Part of the
Christians which made the Separation I now
mentioned, .and whose Faults were highly aggra-
vated by both Sides, and that not without Grounds,
the Sum of the Christian Religion before drawn
up by us, was all along maintained, (a) There
is no Age so thick clouded with Ignorance and
Vice, but the forementioned Articles of Faith
(a) There is no Age so thick clouded, &c.] None have a
worse Report than the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries, as ii
granted by those who stick to the See of Rome, as much as
by those who have made a Separation from it. Yet if any
one, for his own Satisfaction, will read amongst the Books of
the Fathers, the Writings of thofie Centuries, he may easily
collect all the Doctrines mentioned" in the Fourth Section.' At
the Beginning of the -Twelfth Century, ijved Bernard, Abbot
of the Monastery of Claravallis, whose Learning, Piety, and
Constancy, are commended by very many, and wJiose Writ-
ings, were often read in the following Ages, and never Con-
demtied. Now from thence an entire Body of the Christian
Doctrine may easily be collected : and it is no less certain ojf
the following Centuries* down to the Sixteenth. Nor is thera
any Doubt of those that follow^
X 2 may
308 MmAT CaaJSTIAN CHURCH [Book t.
may easily b© ooJlcijted (rom their Wrkittgs that
peftiain. It must not indeed be dissembledj that
"many Things, foreign and unknown to the Books
of the New Testamerit, have Wen added, and
thrust'into the Christian Theology; whence it is,
that the true Wl>eat of the Sower, in the Gos-
'pel, hath not brought forth so much Fruit as it
would otherwise have done, bad the Ground been
cleared of Thorns and hurtful and unprofitable
Weeds. Many Vices and Faults were not only
adjmitted or borne with, but applauded also.
Yet was not sound Doctrine ever the less safe,
whilst the Books of the New Testament remained,
and whilst Christians were endued with common
Sense ; for by this Means-, very eminent Men
were often raised up, who corrected the Errors
and Vices of their Age, and ventured to oppose
the Torrent. Thus according to the Promise of
Christ, God hindered (a) the Gates of Death fram
prevailing against the ChwriH; that is, did not suf-
fer every Society wherein the- Christian Doctrine
was preserved entire, to be extinguished ; though
sometimes they were blended and obscured with
foreign and ' contrary Opinions, and ^sonleti^les
wei"e more sincere and pure. Wherefore (to^ob-
serve, this by the Way) unless this Doctrine was
really sent' to us from God, it could never have
oscaped out of such a Deluge of Vices and Er-
liors, but WiOiddi, at length, have been over-
whel'med by the Changeableness and Folly of hu-
mao Nature, and have entirely perished* :
(o) The Gates of Death from preoailing, &Ci] So we explain
4>.xi i»$8, because lieither that Word-, not the Hebrew bsa
Sche'ol, which answers to it, ever signiiSes in the Sacred' Writi
ings, an evil Spirit, but only the Graye, or' the State of the
Dead, as Grotius and others have observed. Therefor© this
Che Thing may be gathered fropi this Place, that it will never
fiappen that the Christian Ch-urch should- ent-irejy perish, or
that .there should be no Society left, amongst whom -th* Sum
of thte Doctrine of the Gospel »hould not remain.
SECT.
^at, « J WE ARE TO JOIS WITH. ^09
SECT. ym. ^
Jin Answer to that Question, Why God permits Dif"
feranees and Err on to arise amongst Christians.^
PERHAPS some may here object 'against' what
has been said, that the Divine Providence would
have better consulted the Preservation of the
Christian Doctrine, if it had prevented the Errors
that are and have been amongst the Christians, and
maintained Truth and constant Agreement, which
is the Companion of it, amongst them, by its Om-
nipotence. But it is not for us to instruct God
how he ought to direct himself in the Govern-
ment of human Ai&irs, that they might be better.
On the contrary, it is our Duty to think that God
had very wise Reasons for suffering what he did
suffer, though we cannot, so much as guess at
what they are. But if any probable Reasons can
be given fbr the Things that are done ; we ought
to believe that God permits those Things which
daily come to pass, to be done for these, or more
weighty Reasons.
To make a Conjecture from the Reason -^f
Things; we are above all Things sure.^that the
Design of God was {a) to create Men free, and to
.suffer them to continue to the End ; that is, not
so good, that they must necessarily continue good
always; nor so ba^i as they must^of Necessity'
always submit to Vice; but mutable, so, as that
(«) To create Men free, &c.] This is taught with the higlieat
Consent by 'all Christian Antiquit3f. Sec /^^s^innliiie Martyi's
Apology I. Chap. 54, and 55. Irenceus, Book IV. Chap. 5- '
Chapi 29. towards the End7 Chap. 71, and 72. Origen'sphi-
hcalia. Chap. 21. Eustbius's Gospel Treparatoiv Booli^VI. .
Chap. 6. and others, whose Sayings are quoted by Dion^sius
Petaeiut, in his Theological Doctrineg,Toin, L Beok.yi.
Chap. 6. ^Tbere are also nany Tilings to this Purpose,, Tom. .
HI. Book III. IV. and r,
they '
310 WHAT CHRISTIAN CHURCH [Book I.
they might pass from Vice to Virtue, and again
from Virtue to Vice ; and this with more or less
EasCj according as they had a longer or shorter
Time given up themselves to Virtue or Vice.
Such we see the Hebrew People of old were, and
such were the Christians afterwards. Neither'of
them were drawn by an irresistible Force either to
Virtue or Vice ; but only restrained by Laws,
which proposed Reward to the Good, and Pi nish-^
merit to the Bad ; to which wti e added by the Di-
vine Providence, various Incitements to Virtue,
and Discouragements from Vice ; but yet neither
of them deprived Man of his native Liberty,
whereby he had a Power of obeying or disobeying
God, as is evident from Experience ; for 'there
were always Gooa and Bad, though the Divine
Laws prescribed Virtue, and prohibited Vice
equally to all. That this would be so amongst
Christians, Christ has plainly signified in two Pa-
rables, (s) the one of the Tares which the Enemy
sowed, after the Wheat was sown ; {h) the other
of the Net, which took good and bad Fish alike;
by which he signified, that there would always be
in the Church, a Mixture of good and bad Chris-
tians ; whence it follows, that he very well saw
the Evils that would always be in the Christian
Church. Moreover^ Paul ieWs the Christians, (c)'
ihat there must be Sects amongst Chrisfians, that
they
(a) The one of the Tares, &c.] Matt. xiii. 24. ahd follow-
ing.
(6) The other of the Net, &c.] Matt. xiii. 47. and follow-
ing-
(c) That there must be Sectf, &c.] 1 Cor. xi. 19.' For tiere
must be also Heresies among you, that they which are approved,
may be made manijest among you : that is, as they are Men,
there is a Necessity unless they were changed for the better,
that there should arise Sects amongst them, by which the
Good may be distinguished from the Bad,; whilst the Good
stick
'Sect. 8.] WE ARE TO JOIN WITH. 3U
they "who were approved may he made manifest, (a)
And indeed unless there had been Differances
among Christians concerning Doctrine, there had
he^xx no Room left for Choice, and for that Sortpf
Virtue, by which Truth is preferred to all other
Things. Therefore, even in this Particular also,
the Divine Wisdom shines bright ; which caused
an excellent Virtue to flourish out of the Midst of
the Vices of Men.
If any one should object here, (3) as some do ;
that it were better there were no such Kind of
Virtue, than that there should be Vices coitfrary
to it, from whence so many horrid Grimes, so
many. Calamities, and so great Miseries should
befal Mankind, and such heavy Punishment at-
tend them after this Life : To this we answer,
that these Evils were not of such a Consideration
with God, that upon their Account, he should
not give an Instance of his Power in creating
free Agents. Unless this had been done, no
Creature would have believed that it could have
been done. Nay, God himself would not have
been thought to be free, unless he himself had
planted this Opinion of himself by his Omnipo-
tence in the Minds of Men, which otherwise they
never could have conceived from his Works.
Nor could he have been worshipped, if he had
been thought to do, or to have done a!i;ThirigSj
fiot out of his free Goodness, btjt by a certain,
fatal Necessity ; unless by a fatal Worship also,
stick to Truth and Charity, and the rest run into all Other
Things. See Matt. xvii. 7.
(a) And indeed unless, &c.] See this handled ipore at large
in my Ecclesiastical History, Ceivtury I. Anno LXXXIIt. S«
Xe Clerc.
(b) As some do, &c.] This Objection is largely proposed,
and set off with rhetorical Flourishes, by Peter Bai/le; whom
we have confuted in some of the Volumes of ^eChtiicelor
irary, and especially in the Xth, Xlth; and Xlltb^ in' Brencb
' ' and
312 WHAT CHRISTIAN CHURCH fSook.I.
and such an one as is not at all' free. The Vices
and Calamities of this or the other Life are not
comparable to so great an Evil, as the'supposing
God to -be ignorant of any Thing ; for if we find
any Difficulty about them, we ought to consider
that God is most good, just, powerful, and wise,
and will not act- otherwise than agreeable to his
Perfections ; and will easily find a Way and go in
it, whereby to clear those Things which seem to
us to be intangled : and to shew to all intelligent
Creatures, that nothing was done by him, which
ought not to have been done. In the mean Time,
till 'that Day spring, in which all the Clouds of our
Ignorance shall be dispersed, he hath given us
such Experience of himself, and such instances of
his Perfections ; on the Account of which, we
may and ought entirely to coiifide in him, and'
Satiently wait for what he will have come to pass.
lore might be said on this Matter, but that it
wduld divert us firom that End we are tending to,
and carry us to vvhat does not belong to this Place.
SECT. IX.
VT&ej fr^fess and teach the Christian Doctrine in tJ^
furiss't Manner of all, who propose those Things
qnlj as necessary to he believed, practised, or hoped
jjor, which Christians are, agreed in.
TO pass by thes? Things therefoi-e,. and return
to the Choice of our Opinion amongst the different
^ects of Christians ; nothing seems possible to be
done more safe and wise, in this State of Affairs,
than for Vi& tp join ourseljves with that Sect of Chris-
tians, which acknowledges the New Testament
only for a Rule of their Faith, without any Mix-
tvire of human decrees ; and who think it sufiici-
ent
Sect. 9.1 WE ARE TO JOIN WITH. 313
ent that every one should learn their Form of
Faith from theHcCj confoFcft their Lives to its
Precepts, and expect the Promises which are
there made. Which if it be done sincerely, and
without any Dissimulation, the End of such a
Search will be that very -Form of sound Words^
which we have made appear to have remained
the same, amidst so many and so great Storms of
Errors and Dissensions, during the passing of so
many Ages, and the Changes of Kingdoms and
Qties. In it are contained all Things that are
necessary to Faith and Practice ; to which if any
one would have any other Things added, it may
lawfully be done, according to the Circumstances
of Time and Place; provided they* be not im-
posed as necessary (a) (which belongs only to the
Supreme Lawgiver) nor contrary Doctrines to
those obtruded".
Christians ^disposed in the Manner we have
been speaking of, ought not to submit, their Neck
to the Yoke of human Opinions, nor to profess
they believe what they -do not believe ; nor to do
that which they cannot approve in their own
Minds, because they think it contrary to the Pre-
eepts of Christ. "Rierefore, wherever that Chris-,
tian Liberty, which I have now mentioned, is
not allowed, they must of Necessity depart
thence; not as if they condemned all that are of
a different Opinion from themselves, but because
eyery one is absolutely obliged to follow the Light
of his own Mind, and not that of another's; and
(a) Which belongs only to (he Supreme If^ategiver, &c.] See
what Paul says upon tliis Matter, Rom. xiv. 1. and sown,
where he speaks of those who impose Rites on others ; or who
condeinn those that observe t|iem ; which Right he declares to'
l^elorig to Christ only.. And" to this may be referred what St.
James says, Ghap. iv, 12. , " There is but oiia LawgiVer wha
" is able. to save and to destroy."
fO
«14 WHAT CHRISTIAN CHURCH [Book J.
to do that which he judges best to be done, and
to avoid that which he thinks to be Evil.
SECT. X.
All prudent Persons ought to partake of the Sacra-
ments with those who require nothing else of Chris-
tians, hut what every one finds in the Books of
the New Testament.
SINCE Christ has appointed two Signs or Sym-
bols of Christianity, Baptism and the Lord's Sup-
per, it was not indeed in our Power to receive
Baptism where we judged_ the Christian Religion
to be most pare, because we are baptized very
young; but since we do not come to the other
Sacrament till we are of riper Age^ we may dis-
tinguish that Society of Christians, in which we
are willing to be Partakers of it; which, if we
have not already done, we ought to do it now.
Th^re are some who make the Sacrament,
(which according to Christ's Institution, (a) is a
Token of that Peace and' Love which.-is between
Christians,) a Mark of Distinction ; and exclude
from it all tliose who do not think it safe to submit
to any Yoke but what Christ has laid uport them ;
or to receive any Things as necessary to be believ-
ed, practised or hoped for, but those which they
are verily persuaded are contained in the Books of
the New Testament ;^and who are therefqre very
cautious of admitting any other Forms of Faith
(a) "Is a Tolsen «/" that Peace and Love, &c.] See 1 Cor. x,
16, 17. where mentioning the Sacramental Cup and Bread' of
■which many are Partakers, the Apostle. adds ; " For we being
" many, are one Bread and one Body,_for we are all Partakers
" of that one Bread-" Which Words shew, that by the Sa-
crament is signified the mutual Agreement of Christians ; and
to the best Interpreters understand it.
, besides
Sect, id.] WE ARE TO JOIN WITH. 315
besides that which we ha\&e mentioned; It is tut
just and reasonable, indeed, that we should main-
tain Peace with such Men as these : (a) But for
receiving the Sacrament upon this Condition, that
we should embrace any other Rule of Faith and
Practice, beside the Books of the New Testament^
and think all those excluded the Church who will
not admit them ; this- a religious and -prudent Man
will' think very wicked. But all they who are true
{jovers ;of the Gospel, safely, may and ought to
approach the Sacramental Table of them, who
know no other Laws of obtaining eternal Salva-
tion, but those laid down by Christ and his Apos-
tles in the Books of the Gospel Covenant, as
every onecan understand theui. ^For whoever ac-
knowledge the Books; of the New Testament for
the only Rule of Faith and Practice; who sin-
cerely conform their Jjives to that Rule; in a
Word, who allow of no Idolatry, nor treat others
ill, that they may profess they believe certain Doc-
trines which they do not believe: All such are re-
ceived by these, and also invited to this Table. It
is manifest indeed, that Communion cannot be
maintained with him who makes use of Force to
impose his Opinions upon others; who worships
other Gods, beside the true God the Father, Son*
and Holy Ghost; or who by his Conversation,
shews that he makes light of the Precepts of the
Gospel ; or who owns any other Laws of Salvation^
than those wrote in the Books of the eternal Co-
venant: But he, who behaves himself the direct
contrary, is worthy to have all Christiatis maintain
Communion with him, and to be preferred to all
(a) But /or receiving' the Sacrament, Sec.'] And this was tha
Opinion of Grotius, a* appears from that little Book of his,
Whetlier vie might always to join in receiving the Sacramint ;
where he speaks of the Reasons of forbearing the Communion.
Tom. IV. of his Theological Works, Page 511.
5 the
SlS WHAT CHRISTIAIJ CHURCH ' [BooTt I.
the liest who are of a different Opinicm. (a) No
ttiortfll Man, nay no Angel can impose any new
Gospel u^n Christians, to be believed by them :
Now according to this Gospel, he is a true Disci-
ple of Christ, who from his Heart believes his
Doctrine, and his only, so as to obey it the best he
is able,' acebrding to the Infirmity of this Life;
who worships one God", loves his Neighbour as
hiniself, and lives' temperately in respect to all
other Things, ff any Thing be diminished'frotn
this, the Laws df the Covenant, which none but
God can abate .any Thing of, are maimed : And
if atiy Thing be addjed, it is ah useless Yofc^
whioh none ought to impose on Christians. Suofe
Laws can be received from God only, who alone
is the Determiner of eternal Salvation.
Perhaps some th^ here ask me by what Name
these Christian Societies which I have now de-
scrtbed^ may be distinguished ? But it signifies
nothing what Denomination they, go undler: The
Reader may conceive all Churches to be meant,
in which, what I have said, is to be' found.
Wheresoever that only Rale of Faith, and that
Liberty which I have described is^ and they need
npt inquire for a Name, which makes nothing
to the Purpose. I believe there are many such
Societies; and I pray the great and good Grod,
that there may be more and more every Day;
that atl&ag\h Us Kingtdenn may eome into call the
E^th, and that Mankind may obey it only.
■■'if' .' • \ ■ ■-. -r-
(a) N» mertttl $J(m, ifs,} Sep tie .Notes m Sect. I,
SECT.
Seet. 11.] WE ARE TO JOIN WITH. »17
SECT. XI.
,..,,. Concerning Church^ Government.
A SMALL Difficulty may fe here objected to
US, which arises from the Form of Church-Govern-
ment and Discipline^ commonly called Ecclesiasti-
cal : For no Society, such as a Church is^ can
subsist without Order, and therefore there must
be some Form of Government appointed. Nor
is it debated amongst Christians, what Form of
Government was appointed by the Apostles; for
that seems preferable to all others, which was
appointed from the Beginningi; and therefore of
two Churches, in which the Gospel is taught with
equal Purity and Sincerity in' all other Respects,
that i& to be preferred, in which the Form of Go-
vernment is Apostt)lical ; though Government
without the Thing itself, that is the Gospel, is
only the faint Shadow of a Church.
Thebe are now two Forms of Government,
oneof which is that wherein the Chui'ch acts under
one Bishop, who alone has the Right of ordaining
Presbytery, or the inferior Order of .the Gospd'
Ministers ; the other is that, where the Church is
governed by an Equality of Presbyters, joined
\Vlth some Lay-persons of Prudence and Honesty.
They who without Prejudice have read over the
moat ancient Christian Writers that now remain,
(a) very well know, that the former Manner of
Discipline, which is ealled Episcopal, such as that
in the South Part of Great Britain, prevailed every
where in the Age immediately after the Apostles;
whence we may collect that it is of the Apostolieal
'" (a)rVerywell knom, &c.] See my Ecclesiastical H^tory,
Century I- to the- Year LII, 6. and LXVIII. 8, and the fol-
loKTOgones. LeClerc, ...
1 Institution.
318 WHAT CHRISTIAN CHURCH [Book L
Institutioiji The other, which they call Preshyte"
rian, was instituted in many Places of France,
Switzerland, Germany and Holland, by those who
in the Sixteenth Century made a Separation from
the Church of Rome.
They who read with Attention the Histories of
that Century, are fully satisfied that this latter
Fofm of Government was introduceid for this Rea-
son only, because the Bishops would not allow to
them, who contended that the Doctrine and Man-
ners of Christians stood in Need of necessary
Amendment, that those Things should be reform-
ed, which they complained were corrupted.
Otherwise, if the Bishops every where at that
Time, had been willing to do of their own Ac-
cord, what, was not' long after done in England ;
that Government had prevailed even to this Day^
amongst all those who separated from the Romish
Church; and the numberless Calamities which
happened, when all Things were disturbed and
Confounded, had then been prevented. For, if we
would judge of the Matter truly, there was no
other Reason for changing the Government but
this, that whilst the ancient Government remained,
nothing could be procured, however just in itself.
Therefore the Presbyterian Form is appointed in
many Places ; which after it was once done, was
so much for the Interest of all them who presided
in thfe State-Affairs i n, those Plgces, and is .so at
this Time, not to have it changed, that it must of
Necessity continue; unless any one had rather,
upon that Account, that all the Dominions in
which it prevails, should be put into the most
dangerous Disorders; which prudent Men will
never allow, nor is it to be wished. The Form of
Government was appointed of-old, to preserve the
Christian Doctrine,, and not to disturb the Com-
monwealth, which can scarce happen without en-
dangering the Religion itself. Wherc
Sect. 11, 12.] WE ARE TO JOIN WITH. sif
Wherefore prudent Men, thbugh they above
all Things, wish for the Apostolical Form -of
Church- Government, and that it might be every
where alike; yet they think Things had better
be left in the State in which they now are, thaa
venture the Hazards which always attend the
Attempt of new Things. In the mean Time, they
that. are wise, will by no Means hate, reproach,
or condemn one another upon that Account, as
the most violent Men are apt to do; as if eternal
Salvation depended upon either Form, which does
not seem to be taught any where in the Aposto-
lick Writings, nor can it be gathered from the
Nature of the Christian Religion.
SECT. XII.
The ancient Church-Government was highly esteemed
hy Grotius, 'without condemning others,
WHOEVER reads over the Works of that
great Man Hugo Grotius, . and examines into his
Doctrine and Practice, wtll find, that he had en-i,
tertained in his Mind {a) that Form of sound
Words, the Truth of which he has proved; nor
did he esteem any Thing else as true Religion;
but after he had diligently read the Writings of
Christian Antiquity, and understood that the ori-
(«) That Form of sound Words, &c.} See amongst other
Things, The Institution of Children that are baptized, which
the Author himself translated out of Dutch Verse into Latin, ia
his Theological Works, Tom; IV. Page 629. And in his lattier
Works, he often affirms^ that whatever is necessary to Sahf>
tion is plainly enough contained in the New, Testament. See
bis Annotations on Cassander'sComnhsXion, towards the End,,
where .he speaks- o/" Me Sufficiency and Plainness of the- Scripture^
Wliich being granted, it is manifest from thence,' that the.
Sum of the Christian Religion, as it was before produced by
is, may be collected thence by any one,
ginal
SSQ WHAT CHRISTIAN CHURCH . [Book &
glnal Fofni was that of Episcopacy, . he tiigjily ap-
proved of it' ia the Manner it is maintained in
England, as appears {d) frotfi his own expfesi
Words, which we have wrote ddvvn at the Bottom
of thePage.
Therefore it is not to be doubted bat if if
had been in his Power, arid he had not been so
vehemeritly tossed to and fro by Adversity, aild
exasperated and vexed by the Bareness and Re-
prdacbfulness of his Enemies, at whose Hands
he did not deserve it, he would have joined hifii-i
self with those who maintained the ancient Form
ef discipline, and required nothing further than
what has been already said, the Truth of which
he has proved excellently well; the argtiments
for which Practice appear to us to be so weighty,
that we have thought good t6 add them to this
little Treatise.
SECT. XIII.
An Exhortation to all Christians who difer.fiom eaei
'. other, not to reqtdre from one another arg^ Points
^ Doctrine, hut such as every one finds in the
New Testament, and hav^ always been hlieved^
SEEING the^e Things are so, we cannot but
earnestly exhort all Christians who diffef In Opi-
(a) From his own express Words, &c.] In his Annotatioiis on-
the Constiltatioh of Cassatider, Acts xiv. " Bishops are tha
" Heads of the Presbyters, and that Pre-eminence was foreshewn-
" in Peter, and was 'appointed by the Apostles wherever it could-
•» be done, and approved by the Holy Ghosvin the Revela-
" tioiis. Wherefore it was to be wished that that Superiority^
"were appointed fevery where^i ^-c." See also what follows
concerning the Ecclesiastical Power, and the Discussion' of
mveUis's Apology. Page 714. Col. 2. Other Things are also
alledged in the Epistles added to this little Treatise.
nions;!
Sect. 13.] WE ARE TO JOIN WITH. 3^1
nions, to remember that That only- is the tt-iie
Sum an4 Substance of the Christian Religion, the
Truth of which can be proved by the Arguments
Grotius has alledged ; and not those controverted
Points which each Side denies, and which have been
theiCause of so many Evils : JFurther, no one that
reads over the New Testament with a religious
.^^nd, and meditates upon it, can be persuaded
that there is (<») any other Lawgiver but Christ,
upon whose Latw eternal Life depends; nor that
any one who is so disponed, can or ought to per-
suade himself to admit of any Thing as necessary
to Salvation, beside what is the Doctrine of Christ
and his Apostles ; or to believe that to be true,
which he thinks is contrary to it : Wherefore there
is none more certain and present Remedy of their
Differences than this; that Nothing be imposed
upon Christians, but those Things which every
one is fully satisfied in his own Mind are revealed ;
nor need we fear any "Inconvenience from hence^
since it is evident from the Experience of all Age*
past from Christ to this Time, that the Sum of
the Christian Religipn before laid down, was nevef
rejected by any. {b) If this ©ne Thing only were
■-« ' . at
^ ■.- . . ' la'^
(a) Any other Lmogiver but' Christ, &c.] The Words of
James, Chap. iv. 12. quoted' in Section I. are very express in
tliis Matter ; where more is^said relating thereto. Besides, thai
Thing itself speaks here j because amongst the different Sects
of Christians, none of them believe their Adversaries' AiJ#
thority. ■
(6) If this one Thing only, &c.] This was the Opinjon of
Jtfmei I. King o( Bredt Britain, if we may give Credit to
Isaac Casaubon, who .had these Words i« Ms Answer to Car-
dinal Perron's Eputles,' on the thii d Observation, Pag< 30. Edit;
Lond. I6l2. "It is most truly written, in tlie TExplicatipn
"'of those Things which are absolutely necessary^ that it is
"the KiWg'S Opiflion (fiat the Number of those Things whrch
" are absolaWly necessary to Salvation is not great, \yhere-
" fore his Majesty thinks that there is no shorter Way to
' Y " ?nter
322 WHAT CHRISTIAN CHURCH [Book t
at this Time required of all Christians as neces-
sary, all their Differences would immediately cease,
and whatever Disagreement remained in Opinions,
it would not belong to the Body of the Church,
but to private persons ; every one of which must
render an Account of their Conscience to God.
If they did but once understand that they were
agreed in the principal Matters, as they really are
agreed, and w^ould bear with one another in other
Things, and would not endeavour to bring over
others to their Opinions or Rites, by Force or
other wicked Arts ; this would be the only Agree-
ment that can be expected on Earth, (a) In this
Ignorance and Want of Knowledge in Mankind,
hindered by so many Passions, no prudent Person
can expect that "all can be brought, either by Force
or Reason, to think and do the same Thing. The
more generous and understanding Minds can never
approve of Force, which is the Attendant of Lies,
and not of Truth : Nor *do they who are less
learned, or who are blinded by Passion or the Pre-
judices of Education, br any other Thing, as the
far greatest Part will always be, fully understand
the Force of Reason ; nor in the mean Time, are
they to be compelled to do or speak contrary to
what they think. Let them who preside in the
Government of the ChurOT think it sufficient, that
" enter in an Agreement, than by carefully Separating thos^
'.'Things that are neressary, from those that are not; and
" that their whole Care be employed in agreeing about the
" necessary Things j and that in those Things that are not
" necessary, there, be an Allowance made for Christian Li*
" berty," SfC.
(a) In this Ignorance and Want of Knowledge, &c.] It was
very well said by Hilary, concerning the frinity, Book X,
Chap. 70- " That God does not invite us to Happiness through
" difficult Questions, nor confound us with, various Sorts of
" Eloquence. Eternity is plain and easy to lis, to believe that
*• God. raised up Jesus from the Dead, and to confess him to
« be Lord."
Mejn,
Sect. 13.] . WE ARE TO JOIN WITH. 923
Men, through the Help of the immortal God,
believe the Gospel ; that That Faith alone is to be
preached as necessary; that the Precepts of it
alone are to be obeyed, and Salvation to be ex-
pected from the Observation of its Laws; and all
Things will go vieW. Whilst human Things are
made, equal with Divine ; and doubtful Things,
to say no worse of them, equalled with those that
are certain, there can be no Etid of Contention,
no Hopes of Peace ; which all pious Men bughtj
with their most earnest Wishes, to desire of the
great God, and to endeavour to promote as far as
in their Power.
324 AGAINST INDIFFERENCE IN [Book II.
BOOK II.
Against Indifference in the Choic? of our
Religion.
SECT. I.
That ive ought to have a Love for Truth in all
Things, hut more especially in such as are of great
Moment.
T THINK that Person judged very rightly,
■*• (a) whoever he was, that said, there is an
eternal Alliance betwixt Truth and the Mind of
Man ; the Effects of which, though they may
sometimes be, as it were, suspended or discon-
tinued for a While, by reason of the Inconstancy
and Affections of human Nature; yet the Alli-
ance itself can never be entirely broke. For No-
(a) Whoever he •mas, that said, &c.] John Smith, tn his
Select Discourses, publislied at London 1660. Hence St.
Austin, in his CXLth Sermon concerning the Words of the
Evangelist St. John, Tom. V. Col. 682. - " Every Man
" searches afrer Truth and Life; but every Man does not
" find the Way to them." And again, Sermon CL. Col,
716. " The Mind cannot endure to be deceived. Ana
" how much the Mind naturally hates to be deceived, ^\e
" may learn from this tingle Thing, tha't every Man of Sense
" pities a Changeling. If it were proposed to any one, whe*
" ther he would- choose to be deceived, or to persist in the
" Truth } there is No})ody but W9uld answer,^ that he had
" rather persist in the Truth."
body
Sect. l.J THE CHOICE OF OUR RELIGION. 325
body 19 desifous of being deceived ; nay^ there is
Nobody but had rather know the Truth in ^ny
Matter whatsoever, but especially in any Mattfer
df Moment, than be mistaken, though it be only
in Things of mere Speculation. We are naturally
delighted with Truth, and have as naiufal an
Aversion to Error ; and if we knew any Way in
which we could certainly arrive at Truth, we
shbuld most readily enter into it. Hence it is,
that there always have been fbund very eminent
M€D, whom all the World have most highly ap-
plftuded, because tbey speftt their whole Lives in
the Pursuit of Truth. There have been, and are
at this Day, innumerable Natural Philosophers
and Geometricians, who have taken incredible
Pains to come at Truth; and who affirtrt that
they never feel (a) so great Pleasure as when
£hey find out a Truth which they have long^ been
in Search after. So that the Love and the Know-
ledge of Truth may very justly be reckoned
amongst the many other Things that Men excd
Brutes in. -
■ Bui all Truths are not of the same Moment,
arid many theoretick Notions, though they b6
true,, may be laid asidd, becatise little or no Ad-
vantage can be had from them, and therefd'fe it is
not worth while to be at much Pains about them ;
but, on the other Hand, there are some Truths of
so great Moment, that we justly think theitt worth
purchasing at any Rate. Of this »o« arfe all those
that relate to our Well-being and Happiness ; the
IKnowledge of whieh is most valued by eveffy Body,
and most diligently piirsued by them. To which
if We add, that the Consequence of a well-spent
and happy Life (and we must always iWdW, t\iSt
what is good, that is agreeable to Truth, is also an
(a) So griat Pkasm'e, &c.J See the Life of Pythagdras in
Diogenes Zaertius, Book VIII. 13.
Ingredient
326 AGAINST INDIFFERENCE IN [Book II.
Ingredient of Happiness) during our short Stsy.
here, will be an eternal Happiness hereaftery as alt
Christians of every Sect whatsoever profess to be-
lieve ; we cannot but own that the Knowledge of
the Way by which we may arrive at such Happi-
ness, cannot be purchased at too dear a Rate,
SECT. II.
Nothing can he of gf eater Moment than Religion i
and therefore we ought to use our utmost Endea-
vours to come at the true Knowledge of it.
OUR Business is not now with such Persons as
(despise all Religion ; these have been sufficiently
ponfvjted by that %t^^t Man Hugo Grotius, in the
foregoing Books ; which whosoever has read, with
a Mind really desirous of coming at the Truth,
can have no Doubt, but that there is a God who
would be worshipped by Men ; and as Things
now are, with that very Worship which is com-
ipapded by Christ; and that he has promised
jBVerlasting Happiness after this mortal Life, to all
who Jthus worship him.
^Hue much being allowed, Nobody can doubt
but that Religion is a Matter of the highest Con-
cern ;, and therefore, as we see that Christians do
jiot consist of one entire Body, we ought to en-
deavour to find out which Sect of thern is most
agreeable in its Doctrines and Precepts, to those
which are left us by Jesus Christ ; for we cannot
have an equal Regard for t^em all, because some
of them are so very difFere«t from others, both in
Doctrine and Worship, that they accuse one an-
other of the greatest Errors, and of having, cor-
rupted ihe Divine Worship ; nay some of them
0\^dk of the Rest, as absolutely excluded eternal
Life.
Sect. 2.] THE CHOICE OF OUR RELIGION. 32*
Life^ Now, if this could be made plainly dppear,
without Doubt we ought to withdraw ourselves
from all other Sects, as soon as we can,' and join
with that alone which with Truth makes such Ob-
jebtions against all others. For not only this pre-
sent short Life lies at Stake, which is subject to in-
numerable Evils and Misfortunes, let us live how
we will ; but we render ourselves liable to the Punish-
ments which God has threatened to those who do
not believe the Gospel, and hazard that Happiness
which has no Defect, and will have no End. Yet
there are some Men, not indeed very learned, nor
viery much addicted to reading the Scriptures se-
riously, in order to judge of the Divisions amongst
Christians, and to find out on which Side the
Truth lies, for they have no concern et all for
that ; but their Notion of these Divisions is, that
they think it all one, let their Opinions be what
they will, and that it is the same Thing, whatever
Worship they follow : They imagine it to be quite
indifferent what Party of Christians we really joiri
ourselves with, or indeed only profess to join our-
selves with. -I do not now speak of the cotnmon
People only ; there are Kingdoms, in which not
only the common People, but the Magistrates and
Nobility have separated from the See of Rome, and
yet in a very short Time, upon having a new King:,
have returned to it again ; and then after this,
have been assisting to the supreme Power in op-
posing the same See. In the Reign of Henry VIII.
of England, there were many Acts made not only
by the King, but agreed to by the Parliament»
against the See of ^ow/, which J^ing jffc»^ was
angry with for a Reason that {e.'w People approved
of. After his death, when his Son" Edward VI.
joined in with that Party, who had not only re-
nounced all the Authority of the See of Rome, as
his Father had done, but also had embraced other
Opinions,
328 , AGAINST INDIFFERENCE IN [Book II.
Opinions, which were condemned by that See;
they likewise openly declared that they approved
of them. • A little after King Edward died, when
Queen Mary, a great Bigot to the Pope of Rome,
succeeded her Brother; this very Nobility assisted
this Queen to oppress that Party who had despised
the Authority of the Pope, and were in so flourish-
ing a condition when Edward was King. Some
Time after, upon the Death of Mary, Queen Eli-
xabeth succeeded, who was of the same Sect with
her Brother Edward, and so strongly established it
by a long Reigii, that it remains to this Day upon
the same Foutxdation on which it was then biiilt.
Whoever peruses the History of those Times, will
see how fluctuating the Nobility of that Nation
were ; and he will hardly be able to persuade him-
self, but that they were of the same Mind with
those that believe it to be all one with Respect to
thejreternal Salvation, what Sect of Christians they
join themselves with. I agree with those who
ascribe these Changes in a good Measure to Fear ;
but when I consider the Constancy, Courage, and
Contempt of Death, which we so frequently see in
tlje EpgUsh Nation, I can hardly persuade myself,
hut that the Love of this presient Life, and an In-
difference about Religion, were the princi
Cauties of these several Changes.
SECT. m.
Thai an Indifference in Religion is in its own Nature
Itnlixtuful, forbidden hy the Laws of God, and
pondimned by all Sects oj Christians.
FOR any one to think that Religion is. one of
those Things that are of an indifferent Nature ; so
that 'Vve may phange it as Wie do our Qlothes; or
at
Sect. 3.] THE CHOICE OF OUR REtlGION. 329
at lea&t, that we may profess or deny it just as the
Times change; is a most heinous Crime, as will
appear by many Reasons, thq principal of which
we wiU produce from the Nature of the Thing,
the Laws of God, and the Consent of all Chris*
tian Nations. r^
First, to tell a Lye is a very dishonest Thing,
especially in an Affair of any great Moment, when
it is not so much as allowed in trifling Matters,
unless perhaps in such Particulairs where a Lye
i*, upon the Whole, more advantageous than /he
Truth. But in the Affair of Religion, it must be
a very grievous Fault for Men to lye, or even to
dissemble i "because thereby they do all in their
Power to confirm a Lye, in a Thing of the greatest
Importance ; to stifle Truth which is contrary to
it, and to condemn it to piM-petual Obscurity. It
is the worst Ejcaiiaple that can be set, especially in
Persons advanced to Iny Dignity, which the Peo-
ple of a lower Rank- are but too apt to imitate ;
whence it comes to pass, that they are not only
GflTenders themselves, but they cause others to of-
fend also by their Example; which has the greatest
Influence over the common People, because they
give a much greater Attention to the Actions of
those they have a great Respect for, than to their
Words.
It is also a very dishonourable Thing, and alto-
gether unworthy a Man of Courage, to tell a Lye
for the Sake of this short Life, and to choose to
displlease God rather than Men. For this Reason
the most eminent Philosophers chose rather to ex-
pose themselves to certain Dteath, than to do a Thing
which they thought was displeasing to the Deity ;
as we see (a) in the Instance of Sacra fes, who chose
rather to drink a Dose of Poison, than to leave off
(a) IniAelnstanceo/Socrsites, &c.] See wiat I have collect-
ed about him in my Hilvx PMMogicx, Book I. Chap. 3.
the
330 AGAISST INDIFFERENCE IN [Book II.
the Study of Philosophy, which he had so much
accustomed himself to, and live. Other Philoso-
phers also chose rather (a) to go to the Plough,
than give up those Notions which they believed to
be true, and had undertaken to defend. And
there have been such valiant Men among the Hea-
thens, who by their good Lives severely reproached '
the Age they lived in ; and thought it much more
preferable to die, than to flatter Tyrants, and
thereby forsake the true Way of Life ; of which
were (h) Thraseus Patus and {c) Helvidius Prisms,
who chose to die rather than to dissemble or ap-
prove- of the Vices, and wicked Actions of the
Roman Emperors. Now if this was done by Men
who had but faint Hopes of another and more
happy Life hereafter; how much more are they
obliged to do it,~ who have so mvicb plainer and
more certain Hope of an eternal Happiness afford-
ed them !
All Ages have seen and commended such as
have, with an intrepid Mind, submitted to Death
for the Sake of their earthly Country. Now after
this, who is it but must applaud all those who pre-
(a) To go to the Plough, &c, J See Galen in that Book, where
he says, "That the Passions and Affections of the Mind de-
" pend upon the Constitution of the Body," In the last Chap-
ter, towards the End, where speaking of the Stoics, "They
" were fully persuacied, that they ought to forsake their Coun-
" try rather than their Opinions."
(b) Thraseus PcetiiS, &c.] Who was put to Death by Nero,
because he would not flatter hiin. See Tacitus's Annals, Book
XVI, 24, and following Sections.
(c) Helvidius Fmcu»,'&c.] The Son-in-,LaW. of TAroiew,
who, as Tacitus^ there tells us, was commanded to depart out
of Itali/ at the same Time. He was afterwards slain by VeS'
pasian, because he would not pay sufficient Reverence to his
new Master, as Suetonius informs us in the'XVth Chapter of
the Life of that Emperor. His Son was slain by Domitian,
See Suetonius's Life of him, and Tacitus in the Life pi jigri-
cola, Chapter XLV.
Sect. 3.] THE CHOICE OF OUfi REpCION. 331
fer a heavenly Country to an earthly one ; and that
eternal Life which the Scriptiires have revealed to
us, to a temporal one? Who can forbear despising
those mean Creatures that choose to preserve such
a Life as they have in common with brute Beasts,
and which they must lose in a short Time; rather
than to take the first Opportunity of obtaining a
Life that can never be lost ? We see Soldiers with
great Bravery face the most imminent ''Dangers,
in order to obtain the Favour of Kiflgs or Princes
to themselves, or their Families after them ; and
rejoice within themselves that they got such
Wounds as they rnust in a very short Time die
of. Nay, even hired Troops themselves will fight
very valiantly, and venture their Lives for those
who employ them, though it be but for very
enaall Wages; and yet there are some who will
not expose themselves to any Hazard, I do not
say of their Lives, biit of the Loss of their Goods,
or of their uncertain Dignities, for the Defence of
Truth, which will last to Eternity, is most ac-
ceptable to God, and has the highest Reward an-
nexed to it.
Thekefoke, what Christ has commanded us
in this Respect, is in the following Words:
(a) ffOiosoever shall confess me hefore Men, him will
J confess also before my Father which is in Heaven ;
hut whosoever shall deny me before Men, him will I
also deny before my Father which is in Heaven. In
which Words he tells us, that he will own all those
for jiis Disciples, and will give them eternal Life
at the Day of Judgment, who have not dissembled
his Doctrine, either in their Deeds or Words. He
does, indeed, in another Place, declare, that this
ought to be done with Prudence; when he says,
Qr) That we shouldnqt cast Pearls before Swine. But
(a) Whosoever shall confeis, &c.J Matt, x, 32.
h) That wc ihould not cast, &c,] Matt, viii. 6.~
this
332 AGAINST INDIFFERENCE. IN [ftedi «.
this Prudfence does not extend so far as t6 allow us
to play the Hypocrite all our Lives long, i(
Need be, or so much as to tell a direct Lye ; but
only not to try at art improper Time and Pkde,
to convince such Persons as obstinately persist iii
their Errors, when we see it will have no Effect
upon them. For he expressly declares a little
after the forenientioned Words concerning con-
fessing our Religion ; and sometimes it ought to
be done, though it britigs upon us the Hatred of
all those about ps, and the imminent Danger of
certain Death : (a) He that loveth Father ar Mother
more than me, is not worthy of tfie; andhe that loveth
Son or Daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.
And such are all they who dissemble the Doc-
trines and Precepts which they have received
from Christ, for their Families' Sake. Nor has
Christ omitted to tell us, that Death must be ex-
pected for such Constancy ; and yet notwithstand-
mg, they ought to persist in their Design ; and
that he who does lose his Life updn this Account,
shall obtain a blessed Immortality in the World to
come, {h) And he that taketh not his Cross andfol-
lowelh after me, is not worthy, of me. He that
findeth his Life (in this World) shall lose it (in
another ;) andhe that loSeth ht^ Life (on Earth) /or
my Sake, shall find il, in Heaven, and" an infinitely
more happy and eternal one,
This Dofctrine is so plain and evident, that there
are no Sects of 'Christians at this Time that differ
at all about it ; they who ov^fn the Pope's Autho-
rity, and they of all Sorts who disown such Autho-
rity, do every one of therai, with one Consent, af-
firm it to be a very wicked Thing to dissemble
our Sentipents concerning Religion ; when Opi-
(a) He that laveth Father,- &c.] -Matt: x. 37.
{b)\ And he that taketh, &c.] Matt. x. 3^, 35.
nions
Sect. 30 THE CHOJICE QF OUR RELIGION. 333
nions pf the greatest Moment are debated', and
where the Thing may be done, without Sedition
and Tumult. For in thOse Things, in which
Faith towards God and Uncorruptness of Man-
ners may be preserved, it may be right to conceal
our Notions, rather than raise perpetual Conten-
tions amongst Christians, when there are so few
learned Men who think alike in every Thing, I
say conceal^ not dissemble; for to conceal your
Opinion is not to lye ; but to affirm you believe
that which you really do not believe, this is to .
lye. To which may be added, that if any Opi-
nion be established by the common Law, which
you think to be false : you ought modestly and
without Contention or Tumult, to declare, your
Dissent from it ; otherwise, instead of that mild
and gentle Governmept of Christian Churches,
which does not exclude any Dissent, provided it
be done with Charity ; we shall run into absolute
Tyranny, which will allow of no Dissent at all
upon any Account. There are innumerable ob-
scure speculatiye Questions, especially to thosewho
never took any great Pains in subh Sort of Studies,
in which Christian Liberty ought to be allowed,
as is confessed by ail Christians, for there are a
Multitude of Places in Scripture, and a vast Num-
ber of Theologi*il Opinions, in which learned
Men always have, and will differ from each other
with Impunity, even amongst those, who in other
Thiflgs require Consent more strictly than they
ought to do.
SECT.
334 AGAINST INDIFFERENCE IN [BookJI.
SECT. IV.
We ought not hastily to condemn those who differ from
us, as if they were guilty of such a Crime or such
urdawful Worship, as is inconsistent with eternal
Life; so that none who admit such Persons, should
le capable of the Mercy 'of God; nor yet, on the
other Hand, is it lawful for us to profess that we
believe what we do^ not really believe ; or to do
what at the same time we condemn.
THEY who have separated from the Church
of Rome, do no more agree with each other in all
Points, than they who continue in it; but accord-
ing to the Judgmerit of some' of the most learned
Men, they do not differ in any Thing that is con-
sistent with that Faith which is owing to God, and
that Obedience which ought to be paid to him.
But they object many Things to the Church of
Rome both in Doctrine and Worship, which they
think are plainly false and unlawful. Whether
they judge right in this or not, I shall not now
inquire: However, thus much is evident, that
acdOrdjng to the Opinion even of that Church, it
is not lawful for them to profess that they approve
of what they do not approve of, nor do they ad-
mit any Persons to Communioij with them, who
profess to dissent from it in such Things. How-
ever, amongst those that dissent from the Church
of Rome, there are {a) some famous and learned
Men, who though they think it utterly unlawful
to join with that Church themselves, on the Ac-
count of those Doctrnes, and that Worship in
which they differ from it; yet notwithstanding
(ff) Somefamovs and learned Meiit &c.] Araengst others,
is Mr. IFiUiam Chillingworth, inhh English Book intitled, Th^
Religion of Proteitants, the safe Way to Salvation, where he
taentious others^ who also thiok them as safe.
they
Sect. 4.] THE CHOICE OF OUR RELIGION. 335
they do not think it right to exclude from eternal
Happiness, all those, both learned and unlearned,
who live and die in it. They indeed who think
that there is any Thing in them, which is contrary
to the fundamental Principles of Christianity,
jui|^e it to be by no Means lawful for themselves
to give their Assent to them, and that it would be
the highest Crime in them, to pretend to consent
to what they really condemn, and for which
Crime, if they fall mto it, and continue in it to
their Death, they believe they should be excluded
eternal Happiness. But as to such as do sincerely
embrace those Doctrines, because they believe
Ihem to be agreeable to Divine Revelation, or at
least not so repugnant to it, as to subvert the Faith
or Holiness of the Gospel ; whether it be owing
to that sort of Study which they have employed
themselves in from their Youth, or whether it
ariseth from a Defect of Knowledge or Judgment ;
such Persons as these, I say^ they do not presume
to exclude from Salvation, because they cannot
tell how far the Mercy of God may extend with
respect to such Men as these. There areinnume-
rable Circumstances both of Time and Place, and
various Dispositions of Mind, which are quite
unknown to us, which may very much diminish
the Crimes of wretched Men in the Sight of God;
so as to procure Pardon for siich, which would be
condemned in Men of more Learning. Where-
fore they look upon it as a Part of Christian
Equity and Prudence, at the same Time that they
condemn the Doctrine and the Worship, to leave
the Men to the wise and merciful Judgment of
God; though they themselves are determined
neither to assent to their Doctrines, nor be present
-at their Worship, because they think it absolutely
unlawfuL
Surely
t
33e AGAINST INDIFFERENCE IN fBooklf.
Surely no Maq can think, that from what has
been said, it will follow that any Person who is
brought up in a different Opinion, and has em-
ployed himself in reading the Scriptures in the
Manner that the Reformers do; if he should, con-
trary to his own Conscience say or do any Thipg
which he thinks unlawful or false, for any pres^ent
Advantage; that any such Person, I say^ can hope
for Pardon from God ; if he should die with a
Habit of saying and doing what he himself dis-
approves of; and would have said and done so, if
he had lived longer. There is not at present, and
I hope there never will be, ^ny Sect which shall
' go under the Name of Christians, who, will allow
that such a Man can airive at. Salvation.
Lkt Hypocrites, therefore, look to themselves
whilst they behave so, as shamefully to despise the
Light of Reason and Revelation, to resist the
Conviction of them, and to look upon the Judg-
ment of all Christians whatsoever as nothing.
Such Persons cannot be thought learned Men, or
such as have thoroughly and maturely considered
the Thing. There are them that so far despise all
theological Learning, that they will not so much
as attempt it; but without this there can be no
Judgment at all passed upon the Matter.' These
equally despise that noble Philosophy, which the
great Men amongst the Romans of old set such a
Value upon, as being deduced from the Light of
Nature ; in order to indulge those Passions which
-the Heathen Philosophy would not allow of. Hav-
ing thus secured themselves from the Judgment of
past Ages, despising every Thing in the present,
and having little Concern for what is to come;
they are more like Beasts than Men endued with
Reason, which they never make use of. They
who dissemble and lye in such a Manner as this,
ought not to be looked upon as Men of any Value
1 or
Sect. 4.] THE CHOICE OF OUR RELIGION. SS7
or Account, they ought not to be trusted, even
in temporal and worldly Affairs, because they en-
deavoured to impose lipon God and Man in a
Matter of the greatest Importance. There. are
some amongst these, who dare to afR'-m, that We
ought always to be of the Religion that the State
is of, and when that changes, we ought to change
also ; but it is not at all to be wondered at, that
these Persons should have so ill an Opinion of the
Christian Faith, when they have not so much as
the common Principles of Natural .Religion in
them, nor do they show any Regard to right Rea-
son or Virtue. What a wretched Condition are
those Kings and States in, who put their Confi-
dence in such Men as believe neither Natural nor
Revealed Religion ! Indeed, Men, who are them-
selves void of Learning, who give no Credit to the
Judgment of any learned Men whatsoever ; who
have no Sort of Concerri for Truth, but live in
perpetual Hypocrisy ; are by no Means fit to be
trusted in apy Matters whatsoever, not even in
such as relate to the Public.
Yet these very Men, as much Despisers as they
are of Truth and Virtue, look upon themselves a»
better Subjects and more ingenious Persons than
others ; though they be neither, and though it be
impossible they should be either, whilst they rnake
no Distinctipn betwixt Truth and Falsehood, Vir-
tue and Vice, and v^hilst they are ready to say or
do any Thing that may be of Advantage to them-
selves. All such Men have renounced a right
Temper of Mind, and every good Action, and
therefore ought to be despised and avoided by
every Pody.
SECT.
338 -; AdAlNST IlIDIFFERte^Cfe IJC tBo<*U.
#^ iSECT. V. :;
^n-: .6". i .,- ii, ' ' '■ i ,.;:'• '
A Man that commits a Sin i/j Mistake, may he ae-
eeptedof God, hut a Hj/pocriU tanriot.
tibn, prfop want of Teachers or Booki!^ whici
%ifimt .'bring tfiem pff from their i^rrors; or fee
jrorrii a Jfucfgtnqnt of ffreriij^lfead^Jifeeir Lives as ^
^CTB.in litter parkries5.^/„suc]&;Tfe^^^ ttieV
~^^o 'sincerely believe and "obey wndt they are
5t!loni.p(ission t^ian of Anger, cbnstdefJhg the naitii-
ral St^te of Mankind,. Their jReligidn indeed is
very lame arid defecttve, and abounds with Mij-
iakes, but yet they Jihemseivci are very sincere.
'^nerefpre |t ii highly prbbable, that he w^o ^o^ j
^^o^'reap w^ere he jna^s' will, put of Ms
^Vn0an^t,jfaulty,p¥rdoil those who kre irisi«^
Circumst^nces|, or, certainly will inflict a much
lij^ter Puiiis^pefituppiit^^ ,
• But if wje!,<^iisiclej: jtl^at there are Men tp be
ifaund whp Ki^yg ijpt,warited'd^^ or
^eaci^ei;s, either -0,6^)^8 or 'CfaipapKy,^'^o linder-
'stand vvlip haye the Best and wtip 't)ie \irorst Side
of die Questibi^j, in JGpritroyerstel^oirj^erigipri;
and yet have followed the wrbing {M(Je,fbhly for
the Sake of the Wealth, or Pleasure, or Honours,
that attend them in thi&. present Life; we cannot
but have great Indignation against such Men,
nor can any one presume to excuse them, much
less to defend such a. Purpose of Life, without
the
Sect. 5.] THE CHOICE OF OUR RELIGION. 33S
the most consummate Impudence. Whence it
is easy to apprehend, that if we ourselves, whose
Virtue is very imperfsct, could not pardon such
Persons, how much more severe will the infinite
Justice of God be against those, who have know-
ingly and designedly preferred a Lye to the Truth,
for the Sake of the frail and uncertain good Things
of this present Life ?
God, out of his abundant Mercy, is ready to
pardon such Ignorance as does not proceed fi'om
Vice; to pity our imperfect Virtues; and to al-
low for the Errors of such as are deceived; espe-
cially if there was no previous Iniquity,, nor no
Contempt of Religion ; but as our Saviour assures
us, he will never pardon those, who when they
knew the Truth, chose rather to profess a Lye.
We see that such a Hypocrite as this, is by no
Means acceptable to Men; for nobody would
choose a Person for a Friend, who, to gain any
small Advantage to himself, would tram|)le under
Foot all the Rights of ancient Friendship. Whence
it follows, from what has been said, that there is
not a baser nor more dangerous Piece of Iniquity,
than the Crime of those. Who, in Matters of the
highest Moment and Concern, dissemble that
which they really think is the best, and openly fa-
vour them who are in the wrong. This is what
Reason itself teaches us, and what is confirmed by
the Christian Religion, and has tb'e Consent of all
Sects of Christians whatsoever. ,
TESTIMONIES
COXCERNINC
HUGO GROTIUS'S
AFFECTION FOR THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
TO THE READER.
ilLAFlNG the following Letters from
that most excellent and learned Person, Henry
Newton, Ambassador Extraordinary frorn the
most Serene Queen of Great Britain, to his
Royal Highness the most Serene Grand Duke
of Tuscany, to whose singular Goodness I am
very much indebted i I thought I should do a
very acceptable Thing to all who love the Name
of Grotius, and no small Honour to the Church
of England, if I published them here. It ap-
pears plainly from them, that this very great
Man had the highest Opinion of the, Church of
England, and would most willingly have lived
in it, if he could. Make the best Use of them
you can, therefore. Courteous Reader, and
continue to have a good Opinion of a Man
that deserved so well of the whole Body ' of
Christians.
T £ S T I M O N I E S, &c. 3,«l
HENRY NEWTON
TO
PETER HIERpN. BARCELI^^J^US,
ABBOT OF ST. SUSIBIVS S£ tfBBB.
"DEING at length returned safe and \yell to
Florence from Leghorn and Pisa, where through
the Intemperateness of the Air I was "very near
contracting a Fever ; the first Thing I had to do,
rnost excellent Barceltims, being furnished with
the most noble Library of the ulustnous Maglia-
bechiust was to discharge my Promise concerning
that great "Mzw Hugo Grqfius, and to shew/rotn
his Writings, particularly jiis Letters, in which
Truth, Candour, Integrity of He|;rt, and the
inward Thou^s of his Mind are c^scqver^ ;
how highly he thought and wrote conceniing U8
all his Life-time, and a little before his Depar-
ture, &hd when Death and Immortality were in
his View. I know What was said of him by, that
principal Man -of his Rank . Petavius, and also
Mrielius and Faksius, and many other celebrated
Mien of your Communion, who wished well and.
favQurably to a Man born for the public Good
of Christianity. It is known to all, how greatly
he snffered in Goods, Honour, and Repprt from
the Calvinists, both in his own Cpuntr^ and in
S hit
3M TESTIMONIES CONCERNING
his Banishment even after he was advanced to a
higher Rank by Foreigners ; and how much the
Heats of Controversy^ (whilst he set his Mind
upon this one Thiag, to establish Peace in the
Commonwealth and between the Churches, which
highly displeased many; a strange and grievous
Thing!.) fretted that Disposition, which was
otherwise peaceable and modest, after he saw
himself treated in such an unworthy Manner, by
his .own Friends ; and sometirnes prervailed over
that meek Wisdom which was in him, both by
Nature, and Judgment. Yet these did not hin-
der his Son, who was also a "great. Man, from
saying those Thing* which I shall presently add,
concerning his Father, to thai great Prince, Charles
iie Second of Grea.t--Br\ta'}n, to whom he dedicated
his Father's Works, and in him to all others ; and
this whien he had no Reason to flatter or fear him,
because, to the Commonwealth, he was of the
contrary Part to C^ar/^/,? Sister's Son; and be-
cause he was a private Man, wedded to a Coun-!.
try and learned Life, and an old Man, not far
from Death, nor consequently from Liberty : For
he published his Father's Works, but saw them
not after they were published ; and his own Life
is to be seen' and read with the Life of his Fa-
ther in the sam.e Volume. " For thou," says
Peter Grotius, " art he alone, whom, if riot the
•^ greater, yet the wiser Part of the Christian
*' Wbrld, have f6r a long Time acknowledged
" for their Protector. Thou art he, to whose Pro-
" tection or Defence, the Christian Faith willingly
" commits itself; in whose Kingdoms principally,
^' that Knowledge of the Sacred Writings, -that
" Worshipof the Deity, that Moderation of the too
" free Exercise of Liberty, in disputing concern-
?' ing the Secret Doctrines of Faith, is established ;
!' whose Agreement with which the Author, my
"Father
HUGO GROTIUS. 345
"Father has long since dtielared, and publickly
** professed in his Writings."
Hbar riow Huga Grotiits^s own Words, how,
he expresses his own Sen^^^ in his Epistle to Jo-
hannes Corvhus, djited in the Year MDGXXXVIIL
who was not an English but a Dutch Divine, of
another Church, and also a Lawyer, and conse-
quently skilled in Matters both Divine and Hu-
man ; concerning the Reformation of Religion
made amon^ us in the last Age. " You see how
" great a Progress they have made in Eiigtand, in
" pui^ng out pernicious Doctrines ;• chiefly for
*' this Reason, because they who undertook that
*' holy Woi"k, admitted of nothing new, nothing
•• of their own, but had their Eyes wholly fixeid
" upon another World." Then was it in a flou-
rishing Condition, before a Civil War broke out,
before the King vvas vanq'Jished, taken Captive,
condemned and beheaded; and it afterwards
Jiprung up and flourished again contrary to all hu-
man Hopes, when his Son' returned to the
Throne of his Ancestors, to the Surprize of all
Europe, and, after various Turns, Threats, and
Fears, continues still to flourish, secure and
unhurt.
Nor had he only a good Opinion of the Church
of England himself, but also advised his Friends
in Hoiland, who were of his Party, and, which
was no small Thihg^, who joined with him in
partaking of the same Danger and Losses, to take
holy Orders from our Bishops ; whom it is cer-
tain he did not believe, nor would have others
believe, to be schismatical, or heretical, upon
that Account. He addresses his Brother in these
Words, *' I would persuade them (that is, the
" Remonstrants) to appoint some amongst them
" in a more eminent Station, such as Bishops ;
f^ and: that they receive the laying on of Hands
" from
.3*5 TpSTJMiONIES CONCERNING
"from the Ifish Archbishop ^^o is there, .aad
** that when they are so. ordained, they aftpr\yjards
"ordain other j^a^tqrs,;" (ind this in tjje ^fgin-
ndng of the Year MDCXLV, \(fhigh was Sital
to hipi, gnd iUnfortiiWe to Learning itjself. The
Bishop he here speaks of is, if I be npt mjgtgKeP*
John BramhaU, who was at th^t Time Bishop, pf
Londmderry in IreUnd, and, at the Blestpration
of King Charles 11. Arqhbishop of -drMggh, aAd,
next to the most learoejd Usher, Primate of Ire-
hnd, and who after.\Katds in that, Country, pub-
lished a Vindication of our Church against iliif-
leterius. See also what.is. said to the .satne Person,
j^pril 8, in the Year MDCXLY, concerning
the. public Worship of God ^amongst us. " The
. *' English Liturgy was always, accounted the best
*' by all leaxned ^Men." . ' '
It seems vjery probable that this M^Pj w,jio
calls the Roforroatiorj. of the Church of England
a tngst Holy Work ; who believed that the Holy
• Otf-ders given and receiYed fi;om. the. Bishops
of that Shurch, and the Rites appointed about
Holy. Things, and the prescribed Form of wor-
: shipping the Supreme , Deity, exceeded all other
Churches in the Christian World; woiild have
joined himself to that Church, as well in out-
ward Worship as in the Judgment of hi$ Mind ;
and so have .become, now reaily, what he befoj-e
was in Wish, a Member of the CathpUc Chui-ch.
But he was never able to effect the. Thing, be-
cause X)e.ath immediately, .after overtook him ;
for in the same Year be went from Fr.ance to
Stockholm to resign, his Ambassadorship, and re-
turning from thence Home, and having suffered,
Sh'pwsck, he. departed this Lifei.at Rostock, on
the 38th oi August: A Man nev^r enough to be
lamented, because Study aijd Learniog decayed
with him ; and never enough to be praised,
upon
H U^e-O G RyO T I V% m
upon the Account of what he began and finished
in all Parts of Learning. He was a great Lover
of Peace, if Truth wias not injured, (always
having Regard to Times and Differenees) and
of the ahtient Church-Government (freed from
Abuses) as M wa$^ settled from the, Spinning in
England, and as it was frcrtn the very Apostles*
T^me, if we may believe Ecclesiastical Annals.
He always studied and consulted the. Peace of.
£m{Hre and Churches, both in his Discourses,
and by his Exaingje, and Writings ; may he be
rewarded with God and our common Lord ! and
may the Memory of- him be ever grateful to
Posterity. Farewell.
Ihrefic4, XII. of the Kalends of May,
MpqCYL
348k. testimonies CONCERNING
II.
HENRY NEWTON
TO
JOHN CLERC.
TV/rOST Learned Sir, I send, yoti a new and
ample Testimony" concerning Hugo Gro-
iius, more weighty, than the former, if we con-
sider the Author's Dignity in the Commonwealth,
or his Knowledge of Things, or that it was writ
while Grotius was alive. It is taken from Letters
to that great Prelg^e William Laud, then Archbi-
shop of Canterbury, with whom he often had
Correspondence by Letters; they were written
from Paris, October 24, Gregorian Style, in the
Year MDCXXXVIII, and were procured me
lately out of England, by the Kindness of that '
most illustrious Person, John Lord Sommers,
formerly High Chancellor of that flourishing
Kingdom, then President of thf Law, now* of
the Council. In those Letters that most illustri-
ous Viscount Scudamore, at the Time, Ambassador
for our Nation \n France, has the following
Words concerniug Grotius.
" The next Time I see Ambassador Grotius,
" I will not fail to perform your Commands con-
* In this Year, 1709, fie was President of the Priry Council
to her Most Serene Majesty,
.- !Ja "earning
; HUGO GROTIUS. 349
** cerning him. Certainly, my Lord, I am per-
" suaded that he doth unfeignedly and highly
*' love and reverence your Person and Proceed-
** ings. Body and Soul* he professeth himself to
** be for the Church of England, and gives this
<< Judgment of it, that it is the likeliest to last
** of any Church this Day in being."
Genoa, XVII. of the Kalends of February,
MDCCVII.
III. FRAN-
350: TESTIM(M^ifES t^OWEJfiKMN©
111.
FRANCIS CWO^m&Mli&
ALEXANDER FORRESTER.
nPHAT which you desire to know of me con-
cerning Hugo Groiius, who was one of the
greatest Men that ever any Age produced, islhis.
It happened that I came to Paris a little after the
Transaction of that Matter. Being very well ac-
quainted with Dr; Crowder, he often told me with
Assurance, that it was the last Advice this great
Man gave to his Wife, as he thought it was his
Duty, that he declared he died in the Communion
of the Church of England, in which Church he
wished her to live. This she discovered.when she
came on Purpose to our Church (which was in the
House of Richard Brown, who was then in France^
upon the King of Englands Account) where she
received the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper at
the Hands. of Dr. Crowder, then Chaplain to the
Duke of York. This was done a? soon as Mat-
ters would permit, after the Death of that Man^
Archbishop Bramhall, Primate of Ireland, in De-
fence of himself and the Episcopal Clergy, against
Richard Baxter, the Presbyterian's Accusation of
JPopery, speaks thus concerning the Religion of
Grotius, P. 21. " He was a Friend in his Af-
"^fq;ctiQn 40, the Church of England, and a true
.:.. - "Son
Ht/GO GROTltJS. an
•• Son in his Love for it : he commended it to
*• his Wife and other Friends, and was the Cause
*f of their firmly adheriiig to it, as far as tKey had
** Opportunity. I myself, and many others, haye
** seen his Wife obeying the Commands of her
** Husbfind, as she openly testified, in coming to
"our Prayersf, and the Celebration of the Sa-
" crament." When Matthew Turnery a great
Ji'riend of Grotius*s, desired to know why he did
not go over to the Commtinion of the Church of
Enghnd, he answered, that he would very wil-
lingiy haye dotie it, if the Office of Ambassador
to Swedeland had not hindered it. Otherwise he
very highly approved of our Doctrine and Disci-
pKne, and wished to live and die in our Com-
munion. If any one thinks that he can know
Grotius's Mind better from Conjectures and Infe-
rences, or that he dissembled it before his Wife"
and Children, let him enjoy his own opinion, he
will not have many agree with him. Farewell.
June 13, MDCCVII.
S52 • 'TESTIItfONIE^ tec.
From amthr Letter, dated Octoh.Q, MDCCVIII.
1 lately told you very fully what J knew of the
Widow of that gfeat Man Hugo Grolius. Afte**
VJards I called to Mind, that that pious and sin-
gular good "^m. Sir Spenper Comptm, Knt. San
of the Earl of Northampton, told me he was pre-
sent when Grofius's^iAQw ftrofessed this, and re«
ceived the Sacraip^t.
FINIS.
C. and R. Baldwin, Printer*,
New Bridge-street, London.
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