incline me to any point of infidelity, or defperate pofitions of atheifm; for I have been these many years of opinion, there was never any. *Those that held religion was the difference of man from beasts have spoken probably, and pro?ceed upon a principle as inductive

as the other that doctrine of Epicurus, that denied the providence of God, was not atheism, but a magnificent and high-ftrained conceit of his majefty, which he deemed too fublime to mind the trivial acti✦ons of those inferior creatures: that

fatal neceffity of the Stoicks, is nothing but the immutable law of his will. Thofe that heretofore denied the divinity of the Holy Ghoft, have been condemned but as hereticks; and thofe that now deny our Saviour (tho' more than hereticks) are not fo much as atheifts; for tho' they deny two per+ Judging of God by himself - "Ce, fons "coquins nous font agir, comme

woient fait eux-mêmes à notre plasser

fons in the Trinity, they hold, as we do, there is but one God.

*That villain and fecretary of hell, who compofed that mifcreant piece of the three impoftors, tho' divided from all religions, and was neither Jew, Turk nor Christian, was not a positive atheift. I confefs every country hath its Machiavel, every age its Lucian, whereof common heads must not hear, nor more advanced judgments too rafhly venture on it is the rhetorick of fatan, and may pervert a loofe or prejudiced belief.

SECT. II.

I confefs I have perused them all, and can discover nothing that may ftartle a difcreet belief: yet are there heads carried off with the wind and breath of fuch motives. I remember a doctor of phyfick in Italy, who could not perfectly believe the immortality of the foul,

be

because Galen feemed to make a doubt thereof. With another I was familiarly acquainted in France, a divine, and a man of fingular parts, who on the fame point was fo plunged and gravelled with three lines of Seneca, that all our antidotes, drawn from both fcripture and philofophy, could not expel the poifon of his error. There are a fet of heads that can credit the relations of mariners, yet question the testimony of St. Paul; and peremptorily maintain the traditions of Elian or Pliny, yet in hiftories of fcripture raife queries and objections, believing no more than they can parallel in hu-^, man authors. I confefs there are in fcripture stories that do exceed the fables of poets, and to a captious reader found like Garagantua or Bevis: fearch all the legends of times

a

*

past,

Poft mortem nihil eft,ipfaque mors nihil. Mors. individua eft noxia corpori, nec parcens anime---Toti morimur, nullaque pars manet noftri.---

RELIGIO MEDICI.

57

new principle of causation -hoseeka note in & Brown

work on the relation of Cause * Efrait

paft, and the fabulous conceits of these present, and it will be hard to find one that deferves to carry the buckler unto✶ Sampfon; yet is all this of an eafy poffibility, if we conceive a divine concourse, or an influence but from the little finger of the Almighty. It is impoffible that either in the difcourfe of man, discur or in the infallible voice of God, we fo to the weakness of our apprehen- culty or fions, there should not appear irrespe gularities, contradictions and antiKont nomies: I myself could fhew a catalogue of doubts, never yet imagined, nor questioned, fo far I as know, which are not refolved at the first hearing; not fantastick queries, or objections of air: for I cannot hear of atoms in divinity. I can read. the history of the pigeon that was fent out of the ark, and returned no more, yet not queftion how the. found out her mate that was left: behind That Lazarus was raised

from the dead, yet not demand where in the interim his foul awaited; or raise a law-cafe, whether his heir might lawfully detain his inheritance, bequeathed unto him by his death, and he, tho' reftored to life, have no plea or title unto his former poffeffions. Whether Eve was framed out of the left side of Adam, I difpute not; because I ftand not yet affured which is the right fide of a man, or whether there be any fuch diftinction in nature; that fhe was formed out of the rib of Adam I believe, yet raife no queftion who fhall arife with that rib at the refurrection. Nor whether Adam was an hermaphrodite, as the Rabbins contend upon the letter of the text; because it is contrary to reason, there should be an hermaphrodite before there was a woman, or a compofition of two natures before there was a fecond compofed. Likewife, whether the world was crea

;:

ted