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DUKE UNIVERSITY 
 
 DIVINITY SCHOOL 
 LIBRARY 
 
 FRANK BAKER COLLECTION 
 OF 
 WESLEYANA 
 AND 
 BRITISH METHODISM 
 
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 BOOKS pri fed far D. Bicwun 
 of. ay € k WistoN, 
 S. Baker, and L. Davis. 
 
 A New Edition of 
 
 WENT Y Sermons preached on feveral Occa- 
 
 fions, to a Society of Britifh Merchants, in 
 Foreign Parts. By Ba/fil il Kennet, D.D. late Prefident 
 of Corpus-Chrifii- College i in Oxon. Price 45. 
 
 2. “Twenty-fix Sermons on various Subjects. By ddam 
 Batty, M. A. late ReGor of St. Fobn’s Clerkenwell, and 
 Ledturer of St. Dun/tan’s in the Weft. In Two Volumes, 
 8vo, Price 8s. 
 
 3. Twenty-feven Sermons, chiefly on the Parables and 
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 In Two Volumes, 820. Price 75. 
 
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 ‘The Ufe and Intent of Prophecy, in the feveral Ages of 
 the World: In Six Difcourfes, delivered at the Temple 
 Church, in Apr iland May, 1724. Publifhed at the De- 
 fire of the Bench of: the T'wo Honourable Societies. 
 ‘To which are added, Four Differtations. I. The Au- 
 thority of the Second Epiftle of St. Peter. I, The 
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 ftances and Confequences of the Fall. UI. The Bleffing 
 of Judah, Gen. xlix. IV. Chrift’s Entry into Ferufalem. 
 
 By THOMAS SHERLOCK, Dev. 
 Maite of the Temple, <nd now Lord Bithop of London. 
 
THOUGHTS 
 RELIGION, 
 
 SUBJECTS 
 
 Written in FRENCH 
 
 By Monfieur P ASCAL. 
 
 Tranflated into ENGLISH 
 
 By BASIL KENNET, D.D. 
 
 Late Principal of Corpus-Chrifti-College, Oxon. 
 
 pe that incomparable Perfon Monfieur Pafcal been a little more in- 
 dulgent to himfe If, the Werld might probably have enjoyed him much 
 longer : Whereas, through too great an Application to his Studies inf 
 his ‘Youth, he contraéted that ill Habit of Body, which, after a tedious 
 Sicknefs, carried him off in the Fortieth Year of his "Age : And the 
 whole Hiftory we have of his Life till that Time, is but one continued 
 Account cf his Behaviour of a noble Scul ftruggling under innumerable 
 Pains and Diftempers. Vide Spetfator, Vol. 1. N°, 116. 
 
 “The hese a ea ete ae 
 
 LO" N Tee IN: 
 
 Printed for D. Browne without Temple-Bar, C. Davis 
 in Holborn, Sam. Baker in Ruffel-ftreet near Covent- 
 Garden, F.Whifton at Mr. Boyle’s-Head, and L. Davis 
 at Lord Bacon’s-Head, both in Fleet _fireet. 1749. 
 
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PREFACE, 
 
 hie an 5 of the Manner 
 in which thefe Thoughts were writ- 
 ten, and were colleéted; of the 
 Caufes that retarded the Impref- 
 fron; of the Authors Defign in 
 
 «this Work; and how he Spent the 
 latter Part of his Life. 
 
 Z ONSIEUR Pafal having 
 taken an early Leave of the 
 lk £ Mathematicks, of Natural 
 ie Philofophy, and of other hu- 
 S. man. Studies, in which he 
 had made fo great a Progrefs, 
 that there are, undoubtedly, but very few 
 Perfons who have feen deeper into thofe 
 AD Subjects 
 
iV, The PREFACE 
 
 Subjeéts which he chofe to handle, began 
 about the Thirtieth Year of his Age, to ap- 
 ply himfelf to Things of a more ferious and 
 more elevated Character, and to turn ‘his 
 whole Thoughts, fo far as his Héalth would 
 permit, on the Scriptures, the Fathers, and 
 the Difcourfes of Praétical Chriftianity. 
 
 But tho’ his Excellence in thefe latter 
 Studies, no lefs than in the former, has 
 been already teftified by fuch Works as are 
 acknowledged to be exact and accomplifhed 
 in their Kind, yet we may affirm, that if it had 
 pleafed GOD ‘to have granted ‘him a longer 
 Space for the carrying’ on his general De- 
 fign, of the Truth of Religion, in which 
 he had refolved to imploy the Refidue of 
 his Life, this Performance would have been 
 far fuperior to any that we have received 
 from the fame Hand; becaufe his Views, in 
 this refpect, infinitely exceeded thofe which 
 he had attained of all Things befide. 
 
 I serreve this is no more than what 
 any one will readily admit, upon the Sight 
 of thefe few Papers, with all their Imperfec- 
 tions; éfpecially when he fhall be made ac- 
 quainted with the Methods by which the 
 Author ‘profecuted his Undertaking, and 
 with the entite Hiftory of our drawing out 
 this Specimen, for the Ufe of the Publick ; 
 of all self take the following Account, 
 
 M. PAS. 
 
The PREFAGE. ¥ 
 
 M. PASCAL had laid the Scheme of this 
 Work, many Years before his Death; and 
 yet we ought not to wonder that he began 
 fo Tate to commit any Part of it to Writing; 
 for he had always accuftom’d himfelf to 
 think very maturely of Things; and to range 
 and difpofe them in his Mind, e’er he fuffer- 
 ed them to venture farther, carefully weigh= 
 ing and examining which ought to be pla- 
 ced firft, and which laft, and what Order 
 of the Whole might feem moft conducible 
 to the defired Effet. And then being Ma- 
 fter of an excellent, or, as we may truly 
 fay, a prodigious Memory, fo as to have 
 often declared that he never forgot any 
 Thing which he had once imprinted in it; 
 he was under no Apprehenfion of letting 
 thofe Thoughts, which he had at any Time 
 form’d, afterwards efcape him; fo that. it 
 was ufual with him to tarry very long be- 
 fore he fet them down in Paper; either for - 
 Want of Leifure, or becaufe the State of 
 his Health, which was fcarce ever better 
 than crafy and uncertain, could not fupport 
 a more laborious Application. 
 
 Tus was-the Reafon that, at His Death, 
 we loft the greateft Part of what he had 
 conceived in Purfudhce of his Defign. For 
 there was fcarce any Thing left in Writing, 
 either as to the principal Arguments which 
 he propofed to init on, or as to the Grounds 
 
 a and 
 
vi - The PREBRAGE 
 
 and Foundations of the whole Work, or as 
 to the Method and Difpofition, which could . 
 not but be very confiderable. All thefe were 
 fo habitually fixt in his Mind, that having 
 neglected to write them, while, perhaps, he 
 was able, he at length found himfelf inca- 
 pable of going thro’ with the Tafk, when 
 he would gladly have enter’d upon it, | 
 YeT there once happened an Occafion, 
 fome ten or twelve Years fince, that obli- 
 ged him, not indeed to write, but to deli- 
 ver himfelf in Converfation, on this Subs 
 ject; which he did in the Prefence, and at 
 the Requeft of many great Perfons, his 
 ‘Friends. ‘To this Company he, opened im 
 few Words the Plan of his whole Unders 
 taking ; he reprefented the Subje@&-matter ; 
 he gave an Abftract of the Reafons and Prin- 
 ciples, and pointed out the intended ‘Order 
 and Sequel of Things. And. thefe Gentle- 
 men, who are indifputably qualified to. be 
 Judges in the Cafe, do aver, that they ne- 
 ver heard any Thing which difcovered mote 
 Beauty, or more Strength, which was fit- 
 ter to. move, or to convince: They declare, 
 themfelves to have been charmed with the 
 Difcourfe, and fay, that the Idea which 
 they were able to form of the main Defiga, 
 from a Narrative of two or three Hours, 
 delivered thus off-hand, and without being 
 laboured or. premeditated, gave them the. 
 Pleafure 
 
The PREFACE. vii 
 
 Pleafure of confidering with themfelves, 
 what the Work might one Day prove, if 
 fully executed, and carried to its laft Perfec- 
 tion, by an Author, whofe Force and Ca- 
 pacity they had fo often eS one 
 who had ufed himfelf to be fo indefatigably 
 laborious in all his Compofitions ; who was 
 fcarce ever fatisfied with his firft Thoughts, 
 how happy foever they might feem’ to 
 others ; and who had been known, on many 
 Occafions, to new-model, no lefS than eight 
 or ten Times, fuch Pieces, as any Perfon, 
 but himéelf, muft have pronounced admira- 
 ble after a fingle Trial. 
 
 Havine firft obferved to them, what Sort - 
 of Proofs thofe are, which make the greateft 
 Impreffion upon Mens Minds, and what are 
 the moft proper Means of Perfuafion, he 
 applied himfelf to demonftrate, that the 
 Chriftian Religion had no fewer Marks of 
 Certainty and Evidence, than any Thing 
 which is received in the World‘ for the moft 
 undoubted Truth. 
 
 He began the Defign with giving the 
 Picture of a Man, under which he omitted _ 
 nothing that might diftinguifh or iluftrate 
 him, either without, or within, to~the | 
 moft fecret Motions of his Heart. In the 
 next Place, he fuppofed a Perfon, who had 
 lived hitherto under a general Ignorance, 
 and utterly indifferent with Regard to all 
 
 A 4 Things, 
 
vii The PREFACE. 
 
 Things, to himfelf efpecially, to come and 
 view himfelf in this Picture, and by it to 
 examine what he is. The Perfon cannot 
 but be fupprized to difcover here an infinite 
 _ Variety. of Things, which never yet entered 
 into his Thought; nor can without Afto- 
 nifhment and Admiration reflect on what he 
 now learns and feels of his Dignity and his 
 Bafenefs, of his Advantages and his Infir- 
 mities, of the {mall Glimmering of Light 
 _which remains within him, and of the mi- 
 ferable Darknefs with which he is, almoft 
 on all Sides, encompafled ; in a Word, of all 
 the prodigious Contrarieties which appear 
 in his Nature. After this it is impoffible he 
 fhould continue his Indifference, if he has 
 but the leaft Spark of Reafon; and how in- 
 fenfible foever he has hitherto been, he muft 
 now of Neceflity defire, when -he once 
 knows what he is, to be informed likewife 
 whence he derives his Original, and what 
 Fate abides him hereafter. 
 
 Havine brought his Man to this good 
 Difpofition, of feeking to be inftructed in fo 
 important a Doubt, he fends him firft to the 
 
 ' Philofophers, and having rehearfed to him 
 the Sum of what their greateft Profeffors 
 have delivered on the Subject of Human 
 Nature and* Condition, he makes him dif- 
 cover fo many Failures and Weaknefies, fo 
 many Falfities and ContradiCtions in all that 
 
 “they 
 
The PREFACE. 1x 
 
 they advance, as to judge very eafily that 
 thefe are not the Men who muft give him 
 Satisfaction. 
 
 Ar the next Remove, he leads him the 
 whole Circuit of all Nations and all Ages, 
 fo as to give him a View of the almoft end=_ 
 lefs Variety of Religions in the World; but 
 at the fame Time lets him underftand, by 
 the ftrongeft and moft convictive Proofs, that 
 all thefe Religions are fo full of Vanity and 
 Folly, of Error and Extravagance, as to 
 afford nothing in which his Mind may ac- 
 quiefce and repofe itfelf. 
 
 AT length he bids him fix his Eye on the 
 People of the Jews, where the Circum- 
 ftances he is prefented with, are fo extraor- 
 dinary, as to engage and imploy his whole 
 Attention, Having let him into all that 
 was fingular in this Nation, he ftops him 
 to take particular Notice of one Book, by 
 which they entirely govern themfelves, and 
 which contains the Sum of their Religion, 
 their Hiftory, and their Law. Upon the 
 firft opening of this Book, he is inform’d, 
 that the World is the Work of GOD, and 
 that it was the fame GOD who created Man 
 ‘ in-his own Image, and endowed him with 
 all Advantages of Mind and Body, fuitable 
 to fo high an Eftate. This Truth, though it’ 
 doth not at prefent convince him, yet fails 
 not to pleafe him; his bare Reafon being 
 
 ” I fufficient 
 
x The PREFACE. 
 
 fufficient to difcover a greater Probability 
 in the fuppofing GOD to be the Author of 
 the World, and of Mankind, than in any 
 of thofe Accounts which Men ‘have framed 
 by their own fond Invention. The only 
 ‘Thing which gives him any Doubt is, that 
 he obferves Man, according to the Picture 
 he fo lately view ‘d, to be very far from pof- 
 feffing all thofe Advantages, which muft 
 
 need have attended him, when he came out 
 of the Hand of his Maker, But) he foon | 
 gets over this Difficulty ; ; becaufé upon look- 
 ing a little farther into the fame Book, he 
 difcovers, that after Man had been thus 
 created by GOD, in a State of Inrocence 
 and PerfeGion, his very firft AG was to- 
 rebel againft his Creator, and to employ all 
 the Gifts he had received from him, ‘in op 
 pofing and offending him. 
 
 M. Pafcal proceeds to inform: ‘his’ No- 
 vice, that this Crime having been in all its 
 Circumftances, the greateft that could ‘be 
 committed, received its Punifhment, ‘not 
 only in the firft Man, whom, from ‘his State 
 of Excellency and Happinefs, it plunged, at 
 one Stroke, into Mifery and Weakneis, into 
 Blindnefs and Error; but likewife im all his 
 Defcendents, to whom he communicated hhis 
 ‘Corruption, and will continue to communi- 
 cate it through all ey 
 
 a iat Ain 
 
The PREFACE. x. 
 
 Awp now obliging him to perufe feveral 
 other Parts of the Book, which furnifhed 
 him with this Truth, he makes him obferve, 
 that there is fcarce any Thing recorded of 
 Man, but what. bears a Regard to this his 
 Condition of infirmity and Diforder: That 
 tis often faid, All Fieth have ‘cotrupted 
 themfelves, and that Men are defcribed as 
 abandoning themfelves to their own Senfes, 
 and as having, from their very Birth, an 
 Inclination and Tendency to Evil. He fare 
 ther lets him fee, that this primitive Defece 
 tion is the Source, not only of all thofe in- 
 comprehenfible Contrarieties in human Na+ 
 ture, but dikewife of infinite other Effects 
 in the Things without us, of which he could 
 never before trace the Caufe. In thort, he 
 exhibits to him fuch a Portrait of Man, 
 in the whole Series of this Book, as, by an- 
 {wering to the Piece which he firft beheld, 
 cannot but fatisfy him of its true and jaft 
 Refemblance. | 
 
 Havine thus brought him acquainted 
 with his real Condition, full of Mifery and 
 Grief, he affures him, that by following 
 the Guidance of the fame Book, hevwill ‘be 
 led: into the Hopes of Comfort and Deliz 
 verance. He points out to him ‘the feveral 
 Paflages, where *tis affirm’d, that the Re- 
 medy of all our Evils is in the Hand -of 
 GOD; that his Affiftance we ought to have 
 
 Recourfe 
 
xii The PREFACE. 
 
 Recourfe. to, for obtaining the Strength we 
 want; that he will permit himéfelf to be 
 prevailed upon by our Intreaty; and will - 
 even fend us a Saviour to fatisfy for. our Of- 
 fenees, to repair our Breaches, and to heal 
 our Infirmities, : 
 
 AFTER many other peculiar Remarks on 
 this Book, he engages him to.confider, that 
 tis the only Book in the World which has 
 f{poken worthily of the Supream Being, and 
 has infpired a juft Idea of Religion. In or- 
 der to which, having made him conceive 
 fome of the moft fenfible Tokens and Cha- 
 racters of the true Religion, he compares 
 them with thofe which are here delivered ; 
 teaching him to reflect, with more efpecial 
 Attention, that this Religion placeth the 
 Perfection of divine Worfhip in the Love 
 of GOD; a Character altogether fingular; 
 and fuch as diftinguifheth it vifibly from all 
 others, which are convicted of notorious 
 Falfhood, by their Want of this effential 
 Mark. } 
 
 Tuus far he leads the Man, whom by 
 thefe infenfible Means he propofeth to make 
 his Convert, without offering at any Argu- 
 ments to demonftrate thofe Truths which 
 he has taught him to difcover. But then; 
 he has fully prepared him to receive them 
 with Delight and Complacency, fo foon as 
 they fhall be demonftrated to his Under- 
 
 ftanding ; 
 
The PREFACE. = xii 
 
 ftanding ; and even to wifh, with the great- 
 eft Earneftnefs, that they may at length ap- 
 pear to be folid and well-grounded ; becaufe 
 he finds, that they fupply fo many Affiftances 
 towards the clearing up of his Doubts, and 
 the infuring of his Repofe. This, indeed, is 
 the very Defire which every rational Man 
 ought to entertain, upon the View of the 
 feveral Particulars which M. Paféal has 
 thus reprefented ; and ’twas but juft for him 
 to think, that any Perfon under fuch a Dif 
 pofition ‘would yield a ready Affent to the: 
 Proofs he fhould afterwards alledge, in Con- 
 firmation of thofe important Truths which 
 he had before mentioned, and which are 
 the Foundation of Chriftian Belief, as. the 
 Inforcement of this Belief was the fole Aim 
 of his Difcourfe, ° 
 To fpeak a Word or two concerning thefe 
 Proofs. After he had obferved in géneral, 
 that the Points, which he now afferted, were — 
 all contained in a written Volume, the Au- 
 thority of which every Man of found Judg- 
 ment muft own to be unqueftionable, he in- 
 fifted chiefly on the Writings of Mos, 
 where the faid Points are in-a particular 
 Manner fevealed ; and he made it apparent, 
 from many undoubted Circumftances, that 
 “twas alike impoffible, either for Mo ofes to 
 have _ ’d a whole Series of Falfities, or 
 for 
 
xiv The PREPAGE, 
 
 for the fewi/h Nation to have fuffered the 
 Cheat, if he had been inclined to a& it. — 
 He argued farther from the great and 
 - furprizing Miracles recorded in this Book 
 of Religion; which as they are the higheft 
 Evidence, if true, fo he demonftrated, that 
 they could not poffibly be falfe; not only 
 from the Authority of thefe Writings.in 
 which they are attefted, but likewife from 
 all the Particulars which accompany them, 
 and which fet them beyond all Sufpicion 
 and Difpute. eBaen 
 He proceeded to evince, that the whole 
 Oeconomy of the ritual Law was purely figu- 
 rative; that all the Difpenfations and Pro- 
 mifes to the Sewi/h State were but the Sha- 
 dows of good Things, which’ received their 
 Accomplifhment from the Appearance’ of, 
 the Meffias; and that after the Veil was 
 ‘once taken away, they vifibly confpired, 
 and were, confummated, in the Behalf of 
 thofe who believed in Jesus Curis? at, his 
 ~ Coming, dur Yo WA 
 Tue next Reafon offered by M. Pafal, 
 for the-:Credibility of Religion, was taken 
 from, the Prophecies; a Subje&t on which 
 he enlarged more than‘on any, other. ;.As he 
 had been, very laborious,in this Enquiry,and 
 “had. obtained very) particular. Views fof, the 
 refpective | Predictions, fo he opeaaiy foe | 
 2 atter 
 
The PREFACE wx 
 
 after:the moft intelligible Manner, explained. 
 their Defign, and their Event, with a won- 
 derful Facility, and placed them in all their 
 Force and Light. 
 
 Ar length having run through the Books 
 - of the O/d.Tefament, and intermixt, upon 
 Occafion, many convincing Remarks, ad- 
 mirably ‘ferviceable to the Foundations of 
 Religion, he entered on the Confideration of 
 the New Teffament, in order to the compleat- 
 ing the whole Argument by the T ruth and 
 Reality of the Gofpel. 
 
 He began with our Lorp himéelf, whofe 
 CharaGter and. Commifiion, though it was 
 invincibly attefted by the Prophecies, and by 
 all the Figures of. the. Law, which had 
 their perfect, Confummation in him alone, 
 _ yet he farther illuftrated by many Evidences 
 drawn from his,..Perfon, his Miracles, his 
 Doétrine, and the Circumftances of his © 
 Life.. 
 
 Hence. he defcended to the Charaéter 
 of the Apoftles; and that he might eftablith 
 the Certainty of that Faith, which they fo 
 refolutely, and. fo univerfally preached, hav- 
 ing laid it down for a Principle, that they 
 cannot, be accufed of Falfhood, but upon one 
 of thefe two. ;Suppofitions, either that they 
 were. themfelyes deceived, or,that they were 
 engaged in a Defign of deceiving-others; he 
 
 made 
 
xvi The PREFACE. 
 
 made it evident, that both thefe Suppofitions 
 were alike abfurd and impofiible. 
 
 In fine, he pafs’d by nothing that might 
 confirm the Truth of the Evangelical Hi-~ 
 ftory, inferting many admirable Reflexions 
 on the Gofpel itfelf, on the Style and Per- 
 fon of the Evangelifts, on the Apoftles par- 
 ticularly, and on their Writings; on the a- 
 ftonifhing Number of Miracles, on the Ex- 
 ample of the Saints, and on “all the Me- 
 thods which contributed to the final Eftab- 
 lifhment of Chriftianity. And though, in- 
 a fingle Difcourfe, he wanted Time for the 
 full Improvement of fo vaft a Subject, 
 which he referved for his intended Work ; 
 yet he offered enough to evince, that all 
 this could not be the Contrivance and At- 
 chievement of Men; and that it was GOD 
 alone who was able thus to guide the Ife 
 ‘of fo many different Occurrences, as to 
 make them all confpire, in giving an irre- 
 fiftible Teftimony to that Religion which 
 he himfelf came’ to fettle amongft Men. 
 
 ‘Tus was the Subftance of M. Pa/éal’s 
 Converfation, which he propofed only asa 
 Sketch of his great Undertaking: And ’twas- 
 by the Favour of one of the Gentlemen’ 
 there prefent, that we have fince obtained’ 
 thefe fhort Memorials of what he delivered 
 at that Time, - 
 
 tn 
 
The PREFACE. xvii 
 
 In the Fragments here publifhed we fee 
 fomething of the vaft Defign conceived by 
 our Author; yet we fee but little, and even 
 this little comes to us after fo imperfect a 
 Manner, neither carried to its juft Height, 
 nor digefted in its proper Order, that it 
 can afford us but a very obfcure Idea of the 
 Perfection which he would have given it, 
 in his finifhed Performance. 
 
 - Tue Reader will not think it ftrange, if 
 in thefe few Relicks which are preferved, 
 the Difpofition of the SubjeGts is not made 
 according to the primitive Method. For 
 there being fo little found which had any 
 Dependence or Connexion, the Publifhers 
 thought it utterly ufelefs to be confined to 
 this intended Series, and therefore were fa- 
 tisfied with keeping as near as they could 
 to fuch an Order as feemed moft convenient 
 in refpect of the Fragments themfelves. It 
 is alfo hoped, that there are but few Per- 
 fons, who, upon forming a general Notion 
 of M. Pajeal’s Defign, will not fupply by 
 their own Judgment the Defect of this Dif- 
 pofition ; and who, after an attentive Re- 
 gard to the different Matters here difplayed, 
 will not, in fome Meafure, conceive how 
 they ftand related, according to the origi- 
 nal Idea of the Author. 
 
 . Micut webe fo happy as to fee a per- 
 fect tpi patina of the fore-mentioned Dif- 
 B courte, 
 
xviii _The PREFACE, 
 
 courfe, in the fame Order in which it was 
 delivered, we fhould have fomewhat to 
 comfort us under our Lofs of the greater 
 Work; of which we fhould by this Means: 
 enjoy fome imperfect Model. But it pleafed — 
 GOD to deprive us of both thefe Benefits. 
 For M. Pajcal fell foon after into a lan- 
 guifning Diftemper, which held him dyring 
 the four laft Years of his Life ; and which, 
 though it did not betray itfelf by many out- 
 ward Signs, nor oblige him to be a Prifo- 
 ner to his Bed, or his Chamber, yet very 
 much incommoded him, and, in a Manner, 
 rendered him incapable of applying himfelf 
 to Bufinefs of any Kind: Infomuch that the 
 chief Care and Employment of thofe about 
 him was to hinder him from writing, and — 
 even from fpeaking of any Thing which re- 
 quired Intention and Force of Spirit, and to 
 entertain him only with indifferent Things, 
 and fuch as could no Way diforder or fa- 
 tigue him. ; 
 
 YET it was in thefe four Years of Weak- 
 nefs that he framed and penned all that he 
 left behind on this Subjeé, and all that is 
 here made publick. For though he waited 
 till his Health fhould be fully re-eftablithed 
 and confirmed, to fet upon the Work in 
 good Earneft, and to commit exaétly to 
 Writing what he had fo well.digefted and 
 difpofed in his Mind; yet when there oc-. 
 
 curred 
 
The PREFACE. _ xix, 
 
 curred to him any Thought, any View, any 
 Idea, or even any Turn or Expreffion, which 
 he faw might one Day prove ferviceable to 
 his Defign, the Condition he was now under 
 not fuffering him to attend them fo clofely 
 as before his Illnefs, nor to fix them with fo 
 much Strength and Stedfaftnefs in his Me- 
 mory, he chofe to preferve them by the 
 Help of fome fhort Notes. In order to this, 
 he took the firft Remnant of Paper that came 
 to hand, and entered what he was then me- 
 ditating, in a very few Words, and often 
 in but half a Word; for he writ purely for 
 his own Ufe, and therefore was content to 
 perform it very flightly, and fo as not to dif- 
 compofe his Temper, barely fetting down thofe 
 Hints which were neceflary for the recalling 
 to his Mind the Ideas he had once conceived. 
 Tuis was the Way in which M. Pafal 
 penned his Thoughts. And I believe there 
 is no Man, who, from thefe flight Begin- 
 nings, thefe feeble Efflays of a fick Perfon, 
 that writ only for himfelf, and writ thofe 
 Things only which he was afraid might 
 otherwife be loft, and which he never after- 
 wards touched or revifed, will not make 
 fome Guefs, what the entire Work muft have 
 been, had the Author perfectly recovered, 
 and found Opportunity to give it his laft 
 Hand: Hewho had the Art of placing Things 
 in fo goodly an Order, and in fo fair a 
 B2 Light E 
 
_ux The PREFACE, 
 
 - Light; who gave fo particular, fo noble, 
 and raifed a Turn to all that he faid ; who 
 defigned that this Performance fhould be 
 more laboured than all his former Pieces; 
 who had refolved.to employ in it his whole 
 Strength of Genius, and all the Talents 
 which GOD had given him; and who had 
 many Times declared that it would require 
 ten Years of found Health to bring it to 
 Perfection. 
 
 Ir being well known that M. Pafeal had 
 thus engaged himfelf in the Caufe of Reli- 
 gion, great Care was ufed at his Death to 
 collec all his Writings on this Subject. » 
 They were found all together tied up in fe- 
 veral Bundles, but without Order or Con- 
 nexion; becaufe, as we before obferved, 
 thefe were but the rude Expreffions of his 
 Thoughts, which he fet down in broken 
 Papers as they occafionally offered them- 
 felves. And, then, the Whole was fo im- 
 perfect, and fo very ill written, that it feemed 
 no ordinary Labour barely to decipher it. 
 
 Tue firft Thing that was done, was to 
 get the Papers copied, fuch as they were at 
 prefent, and with the fame Confufion in 
 which they lay. But when this was per- 
 formed, and the Fragments more leafily per- 
 ufed and examined in the Copy than in the 
 Author’s Manufcript, they appeared at firft 
 View {fo indigefted, fo little purfued, and, 
 
 \ for 
 
The PREFACE. xii. 
 
 for the moft Part, fo obfcure, that it was 
 very long e’er the Parties concerned were 
 brought to entertain any Defign of printing 
 them; though frequently urged by Perfons 
 of the greateft Note, with the moft prefiing 
 Inftances and Solicitations; becaufe they 
 well underftood that they fhould not an- 
 fwer the Expectation, and fill up the Idea 
 which had been long conceived of the Un- 
 dertaking, by fending abroad thefe Remains 
 under fo manifeft Difadvantages. 
 
 AT length they found themfelves obliged 
 to give Way to. the Defire and Impatience 
 which almoft all the World feemed daily to 
 exptefs, And they were the rather pre- 
 vailed upon to give their Confent, becaufe 
 they hoped that the Readers would have 
 fo much Juftice, as to diftinguith between a 
 finifhed Performance, and the firft Lines of 
 a Piece, and to guefs at the Beauty of the 
 Work, by the rudeft and moft imperfect 
 Draught. The Publication thereof was re- 
 folved upon; but there being feveral Ways 
 of executing it, fome Time was again fpent 
 in confidering which to take. 
 
 Tue moft obvious, and, without Doubt, 
 the moft eafy Manner, was to let them be 
 printed in all Refpects as they were found. 
 But it was foon perceived that this would 
 entirely obftruc all the Ufe and Benefit that 
 might otherwife be promifed from them ; 
 
 ss, BS becaufé 
 
xxii The PREFACE. 
 
 becaufe thofe Thoughts which feemed to be 
 more finifhed and more conneéted, to be 
 exprefled with greater Clearnefs and carried 
 - to a better Head, being intermixt, and al- 
 moft overwhelmed with fo many others 
 which were imperfect, obfcure, unwrought, 
 and fome of them utterly unintelligible to 
 any but the Author, there was good Reafon 
 to apprehend, that the latter would highly 
 prejudice the former, and that this Volume 
 of broken Meditations, which muft {well to 
 fo great and fo very unprofitable a Bulk, 
 could be only looked on as a confufed Mafs, 
 
 - without Order, Dependence, or Ufe. _ 
 THERE was another Way of publifhing 
 thefe Relicks; and that was, to {pend fome. 
 Labour upon them before they went to the 
 Prefs, in illuftrating fuch Reflexions as were 
 obfcure, finifhing thofe that were imperfect, 
 and in carrying on the Defign of the Au- 
 thor, through all the Fragments, fo as, in 
 a great Meafure, to accomplith the Work 
 which he had begun, This Method was 
 evidently the moft perfect, but then it was 
 exceedingly difficult to be purfued. How- 
 ever, the Thing ftopped here for a Time, and 
 fome Steps were actually made towards the | 
 Performance. Yet it was at laft refolved to, 
 reject this Expedient as well as the former 5 
 it being confidered, that it was a Thing 
 next to impoffible to fall regularly into the 
 Meafures 
 
The PREFACE. xxiii 
 
 Meafures of an Author, efpecially of a de- 
 céafed Author; and that this. would not be 
 to prefent the World with M. Pafal's Off- 
 fpring, but with fomewhat of a quite dif- 
 ferent Complexion and Conftitution. 
 
 To avoid the Inconyenience of both thefe 
 Propofals, a middle Way was found, which 
 has been here followed by the Publithers. 
 They have only felefted from the whole 
 Number of fcattered Thoughts, fuch as they 
 judged to be the moft finifhed, and moft in- 
 telligible ; and. thefe they have prefented to_ 
 the World, without Addition or Alteration ; 
 excepting that whereas they lay before con- 
 fafedly difperfed, without Order and Depen- 
 dence, they are now put into fome Kind of 
 Method, and reduced under common Heads, 
 agreeably to their refpedtive Subjects. As 
 for all thofe which were too imperfeé&, or 
 obfcure, it was.determined entirely to fup- 
 prefs them, 
 
 - Nort but that there were many admira- 
 ble Reflexions of this latter Kind, and fuch 
 as might afford very noble Views, if tho- 
 roughly apprehended. But as it had been a 
 fettled Rule, that no Endeavours fhould be 
 ufed towards illuftrating and compleating 
 them, fo in their prefent Condition they 
 muft have been wholly ufelefs, 1 fhall pro- 
 duce one Example to furnith the Reader 
 with fuch an Idea as may affift him in form- 
 
 B 4 ing, 
 
xxiv The PREFACE, 
 
 ing a Judgment of the reft. The Reflexion, 
 as we found it in the Author’s own Words, 
 is as follows: 4 Mechanic peaking of Riches; 
 a Solicitor jpeaking of War, or of Regal 
 State, &c. But the Rich difcourfe well of 
 Riches; a King fpeaks coldly of a vaft Pre- 
 Jent which he is about to make; and GOD 
 difcourfeth well of GOD. 
 
 Tuis Fragment contains a moft ee 
 Thought ; but fuch as few, perhaps, will be 
 able to penetrate ; becaufe it appears fo in- 
 tricate, abrupt and concife, that if the Au- ~ 
 thor had not frequently delivered himfelf to 
 the fame Purpofe in Converfation with his 
 Friends, it would have been no eafy afk 
 to retrieve it from {fo confufed and perplexed 
 av Expreflion. Let us examine it more 
 neatly, and obferve where the fecret: ria 
 is concealed. 
 
 M. PASCAL had made a: great Numiber 
 of very particular Obfervations on: the Stile 
 of the Holy Scriptures, of the Gofpel efpeci- 
 ally ; and had difcerned many. Excellencies, 
 which, perhaps, none ever reached: before him, 
 Amongft other Things, he was wont to ad- 
 mire the native Simplicity; and, if we may 
 fo term it, the Coldnefs and Hernascrhall 
 nefs with which our Lorp feemed to Speak 
 of the greateft and moft important Subjects; 
 as for Inftance, of the Kingdom of:GOD, of 
 the Glory of the Saints in Heaven, and . 
 
 the. 
 
The PREFACE. = xxv 
 
 the Pains of Hell, without dilating upon 
 thefe Topics, as the Fathers, and all other 
 Writers are obferved to do, And he faid, 
 the true Reafon of this Difference was, that 
 the Particulars before-mentioned, though in- 
 finitely noble and fublime in refpect of us, 
 were by no Means fo in refpect of Jusus 
 Curist; and that therefore ’twas natu- 
 ral for him to fpeak of them without Afte- 
 nifhment’ or Admiration ; as we hear)a Ge- 
 neral {peaking of the Siege of fome Place 
 of Confequence,: or of his Succefs’in a 
 mighty Battle, withqut being moved. or af- 
 fected; or, asa King. expreffeth . himfelf 
 with Indifference. about a;Sum of many 
 Thoufands, which a private Perfon,; or 2 
 Mechanic, could nat ‘name, without the 
 higheft Exaggerations,. 5 6) 7 
 
 Turs is the Thought which is really 
 couched under thofe few Words of the Frag- 
 mient now recited: And this Confideration 
 added; to many of the like Nature, cannot 
 fail of {upplying rational and fober Men with 
 an Argument for our Lorn’s Divinity. 
 
 I am perfuaded, that this one Inftance 
 may» be-fufficient, not only for a Standard 
 in judging of almoft-all the other Fragments 
 which have been retrenched, but likewife 
 for a-Proof of the little Application, and 
 even the Negligence, with which the great- 
 eft Part of M. Pajcal’s Remains were writ- 
 | ten. 
 
xxvi The PREFACE. 
 
 ten, And as this will juftify what was be 
 fore afferted, that the Author writ them, 
 in Effect, for none but himéelf, and without 
 the leaft Apprehenfion of their appearing a- ~ 
 broad in this Drefs ; fo ’tis hoped it may, in 
 fome Meafure, excufe the Failures with which 
 they come attended. ol Ob (aay 
 Ir in the prefent Collection, the Reader 
 fhall {till meet with fome Thoughts, which 
 are not altogether: free from Obfeurity, I 
 believe, that as his Attention will foon ren- 
 der them intelligible, fo it will engage him 
 to confefs, that they are no lefs happy than 
 others, and that it was better to prefent them 
 under their own fententious Brevity, than to 
 explain them by a Multitude of ‘Words, 
 which would only have rendered them faint 
 and languifhing, and: would have defeated 
 one of ‘their principal Graces, «the faying 
 much ‘in little Compafs. y bstote 
 An Inftance of this Kind we haye: in the 
 Chapter, intitled, The Proofs of Jesus 
 Currist by the Prophecies; where the 
 Author exprefles himfelf: in the following. 
 Terms: The Prophets have interwoven par- 
 ticular’ Prophecies with  thofe concerning the 
 Meffias: That neither the Prophecies  con- 
 cerning the Meflias should be without their 
 Proof, nor the particular Prophecies with- 
 out their Fruit, In this Fragment, ‘he gives 
 the Reafon why the Prophets, whofe Eyes _ 
 were 
 
The PREFACE. xxvii 
 
 were fixed on the Mefias only, and who, in 
 all Appearance, ought to have foretold no- 
 thing but what bore a Relatian:to him, do 
 yet frequently infert other Matters, which 
 feem to be indifferent and unprofitable ta 
 their Defign. Which, he tells us, was done, 
 that thefe particular Events being accom- 
 aati Day by Day, in the Eyes, of all the 
 World, exacily as they were foretold, the 
 Authors of them might be inconteftably ac+ 
 knowledged as Prophets; and, confequent- 
 ly, none might doubt of the Truth and Cer; 
 titude of their Predictions. concerning the 
 Meffias: So that. by this Means,.as on the 
 one hand, the Prophecies which regarded 
 the Meffas, in fome Sort derived their Eviz 
 dence and Authority from,,the particular 
 Prophecies, which were thus, manifeftly vee 
 tified; fo, on the other hand, thefe parti- 
 cular Prophecies; ferving in. fuch a Manner 
 to evince and authorize thof which regard- 
 ed the Me/fias, were not without their Fruit 
 and Benefit. . This is the Senfe, of the above- 
 mentioned Paffage in its true Light and juft 
 Extent, But, there is no Man-who will not 
 take a much greater Pleafure and Satisfaction 
 in opening it himfelf, than in finding it thus 
 cleared and unrayelled to his Hand. 
 
 I THINK it not impertinent, in order to the 
 undeceiving certain Perfons, who may poflibly 
 expect to meet here with geometrical Proofs 
 
 xe ; and 
 
xxvii The PREFACE, 
 
 and Demontftrations of the Exiftence of 
 GOD, the Immortality of the Soul, and 
 many other Articles of Chriftian Faith, to 
 aflure them, that this was never the Defign 
 of the Author. He propofed to evince thefe 
 Truths of Religion not by Demonftrations, 
 founded on felf-evident Principles, and there- 
 fore able’ to overcome the Obftinacy of the 
 moft hardened Infidel; nor by metaphyfical 
 Reafons, which, very "often; rather unfettle 
 than perfuade the Mind; nor by common 
 Places drawn from the divers Effetts of Na- 
 ture ; but by moral Arguments, which ope- 
 rate more on the Will, than on the Under- 
 ftanding : ‘That is, he refolved to make it 
 his chief Aim, rather to difpofe and engage 
 the Heart, than’ to convince and fubdué” the 
 Judgment} becaufe he knew that the Paffi- 
 ons and vicious’ Inclinations‘which corrupt 
 the Will, are the greateft Obftacles and Pre- 
 judices which we labour under; and that if 
 thefe were once removed out of the Way, 
 the Underftanding would not long refift the 
 Light and Affurance of Faith. 
 
 Tuvus much will be eafily obferved foil 
 the following Papers, But the Author has 
 declared himfelf more exprefly on this Point 
 in one of the Fragments which remain ‘un- 
 publithed. I /hall not here, fays he, under- 
 take to prove by natural Reajfons, either the 
 Exifience of GOD, or the Myftery-of the 
 
 2 Holy 
 
The PREFACE. xxix 
 
 Holy Trinity, or the Immortality of the Soul, 
 or any other Truth of the fame Order: Not 
 only becaufe I think myfelf unable to produce 
 any fuch Argument from Nature, as Jeall 
 convince a fettled Atheift; but becaufé all 
 fuch Knowledge, without Jesus CHRIST,. #5 
 unprofitable and barren, After a Man was 
 perfettly well perfuaded, that the Proportions — 
 of Numbers are really immaterial, eternal 
 Truths, depending on the firft and original 
 Truth in which they’ fubjift, and which is 
 no other than GOD, I fhould think bim but 
 very little advanced in the Affair of bis Sal- 
 vation. 
 
 Some, again, may. be furprized to find 
 in this Collection, fo great a Diverfity of 
 Thoughts; many of which feem very re- 
 mote from the Subje@ that M. Pa/cal un- 
 dertook to illuftrate. But it ought to be 
 confidered, that his Defign was really of a 
 larger Extent than we may imagine, and 
 not levelled barely againft atheiftical Per- 
 ‘fons, nor againft thofe who deny fome fun- 
 damental Article of Faith. The great Love, 
 and fingular Veneration which he had for 
 Religion, made him impatient, not only when 
 he faw it dire@tly ftruck at, but when it was 
 in the leaft Degree corrupted or impaired. 
 Infomuch, that he profefledly oppofed him- 
 felf to all thofe who.attacked it, either in its 
 Truth,/or.in its HolinefS; that is;.not only 
 Sis Atheifts, 
 
xxx The PREFACE. 
 Atheifts, Infidels, and Hereticks; who ré- 
 fufe to fubmit their falfe Lights of Reafon 
 to the Evidence of Faith; but even to fuch 
 Chriftians and Catholicks, as though they con- 
 tinue within the Pale of the Church, yet do 
 not conform their Lives to the Purity of the 
 Gofpel-Maxims, which are propofed to us, 
 as the Meafure and Rule of all our Actions, 
 Tus was his Defign; and this was great 
 and ample enough to take in the Main of 
 what is here collected. Yet the Reader will 
 meet with fome Obfervations which have no 
 Dependence on it, and which, indeed, were 
 hever conceived under fuch a Relation; as 
 for Inftance, the greateft Part of thofe in 
 the Chapter of Mifcellaneous Thoughts ; which 
 were likewife found amongft the Papers of 
 M. Pafcal, and which were therefore. per- 
 mitted to accompany the reft, becaufe the 
 Book is not now given to the World bare- 
 ly as a Refutation of Atheifm, or a Dif 
 courfe upon Religion, but as a Collection 
 of M. Pafeal’s Thoughts on Religion, and 
 other Subjects. : 
 I Tuink there is nothing behind in this 
 Preface, but to fay fomewhat of the Author, 
 now we have done {peaking of his Work. 
 Such an Addition may not only feem juft 
 and proper, but may likewife turn to excel- — 
 lent Ufe, by fhewing us how M. Pafal 
 firft entered into that Efteem for Religion, 
 PZ and 
 
The PREFACE. xxxi 
 
 and thofe Sentiments about it, which en- 
 gaged him to form the Model of fo great 
 an Undertaking. . 
 
 In the Preface to his Treatifes of The 
 Equilibrium of Liquors, and of the Gravity 
 of the Air, a brief Relation has been al- 
 ready given of the Manner in which he 
 pafled his Childhood; of the vaft Progrefs 
 made by him, with the greateft Celerity, in 
 all the Parts of human and profane Know- 
 ledge, to which he applied himéfelf, efpecial- 
 ly in the Mathematicks; of the ftrange and 
 furprizing Method by which he was taught 
 this laft Science at the Age of Eleven or 
 Twelve; of the litthe Works which he would 
 then compofe, and which always appeared 
 far above the Strength and Capacity of thofe 
 Years; of the prodigious and aftonifhing 
 Force of his Genius, difcovered in his arith- 
 metical Inftrument, which he invented be- 
 tween Nineteen and Twenty; and, in fine, 
 of his curious Experiments about a Vacuum, 
 . perform’d at Roam, in the Prefence of the 
 moft- confiderable Perfons of that City, 
 where he reftded for fome Time, while his 
 Father was employed’ there in the King’s Ser- 
 vice, as Intendant of Ffuftice. So that I thalh 
 not repeat what was then faid, but only re- 
 prefent, in a few Words, by what Means he 
 was at length induced to defpife’all. thefe 
 Things, and with what Kind of*Spirit he 
 
 ~~ paffed 
 
xxxii The PREFACE, 
 
 paiied his concluding Years; by which he 
 no lefs evidenced the Greatnefs and Solidity 
 of his Piety and Virtue, than he had before 
 demonftrated the Force, the Extent, and 
 the admirable Penetration of his Judgment. . 
 
 He had, by the particular Providence. of 
 GOD, been preferved from thofe Vices into 
 which. young Gentlemen are fo often be- 
 trayed; and, what feemed very extraordi- 
 nary in fo nice and inquifitive a Genius, he 
 was never difpofed to Scepticifm in religious 
 Matters, having always confined his Curio- 
 fity to natural Things. He has often faid, 
 that he owed this Obligation, amongft many 
 others, to his excellent Father, who, having 
 himfelf the moft profound Veneration for 
 Religion, took Care to inftil the fame into 
 him from his Infancy, giving him this for a 
 Maxim, that whatever is the Object of Faith 
 cannot be the Object of Reafon, and there- 
 fore, ought much lefs to bow and fubmit 
 to it. 
 
 TueEse Inftructions, frequently repeated 
 to him by a Father, for whom, he had the 
 higheft Refpect, and in whom he obferved a 
 _ general Knowledge, joined with a ftrong and 
 piercing Judgment, made fo deep an Impref- 
 fion on his Spirit, that he was never in- 
 clined to the leaft Doubt by the Difcourfes 
 which he. heard from Libertines,» whom, 
 with fo penny a Difcernment, he looked upon 
 
 as 
 
The PREFACE. | xxxiii 
 
 as Men guided by this falfe Principle, that 
 ~ human Reafon is above all Things, and as 
 thofe who were utter Strangers to the Nature 
 of Faith. 
 
 But having pafied his youthful Days in. 
 fuch Employments and Diverfions as appear 
 very innocent to the Eyes of. the World, it 
 pleafed GOD {fo to touch his Heart, as to 
 let him perfectly underftand, that the Chri- 
 ftian Religion obligeth us to live for GOD 
 only, and to propofe no other Obje& or 
 Aim. And this Truth appeared to him fo 
 evident, fo ufeful, and fo neceffary, that it 
 made him enter on a Refolution of retiring 
 and difengaging himfelf, by Degrees, from 
 all his worldly Dependences, to attend whol- 
 ly on this one Defign. 
 
 He had, indeed, taken up fuch a Defire 
 of Privacy, and of devoting himéfelf to a 
 more holy and Chriftian Life, while very 
 young; and this had before moved him en- 
 tirely to abandon all profane Studies, in or- 
 der to the giving himfelf to thofe only 
 which might be ferviceable to his own 
 Salvation, and to that of others. But the 
 continual Lllnefles into which he fell, di- 
 verted him. many Years from his Purpofe, 
 and retarded the full Execution of it, till he 
 arrived at the Age of Thirty. bs 
 
 Ir was then that he began to labour in it 
 with all his Force; and that he might the 
 
 Cc more 
 
vsti The PREFACE. 
 
 more eafily obtain his With, and cut off alk 
 his Engagements at one Stroke, he changed 
 his Lodgings, and foon after removed into 
 the Country; whence returning after fome 
 Time, he fo well teftified his Refolution of 
 forfaking the World, that, in fine, the World 
 forfook him. The ‘Conduét and Regulation 
 of his Privacy he eftablifhed on thefe two 
 principal Maxims, to renounce all Pleafure, 
 and all Superfluity ; ; on thefe he ever fixed 
 his Eye, ftudying to make nearer Advances: 
 towards thei, and to attain every Day new 
 Degrees of Perfection, 
 
 It was his continual Application to thefe 
 two noble Maxims that enabled him to fus . 
 itain, with fo exemplary a Patience, all hig 
 al Baye and Sufferings, which {carce left him: 
 free from Pain during’ his Life: It was ‘this 
 that enjoined him to praGife fo-rigorous and 
 fevere a Mortification towards himfelf, not: 
 only denying his-Senfes whatever was agree~ 
 able to them, but taking without Uneafinefs, 
 ct Difguft, and even with Joy and: Satif& 
 faction, any Thing that might feem diftaftful, 
 when it was-proper either as Nourithment,, 
 or as Phyfick, It was this that engaged 
 him to retrench, every Day, what he jud ¥ 
 not abfolutely, neceflary, either in Cloat 
 or Food, or Furniture, or in any other of 
 commedation,> He-was this:that infpired hinr 
 With & fo great and-ardent a Love for Poverty, 
 
 ay 
 
The PREFACE.  xxxy 
 
 ‘as to make it the ruling Thought of his 
 Mind, fo that he never undertook any Thing 
 till he had firft afked himfelf, whether Po- 
 verty was confiftent with fuch a Propofal ; 
 and on all Occafions exprefled fo much Ten- 
 dernefS and Affection towards the Poor, as 
 never to refufe an Alms, and many Times to 
 beftow very largely on a charitable Account, 
 though out of his own neceflary Subfiftence. 
 It was from this, that he could not bear any 
 Nicety in providing Things for his Conve- 
 nience or Ufe; and that he fo much blamed 
 the Humour of fearching after Curiofities, 
 and the Defire of excelling in all Things, 
 as of employing the very beft Artifts, of 
 having every Thing made in the neweft 
 - Fafhion, and many other Fancies, which are 
 wont to be gratified without Scruple, becaufe 
 they are looked upon as harmlefs, though 
 to him they bore a quite different Afpec 
 To conclude, It was this that prompted him 
 to perform a great Number of moft remark- 
 able, and moft Chriftian Actions, which I 
 forbear here to relate, that I may not feem 
 tedious, and becaufe I attempt not to com- 
 pofe a Life, but only to convey fome Idea 
 of the Piety and Virtue of M. Pafcal to 
 thofe who had not the Happinefs of his Ac- 
 quaintance. For, as for thofe who knew 
 him, and who were admitted to his Com- 
 ‘pany during his latter Years, as I do not 
 G2 take 
 
.xxxvi The PREFACE. 
 
 take upon me to inform them by what I 
 write, fo I doubt not but they will teftify in 
 my Behalf, that I might ftill have enlarged 
 on many worthy Particulars, which I have 
 now chofen to pafs over in Silence. 
 
 Adver- 
 
Advertifement. 
 JANES HE Thoughts which make up this 
 
 Book, having been compofed and’ 
 eZ I> written by Monfieur Pascay, af- 
 STE ter the Manner reported in the 
 Preface, that ts, as they happened to come in+ 
 to bis Mind, without Sequel or Order; the 
 Reader cannot fuppofe, that he fhall find any 
 great Regularity im the Chapters of this Col- 
 leftion, which confift, for the mof Part, of 
 many independent Thoughts, ranged together 
 under the fame Heads, for no other Reafon, 
 but becaufe there appeared fome Kind of Afi- 
 nity between their Subjects. But though from 
 the bare reading of any Paragraph, it might 
 with Eafe be determined, whether it be a Con- 
 tinuation of that which preceded, or whether 
 it belongs to a new Defign; yet, for the more 
 Convenience, it was judged proper to make ufe 
 of fome particular Mark of Diftinétion, Thofe 
 Paragraphs therefore, which have an Afterifc 
 * prefixed to them, will be known to be fuch as 
 are of a quite different Piece, and entirely fe- 
 parate from the foregoing. And thofe which 
 want this Mark, will as eafily be known to 
 make but one and the fame Difcourfe, and to 
 have been found in this very Order and Me- 
 thod among ft the. Author's original Papers. 
 
 Gia THE 
 
 WW A 2 y. 
 . 
 
 WZ 
 
 Hy 
 
PREFACE 
 
 OF “Tika 
 
 TRANSLATOR, 
 
 Ne) the Name of Monfiexr Pascar is 
 s) ONG dear to all who have the Happine/s 
 
 2 & rN es 
 VE Cal 
 ~! 
 CALI VS. 
 lia x 
 iS Gy 
 \F 
 
 Ry 20 be affected with what is either 
 fee profound in Knowledge, or exact 
 in Wit, fo the Defign and Manner of the-fol- 
 lowing Work, are difplayed at large in the 
 excellent Preface of thofe Friends, by whofe 
 Care it was made publick. Yet the Tranflator 
 being obliged to offer fome Excufes for bim- 
 felf, is contented to premife fome Recommens 
 dations of his Author, wifhing thofe may ap- 
 pear as juft, as thefe will prove unneceffary. 
 IN the main Attempt, we are fhewn what 
 the greateft Genius could do on the greateft 
 Subjei : For though the Draught ts far is 
 : cing 
 
The TRANSLATOR, @c. xxxix 
 
 being finifhed, yet it confifts entirely of Mafter- 
 frrokes, and therefore may the more eafily be 
 difpenfed, with, for the Want of Colouring and 
 Shade. 
 
 FO confider fome of the principal Parts. 
 The moft rational and moft pathetical Ad- 
 dreffes. to the Sceptics demonftrate, that were 
 the utmoft Latitude indulged to thefe Men, 
 till they foould be loft in their Privilege of 
 Free-thinking, they could not otherwife re- 
 cover, and come to themfelves, but by fettling 
 upon the Foundations of Faith, which 15 as 
 natural a Cure for the Wanderings of Rea- 
 fon, as Reafon itfelf is for the Extravagan- 
 ‘cies of Imagination; and that the only Caufe, 
 why fo many have mifearried in this Ad- 
 venture, has been their Want of Strength to 
 go through the Courfe, and to vide out that — 
 Storm, which Vice or Rafbnefs had brought 
 upon their Faculties. It qwill be obferved, 
 that in one Effay againft this Spirit of In- 
 difference, the Author bas proceeded upor 
 the Suppofition of his Adverfartes, and has 
 evinced, that if Reafon (as is pretended) 
 were doubtful in the Cafe, yet Prudence 
 ought to incline to the fafer Side. But it 
 fhould Jikewife be obferved, that a peculiar 
 Advertifement is prefixed to that Chapter, 
 and that this was a Way of arguing which 
 Monfieur Pafcal, or his Friends, confeffed to~ 
 fiand in need of an Apology. 
 
xl The TraNsLATOR 
 
 THE metaphyfical Speculations feem moft 
 refined and accomplifbed, not only for their. 
 furprizing Novelty, and for the engaging 
 Manner in which they are delivered, but 
 chiefly on Account of thofe more fublime Views 
 in which they terminate and confpire. For 
 tis abfurd to condemn the “fejunenefi of the 
 Ancients in this Science, 4f our Reafonings 
 be as heathenifh as their Language was bar- 
 barous; and if inftead of the dry Trunks 
 of their Terms and Diftinétions (which 
 being rightly tranfplanted, we might im- 
 prove into ufeful Fruit) we cultivate an un- 
 profitable Elegance, and under all the Ver-. 
 dure of Expreffion, betray a Barrennefs o 
 Thought : Which is yet the Cafe of thefe ab- 
 firacted Dottrines, when raifed upon Prin- 
 _ ciples merely human; upon that Waifdom. 
 which is earthly, and cometh of the Earth, 
 but is not watered from above, or mingled 
 with the Fountains of Truth: Whereas, 
 therefore, fome profeffing this retired Know- 
 ledge, have much impaired the Credit of 
 their Labours, by feeming to derogate from 
 that of the Holy Scripture; M. Pascat, 
 by bis accurate Knowledge of its Harmony. 
 and Agreement, his peculiar Difcernment of 
 Prophecies and Miracles, and his fingular 
 Art of illuftrating and comparing different 
 Texzs, bas made it appear venerable, even 
 
 ° F) vee Boge 
 I 
 
to the READER. xl 
 
 to fuch as are not wont to read it with bis 
 Sincerity of Intention, and his truly Chriftian 
 Heart. ' 
 HOW ufeful are thofe curious Enquiries 
 concerning the Extent and Divifibility of. 
 Matter, and the Powers of Numbers, (of 
 which the Author had fo vaft a Compreben- 
 fion) in rendering the Myfteries of Nature 
 Jubjervient to thofe of Faith; in abafing the 
 Pride of our Underftanding, and in aftri- 
 ~ bing Glory to Him who alone 7s truly Infinite, 
 and who, while be has given us Ability to 
 make and compare thefe Jeeming Infimties, 
 does yet prefent us with fomething, even in 
 thefe, which 1s much more unfathomable to 
 our Perfections, than commenfurate to bis 
 ‘ own? How may the Reflexions upon Man- 
 kind, fo fprightly and vigorous, 4 penetra- 
 ting and fenfible, invite us to obferve, that 
 the Sentence which the wifeft of Men, fo long 
 fince pronounced on mortal Vanity, has been 
 moft firongly confirmed by thofe who have made 
 the neareft Approaches to his Wifdom; and 
 that, as be refolued the whole Matter, (all 
 that was good or great in Life) into the 
 feating GOD and keeping his Command- 
 ments, /o thefe have centered all their Con- 
 templaiions in religious Behef and Praétice, 
 as the only Things which can refore the Cre- 
 dit of our Nature, and reconcile us to our own. 
 good Opinion? How do the Thoughts upon 
 
 Death 
 
xli The Transuaror 
 
 Death exalt the Confolations of Philofophy 
 into the Hope and Affurance ve x ite 
 Did Fimilius, or Cato, or Tully, 
 themfelves with fo compofed Gravity, and 
 get fo tender Affection, on the Lofs. of their 
 Children, as M,Pascan bas done, on ret 
 of his Father? Or, was, be not, indeed, 
 early Proficient in» that, better ‘Scbook, at 
 Difcipline, which alone could. make..tim 
 wifer than the Ancients, and give him more 
 
 - Underftanding than. thofe Teachers and Ex- 
 amples? Lafly, does be not, in the Chapter 
 of Mifcellancous Thoughts, difcover the fame 
 true Relifh of what 4s jujt. ond natural,,.in 
 Style and Behaviour, as before, of wi at is 
 pt and folid in. Reafon? . And does not the 
 Prayer annexed, by evincing. that bis § a 
 and univerfal Capacity..was. animated by a 
 true Spirit of Humility and Devation, feem 
 equally fegpers to compleat ds Ghekavten ana 
 
 . bis pane j ,. sus a 
 . THE Tranflator having ef, infe. 
 
 fibly engaged fa this. delightful Tafk,. was 
 afterwards induced to communicate the Sa- 
 tisfattion ; knowing there. were fill. many 
 
 Perfons.of Learning. and Fudgment who 
 continued Strangers to, the Language of 3 the 
 Original, either. as neglecting fo eafy a Con- 
 queft, or as defpifing an Attainment, which 
 2s e bwcome rather Vulgar than F ‘athion- 
 able 
 
 1 “now 
 
to the READER: xliti 
 
 HOW much foever the Performance may 
 have fuffered for Want of thofe Advantages 
 which were peculiar to the Author, yet it 1s 
 here prefented entire, excepting fome Lines 
 which -direttly favoured the diftinguifbing 
 Doétrines of thofe of the Roman Communion. 
 If that excellent Perfon thought fit to pay 
 this Submiffion to the Authority of his own 
 Church, we cannot be injurious to him, im 
 expreffing the like Veneration for ours. But 
 confidering the great Liberty with which 
 thefe Fragments were put together, it is not 
 wholly improbable that M. Pascau’s Friends 
 might oficioufly infert fome Marks of this 
 Kind, to prove him (in their Notion) a good 
 Catholic, and to fhelter his Memory from the 
 Odium of fome, whom in another admirable 
 Book, (Lettres aux Provinciaux) he had 
 proved not to be very Good Chriftians. 24, 
 as to any fuch Paffages, it is-not fo generous 
 to difpute the Manner of their coming in, as 
 to be fatisied with the Power of leaving 
 them out. - | . 
 
 AT the Beginning of the French Editions, 
 we commonly meet with the large Approba- 
 tions of the Bifhops and Clergy; and, at the 
 End, with two Difcourfes, one on this Piece, 
 the other on the Proofs of the Books of Motes, 
 The former, as they are not here needful, 
 fp in fome Refpett they might have feemed 
 prejudicial. The latter would bave paffed 
 | with 
 
 - 
 
xliv The TransLator, &c. 
 
 with Reputation, had they not the Difad- 
 vantage of appearing with M. Pascat’s 
 Compofitions, which is yet, perbaps, a greater 
 Praife than the TRANSLATOR could obtain, 
 frould be now enlarge his Preface to a Trea~ 
 tife on bis AuTHOR's Arguments. : 
 
 Monfieur 
 
Monfieur PASCAL’s 
 
 rr UCTS. 
 
 I. 
 Againft an Atheiftical Indifference. 
 
 T were to be wifhed, that the 
 Enemies of Religion would 
 at, leaft bring themfelves to 
 apprehend its Nature, before 
 they oppofed its Authority. 
 Did Religion make its Boaft 
 of beholding Gop with a 
 clear and perfe& View, and of poffeffing 
 him without Covering or Veil, the Argu- 
 -Ment would bear fome Colour, when Men 
 ' fhould alledge, that none of the Things 
 about them, do indeed afford-this pretended 
 Evi- 
 
46 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 Evidence, and this Degtee of Ligh 
 fince Religion, on the contrary, repr 
 Men as in a State of Darknefs, a1 
 Eftrangement from Gop; fince it affirms 
 him to have withdrawn himfelf from 
 Difcovery, and to have chofen, in his Word, 
 the very Style and Appellation of Deus ab- 
 feonditus; Yaftly, fince it employs itfelf a- 
 like in eftablifhing thefe two Maxims, that 
 Gop has left; in -his-Church, certain Cha- 
 -facters_of himfelf,. by which they who fin- 
 cerely feek him, fhall not fail of a fenfible 
 Conviction; and yet that he has, at the 
 . fame Time; fo far fhaded and obfcured thefe 
 Characters, as to render them imperceptible 
 to thofe who do not feek him with their » 
 whole Heart; what Advantage is it to Men, 
 who profefs themfelves negligent in the Search 
 of Truth, to complain fo frequently, that 
 nothing reveals and difplays it to them? For - 
 this very Obfcurity; under which they la- 
 bour, and which they make an Exception 
 againft the Church, does“itfelf evince one of 
 the two- grand Points which the Church 
 maintains- (without affecting the other) and 
 is fo far from overthrowing its Doétrines, as 
 to lend them a manifeft-Confirmation a 
 Support. ! 2 
 Ir they would give their Objeétions any 
 Strength, they ought to urge, that they have 
 applied their utmoft Endeavour, “and si 
 ufe 
 
M. Paseat's Thoughts. 47 
 
 ufed all Means of Information, even thofé 
 . which the Church recommends, without Sa- 
 tisfaction. Did they exprefs themfelves thus, 
 they would indeed attack Religion in one of 
 its chief Pretenfions: But I hope to fhew, in 
 the following Papers, that no rational Perfon 
 can {peak after this Manner; and I dare af- 
 fert, that none ever did. We know very 
 well, how Men under this Indifferency of 
 Spirit, behave themfelves in the Cafe: They 
 fuppofe themfelves to have made the mighti- 
 eft Effort towards ‘the Inftruction of their 
 Minds, when they have {pent fome Hours 
 in reading the Scriptures, and have afked 
 fome Queftions of a Clergyman concerning 
 the Articles of Faith. When this is done, 
 they declare to all'the World, that they have 
 confulted Books and Men without Succefs. 
 I fhall be excufed, if I refrain not from tell- 
 ing fuch Men (what I have often told them) 
 that this Negleét of theirs is infupportable. . 
 *Tis not a foreign or a petty Intereft, which 
 is here in Debate: Weare ourfelves the 
 Parties, and all our Hopes and Fortunes are 
 
 the depending Stake. | 
 Tue Immortality of the Soul is a Thing 
 which fo deeply concerns, fo infinitely im- 
 ports us, that we muft have utterly loft our 
 Feeling, to be altogether cold and remifs in 
 our Enquiries about it. And all our Actions 
 er Defigns, ought to bend fo very different 
 a 
 
48 M. Pascat’s Thoughts, 
 
 a Way, according as we are either encou- 
 raged or forbidden, to embrace the Hope of 
 eternal Rewards, that ’tis impoffible for us 
 to proceed with Judgment and Ditcretion, 
 otherwife than as we keep this Point always 
 in View, which ought to be our ruling Ob- 
 ject, and final Aim. 
 
 Tuus is it our higheft Intereft, no lef 
 than our principal Duty, to get Light i into a 
 Subject on which our whole Condu& de- 
 pends. And therefore, in the Number of 
 wavering and unfatisfied Men, I make the 
 greateft Difference imaginable between thofe 
 who labour with all their Force to obtain 
 Inftruction, and thofe who live without giv- 
 ing themfelves any Trouble, or fo much as 
 any Thought in this Affair. 
 
 I cannot but be touched with a hearty 
 Compaffion for thofe who fincerely groan 
 under this Diffatisfaction; who look upon 
 it as the greateft of Misfortunes, and who 
 {pare no Pains to deliver themfelves from it, 
 by making thefe Refearches their chief Em. - 
 ployment, and moft ferious Study. But as 
 for thofe, who pafs their Life without re- 
 fieCting on its Iffue, and who, for this Reafon 
 alone, becaufe they find not in themfelves 
 a convincing Teftimony, refufe to feek it 
 elfewhere, and to examine to the Bottom, 
 whether the Opinion propofed be fuch as 
 we are wont to entertain by popular Simpli- 
 
 : city 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 49 
 
 city and Credulity, or as fuch, though ob- 
 {cure in itfelf, yet is built on folid and im- 
 moveable Foundations, I confider them after 
 quite another Manner. The Carelefinefs 
 which they betray in an Affair, where their 
 Perfon, their Intereft, their whole Eternity 
 isembarked, rather provokes my Refentment 
 than engages my Pity. Nay, it ftrikes me 
 with Amazement and Aftonifhment; ’tis 2 
 Monfter to my Apprehenfion. I fpeak not 
 this as. tranfported with the pious Zeal of a 
 fpiritual and rapturous Devotion: On the 
 contrary, I affirm, that the Love of our- 
 felves; the Intereft of Mankind, and the moft 
 fimple and artlefs Reafon, do naturally in- 
 {pire us with thefe Sentiments; and that to 
 fee thus far, is not to exceed the Sphere of 
 unrefined, uneducated Men. 
 
 Ir requires no great Elevation of Soul, to: 
 obferve, that nothing in this World is pro- 
 ductive of true Contentment; that our Plea- 
 fures are vain and fugitive, our Troubles in- 
 numerable and perpetual: And that, after 
 all, Death, which threatens us every Mo- 
 ment, muft, in the Compafs of a few Years 
 (perhaps of afew Days) put us into the 
 eternal Condition of Happine/s, or Mifery, 
 or Nothing.. Between us and thefe three 
 great Periods, or States, no Barrier is inter- 
 pofed, but Life, the moft brittle Thing in 
 all Nature; and the Happinefs~of Heaven 
 
 D bei 
 
50 M Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 being certainly not defigned for: thofe who 
 doubt whether they have an immortal Part’ 
 to énjoy it, fuch Perfons have nothing left,: 
 but the miferable Chance iof Annihilation, 
 or of Hell, yoieedoudy 
 
 ' THERE. is not any edlewhii which can 
 have more Reality than this; as there isthone: 
 which has greater Terror. . Let us: fet the 
 braveft Face on ouf Condition,-and.play the 
 Heroes as artfully as we-can; yet fee here 
 the Iffue which attends the oy ty Sa 
 upon Earth. 
 
 "Tig in. vain for Men to tim fide: seie: 
 ‘Thoughts from this Etetnify, which awaits. 
 them, as if they were able to deftroy<it by 
 denying it a Place in their Inhagination : If) 
 fubfifts in Spite of them, :it, advanceth un- 
 obferved; and Death, whichtis to draw the: 
 Curtain from. it, will im afhort Time infalli- 
 bly reduce them. to. the dreadful Neceffity. 
 of being for ever nothing, or for vost mix 
 ferable, i 
 
 _ We_haye ae a Doubt of the: trio me 
 figinine Confequence, and which, therefore, 
 to entertain, may be well efteemed the moft: 
 grievous of Misfortunes: But, at the fame 
 Time, ’tis out indifpenfable, Duty not to’ lie 
 under it, without ftruggling for —* 
 rance. 1uess 
 
 _ He then hie: doubts, and yet feeks ts 
 to be refalyed, is equally unhappy and ‘un- 
 
 mci jut: 
 
M. Pascat'’s Thoughts, 51 
 
 joft: But if withal he appears eafy and 
 compofed, if he freely declares his Indiffe- 
 rence, nay, if he takes a Vanity in pro- 
 feffing it, and feems to make this moft de- 
 plorable Condition the Subject of. his Plea- 
 fure and Joy, I have not Words to: fix a 
 Name on fo extravagant a Creature. Where 
 . is the very Poffibility of entering imto thefe 
 Thoughts and Refolutions? What Delight 
 is there in expecting Mifery without End? 
 What Vanity in finding one’s felf- encom- 
 pafied with impenetrable Darknefs? Or what 
 Confolation in defpairing for ever of a Com- 
 forter? 
 
 To fit down with fome Sort of Acquief- 
 cence under {fo fatal an Ignorance, isa Thing 
 unaccountable beyond all Expreffion; and 
 they who live with fuch a Difpofition, ought 
 
 .to be made fenfible of its Abfurdity and Stu- 
 
 pidity, by having their inward Reflexions 
 laid open to them, that they may grow wife ~ 
 by the Profpea& of their own F olly. For 
 behold how Men are wont to reafon, - while 
 they obftinately remain thus ignorant of 
 what they are, and refufe all Methods of 
 InftruGion and Illumination. 
 
 Wuo has fent me into the World I know 
 not; what the World is I know not, nor 
 what Iam myfelf. Iam under an aftonifh- 
 ing and tefrifying Ignorancé of all Things. 
 I sos net what my Body is, what my 
 
 D2 Senfes, 
 
52 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 Senfes, or my Soul: This very Part of me 
 which thinks what I fpeak, which reflects 
 upon.every Thing elfe, and even upon it- 
 felf, yet is as mere a Stranger to its own Na- 
 ture, as the dulleft Thing I carry about me. 
 I behold thefe frightful Spaces of the Uni- 
 verfe. with which I am encompafled, and I 
 find myfelf chained to one little Corner of 
 the vaft_Extent, without underftanding why 
 I am placed in this Seat, rather than in any 
 other; or why this Moment of Time given 
 me to live, was afligned rather at fuch a 
 Point, than at any other of the whole Eter- 
 nity which was before me, or of all that 
 which is to come after me. I fee nothing 
 but Infinities on all Sides, which devour and 
 {wallow me up like an Atom, or like a 
 Shadow, which endures but a fingle Inftant, 
 and is never to return. The Sum of my 
 
 , 
 
 Knowledge is, that I muft fhortly die; but — 
 
 that which I am moft ignorant of is this 
 very Death, which I feel myfelf unable to 
 decline. bien 
 As.I know not whence I came, fo I know 
 not whither I go; only thisI know, that at my 
 
 Departure out of the World, I muft either 
 
 fall for ever into Nothing, or into the Hands 
 of an incenfed Gon, without being capable 
 of deciding, which of. thefe two Conditions 
 fhall eternally be my Portion, Such is my 
 State, full of Weaknefs, Obfcurity, and 
 BLISS ¢ G Wretch- 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 53 
 
 Wretchednefs. And from all this I conclude, 
 That I ought, therefore, to pafs all the Days 
 of my Life, without confidering what is 
 hereafter to befal me; and that I have’ no- 
 thing to do, but to follow my Inclinations 
 without Reflexion or Difquiet, in doing all 
 _ that, which, if what Men fay of a mifera- 
 ble Eternity prove true, will infallibly plunge 
 me into it. "Tis poffible I might find fome 
 Light to clear up my Doubts; but I thall 
 not take a Minute’s Pains, nor ftir one Foot 
 in the Search of it. On the contrary, I 
 am refolved to treat thofe with Scorn and 
 Derifion who labour in this Enquiry and 
 Care ; and, fo to run without Fear or Fore- 
 fight, upon the Trial of the grand Event ; 
 permitting myfelf to be led foftly on to 
 Death, utterly uncertain as to the eternal 
 Iffue of my future Condition. . 
 
 In earneft, ‘tis a Glory to Religion to 
 ‘have fo unreafonable Men for its profefied 
 Enemies ; and their Oppofition is of fo little 
 Danger, that it ferves to illuftrate the prin- 
 cipal Truths which our Religion teaches. 
 ‘For the main Scope of Chriftian Faith is to 
 eftablifh thefe two Principles, the Corruption 
 of Nature, and the Redemption by Fefus 
 Chrift. And thefe Oppofers, if they are of 
 -no Ufe towards demonftrating the Truth of 
 --the Redemption, by the Sanétity of their 
 Lives, yet are at leaft admirably ufeful in 
 
 D 3 fhewing 
 
54 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 fhewing the Corruption of Nature, by fo 
 unnatural Sentimenjs and Suggeftions. 
 
 NoTuinc is fo important to any Man as 
 his own Eftate and Condition; nothing fo 
 great, fo amazing, as Eternity. If, there- 
 fore, we find Perions indifferent to the Lofs 
 of their Being, and to the Danger of end- 
 lefs Mifery, “tis impoffible that this Temper 
 fhould be natural. They are quite other 
 Men in all other Regards, they fear the 
 fmallefi Inconveniences, they fee them as 
 they: approach, and feel them if they ar- 
 sive; and he who pafleth Days and Nights — 
 in Chagrine or Defpair, for the Lofs of an 
 Employment, or for fome imaginary Blemith 
 in his Honour, is the very fame Mortal who 
 knows that he mutt lofe all by Death, and 
 yet remains without Difquiet, Refentment, 
 or Emotion, ‘This wonderful Infenfibility, 
 with refpect to Things of the moft fatal Con- 
 fequence, in a Heart {fo nicely fenfible of the 
 
 ‘meaneft Trifles, is an aftonifhing Prodigy, 
 and unintelligible Inchantment, a fuperna- 
 - tural Blindnefs and Infatuation,. — 
 
 Ar Man in a clofe Dungeon, who knows 
 not whether Sentence of Death has pafled 
 upon him, who is allowed but ene Hour’s 
 
 Space to inform himfelf concerning it, and 
 that one Hour fufficient, in cafe it have'pafi- 
 ed, to obtain its Reverfe, would a& contra- 
 ry to Nature and Senfe, fhould he make 
 
 ? ule 
 
M. Pascax’s Thoughts. 55 
 
 ufe-of this Hour not to procure Information, 
 but to purfue his Vanity or Sport. And yet 
 fach is the Condition of the Perfons whom 
 we are now defcribing ; only with this Dif- 
 ference, that the Evils with which they are 
 every Moment threatened, do infinitely far- 
 pafs the bare Lofs of Life, and that tranfi- 
 ent Punifhment which the Prifoner is fup- 
 pofed to apprehend: Yet they run thought- 
 jefs. upon the Precipice, having only caft a 
 Veil over their Eyes, to hinder them from 
 difcerning it, and divert themfelves with the 
 QOfficiou{nefs of fuch as charitably warn them 
 of their Danger. | 
 
 -Tuvs not the Zeal alone of thofe who 
 heartily feek Gop, demonftrates the Truth 
 of Religion, but likewife the Blindnefs of 
 thofe who utterly forbear to feek him, and 
 who. pafs their Days under fo horrible a 
 Neglect. There muft needs be a ftrange Turn 
 and Revolution in human Nature, before 
 Men can fubmit to fuch a Condition, much 
 more e’er they can applaud and value them- 
 felves upon it. For {uppofing them to have 
 obtained an abfolute Certainty, that there was 
 no Fear after Death, but of falling into nor - 
 thing, ought not this to be the Subject ra- 
 ther of Defpair, than of Jollity? And is it 
 not therefore the higheft Pitch of fenfelefs 
 Extravagance, while we want this Certainty, 
 to glory in our Doubt and Diftruft? 
 yon D4 AND 
 
56 M. Pascat’s Thoughts, 
 
 Anp yet, after all, it is too vifible, that 
 Man has fo far declined from his original 
 Nature, and as it were departed from him- 
 felf, to nourifh in his Heart a fecret Seed- 
 Plot of Joy, {pringing up from the Liber- 
 tine Reflexions.. This brutal Eafe, or In- 
 dolence, between the Fear of Hell, and of 
 Annihilation, carries fomewhat fo tempting 
 in it, that not, only thofe who have the Mif- 
 fortune to be {ceptically inclined, but even 
 thofe who cannot unfettle their ‘Judgment, 
 do yet efteem it reputable to take up even 
 a counterfeit Diffidence. For we may ob 
 ferve the largeft Part of the Herd to be of 
 this latter Kind, falfe Pretenders to Infide- 
 lity, end mere Hypocrites i in Atheifm. There 
 are Perfons whom we have heard declare, 
 that the genteel Way of the World confifts 
 in thus acting the Bravo. This is that which 
 they term throwing off the Yoak, and which 
 the greater Number of them ‘profess, not 
 fo much out of Opinion, as out of Gallan- 
 try and Complaifance. 
 
 Yet, if they have the leaft Referve of 
 common Senfe, it will not be difficult to 
 make them apprehend, how miferably they 
 abufe them Gis by laying fo falfe-a Foun 
 dation of Applaufe and Efteem, For this 
 is not the Way to raife a Character, even - 
 with worldly Men, who, as they are able 
 to pafs a threwd Judgment on Things, fo 
 
 they 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 57 
 
 they eafily difcern that the only Method of 
 fucceeding in our temporal Affairs, is to 
 ‘prove ourfelves honeft, faithful, prudent, 
 and capable of advancing the Intereft of our 
 Friends ; becaufe Men naturally love no- 
 thing but that which fome Way contributes 
 to their Ufe and Benefit. But now what 
 Benefit can we any Way derive from hear- 
 ing a Man confefs that he has eafed himfelf 
 of the Burden:of Religion’; that he believes 
 no Gop, as the Witnefs and InfpeGtor of 
 his Condué&t; that he confiders himfelf as 
 abfolute Mafter of what he doesj+and ac- 
 ‘countable’ for it only to his own Mind? 
 ‘Will he fancy that we thall be hence indu- 
 ced to repofe a greater Degree of Confi- 
 dence in him hereafter? or to depend. on 
 his Comfort, his Advice, or Affiftance, in 
 the Neceffities of Life?’ Can he imagine us 
 to take any great Delight or Complacency 
 -when he tells us, that he doubts whether 
 our very Soul be any Thing more'than a lit- 
 tle Wind and Smoke? nay, when ‘he tells 
 it us with an Air of Affurance,:and a Voice 
 that teftifies the Contentment of his Heart ? 
 Is this a Thing to be fpoken of with Plea- 
 fantry? or ought it not rather to be la- 
 mented with ‘the deepeft Sadnefs, as the 
 ‘moft melancholick Reflexion that can ftrike 
 our Thoughts? 
 
 Ir 
 
58 M. Pascax’s Thoughts. 
 
 Ir they sould compo ithemfelyes to 
 ferious Confideration, | aie muft perceive 
 the Method in which they are engaged.to 
 be fo very. ill chofen, fo-tepugnant to,Gen- 
 tility, and fo semote even from t 
 Air and Grace’ which they purfue, that, ‘on 
 the contrary, nothing can more’ effectually 
 expofe them to the Contempt and Aver- 
 fion of Mankind, or mark them out ed 
 Perfons defective in Parts and 
 And, indeed, thould we demand from aa 
 _ an Account of. their Sentiments, and of the 
 Reafons .which they have to entertain this 
 Sufpicion. in religious Matters, what they 
 offered would appear fo miferably weak and 
 “sen as rather to confirm us in our Be- 
 lief. This is no more than what one of 
 their own Fraternity told them, withigreat 
 Smartnefs, on fuch ani Occafion, If you 
 continue (fays he) to difpute at this Rate, 
 you'll tnfalhbly make me a:Chriftian. And 
 the Gentleman: was in the night: For who 
 would not tremble to find -hinafelf embarked 
 in the fame Caufe, with. fo forlorn, fo. ae 
 fpicable Companions i ? : 
 
 Anp thas it is evident, that they int 
 wear no, mote than the outward Mafk. of 
 thefe Principles, are .the moft unhappy 
 Counterfeits: in, the World; inafmuch as 
 they are obliged to put a continual Force 
 ~and Conftraint on their Geniug, only that 
 
 they 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 59 
 
 they may sender themfelves the moft im- 
 pertinent of all Men living. 
 
 Ir they are heartily and fincerely trou- 
 bled at their Want of Light, let them: not 
 diflemble the Difeafe.. Such a Confeffion 
 could not be reputed fhameful; for there is 
 really no Shame, but in being fhamelefs, 
 Nothing betrays fo much Weaknefs of 
 Soul, as not to apprehend the Mifery of 
 Man, while living .without GOD in the 
 World: Wothing 1s a furer Token of ex- 
 treme Bafenefs of Spirit, than not to hope 
 for the Reality of eternal Promifes: No 
 Man is fo ftigmatized a Coward, as he that 
 acts the Bravo againft Heaven. Let them 
 therefore leave thefe Impieties to thofe 
 who are born with fo unhappy a Judgment, 
 as to be capable of entertaining them in ear- 
 neft. If they cannot be Chriffian Men, \et 
 them, however, be Men of Honour: And 
 let them, in Conclufion, acknowledge, that 
 there are but two Sorts of Perfons, who de- 
 ferve to be ftiled reafonable, either thofe 
 who ferve Gop with all their Heart, be- 
 caufe they know him; or thofe who feek 
 him with all their Heart, becaufe as yet 
 they know him not. 
 
 Ir then there are Perfons who fincerely 
 enquire after Gop, and who, being truly 
 fenfible of their Mifery, affeCtionately defire 
 to be refcued from it; it is to thefe alone 
 
 | ; I that 
 
60 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. | 
 
 that we can in Juftice afford our Labour 
 and Service, for their Direction in finding 
 out that Light of ‘which they feel the 
 
 Want. L te is td 
 Bur as for thofé who live without ‘either 
 knowing Gop, or endeavouring to know 
 him, they look on themfelves as fo little de- 
 ferving their own Care, that they cannot 
 but be unworthy the Care of others: And 
 it requires all the Charity of the Religion 
 which they defpife, not to defpife them to 
 fuch a Degree, as even to abandon them to 
 their own Folly: But fince the fame Religion 
 obliges us to confider them, while they re- 
 main in this Life, ‘as ftill capable of Gon’s 
 enlightening Grace; and to acknowledge it 
 as very pofiible, that, in the Courfe of a few 
 Days, they may be replenifhed with a fuller 
 Meafure of Faith than we now enjoy ;. and 
 we ourfelves, on the other Side, fall into the - 
 Depths of their prefent Blindnefs and Mi- 
 fery ; we ought to do for them, what we 
 defire fhould be done to us im their Cafe; 
 to intreat them that they would take pity on 
 themfelves, and would, at leaft, advance a 
 Step or two forward, if .perchance they may " 
 come into the Light. For which End ‘it is | 
 withed, that they would imploy in the: Per- 
 ufal of this Piece, fome few of thofe Hours 
 "which, they {pend fo unprofitably in other 
 Purfuits. It is poffible they may gain foms- 
 what 
 
M. Pascav’s Thoughts. 61 
 
 what by the reading; at leaft, they cannot 
 be great Lofers: But if any fhall apply 
 themfelves to it, with perfect Sincerity, and 
 with an unfeigned Defire of knowing the 
 Truth, I defpair not of their Satisfaction, 
 or of their being convinced by fo many 
 Proofs of our divine Religion, as they will 
 here find laid together. ! 
 
 II. 
 Marks of the True Religion. 
 
 r | XHE true Religion ought chiefly to 
 diftinguith itfelf, by obliging Men 
 to the Love of Gop. This is what natural 
 Juftice requires, and yet what no Inftitution 
 befides the Chriftian has ever commanded. 
 Ir ought likewife to have fome Appre- 
 _ henfion of the innate Concupifcence of 
 Man, and of his utter Infufficiency for the 
 Attainment of Virtue by his own Strength, 
 and fome Skill in applying the proper Re- 
 medies to this Defect; of which Prayer is 
 the principal. Our Religion has performed 
 all: this, and none befides has ever begged 
 of 
 
62 M. Pasca.’s Thoughts. 
 
 of Gop the Power of loving and of a, 
 ing him.. 
 
 Lat Te anil out the Truth ands 
 
 of 2 Religion, it is necéeflary that it fhould 
 have obtained the Knowledge of human 
 Nature. For our true Nature and true 
 Happinefs, true Virtue and true Religion, 
 are Things, the Knowledge of which is 
 reciprocal and infeparable. It fhould alfo 
 be able to difcern the Greatnefs and the 
 Meannefs of human Condition; together 
 with the Caufé and Reafon of both, What 
 Religion, the Chriftian only excepted, could 
 ever pretend to be thus knowing? 
 
 * OTHER Religions, as-thofe of the Hea- 
 -thens, are more popular, as confifting only 
 in external Appearance; but then they are 
 unqualified for moving the Judicious and 
 Prudent., Again, fhould any Religion te- 
 fide altogether in the inward — it mi on 
 be fitter to work on Parts and Genius; 
 could hold no Influence over the Grofs of 
 Mankind. Chriftianity alone is. propor- 
 tioned .to all Capacities, being duly com-- 
 pofed, and tempered of thé internal and © 
 the external Way. It raifes the moft dg- 
 norant to inward and {piritual AG@s, and, at 
 the fame Time, abafes the moft Intelligent, 
 by preffing the Obligation to outward Per- 
 formances, and is never compleat but when — 
 it joins one of thefe Effects to -the- other: 
 
 For 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 63 
 
 For there is the like Neceffity that the Peo- 
 ple fhould underftand the Spirit, which is 
 veiled under the Letter, and that the Learn- 
 ed fhould fubmit their Spirit to the Letter, 
 in complying with exterior Practices and 
 Rites. © : HIN tN 
 
 * Tuart there is fomewhat in us which 
 ought to be hated, bare Reafon will con- 
 vince us; and yet there is no Religion but 
 the Chriftian which enjoins us to hate our- 
 felves; wherefore no other Religion ought 
 to be entertained by thofe who know and 
 confefs themfelves to be worthy of nothing 
 but: Hatred. 3 
 
 * No Religion, except the Chriftian, has 
 known Man to be the moft excellent of 
 vifible Creatures, and, at the fame Time, the 
 moft miferable. Some having apprehended 
 the Reality of his Excellence, have cen- 
 fured, as mean and ungrateful, the low 
 Opinion which Men naturally entertain of 
 their own Condition, Others, well know- 
 
 _ ing the unhappy Effects of his Bafenefs and 
 
 * Mifery, have expofed, as ridiculoufly vain, 
 thofe Notions of Grandeur, which are no 
 lefs' natural to Men. 
 
 * Ir is our Religion which has firft 
 taught that Man is born in Sin: No See& 
 of Philofophers ever faid this; therefore no 
 
 + Seét ever faidthe Truth. 
 mn * THe: 
 
64 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 * Tue divine Nature being ‘removed 
 from human. Thoughts and Difcovery, every 
 Religion which does not confefs it to’ be fo, 
 is falfe; and every Religion which does ‘not 
 thew the Reafon why it is'fo, muft be bar- 
 ren and unedifying: Our Religion has. ‘pers 
 formed both Parts. > © 
 
 * Tuam Religion, which confifts in be- 
 lieving the Fall: of Man from a State: of 
 Glory and Communication with God, to a 
 State of Sorrow, Humiliation, and Eftrange- 
 ment from Gop, together with his Reftora- 
 tion by, a. Meffias, has always been in the: 
 World. All Things. are pafled away, and 
 this remains for which» all Things. were: 
 For Gop, in his Wifdom, defigning to 
 form to himfelfa holy People, whom he 
 fhould  feparate’ from all other Nations; 
 fhould. deliver from their Enemies, and’ — 
 fhould fettle in a+ Place of Reft,. was 
 pleafed exprefly to promife, not only that 
 he would accomplifh this Mercy, but that’ 
 he. would come himfelf into the World for 
 its Performance, foretelling by his Prophets, 
 the very Time and Manner of his yee > 
 Yet, in the mean While, to confirm: the. 
 Hope of his Ele&. throngh all Ages, “he 
 continually afforded them the Pledges: of 
 Types and Figures, and never’ left them 
 without Affurances, as well of his Power, 
 as of his Inclination to fave them: For im- 
 
 mediately 
 
M. Pascats Thoughts: 65 
 
 thediately after the firft Creation, Adam 
 was the Witnefs and Depofitary of the Pro- 
 mife concerning a Saviour to be born of the 
 Seed of the Woman; and though Men, 
 while they ftood fo near to their own Ori- 
 ginals, could not forget the Gift of their 
 Being, the Shame of their Fall; or the 
 divine Promife of a Redeemer; yet fince © 
 the World, in its very Infancy, was over- 
 tun with all Sorts of Corruptions and Dif- 
 orders, Gop was pleafed to raife up holy 
 Men, as Enoch, Lamech, and others, who, 
 with a peculiar Faith and Patience, waited 
 for the Author of their Deliverance. Af- 
 ter this, when the Wickednefs of Men was 
 arrived at its Pitch, we read of Gon’s fend- 
 ing Noah on a {pecial Commiffion, and of 
 his refcuing him from the common Deftruc- 
 tion; a Miracle which teftified at once the 
 Power of Gop to fave the World, and his 
 Will to perform this, by raifing up to the 
 Woman the Seed which he had promifed. 
 This fignal A& of Omnipotence was enough 
 to ftrengthen the Expectation of Mankind, 
 and the Memory of it was ftill frefh, when 
 Gop renewed his Promifes to Abraham 
 (who dwelt in the Midft of Idolaters) and 
 opened to him the Myftery of the Meffas 
 that was to come. In the Days of Jaac 
 and ‘facob, the Abomination was fpread 
 over the whole Earth; yet thefe holy Pa- 
 3 E triarchs 
 
66. M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 triarchs lived in Faith, and the latter of 
 them, as he bleft his Children before his 
 approaching Death, refrained not from ery- 
 ing out with a pious Tranfport, which in- 
 terrupted his Difcourfe, I wall wait for thy 
 Salvation, O Lorp: Salutare tuum expecta- 
 bo, Domine. 
 
 Tue Egyptians were befotted with Ido- 
 latry and Magick; nor did the People of 
 Gop efcape the Infection of their Example; 
 yet Mofes, with other excellent Perfons, 
 faw him whom they faw not, and adored 
 him, and had Refpect unto the eternal 
 Recompence which he was preparing for 
 them. 
 
 Tue Greeks and Romans introduced a 
 new Multitude of fictitious Deities: The 
 Poets advanced their repugnant Syftems of 
 Theology : The Philofophers broke out into. 
 a thoufand different Sects and Clans; yet 
 were there always in the little Corner of 
 ‘udea chofen Men, who foretold the Com- 
 mg of the Mefias, unknown to all but 
 themfelves. . 
 
 He came: at length in the FulnefS of 
 ‘Time ; and ever fince his Appearance, not- 
 withftanding the numerous Births of Schifms 
 and Herefies, the Revolutions in Govern- 
 ment, and the utter Change in all Things, 
 the fame Church, whofe Glory it is toadore 
 bim who has been ever adored, ftill ~fabfiits 
 
 without 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 67 
 
 without Interruption or Decay. And what — 
 muft be owned to be incomparably excellent, 
 wonderful, and altogether Nit! this Reli- 
 gion which has ever fubfifted, has ever been 
 oppofed: A thoufand Times has it been on 
 the very Brink of univerfal Ruin ; and as 
 often as it has been reduced to this Eftate, 
 fo often has it been relieved by fome extra- 
 ordinary Interpofal of Almighty Power. 
 "Tis aftonifhing, that it fhould never want 
 a Miracle to deliver it in Extremity, and 
 that it fhould. be able to maintain itfelf, 
 without bending to the Will of Tyrants and 
 Oppreffors, 
 
 * Crviz States muft infallibly perith, if 
 they did not many Times permit their Laws 
 to give Way to Neceffity: But Religion, as 
 it has never fuffered this Violence, though 
 it has never ftooped to this Compliance, yet 
 here muft be fuch Accommodations and 
 Submiffions, or tiere muft be a miraculous 
 Support. It’s no Wonder, that Eimpires and 
 Governments fhould procure their Safety by 
 thus bending and bowing; and ’tis indeed 
 improper, in this Cafe, to fay that they 
 maintain or uphold themfelves; yet we fe, 
 that they, at length, find an utter Diffolu- 
 . tion; nor has any one amongft them been 
 fo long-liv’d as to reach the Period of fifteen’ 
 hundred Years: But that Religion thould 
 have always kept its Ground, by always 
 
 EB. 2 conti- 
 
68 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 continuing unalterable and unflexible; this is 
 truly great and providential, 
 
 * Tuus has the Belief in the Meffias been 
 derived down by a conftant Series, and un- 
 interrupted Courfe. The Tradition from 
 Adam, was freth and lively in Noab, and 
 even in Mojes. After thefe the Prophets 
 bore Teftimony to him, at the fame Time 
 predicting other Things, which being from 
 Day to Day fulfilled, in the Eyes of all the 
 World, demonftrated the Truth of their 
 Miffion, and confequently of their Pro-- 
 mifes in this Behalf. They unanimoufly 
 declared, that the legal Ordinances were 
 but preparatory. to the Me/fas’s Inftitution; 
 that till fuch a Time the former fhould in- 
 deed fubfift without Intermiffion, but that 
 the latter fhould endure for ever; and that 
 by this Means, either the Law of Mofes, 
 or that of the Mefias, which is prefigured, 
 fhould always continue upon Earth; and, 
 in fact, there has been fuch a Continuance 
 to our Days. Jesus CHRIST came agree- 
 ably to all the Circumftances of their Pre- 
 diétions: He performed Miracles in his own 
 Perfon, and by the Hands of his Apoftles, 
 whom he appointed for the Converfion of 
 the Gentile World: And the Prophecies be- 
 ing thus once accomplifhed, the Meffas is 
 for ever demonftrated. 
 
 * Tuat 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 69 
 
 * Tuart Religion, which alone is con- 
 trary to our Nature, in its prefent Eftate, 
 which declares War againft all our Pleafures 
 and Inclinations, and which, upon a flight 
 and tranfient View, feems repugnant even to 
 common Senfe, is that alone which has fub- 
 fifted from the Beginning. 
 
 * Ir is neceflary, that the whole Current 
 of Things fhould bear a Regard to the E- 
 ftablifhment and the Grandeur of Religion ; 
 that there fhould be implanted in Men Sen- 
 timents agreeable to its Precepts; and in a 
 Word, that it fhould fo vifibly be the great 
 Object and Centre towards which all Things 
 tend, that whofoever underftands its Princi- 
 ples, may be thence enabled to give an Ac- 
 count, as of human Nature in particular, 
 fo, in general, of the whole State and Or- 
 der of the World. 
 
 "Tis upon this very Foundation, . that 
 wicked and profane Men are wont to build 
 their blafphemous Calumnies againft the 
 Chriftian Religion, only becaufe they mif- 
 underftand it. They imagine, that it con- 
 fifts purely in the Adoration of the Divi- 
 nity, confidered as great, powerful, and eter- 
 nal. This is properly Deifm, and ftands 
 almoft as far removed from Chriftianity as 
 Atheifm, which is direétly oppofite to it. 
 Yet hence they would infer the Falfhood 
 of our Religion; becaufe (fay they) were 
 
 = 2 it 
 
70 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 it true, Gop would have manifefted himéelf 
 under its Difpenfation by fo vifible Tokens, 
 that it fhould have been impoffible for any 
 Man not to know him, 
 
 Bur let them conclude what they will 
 againft Deifm, they will be able to draw 
 no fuch Conclufion to the Prejudice of Chri- 
 ftianity; which acknowledges, that fince 
 the Fall, Gop does not manifeft himfelf to 
 us with all the Evidence that is pofftble, 
 and which confifts properly in the Myftery 
 of a Redeemer, who by fuftaining at once 
 ‘the divine and human Natures, has reco- 
 vered Men out of the Corruption of Sin, 
 that he might reconcile them to Gop in 
 his divine Perfon. 
 
 True Religion, therefore, inftruéts Men 
 in thefe two Principles, That there is a Gon 
 whom they are capable of knowing and en- 
 joying; and that there are fuch Corrup- 
 tions in their Nature, as render them un- 
 worthy of him. There is the fame Im- 
 portance in apprehending the one and the 
 other of thefe Points: And ’tis alike dan- 
 gerous for Man to know Gop without the 
 Knowledge of his own Mifery, and to 
 know his own Mifery without the Know- 
 ledge of a Redeemer, who may deliver 
 him from it. To apprehend one without 
 the other, begets either the Pride of Phi- 
 lofophers, who knew Gop, but not their 
 
 own 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 71 
 
 own Mifery; or the Defpair of Atheifts, 
 who know their own Mifery, but not the 
 Author of their Deliverance. 
 
 AND as it is of equal Neceflity to Man, 
 that he fhould obtain the Knowledge of both 
 thefe Principles, fo is it equally agreeable to 
 the Mercy of Gop, that he fhould afford 
 the Means of fuch a Knowledge. To per-. 
 form this, is the Office, and the very Ef 
 fence of Chriftianity.. 
 
 Upon this Foot let Men -examine the 
 Order and Oeconomy of the World, and 
 let them fee, whether all Things do not 
 confpire in eftablifhing thefe two Fundamen- 
 tals of our Religion. 
 
 * Ir any one knows not himfelf to be 
 full of Pride and, Ambition, of Concupif- 
 cence and Injuftice, of Weaknefs and 
 Wretchednefs, he is blind beyond Difpute. 
 And if any one who knows himéfelf to la- 
 bour under thefe Defects, at the fame Time 
 defires not to be refcued from them, what 
 can we fay of a Man who has thus aban- 
 doned his Reafon? What remains then, 
 but that we preferve the higheft Venera- 
 tion for a Religion, which fo well under- 
 ftands the Infirmities of Mankind? and 
 that we profefs the heartieft Withes for the | 
 Truth of a Religion, which engageth to 
 heal thofe Infirmities by fo happy, fo de- 
 firable a Relief? 
 
 Py Bs TIT. 
 
72 M. Pascat’s Thoughts, 
 
 III. 
 
 The true Religion proved by the Contrarieties 
 which are Similan in Man, and by the 
 Doétrine of Original Sin. 
 
 HE Greatnefs and the Mifery of 
 Man, being alike confpicuous, it is 
 neceflary the true Religion fhould declare, 
 that he contains in himfelf fome noble 
 Principle of Greatnefs, and, at the fame 
 Time, fome profound Source of Mifery, 
 For the true Religion cannot anfwer its Cha- 
 racter otherwife, than by fearching our Na- 
 ture to the Bottom, fo as perfectly to under- 
 ftand all that is great, and all that is mifera- 
 ble in it, together with the Reafon of one, 
 and of the other. Religion is farther obliged 
 to account for thofe aftonifhing Contrarieties 
 which we find within us. If there be but 
 one Principle, or efficient Caufe, one Au- 
 thor of all Things, and himfelf the End 
 of all Things; the true Religion muft 
 teach us to make him alone the Object of 
 our Worfhip and our Love. But fince we 
 find ourfelyes under an Inability as well of | 
 adoring 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 73 
 
 adoring him whom we know not, as of 
 loving any Thing but ourfelves ; the fame 
 Religion which enjoins us thefe Duties, 
 ought alfo to acquaint us with this Inabi- 
 lity, and to inftru& us in its Cure. 
 
 AGAIN, in order to the Accomplifhment 
 of Man’s Happinefs, it ought to convince 
 us that there is a Gop; that we are obliged 
 to love him; that our true Felicity con- 
 fifts in our Dependance on him, and our 
 only Evil and Misfortune in our Separa- 
 tion from him, It ought to inform us, that 
 we are full of grofs Darknefs, which hinders 
 us from knowing and loving him ; and that 
 our Duty thus obliging us to love Gop, and 
 our Concupifcence turning our whole Af- 
 fe€tion upon ourfelves, we are notorioufly 
 unjuft. It ought to difcover to us the 
 Caufe of that Enmity and Oppofition 
 which we bear to Gop, and to our own 
 Happinefs. It ought to teach us the Re- 
 medies of this Infirmity, and the Means of 
 obtaining them. Let Men compare all the 
 Religions of the World in thefe Refpects, 
 and let them obferve whether any one but 
 the Chriftian is able to afford them Satif- 
 faction. 
 
 SHALL it be the Religion of thofe Phi- 
 lofophers, who propofed no other Good 
 but what they would have us find in our 
 own Perfons? Is this the true and fove- 
 
 reign 
 
74. M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 reign Good? or have thefe Men difcovered 
 the Remedy of our Evils?. Was it a pro- 
 per Method for the Cure of Man’s Pre- 
 fumption, thus to equal him with Gop? 
 On the other hand, have thofe fucceeded 
 better in reftraining our earthly Defires, 
 who would bring us down to the Level 
 of Beafts, and prefent.us with fenfual Gra- 
 tifications for our real and univerfal Hap- 
 pinefs? ‘* Lift up- your Eyes to Gop, faid 
 “* thofe of the former Tribe; behold him 
 ““ who has ftamped you with his Image, 
 ‘© and has made you for his Worfhip. You 
 ** have not only a Capacity of being like 
 “ him, but Wifdom, if you follow its 
 *« Directions, will even render you his 
 “© Peers,” While thofe of the latter Herd 
 cried, with no lefs Earneftnefs, ‘* Caft down 
 ** your Eyes to the Ground, bafe Worms 
 ** as you are, and look on the Beafts, your 
 ‘** goodly Partners and Fellows.” What 
 then is to be the Fate of Man! hall he be 
 equal to Gop, or fhall he not be fuperior 
 to the Beafts? How frightful, how fhock- 
 ing a Diftance this! What fhall we be then? 
 What Religion fhall inftruct us to correct 
 at once our Pride, and our Concupifcence? 
 What Religion fhall difclofe to us our Hap- 
 pinefs, and our Duty; together with the 
 Infirmities which ftop us in fo defired a 
 -Courfe; the proper Help of thefe Infir- 
 
 mities, — 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts, 75 
 
 mities, and the Means of obtaining this 
 Help? Let us hear what Anfwer we re- 
 ceive upon the whole.Enquiry, from the 
 Wifdom of Gop, {peaking to‘us in the 
 Chriftian Religion. 
 
 ’Tis in vain, O Men, that you a 
 from yourfelves ‘the Remedy of your Mi- 
 feries. All your Lights extend to no far- 
 ther Difcovery than this; that you cannot 
 from your own Stores be fupplied with 
 ~Happinefs or Truth. The Philofophers, 
 who promifed all Things, could perform 
 nothing in your Behalf; They neither ap- 
 prehended your true Eftate, nor your real 
 Good. What Poffibility was there of your 
 teceiving Benefit from their Prefcriptions, 
 who had not Skill enough to underftand 
 your Difeafe? Your chief Infirmities are 
 Pride, which alienates you from Gop; and 
 Concupifcence, which faftens you down to 
 Earth; and their conftant Employment was 
 to carefS and entertain one or the other 
 of thefe Diforderss They who prefented 
 Gop to you as the fole Object of your 
 Contemplation, did but gratify your Pride, 
 by vainly infinuating, that your Nature was 
 conftituted under a Parity with the Divine: 
 And as for thofe who faw the Extravagance 
 of fuch Pretenfions, what did they but fet 
 you upon the other Precipice, by tempt- 
 ing you to believe that your Nature was 
 
 of 
 
76 M. Paseat’s Thoughts. 
 
 of a Piece with that of the Beafts; and by 
 inclining you to place all your Good in 
 fenfual Delight, the Portion of irrational 
 Creatures? Thefe could never be the Means 
 of difcovering to you the Injuftice of your 
 Proceedings. Do not therefore expect In- 
 ftruction or Confolation from Men: It was 
 I that firft made you to be; and ’tis I 
 alone which can teach you the Knowledge 
 of your own Being. You are not now 
 in the Eftate under which you were formed 
 by my Hand: I created’ Man holy, inno- 
 cent, and perfect: I replenifhed him with 
 Light and Underftanding: I communicated 
 to him my Wonders and my Glory: Then 
 it was that the Eye of Man beheld the 
 Majefty of Gop. He did not then labour 
 under this Darknefs which blinds him, un- 
 der this Mortality, and thefe Miferies which 
 afflict and opprefs him: But he was unable 
 to fuftain fo great Degrees of Splendor, 
 without falling into Prefumption: He was 
 difpofed to make himfelf the Centre of his — 
 own Happinefs, and altogether independent 
 from the divine Succours: And when he 
 had withdrawn himfelf from my Dominion, 
 and affected an Equality with me, by pre- 
 fuming to find all his Happinefs in himfelf, 
 I abandoned him to his own Guidance; wid 
 caufing a general Revolt amongft the Crea- 
 tures that were his Subjects, I made them 
 
 his 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 77 
 
 his Enemies, Man himfelf is now become 
 like unto the Beafts, and removed to fuch 
 a Diftance from me, as fcarce to retain fome 
 fcattered Rays and confufed Notices of his 
 Author; fo far have all his difcerning Pow- 
 ers been either extinguifhed or difturbed: 
 His Senfes being never the Servants, and 
 very often the Mafters of his Reafon, have 
 driven him on the Purfuit of unwarrantable 
 Pleafures. All the Creatures with which 
 he is furrounded, either grieve and torment, 
 or tempt and feduce him; thus ever main- 
 taining a Sovereignty over him, either as 
 they fubdue him by their Strength, or as 
 they melt him with their Charms, which is 
 the more imperious, and more fatal Ty- 
 tranny. 
 
 * Benotp the prefent Eftate and Con- 
 dition of Men! On the one hand, they 
 are carried towards the Happinefs of their 
 primitive Nature, by a powerful Inftin& 
 ftill remaining within them; and, on the 
 other hand, they are plunged in the Mi- 
 feries of their own Blindnefs and Concu- 
 pifcence, which is now become their fecond 
 Nature. 
 
 * From the Principles which I. have here 
 laid open to you, you may difcern the 
 Spring of thofe wonderful Contrarieties, 
 which, while they aftonifh all Men, do no 
 lefs diftraét and divide them. 
 
 * Op- 
 
48 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 * OgseRVE again all the Movements of 
 Greatnefs and Glory, which the Senfe of 
 fo many Miferies is not able to extinguifh, 
 and confider whether they can proceed 
 from a lefs powerful Caufe than original 
 Nature. 
 
 * Know then, proud Mortal, what a 
 Paradox thou art to thyfelf. Let thy weak 
 Reafon be. humbled, let thy frail Nature 
 compofe itfelf in Silence: Learn that Man 
 _ infinitely furpaffeth Man; and let thy own 
 » Hiftory, to which thou art thyfelf an utter 
 Stranger, be declared to thee by thy Maker 
 and thy Lord. 
 
 * For, in a Word, had Man never fal- 
 Jen into Corruption, he would proceed in 
 the Enjoyment of Truth and Happinefs 
 with an affured Delight ; and had Man ne- 
 ver known any other than this corrupted 
 State, he would, at prefent, retain no Idea 
 of Truth and Happinefs, But fo great is 
 our Mifery, (greater than if we had never 
 tafted any Thing lofty or noble in our 
 Condition) that we preferve an Idea of 
 Happinefs, while we are unable to purfue 
 it; that we difcern fome faint Image of 
 Truth, while we poffefs nothing but Lies, 
 being alike incapable of abfolute Ignorance 
 and of accomplifhed Knowledge. So mani- _ 
 feft is it, that we once ftood in a Degree. 
 
 of 
 
 2 
 
- 
 
 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 79 
 
 of Perfection, from which we are now un- 
 happily fallen. 
 
 * Waar then does this Eagernefs in co- 
 veting, and this Impotence in acquiring 
 teach us? but that Man was originally pof- 
 fefled of a real Blifs, of which nothing 
 now remains but the Footfteps and empty 
 Traces; which he vainly endeavours to re- 
 plenifh with all the Abundance that fur- 
 rounds him, feeking, from abfent Enjoy- 
 ments, the Relief which he finds not in 
 fuch as are prefent, and which neither the _ 
 
 _ prefent nor the abfent can beftow on him; 
 
 becaufe this great Gulph, this infinite Va- 
 cuity, is only to be filled up by an Obje& 
 infinite and immovable. 
 
 *TIr is moft aftonithing to reflect, that 
 of all Myfteries, that which feems to be 
 fartheft removed from our Difcovery and 
 Apprehenfion, I mean the Tranfmiffion 
 of original Sin, fhould yet be fo necef- 
 fary a Point of Knowledge, as that with- 
 out it, we muft remain utter Strangers to 
 ourfelves. For ’tis beyond Doubt, that no- 
 thing appears fo fhocking to our Reafon, 
 as that the Tranfgreffion of the firftt Man 
 fhould derive a Guilt on thofe who, being — 
 fo vaftly diftant from the Fountain, fem 
 incapable of fharing in the impure Tindture, 
 This Transfufion is looked upon by us not 
 
 only as impoffible, but as unjuft, could we 
 
 fuppofe 
 
80 M. Pascat’s Thoughts, 
 
 fuppofe it to be poffible: For what can be 
 more repugnant to the Rules of our mife+ 
 table Juftice, than to doom to eternal Ruin; 
 an Infant without Will or Choice, for an 
 Offence, which fhews fo little Probability of 
 affecting him, as to have been committed 
 fix thoufand Years before his Exiftence in 
 the World? Certainly nothing ftrikes our 
 Judgment with more Harfhnefs and Violence 
 than fuch a Dectrine. And yet without 
 this incomprehenfible Myftery, we are, 
 ourfelves, incomprehenfible to our own 
 Mind. The Clue which knits together 
 our whole Fortune and Condition, takes 
 its Turns, and plies in this amazing Abyfs ; 
 in fo much that Man will appear no 
 lefs_ unconceivable without this Myftery, 
 than this Myftery appears unconceivable to 
 
 Man. 1 aed 
 * Oricinav Sin, is Fooli/bnefs to Men: 
 °Tis granted to be fo: Wherefore, Rea- 
 fon ought not to be accufed as defective in 
 this Knowledge; becaufe it pretends not to 
 be fuch as Reafon can ever fathom. But 
 then this. Fool/bnefs is wifer than all the 
 Wifdom of Men, quod ftultum eff Dei fa- 
 pientius eft hominibus: For without this 
 how would it be poffible to fay what Man 
 is? His whole Eftate depends on this one 
 imperceptible Point. Yet how fhould he 
 be made acquainted with this by his Reafon, 
 when * 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 81 
 
 when it is a Thing above his Reafon, and 
 when Reafon, inftead of introducing him to 
 it, carries him the farther from it, the more 
 it is employed in the Search? 
 
 * THESE two oppofite States of Inno- 
 cence, and of Corruption, being ptefented to 
 our View, we cannot but perceive the Dif- 
 ference, and applaud the Difcovery. 
 
 * Let us follow our own Motions, and 
 obferve ourfelves; and let us fee whether we 
 may not.trace out the lively Charaéters of 
 thefe different Natures. 
 
 * How {furprizing is it, that fo numerous 
 Contradictions fhould be found in one and 
 the fame Subject? _ 
 
 * Tus double Temper and Difpofition of 
 Man is fo vifible, that there have not been 
 wanting thofe who imagined him to have 
 two Souls; one fingle Subje& appearing to 
 them incapable of fo great and fudden Va- 
 riety, from dn.unmeafurable Prefumption to 
 a dreadful Abafement and Abjectnefs of 
 Spirit. 
 
 * Tuus the feveral Contrarieties which, 
 in Appearance, fhould moft alienate Men 
 from the Knowledge of all Religion, are. 
 thofe very Things which fhould, indeed, 
 moft effectually condu@ them to the 
 true. } 
 
 For my own Part, I cannot but declare, 
 that fo foon as the Chriffian Religion dif- 
 
 oqo covers 
 
82 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 covers to me this one Principle, that hu- 
 man Nature is depraved, and fallen from 
 Gop, this clears up my Sight, and enables 
 me to diftinguifh throughout the Charac- 
 ters of fo divine a Myftery. For fuch is 
 the whole Frame and Difpofition of Na- 
 ture, as, in all Things within and without 
 us, to befpeak the Lofs of Gop’s more im- 
 mediate Prefence, and more favourable ‘Com- 
 munications. 
 
 WiruoutT this divine Information, what 
 would be left for Men to do, but either 
 immoderately to exalt themfélves, by the re- 
 
 maining Senfe of their former’Grandeur, of 
 no lefs immoderately to abafe themfelves, 
 by refleGting on their prefent Infirmity ? 
 For not being in a Capacity of abfolute 
 Truth, ’tis impoffible they fhould arrive 
 at perfect Virtue: Some looking on Na- 
 ture as indefectible, others as irrecoverable, 
 they muft of Neceflity fall either into Va- 
 nity or Idlenefs, the two great Sources of 
 all Vice. For ‘they could not but either 
 abandon themfelves through Negligence, 
 or cure their Negligence by flattering their 
 Pride. If they knew the Excellency of 
 Man, they would be ignorant of his ‘Cor- 
 ruption, fo as eafily to efcape the Danget 
 of Remifinefs and Sloth; but, at the fame 
 Time, to lofe themfelves in haughty Con- 
 ceit, Or, if they were fenfible of the 
 ; Infir- 
 
M. Pascar’s Thoughts. 83 
 
 Infirmity of Nature, they fhould be. Stran- 
 gers to its Dignity, fo as eafily to refrain from 
 being tranfported with Prefumption ; but, 
 at the fame Time, to plunge themfelves into 
 Defpair. 
 
 Hence arofe the various Sects of « the 
 Stoics and Epicureans, of the Dogmatijts 
 and the Academics, &c. It is the Chri- 
 
 {tian Religion alone, which has been able ~ 
 
 thoroughly to cure thefe oppofite Diftem- 
 ‘pers; not fo as to drive the one out by the 
 other, according to the Wifdom of the 
 World ; but fo as to expel them both by the 
 Simplicity of the Gofpel. For while it ex- 
 alts the Good and Pious even to a Participa- 
 tion of the Divinity itfelf, it lets them un- 
 derftand, that, in this their fablime Eftate, 
 they ill retain the Fountain of all Corrup- 
 tion, which renders them, during their whole 
 Life, fubje& to Error and Mifery, to Death 
 and Sin. And at the fame Time it aflures 
 the moft Impious, that they are not yet in- 
 capable of fharing the Grace and Bleffing of 
 a Redeemer, Thus fpeaking, not without 
 Terror to thofe whom it juftifies, nor with- 
 out Comfort to thofe whom it condemns, it 
 fo wifely tempers Hope and Fear, in regard 
 to this double Capacity of Sin and of Giace, 
 which is common to all Mankind, that it 
 _abafeth infinitely more than unaflifted Rea- 
 fon, yet without Defpair, and exalts in- 
 Ev | finitely 
 
 ~ 
 
&4 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 finitely more than natural Pride, yet with- 
 out puffing up: Hereby demontftrating, that 
 being alone exempt from Error and Vice, it 
 can alone challenge the Office of inftruéting 
 and of reforming - Men. 
 
 * Tue Chriffian Faith is moft farprizing 
 in its Meafures. It enjoins Man to acknow- 
 ledge himfelf vile, and even abominable, 
 and obliges him, at the fame Time, to 
 ‘afpire towards a Refemblance of his Maker. 
 “Were not Things thus exaétly balanced, 
 either fach an Exaltation would render him 
 extravagantly vain, or fuch a Debafement 
 would render him horribly abject and difpi- 
 rited. 
 
 * Tue Myftery of the Pharbiciion dif 
 covers to Man the Greatnefs of his Dan- 
 ger, by the Greatnefs of ‘thofe Methods 
 which he ftood in need of for his Re- 
 lief. 
 
 * WE find not in the Chhifitan Religion, 
 ~either fuch a State of Humiliation as ren- 
 ders us incapable of Good, nor‘fuch a State 
 of Holinefs ‘as is perfelly exempt om 
 Evil. 
 
 * No Doétrine is fo juftly fuited to* ‘the 
 Condition, and to the Temper of Man, as 
 this; which’ makes him acquainted with his 
 double Capacity of receiving and forfeiting — 
 Grace, as a Fence againft the double Dan- — 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 8s 
 
 ger to which he is always expofed, of De- 
 {pair, and of Pride. i 
 
 * Tue Philofophers never furnifhed Men 
 with Sentiments agreeable to thefe two E- 
 ftates. They either infpired a Principle of 
 pure Grandeur, and this cannot be the true 
 Condition of Man; or elfe of mere Abject- 
 nefs, and this Condition is as ill propor- 
 tioned as the former. We ought to pre- _ 
 ferve a Senfe of Humiliation; yet not as 
 the Character of our Nature, but as the 
 Effe& of our Repentance; not fuch as 
 fhould fix us in Defperation, but fuch as 
 fhould difpofe and lead us on to Greatne’s, 
 Nor ought we to be lefs affected with the 
 Motions of Grandeur; yet of fuch as pro- 
 ceeds from Grace, not from Merit, and fuch 
 as we arrive at by the Difcipline of Humi- 
 liation, 
 
 * No Man is fo happy, as the true 
 Chriftian; none is fo rational, fo virtuous, 
 fo amiable. With how little Vanity does 
 fuch an one reflect on himfelf as united 
 to Gop? With how little AbjeG@nefs does 
 he rank himfelf with the Worms of the 
 Earth?. 
 
 * Wuo then can with-hold his Belief or 
 Adoration, from fo divine a Guidance and 
 Light? For is it not clearer than the Day, 
 that we fee and feel within ourfelves inde- 
 Jible Charaéters of Excellence? And is it 
 
 Eg noe 
 
86 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 not full as clear, that we experience ie 
 Moment the Effects of deplorable Bafenefs ? 
 
 What elfe, therefore, does this Chaos, this 
 monftrous Confafion in out Nature, but 
 proclaim the Truth of thefe two Eftates, 
 and that with a Voice fo powerful, as is al- 
 ways to be heard, and never to be refifted ? 
 
 IV. 
 
 It ts by no Means incredible, that GOD 
 Jhould unite himfelf to us. 
 
 HAT which renders Men fo averfe 
 to believing themfelves capable of an 
 Union with Gop, is nothing elfe but the 
 Thought of their own Bafenefs and Mifery: 
 Yet if this Thought of theirs be fincere, let 
 them purfue it-as far as I have done, and 
 let them confefs our Bafenef&S to have only 
 this Effect, with Refpeét to Gop, that ‘it 
 hinders us from difcovering, by our own 
 Strength, whether his Mercy cannot render 
 us capable of an Union with him.’ For I 
 would gladly be informed, whence this 
 Creature, which acknowledgeth himéelf fo | 
 weak and contemptible, fhould obtain a 
 Right 
 
 /)- 
 — 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 87 
 
 Right of fetting Bounds to the divine 
 Mercy, and. of meafuring it by fuch a Rule © 
 and Standard as his own Fancy fuggetts. 
 ~ Man knows fo little of the divine Effence, 
 as to remain ignorant of what he is him- 
 felf; and yet, difturbed at this imperfect 
 View of his own Condition, he boldly pro- 
 nounceth, that ’tis beyond the Power, of 
 Gop to qualify him for fo fublime a Con- 
 junction. But I will afk him, whether Gop 
 requires any Thing elfe at his Hands, but » 
 that he fhould know him, and thould love 
 him; and, fince he finds himfelf, in his 
 own Nature, capable of knowing, and of 
 loving, upon what Ground he fufpects that 
 the divine Nature ‘cannot exhibit itfelf, as 
 the Obje& of his Knowledge, and his Love? 
 For as he certainly knows, at leaft, that he 
 is fomewhat, fo he no lefs certainly loves 
 fomewhat. If then he fees any Thing un- 
 der the. prefent. Darknefs of his Under- 
 ftanding, and if amongft the Things of this 
 World, he can find fomewhat which may 
 engage his Affection, fhould Gop be pleafed 
 to impart to him fome Ray of his EC 
 fence, why fhould he not, be able to know 
 and to love his divine Benefaétor, according — 
 to the Meafure and Proportion in which 
 this Honour was vouchfafed? There muft 
 therefore; no doubt, be an intolerable Pre- 
 fumption in thefe Ways of Reafoning, tho’ 
 
 F 4 veiled 
 
 « 
 
88 M. Pascat's Thoughts. 
 
 veiled under an Appearance of Humility, 
 For our Humility can neither be rational, 
 nor fincere, unlefs it makes us confefs, that 
 not knowing of ourfelves even what we our- 
 felves are, we cannot otherwife be inftructed 
 in our own Condition, than by the Affiftance 
 and Information of Heavel: 
 
 ¥ 
 The Submiffion and Ufe of Reafon. 
 
 HE laft Procefs of Reafon is to dif- 
 
 cover, that there is an Infinity of 
 Things which utterly furpafs its Force. And 
 it muft be very weak, if it arrive not at this 
 Dicey. 
 
 * Tis fit we fhould know, how to doubt 
 Phin we ought, to reft affured where we 
 ought, to fubmit where we ought. He 
 who fails in any one of thefe Refpetts, is 
 unacquainted with the Power of Reafon. 
 Yet are there many which offend againit 
 thefe three Rules; either by warranting 
 every Thing for Demonftration, becaufe 
 they are unfkilled in the Nature of demon- 
 {trative Evidence; or by doubting of every 
 Thing, becaufe they know not where they 
 
 ough 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 8g 
 
 ought to fubmit; or by fubmitting to every 
 Thing, becaufe they knew not where to ufe 
 their Judgment. 
 
 * Ir we bring down all Things to Rea- 
 fon, our Religion will have nothing in it 
 myfterious or fupernatural.. If we ftifle the | 
 Principles of Reafon, our Religion will be 
 abfurd and ridiculous, 
 
 * Reason, fays St. 4u/tin, would never 
 be for fubmitting, if it did not judge, that 
 on fome Occafions, Submiffion was its Du- 
 ty. ‘Tis but juft therefore, that it thould 
 recede, where it fees an Obligation of re- 
 ceding ; and that it fhould affert its Privi- 
 leges, where, upon good Grounds, it fup- 
 pofeth itfelf not engaged to wave them. 
 
 * SUPERSTITION and true Piety are 
 Things which ftand at the greateft Diftance 
 from each other. To carry Piety to the ex- 
 travagant Heights of Superftition, is indeed 
 to deftroy it. Heretical Men are wont to 
 reproach us with this fuperftitious Submif- 
 fion of our Faculties. And we fhould be 
 guilty of the Charge, if we required Men 
 to fubmit in Things which are not the pro- 
 per Matter of Submiffion, 
 
 _ Notutne is fo agreeable to Reafon, as 
 the difclaiming of Reafon in Matters of 
 pure Faith: And nothing is fo repugnant 
 to Reafon, as the Difufe of Reafon in T hings 
 that do not concern Faith: The Extremes 
 
 are 
 
go .M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 are equally dangerous, either wholly to 
 exclude Reafon, or to admit ane. but 
 Reafon. 
 
 * FaitTu fays many Things in which 
 tlie Senfes are filent; but nothing which the 
 Senfes deny: It is ‘always above them, but 
 never contrary to them, 
 
 VI. 
 Faith without Reafoning. 
 
 IGHT we but fee a Miracle, fay 
 
 fome Men, how gladly would we 
 become Converts? They could not {peak 
 in this Manner, did they underftand what 
 Converfion means: They imagine, that 
 nothing elfe is requifite to this Work, but 
 the bare Acknowledgment of Gop; and 
 that his Adoration and Service confifts only 
 in the paying him certain verbal Addreffes, 
 little different from thofe which the Hea- 
 thens ufed towards their Idols. ‘True Con- 
 verfion is to abafe, and, as it were, to anni- 
 hilate ourfelves, before this Great and So- 
 yereign Being, whom we have fo often © 
 provoked, 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. o1 
 
 provoked, and who every Moment may, 
 without the leaft Injuftice, deftroy us: ’Tis 
 to acknowledge, that we can do nothing 
 without his Aid, and that we have merited 
 nothing from him, but his Wrath: ’Tis to 
 know, that there’s an invincible Oppofition 
 between Gop and ourfelves; and that with- 
 out the Benefit of a Mediator, there could 
 - be no Tranfaction or Intercourfe between 
 us. 
 
 Never think it ftrange, that illiterate 
 Perfons fhould believe without Reafoning. 
 Gop infpires them with the Love of his 
 - Juftice, and with the Hatred of themfelves. 
 *Tis he that inclines their Hearts to believe. 
 No Man ever believes with a true and faving 
 - Faith, unlefs Gop inclines his Heart: And 
 no Man, when Gon inclines his Heart, can 
 refrain from: thus believing. Of this David 
 was fenfible when he prayed, IJnchua cor 
  meum, Deus, in teftimonia tua. 
 
 * Tuat fome Men believe without ha- 
 ving examined the Proofs of Religion, 1s 
 becaufe they enjoy a Temper and Frame of 
 Mind altogether pious and holy; and be- 
 caufe what they hear affirmed by our Reli- 
 gion is agreeable to fuch a ‘Temper. 
 
 ' Tuery are fenfible, that one Gop is 
 their Maker: They are inclined to love 
 nothing but him, and to hate nothing but 
 themfelves. They are fenfible of their own 
 a | Weaknefs 
 
92 M. Pascats Thoughts. | 
 
 Weaknefs and Impotence, that they are of 
 themfelves utterly incapable of coming to 
 Gop, and that, unlefs he is pleafed merci- 
 fully to come to them, ’tis impoffible they 
 fhould maintain any Communication with 
 him. And they hear our Religion declaring, 
 that Gop alone ought to be the Object 
 of our Affection, and ourfelves alone of our 
 Deteftation: And that, whereas we are by 
 Nature corrupt, and under an Incapacity 
 of uniting ourfelves to Gop, Gop has been 
 pleafed to become Man, that he might 
 unite himfelf to us. There needs no more 
 to perfuade Men, than this Difpofition of 
 Heart, together with this Apprehenfion of 
 their Duty, and of their Incapacity for its 
 Difcharge. ! 
 
 * TuosE whom we fee commencing real 
 Chriftians, without the Knowledge of Pro- 
 phecies, or of the like Evidences, do yet 
 judge of their Religion no lefs than the 
 Matters of that Knowledge. They judge 
 of it by the Heart, as others judge by the 
 Underftanding. Gop inclines their Heart 
 to Faith, and his Grace is the moft effectual | 
 Conviction. ) 
 
 I conress, one of thefe Chriftians, who 
 believes without the common Methods of 
 Proof, is not qualified to convince an In- 
 fidel, who pretends to want nothing but 
 Proof. But thofe who are {killed in the 
 
 Evidences 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 93 
 
 Evidences of Religion, can with Eafe de- 
 ‘monftrate that fuch a Believer. does truly 
 receive his Faith from the Infpiration of 
 Gop, though he is unable to prove even 
 this of himéelf. 
 
 ans 
 
 / VIL. 
 That there is more Advantage in believing, 
 ‘than in difbelieving the Doctrines of Chri- 
 ~ ftianity. 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 HE main Part of this Chapter 1s ad- 
 dreffed purely to certain Perfons, who 
 
 not being fatisfied with the Proofs of Re- 
 ligion, and much lefs with the Reafons of A- 
 theifm, remain in a@ State of Sufpenfe be- 
 tween Faith and Infidelity. The Author pre- 
 tends only to fhew thefe Men, by their own 
 Principles, and by the bare Light of Rea- 
 fon, that it is plainly their Intereft to be- 
 lieve; and that this is the Side which they 
 ought to take, fuppofing them to be allowed 
 their Option. Whence it follows, that tzlt 
 they have obtained fufficient Light fo guide 
 them 
 
94 M. P ascALs Thoughts. 
 
 them to the Truth, they are, in the mean 
 Time, at teaft obliged to do every. Thing 
 which may difpofe them for it, and to dif- 
 engage themfelves from all thofe Impediments 
 which may objiruct its Reception; fuch as 
 are efpecially the Paffions and the vain A- 
 mufements of Life. | 
 
 NITY joined to Infinity increafes 
 
 it not, any more than a Foot-mea- 
 ‘fure added to an infinite Space. What 
 is Finite, vanifhes before that which is 
 Infinite, ‘and. becomes pure nothing: ‘Thus 
 our Underftanding, in refpe&t of Gop’s; 
 thus Human Juftice compared with the,Di- 
 vine. 
 
 Nay, ‘the Difproportion between Unity 
 and Infinity, in general, is not fo vaft as - 
 that between Man’s Righteoufnefs, «and the 
 Righteoufnefs of Gop. 
 
 * We know that there is an Infinite; but 
 we are ignorant of its Nature. For Inftance; 
 we ‘know it \to be falfe,. that Numbers.are 
 finite: ‘There mutt, therefore, be an Infi- 
 nity in Number. But what.thisis we know 
 not, It can neither be, equal or unequal, 
 becaufe Unity added tot, varies, not. its 
 Condition, . Thus.we may: very well.know 
 that there .is a,Gop, without comprehend- 
 Ing . what Gop is; ‘and you ought by no 
 isang to conclude againit the Exiftence of 
 wl. Gop 
 
M. Pascav’s Thoughts. 95 
 
 Gop from your imperfect Conceptions of 
 his Effence. : 
 
 For your Conviction, I fhall not call in 
 the Teftimony of Faith, which gives us fo 
 certain an Affurance; nor even make ufe 
 of the ordinary Proofs, becaufe thefe you 
 afe unwilling to receive. I fhall argue with 
 you only upon your own Terms; and I 
 doubt not but, from the Method in which 
 you teafon every Day concerning Things 
 of the fmalleft Importance, to make it ap- 
 pear, after what Manner you ought to rea- 
 - fon in the prefent Cafe, and to which Side 
 you ought to incline, in deciding this Quef- 
 tion of the higheft Confequence, about the 
 Exiftence of Gop. You alledge then, that 
 we are incapable of knowing whether Gop 
 is. Yet this remains certain, that either 
 Gop is, or is not; and that there can be no 
 Medium in the Cafe. Which Part then 
 fhall we chufe? Reafon, fay you, is not 
 a proper Judge in this Point. There is an 
 infinite‘Gulph, or Chaos, ‘fixed between us: 
 We play, as it were, at Crofs and Pil, 
 for an Uncertainty thus infinitely diftant. 
 What will you wager? Reafon can affirm 
 neither the one nor the other Event: Rea- 
 fon can deny neither the one nor the 
 other. 
 
 ‘Don’t be forward, then, ‘in accufing 
 _ thofe‘of Error and Falfity who have already 
 chofe 
 
96 M: Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 chofe their Side. For you confefs yourfelf 
 not to know whether they have, indeed, 
 acted imprudently, and made an ill Choice. 
 No, you will fay, but I thall take the Free- 
 dom to cenfure them ftill, not for making 
 this Choice, but for making any: He that 
 takes Crofs, and he that takes Pzk, are 
 both in the Wrong; the Right had been 
 not to wager at all. 
 _ Nay, but there’s a Neceffity of wager- 
 ing ; the Thing is placed beyond the Indif- 
 ference of your Will; you are embarked in 
 the Caufe; and by not laying that Gop is, 
 you, in Effect, lay that he is not. Which 
 will you take? Let us balance the Gain 
 and the Lofs of fticking to the Affirmative. 
 If you gain, you gain all; if you lofe, it 
 is mere nothing that is loft. Be quick, 
 therefore, and take this Side without De- 
 mur. Well, I confefs, I ought to lay; 
 but may not I lay too much? Suppofing 
 the Chance to be the fame, you would not 
 refufe to ftake one Life againft two. And 
 ‘in cafe there were ten for you to win, you 
 muft be much more imprudent not to ha- 
 zatd one Life againft ten, at a Game where 
 the Caft was even. But here there is an in- 
 finite Number of Lives infinitely happy, to 
 be won, upon an equal Throw; and. the 
 Stake you venture is fo petty a Thing, and 
 of fo very fhort Continuance, that it would 
 | be 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 97 
 
 be ridiculous for you to thew your good 
 Hufbandry on this Occafion. For you fay 
 nothing, when you urge, that ’tis uncertain 
 whether you win, arid that ’tis certain 
 you muft venture; and that the infinite 
 Diftance between the Certainty of ventu- 
 ring, and the Uncertainty of winning, 
 makes the Finite Good, which you certain- 
 ly expofe, equal to the Infinite, which you 
 uncertainly purfue. This is all Deception: 
 Every Gamefter ftakes what is certain a- 
 gainft what is uncertain; and yet his ven- 
 turing a finite Certainty for a finite Uncer- 
 tainty, never difparages his Reafon. Again, 
 it’s falfe, that there’s an infinite Diftance 
 between the Certainty of what we venture, 
 and the Uncertainty of what we hope to 
 win. Indeed, the Certainty of winning, 
 and the Certainty of lofing, are infinitely 
 diftant. But as for the Uncertainty on the 
 winning Hand, it is fuch as fairly balanceth 
 the Certainty of what we venture, accord- 
 ing to the ufual Proportion in Games of 
 Chance. Suppofe, therefore, there are as 
 many Chances on one Side, as on the other, 
 the Game is even; and thus the Certainty 
 of our Venture is but equal to the Uncer- 
 tainty of our Prize: So far ought we to be 
 from fuppofing an infinite Diftance between 
 them. So that, on the whole, if we ftake 
 a Finite, where there’s a plain Equality as 
 
 G to 
 
98 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 to Winning or Lofing; and where that. 
 ~ which may be won is infinite, the Argu- 
 ment cannot but be of infinite Force. We 
 feem here to have a Demonftration before 
 us; and if Men are not incapable of 
 all Truth, they cannot remain infenfible of 
 this, ’ 
 
 I own, and confefs it; but ftill might . 
 there not be fome Means of feeing a lit- 
 tle clearer into this Matter? Yes, this 
 is to be done by the Help of Scripture, 
 and by the other infinite Proofs of Reli- 
 gion. 
 
 O, say you, Men who may entertain the 
 Hope of Salvation are very happy in this 
 Refpect;; but is not the Fear of Hell a very 
 unfortunate Counterpoize? . 
 
 Wuicu, I befeech you, has moft Caufe 
 to be afraid of Hell; one that is under Ig- 
 norance, whether there be a Hell or not, 
 and under certain Damnation if there be; 
 or another who is certainly perfuaded, that 
 there is a Hell, but is encouraged to hope, 
 that he fhall be delivered from having his 
 Partingte . 2y 
 
 A Man who is refpited (fuppofe for 
 eight Days) from the Sentence of Death, 
 fhould he not be inclined to think, that there 
 is fomewhat mote in all this, than mere 
 Hit of Chance, muft have utterly aban- 
 doned his Senfes. But now were we not 
 
 / jo | miferably 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 9g 
 
 miferably enflaved by our Paffions, eight 
 ~ Days and an hundred Years would, upon 
 this View, appear the fame Thing, 
 Wuat Damage are you like to fuftain 
 by embracing the Affirmative? Why, you 
 ate engaged by this Principle, to be faith- 
 ful, honeft, humble, grateful, beneficent, 
 hearty, and fincere. It is true, you will 
 not bed in Pofleffion of bafe and infamous 
 Pleafure, of fading Glory, of empty De- 
 light. But is not their Room to be fup- 
 plied by more defirable Enjoyments? I tell 
 you, you'll be a Gainer; even in this Life; 
 and every Step you take in the Way to 
 which you are now direéted, you will dif- 
 cover fo much Certainty of a future Advan- 
 tage, and fo much Emptinefs, and mere 
 Nullity in what you hazard, as at length 
 to find, that you have traffick’d for a {ure 
 and infinite Reverfion, and yet; in effect, 
 have given nothing for the Purchafe, 2 
 But, you fay; you are fo made as to be 
 incapable of believing: At leaft, therefore, 
 endeavour to underftand this your Incapa- 
 city, and to find what it is that debars 
 you of Faith, when Reafon fo manifeftly 
 invites you to it. Labour then, in your 
 own Conviction, not by increafing the Proofs 
 of a Deity, but by diminithing the Power 
 of your Paffions, You are willing to be 
 03 G2 brought 
 
100 M. Pascaus Thouglits, 
 
 brought to Faith, but you know not the 
 Way: You would be cured of your Infi- 
 delity, and you defire to be informed of the 
 proper Remedies: Learn them from thofe 
 who were once in your Condition, but are 
 at prefent clear from all Scruple and Doubt.’ 
 They are acquainted with the Path which 
 you would gladly find: They have reco- 
 vered from a Difeafe which you with to 
 overcome. Obferve the Method with which 
 they began their Cure: Imitate their external 
 Actions, if you are, as yet, unable to tran- 
 {cribe their inward Difpofitions: Banith thofe 
 Amufements which have hitherto entirely 
 poflefled you. 
 
 O! I sHoutp foon bid Adieu to thefe 
 Pleafures, fay you, were I once but Matter 
 of Faith. And, I fay, on the other hand, 
 you would foon be Mafter of Faith, had 
 you once bidden Adieu to thefe Pleafures. 
 "Tis your Part to begin. Were it in my 
 Power, I:would oblige you with the Gift of 
 Faith. This Iam unable to do, and, con- 
 fequently, to make out the Truth of what 
 you fuppofe: But you may eafily abandon 
 your Pleafures; and, by Confequence, evince 
 the Certainty of what I affirm. 
 
 * We muft not miftake our own Nature, 
 we are Body as well as Spirit; and hence 
 it comes to pafs, that the Initrument by 
 which. Perfuafion conveys itfelf to us, is 
 
 ar — hot 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. ror 
 
 not Demonftration only. How few Things 
 do we fee demonftrated ? Rational Proof 
 and Evidence acts immediately on the Mind; 
 but Cuftom is the ftrongeft Argument : 
 This engages the Senfes, and they incline 
 the Underftanding, without giving it. Time 
 for Thought. Who has ever yet demon- 
 {trated the Certainty of To-morrow’s Light, 
 or of our own Deaths? And yet what is 
 more univerfally believed than both? ’Tis 
 Cuftom, therefore, which has confirmed us 
 in this Judgment; ’tis Cuftom which makes 
 fo many Artifans, Soldiers, &c. I confets 
 we ought not to begin with this in the 
 Search of Truth; yet we ought to have Re- 
 courfe to it, when we have once difcovered 
 where Truth is, to reftefh and invigorate 
 our Belief, which decays every Moment; 
 for that the regular Method and Train of 
 Arguments fhould be always prefent to our 
 Minds, the Bufinefs of Life will not per- 
 mit. We ought to acquire a more eafy 
 Principle, fuch as is the Habit of believing, 
 which, without Violence, without Art, with- 
 out Argument, recommends Things to our 
 Affent; and, by fome fecret Charm, fo 
 inclines all our Powers towards any Per- 
 fuafion, as that we naturally fall into it. 
 To be ready to believe any Doétrine, upon 
 the Force of Conviction, is not fufficient, 
 when our Senfes folicite us to embrace the 
 
 , G 3 oppolite 
 
rt ols ' M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 oppofite Side. Thefe two Parts of ourfelveg 
 fhould be fo regulated, as always to proceed, 
 in Concert ; the Underftanding by fuch Ar- 
 guments and Evidences as ‘tis fufficient to 
 have once attained in our whole Life; the 
 Senfes by Cuftom, and by our not faffering 
 them to take a contrary Bias. 
 
 VII. 
 
 The Pourtraict of a Man, who bas wearied 
 
 — bimfelf with fearching after GOD by 
 his bare Reafon, and who begins to read 
 the Scripture. 
 
 HEN I confider the Blindnefs and 
 
 Mifery of Man, and thofe amazing 
 Contrarieties which difeoves themfelves in 
 his Nature; when I obferve the whole Cre- 
 ation to be filent, and Man to be without 
 Comfort, Bhiploned ‘ta himfelf, and, as. it. 
 “were, ftrayed into this Corner of the Uni- 
 verfé, neither apprehending by whofe Means 
 he came hither, nor what is the End ‘of his 
 Coming, nor what will befal him “at his 
 Departure hence; I am ftruck with. the 
 fame Horror as a Perfon who has been car- 
 tied 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 103 
 
 tied in his Sleep into a defolate and fright- 
 ful Ifland, and who awakes without know- 
 ing where he is, or by what Way he may 
 get out and efcape. And, upon this View, 
 I am at a Lofs to conceive how fo miferable 
 an Eftate can produce any Thing but De- 
 fpair. I behold other Perfons near me, of 
 the fame Nature and Conftitution: I afk if 
 they ate any better informed than myfelf; 
 and they aflure me, they are not. Imme- 
 diately after which, I take Notice, that 
 thefe unfortunate Wanderers, having looked 
 about them, and efpied certain Objects of 
 Pleafure, are contented to feek no farther ; 
 but {wallow the Bait, embrace the Charm, 
 and faften themfelves down to the Enjoy- 
 ment, For my own Part, I can obtain no 
 Satisfaction or Repofe in the Society of 
 Perfons like myfelf, labouring under the 
 fame Weaknefs, and the fame Diftrefs. I 
 find they will be able ta give me no Af 
 fiftance at my Death: I fhall be obliged to 
 die alone; and therefore, I ought ta pro- 
 ceed, in this Refpect, as if I liv’d alone, 
 Now in a Condition of Solitude, I would 
 entertain no Projeéts of Building; I would 
 perplex myfelf with none of the tumultu- 
 ary Affairs of Life; I would court the 
 Efteem of no Perfon; but would devote 
 myfelf, and my Pains, to the Difcovery of - 
 Truth, j 
 Ga: HENCE 
 
104 M, Pascat’s Thoughts, 
 
 Hence reflecting how probable it feems, 
 that there may be fomething elfe befides 
 that which now prefents itfelf to my Eye, 
 I begin to examine, whether that fupreme 
 and divine Being, which is fo much talked 
 of by all the World, has been pleafed to 
 leave any Marks or Footfteps of himéelf. 
 I look round on all Sides, and fee nothing 
 throughout, but univerfal Obfcurity. Na- 
 ture offers no Confideration, but what is 
 the Subject of Doubt and Difquiet. Could 
 I no where difcern the leaft Token of Di- 
 vinity, I would refolve not to believe at 
 all: Could I in every Thing trace the 
 Image of a Creator, I would reft myfelf 
 upon a fure and fettled Belief. But while 
 I fee too much to deny, and too little to 
 affirm the Queftion with any Certainty, my 
 Condition renders me an Object of Pity ; 
 and I have a thoufand Times wifhed, that 
 if Nature have indeed a divine Author and 
 Supporter, fhe would prefent us with the 
 lively Draught, and uncontefted Characters 
 of his Being: But, if the Marks which fhe 
 bears about her, are fallacious, fhe would 
 entirely conceal him from our View; that 
 fhe would either fay All, or fay Nothing ; 
 fo as to determine my Judgment on either 
 Side. Whereas, under my prefent Suf- 
 
 ence, being ignorant as well of what I 
 am, as of that which is expected from me, 
 
M. Pascau's Thoughts. 105 
 
 { remain an equal Stranger to my Condi- 
 tion and my Duty. In the mean Time, 
 my Heart ‘is abfolutely bent on the Search 
 of real and folid Good, fuch as, when 
 found, may complete my Hopes, and re- 
 gulate my Conduct. I fhould think no 
 Price too dear for this Acquifition. 
 
 I ozpserve a Multitude of Religions in 
 all Countries and Times. But they are fuch 
 as neither pleafe me with their Morals, nor 
 move me with their Proofs. Thus, I 
 would, without DiftinGion, at once reject 
 the Religion of Mahomet, or of the Chz- 
 nefe, of ancient Egypt, or Rome, upon this 
 fingle Reafon, becaufe neither of them be- 
 ing able to produce more Signs of Truth . 
 than another, neither of them affording any 
 Thing to incline and fix our Thought, Rea- 
 fon cannot fhew a greater Propenfion to one 
 Mode than to any of the reft. 
 
 But while I am making Reflexions on 
 this ftrange and unaccountable Variety of 
 Manners and of. Belief in different Coun- 
 tries and Periods, I find in one little Cor- 
 ner of the World, a peculiar People, fepa- 
 rated from all the Nations under Heaven, 
 whofe Regifters exceed, by many Ages, the 
 moft ancient Stories now on Record. I 
 difcover a great and numerous Race, who 
 worfhip one Gop, and are governed by a 
 Law which they affirm themfelves to have 
 
 toy We ~ - received 
 
106 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 received from his Hand. The Sum of what 
 they maintain is this; That they are the 
 only Perfons whom Gop has honoured 
 with the Communication of his Myfteries ; 
 that all other Men, having corrupted them- 
 felves, and merited the divine Difpleafure, 
 are abandoned to their own Senfe and Ima- 
 ie whence arife the endlefs Wander- 
 ings and continual Altetations amongft them, 
 whether in Religion, or in Civil Difcipline ; ; 
 while their Nation alone has preferved an 
 immoveable Eftablifhment: But, that Gop 
 will not for ever leave the reft of the World 
 under fo mifetable Darknefs; that a com- 
 mon Saviour fhall at length arrive ; that the 
 fole End of their Polity is to prefigure and 
 proclaim his Arrival; that they were formed 
 and conftituted with expréfs Defign to be 
 the Heralds of his great Appearance, and to 
 give Warning to all Nations; that they 
 thould unite in the blefled Expectation of a 
 Redeemer. 
 
 My Adventure amongft this People, as 
 it gives me the greateft Surprize, fo it feems 
 to me, defetving the higheft Regard and 
 Attention, on Acconnt of the many won- 
 derful and fingular Curiofities difcoverable 
 in their Frame. 
 
 Tuey are a People compofed Bae of 
 Brethren: And whereas all others have been 
 conftituted by an Affemblage of bay in- 
 
 nite 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 107 
 
 . finite Races and Bloods, thefe, though fo 
 prodigioufly fruitful, have defcended all 
 from the fame Man; whence, being as one 
 Flefh, and as Members one of another, 
 they form the moft compacted Strength of 
 one undivided Family.. This is moft pecu- 
 liar and diftinguifhing. — 
 
 _ Tuy are the moft ancient People that 
 fall under our Knowledge and Difcovery ; 
 a Circumftance, which, in my Judgment, | 
 ought to procure them a very particular 
 Veneration, efpecially in regard to our pre- 
 fent Enquiry ; becaufe, if Gop has, at any 
 Time, vouchfafed to reveal himfelf to Man- 
 kind, thefe are the Perfons from whofe 
 Hands we are to receive the Tradition. 
 
 ~ Nor are they only confiderable in Point 
 of Antiquity, but no lefs fingular in their 
 Duration, from their Original to this Day. 
 For while the feveral People of Greece, of 
 Italy, of Sparta, of Athens, and of Rome, 
 together with others which {prung up long 
 after them, have been extinct many Ages, 
 thefe have always fubfifted, and, in {pight 
 of the various Defigns of many great and 
 powerful Princes, who have a thoufand 
 Times attempted their Deftru@ion, (as Hif- 
 torians teftify, and as it is natural to infer, 
 from the ordinary Changes and Revolu- 
 tions of Things,) have maintained them- 
 felyes during fo vaft a Courfe of Years, 
 
108 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 and, ftretching themfelves from the earlieft 
 to the lateft Memory, have caufed the An- 
 nals of their own Nation to be co-extended 
 with the Hiftory of the World. 
 
 Tue Law by which this People is go- 
 verned, appears, in all Refpects, to be the 
 moft ancient and moft perfe& that has ob- 
 tained amongft Men, and the only one 
 which was able to endure without Change - 
 or Interruption in a State, as Philo the 
 ‘few has demonftrated on many Occafions, 
 and Yofephus, moft admirably, in his Dif- 
 courfe againft Appion, where the fame ex- 
 cellent Author obferves it to have ftood fo 
 high in refpect of Antiquity, as that the 
 very Name of Lew was not known in 
 other Countries till a thoufand Years after, 
 infomuch, that Homer, though obliged to 
 {peak of fo many different Nations, has not 
 once ufed the Word. And as to the Per- 
 fection of this Law, we may eafily make 
 an Eftimate of it, from the bare Reading ; 
 by which we fhall difcern it to have difpo- 
 fed all Things with fo much Wifdom, Juf- 
 tice, and Equity, that it is no Wonder 
 the famed Legiflators of Greece and Rome 
 fhould borrow thence. their principal Infti- 
 tutions, as we find they did by the Laws 
 of the twelye Tables, and by other Evi- 
 dences which ‘Yofephus has produced at 
 large, 
 
 YET 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 109_ 
 
 Yet this Law is, at the fame Time, fe- 
 vere and rigorous beyond all others, oblig- 
 ing its Votaries, the better to fecure them 
 in their Duty, to a thoufand peculiar and 
 painful Obfervances, under a capital Pe- 
 nalty: Whence we cannot, without Afto- 
 nifhment, reflect, that it fhould for fo many 
 Ages be preferved inviolable, amongft a 
 rebellious and impatient People, fuch as we 
 know the ews to have been; while all 
 other States have, from Time to Time, 
 changed the Body of their Laws, though 
 (on the contrary) mild and gentle, and eafy 
 to be obeyed. 
 
 Tue fame People are ftill no lefs to be 
 admired for their great Sincerity:. They 
 preferve, with the utmoft Faithfulnefs and 
 Zeal, the very Book in which Mo/es has 
 left it recorded, that they were ever ftub- 
 born and ungrateful towards Gop, and that 
 he forefaw they would be more perverfe 
 after his Death; that he, therefore, calls 
 Heaven and Earth to witnefs againft them, 
 as to the Sufficiency of the Warning which 
 he had given them; that finally, Gop be- 
 ing incenfed by their Tranfgreffions, fhould 
 {catter them through all Lands; and, as 
 they had provoked him to Fealoufy by ferving 
 Gods which were no Gods, he alfo fhould 
 provoke them, by. calling @ People which 
 
 were not a People, 
 
 To 
 
i10)06M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 To conclude: I find no Reafon to fut 
 pect the Authority of the Book which re- 
 lates all thefe Particulars: For there is the 
 vafteft Difference imaginable between a Book 
 compofed by a private Hand, and difperfed 
 amongft a whole People; and a Book of 
 which the People themfelves feem to be 
 the Joint-Authors, as well as the common 
 Subject. In this Cafe the Antiquity of the 
 Book and of the People is confefledly the 
 fame. 
 
 ’Tis no inconfiderable Recommendation 
 of thefe Writings, that they were compofed 
 by Authors contemporary to the Faéts which 
 they record. All Hiftories compiled by Per- 
 fons not equal in Age to the Actions de- 
 {cribed, are fufpicious; as the Books of the 
 Sybils, of Hermes Trifmegiftus, and many 
 others, which having for a While paffed 
 with Credit in the World, have been de- 
 tected as Forgeries, by fucceeding Times: 
 Contemporary Authors are neither capable 
 of this Fraud, nor liable to this Cenfure, 
 
 ix, 
 
M. Pascau’s, Thoughts. 41 
 
 IX. 
 The Injuftice and Corruption of Man. 
 
 : AN is vifibly made for Thinking: 
 | This is all the Merit which he 
 boafts, and all the Glory to which he 
 afpires, ‘To think as we ought, is the Sum 
 ae: human Duty; and the true Art of 
 Thinking, is to begin with ourfelves, our 
 Author, and out End: And yet what is 
 that which engroffés the Thoughts of the 
 whole World? Not one of thefe Objects; 
 but the Purfuit of Pleafure, the Improve- 
 ment of Wealth, the Encreafe of Honour 
 and Efteem; in fine, the making ourfelves 
 Kings, without reflecting what it is to be 
 a King, or to be a Man. 
 
 * Human Thought is a Thing naturally 
 excellent and noble: It muft have prodigi- 
 ous Defaults, e’er it can be expofed to Con- 
 tempt; and yet fuch it has, that nothing 
 is, indeed, more ridiculous. How great 
 does it appear in its genuine Nature! how 
 little under its Corruption and Abufe! 
 
 * Ir we believe a Gop, the Duty of 
 loving 4im, and not the Creatures, will be 
 
 I necef{- 
 
1i2 M. PaAscat’s Thoughts. 
 
 neceflarily inferred. ‘The Reafoning of thofe 
 profane Epicures, defcribed in the Book of 
 Wifdom, was grounded on the Denial of 
 Gonp’s Exiftence. Upon this Hypothefis 
 they refolved to take their Fill of the Crea- 
 tures: But had they known the Falfenefs 
 of their Principle, they would have con- 
 cluded the quite contrary. And this is the 
 Conclufion of the Wife and the Good: 
 There is a God; the Creatures, therefore, 
 ought not to engage our Study, or attract 
 our Defire. Every Thing which incites to 
 an Union with the Creatures is evil, be- 
 caufe it either hinders us from ferving Gop, 
 if we already know him, or from feeking 
 him if as yet we know him not. But now 
 we find ourfelves to be full of thefe Incite- 
 ments, and to be wholly made up of Con- 
 cupifcence. We are, therefore, full of Evil; 
 and if fo, we ought to hate and deteft our- 
 felves, together with all that which allures 
 or endears us to any Thing but to Gop 
 alone. | 
 * Ir at any Time we endeavour to fix 
 our Thought and Attention upon Gop, how 
 many Things do we feel which divert us 
 from him, and which tempt us to mufe of 
 other Subjects? All this cometh of Evil; 
 but of fuch Evil as we have the Misfortune 
 to bring with'us into the World. -* 
 | iad att) 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 113 
 
 _ * Tis utterly falfe, that we deferve the 
 Efteem or Affection of Men; and ’tis In- 
 juftice fo eagerly to covet it. Were we born 
 Matters of Reafon, and with fome Know- 
 ledge of ourfelves, we fhould not entertain 
 fuch a Defire. And yet this very Defire ac- 
 companies our Birth. From our very Birth, 
 therefore, we are unjuft; while every one of 
 us fets up himfelf as the great Mark of all 
 that he a¢ts or thinks. This is contrary to 
 the Order of Nature. Our Inclinations 
 ought to ftand towards the Publick: And 
 this Bias towards ourfelves, is the firft 
 Spring of all Diforder, in War, in Politicks, 
 in GEconomicks, &e. 
 _™® As there ought to be a Tendency in 
 all the Members of Communities, whether 
 Natural or Civil, towards promoting the 
 Good of their refpective Bodies ; the - 
 Communities themfelves ought to tend to 
 the Welfare of another Body, fuch as is ftill 
 more general and comprehenfive. 
 ' * WuosoEver does not deteft in his 
 own Heart, this Self-Love, and this Inftin& 
 which prompts him to affect a Preheminence 
 above all Perfons and Things, is moft wretch- 
 _ edly blind; becaufe nothing has a greater 
 Repugnancy to Juftice and Truth. For, as 
 it is falfe, that we deferve fuch a Preference, 
 fo is it unjuft (and, indeed, impofflible) to 
 atrive at it, becaufe all are ready to 4 in 
 : their 
 
114 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 their Claim to the like Supremacy. This, 
 then, is a manifeft Piece of Injuftice, fuch 
 as attends our Birth, fuch as we are obliged 
 to correct, and yet fuch as, humanly fpeak- 
 ing, is above our Correction, 
 
 NeveRTHELESS, Of all Religions except 
 the Chriftian, none has informed us, either 
 that this isa Sin, or that we are born under 
 its Power, or that we are bound to ftrive 
 againft it; none has once thought of pre- 
 {cribing a Method for its Cure. 
 
 * THERE is an inteftine War in Man, 
 between the Reafon and the Paffions. He 
 might enjoy fome Sort of Repofe, were he 
 only fwayed by Reafon without Paffion; or 
 only by Pafiion without Reafon, But, fince 
 he is a¢ted by both, he muft live in conti- 
 nual Difguiet, not being able to maintain 
 the Peace with one, without entering into 
 Hoftility with the other. And hence he is - 
 always divided, and always at Variance with 
 himéelf. - 
 
 '* Tr is to be looked upon as monftrous 
 and unnatural to live carelefly, while we are 
 under an utter Ignorance of ourfelves: It 
 is, however, far more terrible to:live wick- 
 _ edly, while we are under a religious Perfua- 
 
 fion.and Belief. ‘The greateit. Part of Mans 
 kind feem to be poffeffed with one or the 
 ether of thefe Infatuations. | 
 
 X. 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. Irs 
 
 X. 
 The JEWS. 
 
 4 LMIGHTY Gop intending to 
 fhew the World, that he was able to 
 form a People, fpiritually good and righte- 
 ous, and to fill them with eternal Glory, 
 was pleafed to reprefent by the Goods of 
 Nature, what he propofed to accomplifh 
 in thofe of Grace, that Men might learn to 
 acknowledge the invifible Effects of his 
 Power, by their Experience of the vifible. 
 Tuus he faved his People from the De- 
 luge, in the Perfon of Noah: He caufed 
 them to fpring from Abraham: He redeem- 
 éd them out of the Hands of their Ene- 
 mies, and eftablifhed them in Reft and 
 Pate. ay 
 - Tue Defign of Providence in refcuing 
 them from the common Ruin, and in de- 
 ducing their Nation from one Stock, was 
 not barely to conduct them to a Land of 
 Plenty. But as Nature is the Image and 
 Refemblance of Grace, fo thefe vifible Mi- 
 racles were Symbols and Pledges of the 
 H 2 invifible, 
 
116 M. Pascat’s Thouglits, 
 
 invifible, to be performed in “their Sea- 
 fon. 
 
 * ANoTHER Caufe, why it pleafed Gon, 
 in fo wonderful a Manner, to inftitute and 
 train up the ‘ew/h People, feems to have 
 been, that, having refolved to abridge his 
 faithful Servants of carnal and perifhable 
 Enjoyments, he might evince, by fuch a 
 _ Series of Miracles, that he did not deny 
 
 for want of Power to beftow. | 
 _. * Tus People have been always im- 
 merfed in grofs and earthly Conceits: As 
 that their Father Abraham, even in refpect 
 of his Flefh, was dear to Gop, and, confe- 
 quently, all who defcended from him: That, 
 for this Reafon, Gop had multiplied them 
 on the Earth, and by giving them fpecial 
 Marks of Diftinétion, had prevented their 
 mixing with other Nations; had recovered 
 them out of Egyff, by many great and 
 wonderful Signs, performed in their Favour; 
 had fed them with Manna in the Wilder- 
 nets; had brought them into a fruitful and 
 -happy Seat, had appointed over them Kings 
 of their own Race; had raifed them a mag- 
 nificent Temple, for the offering up of 
 Beafts, and the purifying themfelves by the 
 Blood of their Sacrifices; and would, in 
 Conclufion, fend them a victorious Me/fas, 
 who fhould make them Mafters of the 
 World. 
 
 a 
 
M. Pasca’s Thoughts. 117 
 
 * Tue ‘ews were accuftomed to great 
 and fplendid Miracles; and, hence, look- 
 ing on the Wonders of the Red-Sea, and of 
 the promifed Land only as an Abridgment 
 of the mighty Things of their Meffas, they 
 expected from him {till more illuftrious and 
 furprizing Performances, of which all the 
 Acts of Mofes fhould feem but an imperfect 
 Specimen. 
 
 WHEN they were now grown old in car- 
 nal Errors, ‘fefus Chriff aCtually came at 
 the Time foretold, but not with that out- 
 ward Splendor which had poffeffed their 
 Thought: And hence they apprehended 
 him not to be the Mefias. ‘After his 
 Death St. Paul was fent to inftrucét Men, 
 that all thefe Things happened in Figure, 
 that the Kingdom of Gop was in the 
 Spirit, not in the Flefh; that their Enemies 
 were not Babylonians, but their own Lufts 
 and Paffions; that Gop delighted not in 
 Temples made with Hands, but in a pure 
 and humble Mind; that bodily Circum- 
 cifion was unprofitable, but the Circumci- 
 fion of the Heart greatly neceflary and im- 
 portant, &c, : 
 
 * Gop having not thought fit wholly toe 
 difclofe thefe Truths to fo unworthy a 
 People, and yet defigning to foretel’ them, 
 that they might hereafter gain the more eafy 
 Acceptation and Belief, fignified the Time 
 
 H 3 of 
 
118 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 of their Accomplifhment in exprefs Terms, 
 and fometimes clearly bh the T hings 
 themfelves, but generally reprefented them 
 under Shades and Figures, to the Intent, 
 that thofe who loved the Reprefentation, 
 might fix on it without looking farther; and — 
 that thofe who loved the Reality, might be — 
 able to difcern it through the Reprefentation. 
 Agreeably to this Defign, we fee the Na- 
 tion dividing itfelf at.the Me/iab’s Appear- 
 ance: The {piritual Part .received and em- 
 braced him ; and the carnal Part, who re- 
 jected him, remain his Witnefles to this 
 Day. 
 
 * Tue carnal Sews underijoad namie 
 the Greatnefs, nor the Humiliation ‘of the 
 Meffias, foretold by their Prophets. They 
 did not know him in his Greatnefs and Ex- 
 altation: As when they were aflured, that 
 he fhould be David's Lord, though his Son 
 that he preceded Abrahams and had {een 
 him; they conceived him, not fo great, as 
 to howe been from all Eternity, Nor did 
 they Jefs miftake him in his Humiliation 
 and Death. ‘‘ Chriff (fay they) abzdeth 
 ** for ever, and this Man profefieth of him- 
  felf, that he fhall die” They neither 
 believed him therefore to be mortal, nor yet 
 to be eternal: They confidered him with 
 se other Regard, but to. wont Pomp and 
 tate. 
 
 * Tuey 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 119 
 
 * Tury fo much doated on the Shadows 
 of good Things, and fo entirely fixed them 
 ‘as the Objects of their Hope, that they, at 
 laft, miftook the Subftance, when appearing 
 at the Time, and in the Manner defcribed 
 by the Prophets. | 
 
 * Men indifpofed to believing, are wont 
 to have Recourfe, for Shelter, to the Unbe- 
 lief of the Fews. If Matters (fay they) 
 were indeed fo clear and notorious, what 
 fhould hinder thofe who were the Eye-Wit- 
 nefles of them, from being perfectly con- 
 vinced? Whereas, their Infidelity is really 
 ‘ one of the Foundations of our Faith. Had 
 they been indifferent Perfons, their Obfti- 
 nacy might have increafed our Averfion, 
 and have given us a better Colour for Jea- 
 lonfy and Diftruft. But here’s the Miracle, 
 that the fame People, who were fo violent 
 Lovers of the Predictions, fhould be no lets 
 violent Haters and Oppofers of the Accem- 
 plifhments; and that this very Hatred and 
 Oppofition fhould itfelf be one of the chief 
 Predictions. 
 
 * To procure Authority and Reputation 
 to the Meffas, it was neceflary, that certain 
 Prophecies fhould precede his Appearance, 
 and fhould remain in the Cuftody of unfat- 
 ~ petted Perfons, fuch as were eminent for 
 Diligence and Fidelity, and, above all, for 
 . H 4 Zeal, 
 
120 M. Pascat’s Thoughts, 
 
 Zeal, and fuch as were remarkably known 
 to the reft of Mankind. 
 
 Tuat Things might fucceed according- 
 ly, Gop was pleafed to make Choice of this 
 carnal People, and to give them in Charge 
 the Predictions concerning the Meffias, which 
 defcribed him after the Manner of a tem- 
 poral Deliverer, and a Difpenfer of fenfible 
 Goods, fuch as their Hearts were particular- 
 ly affected with. Hence, as they received 
 the Prophets with the greateft Demonftra- 
 tions of Affection and Reverence, fo they 
 communicated to all Nations thofe Books of 
 the Prophets which foretold the Coming 
 of the Mighty One; affuring them, that he 
 would moft certainly come, and in the yery. 
 Manner expreffed by their Records, which 
 they kept open to the View of the whole 
 World. But being finally deceived by the 
 Meannefs and Ignominy of his Condition 
 here on Earth, they became his greateft 
 Oppofers. So that we have now a People, 
 who of all Mankind can be leaft fufpect- 
 ed of partial Favour towards us, thus lend- 
 ing their Affiftance to fupport our Caufe, 
 and, by the Zeal which they thew for their 
 Law and their Prophets, preferving, with 
 the moft exact Fidelity, our Evidences, 
 and their own Condemnation. 
 
 * Tuose who rejected and crucified 
 eur Lorp, being offended at him, are the 
 
 fame 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. ras 
 
 fame People with whom thofe Writings 
 ftill remain which teftify concerning him, 
 and which affirm that he fhall be rejected 
 by them, and fhall be a Rock of Offence. 
 Thus has their Refufal added an eminent 
 Mark to the Truth of his Credentials; and 
 he has been equally demonftrated for the 
 Meffias by the righteous Part of the Fewi/h — 
 Nation who embraced him, and by the 
 wicked Part who defpifed him; the one 
 - Event no lefs than the other, having been 
 long before prophetically declared, 
 
 * Tue Reafon why the Prophecies were 
 conceived with a double Senfe, a remote and 
 fpiritual, to which this People were ftrongly 
 averfe, under an obvious and carnal, to 
 which they were eagerly inclined, feems 
 to have been this: Had the {piritual Senfe 
 been entirely difclofed to them, it being 
 fuch as they were unable to love, to em- 
 brace, or even to bear, they would have 
 nad very little Zeal to preferve their Wri- 
 tings and Inftitutions: Or, if they could 
 have relifhed thefe fpiritual Promifes, and 
 had, therefore, kept their Books uncorrupted 
 till the Time of the Mefias, then their Evi- 
 dence muft have fuffered in its Force, as 
 being the Teftimony of Friends. We fee, 
 therefore, on the one hand, the Neceffity 
 of concealing the fpiritual Senfe: Yet, on 
 the other hand, fhould this Concealment 
 
 have 
 
122 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 have been too deep for all Light and Dif- 
 covery, the great Evidences of the Mefias 
 had been fuppreffed. What Expedient there- 
 fore was applied? The fpiritual Senfe was, 
 as to the main, difguifed under the car- 
 nal, yet, in fome Places, was exprefly deli- 
 vered without the leaft Covert or Shade, 
 Again, the Time and State of the World 
 were fo exatly, and with fo many Circum- 
 ftances, defcribed and determined, that the 
 Sun is. not clearer at Noon-Day.’ And there 
 are fome Paffages in which the fpiritual Im- 
 port is fo apparently taught, that no lefs 
 Degree of Blindnefs than that which the 
 Mind fuffers when entirely opprefled and 
 enflaved by the Body, can with-hold us from 
 difcerning it. eins 
 
 Sree then the admirable Difpofal of Pro- 
 vidence! In an infinite Number of Places 
 the {piritual Senfe is covered over with an- 
 other; yet in fome (though rarely occurring) 
 it is openly revealed; and this in fuch a 
 Manner, as that the Paflages in which it 
 is fupprefled are capable of both Senfes ; 
 but thofe in which it is declared can agree 
 only to the fpiritual. | 
 
 So that this Proceeding can by no Means 
 be accufed, as tending to lead Men into Er- 
 ror; nor could by any, but by a People 
 whofe Heart was fo entirely carnal, have 
 ‘been perverted or mifunderftood. 
 arn! THUS 
 
M, Pascau’s Thoughts. 123 
 
 Tuus when good Things were pro- 
 mifed them in great Abundance, what 
 could hinder them from interpreting this 
 Promife of true and real Goods, but their 
 Covetoufnefs? which determined their Ap- 
 prehenfion to earthly Riches: Whereas, 
 thofe who placed their only Treafure in 
 Heaven, would have referred the Promife 
 to Gop alone. For there are two Principles 
 -which divide the Wills of Men, Covetouf- 
 nefs and Charity. ‘It is not, indeed, impof- 
 - fible that Covetoufnefs fhould fubfiftt with 
 ~ Faith, or Charity with temporal Poffeffions : 
 But here is the Difference; the former im- 
 ploys itfelf in ufing Gop, and enjoying the 
 World; the latter in ufing the World, and 
 enjoying Gop. 
 
 Acaiy, the End which we purfue is 
 that which gives Names to Things; and 
 whatever hinders us in the Profecution of 
 this, is faid to be at Enwuzy with us. Thus 
 the Creatures, which ate good in them- 
 felves, do yet become the Enemies of good 
 Men, when they divert them from Gop; 
 and Gop himéfelf is ftiled an Enemy by 
 thofe whom he oppofes in their Lufts. 
 
 Hence, the Appellation of Enemy, 
 changing. its Conftruction according to the 
 different End which Men propofe, good Men 
 by it underftood their Paffions, and car- 
 nal Men the Babylonians; {fo that this Term 
 
 was 
 
124 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 was obfcure only with refpect to the Wicked, 
 And ’tis on this Account that Jaiah fays, 
 Signa Legem in Difcipults meis, Seal the Law 
 among my Difciples; and that he tells us, 
 Chrift thall be a Stone of fumbling, and a 
 Rock of Offence; though, as our Lord him- 
 felf declares, Bleffed are thofe who fhall not 
 be offended in him. 
 
 Tue Prophet Hofea evidently declares 
 the fame Difference: Who 7s wife, and he 
 fhall underftand thefe Things; prudent, and 
 he fhall know them? For the Ways of the 
 Lord are right, and the fuft fhall walk 
 in them; but Tranfgreffors fhall fall there- 
 zn, 
 
 YeT this Book of the Old Teftament, 
 which was in fuch a Manner framed and 
 compiled, as that while it enlightened fome, 
 it no lefs blinded others, did, neverthelets, 
 demonttrate in the latter the Truth which 
 it difcovered to the former. For the vifible 
 and temporal Goods which they received 
 from Gop, were fo great and divine, as to 
 teftify his Power of conferring all invifible 
 and fpiritual Bleffings, together with the 
 End of all, the Meffas. 
 
 * Tur Time of our Lord’s firtt Coming 
 was exprefly foretold; but that of his fe- 
 cond is not, Becaufe at his firtt Coming 
 he was to appear in a private Manner, and 
 without any fplendid Marks of Diftinétion ; 
 
 whereas, © 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. i2¢ 
 
 whereas, his fecond Advent fhall be furpriz- 
 ing, publick, illuftrious, and vifible to his 
 greateft Enemies. But though his firft Ap- 
 pearance was to be thus obfcure, difcernable 
 only by thofe who fearched the Scriptures, 
 yet were Things fo providentially difpofed, 
 that all this contributed to the making him 
 known. The ews were his Witnefles by 
 receiving him; becaufe they were the Guar- 
 dians of the Prophecies; and they were no 
 lefs his Witnefles by rejecting him, becaufe 
 in this they very fignally accomplifhed the 
 fame Prophecies. 
 
 * THE Fews were in Pofleffion of Mi- 
 tacles which they had feen performed, and 
 of Prophecies which they had {een fulfilled. 
 Again, the Doétrine of their Law was 
 comprized in the Love and Adoration of 
 one Gop; and this Doctrine was perpetual : 
 It had, therefore, all the Marks of the true 
 Religion. And fo it really was; for we 
 ‘ought to diftinguifh between the Doétine 
 of the ‘ews, and the Doétrine of the Law 
 of the “ews. The Doétrine of the Yews 
 could not have been true, though we 
 fhould fuppofe it to have had Miracles and 
 Prophecies, and Perpetuity on its Side; 
 becaufe it was deficient in the main Prin- 
 ciple, the loying and adoring of Gop 
 alone, 
 
 THE 
 
126. M. Pascat’s Thoughits. 
 
 Tue Fewi/b Religion’ ought to be cor« 
 fidered very differently in the Tradition of 
 holy Men, and in the Tradition of the 
 Vulgar. The Moral it teaches, and the 
 Bleflednefs it propofes, are both: ridiculous, 
 according to the Tradition: of the Vulgar; 
 but they are incomparably great and excel- 
 lent in the Tradition of holy Men. Its 
 Foundation is wonderful; it is the moft 
 ancient and moft authentick Book in the 
 World: And whereas Mahomet, to’ procute 
 the Eftablifhment of his Writings, has. for- 
 bidden them to be read, Mofes, to confirm 
 the Authority of 47s, has. commanded = 
 the World to read them, 
 
 * Tur Fewih Religion is altogether di- 
 vine in its Authority, in its Duration, in its 
 perpetual Obligation, in its Morality, in its 
 Conduét, in its Doétrine, in its Effects... 
 
 Tuis whole Model and Pattern was 
 formed with Refemblance to the Truth of 
 the Mefias; and the Truth of. the Me ofias 
 was difcovered and teftified by this its. 
 Model and Pattern. 
 
 Unpver the Fewi/h OEconomy Trath 
 appeared but in Figure: In Heaven it is” 
 open and without Veil: In the Church 
 Militant it is fo veiled as to be yet difcerned 
 by its Correfpondence to the Figure. As 
 the Figure was firft built upon the Truth, 
 
 - fo 
 
M. Pascaus Thoughts. 127 
 
 fo the Truth is now diftinguifhable by the 
 _ Figure. 
 
 * He that takes his Eftimate of the 
 Fewifh Religion from the GrofinefS of the 
 Fewifh Multitude, cannot fail of making a 
 very wrong Judgment. It is to be fought 
 for in the facred Writings, and in the Tra~ - 
 ditions of the Prophets, who have given us 
 fufficient Affurance that they underftood the 
 Law not according to the Letter. Our Re- 
 ligion, in like Manner, is true and divine 
 in the Gofpels, in the Preaching of the A- 
 poftles, and in the Traditions of the Church; 
 but it appears utterly disfigured in thofe 
 who maim or corrupt it. 
 
 * THE Fews feem to have been of two 
 Sorts, according to their different Paffions 
 and Defires; which in fome were merely 
 Pagan, in others altogether Chriftian. 
 
 * Tur Mefias, according to the carnal 
 Jews, was to come like a mighty temporal 
 Prince. According to carnal Chriffians, he 
 4s come to difpenfe with our loving Gop, 
 and to give us Sacraments which thall ope- 
 rate without our Concurrence. This is no 
 more the Religion of Chriftians, than that 
 was properly the Religion of ews, 
 
 _ ™* Tue true Votaries of both Religions 
 agree in acknowledging a Meffias, who 
 thall infpire them with the Love of Gop; 
 
 I and 
 
128 M. Pascat’s: Thoughts. 
 
 and by that Love fhall make them triumph 
 over their Enemies. ages 
 
 * Tue Veil which is upon the Scriptures, 
 in refpect of the carnal ‘fews, holds, like- 
 wife, in refpect of wicked Chriftians, and 
 of all thofe who will not fubmit to hate and 
 deteft themfelves. But how well are we 
 difpofed for the underftanding of the Scrip- 
 tures, and for the Knowledge of ‘fe/us 
 Chrifi, when we have once made ourfelves 
 the Objects of our real Averfion and Ab- 
 _ horrence? 
 
 * Tue carnal ews fill the middle Place 
 between Chriftians and Pagans. The Pa- 
 gans knew not Gop, and, therefore, loved 
 nothing but the World: The ews knew 
 the true Gop, and ftill loved nothing but 
 the World: While we Chriffians, as we 
 have received the Knowledge of the true 
 Gop, fo we have renounced the Love of 
 the World. ‘ews and. Pagans love the 
 fame World: Chriftians and ‘ews know the 
 fame Gop. 
 
 * Tue Fews are a People vifibly framed 
 to be the ftanding Witnefles of the Meffas. 
 They preferve the Scripture with the greateft 
 Diligence; they love it with the greateft 
 Ardour; but they are wholly at a Lofs 
 in apprehending it. And all this has been 
 exprefly foretold; for it is faid, that the 
 
 Statutes 
 I 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 129 
 
 Statutes of Gop fhould be delivered to them 
 but as a Book that is fealed. ) 
 
 * So long as there was a Succeffion of 
 Prophets to guard the Law, the People were 
 entirely negligent as to its Cuftody. But 
 upon the Ceafing of the Prophets, the .Zeal 
 of the People fupplied their Room. And 
 this, amongft others, is a Providence too .re= 
 markable to be overlooked: 
 
 XL 
 MOSES, 
 XK THEN the Creation of the World 
 
 VY began now to ftand at a remoter 
 Diftance; Gop was pleafed to provide a 
 contemporary Hiftorian, and to appoint a 
 whole Nation for the Keepers of his Hifto- 
 ry; as well that this Regifter might. be 
 the moft authentick in the World, as that 
 all Mankind might hence be inftruéted in a 
 Fact, which was fo neceflary for them to 
 know, and yet fo impoffible otherwife to be 
 known, _ 
 
 . * MOSES was a Perfon of very great 
 Genius and Capacity. This is on all Hands 
 Bare I , ' ¢oh- 
 
130 M. Pascar’s Thoughts, 
 
 eonfeffed. Had he, therefore, written with 
 an Intention of deceiving, he would have 
 executed it in fuch a Manner, as not to be 
 convicted of the Deceit. His Conduct we 
 find to be quite different: Infomuch, that 
 had he delivered what was fabulous, there — 
 was not one ‘Yew, but could have detected 
 the Impofture. 
 
 Wuy, for Inftance, does he make the 
 Lives of the frft Men fo vaftly long, and fo 
 very few Generations of them? In a Multi- 
 tude of Generations he might have fheltered 
 himfelf from Difcovery; but in a few this 
 Artifice was impracticable. For ’tis not the 
 Number of Years, but of Generations, which 
 rendets Things obfcure. 
 
 TRUTH never decays, or is impaired, but 
 by the Succeffion and Change of Men, And 
 _ yet we find this Hiftorian placing the two. 
 greateft Events that can enter into human 
 Thought, the Creation and the Deluge, fo 
 clofe together, as even to make them touch, 
 by Means of the few Generations which he 
 counts between. Infomueh, that at the 
 Time of his regiftrmg thefe Things, the 
 Memory of them could not but be ftill freth 
 and lively in the Minds of all the fewi/h 
 Nation. | 
 
 * LAMEC had a Sight of Adam, Sem 
 of Lamec, Abraham of Sem, Facob of A- 
 brabam, and Mofes of thofe who had feen 
 bis 2 Jacob. 
 
5 
 
 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 131 
 
 *tacob. ‘Therefore the Creation and the De- 
 luge are indubitably true. This Argument 
 muft be acknowledged for conclufive, by 
 thofe who apprehend its Procefs. — 
 
 _ * Tue Longevity of the Patriarchs, in- 
 ftead of contributing to the Decay of paft 
 Memory, was in the higheft Degree fer- 
 viceable to its Prefervation. For if we are | 
 fometimes hindered from being fufficiently 
 expert in the Story of our Anceftors, it is 
 becaufe we have feldom lived in their Com- 
 pany, or becaufe they left the World before 
 we arrived at’‘the Age of Reafon. But when 
 human Life ran out to fuch an Extent, 
 Children enjoyed the Means of converfing 
 long with their Parents. And what could 
 be the Subject of this Converfation, but the 
 Lives and Actions of their Progenitors: 
 Since thefe comprized the Body of Univer- 
 fal Hiftory, and fince Men were as yet un- 
 acquainted with Arts and Sciences, which 
 now take up fo large a Share in our Dif- 
 courfe? It feems evident, therefore, that the 
 keeping exact Genealogies was the peculiar 
 Care, and almoft the whole Employment of 
 thofe earlier Times, 
 
 la ae OTe: 
 
1g Me Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 XIE. 
 FIGURE S$. 
 
 S there are fome Figures clear and de- 
 monftrative, fo there are others which 
 feem lefg natural, and which prove nothing 
 but to thofe who have difcovered the fame 
 Truths by other Lights. The latter Figures 
 may feem to refemble thofe invented by fome 
 Men who build Prophecies on the Revela- 
 tions expounded according to their own 
 Fancy. But here’s the Difference: Such 
 Perfons have no infallible PrediCtions to fup- 
 port the doubtful ones, which they would 
 - introduce. So that they are guilty of the 
 higheft Injuftice, while they pretend theirs 
 to be alike well grounded with fome of. 
 ours; becaufe they have not others, which 
 are inconteftable, to prove them by, as we 
 have. This is by no Means, therefore, a 
 parallel Cafe; nor ought we to compare 
 and confound Things which agree in one 
 Refpect, when they are fo vaftly diftant in 
 all others. 
 * JESUS CHRIST, prefigured by 
 “fofeph, the Beloved of his Father, and 
 
 by 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 133- 
 
 by him fént to vifit his Brethren, is the in- 
 nocent Perfon whom his Brethren fold for 
 a few Pieces of Silver, and who, by this 
 Means, became their Lord and Saviour, 
 nay, the Saviour of Strangers, and of the 
 whole World ; which had not happened but 
 for this Plot of deftroying him, this Act of 
 rejecting him, and of expofing him to Sale. 
 ConsiDER in both Examples the fame 
 Fortune, and the fame Innocence; Fofeph 
 in the Prifon between two*Criminals, Fefics 
 on the Crofs between two Thieves: ‘o- 
 jfeph foretels Deliverance to one of his 
 Companions, and Death to the other, from 
 the fame Omens; ° ¥efus Chriff faves one 
 Companion, and deferts the other, after the 
 fame Crimes: ‘¥o/eph could barely foretel ; 
 Fefus Chrift, by his own Action, performs _ 
 what he had foretold: ‘fofeph requefts the 
 Perfon who fhould be delivered, to be mind- 
 ful of him in his Glory; the Perfon, faved 
 by Fefus Chrift, entreats his Deliverer to 
 remember him when he came into his King- 
 dom... 
 * Tur ‘fewifh Synagogue never totally 
 ceafed, and became extinét, becaufe it was 
 the Figure of the Chriffian Church: And 
 yet becaufe it was only the Figure, it was 
 fuffered to fall into Servitude. The Figure 
 fubfitted till the Arrival of the Truth; 
 to the Intent that the Church might be 
 r 3 always 
 
134. M. Pascats Thoughts, 
 
 always vifible, either in the Shadow and 
 Reprefentation, or in the Subftance and 
 Reality. 
 
 XIII. 
 That the Law was Figurative. 
 
 O evince *the Authority of both Te- - 
 
 ftaments at once, we are only to ob- 
 ferve, whether that which is prophefied in 
 the one, be performed and accomplifhed in 
 the other. 
 
 * Ir we would effectually try and exa- 
 mine the Prophecies, we ought firft of all 
 to be fure, that we rightly underftand them. 
 For, fuppofing them to have but one Senfe, 
 it is certain the Me/fias cannot yet be come; 
 but, fuppofing them to have two Senfes, the 
 Mefias is certainly come, in the Perfon of 
 Fefus Chrift. 
 
 ’ Att the Queftion, therefore, is, whether 
 they are indeed capable of a double Mean- 
 ing? whether they are Figures or Realities, 
 that is, whether we ought not to feek fome- 
 thing farther in them than what they imme- 
 diately prefent? or whether we ought to ac- 
 quiefce in that Conftruétion which offers it- 
 
 felf to us at the firft View? 
 Ir 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 135 
 
 Ir the Law and the Sacrifices are real, ’tis 
 neceflary, that they fhould pleate Gop, ana, 
 on no Account be difpleafing to him. If 
 they are figurative, ‘tis neceflary they fhould 
 be pleafing and difpleafing to Gop, in diffe- 
 rent Regards. But now, through the whole 
 Series of Scripture, they are fometimes af- 
 firmed to pleafe Gop, fometimes to diipleafe 
 him, and, by Confequence, they are only 
 figurative. . 
 
 * Ir is faid, that the Law thall be 
 changed ; that the Sacrifices fhall ceafe; that 
 the People hall continue without a King, 
 without a Prince, and without a Sacrifice ; 
 that a new Covenant fhall be eftablithed ; 
 that a Reform fhall be made in the Law; 
 that the Fews received Commandments which 
 were not good ; that their Sacrifices were A- 
 bominations, and Things which Gop 1e- 
 quired not at their Hands. 
 
 Ir is faid, again, that the Law fhall abide 
 for ever; that the Covenant fhall be eternal, 
 the Sacrifices perpetual; and that the Scep- 
 ter fhallhever depart from Fudab, becauie 
 *tis to continue till the Everlafting King 
 fhall commience his Reign. Do fuch Ex- 
 preffions evince all this to be real? No. Do 
 they demonftrate it to be figurative? No. 
 ‘They only thew, that it muft be either Re- 
 ality of Figure. But the former compared 
 tahsg! with 
 
136 M. Pascat's Thoughts, ire 
 
 with thefe latter, exclude the Realty, anid 
 eftablith the Figure. 
 
 Aut thefe Paffages taken together can- 
 not be applied to the Reality; but they 
 may be all applied to the Figure: There- 
 fore, they were fpoken in Figure, not in 
 Reality. 
 
 . * Wovutp we'know, whether the Jone 7 
 and the Sacrifices are real or figurative, we 
 ought to difeaver, whether the Prophets, «in 
 fpeaking of thefe Things, had their Eyes 
 and Thoughts éntirely fixed on them; :fo as’ 
 to look no, farther than the old Covenant; 
 or whether they did not carry their Intention 
 to fomewhat €lfe, of which all this was but 
 the Shadow and Semblance ; as in a Picture 
 we contemplate the Thing reprefented, And 
 in order to this Difcovery,, we need rss 
 shear what they fay. 
 
 Now when they fpeak of the Covenant, 
 as being everlafting, is it~ poffible they 
 fhould mean the fame Covenant, which 
 they elfewhere teftify hall be, changed ; 
 The like maybe obiaenyirias che Saotit 
 fices, &e. 
 
 * Tue Prophets rae copeulritl ak 
 Hrael thall be always beloved of Gop; and 
 that the Law fhall be an Ordinance for ever. 
 But they have likewife faid, that their Words 
 were. veiled,.and their Meaning not to be 
 fathomed by their Hearers. 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 137 
 
 ‘s Wretmay illuftrate this whole Cafe by 
 the familiar Inftance of writing in Cyphers. 
 Suppofe we intercept a Letter of Impor- 
 tance, in which we difcern one plain and 
 obvious Meaning, and are told, at the fame 
 Time, that the Senfe is yet fo obfcured, as 
 that we fhall even fee the Words without 
 feeing it, and underftand them without un- 
 derftanding it; what are we to judge, but 
 that the Piece has been penn’d in Cyphers? 
 and fo much the rather, the more apparent 
 Contrarieties we meet with in the literal 
 Conftruction ? How great Efteem and Ve- 
 eration ought we, therefore, to exprefs for 
 thofe who decipher this Writing to us, and 
 bring us acquainted with its Secrets, efpe- 
 cially if the Key, which they make ufe of, 
 be eafy, agreeable, and natural? This is 
 what. was performed by our Lord and his 
 Apoftles: They have opened the Seal, and 
 rent the Veil, and refcued the fpiritual Senfe 
 from the literal Difguife. They have taught 
 us, that our Enemies: are our own: carnal 
 Affetions, and that our Redeemer is to be 
 a {piritual Conqueror; that he is to have 
 a firft and a fecond Coming, the one in 
 Humility to abafe the Proud, the other in 
 Glory to exalt the Humble: In a Word, 
 that YESUS CHRIST is to be Gop, as 
 well as Man. 
 
 v3 ) eo Fr 
 
138 M. Pascar’s Thoughts. 
 
 * Ir was our Lord’s chief Employment 
 to inform Men, that they were Lovers of 
 themfelves ; that they were Sinners and 
 Slaves, blind, diftempered, and miferable ; 
 that hereupon, it was needful he fhould de- 
 liver and heal them, fhonld enlighten, re- 
 ftore, and blefs them That all this was to 
 be performed by their hating themfelves, 
 and by their taking up each his Crofs; and 
 following him, their Mafter, to Affliction 
 and Death. 
 
 * THE Letter killeth. 1t was neceflary, 
 that Chrift fhould fuffer, that Gop fhould 
 humble himfelf; that there fhould be a 
 Circumcifion of the Heart; a true Fait, a 
 true Sacrifice, a true Temple, a two-fold 
 _Law (as well as a two-fold Table of the. 
 Law) a two-fold Temple, a two-fold Cap- 
 tivity. This was the difficult Cypher aw . 
 fented to us. 
 
 We have, at length, been taught by our 
 Lord to unfold the Intricacy of thefe Fi- 
 gures: We have been informed what it is to 
 be truly free, to be a true J/raelite; we have 
 been hewn the true Circumcifion, the. true 
 Bread of Heaven, &e. 
 
 * In the Promifes of the Old Teftament 
 every one finds what he chiefly delights to 
 feck, what is moft agreeable to his own 
 Heart and Affections ; Spiritual Goods or 
 Temporal, Gop or the Coonan But rt 
 
 this 
 
~M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 139 
 
 this Difference, that they who feck the Crea- 
 tures find them attended with numerous 
 Contradiétions, with a Prohibition to love 
 them, and with a difficult Injun@ion to love 
 and worfhip Gop alone: Whereas they who 
 feck Gop, find him without the leaft Re- 
 pugnancy, and with a pleafing Command ta 
 admit no other Object of Worthip or of Love, 
 
 * THe main Sources of verbal Contrarie- 
 ties in Scriptures, are the Myfteries of a 
 Gop humbled to the Death of the Crofs; of 
 a Mefias triumphing over Death by dying 
 himfelf; of the two Natures in FESUS 
 CHRIST; of his twofold Coming; of 
 the two Eftates and Conditions of human 
 Nature. 
 
 * As we cannot juftly compofe a Man’s 
 Character, but by accounting for all the 
 Contrarieties in this Humour or Conduct; 
 and as it is not enough to purfue a Train of 
 agreeable Qualites, without giving the Re- 
 folution of thofe which appear to be oppo- 
 fite; fo e’er we can perfectly underftand the 
 Senfe of an Author, it’s neceflary, that all 
 the contrary Paflages thould be reconcil’d. 
 
 WHEREFORE in order to a right Appre- 
 henfion of the Scripture, we ought to find 
 out a Senfe in which all the feemingly op- 
 pofite Places fhall agree. Nor is it {ufficient 
 to have an Interpretation in which ma- 
 ny confonant Paflages fhall be united, but 
 
 we 
 
140 M. Pascat's Thoughts. 
 
 we muft have one in which the moft dit 
 fonant fhall meet and confpire. 
 
 Every Author either has one principal 
 Aim and Purport, in which all the fup- 
 pofed Differences will be found confiftent, 
 or he has no Meaning at all. The latter 
 cannot be faid of the Scriptures. and Pro- 
 phecies. They unqueftionably abound in 
 good Senfe. Some one Meaning, then, they 
 will afford us, by which the feveral Repug- 
 _ nancies in Style may be adjufted and com- 
 pofed. 
 
 Tuer true Senfe, therefore, cannot be 
 that which is given them by the ‘ews, 
 But in JESUS CHRIST all the vari- 
 ous Diffonancies are reduced to perfect Har- 
 mony. 
 
 Tue Fews had not Skill enough to make 
 the Abrogation of the Royalty and Princi- 
 pality, foretold by Hofea, accord with the 
 
 Prophecy of facob. 
 
 '° Tr we take the Law, the Sacrifices, and 
 the Kingdom, for Things really and ulti- 
 mately defigned, we fhall not be able to 
 reconcile all the Paflages of the fame Author, 
 nor of the fame Book, nor, many Times, 
 of the fame Chapter. Which fufficiently 
 difcovers the Intention of the Writers. » 
 
 * Tue ews were not permitted to offer 
 Sacrifice, or fo much as to eat the Tenths, 
 ; | elfe- 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 14f 
 
 elfewhere than at Ferufalem only, the Place 
 which the Lord had chofen. 
 
 * HOSEA foretold, that the Fews 
 fhould be without a King, without a Prince, 
 without Sacrifices, and without Images, Which 
 Prediction we now fee fully accomplithed ; 
 no Sacrifice being legally to be offered but at 
 Serufalem. 
 
 * WHENEVER the Word of Gop, which 
 is eternally true, feems to be falfe in the 
 literal Conftruction, its Truth is preferved 
 in the fpiritual. Szt thou on my right Hand: 
 This is falfe if fpoken literally, yet ’tis 
 {piritually true. Such Expreffions as thefe 
 defcribe Gop after the Manner of Men: 
 And this, in particular, only implies, that 
 the fame Honour which Men intend in fet- 
 ting others at their right Hand, Gop will 
 alfo confer, in the Exaltation of the Me/- 
 fas. It is, therefore, a Note of the divine 
 Intention, but affects not the precife Man- 
 ner of the Execution. 
 
 Tuus again, when ’tis faid to the I/rae- 
 lites, Gop has received the Odour of your 
 Incenfe, and will give you in Recompence 
 a fertile and plentiful Land, the Meaning is 
 no mere than this, That the fame Affection 
 which Men, delighted with your Perfumes, 
 would exprefs by rewarding you with a 
 fruitful Land, the fame will Gop exprefs 
 _ towards you in his Bleffings; becaufe you 
 alfo 
 
142 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 alfo entertain the like grateful Difpofition 
 towards Gop, as a Man does towards his 
 Supefiors, when he thus prefents them with 
 {weet Odours. 
 
 Tue fole Aim and Intention of the whole 
 Scripture is Charity. All that tends not to 
 this End, is merely Figure. For fince there 
 can be but one Point and ultimate Scope, 
 whatever is not direéted thither in exprefs 
 Terms, muft, at leaft, be couched under 
 fuch as are ambiguous. 
 
 Gop, in Compaffion to our Weaknefs, 
 which Variety alone can pleafe, has fo va- 
 ried this one Precept of Charity, as to con- 
 duct us every Way to our real Intereft and 
 Welfare. For one Thing alone being ftrictly 
 neceflary, and yet our Hearts being fet on 
 divers Things, Gop has provided for the Sa- 
 tisfaction of both thefe Inclinations together, 
 by giving us fuch a Diverfity as {till leads 
 us forward to the one Thing neceffary. 
 
 * Tue Rabbins take the Breafts of bis 
 Spoufe for Figure; as they do every Thing 
 which -tias not a Tendency to the fole Mark of 
 their Expectation, worldly and carnal Goods. 
 
 * THERE ate, and always have been, Men 
 who rightly apprehend, that the only E- 
 nemy of human “Nature is Concupifcence, 
 which turns us away from Gop; and that 
 Gop himfelf, not a fruitful Land, is our 
 only Good and Happinefs. Thofe who 
 fancy 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 143 
 
 ' fancy the Good of Man to confift in gratis 
 fying the Flefh, and his Evil in the Difap- 
 pointment of fenfual Defire, let them ‘wal- 
 Jow in their Pleafures, let them die in their 
 Enjoyments: But as for thofe who feek 
 Gop with their whole Heart, whom nothing 
 can grieve but the being deprived of the 
 Light of his Countenance, who have no 
 - Defire but to enjoy his Favour, no Ene- 
 mies but fuch as divert or with-hold them 
 from him, aud whofe greateft Affliction is 
 to fee themfelves encompaffed, and even fub- 
 dued by fuch Enemies, let them be com- 
 forted: For them there is a Deliverer, for 
 them there is a Gop! 
 
 - A MESSIAS was promifed, who fhould 
 refcue Men from their Enemies. A Mefjas 
 is come; but to refcue’Men from no other 
 Enemies than their Sins. 3 
 
 * WuEn David fays that the Moefias 
 ~ fhall deliver the People from their Enemies, 
 this, by a carnal Expofitor, may be ap- 
 plied to the Egyptians: And then, I confets,. 
 fam ata Lofs to thew him how tlie Pro- 
 phecy has been fulfilled. Yet it may be 
 hkewife applied to Mens Iniquities; fince 
 thefe, and not the Egyptians, are to be. 
 looked on as real Enemies. 
 
 Bur if in other Places he declares, 
 as he does, (together with Yaiah, and 
 others,) that the Mefias thall deliver his 
 
 People 
 
144 M. Pascat’s Thoughts, 
 
 People from their Sins; the Ambiguity 
 is taken off, and the double Senfe of B- 
 nemies reduced to the fingle Meaning of 
 Fniquities. For if thefe latter were chiefly 
 in his Thought, he might well exprefs 
 them by borrowing the Name of the 
 former: But if his Mind was wholly bent 
 on the former, ’twas impoffible he fhould 
 fignify them under the Appellation of the 
 datter. + 4 
 
 MOSES, David, and Taiah, all {peak 
 of this Victory in the fame Terms. Muft 
 we not, therefore, acknowledge, that thefe 
 Terms have the fame Senfe ; and that Mofs 
 and David had but one Intention, while 
 both fpeak of Mens Enemies, and the lat= 
 ter vifibly alludes to Mens Sins, 
 
 DANIEL, in his ninth Chapter, prays 
 that the People may be delivered from the 
 Captivity of their Enemies; but his Eye 
 was plainly fixed on their Tranfgreffions, 
 And to fhew that it was fo, he proceeds 
 to relate the fending of Gadriel to him, 
 with an Affurance that his Prayer was 
 heard; and that after the feventy Weeks, 
 the People fhould obtain Deliverance from 
 their Iniquity, that Tranfgreffions fhould 
 then have an End, and the Redeemer, the 
 moft Holy, fhould bring in (not legal, but) 
 everlafting Righteoufne/s. i Sg 
 
 + | _ Wen 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 14 
 
 WHEN we are once let into thefe Secrets, 
 it is impoffible for us not to difcerm,and 
 apprehend them. Let us read the Books of 
 the Old Teftament by this Light: Let us 
 fee whether Abraham's Lineage and Defcent 
 were the real Caufes of his being ftiled the 
 Friend of Gop? Whether the promifed Land 
 was the true Seat of Reft? Neither of thefe 
 ean be affirm’d; therefore both were Sym- 
 bolical. In-a Word, let us examine all the 
 legal Ceremonies, and all the Precepts which 
 are not of Charity, and we thall find them 
 compofing one general Image, one uninter- 
 rupted Allegory and Prefiguration. 
 
 | XIV. 
 FESUS CHRIST. 
 
 HE infinite Diftance that there is 
 between Body and Spirit, does but 
 imperfe@tly reprefent to us the Diftance be- 
 tween Spirzt and Charity, which being al- 
 together fupernatural, may be {aid to be in- 
 
 finitely more infinite. i 
 Art the Splendor cf outward Great- 
 nefs cafts no Luftre towards the Eyes of 
 K thofe 
 
446 M, Pascat’s Thoughts, 
 thofe who are engaged in the Purfuits of . 
 
 Wit | 
 
 TH: Greatnefs of Wit and Parts is whol- 
 ly indifcernable to the Rich, to Kings, and 
 Conquerors, and to all the great Ones of 
 the World. rea} 
 
 _-Tue GreatnefS of that Wifdom which 
 cometh from above, is alike impereeptible 
 to the Worldly, and to the Witty. Thefe 
 are three Orders of quite different Kinds. 
 
 - Grear Geninfes have their Kingdom 
 and Splendor, their Victory and Glory ;. 
 and want. not carnal Greatnefs, becaufe it 
 has no relation to the Grandeur which they 
 purfue. This Grandeur does not, indeed, 
 itrike the Eyes, but ’tis enough that is cafts 
 a diftinguifhable Radiancy on the Soul. 
 
 Tue Saints likewife have their Empire, 
 their Luftre, their Greatnefs, and their Tri- 
 umphs; and want not the Pomp of Ho- 
 nour, or the Pride of Genius; for thefe 
 Things are quite out of their Sphere and 
 Order, and fuch as neither increafe nor di- | 
 minifh the Grandeur to which they afpire. 
 Thefe truly great Ones are equally inyi- 
 fible to bodily Eyes, and to curious and 
 jubtle Wits; but they are manifefted to 
 God and Angels, and are not ambitious of 
 other Spectators. . 
 
 ARCHIMEDES. would have gained 
 the fame Efteem,. without his: Relation. te 
 ath: aa the 
 
~M.-Pascav’s Thoughts. 147 
 
 the Royal Blood of Sicily. It is true~ he 
 won no Battles; but he has left to aw the 
 World the Benefit of his admirable Inven- 
 tions. O! how great, how bright does he 
 appear to the Eyes of the Mind! 
 
 JESUS CHRIST, without worldly 
 Riches, without the extetior Produtions of 
 Science, was infinitely great in his fublime 
 Order of Hiolinefs. He neither publifhed 
 Thyentions, nor poffeffed Kingdoms; but 
 he was humble, patient, pure before Gop, 
 tertible to evil Spirits, and without Spot 
 of Sin. O! with what illuftrious Pomp, 
 with what tranfcendent Magnificence, did 
 he come attended, to fuch as beheld with 
 the Eyes of the Heart, and with thofe Fa- 
 culties which are the Judges and Difcerners 
 ‘of true Wifdom! 
 
 It had been needlefs for Archimedes, tho’ 
 of princely Defcent, to have aéted the Prince 
 in his Book of Geometry. . 
 
 Ir had been needlefs for our Lord ¥E- 
 SUS CHRIST to have afflumed the State 
 of an earthly King, for the Illuftration of 
 his Kingdom of Holinefs. But how great, 
 how excellent, did he appear in the Bright- 
 nefs of his proper Order!” 
 
 -”T1s moft unreafonable to be fcandalized 
 at the mean Condition of our Lord, as if 
 it were oppofed in the fame Order and 
 
 Kind, to the Greatnefs which he came to 
 bs mS K 2 difplay. 
 
148. M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 difplay. Let us confider this Greatnefs in 
 
 Ay Life, in his Sufferings, in his Solitude, 
 
 Death, in the Choice of his Atten- 
 
 acts in chews Act of forfaking him, in the 
 
 Privacy of his Refurrection, and in all the 
 
 other Parts of his Hiftory ; ; we fhall find 
 
 it fo truly rais’d, and noble, as to leave no 
 
 - Ground for our being offended at a Mean- 
 nefs which was quite of another Order, 
 
 Bur there are fome who can admire 
 only the Greatnefs of this World; as if 
 there were no proper Greatnels in Wit: 
 And others who are charm’d only with 
 ‘Greatnefs of Wit, as if there were not {till 
 a more noble, a more fublime Greatnefs in 
 Wifdom. 
 
 Tue whole Syftem “of Bodies, the Fir- 
 mament, the Stars, the Earth, and ‘the King- 
 doms oe it, are not fit to be ‘oppofed i in Va- 
 lue to ins loweft Mind or Spirit ; becaufe 
 Spirit is endued with the Knowledge and 
 Apprehenfion of all this; whereas Body is 
 utterly: ftupid and infenfible.. Again, the 
 whole united Syf{tems of Bodies and Spirits, 
 are not comparable to the leaft Motion of 
 Charity; becaufe this is ftill of an Order i in- 
 finitely more exalted and divine. 
 
 From all Body together, we are_not, able 
 to extract. one Thought. This is impof- 
 fible, and quite of another Order. Again, 
 all Body and Spirvt together are unable 
 
 4 tor 
 
 ~« 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts, 149 
 
 to produce one Spark of Charity. This is 
 hikewife impoffible, and of an Order above 
 Nature. - , * 
 
 * FESUS CHRIST lived in fo much 
 - Obfcurity, (as to what the World terms ob- 
 {cure,) that the Pagan Hiftorians, who were 
 wont to record only Perfons of Eminence, 
 and Things of Importance, have {fcarce af- 
 
 forded him a flender Natice. 
 
 _ * Who amongft Men was ever’ array'd 
 with fo much Splendor as our Lord? The 
 whole ‘few:/h Nation prophefied of him 
 before his Coming: The Gentile World 
 adored him at his Coming: Both- ews 
 and Gentiles regarded him as their com- 
 mon Centre, their Expectation, and Defire, 
 And yet who had ever fo little Enjoyment 
 of fo abundant Glory? Of thirty three . 
 Years, thirty he fpent in Privacy, and at 
 a Diftance from the World. During the 
 three which remained, he was cenfured for 
 an Impoftor, he was rejected by the Priefts 
 and Rulers of his Nation, defpifed by his 
 Kinfmen and Friends; and, in Conclufion,; 
 he fuffered a fhameful Death, betray’d by 
 one of his Attendants, abjur’d by another, 
 and deferted by all. 
 
 Wuar Share then can he be fappofed to 
 have borne in all this Splendor? Never Per- 
 fon was in greater Glory; never Perfon 
 was in deeper Difgrace. His whole Splen- 
 
 3 dor, 
 
150 M. Pascat’s Thoughts: - 
 
 dor, therefore, was defigned for our Sakes, 
 and to render him difcernable to us; but 
 not the leaft Ray was reflected back Bpan 
 himéelf. 
 
 Our Lord difcourfeth of the fublimeft 
 Subjects in a Phrafe {o plain and natural, 
 as if it had not been deeply confidered, but 
 withal fo pure and exact, as to fhew that 
 it proceeded from the greateft Depth of 
 Thought. The joining of this, laerwank 
 with this Simplicity is admirable. 
 
 * Wuo made the Evangelifts acquainted 
 with the Perfeétions and Qualities of a Souk 
 truly Heroic, that they -fhould be; able to, 
 
 aint it after fo inimitable a Manner in the 
 
 erfon of {ESUS CHRIST? What is the 
 Reafon that they defcribe him weak and 
 defponding in his Agony? Did they want 
 Skill or Colours to reprefent a patient and 
 conftant Death? No certainly; For St. Luke 
 has drawn that of St. Stephen with more 
 Bravery than that of our Lord. It was, 
 therefore, wife and juft to make him capa- 
 ble of Fi ear, while the Neceffity of Death 
 remain’d ata Diftance, but fearlefs when. it 
 atriv'd, And here, again, is the remark- 
 able Difference ; when he appears, dejected, 
 _the Affliction is fach as proceeds from. bjm- ; 
 felf; but when afflicted by Men, he is alt 
 Courage and. Relpunon. 
 
 a | Bre 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts: i§1 
 
 * Berore the Birth of fESUS CHRIST, 
 the Gofpel {peaks little of the Virgin-ftate 
 of his holy Mother; that there might be 
 no Part of facted Hiftory but what fhould 
 _ dire@tly bear a Reference to her Son. 
 
 * Tuer Old and New Teftament equally 
 regard JESUS CHRIST; the former as 
 its Hope and Expectation; the latter as its 
 Author and Example; both: as their com- 
 mon Centre and Aim. 
 
 * Tur Prophets had the Gift of fore- 
 telling ; but néver were foretold themfelves: 
 The Saints, which follow’d, were foretold ; 
 but had not the Power of fofetelling: 
 Our Lord, as he was the great Subject of 
 Prophecies, fo he was himfelf the Chief of 
 Prophets. 
 
 * FJESUS CHRIST for all Mankind; 
 Mofes for a fingle Nation. . 
 
 * Tue Fews were blefs'd in Abrabam: 
 (I will bles them that blefs thee :) But all the 
 Nations of the Earth are blefsd in Abra- 
 ham’s Seed: (A Light t6 lighten the Gentiles, 
 &c.) He has not done fo to any Nation, fays 
 David, fpeaking of the Law: He bas done 
 fo to all Nations, may we fay, {peaking of 
 the Gofpel. i Sa 
 
 Tus is it the fole Prerogative of FESUS’ 
 CHRIST to be an univerfal Benefit and 
 Bleffing. The Sacraments and Service of the 
 Church have an Effect only on atual Be- 
 
 K 4 lievers ; 
 
152 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 lievers; the Sacrifice of our Lord on the 
 Crofs, extends its meritorious Influence to 
 the whole World. 
 
  * Let us then ftretch out our Arms to 
 embrace our merciful Deliverer; who, ha- 
 ving been promifed four thoufand Years be- 
 fore, came at length to fuffer and to die for 
 us, at the Time and with the Circumftances 
 of the Promife: And, waiting by his graci- 
 ous Affiftance, till we fhall die in Peace, 
 thro’ the Hope of being eternally united to 
 
 . him, let us in the mean While live with 
 
 Comfort ;.whether among{t the good Things 
 which he fo bountifully gives us to enjoy, 
 or amongft the-evil Things which he ‘fhall . 
 pleafe to bring on us, for our Soul’s Health, 
 and which, by his own Example, he has 
 taught us to fuftain. 
 
 XV. 
 
 The Evidences of JESUS CHRIST from 
 the Prophecies. 
 
 HE nobleft Evidences of our Lord, 
 
 are the Prophecies which preceded 
 
 him. And accordingly it has pleas'd Gop © 
 to exercife a peculiar Care in this Behalf. 
 For © 
 
M. Pas cavs*Thoughts. 153° 
 
 For the full Accomplifhment of them, be- 
 ing a perpetual Miracle which reacheth from 
 the Beginning to the End of the Church, 
 fixteen* hundred Years together, Gop rais’d 
 up a Succeflion of Prophets; and during the 
 Space of four hundred Years after, he dif- 
 pers’d thefe Prophecies, together with the 
 “fews that kept them, thro’ all Regions of 
 the World. See the wonderful Preparation 
 to our Lord’s Appearance! As his Gofpel 
 was to be embraced and believed by all Na- 
 tions, there was a Neceffity not only of 
 Prophecies to gain it this Belief, but like» 
 wife of diffufing thefe Prophecies to the 
 fame Extent with human Race. 
 
 | * Supposinc one fingle Man to have left 
 a Book of Predictions concerning JESUS 
 CHRIST, as to the Time and Manner of 
 his Coming, and fuppofing him to have 
 come agreeably to thefe Predictions, the 
 Argument would be of almoft infinite 
 Force. Yet, here the Evidence is ftronger, 
 beyond all Comparifon. A Succeffion of 
 Men, for the Space of four thoufand Years, 
 follow one another, without Interruption 
 or Variation, in foretelling the fame great 
 Event. A whole People are the Harbin- 
 gers of the Mejias; and fuch a People as 
 fubfifted four thoufand Years, to teftify in a 
 general Body, their affured Hope and Expec- 
 
 tation, 
 
154 M. Pascat’s Thoughts, 
 
 tation, from which no Severity of Threats 
 or Perfecutions could oblige them to depart. 
 This is a Cafe which challengeth, in a far 
 more tranfcendent Degree, our Affent and 
 Wonder. — 
 
 * Tue Time of our Lord’s i varvars 
 was fignified by the State of the ‘eas; 
 the Condition of the heathen World; a 
 the Comparifon between the twa Temples ; 
 and even by the precife Number of Years 
 which fhould intervene. 
 
 * Tue Prophets having given various 
 Marks of the Mefiias who was to come, it. 
 feem’d neceflary that thefe Marks thould 
 all concur at the fame Period. ‘Thus ’twas 
 neceflary that the fourth Monarchy fhoald 
 be eftablifh’'d eer the Expiration of Da- 
 niel’s feventy Weeks; that the Scepter fhould 
 then depart from “fudab, and that the Me/- 
 fas Thould then immediately appear. In 
 Purfuit of which Predictions, our Lord ap- 
 pear’d at this Juncture, and demonftrated 
 his Claim to the Stile and Charaéter of the 
 Meffias. 
 
 * Ir is foretold, that under the fourth 
 Monarchy, before the Deftruction of the 
 ‘econd Temple, before the Dominion of the 
 ews was taken away, and in the feven- 
 tieth of Daniel's Weeks, the Heathens 
 fhould be led into the Knowledge. of the 
 only true Gop, worfhipp’d by the Fews 5 
 
 that 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 155 
 
 that thofe who fincerely fear’d and lov'd 
 him thould be deliver’d from: their Enemies, 
 and fhould be replenifh’d with higher De- 
 grees of his Fear and Love. 
 
 We fee the Event anfwer in all Points. 
 During the Time of the fourth Monarchy, 
 before the Deftruction of the fecond Tem- 
 ple, &c. the Pagans in Multitudes adored 
 the trae Gop, and-embraced a Life altoge- 
 ther fpiritual and angelick ; Women conie- 
 crated to Religion their Virginity, and their 
 Life; Men voluntarily renounced all the 
 Pleafures and Enjoyments of Senfe. That 
 which Plato was unable to effect upon a 
 few Perfons, and thofe the. wifeft and beft 
 inftituted of his Time, a fecret Force, by 
 the Help only of a few Words, now wrought 
 upon Thoufands of ignorant, uneducated 
 Men. 
 
 Wuat means this prodigious Change? 
 It is no other than was foretold fo. many 
 Ages. fince. Effundam Spiritum meum fu- 
 per omnem Carnem*, The whole World, 
 which lay enflaved to Luft and Unbelief, 
 was now furprizingly inflamed with the 
 Fire of Charity. Princes refign’d their 
 Crowns; the Rich abandon’d their Poffef- 
 fions; the Daughters, with an aftonifhing 
 Courage, contended for the Prize of Mar- 
 
 tyrdom ; 
 
 2 Joel ii, 28. 
 
156 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 tyrdom; the Sons forfook their Parents 
 and Habitations, to embrace the Solitude of 
 Deferts, Whence fprings this unknown 
 and invifible Force? The Meffas is ar- 
 rived, behold the Effects and the Tokens of 
 his Coming, 
 
 For two thoufang Years vbneatiend the 
 Gop of the Fews remained ehkaiowat to an 
 infinite Variety of Nations overfpread with 
 Paganifm. Yet, at the precife ‘Time fore- 
 told, the Pagans in all Nations adore this 
 only true Gop: The Idol Temples are every 
 where deftroyed: Kings themfelves fabmit 
 their Scepters to the Crofs. What new 
 Thing is this? It is the Spirit of Gop pour- 
 éd out upon all the Earth. 
 
 Ir was teftified, that the Me effias. fhould 
 come to eftablith a new Covenant with his 
 
 “People; fuch as might make them forget 
 their Departure out of Egypt, in Compari- 
 fon with this great Deliverance: That he 
 would put his Law and his Fear into their 
 > Hearts; both which refted before in vi 
 ternals only. | 
 
 Tuat the Fews fhould reje& our Lord; 
 and fhould themfelves be rejeéted of Gon, 
 ‘ the beloved Vine bringing forth only wild 
 Grapes. That the’ chofen People’ fhould 
 prove difloyal, eid: and incrédulous. 
 
 Populus 
 
 * Jer. xxiii. 7 > Mai. lio) Jer, xxxiiowen eee 
 2, 3, “4. 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 157 
 
 Populus non credens & contradicens*. ‘That 
 Gop fhould ftrike them with Blindnefs’; and 
 that, like blind Men, they fhould ftumble 
 at Naon-Day. 
 
 TuatT the Church fhould be narrow in 
 its Beginning ‘, and fhould afterwards diftufe 
 itfelf to a prodigious Extent. | 
 
 Tuar Idolatry fhould then be extirpated*: 
 That the Mefias fhould vanquifh and expel 
 the falfe Deities; and reduce Men to the 
 Worthip of the true Gop. 
 
 Tuart the Idol Temples fhould be caft 
 down ; and that in all Places of the World ¢ 
 Men fhould offer to Gop a pure, and ho- 
 ly, and living Sacrifice, in the Room of the 
 flain Beafts. 
 
 Tuat the Meffas fhould inftract Men in 
 the true and perfect Way. 
 
 Tuat he fhould reign over the ‘fews and 
 Gentiles. 
 
 No Perfon before, or fince our Lord, has 
 been known to teach any Thing which bears 
 the leaft Affinity to thefe Predictions. 
 
 * ArTeR fo many Meffengers fent to no- 
 tify his Coming, the Mejias was pleafed 
 himfelf to appear, with all the affured Evi- 
 dences of the Perfon, and all the concurring 
 Circumftances of the Time. He came to 
 
 inform 
 
 ee BUS XXVil. 28, 29, -. ° Ezek. xvi. 
 © Ezek? xxx. 13. Mal. i. 12, 
 
158 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 inform Men, that they had properly no 
 other Enemies than themfelves; or, than 
 thofe Paffions which feparated them from 
 Gop: That his Office was to fet them free 
 from thefe Enemies; to ftrengthen them 
 with his Grace; to unite them all in one 
 holy Church; to reconcile Fews and Gen- 
 tiles, by deftroying the Superftition of the - 
 former, and the Idolatry of the latter, 
 
 Wuat the Prophets have farther inti- 
 mated, my Apoftles (might he fay) fhall 
 fhortly accomplifh. The ‘ews are on the 
 Point of being rejected ; and the Defolation 
 of Ferufalem draws nigh: The Gentiles thall 
 foon be admitted to the Knowledge of the 
 true Gop; and thefe my Apoftles fhalf be 
 their Introducers, when you {hall have firft 
 extinguifhed your Title by flaying the Heir 
 of the Vineyard. 
 
 Anp the Ifiue of all this was, that the 
 Apoftles accordingly pronounced the Sen- 
 tence of Rejection on the Fews, and de- 
 clared the glad Tidings of Acceptance and 
 Salvation to the Gentiles. . . 
 
 Anp yet, through the Power of natural 
 Concupifcence, was this moft divine Un- 
 dertaking oppofed by the united Force of all 
 Mankind. This King of ‘fews and Gentiles 
 was denied, was opprefied, by both equally 
 confpiring againft his Life. . Whatever is 
 wont to ftile itfelf great in the World, at- 
 
 tacked 
 
 ~ 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 159 
 
 tacked this Religion in its very Infancy, the 
 Learned, the Wife, and the Princes of the 
 Earth. The firft perfecuted it with their 
 Pen; the fecond with their Tongue; the laft 
 with their Sword. But in fpite of all Op- 
 pofition, within how little a Space do we 
 behold our Lord reigning victorioufly over 
 his Enemies of every Kind? and deftroying 
 as well the “fewi/h as the Gentile Worthip, 
 each in its chief Seat and Metropolis, Feru- 
 falem and Rome, pianting in one of them the 
 firft, in the other the greateft of Churches? . 
 
 Persons of mean Endowments, and of no 
 Authority or Strength, fuch as were the A- 
 poftles and primitive Chriftians, bore up a- 
 gainft all the Powers of the Earth; overcame 
 the Learned, the Wife, and,the Mighty; gave 
 a total Subverfion to the Idol Worthip, which 
 had fo firmly eftablithed itfelf in the World. 
 And all this was brought to pafs by the fole 
 Vittue and Influence of that divine Word 
 which foretold our Lord’s Appearance. 
 
 * Tue ‘fews in putting to Death F E- 
 SUS. CHRIST, whom they believed not to 
 be the Meffias, gave him the final Mark and 
 Affurance of the Meffias’s Charaéter. The 
 more they perfifted in denying him, they ftill 
 became the more infallible Witneffes of his 
 Truth : For to difown, and to flay him, was 
 but to join their own Teftimony to that of 
 the Prophecies, which they fulfilled. 
 | * Was 
 
160 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 * Wuo is fo ignorant, as not to diftinguith © 
 and acknowledge our Lord, after the nume= 
 rous prophetical Tokens and Circumftances of © 
 his Hiftory? For it was exprefly declared, 
 
 * TuatT he fhould have one fpecial Mef- 
 fenger and Fore-runner: 
 
 > Tuat he fhould be born an Infant: 
 
 ©‘ TuaT his Birth-place fhould be the 
 City of Bethlehem; that he fhould {pring 
 from the Tribe of Sudah, and Houfe 
 of David; that. he fhould exhibit himéfelf 
 more efpecially at Ferufalem. 
 
 4 TuaT he fhould veil the Eyes of the 
 Wife and Learned, and preach the Gofpel to 
 the Poor; that he fhould reftore Sight to the 
 Blind, Health to the Difeafed, and Light to 
 thofe who languifhed under Darknefs. 
 
 © Tuat he fhould teach the true and 
 perfect Way, and fhould be the great In- 
 {tructor of the Gentiles: 
 
 £ Tuar he fhould offer himfelf as a Sa- 
 crifice for the Sins of the whole World : 
 
 ®@ TuaT he fhould be the chief Corner- 
 Stone, ele&t and precious: 
 
 h TuatT he fhould, at the fame Time, 
 be a Stone of Stumbling, and Rock of Of- 
 _ fence: 
 
 * THAT 
 
 * Mal. iii, 1.» Mai ix. 6, “¢ Mich. v..2; °# Efai, vis 
 8,29. © Hai. xlii.s. ' Mai. lili, © fai. xxviii. i6. 
 h Jfai. viii. 14. ; ; 
 
M. Pagéav's Thoughts. 161 
 
 « * Tuar the ews fhould fall upon this 
 Rock, ( : 
 
 * Tuar this Stone fhould be rejected by 
 the Builders; fhould be made by Gop the 
 Head of the Corner‘, fhould grow into a 
 great Mountain, and fill the whole Earth 4, 
 
 © Tuat the Meffas fhould be difowned, 
 rejected, betrayed, fold, buffetted, derided, 
 afflicted by a thoufand different Methods; 
 that they fhould give him Gall to eat, fhould 
 pierce his Hand and his Feet, fhould ftrike 
 him on the Face, fhould kill him, and caft | 
 Lots upon his Vefture‘. . 
 _® TuatT he fhould rife again the third 
 Day from the Dead. | 
 
 » Tuat he fhould afcend into Heaven, 
 and fit at the Right Hand of Gop. 
 
 * Tuat Kings fhould arm themfelves to. 
 
 oppofe his Authority. 
 _ * Tuar fitting at the Right Hand of the 
 Father, he fhould triumph over all his Ene- 
 mies. . : ; | 
 - | Tuar the Kings of the Earth thould 
 fall down before him, and all Nations do 
 him Homage and Service, ~ 
 
 ™ TuHat the ews fhould fill remain. 
 
 a L * THAT 
 
 *. Vfai. viii. 15. > Pfal..cxviii, © Ib. 4 Dan. ii3s: 
 o Zach xi..12, °)* Pl. Ixix.-21 enti. 17, 88.— = Pfal. 
 ae we . " Hof va 3) Plal. cx. 2. * Plal ii. 2. ° © Pfal. 
 ex.e. * Hai. Ix. 10. *™, Jer. xxxi. 46. 
 
162 M. Pascat’s Thoughts, 
 
 @ Tuat they fhould remain in a wan- 
 dring and defolate Condition, without Prin- 
 ces, without Sacrifices, without Altars, with- 
 out Prophets; ever hoping for Safety, and 
 ever difappointed of their Hope: 
 
 * IT was neceflary, according to the pro- 
 phetical Defcriptions, that the Mefias, ‘by 
 his own Strength, fhould gather to himfelf 
 a numerous People, elect, facred, and pe- 
 culiar; fhould govern and fupport them ;. 
 fhould lead them into a Place of Reft and 
 of HolinefS; fhould prefent them blamelefs 
 before Gop; fhould make them Temples 
 of the divine Prefence; fhould deliver 
 them from the Wrath of Gop; and reftore 
 them to his Favour; fhould refoue them 
 from the Tyranny of Sin, which fo vifibly 
 reigned over Adam's Pofterity; that he 
 fhould give Laws to his People, and fhould 
 grave thefe Laws in their Hearts, and write 
 them in their Minds; that he fhould be at 
 once a holy Prieft, and a fpotlefs Sacrifice; 
 and that, while he offered to Gop Bread 
 and Wine, he fhould no lefs offer his own 
 Body and Blood. Each of thefe Particu- 
 lars have we feen exaétly performed by 
 JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 Acarn, It was foretold, that he fhould 
 come as a mighty Deliverer ; that he fhould 
 
 bruife 
 
 * Hof. iii. 4. Amos, Iai. 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 163 
 
 bruife Safan’s Head, and fhould redeem his 
 People from their Sins; ab omnibus Iniqui- 
 tatibus. That there fhould be a new and 
 an eternal Covenant, and another Priefthood 
 for ever, after the Order of Melchifedec : 
 That the Meffas fhould be powerful, migh- 
 ty, and glorious; and yet fo weak, fo mife- 
 rable, and fo contemptible, as not to be di- 
 ftinguifhed, or credited, but rejeéted and 
 flan: That the People who thus rejected 
 him, fhould be no more a People: That 
 the Gentiles fhould receive him, and truft in 
 him: That he fhould remove from the Hill 
 of Szon, and reign in the chief Seats of ido- 
 latrous Worfhip: And that the Yews fhould 
 neverthelefS continue for ever. Laftly, That 
 he fhould arife*out of $udah, and at the 
 precife Time, when the Scepter was depart- 
 ed from them. 
 
 * Tue Prophets have interwoven parti- 
 cular Prophecies with thofe concerning the 
 Mefias: That neither the Prophecies con- 
 cerning the Mefias fhould be without their 
 Proof; nor the particular Prophecies without 
 their Fruit. | 
 
 * NON habemus regem, nifi Czfarem, 
 faid the Fews. - Therefore fESUS CHRIST 
 was the Meffias; becaufe their Scepter was 
 departed to a Stranger; and becaufe they 
 would admit of no other King. 
 
 L 2 * D A- 
 
164 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 * DANTJEL’s feventy Weeks are ren+ 
 dered difputable, as to their Beginning, by 
 the Terms of the Prophecy; and, as to 
 their End, by the Difference of Chronolo- 
 gifts. And yet all this Variety, taken toge- 
 ther, amounts to no more than the Space 
 of two hundred Years. 
 
 * a Tur fame Prophecies which reprefent 
 our Lord as under Poverty and Contempt, 
 deferibe him likewife as the Prince and Ma- — 
 fter of the World. ? 
 
 T Hose Prophecies which exprefs the Time 
 
 of our Lord’s Coming, defcribe him as upon 
 Earth, and in the Condition of a Sufferer ; 
 not, as in the Clouds, and in the Majefty 
 of a Judge; and thofe which reprefent him 
 in Glory, and judging the Nations, give 
 not the leaft Mark whereby to determine 
 the Seafon of his Appearance. . 
 _* > Wuen the Scriptures fpeak of the 
 Mefias as great, and triumphant, and glo- 
 rious, ’tis evident.they are to be underftood 
 of his coming to judge the World, not to 
 redeem it. 
 
 XVI. 
 
  Ifai. lili, Zach. ix. 9. > Mai. Ixv. 15, 16. 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 16% 
 
 XVI 
 Divers Prooft of JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 N refufing to give Credit to the Apoftles, 
 
 it is neceflary we fhould fuppofe one of 
 thefe two Things, either that they were de- 
 ceived themfelves, or that they had an In- 
 tention of deceiving others, As to the firft, 
 it feems next to impoffible, that Men fhould 
 be abufed into a Belief of a Perfon’s rifing 
 from the Dead. . And as for the other, the 
 Suippofition of their being Impoftors, is 
 loaded. with Abfurdities of every Kind. 
 Let us be at the Pains of examining its 
 Procefs: We are; then, to conceive thefe 
 twelve Men, after the Death of their Ma- 
 fter, combining to delude the whole World 
 with a Report of his Refurrection. As 
 they could not embark in this Defign, with- 
 out bringing upon their Heads all the Op- 
 pofition of united Strength and Power; fo 
 the Heart of Man has a ftrange Inclina- 
 tion towards Lightnefs and Change, towards 
 clofing with the Bribes of Promifes and 
 Rewards, Now. fhould fo much as. any 
 
 : L. 3 one 
 
166 M. Pascat’s Thoughts, 
 
 one of them have been drawn from his Re- 
 folution by thefe Charms, or have been 
 fhaken by Prifons, by Tortures, or by Death 
 itfelf, all had been undone beyond Reco- 
 very. This Confideration, if purfued, can- _ 
 not fail of appearing with great Weight and 
 Advantage. 
 
 * Wuite their Lord continued amongft 
 them, his Prefence might encourage and fup- 
 port them: But afterwards what could pof- 
 fibly engage them to proceed, except his real 
 ie gece and Return? 
 
 * Tue Stile of the Gofpel is admirable 
 in a thoufand different Views; and in this 
 among{ft others, that we meet there with 
 no Invectives, on the Part of the Hiftorians, 
 againtt Fudas, or Pilate, nor againft any of 
 the Enemies, or the very Murderers of their 
 Lord. 
 
 Hap the Modefty and Temper of the 
 Evangelical Writers been ‘affected, like the 
 many Strokes of Art, which we admire in 
 vulgar Hiftory; and had they defigned: it 
 only to be taken Notice of, either they 
 could not have forborn to give fome In- 
 finuation of it themfelves; or, at leaft, 
 they would have procured Friends who 
 fhould obferve it to their Advantage ‘and 
 Honour. But as they acted without an 
 Manner of Affectation, and with altogether . 
 
 | ‘difin- 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 167 
 
 difinterefted Motions, they never took Care 
 
 “to provide any Perfon who fhould make 
 thefe Reflexions in their Favour. This, I 
 believe, is what no Man has hitherto re- 
 _ marked, and yet what feems an admirable 
 Evidence of the great Simplicity ufed in 
 this whole Affair. 
 
 * As our Lord performed Miracles in 
 Perfon, and his Apoftles after him, fo many 
 others were wrought by the holy Men in 
 the firft Ages of Chriftianity ; becaufe the 
 Prophecies being, in fome Meafure, fill 
 imperfect, till they fhould receive an Ac- 
 complifhment from their Hands, their Mi- 
 racles were the only fufficient Teftimony of 
 their Commiffion. It was foretold, that the 
 Meffias fhould convert the Gentiles. But 
 now the Gentiles could not be converted to 
 the Mefias, without beholding this final Ef- 
 fe& of the Prophecies concerning him. Be- 
 fore, therefore, that he died, and rofe again, 
 and that the Gentiles were converted through 
 his Name, all was-not yet fulfilled. So that 
 a conftant Series of Miracles was neceflary 
 during this Period, But in our Days there 
 is no Need of miraculous Performances to 
 evince the Truth of our Chriftian Faith; 
 inafmuch as the full Completion of the 
 Prophecies is a ftanding and perpetual Mi- 
 racle. 
 
 L 4 * ANo- 
 
168 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 * ANOTHER fignal Confirmation of our; 
 Faith, is the prefent Condition of the Fews: 
 Tis aftonifhing to fee this People, during 
 fo vaft a Courfe: of Years, never extinguifh- 
 ed, and yet ever miferable; it being:alike 
 neceflafy to the Demonftration of the Me/- 
 fias, both that they fhould fubfift to be his 
 Witnefles, and fhould be miferable, as ha- 
 ving been his Crucifiers. And though to 
 fubfift, and to be miferable, are: Contrarie- 
 ties ungrateful to Nature, yet they fail not 
 to maintain their Subfiftence, under all the’ 
 Power of their Mifery. 
 
 Bur were they not reduced to almoft 
 the fame Extremities, during their captive 
 Eftate?: No: The Scepter and regal Line 
 was not in the leaft interrupted by their 
 Captivity in Babylon; becaufe their hap- 
 py Return was exprefly promifed and 
 determined. When-Nabuchodonofor carried. 
 -awayathe People, for fear they thould ima- 
 gine the Scepter to have then departed from 
 Sudabe, they were before - hand aflured, 
 that they fhould fojourn but a few Years, 
 andiat the End of them fhould certainly be 
 re-eftablifhed: ‘They were never without the 
 Comfort, of their Prophets, or the Prefence 
 of , their Kings. But the fecond Ruin of 
 their City and Polity is without Promife of 
 a Reftauration; without Prophets, without 
 Kings, wienOue Comfort, or Hopes 5 the 
 
 Scep- 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 169 
 
 Scepter being now for ever departed from 
 them. 
 To be detained in an Enemy’s Country 
 with an Affurance of being delivered after 
 feventy Years, can fcarce be looked on as a 
 State of Captivity, in refpect of a whole 
 People. . But their prefent Difperfion and 
 Banifhment into ftrange Lands is not only 
 without Aflurance, but without the leaft 
 Hope of Recovery and Reftitution. 
 
 * We find it a folemn Promife of Gop 
 to them, that though they fhould be {cat- 
 tered to the Corners of the Earth, yet upon 
 their Perfeverance in his Law, he would ga- 
 ther them again. They are now in the 
 higheft Manner conftant to their Worthip, 
 and tenacious of their Rites; and yet remain 
 difperfed and diftreffed. It follows there- 
 fore, of Neceffity, that the Meffias is come, 
 and that the Old Law, which contained 
 thefe Promifes, has been difannulled by the 
 Eftablifhment of the New. | 
 
 * Hap the ews been entirely con- 
 verted by our Lord, we fhould have none 
 but fufpected Witneffes; had they been en- 
 tirely deftroyed, we fhould have no Wit- 
 ety || . 
 
 * As the ews rejected Chrift, but not 
 univerfally, fo fpiritual Men now embrace 
 him, but not carnal. And this is fo far 
 from diminifhing or impairing his Glory, 
 
170 M, Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 that ‘tis the laft Stroke which ar: and 
 
 adorns it. 
 
 * Tue only Argument of the Fews 
 which we find infifted on in their Writings, 
 the Talmud, and. the Rabbins, is, that FE- 
 SUS CHRIST did not appear as a mighty 
 Prince and Conqueror, did not fubdue the 
 Nations by the Force and Terror of Arms. 
 FESUS CHRIST, fay they, faffer'd and 
 dy’d; he overcame not the Gentiles by 
 Martial Power ; he loaded us not with their 
 Spoils’; ; he earatse enlarged our Dominions, 
 nor increas’d our Stores. And is this all 
 they have to alledge? 'This is what we have 
 efpecially to boaft. ’Tis in this that he ap- 
 pears fo peculiarly amiable to my Eyes: I 
 would not with for a Mefias of their De- 
 {eription and Character. | 
 
 * How lovely a Sight is it, to behold 
 with the Eye of Faith, Darius, Cyrus, and 
 Alexander, the Romans, Pompey, and Herod, 
 all ignorantly confpiring to advance’ the Tri- 
 umphs ¥ the Crofs? 
 
 /o XVIL 
 
M. Pascar’s Thoughts. 171 
 
 XVII. 
 Agant MAHOMET, 
 
 HE Mabhometan Religion has for its 
 Foundation. the A/coran, and its 
 Compiler Mahomet. But now as for this 
 great Prophet, who was to be the laft Ex- 
 eCtation of Mankind, where do we find 
 him once foretold? Or, what Token has he to 
 fhew, which any Man might not as well pro- 
 duce, who fhould pleafe to affume the Pre- 
 tenfions of Prophecy? What Miracles does 
 he himfelf tell us that he wrought? What 
 Myfteries does he teach, even according to 
 his own Report and Tradition? What Mo- 
 rality has he eftablifh’d? What Felicity has 
 he propofed ? | 
 * MAHOMET brings not with him 
 the leaft Authority or Credentials: His Rea- 
 fons, therefore, ought to be the moft cogent 
 in the World, as having nothing to fupport 
 them but their own proper Force, 
 
 * SUPPOSE 
 
172 M. Pascar’s Thoughts. 
 
 * Suppose two Perfons fhould both of 
 them deliver Things in Appearance of a 
 low and mean Character; but fo that the 
 Difcourfes of the one fhould have a two- 
 fold Senfe, underftood by his Friends and 
 Followers, while thofe of the other had but 
 one Meaning only: A Stranger, who had 
 not been admitted into the Secret, hearing 
 them fpeak in this Manner, would be in- ~ 
 clined to pafs the fame Judgment on both. 
 But if afterwards, in the remaining Part of 
 their Converfation, the one’ fhould difclofe 
 fublime and angelica] Truths; the other 
 fhould perfift in uttering Things bafe and 
 vulgar, and even foolifh and impertinent, 
 he muft conclude, that the one fpake myfte- 
 rioufly, and not the other; the one having 
 eyidenced, that he is incapable of Abfurdity, — 
 and capable of being myfterious ; the other,. 
 that he is incapable of Myftery, but very 
 sapable of being abfurd. i 
 
 * Ir is not. by the oblenser Parts. of 
 Mabomet's Doétrine, and thofe which bear _ 
 an Appearance, of {ome hidden Meaning, 
 that I would have Perfons judge of the Au- 
 thor; but by thofe Things which are clear 
 and express, as his Paradife, and the like 
 "Tis in thefe that he is moft peculiarly rie 
 diculous.. No! {uch Imputation can pafs on 
 the holy Scriptures. They too, it muft 
 be confefied, have their Obfcurities; “a 
 
 then 
 
M. Pasca’s Thoughts. 173 
 
 then their plainer Doctrines are admirably 
 juft and true; and the Prophecies they al- 
 ledge, are fuch as have been notorioufly 
 accomplifh’d. The Cafe, therefore, is as 
 different ‘as can be conceiv’d; nor ought we 
 to compare and confound Things which ~ 
 refemble each other only in Obfcurity, not 
 in their clear and open Parts; for the latter, 
 when excellent and divine, fhould engage 
 us to reverence the Obfcurities with which 
 they are attended. 
 
 * Tue Alcoran fays, Matthew was a 
 good Man. Hence I argue, that Mahomet 
 was a falfe Prophet, either in calling wicked 
 Men good, or in difbelieving thefe good 
 Men, as to, what they report of JESUS 
 CHRIST, 
 
 _ * Wuat Mahomet did, lies within any 
 Man’s Reach. He was authorized by no 
 Miracle, he was countenanced by no Pre- 
 diction, But what was perform’d by 7E- 
 SUS CHRIST, is abfolutely above the 
 Power and the Imitation of Man. 
 _* MAHOMET eftablith'd himélf by 
 killing; FESUS CHRIST, by command- 
 ing us to lay down our Lives: Mahomet, 
 by forbidding his Law to be read; JESUS 
 CHRIST, by engaging us to fearch and 
 tread. Ina Word, the two Defigns are in all 
 Refpects fo directly oppofite, that Mahomet 
 took the Way, in human Probability, to fuc- 
 ceed; 
 
174. M. Pascav’s Thoughts. 
 
 ceed; YESUS CHRIST, humanly {peak- 
 ing, to be difappointed. And hence, in-— 
 ftead of fo irrational a Conclufion, as that be- 
 caufe Mahomet fucceeded, ¥ESUS CHRIST 
 might, in like Manner, have fucceeded be- 
 fore, we ought by the Rule of Contraries 
 to infer, that fince Mahomet has fucceeded, 
 Chriftianity muft inevitably have perith’d, 
 had it not been founded and fupported by 
 a Power altogether divine. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 For what Reafons we may prefume it has 
 pleavd GOD to hide himfelf from Jome, 
 and to difclofe himfelf to others. 
 
 T has been the gracious Purpofe of Gon, 
 to redeem Mankind, and to open a Doot 
 
 of Salvation to thofe who diligently feek 
 him. But Men have fhewn themfelves fo 
 unworthy of this Defign, that he juftly 
 denies to fome, on-Account of their OBfi- 
 nacy, what he grants to others by a Mer- 
 cy, which is not their Due. Were it his 
 Pleafure 
 
M. Pascar’s Thoughts. 175 
 
 Pleafure to overbear the Stubbornnefs of the 
 moft harden’d Unbelievers, he could eafily 
 effect it by- difcovering himfelf fo manifeftly 
 to them, as to fet the Truth of his Exiftence 
 beyond the Poffibility of their Difputes, 
 And it is in this Manner that he will ap- 
 pear at the laft Day; with fuch amazing 
 Terrors, and fuch a Convulfion of all Na- 
 ture, that the moft blind fhall behold, and 
 fhall confefs him, 
 Bur this is not the Way which he has 
 chofe for his firft and milder Coming. Be- 
 caufe, fo many Perfons having render’d 
 themfelves thus unworthy of his Mercy, 
 he has left them deprived of a Happinefs 
 which they vouchfafed not to defire. It 
 had not, therefore, been confiftent with 
 his Juftice, to aflume an Appearance every 
 Way great and divine, and capable of 
 working in all Men an abfolute and un- 
 diftinguifh’d Conviction : Nor, on the other 
 hand, would it have feem’d more equitable 
 to have ufed fo much Privacy and Con- 
 _ cealment, as not to be difcoverable by fin- 
 cere Enquirers. So ‘that intending no lef 
 to reveal himfelf to thofe who fought 
 him with their whole Heart, than to -hide 
 himfelf from thofe who were alike induf- 
 trious to fly and avoid him, he has fo tern- 
 _ per'd the Knowledge of himfelf, -as to ex- 
 hibit bright and vifible Indications to thofe 
 aut who 
 
176 M. Pascat’s Thetghts, 
 
 who feek him; and to turn the Pillar of 4 
 Cloud towards thofe who feek him not. 
 _ * Tuere is a due Proportion of Light 
 for thofe, who, above all Things, with 
 that they may fee; and a proper Mixture 
 of Shade, for thofe who are of a contrary 
 Difpofition. 
 
 THERE is enough Brightnefs to illumi- 
 nate the Elect; and enough Obfcurity to 
 humble them. 
 
 THERE is Obfcurity enough to blind 
 the Reprobates; and Brightnefs enough to 
 condemn them, and to render them with- 
 out, Bxcufe. 4: y; 
 
 Dip the World fubfift purely to inform 
 Men of the Being of Gop, his Divinity 
 ‘would fhine thro’ it, with irrefiftible and 
 uncontefted Rays. But, in as much as it 
 fubfifts only by JESUS CHRIST, and 
 for fESUS CHRIST; and to inform Men 
 of their Corruption and Redemption, we 
 read thefe two Leffons in every Part of its 
 Frame. For all the Objects which we can 
 furvey, are fuch as denote neither the total 
 Exclufion, nor the manifeft Prefence of 
 Gop; or they denote the Prefence of a 
 GOD who hides himfelf. The Face of 
 Nature bears this univerfal Character and 
 Language. 
 
 * Hap Men never been honour’d with 
 the Appearance of Gop, this eternal Priya- 
 
 I tion 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 177 
 tion might have been the Subject of Dif- 
 pute, and as well have been interpreted of 
 his utter Abfence from the World, as of 
 human Incapacity to enjoy his Prefence. 
 But by affording fome, though not continual 
 Appearances, he has taken away all Ground 
 of Doubt and Debate. If he has appeared 
 once, he exifts for ever. So that’ we are 
 obliged jointly to conclude from the Whole, 
 the Being of Gop, and the Unworthinefs 
 of Man. 
 
 * It feems to be the divine Intention, to 
 perfect the Will rather than the Under- 
 ftanding. But now a convincing Light and 
 a perfect Brightnefs, while it affifted the 
 Underftanding, would foreftal and defeat 
 the Will. 
 
 * Were there no Intermixture of Dark- 
 nefs, Man would not be fenfible of his Dif 
 cafe; and were there no Degree of Light, 
 Man would defpair of a Remedy. So that 
 not only the divine Juftice, but human In- 
 tereft and Advantage feem concerned that 
 Gop fhould difcover himfelf in Part, and 
 conceal himfelf in Part; it being alike dan- | 
 gerous for us to know Gop without appre- 
 hending our own Mifery, and to know our 
 own Mifery, without the Apprehenfion of 
 Gop. 
 
 * Every Thing inftruéts Man in his 
 own Condition ; but then this Maxim ought 
 
 rightly 
 
178 M. Petdai’s Thoughts, 
 
 rightly to be underftood, .For *tis neither 
 true, that Gop altogether difcovers himélf, : 
 nor that he remains altogether concealed. 
 
 But thefe are moft confiftent. Truths, that 
 he hides himfelf from thofe who tempt him, 
 
 and difclofes himfelf to thofe who feek him. 
 For Men, though unworthy of Gon, yet at 
 the fame Time are capable of Gop. They 
 are unworthy of him by their-Corruption ; 
 and they ate capable of him by their origi- 
 nal Perfection. 
 
 * THERE’s no Object upon Banh phich 
 does not {peak and, proclgim, either divine 
 Mercy or human Milery ; either the Impo- 
 tence ‘of Man, unaflifted by Gop, or the 
 Power of Man with Gop's Concurrence and 
 Aid. 
 
 * Tue whole Univerfe teaches Man her 
 that he is diftempered and lapfed, or that he 
 is recovered and redeemed. Every Thing in-. 
 forms him either of his. Greatnefs, or of his. 
 Mifery. The juft Dereliction of Gop, we 
 may read in the Pagans: His merciful Fa- 
 vour and Protection, in the ancient Fews,.» 
 _ * Att Things work together for Good 
 to the Elect; even the Obfcurities of Scrip- 
 ture, which thefe honour and reyeren¢ge, on 
 Acconte of that divine Clearnefs.and Beau- - 
 ty which they underftand. ‘And all Things 
 work together for Evil to ‘the--Reprobates, 
 even the divine Clearneis and Beauty -of 
 all 2 Scrip- 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts’ r7g 
 
 Scripture ; which thefe blafpheme, on Ac- 
 count of the Obfcurities which they un- 
 derftand not. 
 
 * Hap the Defign of our Lord’s Co. 
 ming been the Work of Juftification only, 
 the’ whole Series of Scripture, and Difpo- 
 fition of Things would have been directed 
 towards this End: And it had been then 
 the eafieft Tafk in the World to convince 
 an Unbeliever.. But fince he came, as / 
 faiab prophetically fpeaks, 2 fanctificationem 
 & in fcandalum, perverfe Infidelity is above 
 our Strength to. conquer, and our Art to cure: 
 Bet then this Difappointment cannot be 
 made an Exception againft.our own Belief: 
 Becaufe we affirm, that in all the Condud& 
 and Methods of fivihe Grace, there | is no 
 Conviction for opiniative, obftinate Spirits, 
 and fuch as do not fincerely feek the Trathi 
 
 * FESUS CHRIST is come, that 
 thofe who fee not, may fee; and that thofe 
 who fee, may be made blind.. ‘He is came 
 to heal the Sick, and to give over the Sound; 
 to call Sinners to Repentance and Juftifica- 
 - tion, and to leave thofe in their Sins, who 
 trufted in themfelves that they were Saints} 
 to fill the Hungry with good Things, and 
 to fend the Rich empty away. 
 
 * Ir was to render the Me/fas alike the 
 Subject of Knowledge to the Good, and of 
 Eiror to the Wicked, that it pleas'd Gop 
 
 M 2 fo 
 
180 M. Pascats Thoughts. | 
 
 fo to difpofe the Predictions concerning hint. 
 For had the Manner of his Appearance been 
 exprefly foretold, there would not have been 
 Obfcurity enough to miflead the worft of 
 Men. On the other hand, had the Time 
 been fignified obfcurely, the beft of Men’ 
 would have wanted Evidence and Light. 
 For Inftance ; the Integrity of their Heart 
 could never have affifted them in expound- 
 ing a fingle = for the Numeral of fix hun- 
 dred Years. The Zime, therefore, was de- 
 clar’d in pofitive Words; but the Manner 
 wrapt up in Shade and Figure. 
 
 By this Means the Wicked, apprehend- 
 ing the promifed Goods to be temporal, 
 deceiv'd themfelves, notwithftanding the 
 clear Indications of the Time; while the 
 Righteous avoided this Danger of Miftake. 
 For the Conftruction of the promifed Goods 
 depended on the Heart; which is wont to 
 apply the Name of Good to the Object of 
 its Love: Whereas the Conftruétion of the 
 promifed Time has no Dependance on the 
 Heart or Affeétions. And) thus the plain 
 Difcovery of the Time, and the obfcure 
 Defcription of the Goods or Happinefs ex- 
 pected, could be the Caufe of Error only 
 to the Wicked. 
 
 * Wuat was the Defign of that Oppo- 
 fition in the Marks of the Mefias; that by 
 his Hand the Scepter fhould be wir 
 
 2 xd 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 181 
 
 fix’d in Fudah; and that at his Coming the 
 ~ Scepter fhould be taken from ‘Fudah ? 
 
 To evince, that feeing, they fhould not 
 fee; and underftanding, they fhould not un- 
 derfiand. Nothing could have been dif- 
 pos'd with more admirable Juftice and Wil- 
 dom. 
 
 * InsTEAD of complaining that Gop is 
 fo far remov’'d from our Search, we ought 
 to give him Thanks that he is fo obvious 
 to our Difcovery. Nor ought we lefs to 
 thank him that he ftill. hides himfelf from 
 the Wife and the Lofty, from thofe who 
 are unworthy to know fo pure and holy a 
 Gop. . 
 
 * Tur Genealogy of our Lord in the 
 Old Teftament, is intermix’d with fo many 
 Things of little Confequence, that there 
 feems to be fome Difficulty in difcerning it. 
 Had Mofes kept no other Regifter but that 
 of the Pedigree of FESUS CHRIST, the 
 Series muft have been vifible; and even 
 now, upon a clofer Infpection, we may be 
 able to trace it in Thamar, Ruth, &c. 
 
 * Tuose Things in the Gofpels which 
 have the greateft Appearance of Weakneds, 
 cr Error, are of peculiar Force and Weight 
 with difcerning Judges. For Inftance; the 
 different Genealogies of St. Matthew and 
 St. Luke; it being manifeft that this could 
 not be done by Confederacy, 
 
 | M 3 * Ler 
 
182 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 * Let Men, ‘therefore, reproachsus no 
 more with the Want of perfect Light; for 
 we profefs ourfelves to want it. But let: 
 them own the Power and Truth of Reli- 
 gion in its very Obfcurity, in that Mixture 
 of Darknefs which furrounds us, and that 
 Indifference which we find in ourfelves to-= 
 wards the Knowledge of our Duty. 
 
 . * Were there but one Religion in the 
 World, the Difcoveries of the divine Na- 
 ture might feem’ too free and open, and 
 with too little Diftin@ion: And fo like- 
 wife, if there were Martyrs in no Religion 
 but the true. . 
 
 * JESUS CHRIST, to leave the Im- 
 pious in their Blindnefs, never exprefly told 
 them, that he was not of Nazareth, or 
 that’he was not the Son of Fofeph. 
 
 - * As our Lord remain’d unknown a- 
 mongft Men, fo Truth remains amongft 
 vulgar Opinions, undiftinguifh’d as to ex- 
 ternal Appearance. In like Manner, the 
 holy Eucharift: differs not cota from 
 common Bread. 
 
 * Tp the Mercy of Gon be fo abundant, 
 as to afford us all faving Knowledge; even 
 while he hides himfelf; what immente- 
 Light may we expect, when he fhall Seni 
 to unveil his Perfections? 
 
 * We can underftand nothing: of the 
 Works of Gop, if we do not fettle this 
 
 as 
 
M. Pascats.Thoughts. 183 
 
 as a Principle, that he blinds and infatuates 
 fome, while he infpires and illuminates 
 Sahuse 
 
 RTE. 
 
 That ‘the true Profeffors of Judaifm and of 
 Chriftianity, have ever been of one and 
 the fame Religion, 
 
 HE Fewifh Religion feems, at firft 
 
 View, to confift, as to its very Ef- 
 fence, in the Paternity of Abraham, in the 
 Rite of Circumcifion, in Sacrifices, in Ce- 
 remonies, in the Ark, in the Temple at 
 “térujalem, or, briefly, in the Law and the 
 Covenant of Mo ofes. 
 _ Bur we offer to maintain that. it con- 
 fifted in none of thefe, but purely inthe 
 Love of Gop; and that befides this, no- 
 thing ever obtain’d the divine Approbation 
 and “Acceptance. 
 
 Tuat Gop bore no Manner ‘of Regard 
 
 to Ifrael after the Flefb, to thofe who pro- 
 beeded out of the Loins of Abraham. 
 
 Magi ei Tuart 
 
184 M. Pascat’s Thoughts, 
 
 Tuat the ews, if they tranfgrefs’d, 
 were to be punith’d after the Manner of 
 Strangers. And it fhall be, that if you do 
 at all forget the LORD thy GOD, and 
 walk after other Gods, and ferve them, and 
 worfhip them; F tefi ify againft you this "Day; 
 that ye fhall “furely perifo: As the Nations 
 which the LORD deftroyeth before your Face, 
 fo foall ye perifh. 
 
 ' THAT Strangers, if they loved Gop,’ 
 were to be received by him on the fame 
 Terms with the Fews. 
 
 Tuat thofe who were Yews in Truth 
 and Reality, afcribed all their Merit and 
 Pretenfions not to Abraham, but to Gop: 
 Doubtlefs thou art our Father; tho’ Abra- 
 ham de ignorant of us, and Mrael knoweth 
 us not: Thou art our. Father and qur Re- 
 deemer.” 
 
 MOSES himéfelf affured his Nation, that 
 Gop was no Accepter of Perfons; che 
 LORD your GOD, fays he, regardeth not 
 Perfons, nor taketh Rewards. * 
 
 We affirm that the Circumcifion enjoin’d, 
 was that of the Heart: Circumeifé therefore 
 the Forefkin of your Heart, and be no more 
 fiiff-neck'd. For the LORD your GOD 1s 
 a great GOD, a mighty, and a terrible 
 who regardeth not Pas * &ec, 
 
 Tuar 
 
 2 Deut. viii. 19, 20. > Tfai. Ixiii. 16. © Deut. x. 17. | 
 # Deut.x. 16,17. Jer. iy. 4. ‘si 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 18, 
 
 TuatT Gop particularly promis’d to be- 
 ftow on them this Grace of {piritual Cir- 
 cumcifion: And the LORD thy GOD will 
 eircumcife thy Heart, and the Heart of thy 
 Seed, to love the LORD thy GOD witb all 
 thy Heart? 
 
 Tuat the uncircumcifed in Heart hall 
 be judged of Gop: For GOD will judge 
 all the Nations which are uncircumcifed; 
 and all the People of Utael, becaufe they are 
 uncircumcifed in Heart.’ 
 
 We fay, that Circumcifion. was purely a 
 Figure, inftituted to diftinguifh the People 
 of the ‘fews from all other Nationss And 
 this was the Reafon that they ufed it not in 
 the Wildernefs, becaufe there was then no | 
 Danger of their mixing with Strangers; as 
 alfo that fince the Appearance of our LORD 
 it is become altogether unneceflary. 
 
 ‘Tuar the Love of Gop is, every where, 
 principally commanded and enforced: Icail 
 Heaven and Earth to record this Day a- 
 gainft you, that I have fet before you Life 
 and Death, Blefing and Curfing; therefore 
 choofe Life, that both thou and thy Seed may 
 hive; that thou may ft love the LORD tby 
 GOD, and that thou mayft obey his Voice, 
 and that thou may ft cleave unto him; for he 
 as thy Life,’ &e. 
 
 rr 
 
 * Dent. xxx. 6. » Jerem. ix, 25, 26. © Genef. xvii. 1. 
 # Deut. xxx. 19, 20, 
 
186 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 Ir was declared, that the fews forvwant 
 of this Love of Gop, fhould be abandon’d 
 to their Sins, and the Gentiles admitted: in 
 their Stead: L will hide my Face from them, 
 I will fee what their End fhall be; for they 
 are a very froward Generation, Children 
 in whom is no Faith. They have mov'd me 
 to Fealoufy with that which is not GOD, 
 they have provoked me to Anger with their 
 Vanities; and I will move them to ‘fealoufy 
 with thofe which are not a People, I will 
 provoke them to Anger with a foolifo Na- 
 zion? 
 
 TuarT temporal Goods are falfe and vain; 
 and that the only true and lafting Good is 
 the divine Acceptance and Favour.’ . 
 
 Tuar the Feafts of the Fews were dif- 
 pleafing to Gop. 
 
 Tuar their Sacrifices ¢ were no lefs dif 
 agreeable. And not only thofe of the 
 Wicked, but even of the Good; as ap- 
 pears from the fiftieth Pfalm ; where before 
 the Difcourfe is peculiarly addrefs’d to the 
 Wicked by thofe Words, Peccatori autem 
 dixit Deus, it is declared abfolutely, that 
 Gop has no Regard to the Fleth or the 
 Blood of Beatts. 
 
 Tuat the Offerings of the Gentiles 
 thould be received by Gop; and that. he 
 
 fhould 
 
 2 Deut. xxxii. 20, 21. Tfai. Ixv. » Pfal. xxiii, 28. 
 Amosy.z. 4 Ifai. Ixvii. Jerem. vi. 20, 
 
M. Pascaz’s' Thoughts, 187 
 
 fhould withdraw his Acceptance’ from the 
 Offerings of the ‘ews. ! 
 
 Tuat Gop would make a new Cove-. 
 nant by the Mefias;> and that the old Co- 
 venant fhould be difannull’d. 
 
 Tuat the old Things fhould be univer- 
 fally forgotten, and fhould pafs away.“ 
 
 TuaT the Ark of the Covenant fhould 
 come no more to Mind. 
 
 Tuat the Temple fhould be ‘given up 
 and deftroy’d.° 
 
 Tuar the legal Sacrifices fhould be a- 
 bolifh’d, and Sacrifices of a purer Kind e- 
 ftablifh’d in their Room.‘ 
 
 Tuat the Aaronical Order of Priefthood 
 fhould be diffolv’d ; and the Order of Mel- 
 chifedec introduc’d by the Mefiass 
 
 ._Tuar this latter Priefthood thould be 
 an Ordinance for ever.* 
 
 Tuat Ferufalem thould be reprobated 3 
 and a new Name given to the elect Peo- 
 
 bey 
 P Tuat this new Name fhould be more 
 excellent than that of the Fews, and of 
 
 eternal Duration.« 
 THAT 
 
 »? Mal.i. 11," 1 Kings xy. 22. Hof. vi. 6. .® Jer. xxxi, 
 31. © Hai. xliii/18, 19. 4 Jerem. iii.6. © Jer. vii. 12, 
 13,14. *Mal.i, 10. & Pfalmecx. * Ibid. i [fai. Ixv. 
 * Tai. lvi. 5. 
 
188 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 Tuart the Jews fhould remain without 
 Prophets, without Kings, without Sacrifi- 
 ces, and without an Altar; *and fhould, 
 neverthelefs, fubfift as a diftin& People. - 
 
 XX. 
 
 That GOD is not known to Advantage, but 
  ¢bro’ JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 HE greateft Part of thofe who at- 
 tempt to demonftrate the Truth of 
 the divine Being to the Ungodly and Pro- 
 fane, commonly begin with the Works 
 of Nature; and in this Method they 
 very rarely fucceed. I would not feem 
 to impair the Validity of thefe Proofs, 
 which have been confecrated by the holy 
 Scripture itfelf. They have, indeed, an un- 
 deniable Agreement with the Principles of 
 found Reafon; but are very often not fo 
 well fuited and proportion’d to that Difpo- 
 fition of Spirit which is peculiar to the Per- 
 fons here defcribed. 
 For we muft obferve, that Difcourfes 
 of this Kind are “not ordinarily addrefs'd to 
 
 Men 
 
 @ Hof. iti. 4. 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 189 
 
 Men whofe Hearts abound with a lively 
 Faith, and who immediately difcern the 
 whole Syftem of Things to be no other 
 than the Workmanthip of that Gop whom 
 they adore. To thefe the Heavens declare 
 the Glory of GOD, and all Nature {peaks 
 in Behalf of its Author. But as for thofe 
 in whom this Light is extin€t, and in whom 
 we endeavour to revive it, Perfons who are 
 deftitute of Faith and Charity, and who 
 behold nothing but Clouds and Darknefs 
 on the whole Face of Nature, it feems not 
 the moft probable Method of their Con- 
 verfion, to offer them nothing more on a 
 Subject of the laft Importance, than the 
 ~Courfe of the Moon or Planets; or than 
 fuch Arguments as they every Day hear, 
 and every Day defpife. The Hardnefs and 
 Obftinacy of their Temper has_ render’d 
 them deaf to this Voice of Nature, which 
 founds continually in their Ears; and Ex- 
 perience informs us, that inftead of our 
 gaining them by fuch a Procefs, there’s 
 nothing which, on the contrary, is fo great 
 a Difcouragement, and fo apt to make them 
 defpair of ever finding the Truth, as when 
 we undertake to convince them by this 
 Way of reafoning, and pretend to tell them 
 that Truth fhines fo bright in thefe Views, 
 as to become really iprefiftible. 
 
 THE 
 
190 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 Tue Holy Scripture, which knows fo 
 much better than we the Things which be- 
 long to Gon, never fpeaks of them in this 
 Manner. It informs us, indeed, that the 
 Beauty of the Creature leads to the Know- 
 ledge of the Creator; but it does by: no. 
 Means afflure us that the Creatures produce 
 this Effect indifferently in all Perfons. On 
 the contrary, it declares, that whenever they 
 appear thus convincing, it is not by their 
 own Force, but by Means of that Light 
 which Gop diffufeth into the Hearts of thofe 
 to whom he is pleas’d to difcover himfelf by: 
 their Means and Intervention: Quwod notum 
 eff Dei manifeftum eft in tllis: Deus enim 
 zis manifeftavit. It teacheth, in general, 
 that our Gop isa GOD who hideth him- 
 felf; Vere tu es Deus abfconditus: And that 
 fince the Corruption of human Nature, 
 he has left Men under fuch a Blindnefs as 
 they can only be deliver'd from by ‘7ESUS 
 CHRIST; without whom we are cut off 
 from all Communication with the Divinity : 
 Nemo novit Patrem nifi Filius, aut cui von 
 luerit Filius revelare. 
 
 Tue Scripture gives us a farther His 
 dence of this Truth, when it fo often tef 
 tifies, that Gop: is: found by thofe who feek 
 him; for it could never fpeak thus ‘of a 
 clear and certain Light, fuch as gives not 
 Men the Trouble of fearching after it, but 
 
 fly 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 1g: 
 
 freely diffufeth itfelf around, and prevents 
 - the Obfervation of the Beholders, 
 * THE, metaphyfical Proofs of Gop are 
 - fo very intricate, and fo far removed from 
 the common Reafonings of Men, that they 
 firike with little Force: Or, at beft, the Im- 
 preflion, continues but a fhort Space, and 
 Men, the very next Hour, fall back into 
 their old Jealoufies, and their perpetual Fear 
 and Sufpicion of being deceiv’'d: Quod curi- 
 ofitate.cognoverant fuperbia amiferunt. 
 
 Again, -ail the Arguments of. this ab- 
 firacted Kind are able to lead'us no farther 
 than.to a f{peculative Knowledge of Gop; 
 and) to,-know him. only thus, is, in Effect, 
 not to know ‘him at all. 
 
 ‘Tue Gop of Chriftians is not barely the 
 fupreme,and infallible Author of geome- 
 trical Truths, -or of the elementary Order, 
 and the Difpofition of Nature: This is the 
 Divinity, of Philofophers and Pagans, Nor 
 barely.,,.the» proyidential Difpofer of the 
 Lives.and Fortunes. of Men, {o'as to crown 
 his Worthippers with.a long and happy Se- 
 ties of Years: This was the Portion of the 
 ews. But the Gop of Abraham and -of 
 Tfaac, the Gop of Chriftians, is a Gop of . 
 Love and Confolation; a Gop who pof- 
 fefleth the Hearts and Souls of his Servants; _ 
 gives them an inward Feeling of their own 
 Mifery, and of his infinite Mercy; unites 
 
 him- 
 
192 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 himfelf to their Spirit, replenifhing it with 
 Humility and Joy, with Affiance and Love; 
 and renders them incapable of any Profpec, 
 any Aim, but himéelf. 
 
 Tue Gop of Chriftians, is a Gop whd 
 makes the Soul perceive and know that he 
 is her only Good, and that fhe can find 
 Peace and Repofe in him alone; no De- 
 light, no Joy, but in his Love; arid who, 
 at the fame Time, infpires her with an Ab- 
 horrence of thofe Obftacles and Impedi- 
 ments which with-hold her from loving 
 him with all her Strength. As her two 
 principal Hindrances, Self-love and Concu- 
 pifcence, are grievous and infupportable to 
 her ; fo it is this gracious Gop who makes 
 her know and feel that fhe has thefe fatal 
 Diftempers rooted in her Conftitution, and 
 that his Hand alone can expel or fubdue 
 them. 
 
 Tus is to know Gop as a Chriftian. 
 But to know him after this Manner, we 
 muft, at the fame Time, know our own 
 Mifery and Unworthinefs, together with the 
 Need we have of a Mediator, in Order to 
 our approaching his Prefence, or uniting our- 
 felves to him. -We ought by no Means to 
 feparate thefe Parts of Knowledge ; becaufe 
 each alone is not only unprofitable, ~but 
 dangerous. The Knowledge of Gop, with- 
 out the Knowledge of our own Mifery, a 
 the 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 193 
 
 the Nurfe of Pride. The Knowledge of our 
 own Mifery without the Knowledge of 7 Z- 
 SUS CHRIS Tis the Mother of Defpair. 
 But the true Knowledge of JESUS 
 CHRIST exempts us alike from Pride and 
 from Defpair; by giving us, at once, a 
 Sight not only of Gop, and of our Mifery, 
 but alfo of the Mercy of Gop in the Re- 
 lief of our Mifery. 
 
 We may know Gop without knowing 
 our own Miferies; or we may know our 
 own Miferies without knowing Gop; or we 
 may know both, without knowing the 
 Means of obtaining from Gop the Relief 
 of our Miferies. But we cannot know 
 JESUS CHRIST without the Know- 
 ledge of Gop, of our Miferies, and of their 
 Cure. Inas muchas f ESUS CHRIST 
 is not only Go p, but he is Go D under this 
 Charaéter, the Healer and Repairer of our 
 Miferies. 
 
 Tuus all they who feck Gop without 
 FESUS CHRIST can never meet with 
 fuch Light in their Enquiries as may afford 
 them true Satisfaction, or folid Ufe. For 
 either they advance not fo far as to know 
 that there isa Gon ; or if they do, yet they 
 arrive hereby but at an unprofitable Know- 
 ledge, becaufe they frame to themfelves a 
 Method of communicating with Gop; with- 
 out a Mediator, as without a Mediator 
 N they 
 
194 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 they were capable of knowing him: So 
 that they unavoidably fall either into A- 
 ' theiim, or Deiim, Things which the Chri- 
 ftian Religion does almoft equally deteft 
 and abhor. : 
 
 We ought therefore wholly to dire@ our 
 Enquiries to the Knowledge of 7 E SUS 
 CHRIST, becaute ‘tis <-: him alone that 
 We can pretend to know GoD, in fucha 
 Manner as fhall be really advantageous to us. 
 
 He alone is the true Gop to us Men, that 
 ‘Is, to miferable and finful Creatures: He is — 
 our chief Centre and fupreme Objed, in se- 
 ipea of all that we can with, and all that we 
 can underftand. Whoever knows not him, 
 knows nothing cither in the Order of the 
 World or in his own Nature and Condition. 
 For as we know Go p only by F ESUS 
 CHRIS8T, fo ’tis by him alone that we 
 know ourielves. 
 
 Witrovr {ESUS CHRIST Man is, of 
 Neceffity, to be confider'd as lying in Vice 
 and Mitery: With 7ZSUS CHRIST Man 
 appears as rcleas’d from’ Vice, and redeem’d 
 from Mifery. In him confifts all our Hap- 
 pinefs, andall our Virtue, our Life and Light, 
 our Hope and Affurance: Out of him there 
 is no profped but of Sins and Miferies, of 
 Darkneis and Defpair; nothing to be beheld 
 by us but Obfcunity and Confafion im the 
 divine Nature, andincurowm = tu 
 
 — 
 
M. Pasca i's Thoughts. 195 
 
 XXII. 
 
 The ftrange Contrarieties difcoverable in 
 Human Nature, with regard to Truth 
 and Happine(s, and many other Things. 
 
 OTHING can be more afto- 
 nifhing in the Nature of Mgn, than 
 the Contraricties which we there obferve, 
 with regard to all Things. He is made 
 for the Knowledge of Truth: This is 
 what he moft ardently defires, and moft 
 _ eagerly purfues ; yet when he endeavours 
 to lay hold on it, he is fo dazzled and 
 confounded, as never to be fecure of ac- 
 tual Poffeffion. Hence the two Sects of 
 the Pyrrhonians, and the Dogmatifts took 
 their Rife; of which the one would ut- 
 terly deprive Men of all Truth; the other 
 would infallibly enfure their Enquiries af- 
 ter it: But each with fo improbable Rea- 
 fons, as only to encreafe our Confufion — 
 and Perplexity, while we are guided by 
 no other Lights than thofe which we find 
 in our own Bofom. : 
 N 2 THE 
 
196 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 THE principal Arguments of the Pyrrho» 
 nians, or Scepticks, are as follow. If we 
 aceept Faith and Revelation, we can have 
 no other Certainty as to the Truth of Prin- 
 ciples, than that we naturally feel and per- 
 ceive them within ourfelves. But now 
 this inward Perception is no conyidtive Evi- 
 dence of their Truth; becaufe, fince with- 
 out Faith we have no Affurance whether 
 we were made by a good Gop, or by fome 
 evil Demon ; .nay, whether venir not 
 exifted from Eternity, or been the Offspring 
 of Chante. It may be doubted whether 
 thefe Principles within us are true or falfe, 
 or uncertain in Correfpondence to our Ori- 
 ginal. Indeed, ’tis by Faith alone which 
 we can diftinguifh whether we are afleep or 
 awake. becaufe in our Sleep we as ftrong- 
 ly fancy ourfelves to be Waking as when we 
 _ really are fo: We imagine that we fee 
 Space, Figure, and Motion: We perceive 
 the Time pafs away ; we meafure it as it runs. 
 Tn fine, we act, to all Intents, as in our moft. 
 wakeful Hours. Since then, by our own Con- 
 feffion, one half of our Life is fpent in Sleep, 
 during which, whatever we may fuppofe, 
 we have really no Idea of Truth, all that 
 then paffeth within us being meer Illnfion. 
 Who can tell but that the other Moiety of 
 our Life, in which we fancy ourfelves to 
 be awake, is no more than a fecond Sleep, 
 
 little | 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 197 
 
 little differing from the former; and that 
 we only rouze’ ourfelves from our Sleep 
 by Day when we enter into that at Night; 
 as ’tis ufual with us to dream that we dream, 
 by heaping one fantaftick Image upon an- 
 other ?- 
 
 I wave thewhole Difcourfe of the fame 
 ~ Set, . againft the Impreffions of Cuftom, 
 Education, Manners,*'and Climates, with 
 other the like Prejutlices; which they ob- 
 _ ferve to govern ‘the greateft Part of Man- 
 kind, who are wont to reafon-onmno other 
 than thefe falfe Foundations. | 
 
 THE main Fort of the Dogmatifts is this, 
 that,. would we but fpeak honeftly “and 
 - fincerely, there’s no Man who can doubt 
 of natural Principles. We are capable of © 
 Truth, fay they, not only by Reafoning, 
 but by Perception, and by a bright and 
 lively At of immediate Intelligence. ’Tis 
 by this latter. Way that we arriye at the 
 Knowledge of firft Principles; which the 
 Forces of Reafon would attack in vain, as 
 here acting beyond the Province and Com- 
 miffion. The Scepticks wholabour to bring 
 all Things to their own Standard, are un- 
 der a continual Difappointment. We may. 
 be very well affured of our being awake, 
 tho’ very unable to -demonftrate it by Rea- 
 fon. This Inability fhews indeed the 
 Feeblenefs of our rational Powers, but not 
 
 N 3 the 
 
198 M. Pascau's Thoughts. 
 
 the general Incertitude of our Knowledge, 
 We apprehend with no. lefs Confidence 
 that there are fuch Things in the World as 
 Space, Time, Motion, Number, and Mat- 
 ter, than the moft regular and demonftrative 
 Conclufions. Nay, it is upon this Certain- 
 ty of Perception and Intelleétion, that Rea- 
 fon ought to fix itfelf, and to found the 
 whole Method of its Procefs. I perceive 
 that there are three Dimenfions in Space, 
 and that Number is infinite: Hence my Rea- 
 fon demonftrates, that there are no two fquare 
 Numbers affignable, one of which thall ex- 
 actly double the other. We apprehend Prin- 
 ciples, and we conclude Propofitions: And 
 both with the like Affurance, tho’ by dif- 
 ferent Ways. Nor is it lefs ridiculous for 
 Reafon to demand of thefe perceptive and 
 intelleGtive Faculties, a Proof of their 
 Maxims e’re it confents to them; than it 
 would be for the faid Faculties to demand 
 of Reafon a clear Perception and Intuition 
 of all the Problems it demonfirates, This — 
 Defeé&, therefore, may ferve to the Hum- 
 bling of Reafon, which pretends to be the 
 Judge of all Things, but not to the fhaking 
 off Certainty, as if Reafon were alone able to 
 inform our Judgment. On the contrary, it 
 were to be wifhed that we had lefs Occafion 
 for rational Deductions; and that we ri 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 199 
 
 all Things by Inftin& and immediate View. 
 But Nature has denied us this Favour, 
 and allows us but few Notices of fo eafy 
 a kind, leaving us to work out the reft by 
 laborious Confequences, and a continued Se- 
 ries of Argument. 
 
 W x fee here a univerfal War proclaim’d 
 amongft Mankind. We muft of Neceflity 
 lift ourfelves on one Side or on the other; 
 For he that pretends to ftand neuter is 
 moft effe@tually of the Pyrrhonzan Party : 
 _ This Neutrality conftitutes the very Effence 
 
 of Pyrrhonifm ; and he that is not againft 
 
 the Scepticks, muft be, in a fuperla- 
 ‘tive Manner for them. What fhall a 
 Man do under thefێ Circumftances? Shall 
 he queftion every Thing? fhall he doubt 
 whether he is awake, whether another 
 pinches him or burns him? Shall he doubt 
 whether he doubts? Shall he doubt whe- 
 ther he exifts? It feems impoflible to come 
 _ to this; and therefore, I believe, there ne- 
 ver was a finifh’d Sceptick, a Pyrrhoman 
 in Perfeétion. There is a fecret Force in 
 Nature. which fuftains the Weaknefs of 
 Reafon, and hinders it from lofing itfelf in 
 fuch a Degree of Extravagance. Well, but 
 fhall a Man join himfelf to the oppofite 
 Faction? Shall he ‘boaft that he is in fure 
 Poffeffion of Truth, when, if we prefs 
 him meyer fo little, he can produce no 
 N 4 Title, 
 
200 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 Title, and muft be obliged to quit his 
 Hold? 
 
 Wuart Meafures can fupprefs or compofe 
 this Embroilment? The Pyrrhonians, we 
 fee, are confounded by Nature, and the 
 Dogmatifts by Reafon. ‘To what a diftrac- 
 ting Mifery will that Man, therefore, be ° 
 reduced, who fhall feek the Knowledge of 
 his own Condition, by the bare Light and 
 Guidance of his own Powers ; it being alike 
 Aimpoffible for him to avoid both thefe Sects, 
 and to repofe himfelf in either! 
 
 Sucu is the Pourtrait of Man, with Re- 
 gard to Truth. Let us now behold him in 
 refpect of Felicity, which he profecutes 
 with fo much Warmth thro’ his whole 
 Courfe of Action: For all defire to be 
 Happy: This general Rule is without Ex- 
 ception. Whatever Variety there may be 
 in the Means employed, there is but one 
 End univerfally purfued. The Reafon why 
 one Man embraceth the Hazard of War, 
 
 and why another declines it, is but the fame 
 Defire, attended in each with a different 
 intermediate View. This is the fole Mo- 
 -tive to eyery Aétion of every Perfon; and 
 even of fuch as moft unnaturally become. 
 their own Executioners. 
 
 AND yet, after the Courfe of fo many 
 Ages, no Perfon without Faith has ever 
 arrived at az Point, towards which all cone 
 
 tinually 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 201 
 
 tinually tend. The whole World is bufy 
 in complaining: Princes and Subjects, No- 
 bles and Commons, Old and Young, the 
 _ Strong and the Feeble, the Learned and the _ 
 Ignorant, the Healthy and the Difeafed, of 
 all Countries, all Times, all Ages, and all 
 Conditions. 
 
 So long, fo conftant, fo regular, and uni- 
 form a Proof ought fully to convince us of 
 the Difability we lie under towards the 
 Acquifition of Happinefs by our own 
 Strength. But Example will not ferve for 
 our Inftruétion in this Cafe ; becaufe there 
 being no Refemblance fo exaét as not to ad- 
 mit fomie nicer Difference, we are hence 
 difpofed to think that our Expectation is 
 not fo liable to be deceived on one Occa- 
 fion as on another. Thus the prefent ne- 
 ver fatisfying us, the future decoys and 
 Jures us on, till from one Misfortune to 
 another it leads us into Death, the Sum and 
 Perfection of eternal complicated Mifery. 
 
 THIS is next to a Miracle, that there 
 fhould not be any one Thing in Nature 
 which has not been fome Time fix’d, as the 
 laft End and Happinefs of Man; neither 
 Stars, nor Elements, nor Plants, nor Ani- 
 mals, nor Infects, nor Difeafes, nor War,. 
 nor Vice, nor Sin. Man being fallen from 
 his natural Eftate, there is no Object fo ex- 
 
 trayagant 
 
202 M. Pascau’s Thoughts, 
 
 travagant as not to be capable of attracting 
 his Defire. Ever fince the: Time that he 
 loft his real Good, every Thing cheats him 
 with the Appearance of it; even his own 
 Deftruction, tho’ the greateft Contradiétion 
 to Reafon and Nature at once, 
 
 S.o ME have fought after Felicity in Ho- 
 nour and Authority, others in Curiofity and 
 Knowledge, anda third Tribe in the Plea- 
 fures and Enjoyments of Senfe. Thefe three 
 leading Defires have conftituted as many 
 Factions; and thofe whom we compliment 
 with the Name of Philofophers, have real- 
 ly done nothing elfe but refign’d them- 
 felves up to one of the three. Such 
 amongft them as made the neareft Ap- 
 proaches to Truth and Happinefs well con- 
 fidered, that “twas neceffary the univerfal 
 Good which all defire, and in which each 
 Man ought to be allowed his Portion, 
 fhould not confift in any of the private 
 Bleffings of this World, which can be pro- 
 perly enjoyed but by one alone, and which, 
 if divided, do more grieve and affli& each 
 Poffeffor, for want of the Part which he 
 has not, than they oblige and gratify him 
 with the Part which he has. They rightly 
 apprehended, that the true Good ought to 
 be fuch as all may poffefs at once, with- 
 out Diminution, and without Contention ; 
 and fuch as no Man can be deprived of 
 
 | againft 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts, 203 
 
 againft his Will. They apprehended this ; but 
 they were unable to attain and execute it ; 
 and inftead of a folid fubftantial, Happinefs, 
 took up at laft, with the empty Shadow of 
 a fantaftick Virtue. 
 
 Our Inftind fuggefts to us, that we: 
 ought to feek our Happinefs within our- 
 felves. Our Paffions’ hurry us abroad, 
 even when there are no Objects to engage 
 and incite them. ‘The Things without are 
 themfelyes our Tempters, and charm and 
 - attraé&t us, while we think of nothing lefs, 
 Therefore, the wifeft Philofophers might 
 weary themfelves with crying, Keep with- 
 im your felves, and your Felicity is in your 
 own Gift and Power. The Generality 
 never gave them Credit; and thofe who 
 were fo eafy as to believe them, became on- 
 ly the more unfatisfied and the more ridi- 
 culous. For is there any Thing fo vain as 
 the Szoicks Happinefs, or fo groundlefs as 
 the Reafons on which they build it ? 
 
 Tuey conclude, that what has been 
 done once, may be done always; and that, 
 becaufe the Defire of Glory has fometimes 
 fpurr’d on its Votaries to great and worthy 
 AGtions, all others may ufe it with the fame 
 Succefs. But thefe are the Motions of 
 Fever and Phrenzy, which found Health 
 and Judgment can never imitate. 
 
 THE 
 
4 
 
 204 M. Pascau’s T houghts. 
 
 Tue Civil War between Reafon and 
 Paffion has occafion’d two oppofite Pro- 
 jects, for the reftoring of Peace to Man- 
 kind: The one, of thofe who were for re- 
 eupjons their Paffions, and becoming 
 Gops, the other, of thofe who were for 
 renouncing: | their Reafon, and becoming 
 Beafts. But neither the one nor the other 
 could take Effect. Reafon ever continues 
 to accufe the Bafénéfs and Injuftice of the 
 Paffions, and to difturb the Repofe' of thofe. 
 who abandon” themfelves: ‘to’ their’ Domi-- i 
 nion : And, on* the: contrary, ‘the! “Paffions 
 remain y ‘vigorous in the Hearts of 
 thofe, “who... 4talk ‘the moft of their Ex- 
 tirpation. 7s ane 
 
 THIS is the juft Account of human Na- 
 
 Ptiuman Strength, in Refpe& of 
 
 Truth and Hfappinefs. We have an Idea 
 of -Truth, tot to be effaced “by all the’ 
 Wiles of the. Sveptick we havé an Inéa- 
 pacity of Arguthent, * ‘not to be’ fe@tified by’ 
 all the Power'of the’ ‘Dogmatift.’ "We with 
 for Truth, ‘and’ find nothing in ourfelves, 
 but Uncertainty Wettek after ee 
 and are prefented’ with nothing but Mifery. 
 Our double Aim is, in Effet, a double’Tor- - 
 ture; while we are alike ‘unable to com- 
 pafs cither, and to relinquifh either. Thefe 
 Defires feem to have been left in us, part- 
 Y as a Punifhment of our Fall, and partly 
 . as 
 
+ er 
 
 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 20¢ 
 
 as an Indication and Remembranee whence 
 we are fallen. 
 
 * Tf man was not made for Gon, why 
 
 is Gop alone fufficient for human Happi- 
 nefs? If Man was made for Gop, why is 
 the human Will, in all Things, repugnant 
 to the Divine? , 
 -“* Maw is at a Lofs where to fix himfelf, 
 and now~to recover his Rankin the World. 
 Hie is’ unqueftionably out of his Way ; she 
 feels. within himftlf the {mall Remains of 
 his once happy State, which he is now un- 
 able to retrieve. And yet this-is. what he 
 daily courts and follows after, always with 
 Solicitude, and never. with Succefs; en- 
 compafled with Darknefs, which he can nei- 
 themefeape, nor penetrate... 24.» > 
 
 Hence arofe the grand Contention aa 
 mongtt! the Philofophers: Some of whom 
 endeavour'd to raife and exalt Man, by dif= 
 playing his Greatnefs; others to deprefs and 
 abafe him, by reprefenting his Mifery. 
 ~ And what feems more ftrange, is, that each 
 Party borrow’d from the other, the Ground 
 of their own Opinion. For the Mifery of 
 Man may be inferr’d from his Greatnefs, as 
 his Greatnefs is deducible from his Mifery. 
 Thus the one Seé,. with more Evidence, 
 demonftrated his Mifery in that they deri- 
 ved it from his Greatnefs; and the other 
 more ftrongly concluded his, Greatnefs, be- 
 
 caule> 
 
206 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 caufe they founded it on his Mifery. What- 
 ever was offer’d to juftify his Greatnedfs, ir 
 Behalf of one Tribe, ferv’d only to evince 
 his Mifery, in. Behalf of the other; it 
 being more miferable to have fallen from 
 the greater Height. And the fame Propor- 
 tion holds vice verfa. So that in this end- 
 lefs Circle of Difpute, each help’d to ad- 
 vance his Adverfary’s Caufe ; for ’tis cer- 
 tain, that the more Degrees of Light Men 
 enjoy, the more Degrees they are able to 
 ditcern of Mifery and of Greatnefs. In 
 a word, Man knows himfelf to be mifera- 
 ble: He is therefore exceedingly miferable, 
 becaufe he knows that he is fo: But he like- 
 wife appears to be eminently great, from 
 this very Ac of knowing himfelf to be 
 miferable. | 
 W Hat a Chimera then is Man! What 
 a furprizing Novelty! What a confufed 
 Chaos! What a Subje& of Contradiction ! 
 A profefs’d Judge of all Things, and yet 
 a feeble Worm of the Earth; the great 
 Depofitary and Guardian of Truth, -and 
 yet a meer Huddle. of Uncertainty; the 
 Glory and the Scandal of the Univerfe: If 
 he is too afpiring and lofty, we can lower 
 and humble him; if too mean and little, 
 we can raife and {well him. To conclude: 
 We can bait him with Repugnancies and 
 Contradictions, ’till at length, he appre- 
 hends 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 207 
 
 hends himfelf to be a Monfter, even beyond 
 Apprehenfion, 
 
 XX, 
 The General Knowledge of Man. 
 
 f i ‘HE firth Thing which offers itfelf 
 to Man, when refle@ing on himfelf, 
 
 is his Body; or fuch a certain Portion of 
 Matter allotted and appropriated to him. 
 And yet to underftand what this Portion is, 
 he muft be obliged to compare it with all 
 Things that are above or below him, e’re 
 he can determine and adjuft its Bounds. Let 
 him not therefore content himfelf with the 
 Sight of thofe Cbjects, which immediately 
 furround him. Let him contemplate all Na- 
 ture, in its Height of Perfection, and FulnefS 
 of Majefty. Let him confider the great Body 
 of the Sun, fet up as an eternal Lamp to 
 enlighten the Univerfe. Let him fuppofe 
 the Earth to be only a Point, in Refpe@ 
 of the vaft Circuit which this Luminary 
 defcribes. And, for his greater Aftonifh- 
 ment, let him obferye, that eyen this vaft 
 Cir- 
 
” 
 ‘ 
 
 ~208 M. Pascatu’s Thoughts. 
 
 Circuit is but a Point itfelf, compared with 
 the Firmament and the Orb of the fix’d 
 Stars. If his Sight be. limited here, let 
 his Imagination, at leaft, pafs beyond. 
 He may fooner exhauft the Power of con- 
 ceiving, than Nature can want a new Store 
 to furnifh out his Conceptions. The whole 
 Extent of vifible Things, is but one Line 
 or Stroke in the ample Bofom of Nature. 
 No Idea can reach the ‘immeafurable Com- 
 pafs of her Space. We may gfow as big 
 as we pleafe with Notion; but we {hall 
 bring forth meer Atoms, inftead of real and 
 folid Difcoveries. This is an infinite Sphere, 
 the Centre of which is every where, and 
 the Circumference no where. In a word, 
 *tis the greateft amongft all the fenfible 
 Marks and Characters of the Almighty 
 Power of Gop. And let our Imagination 
 lofe itfelf'in this Reflection. 
 IF a Man can recover himfelf from fach 
 a Profpe&, let him confider what he him- 
 felf is, if compared with the whole Ex- 
 panfion of Being. Let him conclude, that 
 he is accidentally ftray’d into this blind 
 Corner of Nature; and from what he finds 
 of his prefent Dungeon, let him learn to 
 fet the “proper Value on the Earth, ‘on 
 Kingdoms, on Cities, and on himfelfi 
 Wuart is Man with regard to this Infini- 
 ty about him? Who can fix his Diftance, 
 or 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 209 
 
 or comprehend his Proportion? But to 
 fhew him another Prodigy no lefs aftonifh- 
 ing, let him turn his Thoughts on the fmal- 
 left. of thofe Things which fall within his 
 ‘Knowledge. Let a Mite, for inftance, in 
 the contemptible Minutenefs of its Body, 
 prefent him with Parts incomparably more 
 minute; with jointed Legs, with Veins in 
 thofe Legs, Blood in thofe Veins, Hu- 
 mours in that Blood, Drops in thofe Hu- 
 mours, Vapours in thofe Drops. Let him 
 ftill apply all his Force, and ftrain his ut- 
 moft Conception, to divide the leaft of thofe 
 Particulars which we have mentioned ; and 
 when he has gone as far as his Mind can 
 - reach, let the concluding Atom be the Sub- 
 je& of our Difcourfe. He will probably 
 fuppofe, that this is the remoteft Extreme, 
 . the laft Diminutive in Nature: But even in 
 this, where he finds himfelf obliged to ftop, 
 I fhall undertake ftill to open before him 
 a new Abyfs of Wonders. Let him con- 
 eeive me delineating to him on the Surface 
 of this imperceptible Atom, not only the 
 vifible World, but whatfoever he is able 
 to comprehend of the Immenfity of all 
 Things. Let him here behold an Infinity 
 of Worlds, each with its Firmament, its 
 Planets, its Earth, under the fame Propor- 
 tions, as in the natural Syftem. Let him 
 flill imagine eyery fuch Earth to be ftored 
 
 O with 
 
210 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 with all living Things, and even with his 
 Mites; and let him confider that ’tis poffi- 
 ble each of thefe Mites may again prefent 
 him with fuch a painted World as he admi- © 
 red in the firft, and that the Shew may full - 
 be repeated, without End, and without Reft. 
 Ler him again lofe himfelf in thefe Won- 
 ders, no lefs furprizing for their Minute- 
 nefs, than the former for their Vaftnefs and 
 Extent. And who will not be confounded 
 to reflect, that our Body, which before was 
 judg’d imperceptible, in refpect of the World, 
 which World is itfelf imperceptible in the 
 -Bofom of univerfal Being, fhould now be- 
 come a Coloffus, a World, or rather an Uni- 
 verfality of Being, in refpeét of that exqui- 
 fite Diminution, at which at our Jaft Refine- 
 ment of Thought may by this Artifice ar- 
 rive. s , 
 He that fhall take this Survey of his own 
 Nature, will, no doubt, be under the great- 
 eft Confternation to find himfelf hanging, 
 as it were, in his material Scale, between the’ 
 two vaft Abyfies of Infinite and Nothing; 
 from which he is equally removed. He 
 will tremble: at, the Sight of fo many Pro- 
 digies; and turning his Curiofity into Ad- 
 miration, will, I believe, be more inclined 
 filently to contemplate them, than prefump- 
 tuoufly to fearch their Depths. 
 
 For 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 211 
 
 -~ For what is Man amongft the Natures 
 which encompafs him? In one- View he 
 appears as Unity to Infinity, in another as 
 all to Nothing; and muft therefore be the 
 _ Medium between, thefe Extremes; alike © 
 diftant from that Nothing whence he was 
 taken, and from that Infinity in which he 
 is {wallow’d up. 
 
 His Underftanding holds the fame Rank 
 in the Order of Beings, as his Body in the 
 material Syftem; and all the Knowledge 
 he,can reach is only. to difcern fomewhat of 
 the Middle of Things, under an eternal 
 Defpair of comprehending either their Be- 
 ginning of their End. All Things arife 
 from nothing, and proceed to Infinity. Who 
 can .keep Pace with thefe Steps? Who can 
 follow fuch an amazing Progrefs? None 
 - but the Author of thefe Wonders is able 
 to explain or underftand them. 
 
 -'Turs middle State and Condition is com- 
 mon to all our Faculties. Our Senfes can 
 bear no Extremes: Too much Noife, or too 
 much Light, are equally fatal, and make us 
 either deaf or blind; too great Diftance, 
 or too great Nearnefs, do alike hinder a 
 Profpeét; too much Prolixity, or too much 
 Brevity, darken and perplex a Difcourfe ; too 
 intenfe a Pleafure becomes incommodious ; 
 too uniform a Symphony has:no Power to 
 affect and moye; our Body is utterly in- 
 difpos’d 
 
212 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 difpofed for the laft Degrees of Heat 4nd 
 Cold : Qualities in Excefs are Enemies to 
 our Nature; we don’t properly fee/, but 
 fuffer them: The Weakneis of Childhood 
 and Old Age alike incapacitate the Mind; 
 too much or too little Food difturbs it in its 
 Aétions; too much or too little Study ren- 
 ders it extravagant and unruly. Things in 
 Extreme are of no Ufe or Account, with 
 refpect to our Nature; and our Nature is 
 of as little with refpeet to theirs; either 
 we fhun and avoid them, or they mifs and 
 efcape ws. 
 
 THIS is otir real Eftate; and ’tis this 
 which fixeth and confines all our Attain- 
 ments within certain Limits, which we can 
 never pafs, being equally unable either to 
 know all Things, or to remain ‘ignorant of. 
 all Things. We are placed hete in a vaft 
 and uncertain Medium, ever floating be- 
 tween Ignorance :and Knowledge ; and if 
 we endeavour to ftep beyond out Bounds, 
 the Object which we would feize, doth, 
 with a violent Shock, wreft itfelf (as twere) 
 from our Hold, and vanifheth by an eternal 
 Flight, which no Force may controul or flay. 
 
 Tis is the true Condition of Nature, 
 and yet the moft oppofite to our Inclina- 
 tion. We are inflamed with a Defire of 
 _ piercing thro’ all Things, and of building © 
 a Tower, the Top of which fhall reach 
 
 even 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 213 
 
 even to Infinity. But our feeble Edifice 
 ‘cracks and falls; the Earth opens, without 
 Bottom, under us, and buries our Devices 
 in its Gulph. . 
 
 . XXIII. 
 The Greatne{s of Man. 
 
 Can eafily conceive a Man without 
 
 Hands, and without Feet; and I 
 could conceive him too without an Head, 
 if I did not learn from Experience, that ’tis 
 by the Help of this he thinks. It is Thought, — 
 therefore, which conftitutes the Effence of 
 Man, and without which he is altogether 
 unconceivable. 4 
 
 * Wuar is that which hasa Senfe of 
 Pleafure in our Frame? is it our Hand? 
 is it our Arm? is it the Flefh? is it the 
 Blood? Do we not find it abfolutely necef- 
 fary to have Recourfe to fomewhat of an 
 immaterial Nature for this Service ? 
 
 * Maw has fuch a Stock of real Great- 
 nefs, that he is great even in knowing him- 
 felf to be miferable. A Tree is no more 
 fenfible of Mifery than of Felicity. ’Tis 
 true, the knowing himfelf to be miferable 
 is an Addition to Man’s Mifery; but then 
 
 é 0 3 ’tis 
 
214 M. Pascau's Thoughts. 
 
 tis no lefs a Demonftration of his Greatnefs, 
 ‘Thus his Greatnefs is fhewn by his Mife- 
 ries, as by its Ruins. They are the Mife- 
 rics of a mighty Statefman in Difgrace, of 
 a Prince difpoffefs’d and dethroned. 
 
 * Wuat Man ever thought himfelf un- 
 happy in not being a King, except a depo- 
 fed King? Did Peulus mils appre- 
 hend any Unhappinefs in not being Con- 
 ful? The whole World efteemed him hap- 
 py in having gone thro’ that Office, which 
 in its Defign and Inftitution was. but tem po- 
 rary. But Perfeus was look’d on as fo ex- 
 tremely miferable in not being a King,: (be- 
 caufe, according to the Nature, of Royalty, 
 he fhould have been ever fo,) that it was 
 thought ftrange he fhould fupport -himéelf 
 eyenin Life. Who is there that complains 
 of his Misfortune in having but one Mouth? 
 Who is there that would not reckon him- 
 felf moft unfortunate in having but one 
 Eye? No Man can bring himfelf to lament 
 that he has not three Eyes; and yet every © 
 Man is almoft inconfolably afflicted with 
 the Lofs of one. 
 
 * We-have fo great an Idea of the hu- 
 man Soul in any Perfon, that we can’t bear 
 the Thought of wanting its Regard and — 
 Bfteem ; and ’tis this united, Efteem iwhich 
 compofeth all the Happinefs of Man. 
 
 [rf 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 215 
 
 _ Is the falfe Glory which Men purfue is 
 on the one Side a Proof of their Mifery, 
 it is on the other Side an Atteftation of 
 their Excellence: For whatever Degree of 
 Riches, Health, and other Benefits Men en- 
 joy, they are fill diffatisfied, unlefs they find 
 themfelves in the good Opinion of their 
 own Kind. Human Reafon challengeth fo 
 much Efteem and Reverence from us, that 
 - under the moft advantageous Circumftances 
 of Life we think ourfelves uphappy, if we | 
 are not~placed to an equal Advantage in 
 Mens Judgments. This we look on as the 
 faireft Poft that can be attaiitd: Nothing 
 js able to divert us from fo paflionate a 
 Defire; and ’tis the moft indelible Cha- 
 raéter in the Heart of Man: Infomuch that 
 thofe who think fo moft contemptuoufly 
 of Mankind, as to make the very Beatts 
 their Equals, do yet contradic their own 
 Hypothefis by the Motions which they feel 
 in our own Souls. Nature, which is ftron- 
 eer than all their Reafon, convinceth them 
 more powerfully of Man’s Greatnefs, than 
 Reafon can perfwade them of his Meannets. 
 * Man is a Reed, and the weakeft, Reed 
 in Nature; but then he is a thinking Reed. 
 There’s no Occafion that the whole Uni- 
 verfe fhould arm itfelf for his Defeat; a 
 Vapour, a Drop of Water is fufficient to 
 difpatch him. And yet fhould the World 
 O 4. oppreis 
 
216 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 opprefs and crufh him with Ruin, he would. 
 ftill be more noble than that by which he 
 fell, becaufe he would be fenfible of his 
 Fate, while the Univerfe would be infen- 
 fible of its Victory. 
 
 Tuus our whole Worth and Perfeétion 
 confifts in Thought: ’Tis hence we are 
 to raife ourfelves, and not from the empty 
 Ideas of Space and Duration. Let us ftu- 
 dy the Art of thinking well: This is the 
 Rule of Life, and the Fountain of Mo- 
 tals. 
 
 * It is dangerous to inform hich, how 
 near he ftands to the Beafts, without fhew- 
 ing him at the fame Time, how infinitely 
 he fhines above them. Again, it is dange- 
 yous to let him fee his Excellence, without 
 making him acquainted with his Infirmity. 
 And the greateft Danger of all is, to leave 
 him in utter Ignorance of one, and of the 
 other. But to have a juft Reprefentation 
 of both, is his greateft Intereft and Hap- 
 pinefs. 
 
 * Let Man be allowed to know his own 
 Value. Let him love himfelf, becaufe he 
 has a Nature capable of Good ; but let 
 him not be in Love with the Weaknefles 
 and Difeafes of that Nature. Let him hate 
 and defpife himfelf, becaufe this Capacity 
 within him is altogether empty and void ; 
 but let him not hence entertain a err 
 
 ) 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 217 
 
 ef fo natural,’ fo noble a Capacity. Let 
 him hate his Being, and let him love it too; 
 becaufe he is framed for the Pofleflion of 
 Truth, (and confequently of Happinefs,) 
 and yet can find no Truth that is. perma- 
 nent or fatisfatory. I would therefore 
 move him to entertain a Defire, at leaft, 
 of finding it, and to yield himfelf difenga- 
 ged and ready to follow, where he fhall 
 find it. And becaufe I am not infenfible 
 how much the Light of Human Know- 
 ledge is obfcured by human Paffion, I 
 would prefcribe to him, above all Things, 
 the Deteftation of his own Concupifcence, 
 which is fo fatal a Biafs on his Judgment ; 
 fo that it may neither blind him while he 
 is making his Choice, nor divert or obftruct 
 him from purfuing what he has chofen. 
 
 XXIV. 
 The Vanity of Man. 
 
 E are not fatified with that 
 Life, which we poflefs in our- 
 
 felves, and in our own proper Be- 
 
 ing ; we are fond of leading an imaginary Life 
 in the Idea of others. And ’tis hence that 
 we 
 
218 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. - 
 
 we are fo eager and forward to fhew our- 
 felves to the World. We labour indefa- 
 tigably to retain, improve, and adorn this 
 fictitious Being, while we ftupidly neglec& 
 the true. And if we happen to be Mafters 
 of any noble Endowment, of Tranquility, 
 Generofity, or Fidelity of Mind, we prefs 
 with all our Vigour to «make them known, 
 _ that we may transfer and ingraft thefe Ex- 
 celiencies on that fantaftick Exiftence. Nay, 
 we had rather part with them, than not 
 apply them to fo vain a Ufe; and would 
 ‘gladly commence Cowards to purchafe the 
 Reputation of Valour. A great Indica- 
 tion this of the Meannefs, and even Nul- 
 lity of our genuine Being, not to reft fa- 
 tishied in it, without its Shadow, and very 
 often to renounce the former for the Jatter ; 
 as he who would not die to preferve his 
 Honour, fhall become defpicably infamous 
 by the Refufal. 
 
 * THERE is fo much Sweetnefs, and fo 
 many Charms: in Glory, that join it to 
 what we will, even to Death it felf, it fails 
 not to appear beautiful and lovely. 
 
 * Our Pride is alone, a Counterpoife 
 to all our Miferies; becaufe it either con- 
 ceals them, or glories in their Difco- 
 very. a 
 
 * Prine has fo natural a Poffeffion of 
 us, in the Midft of our Mifery and Error, 
 
 that 
 
M. Pascaus Thoughts. 219 
 
 that we can lofe even our Lives with Joy, 
 upon the Terms of being celebrated for the 
 Ad. . 
 
 * Vanity has taken fo firm Hold in the 
 Heart of Man, that a Porter, an Hod- 
 man, a Turnfpit, can talk greatly of him- 
 felf, and is for having his Admirers. Philo- 
 fophers do but refine upon the fame Am- 
 bition. Thofe who write of the Con- 
 tempt of Glory, do. yet .defire the Glory 
 of writing well ; and thofe who read their 
 Compofitions, would not lofe the Glory 
 of having them read. Perhaps I my felf, 
 who am now making thefe Reflections, am 
 now fenfible of this Glory; and per- 
 haps my Reader is not Proof againft the 
 Charm. 
 
 * In fpite of all the numerous Miferies 
 with which we are encompais’d, which 
 feize us, and hold us by the Throat, we 
 have ftill a fecret and infuperable. Inftina 
 _which bears us up. 
 
 * We are fo prefumptuous, as that we 
 defire to be known to all the World ; and 
 even to thofe who are not to come into 
 the World, ’till we have left it. And, at 
 the fame Time, we are fo little and vain, 
 as that. the Efteem of five or fix Perfons 
 about us, is enough to content and amufe 
 us. ; 
 
 THE 
 
220 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 * Tue moft important Thing in Life is 
 the Choice of a Profeflion ; and yet this is 
 a Thing purely in the Difpofal of Chance. 
 *Tis meer Cuftom which makes Upholfters, 
 Mafons, Soldiers, €c. He’s an excellent 
 Upholfter, fays one: And, Oh! what Fools 
 are the Red Coats! Another cries, there’s . 
 nothing brave and great, but the Wars; 
 and all are Changelings that don’t follow the 
 Camp. On the bare Strength of hearing 
 fome Arts commended, and others con- 
 demn’d, in our Infancy, we proceed to chufe 
 for ourfelves; for we naturally love what 
 is laudable, and hate what is contemptible. 
 Thefe Words never fail to operate upon 
 our Minds; and all the Fault is in the Ap- 
 plication. Some Nations confifts wholly 
 of Mechanicks; in others Soldiery is the 
 univerfal Profeflion. Nature can never be 
 thus uniform. *Tis Cuftom, therefore, which 
 produceth this Effeét, and which gains 
 the Afcendant over Nature. Yet fome- 
 times again Nature will prevail, and will 
 keep Men under the Power of Inftiné, in 
 fpite of all the Oppofition of Cuftom, whe- 
 ther good or bad. 
 
 * Curiosity is little better than meer 
 Vanity. For the moft Part, we defire to 
 know Things purely that we may talk of 
 them. Few would undertake fo dange- 
 rous Voyages and Travels, for the bare 
 
 Plea- 
 
M. Pasca L’s Thoughts. 221 
 
 Pleafure of entertaining their Sight, if they 
 were bound to Secrecy at their Return, or, 
 for ever, cloiftered from Converfation. 
 
 * We never think of aifing a Name 
 and Repute in Places thro’ which we only 
 pafs; but where we fix our Refidence for 
 any Time, there we eagerly admit, and 
 induftfioufly purfue this Thought. What 
 Time is requifite for the Purpofe? fuch as 
 bears a Proportion to our fhort and mife- 
 rable Life. 
 
 * A little Matter comforts us; becaufe a 
 lefs is able to grieve and afflict us. 
 
 * We can never keep clofe to the Pre- 
 fent. We anticipate the Time to come, © 
 as too flow, in order to the making it 
 mend its Pace: Or we call back the Time 
 sthat is paft, as too fwift, in order to’ the 
 flopping its Flight. Such is our Folly, 
 that we ramble thro’ thofe Times in which 
 we have no Concern, arid utterly forget 
 that on which our whole Fortune and In- 
 tereft depends: Such our Vanity, that we 
 dream of thofe which are not, and let that 
 which alone fubfifts, pafs by us without 
 Notice or Reflection. The Reafon of all 
 which is this, becaufe the prefent general- 
 ly gives us fome Uneafinefs, we are willing 
 to hide it from our Sight, as being grie- 
 - yous to us: But if it happen to be agree- 
 able, we are in no lefs Pain to fee it flide fo 
 
 faft 
 
222 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 faft away.’ Hence we tack the future fo it 
 to ftrengthen and fupport it, and pretend 
 to difpofe of Things, not in our Power, for 
 a Time at which we have no Affurance ever 
 to arrive. 7 
 
 Let a Man examine his own Thoughts, 
 and he will always find them imploy’d about 
 the Time pajff, or to come. We fcarce be- 
 ftow a Glance upon the prefent; or, if we 
 do, ’tis only that we may borrow Light 
 from hence to manage and direc the Future. 
 The Prefent is never the Mark of our De- 
 figns. We ufe both Paft and Prefent as our 
 Means and Inftruments, but the Future on- 
 ly as our Object and Aim. ‘Thus we. ne- 
 ver live, but we ever hope to live; and 
 under this continual Difpofition and Prepa- 
 ration to Happineis, ’tis certain we can ne-= 
 ver be actually happy, if our Hopes are 
 terminated with the Scene of this Life, 
 
 * Our: Fancy fo much enlargeth and 
 {wells this Temporal Duration, by reflec- 
 ting perpetually on it, and fo far extenuates 
 and contraéts our eternal State, by teldom 
 taking it into Thought, that we make a 
 Nothing of Eternity, and an Eternity of 
 Nothing. And the Springs of this whole — 
 Proceeding are fo vigorous in us, that, all 
 our Reafon is too weak to fuppreis or sachin 
 rule them. 
 
 + 
 
 * CRO M- 
 
M. Pascas Thoughts. 223 
 
 * CROMWVELL feem’d to have laid a 
 fair Train for the Ruin of all Chriftendom. 
 - The Royal Family had. been deftroy’d, and 
 his own confirmed for ever in their Ufarpa- 
 tion, but for the little Gravel Stone which 
 fell down into his Ureter. Rome itfelf began 
 to tremble under him, But this petty Grain, 
 which elfewhere had. been contemptible, 
 lighting, on fuch a Part, occafion’d the Death 
 of the Ufurper, the Fall of his hae and 
 the Reftoration of the King. 
 
 XXYV. : 
 The Weaknefs of Man. 
 
 HERE “is nothing which more 
 aftonifhes me, than that the whole 
 World fhould not be aftonith’d at their own 
 Infirmity. Men proceed ferioufly to Action, 
 and every one follows the Way of Life he 
 has embraced, not as if it were really good in 
 being the Mode, but as if each Man were 
 exactly acquainted with the Meafures of 
 Reafon and Juftice. 
 
 W ¥ are difappointed every Moment ; and 
 by a very pleafant Humility we imagine : that 
 the Fault is in ourfelves, and not in the Art 
 which we all profefs to underftand. ’Tis fit 
 there fhould be many Perfons of this Com- 
 plection 
 
224 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 pledtion in the World; to demonftrate that 
 Man is capable of the moft extravagant Opi- 
 hions, becaufe lie is capable of believing that 
 the Weaknefs he feels is not general and in- 
 evitable, but that he is natutally endued - 
 with true Judgment and infallible Wifdom. 
 
 * The Weaknefs of human Reafon ap- 
 pears more evidently in thofe who are in- 
 fenfible of it, than in fuch as know and con- 
 fefs is; 
 
 * WHILE we are too youtig, our Judge 
 ment is in Immaturity ; and when we are 
 too old, ’tis in Decay. If we think too lit- 
 tle of a Thing, or too much, our Head turns 
 giddy, and we are at a lofs to find out our 
 Way to Truth. 
 
 He that Views his own Work, juft as it 
 comes out of his Hands, is teo mich pres 
 poffeffed in its favour: And he that lets it 
 lie too long unfurvey’d, forgets the Nice- 
 nefs of its Eontexture, and the Model by 
 which *twas wrought. 
 
 TuHERE is but one precife Point which is 
 the true Place of fhewing a Pidture; all o- 
 thers are either too near, or too diftant, too 
 high, or too low. Perfpedtive affiens this 
 Point in the Art of Painting; but who has 
 Skill enough to fix it in Truth and Morals? . 
 
 * Tuat Miftrefs of Mifiake, which we 
 call Fancy or Opinion, is therefore the grea- 
 ter 
 
M. PascaL’s Thoughts. 225 
 
 ter Cheat, becaufe fhe does not cheat con- 
 ftantly, and by Rule. Always to lye, 
 would be always to tell the Truth: Where- 
 as being deceitful only for the moft part,” 
 fhe gives us no Marks of her Character, 
 but ftamps Truth and: Falfhood with the 
 very fame Impreffion. 
 
 Tuis proud Princefs and Potentate, the 
 fworn Enemy of Reafon, fo ambitious to 
 rule and domineer, has, that fhe may thew 
 her abfolute Power over the World, efta- 
 blifhed in Mana fecond Nature. She has 
 her Rich and her Poor, her Happy and 
 her Miferable, her Sick and her Sound, her 
 Fools and her Wife; and nothing grieves 
 us fo much as to fee that fhe fills her Vo- 
 taries with a Satisfaction more large and 
 entire than Reafon pretends to give, The 
 imaginary wife Men feel another Sort of 
 Complacency within themfelves, than the 
 “Mafters of true Wifdom can regularly find. 
 Thofe look on the World with an Air of 
 Authority, and difcourfe with Affurance 
 and Confidence, while thefe never exprefs 
 themfelves without Diffidence and Concern. . 
 And that Gaiety of Countenance often 
 gives the former fuch an Advantage in the 
 Minds of their Hearers, that when they 
 meet with Judges ‘of their own Standard, 
 they feldom fail to pleafe. Opinion can- 
 not indeed make a Fool wife ; but it makes 
 
 him 
 
226 M Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 him contented, and fo triumphs over Rea- 
 fon, which feems only to render its Friends 
 and Followers more fenfibly miferable. 
 This punifheth us with Infamy, while that 
 rewards us with Glory. . 
 
 WuatT difpenfes Reputation, what pro- 
 cures’ Veneration and Regard to Perfons 
 and Things, but Opinion? How infufficient 
 are all the Treafures of the World to de- 
 light or fatisfy, without its Approbation 
 and Confent ? 
 
 OPINION is the univerfal Difpofer of 
 Things: This makes Beauty, and Juftice, — 
 and Happinefs; and thefe make all that is 
 ‘excellent upon Earth. I would gladly fee 
 an Jtalian Piece, of which 1 know only 
 the Title, but fuch a Title as is worth ma- 
 ny whole Books ; it is Della opinione Re- 
 gina del Mundo: Of Opinion, the Queen 
 of the World. Vf it has nothing in it worfe 
 than this Title, I fubfcribe to it heartily, 
 unfeen. 
 
 * THERE is fcarce any Thing, juft 
 or unjuft, which does not change its 
 Nature, upon changing its Climate. 
 Three Degrees of Elevation in the Pole 
 may ruin the whole Profeffion of Law. A 
 Meridian on the Globe, or a few Years 
 Prepoffeffion, decides the moft important 
 Truths. Maxims and firft Principles are 
 fubje& to Revolutions; and we are to go 
 
 to 
 
M. Pascat's Thoughts. 2279 
 
 #0 Chronology for the Epochas of Right © 
 - and Wrong. A very humourfome Juftice 
 this, which is bounded by a River or a. 
 Mountain: Orthodoxy on one Side of the 
 ‘Pyrenees, may be Herefy on the other. 
 
 * Tue Art of overturning Kingdoms is 
 to reverfe eftablifhed Cuftoms, by fearching 
 them to the quick, and then cenfuring them 
 as originally defective in Authority and 
 Juftice. We ought, (fay thefe-Criticks in 
 Policy,) to go back to the primitive and 
 fundamental Laws, which unrighteous 
 Cuftom has deftroy’d. When Men are at 
 this Play, the State is fure to lofe all. No- 
 thing can keep its Weight in fo falfe a Ba- 
 lance: Yet the Multitude lend a willing 
 Ear to fuch Difcourfes ; they are glad to 
 fhake off the Yoke; and the great ones 
 raife themfelves not only upon. their Ruin, 
 but upon the Ruin of thofe curious Refi- 
 ners, who were the farft Enginés of the 
 Mifchief. But then there’s another Fault 
 quite oppofite to this, when we think eve- 
 ry Thing to be done with Juftice, that is 
 not done without Example. 
 
 * Ser the greateft Philofopher in the 
 World upon a Plank, but fomewhat broad- 
 ‘er than the Space which he ufually takes 
 up in. walking, and let there. be a Precipice 
 underneath, his Reafon may demonftrate 
 him to be fafe, but his fancy will deny the 
 x 1 ie Argument 
 
228 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 Argument. This is a Venture, the very 
 Thought of which few can bear without 
 {weating, or turning pale. I need not run 
 thro’ all Inftances of the fame kind: Eve- 
 ry one knows the Sight of a Cat or Rat, or 
 the crafhing of a Coal, will throw fome 
 Perfons into a Fit, and put their Reafon 
 quite befide its Guard! | 
 * Loox upon that venerable Magiftrate, 
 whofe Age and Ability commands the Re- 
 verence of the whole Nation. Would you 
 not fuppofe that he governs himfelf by the 
 pureft and fublimeft Wifdom, and judgeth 
 of Things according to their real Nature, | 
 without being moved by thofe trifling Ac- 
 cidents and Circumftances, which diforder 
 only weak and little People? But behold 
 him entring the Court; fee him placed on 
 the Bench, and prepared with exemplary 
 Gravity for a formal Hearing: Let one of 
 the Council have an untunable Voice, or © 
 a fingular Afpe, let him have been ill 
 treated by his Barber, or difobliged by the 
 Roads and Weather, and Pll wager againit_ 
 the Countenance of your Chief Juftice. 
 * THE Soul of the greateft Man living 
 is not fo free and independent, but that ’tis 
 fubje& to Difturbance, at the leaft Noife 
 about him.- You need not let off a Can- 
 non to break his Train of Thought: The 
 Creaking of a Weather-cock, or ofa Pul- 
 
 ly, 
 
_M. Pascats Thoughts. 229 
 
 ly, will do it effeétually. Don’t be furpri- 
 zed that you hear him argue a little inco- 
 herently at prefent. He has a Fly buzzing 
 at his Ears, and that’s enough to make him 
 a Stranger to good Counfel. Would you 
 have him rightly apprized of the Truth, 
 you muft take off this untoward Animal, 
 which holds his Reafon at Bay, and dif- 
 compofeth that fovereign Underftanding 
 which gives Laws to Towns and Kingdoms. 
 
 * Diseases are another Principle of Er- 
 ror. They impair our Judgment and our 
 Senfés. And if thofe which are moft vio- 
 lent produce a very vifible Change, thofe 
 which have lefs Strength do yet leave 
 a proportionable Impreffion. 
 
 AGatn, Intereft muft be acknowledged 
 to have a fingular Art in agreeably put- 
 ting out our Eyes. Affection or Diflike 
 quite invert the Rules of Juftice. A Coun- 
 fellor retained with a large Fee, grows 
 clear-fighted to Admiration, and finds the _ 
 Caufé immediately improve upon his Hands. 
 Yet I have known the Men, who thro’ a 
 contrary Fantafticalnefs of Spirit, have, to 
 avoid thefe partial and felfifh Regards, been 
 drawn into the higheft Injuftice by a moft 
 unreafonable Counterpoife. The fure Way 
 to ruin the faireft Concern depending be- 
 fore them, was to get recommended by 
 fome of their neareft Relations. , 
 ¥3 * TRUTH 
 
230 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 * Truta and Juftice are Things fo nice 
 and fubtile, that our Inftruments are not 
 fine enough to touch or take hold of them 
 with any Exaétnefs. In both Cafes they 
 either mifs the Poimt utterly, or fall foul 
 upon it, and then fettle at a Venture, fel- 
 dom fo near to the Right as to the Wrong. 
 
 * A Veneration for Antiquity does not 
 only abufe and enflave our Mind: The 
 Charms of Novelty have the fame Afcen= 
 dent over us. And hence arife all the 
 Difputes amongft Men, who charge cach 
 other, either with fticking to the falfe Im- 
 preffions of their Childhood, or with run- 
 ning, at all Adventures, into every new 
 Hypothefis and. Fancy. 
 
 Who is the Man that keeps the juft Me- 
 dium between thefe Extremes? Let hini 
 appear, and make good his. Pretenfions. 
 There is no. Principle, how natural foever 
 it may feem, and tho’ even fuck’d in with » 
 ‘our firft Milk, bat may be made to pais 
 for a falfe Impreffion, either of Education 
 or of Senfe: Becaufe (fays one) you have 
 been wont ever fince your Infancy to fup= 
 pofe a Veffel empty when you faw no» 
 thing in’t, hence you come to, believe the 
 Poffibility of a Vacuum. Why, this is 
 only a ftrong Delufion of your Senfes,. 
 firengthen’d by Cuftom, which Science 
 and Demonftration ought to correét By — 
 
 | your 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 231 
 
 your Leave, (fays the other,) you have 
 been pofitively told in the Schools, that a 
 Vacuum was impoffible: and thus your 
 Senfes wete corrupted, which eafily and 
 naturally allow’d it before this ill Imprefs 
 fion: ‘This, therefore, you ought to de- 
 face, by returning to your primitive Na- 
 ture. And now we have heard both Sides, 
 where ‘fhall we fix the Cheat, in our Senfes, 
 or in our Education ? 
 
 * Tue whole Employment of Mens 
 Lives is to improve their Fortunes; and 
 yet the Title by which they hold all, if 
 traced to its Ofigin, is no more than the 
 pure Fancy of the Legiflators: But their 
 Poffeffion is fill more precarious than their 
 Right, and at the Mercy of a thoufand 
 Accidents: Nor are the Treafures of the 
 Mind better enfured; while a Fall, or 
 a Fit of Sicknefs may bankrupt the ableit 
 Underftanding: 
 
 * So that, abftracting from a State of 
 Grace, Man is nothing but the continual 
 Subjeé& of indelible and infuperable Errors. 
 He can purchafe no certain Information ; 
 every Thing in the World abufeth his Cu- 
 tiofity. His two Criterions of Truth, 
 Reafon, and Senfe, (befides that they are 
 not always faithful to themfelves,) are 
 wont reciprocally to mock and delude each 
 other. Our Senfes beguile our Reafoa 
 
 P4 with 
 
232 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 with falfe Appearances ; and our Reafon hag 
 likewile its falfe Confequences, wherewith 
 to return and revenge the Cheat. The 
 Paffions difcompofe the Senfes, and ftrike 
 upon them the wrong Way. ‘They lye, 
 and forge, and mifreprefent, with a fort 
 of vicious Emulation. 
 
 * WHat are all our natural Principles, 
 but Principles of Cuftom, derived from 
 Parents to Children, as Fear and Plight to 
 the Beafts of Game? 
 
 A different Cuftom will produce a diffe- 
 rent natural Principle. This Experience 
 teftifies: And if there are fome Dittates of 
 Nature impregnable againft Cuftom, there 
 are likewife fome Impreflions of Cuftom, 
 which Nature cannot over-rule. This de- 
 pends wholly on the Temper and Conftitu- 
 tion of particular Men. 
 
 PaRENTS difcover a Jealoufy left the 
 natural Duty and Affection of their Chil- 
 dren fhould be defaced ; What a fort of 
 Nature is this, which we fuppofe capable . 
 of Defacement? We muft at leaft’ allow: 
 Cuftom to be another Nature, which can 
 thus deftroy the former: And where’s the 
 Impropriety in ftyling Cuftom natural? or 
 why may not Nature itfelf be conceiv’d 
 as a primary Cuftom, no lefs than Cuftom 
 as a fecondary N ature? 
 
 4 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 233 
 
 XXVI. 
 The Mifery of Man. 
 
 “FT. HERE is nothing more capable — | 
 
 of letting us into the Knowledge 
 of human Mifery, than an Enquiry after 
 the real Caufe of that perpetual Hurry 
 and Confufion, in which we pafs our 
 Lives. 
 
 Tue Soul is fent into the Body, to be 
 the Sojourner of a few Days. She knows 
 that this is but a Stop, till fhe may em- 
 bark for Eternity ; and that a imall Space 
 is allowed her to prepare for the Voyage. 
 The main Part of this Space is ravith’d 
 from her by the Neceffities of Nature; and 
 but a flender Pittance left to her own Dif- 
 pofal: And yet this Moment which re- 
 mains, does fo ftrangely opprefs and per- 
 plex her, that fhe only ftudies how to lofe 
 it: She feels an intolerable Burthen, in 
 being obliged to live with herfelf) and. 
 think of herfelf; and therefore, her prin- 
 cipal Care is to forget herfelf, and to let 
 this fhort and precious Moment pafs away 
 without Reflection, by amufing herfelf 
 
 with 
 
234 M. Pascax’s Thoughts. 
 
 with Things which prevent her Notice of 
 its Speed. 
 
 Tuis is the Ground of ail the tumultua- 
 ty Bufinefs, of all the trifling Diverfions 
 amongft Men; in which our general Aim 
 is to make the Time pafs off our Hands 
 without feeling it, or rather without feel- 
 ing ourfelves; and, by getting rid of this 
 fmall Portion of Life, to avoid that in- 
 ward Difguft and Bitternefs, which we 
 fhould not fail to meet with, if we found 
 Leifure to defcend into our own Breatts, 
 For ’tis undeniably certain, that the Soul 
 of Man is here incapable of Reft and Sa- 
 tisfattion. And this obliges her to expand 
 herfelf every Way, and to feek how fhe 
 may lofe the Thoughts of -her own pro- 
 per Being in a fettled -Application to the 
 Things about her. Her very Happinefs 
 confifts in this Forgetfulnefs: And to make 
 her exquifitely miferable, nothing more is 
 required but the engaging her to look into 
 herfelf} and to dwell at Home. 
 
 W e charge Perfons from their very In+ 
 fancy with the Care of their own Fortunes 
 and Honours, and no lefs of ther Eftates 
 and Dignities belonging to their Kindred 
 and Friends. We burthen them withthe Stu- 
 dy of Languages, of Exercifes, and of Arts. 
 We enter them in Bufinefs, and perfuade 
 them, that they can neyer be truly blefs’d, 
 , unlefs 
 
| M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 43% 
 
 tnlefs by their Induftry and Caution they 
 in fome Meafure fecure the Intereft and 
 Glory of themfelves, their Families, and 
 their Dependents ; and that unavoidable 
 Unhappinefs is entail’d upon the Failure 
 of any one Particular in this kind. ‘Thus 
 we teach them to wear out their Strength, 
 and to rob themfelves of their Reft! A 
 ftrange Method (you'll fay) of making them 
 happy! What could be done with more Ef- 
 fe& towards the infuring them in Mifery ? 
 Would you know what? Why, only to 
 teleafe them from thefe Cares, and to take 
 oi thefe Burthens. For then their Eyes 
 and their Thoughts muft be turn’d inward, 
 and that’s the only Hardfhip which they 
 efteem infupportable. . Hence, if they gain 
 any Relaxation from their Labours, we 
 find them eager to throw it away upon fome 
 Sport or Diverfion, which takes up their 
 whole A@ivity, and pleafantly robs them 
 of themfelves. 
 
 Tis for this Reafon, that when I have 
 fet myfelf to confider the various Agita= 
 tions of human Life, the Toil and Danger, 
 to which we expofe ourfelves in the Court, 
 in the Camp, in the Purfuits of Ambition, 
 which give Birth to fo much Paffion and 
 Contention, to fo many defperate and fatal 
 Adventures, I have often faid that the uni- — 
 werfal Caufe of Men’s Misfortunes, was 
 
 theiz 
 
236 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 their not being able to live quietly in a 
 Chamber. A Perfon who has enough’ for 
 the Ufes of this World, did he know the 
 Art of dwelling with himfelf,, would never 
 quit that Repofe and Security, for a Voyage 
 or a Siege; nor would take fo much Pains 
 to hazatd his Life, had he no other Aim 
 than barely to live. 
 
 Burt, upon ftriéter Examination I found, 
 that this Averfion to Home, this roving and 
 reftlefs Difpofition, proceeded from a Caufe, 
 no lefs powerful than univerfal; from the 
 native Unhappinefs of our frail and mortal 
 State, which is incapable of all Comfort, if 
 we have nothing to divert our Thoughts, 
 and to call us out of ourfelves. ) 
 
 I fpeak of thofe alone who furvey their 
 own Nature, without the Views of Faith 
 and Religion. ’Tis indeed one of the 
 Miracles of Chriftianity, that by recon- 
 ciling Man to Gop, it reftores him to his 
 own good Opinion ; that it makes him able 
 to bear the Sight of himfelf; and in fome 
 Cafes, renders Solitude and Silence more 
 agreeable, than all the Intercourfe and Ac- 
 tion of Mankind. Nor is it by fixing Man 
 in his own Perfon, that it produceth thefe 
 wonderful Effects; ’tis by carrying him to 
 Gop, and by fupporting him under the 
 Senfe of his Miferies, with the Hopes of 
 
 an 
 
<et 
 
 “tA 
 ” 
 
 ~ M.Pascaus Thoughts 237 
 
 ~ an affured and complete Deliverance in a 
 better Life. 
 
 Bur for thofe who do not act above the 
 Principles of meer Nature, ‘tis impoffible 
 they fhould, without falling into an incu- 
 rable Chagrine and Difcontent, undergo the 
 lingering Torment of Leifure. Man who 
 loves nothing but his own Perfon, hates no- 
 thing fo much as to be confined to his own 
 Converfation. He feeks nothing but him- 
 felf, and yet flies and avoids nothing more 
 than himfelf; becaufe when he is obliged 
 to look within, he does not fee himfelf fuch 
 as he could with; difcovering only a hid- 
 den Store of inevitable Miferies, and a 
 mighty Void of all real and folid Good, 
 which ’tis beyond his Ability to reple- 
 nifh. . 
 
 ‘Ler a Man chufe his own Condition, 
 Jet him embellifh it with all the Goods and 
 all the Satisfaétions, he can poffefs or de- 
 fire; yet, if in the midft of this Glory 
 and Pride he is without Bufinefs, and with- ~ 
 out Diverfion, and has Time to contem- 
 late on his Fortunes, his Spirits muft un- 
 
 avoidably fink beneath the languifhing Fe- 
 licity. He will of neceffity torment him- 
 felf with the Profpec&t of what’s to come ; 
 and he that boafted to have brought home 
 all the Ingredients of Happinefs, muft 
 again 
 
238 M. Pasc AL'S Thoughts. 
 
 again be fent abroad, or condemn’d to de- 
 meftick Mifery. 
 
 Is Majefty itfelf fo truly great, and fuf- 
 ficient, as to fupport thofe whom it adorns 
 and encircles, under the bare Thought of — 
 their own Grandeur? Is it neceffary that 
 this Thought fhould be here likewife di- 
 verted, as in the common Herd of Men? 
 A vulgar Perfon will be abundantly hap- 
 py, if he may eafe himfelf of his fecret 
 Troubles, by applying all his Care to ex- 
 cel in the Perfection of Dancing. But dare 
 we fay this of a King? Or, will he be 
 more charm’d with fo vain and petty A- 
 mufements, than ‘with the Contemplation 
 of his ‘Royal Dignity and Eftate? What _ 
 nobler, what more fublime Object than 
 himfelf, -to engage and.to fatisfy his Qpi- 
 rit? Might it not feem an envious leffen- 
 ing of his.Content, to interrupt his prince- . 
 ly Thought, with the Care of meafuring 
 . his Steps by an Air of Mufick, or of ex- 
 actly ordering a Ball, inftead of leaving 
 him ,to furvey, the Glories of his Throne, 
 and to. rejoice ‘in the ‘Excellence of his Pow- 
 er? Let us prefume to make the Experi- 
 ment: Let us fuppofe a’ Prince in Solitude, 
 without any .Entertainment of Senfe, any 
 ‘Engagement of Mind, any Relief of Con- 
 verfation; and we fhall find that a ‘Prince 
 with his Eyes upon himfelf, is a Man yr" 
 
 ° 
 
M. Pasca 1% Thoughts. 229 
 
 of Miferies, and who feels them with as 
 quick and piercing a Refentment as the 
 loweft among his Slaves. And therefore, 
 it has been a ftanding Maxim, ‘to banifh 
 thefe intruding and importunate Reflections 
 from Court, and ‘to keep about the Royal 
 Perfon thofe who fhall conftantly purvey 
 for the Amufement of their Mafter, ‘by lay- 
 ing a Train of Divertifements to fucceed 
 after Bufinefs, and by “watching his Hours 
 of Leifure, to pour ‘in immediately a frefh 
 Supply of Mirth and Sport, that no Vacancy 
 may be left in Life ; that is, the ‘Court 
 abounds with Men, who have a wonder- 
 ful Aétivity in taking care that’His Maje/ty 
 fhall not be alone, well-knowing that Soli- 
 tude is but another Name ‘for ‘Mifery, and 
 that the fupreme Pitch of worldly Greatnefs 
 is too nice and weak, to bear “the Examina- 
 tion of a Thought. 
 
 Tue principal Thing which “fupports 
 Men under great Imployments, otherwife 
 fo full of Toil and Trouble, is, that by this 
 Means they are call’d off from the Penance 
 of Self-Refle@tion. 
 
 F or pray confider, what is it elfe to be 
 a Superintendent, a Chancellor, a Prime- 
 Prefident, but to haye a Number of Per- 
 fons flocking about them from all Sides, 
 who fhall fecure them, every Hour in the 
 Day, from giving Audience to their own . 
 
 . | Mind ? 
 
240 M. Pasca ’s Thoughts. 
 
 Mind? If they chance to fall into Difgrace, 
 and to be banifh’d to their Country Seat, 
 tho’ they want neither Fortune nor Retinue, 
 yet they feldom fail to commence unhappy ; 
 becaufe they are no longer entertain’d with 
 fuch a Variety of new Faces, and a Succeffion 
 of new Bufinefs, as may make any Thing, 
 rather than themfelves, the Subject of their 
 Meditation. 
 
 WHENCE comes it to pafs, that Men are 
 tranfported to fuch a Degree with Ga- 
 ming, Hunting, or other Diverfions, which 
 feem to have taken an abfolute Poffeffion 
 of their Souls? Not becaufe there is any 
 real and intrinfick Good to be obtain’d by 
 thefe Purfuits; not becaufe they imagine 
 that true Happinefs is to be found in the 
 Money which they win at Play, or in the 
 . Beaft which they run down in the Chace; 
 For fhould you prefent them beforehand 
 with both thefe, to fave their Trouble, 
 they would be unanimous in rejecting the 
 Propofal. ’*Tis not the gentle and eafy 
 Part which they are fond of, fuch as may 
 give them Leifufe and Space for Thought ; 
 but ’tis the Heat and the Hurry, which | 
 divert them from. the Mortification of 
 thinking. | 
 
 Own this Account it. is, that Men are fo 
 munch in Love with the Noife and Tumult 
 of the World; that a Prifon is a i’ of 
 
 i or= 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 241 
 
 Horror, and that few Perfons can bear 
 the Punifhment of being confined to them- 
 felves. 
 
 We have feen the utmoft that human 
 Invention can do, in projecting for human 
 Happinefs. Thofe who content them- 
 felves barely with demonftrating the Va- 
 nity and Littlenefs of common Diverfions, 
 are indeed acquainted with one Part of 
 our Miferies; for a confiderable Part it is, 
 to be thus capable of taking Pleafure in 
 Things fo bafe and infignificant. But they 
 apprehend not the Caufe and Principle 
 which renders thefe Miferies even necef= 
 fary to us, fo long as we remain uncured 
 of that inward and natural Infirmity of not 
 being able to bear the Sight of our own 
 Condition. The Hare which Men buy in 
 the Market, can’t skreen them from. this 
 View ; but the Field and the Chafe afford 
 an approved Relief. And therefore when 
 Wwe reproach them with their low and ig- 
 noble Aim, and obferve to them how little 
 Satisfaction there is in that which they fol- 
 low with fo much Contention and Ardour, 
 did they anfwer upon mature Judgment, 
 they would acknowledge the Equity of _ 
 our Cenfure, and would ingenuoufly de- 
 clare, that they propofed nothing in thefe 
 ‘Purfuits but the bare Violence of the Mo- 
 tion, fuch as might keep them Strangers to. 
 the 
 
242 M. Pascatus Thoughts. 
 
 the Secrets of their Soul; and, that there 
 fore they made choice of Objects, which, 
 how worthlefs foever in Reality, yet were 
 of an engaging and attraétive Nature, and 
 able to engrofs the Activity of all ‘their 
 Powers. And the Reafon why they don’t 
 anfwer in this Manner, is the Want of 
 this Acquaintance with their own Bofom. 
 A Gentleman believes with all Sincerity 
 that there’s fomewhat Great and Noble in 
 Hunting, and will be fure to tell you, that 
 tis a Royal Sport. You may hear the like 
 Defence and Encomium of any other Ex- 
 ercife or Employment, which Men affect 
 or purfue. They imagine that there muft 
 needs. be fomewhat real and folid in the 
 Objects themfelves. ‘They are perfuaded, 
 that could they but gain fuch a Point, they 
 fhould then repofe themfelves with Content 
 and Pleafure ; and are under an Infenfibility 
 of the infatiable Nature of this Defire. 
 They believe themfelves to be heartily en- 
 gaged in the Attainment of Reft, while 
 they are indeed employ’d in nothing elfe 
 but the Search of continual and fucceffive 
 Drudgery. 
 
 MEN have a fecret Infting, prompting 
 them to feek Employment or "Recreation ; 
 which proceeds from no other Caufe but 
 the Senfe of their inward Pain, and never- 
 ceafing Torment. ~'T hig, have another {e- 
 
 ' eret 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 243 
 
 cret Inftinét, a Relique of their primitive 
 Nature, which affures them, that the Sum 
 of their Happinefs confifts in Eafe and 
 Repofe: And upon thefe two oppofite 
 Inftinéts, they form one confufed Defign, 
 lurking in the Receffes of their Soul, which 
 engages them to profecute the latter by the 
 Intervention of the former, and conftantly 
 to perfuade themfelves, that the Satisfaction 
 they have hitherto wanted, will infallibly 
 attend them, if by furmounting certain Dif- 
 ficulties, which they now look:in the Face, 
 they may open a fafe Paffage to Peace and 
 Tranquility. 
 
 _ Tuaus our Life runs out. We feck Rett, 
 by encountering fuch particular Impedi- 
 ments, which if we are able to remove, the 
 Confequence is, that the Reft which we 
 have obtain’d, becomes it felf a Grievance. 
 For we are ruminating every Moment, ei- 
 ther on the Miferies we feel, or on thofe we 
 fear.. And even when we -feem on all Sides 
 to be placed under Shelter, the Affections, 
 which are fo naturally rooted in us, fail not 
 to regret their loft Dominion, and to dif- 
 fae their melancholick Poifon through the 
 
 oul. 
 
 AnD therefore, when Cimeas fo gravely 
 admonifh’d Pyrrhus, (who. propoted to 
 enjoy himfelf with his Friends, after he 
 fhould haye conquer’d a good Part of the 
 | 2 ~ World,) 
 
244 M. Pascatu’s Thoughts. 
 
 World) that he would do much better to 
 anticipate his own Happinefs, by taking 
 immediate Poffeffion of this Eafe and Quiet, 
 Without purfuing it through fo much Fa- 
 tigue: The Counfel he gave was indeed full 
 of Difficulty, and fcarce more rational than 
 the Proje& of that young ambitious Prince. 
 Both the one and the other Opinion fuppo- 
 fed that which is falfe; that a Man can reft 
 fatisfied with himfelf, and his prefent Pof- 
 feffions, without filling up the void Space 
 in his Heart, with imaginary Expedtations. 
 Pyrrbhus muft inevitably have been unhap- 
 py, either without or with the Conqueft 
 of the World; and perhaps that foft and 
 peaceful Life which his Minifter advifed 
 _ him to embrace, was lefs capable of giving 
 him Satisfaétion, than the Heat and Tumult 
 of fo many Expeditions, and fo many Bat- 
 tles, which he was then forming and fight- 
 ing in his Mind. 
 
 Maw therefore muft be confefs’d to be 
 fo very unfortunate, as that without any 
 external Caufe of Trouble he would ever 
 Tegret and bemoan the very Condition of 
 “his own Nature, and yet to be at the fame 
 ‘Time fo very fantaftical, as that while he 
 is full of a thoufand inward and effential 
 Subjects of Grief, the leaft outward Trifle 
 ‘is fufficient to divert him. Infomuch, that 
 upon impartial Confideration, his Cafe 
 
 {eems 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 245 
 
 feems more to be lamented in that he is ca- 
 pable of receiving Pleafure from Things fo 
 low and frivolous, than in that he is fo im- 
 moderately affli&ed with his own real Mife- 
 ries, and his Diverfion appears infinitely lefs 
 teafonable than his Difquiet. 
 
 * WHENCE is it, think ye, that this Gen- 
 tleman, who has lately buried his only Son, 
 and who this very Morning was fo full of 
 Law and Lamentation, at prefent feems 
 to have quite forgotten his Part? Don't be 
 furpriz’d; the Bufinefs is, that our Friend’s 
 wholly taken up with looking what Way 
 the Stag will turn, which his Dogs have 
 been in Chafe of fome Hours. Such an 
 Accident is enough to put a Man befide his 
 Chagrine, tho’ groaning under the heavieft 
 Calamity of Life. As long as you can 
 engage him in fome Divertifement, fo long 
 you make him happy; but ’tis with a falfe 
 and imaginary Happinefs, not arifing from 
 the Poffeffion of any real and folid Good, 
 but from a Levity of Spirit, by which he 
 lofes the Memory of his fubftantial Woes, 
 amidft the Entertainments of mean and ri- 
 diculous Objeéts, unworthy of his Appli- 
 cation, more unworthy of his Love. “Tis 
 the Joy of a Man in a Fever, or a Phren- 
 zy, refulting not from the regular Motion, 
 but from the Diftemper and Difeompofure 
 of his Mind, ’Tis a meer Sport of Folly 
 
 and 
 
246 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 and Delufion. Nor is there any Thing 
 more furprifing in human Life, than to ob- 
 ferve the Infignificancy of thofe Things 
 which divert and pleafe us, *Tis true, by 
 thus. keeping our Mind always employ’d, 
 they fhield it from the Confideration of real 
 Evils; but then they make it utterly cheat 
 itfelf, by doating on a fantaftick Obje& of 
 Delight. 
 Wuat do ‘you take to be the Aim and 
 Motive of thofe Youths; whom you fee 
 engaged at Tennis with fuch Force of Bo- 
 dy and Application of Mind? Why, the 
 Pleafure of boafting to-morrow, that they 
 won fo many Sets of fuch a notable Game- 
 fier. This is the real Spring of fo much 
 Aétion and Toil. And ’tis but the very 
 fame which difpofes others to drudge and — 
 fweat in their Clofets, for the fake of in- 
 forming the learned World, that they have 
 refolv’d a Queftion in Algebra, hitherto 
 reputed inexplicable, | Many Thoufands 
 more expofe themfelves to the greateft of 
 Dangers for the Glory of taking a ‘Town; 
 in my Judgment, no lefs ridiculoufly, 
 To.conclude ; There are not wanting thofe 
 who kill themfelves purely with reading 
 and obferving all this Application of others ; 
 not that they may grow wifer by it, but 
 that they may have the Credit of appre- 
 hending its Vanity. And thefe laft are 
 the 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 249 
 
 the moft exquifitely foolifh, becaufe they 
 are fo willingly and wittingly ; whereas ’tis 
 reafonable to fuppofe of the reft, that were 
 they alike fenfible of their Folly, they 
 would want no Admonition to defert it. 
 
 * A Man, that by gaming every Day for 
 fome little Stake, paffeth away his Life 
 without Uneafinefs or Melancholy, would 
 yet be render’d unhappy, fhould you give 
 him every Morning the Sum which he 
 could poffibly win all Day, upon Condis, 
 tion to forbear. It will be faid, perhaps, 
 that “tis-the Amufement of the Play which 
 he feeks, and not the Gain, Yet if he 
 plays for nothing, his Gaiety is over, and 
 the Spleen recovers full Poffeffion. Bare 
 Amufement, therefore, is not what he pro- 
 pofeth; a languifhing Amufement without 
 Heat or Paffion, would but difpirit and fa< 
 tigue him: He muft be allow’d to raife and 
 chaff himfelf, by propofing a Happinefs in 
 the gaining of that which he would defpife, 
 if given him not to venture, and by creating 
 a fictitious Obje&t, which fhall excite and 
 employ his Defire, his Anger, his Hope, 
 and his Fear. 
 
 So that thefe Diverfions of Men, which 
 are found to conftitute their Happinefs, are 
 not only mean and vile, but they are falfe 
 and deceitful: That is, we are in Love with 
 meer airy Shapes and Phantoms, fuch - 
 , mu 
 
248 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 muft be incapable of poffeffing the Heart 
 of Man, had he not loft the Tafte and Per- 
 ception of real Good, and were he not fil- 
 led with Bafenefs, and Levity, and Pride, 
 together with an infinite Number of other 
 Vices, fuch as can no Way relieve us un- 
 der our prefent Miferies, but by creating 
 others, which are ftill more dangerous, in 
 being more fubftantial. For thefe are the 
 Things which chiefly bar us from our own 
 Thoughts, and which teach us to give new 
 Wings to our Time, and yet to remain in- 
 fenfible of its Flight. Without. thefe, 
 we fhould indeed be under a continued 
 Wearinefs and Perplexity, yet fuch as 
 might prompt us to feek out a better Me- 
 thod for its Cure. Whereas thefe, which 
 we call our Diverfions, do but amufe and 
 beguile us; and, in Conclufion, lead us 
 
 down blindfold into our Grave. © 
 * MANKIND having no infallible Reme- 
 dy againft Ignorance, Mifery, and Death, 
 imagine that fome Refpite, fome Shelter, 
 may at leaft be found, by agreeing to banifh 
 them from their Meditation, ‘This is the 
 only Comfort they have been able to invent 
 under their numerous Calamities. . But a 
 moft miferable Comfort it proves, becaufe 
 it does not tend to the Removal of thefe 
 Evils, but only to the Concealment of 
 them for a fhort Seafon; and acm in 
 ‘thus 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 249 
 
 thus concealing them, it hinders us from 
 applying fuch proper Means as fhould re- 
 move them. ‘Thus, by a ftrange Revolu- 
 tion in the Nature of Man, that Grief and 
 inward Difquiet, which he dreads as the 
 greateft of fenfible Evils, is in one Refpect 
 his greateft Good, becaufe it might contri- 
 bute, more than all Things befides, to the 
 putting him in a fuccefsful Method of Re- 
 covery. On the other hand, his Recrea- 
 ‘tion, which he feems to prize as his fove- 
 reign Good, is indeed his greateft Evil, 
 becaufe it is of all Things the moft effec- 
 tual in making him negligent under his Dif- 
 temper. And both the one and the other 
 are admirable Proofs, as of Man’s Mifery 
 and Corruption, fo of his Greatnefs and 
 Dignity. For the Reafon why he grows 
 fick and weary of every Obje&, and enga- 
 ges in fuch a Multitude of Purfuits, is, be- 
 caufe he fiill retains the Idea of his loft 
 Happinefs; which not finding within him- 
 felf, he feeks it thro’ the whole Circle. of 
 external Things; but always feeks with- 
 out Succefs, becaufe it is indeed to be found 
 not in ourfelyes, nor in the Creatures, but 
 in Gop alone, 
 
 XXVIL 
 
250 M, Pascaus Thoughts, 
 
 XXVEL, 27" 
 Thoughts upon Miracles, 
 
 E are to judge of Doérines by Mi- 
 
 -racles, and of Miracles by Doc- 
 trines: They are the Teft and Standard of 
 each other, yet without the leaft Repug- 
 nancy or Difficulty. . 
 
 * SOME Miracles are certain and infalli- 
 ble Evidences of Truth, others are not. 
 We ought to havea fettled Rule whereby 
 to diftinguifh them, or they muft prove 
 wholly ufelefs to us. But they aré fo far 
 from being of no ufe, as to be of abfolute 
 and fundamental Neceflity. 
 
 Our Rule therefore muft be fuch, as 
 fhall not impair the Strength afforded by 
 true Miracles to the true Religion, which is 
 the principal End of Miracles. . 
 
 * Were there no Miracles ever join’d to 
 Falfhood and Error, they would be imme- 
 diately convictive, without Search or Trial. 
 But, as the Cafe is otherwife, had we no Rule 
 to fearch and try them by, they would be 
 utterly ineffe€tual, and we fhould lofe the 
 chief Ground and Motive of our Faith. 
 
M. Pascatu’s Thoughts. 25% 
 
 MOSES has eftablifhed one Rule; 
 when the Miracle perform’d fhall lead: Men 
 to Idolatry *; and our Lord has eftablifh’d 
 another?; There's no Man (fays he) which 
 foall do a Miracle in my Name, that can 
 ‘lightly [peak Evil of me: Whence it fol- 
 lows, that whoever declares openly againft 
 FESUS CHRIST cannot perform 
 Miracles in his Name, and Miracles not 
 perform’d in the Name of CHRIST, 
 are to be rejected without Credit or Depen- 
 dence. We fee then the two only juft Ex- 
 ceptions againft Miracles; that in the Old ~ 
 Teftament, when they turn us from GoD; 
 and that in the New, when they turn us 
 fom FESUS CHRIST. 
 
 So that immediately upon the Sight of 
 a Miracle, we ought either to yield and 
 fubmit to it, or to have fome very extraor- 
 dinary Token in bar to its Pretenfions ; 
 thats, we ought to be certain whether the 
 Perfon who performs it, denies the on- 
 ly true Gon, or our Lord F ESUS 
 CHRIST. 
 
 * Every Religion is falfe, which, as to 
 its Faith, does not prefcribe the Worfhip of 
 one Gop, as the great Author and Foun- 
 tain of all Things; and which, as to its 
 
 . Morals, 
 
 B Picutxu..4, 25%. 2 Mark ix. 38. 
 
252 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 Morals, does not prefcribe the Love of one 
 Gop, as the great Obje& and End of all 
 Things. 
 
 Every Religion, at this Day, which 
 does not acknowledge the Lorn 7 ESUS 
 CHRIST is notorioufly falfe, and even 
 Miracles are infufficient for its Atteftation. 
 
 * THe Fews hada Doétrine delivered 
 by Gop, as we have a Doétrine delivered 
 by JESUS CHRIST; and: in like 
 Manner, confirm’d by Méiracles. - They 
 had alfo an exprefs Prohibition againft cre- 
 diting thofe who fhould even work Mira- 
 cles in Confirmation of a contrary Do@trine, 
 together with an Order to apply them- 
 felves to the Chief Priefts, to be conclu- 
 ded by their Judgment. So that whatfo- 
 ever Reafons we have, at prefent, to re- 
 fufe our Affent, to the Workers of Mira- 
 
 ‘cles, the fame they may feem to have had, 
 with regard to our Lorp and his Apoftles. 
 
 AND yet moft certain it is, that they 
 were highly culpable in this Refpe& ; for 
 our Lor p himfelf declares, that his Mi- 
 racles render’d them without Excufe. Sz. 
 opera non feciffem im eis que nemo alius 
 pA peccatum non haberent. If I had 
 not done amongft them the Works which 
 none other Man did, they had uot had Sin *. 
 
 THE 
 
 { John xv. 24, 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 2 53 
 
 Tur Confequence is, that he judg’d his 
 Miracles to be infallible Evidences of his 
 Doétrine, and the ‘ews to be under a ne- 
 ceflary Obligation of believing him. And 
 indeed, his Miracles efpecially render’d the 
 Incredulity of the ews wilful and cri- 
 minal: For the Teftimonies drawn purely 
 from Scripture, did not, before our Lord’s 
 Death, amount to a Demonftration. For 
 Inftance, Mofes had faid, a Prophet fball 
 the LORD your GOD rare ye up, 
 Sc. but this did by no means evince 7 4- 
 SUS CHRIST to be that Prophet, 
 and therefore left the main Queftion unde- 
 cided: Yet this, with other the like Paf- 
 fages, was fufficient to raife a Prefumption 
 that he might poffibly be the Meffas, or 
 that Prophet; which Prefumption, with 
 the Reinforcement of his Miracles, ought 
 to have confirm’d the ‘fews in an Opinion 
 that he was really fo. 
 
 Tue Prophecies alone did not point out 
 our LORD with the utmoft Certainty, 
 during his Life: So that, during this Space, 
 if his Miracles had not been decifive Proofs, 
 a Man would have been excufable in dif- 
 believing him. It is clear, then, that Mi- 
 racles perform’d are a fufficient Evidence, 
 when we have no contrary Argument from 
 Doétrines deliver’d; and that they ought, 
 
 in 
 
264 M. PascaAu’s Thoughts. 
 
 in this Cafe, to. be relied upon with Affu- 
 
 rance and Satisfaction. ‘Saath 
 
 _. Ir. was from, our Lord’s Miracles that 
 Nicodemus concluded the Divinity of his 
 Dodtrine:. Scwmus quia a Deo venifti ma- 
 gifter ; nemo enim poteft bac figna facere 
 gua tu facts, mifi fuerit Deus ewm eo. He 
 did not judge of the Miracles. by . the 
 Doétrine; bat, of the Dogrine by the Mi+ 
 BActes.y cya 
 
 IF therefore a Doétrine fhould even. be 
 fufpicious, (as that of our LORD might 
 poflibly, be to Nicodemus, becaufe it feem’d 
 to deftroy the Traditions of the Pharifces,) 
 yet if there are plain. and undeniable Mi- 
 racles on the fame Side, the Authority of 
 a, Miracle ought to overbalance any Dif- 
 ficulty that can arife froma Doétrine: The 
 Reafon of which is founded upon thisim- — 
 moveable Principle, that G o p cannot lead 
 Men into Error. 
 
 THERE feems to bea reciprocal Right 
 (if we may fo fpeak,) between GOD and 
 Man. Come now and let us reafon toge- 
 ther, fays Gop by Ifaiah; * and again by 
 the fame Prophet, What could I have done 
 more to my Vineyard, that I have not done 
 to it ?3 ga: 
 
 Gop 
 
 e Joh. lin, 2.,  % Ta aaa 3 Ib, ver. 4 : 
 
M. Pascau’s. Thoughts. 25¢ 
 
 ~Gop has this Right with regard to Men, 
 that they fhould embrace the Religion 
 which he is pleafed to fend them: And 
 Men, by. the divine Favour, feem to have 
 this Right in refpect of Gon, that he 
 fhould not lead them into Error. 
 
 Bur now they would unavoidably be 
 led into Error, if a Worker of Miracles 
 fhould: publith a falfe Doétrine, unlefs. ci- 
 ther the Doétrine ‘itfelf vifibly appear’d to 
 be falfe, or unlefs a Worker of much great- 
 er Miracles had given them an exprefs 
 Caution againft thefe which fhould follow. 
 
 Ler us put the Cafe of a Divifion in 
 the Church ; and let us fuppofe the Arians 
 (who pretended to build upon the Autho- 
 rity of Scripture no lefs than the Catho- 
 licks) to have perform’d Miracles, and the 
 Catholicks none: Here Men muft have 
 laid under a Neceffity of being deceiy’d: 
 For as a Man who fhall pretend to reveal 
 to us the Myfteries of Gop, is not worthy ~ 
 to be credited on his own private Tefti- 
 mony; fo a Man who, to juftify his di- 
 vine Commiffion, fhall raifé the Dead, 
 foretel future Eyents, remove Mountains, 
 or expel Difeafes by human Means incu- 
 rable, merits fuch a Credit as cannot,” 
 without the Guilt of impiety, be denied 
 him, proyided that he be not convicted of 
 
 Falfhood _ 
 
256 M. Pascats Thoughts. 
 
 Falfhood by fome other Perfon, who hall 
 perform ftill greater Miracles. 
 
 But is not God faid to tempt and prove 
 us? and may he not tempt us by Miracles 
 wrought in the Defence of Error ? 
 
 I anfwer, To tempt and to lead into Er- 
 ror, are very different Things: The for- 
 mer is confiftent with the divine Perfec- 
 tions; the latter not. To tempt is only 
 to prefent the Occafion; which impofes no 
 Neceffity on our Belief: To lead into 
 Error, is to put a Man under a Neceffity 
 of embracing that which is falfe. ‘This is 
 what God cannot do, and yet what muft 
 be done by him, fhould he, while the 
 Queftion of Doétrine remains obfcure, 
 lend a Miracle to ftrengthen the wrong 
 Side. 
 
 HENCE we may conclude it to be im- 
 
 offible, that a Perfon’ who conceals the 
 falfe Part of his Doétrine, and publithes 
 that only which is true, pretending an ex- 
 act Conformity to Gop and the Church, 
 fhould work a Miracle, in order to the 
 paffing his erroneous Opinions infenfibly 
 upon the World: And more impoffible it 
 is, that Gop, who knows the Heart, fhould 
 vouchfafe the Power of Miracles to fuch a 
 
 Deceiver. | 
 _* THERE’s a wide Diftance between 
 the not being for our Lorn F ASUS 
 CHRIST, 
 
M. Pascaz’s Thoughts. 257 
 
 © H R1IST, and the pretending to be fo, 
 Some Perfons of the former Character may 
 poflibly be permitted. to work Miracles, 
 -but none of the latter; becaufe ’tis plain 
 of thofe, that they work them againft the 
 Truth, but not of zhefe; and confequent- 
 ly the Miracles of the former are more 
 clearly difcern’d, and more eafily con- 
 demn’d. 
 
 Mirac ies, therefore, are a ftanding Teft 
 
 of all Things which admit of Doubt, be- 
 tween Pagans and Jews, Fews and Chrij- 
 tiaus, Hereticks and Catholicks, between 
 the three Croffes,; between the Accufer and 
 the Accufed. . 
 _. Tuts is what has been feen and exem- 
 plified in all the Combats of the CGham- 
 pions of Truth againft thofe of Error; of 
 Abel againft Cam, of Mofes againft the 
 Magicians, of E/as againft the falfe Pro- 
 phets; of our LO RD againft the Pha- 
 rifees, of St. Paul againft Bar-fefus, of 
 the Apoftles againft the Exorcifts, of Chrif- 
 tians againit Infidels, of Catholicks againft 
 Hereticks: And this is what fhall be feen 
 in the final Contention of Eas and Exoch 
 againft, Antichrift. In the Tryal by Mi- - 
 xacle, Truth will always prevail. 
 
 To conclude: Thro’ the whole Procefs 
 of the Caufe of G 90 p, and of the true Re- 
 ligion, no one Miracle has been perform’d 
 
 on 
 
268 M. Pascau’s Thoughts, 
 
 on the Side of Error, but what has been 
 vaftly over-balanced by much greater Mi- 
 racles on the Side of Truth. | 
 
 WHEREFORE this Rule evinceth the Ob- 
 ligation which the ‘fews had to believe in 
 FESUS CHRIST. Owr LOR D's 
 Perfon was indeed fufpeéted by them; but 
 then the Power of his Miracles was infi- 
 nitely more apparent than the Sufpicions 
 againft his Perfon. | of cme 
 
 * In the Hiftory ofour ZO RD, when 
 many believed on him, having feen the 
 Miracles which he did, we find others dif- 
 believing him on account of the Prophe- 
 cies, which fpecified Bethlehem-as the Birth- 
 place of the Meffas; whereas they fup- 
 pofed our LO & D to have been born in 
 Nazareth. But here they ought to have 
 enquired more diligently, whether he who 
 performed thefe mighty Works, was not, 
 indeed, born in Bethlehem: For his Mi- 
 racles being convittive, this pretended Op- 
 pofition of his Doétrine to the Scriptures, 
 and this Obfcurity, as to his Original, might 
 contribute to their Blindnefs, but cannot be 
 allede’d in their Excufe. ap) 4 
 
 * Our LORD, by curing him that was 
 born blind, and performing other Miracles 
 on the Sabbath-Day, ftrengthen’d the Infa- 
 tuation of the Pharifees, who pretended to. 
 judge of his Miracles by his aati 
 
 uT 
 
M. Pa s cax’s Thoughts. 259 
 
 Bur by the Rule which obligeth us to 
 the Belief of F ESUS CHRIST, by 
 the fame we are cbliged not to believe 4y- 
 tichrift. | 
 
 FESUS CHRIST fpake neither 
 againft MMofes, nor againtt Gop. Apti- 
 chrift and the falfe Prophets, which are 
 foretold both in the Old and New  Tefta- 
 ment, fhall {peak openly againft Gop, and 
 agantt FASUS CHRIST. Gono 
 will never permit thofe who are even fe- 
 cretly his Enemies, to perform Miracles 
 openly in his Name. 
 
 * MOSES prophefied of JESUS 
 CHRIST, and commanded that he 
 fhould be heard and obey’d. FESTUS 
 CHRIST has prophefied of /utichrift, 
 and forbidden us to follow or regard him. . 
 
 Tue Miracles of F ESUS CHRIST 
 were not foretold by xtichrif?, but the 
 Miracles of Antichrifi are foretold by F E- 
 SUS CHRIST. Wherefore, if f E- 
 SUS CHRIST had not been the AMe/- 
 fias, he had properly ied Men into Error; 
 into which no Man can with Reafon be led 
 by the Miracles of 4ntichrifi. And hence 
 the Miracles of the latter cannot, in the _ 
 leaft, prejudice the Miracles of the for- 
 mer; as none will fay, that our LO & D, 
 when he warn’d us againft thofe of 4zt7- 
 
 Ra chrift, 
 
260 M. Pascat’s Thoughts, 
 
 chriff, did conceive that he fhould heey 
 mune the Authority of his own. 
 
 * We can have no pofflible Reafon to 
 believe in Autichriff, which we have not 
 to believe in Ff ESUS; but we have in- 
 finite Reafons to believe in JESUS, 
 which we cannot poflibly have to believe 
 in Antichrift. 
 
 * As Miracles were the Inftruments of 
 founding and eftablifhing the Church, fo 
 fhall they be the Inftruments of preferving 
 it to the coming of Autichrifi, and the 
 Confummation of all Things. 
 
 WHEREFORE God, to fecure this Evi- 
 dence to his Church, has either confounded 
 all falfe Miracles, or has foretold them as 
 fuch; and, as well by one Means as the 
 other, has not only raifed himfelf above 
 that which is fupernatural in refpeét of us, 
 but in fome fort has raifed us up above it 
 too. 
 
 For Miracles are of fo grtcens a 
 Force and Influence, that notwithftanding 
 all the Conviction which we have of the 
 divine Exiftence and Perfeétions, it is ftill 
 neceflary that Gop fhould warn us rot to 
 credit them, when they make againft him- 
 felf; without which Caution, they might 
 be able to perplex and miflead us. 
 
 S o that the feveral Paflages in Deutero- 
 nomy, xiii. prohibiting all Belief or Atten- 
 
 tion 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 261 
 
 tion to thofe who fhould work Miracles, 
 in order to pervert Men from the Worthip 
 of the true Gon; as alfo that Caution in 
 St. Mark', There fhall arife falfe Chrifts 
 and falfe Prophets, who fball do many no- 
 table Signs, fo as to feduce, if poffible, the 
 very LEleét, with many Tests of the like 
 Import, are fo far from leflening the Au- 
 thority of true Miracles, that they are the 
 higheft Confirmation of their Force and 
 
 Efficacy. : 
 
 * Tu Ground of disbelieving true Mi- 
 racles, is the Want of Charity: Ye believe 
 not, (ays our LORD to the Fews) be- 
 caufe ye are not of my Sheep?. The 
 Ground of believing falfe Miracles, is the 
 Want of the fame Charity. Eo guid 
 Charitatem veritatis non veceperunt, ut 
 falvi fierent, ideo mittet illis Deus opera- 
 tionem erroris, ut credant mendacio 3. 
 
 * WueEN I am confidering, what may 
 be the Reafon that Men afford Credit to fo 
 many Cheatsin Phyfick, and even put their 
 Lives into their Hands, it appears to me 
 to be no other than this, that there are fuch 
 ‘Things in the World as true and real Me- 
 dicines ; becaufe otherwife *twould be im- 
 poffible, that thefe which are falfe and feign’d 
 ; R 3 fhould 
 
 - 1 &ili, 22. 2 John x. 26. 3 Theff, ii: xo, . 
 
262 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 fhould fo much abound, of be fo much de- 
 pended on. For were there no fuch Things, 
 and, were all Diftempers indeéd incurable, 
 either no Perfon would, be fo extravagant 
 as to think himfelf Mafter of thefe Reme= 
 dies, or much lefs. would fo many others 
 -be deluded by his Pretenfions. As if a 
 Man fhould give out, that he has an infal- 
 lible Antidote againft dying; *tis not like- 
 ly his Praétice fhould grow confiderable, 
 till he could produce a vifible Inftance of 
 its Succefs. But in as much as there is — 
 certainly a: great Number of Remedies, 
 which have been approv’d by the Knowledge 
 and Experience of the wifeft Men, this 
 gives a Ply to human Belief; and becaufe 
 the Thing cannot be denied in general, on 
 account of particular Effeéts, the Multi- 
 tude being unable to diftinguifh which of 
 thefe particular Effects are true, fwallows 
 them all in grofs. As the Reafon why 
 Men afcribe fo many falfe Effe@ts to. the 
 Moon, is becaufe fhe has indeed fome real 
 Influences, as in the ebbing and flowing of 
 the Sea. 
 
 In the fame Manner, and with the like 
 Evidence, I conclude, that there could ne 
 ver have been fo many pretended Mira- 
 cles, Revelations, Lots, €c. but on ac- 
 count of others which were real; nor fo 
 many falfe Religions, but with regard to 
 
 one 
 
M. Pascatu's Thoughts. 263 
 
 one which is the true. For were there no- 
 thing in this whole Matter, it had been im- 
 poffible for fome to have entertained fuch 
 Conceits, and more impoffible for others to 
 credit what thefe fhould have conceiv’d. 
 But becaufe there had been very fignal 
 Events of the like Nature, which were un- 
 doubtedly genuine, and acknowledg’d as 
 fuch by the wifeft and greateft amongft 
 Men, it was this Impreffion which render- 
 ed the whole World fo capable of admit- 
 ting thofe that were fpurious. And there= 
 fore, inftead of arguing fiom the falfe 
 Miracles againft the true, we ought, on 
 the contrary, to infer thefe from thofe, and 
 to aflure cuirfelves, that Forgery and Falfe- 
 hood are the Shadows which have ever 
 follow’d Truth and Reality. And all this 
 depends upon one natural Principle, that 
 the Soul of Man having been once brought 
 to fuch a Tendency and Inclination by that 
 which is juft and folid, becomes ever after 
 fafceptible of what is fpecious and coun- 
 terfeit. 
 
 * We are commanded to hear the Church, 
 but not to hearken to Miracles; becaufeé 
 the latter Aion is natural, and therefore 
 wanted not an additional Precept, which 
 the former,. being more arbitrary, feem’d 
 to require. 
 
 * THERE are fo very few to whom Gop 
 makes himfelf known by thefe amazing 
 
 R4 Strokes 
 
264. M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 Strokes of his Power, that Men’ are in the 
 higheft Manner obliged to make'ufe of fo 
 extraordinary Occafions.- For the Reafon » 
 why he is pleafed thus to come out of the 
 awful Retirements of his Nature, isionly that 
 he may increafe our. Faith, and may engage 
 us to ferve him ftill with the more Ardour, 
 as we know him: with the more Certainty. 
 
 * SHouLp God continually reveal himfelf 
 to Men by vifible Difcoveries, Faith’ would 
 ceafe to be.\a Virtue; and fhould:he afford 
 them no fuck Difcoveries, it would almoft 
 ceafe to be: And therefore, we find, that 
 as. for the moft part he dwells in Secret; fo 
 he difclofes himfelf on. fome rare Occafions, 
 when he would more ftri@tly engage Men 
 in’ his Service. This wonderful Myflery, 
 impenetrable to any mortal Eye,’ under 
 which God-is pleafed to fhade, his Glories, 
 may excite; us powerfully to'a Love of So« 
 litude and Silence, and of Retirement from 
 the View of the World. Before the Jn. 
 carnation God remain’d: hidden in the Re- 
 ceffes of his Divinity;.and after it he bes 
 game, in fome Refpeéts, more hidden, by 
 putting on the Veil of our Humanity. +t 
 had been eafier to have known him while 
 invifible, than when he conyers’d in a vi+ 
 fible Shape; And at length, defigning to 
 accomplifh the Promife which he made to 
 his Apoftles, of continuing with the Church 
 till his fecond Coming, he ¢hofe a Cone 
 
 cealment 
 
M. PascAvu’s Thoughts. 265 
 
 cealment more. ftrange and obfcure than i= 
 ther of the former, under the Species of © 
 the Excharift. °Tis this Sacrament which 
 St. Fohu, in his Apocalypfe, calls the bid- 
 den Mauna, and to which J/aiab perhaps 
 alluded, when he cried out, by his Prophe- 
 tick Spirit, Verily thou art a GOD that 
 hideft .thyfelf.. This is the laft myfterious 
 Covering which he will aflume. The Veil 
 of the divine Effence has been'penetrated by 
 many Heathens and Infidels, of whom St. 
 Paul teftifies, that they were led into the 
 Knowledge of the invifible Gob, by the 
 Contemplation of vifible Nature. . Many 
 heretical Crijfiams have known him thro’ 
 the Robe of his Humanity, and have wor- 
 fhippd JESUS CHRIST, as Gov 
 and Man. But for ‘us, we ought efpecially 
 to efteem ourfelves happy in that it has 
 pleas’d God to enlighten us to! fuch a De- 
 gree, as to be able to difcern him under the 
 Species of Bread and Wine. 
 _ WE may add to thefe Confiderations the 
 Secret of Gon’s holy Spirit, as conceal’d 
 in the Scriptures. For whereas there are 
 two entire Senfes, a literal and a myfTtical, 
 the Fews refting in the former, never fo 
 much as think that there is another, nor 
 apply themfelves to fearch after it. In the 
 fame Manner wicked and impious Perfons, 
 beholding the Variety of natural Effects, 
 referr’d them to Nature only, without con- 
 | feffing 
 
266 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 feffing the Author of both: So likewife 
 the Fews, obferving only the human Na- 
 ture in Chri, did not feek for another. 
 We thought not that it was be, fays I{aiah, 
 in their Name. ‘There is nothing in the 
 World but what covers and contains fome 
 Myftery. The whole Creation is but the 
 Veil of the Creator. Chriftians ought, 
 in every Appearance, to fee and acknow- 
 ledge him. ‘Temporal Afilictions overfha- 
 dow thofe eternal Goods to which they 
 lead : Temporal Enjoyments cover and 
 difguife thofe eternal Evils which they 
 procure. Let us pray Gop that he would 
 grant us the Power of knowing him in all 
 Things ; and let us render him infinite 
 Thanks, that being in every Object hidden 
 from fo many others, he fhould vouchfafe 
 under every Gbject, and by every Method, 
 to difclofe himfelf to us. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 Chriftian Thoughts. fn 
 
 WY IseRT1NESand ungodly Men, who 
 | ; devote. themfelves blindly to their 
 
 own Paffions, without either knowing Gop, 
 or giving themfelyes the Trouble to fearch 
 after 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 267 
 
 after him, do yet verify by this their Con- 
 dué&, one of thofe Foundations of our 
 Faith, which they particularly oppofe, that 
 the prefent State of human Nature is a State 
 of Corruption. Again, the Fews, who 
 with fo obftinate a Spirit refift the Evidences 
 of Chriftianity, confirm in like Manner the 
 other great Foundation of our Faith, which 
 they principally endeavour to deftroy, that 
 JESUS CHRIST is the true Meffas, 
 that he came to redeem Mankind, and to re- 
 trieve us from the Mifery and Corruption 
 into which we were fallen. And this, as 
 well by the Eftate to which we fee them at 
 prefent reduced, and which was foretold in 
 their own Prophecies, as by thefe Prophecies 
 themfelves, which are ftill in their Hands, 
 and: which with the utmoft Caution they 
 preferve inviolable, as containing the pro- 
 per Marks and Charaéter of their Meffas. 
 Thus may the chief Evidences, both of 
 the Corruption of human Nature, and of 
 the Redemption by JESUS CHRIST, 
 which are the two leading Articles eftablifh’d 
 by the Chriftian Faith, be drawn from the 
 Libertines, who caft off the Care of all Re- 
 ligion; and from the ews, who are irres 
 
 concilable Enemies to the true. 
 * Tue Dignity of Man, under his pri- 
 mitiye Innocence, confifted in governing 
 and 
 
268 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 and ufing the Creatures; but, under his 
 prefent Corruption, it confifts in retiring 
 from them, or in fubmitting to them, and to 
 his own Neceflities and Infirmities. 
 
 * THERE are a great. Number of 
 Truths in Faith, and in Morals, which have 
 an Appearance of utter Repugnancy, and 
 which neverthelefs, in a wonderful Order, 
 do all happily confift and confpire with each 
 other. 
 
 Tue Ground of all Herefy is the De- 
 nial of fome of thefe Truths ; and the 
 Sourfe of all the ObjeGtions made by Here- 
 ticks againft the Catholick Church is the 
 Tenorance of fome of thefe Truths, which 
 fhe conftantly maintains. 
 
 Iz happens, for the moft part, “that he- 
 retical Men, not being able to conceive 
 the Union and Harmony of two feemingly 
 oppofite Truths, and fuppofing that the 
 Admiffion of the one implies the Exclu- 
 fion. of the,other, the one they embrace, 
 and, the other, by the fame Principle, they 
 reject. 
 
 Tux Neforians fuppofed two Perfons 
 in FLSUS CHRISF, on account of 
 his two: Natures; and the Extychians, on 
 the contrary, but one Nature, on account 
 of his fingle Perfon. The Cathalicks pre- 
 ferve the right Judgment, by joining to- 
 gether both Truths, of the two Natures, 
 and of the one Perfon, So 
 
M. Pascatss Thoughts 269 
 
 So that the fhortefit Way to prevent He- 
 ’ fefies is exprefly to teach all Truths; and 
 the fureft Method of confuting Herefics, is 
 to thew in what they confifi, and upon what 
 miftaken Hypothefis they 
 
 * Grace ad Nawe will eve ma 
 tam their Contention m the World. There 
 will be always Pelagians, and there will be 
 always Catholscks; becanfe the ffi Bath 
 confiitates the one, and the ficond Buth 
 the other. 
 
 * Tr is the Charch, which together with 
 FLESUS CHRIST, two whom fhe s 
 all thofe who are m Emor. And thofe, at 
 leneth, approve themfelves the trucit Con- 
 verts, who labour for the Saiety of their 
 Mother, from whom they firfi denved 
 their own. 
 
 * Tue Body can no more live without 
 the Head, than the Head without the Bo- 
 dy. He that feparates from the one, or the 
 other, is no longer of the Body, nor a Mem- 
 brof FESUSCHRIST. Ai Vi- 
 tues, all Aufferity, all good Works, and 
 even Martyrdom itflf, are of no Wosth 
 out of the Church, and cut of Communia 
 with the Head of the Church. : 
 
 * Tus fhall be one amoneft the Hor- 
 tors and Confuftons of the Wicked m ano- 
 
 ther 
 
270 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 ther Life, to fee themfelves condemn’d by 
 their own Reafon, by which they pretended 
 
 to condemn the Chriftian Religion, = 
 _ ® We ought to judge what is good or 
 evil by the Will of Gop, which is always 
 ‘juft, and always infallible, and not by our 
 own Will, which is fo byafs’d with Preju- 
 dice, and fo blinded with Error. 
 _ * Our LORD in his Gofpel has gi- 
 ven this amongft other Marks of thofe who 
 fhould believe. in his Name, that they fhall 
 fpeak with new Tongues: And indeed the 
 Renovation of Thoughts and Defires natu- 
 rally caufeth that of Speech. Thefe new 
 Productions, (which cannot be difpleafing 
 to Gop, as the old Man cannot pofflibly 
 pleafe him,) are very different from the No- 
 velties of the World, becaufe the latter, 
 how frefh and fair foever, are fubje& to Age 
 and Decay ; whereas the former, (the Fruits 
 of the new Spirit,) the longer they continue, 
 the more they {till improve in Frefhnefs and 
 Beauty. Our old ates (fays St. 
 Paul,) and our new Man 1s renew'd Day 
 by Day; nor thall we be compleatly new 
 till our Renovation in Eternity, when we 
 fhall, without ceafing, fing David's new 
 Song, the Song infpired by the new Spirit of 
 
 Charity. : 3 
  * Wuen St. Peter and the other Apof- 
 tles confulted about the Abolifhment of Cir- 
 cumcifion, 
 
M. Pascatu’s Thoughts. 27% 
 
 cumcifion, where the Point in Debate was 
 the a@ting contrary to the Law of Gop, 
 they did not refer themfelves to the Pro- 
 phets, but confider’d barely the Gift of 
 the Holy Ghoft pour’d out on Perfons un- 
 circumcifed. ‘They judg’d it more ‘certain, 
 that Gop approved of thofe whom he 
 fill’d with his Spirit, than that he required 
 in all Inftances an exact and literal Obfer- 
 vation of the Law. They knew the very 
 End of the Law to be no other than the 
 Spirit, and concluded, that fince Men were 
 capable of the latter without Circumcifion, 
 _ they wanted not the Preparation of the 
 former. | 
 
 * Two plain Laws might be more ef- 
 feétual in regulating the whole Chriftian 
 Community, than all political Inftitutions, 
 the Love of Gop, and of our Neighbour. 
 
 * Reziaion has fomewhat in it which 
 is adapted and proportion’d to Genius’s of 
 every Size. The Generality of Men look 
 no farther than its prefent Condition and 
 Settlement in the World. And the Nature 
 of Chriftianity is fuch, that its very Efta- 
 blifhment is an invincible Argument of its 
 ‘Truth. The Learned and Knowing are able 
 to trace it up to the Beginning of the World. 
 The Angels ftill proceed to a nobler Height, 
 and contemplate the original Plan im the 
 Mind of the diyine Author.. 
 . * THOse 
 
272 M, PascAu’s Thotglits, 
 
 * Tuose whom Gop has infpired with 
 the Grace of Religion in their Hearts and 
 Affections, are moft entirely convinced, and 
 moft completely bleffed. But as for thofé - 
 who have not yet attain’d it, we have no 
 way of recommending it to them, but by 
 Reafon and Argument; waiting till Gop 
 fhall pleafe to imprint an inward Feeling of 
 it on their Hearts; without which, all 
 Faith, as it is only the Conviétion of 
 the Underftanding, is unprofitable to Sal« 
 vation. ‘Ani 
 
 * Gop Almighty, to referve to himfelf 
 the fole Right of inftruting us, and to ren- 
 der the Difficulties of our own Being unin= 
 telligible to us, has laid the Knot fo high, 
 or, to fpeak more properly, fo low, that 
 we cannot reach to untie it. So that it is 
 not by the Exercife and Agitation, but by 
 the bare Submiffion and Acquiefcence of our 
 Reafon, that we are made capable of truly 
 Knowing ourfelves. ‘ 
 
 * LIBERTINES, who make a Profeffion 
 of being wholly guided by Reafon, ought 
 certainly to be fortified with the greateft 
 Strength of Reafon. Let us hear, then, 
 what they have to offer. ‘* Don’t you obs 
 “« ferve (fay they) that Beafts live and die 
 “ like Men; and Zurks like Chriftians? 
 “ Have not the Followers of Mahomet 
 “ their Ceremonies, their Prophets, their 
 
 : “ Doctors, 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 273 
 “ Doors, their Saints, their Religious Ors 
 
 “ ders, as well as we? €©c.” But is any 
 Thing of this contrary to Scripture? Or, 
 faith not the ti le the Seege ahfo? Vt 
 you are fairly refolved to eafe yourfelves 
 of all Trouble in the Knowledge of Truth, 
 I confefs here’s enough to keep you in 
 Sufpence and Indifference, But if you de- 
 fire with your whole Heart to know it, 
 here’s by no means enough; you ought to 
 go to the Bottom, and to enquire with the 
 greateft Striftnefs into each Particular. The 
 Difficulties you alledge, might be fufficient 
 to unfettle a yain Queftion of Philofophy ; 
 but here the Subje& of Debate. is all your 
 Intereft and Happinefs; And yet, after 
 fome flight Reflexions of this Nature, Men 
 are contented to amufe themfelyes, 6c.**** 
 _ *® Wuar can be more fhocking, than to 
 fecl all our: Poffeffions continually fliding 
 thro’ our Hands, and-yet-to. acquiefce in 
 this wretched Poverty, and to entertain no 
 Defire of fecuring a more fix’d and durable 
 ‘Preaiare ? 
 
 * Turre are two contrary Suppofitions 
 which ought to engage us in quite different 
 Methods of Life: One, that “tis poffible — 
 for us to abide here for ever: The other, 
 that ’tis certain we cannot remain here long, 
 and uncertain whether we fhall not be re- 
 ' moyed benee the next Hour: The ladt of 
 
£ 
 
 274. M.P AscAu.’s Thoughts. 
 
 thefe Suppofitions belongs manifeftly to our 
 Cafe. | 
 
 * You lie under an indifpenfable Obli- 
 gation to make gradual Advances in the 
 Search of Truth. For, if you go out of the 
 World without having paid a due Venera- 
 tion to its Author, you are loft for ever. 
 “ But (fay you) had he defigned that I 
 “ fhould pay him this Veneration, he would 
 “¢ not have fail’d to leave me fome undoubt- 
 “ed Tokens of his Will.” Why, he has 
 really left them ; but you are carelefs of feek- 
 ing them: At leaft therefore, be fo rational 
 as tothink it worth your Pains tofeek them. ~ 
 
 * AN Atheift ought to offer nothing but 
 what is perfectly clear and evident. But a 
 Man mutft have loft all his Senfes, before he 
 can affirm it to be perfectly clear and evi- 
 dent that the Soul is mortal. I freely dif- 
 own the Neceflity of diving into Coperni- 
 cus’s Syftem: But I maintain, that it con- 
 "cerns us more than our Life is worth, to 
 enquire whether the Soul is mortal or 
 immortal. Niiigaga 2~ 
 
 * Wo can do otherwife than admire 
 and embrace a Religion which contains the 
 complete Knowledge of fuch ‘Truths, as 
 we ftill know the more furely according 
 to the greater Proportions of our Capacity 
 and Light? . 
 __ * A Perfon difcovering the Proofs of the 
 Chriftian Religion, is like an Heir _— 
 
 ; the 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoug! 
 
 the Deeds and Evidences” 
 Shall he officioufly condemn them as coun- 
 terfeit, or caft them afide without Exami- 
 nation ? 
 
 * T fee no greater Difficulty that there is 
 in the Refurrettion of the Dead, or the Con- 
 ception of the Virgin, than in ‘the Creation 
 of the World: Is not the Re-production 
 of human Bodies as eafy as the firft Produc- 
 tion? Or, fuppofing us to be ignorant of the 
 natural Method of Generation, fhould we 
 think it more ftrange to fee a Child from a 
 Woman cnly, than from a Manand a Woman? 
 
 * THERE is a great Difference between 
 Peace of Confcience, and Affurance of Con- 
 {eience. The former may be obtained by 
 the fincere Search of Truth; the latter on- 
 ly by Truth itfelf, when a€tually poffeis’d. 
 
 * THERE are two Maxims of Faith equal- 
 ly fix’d and unalterable; the one, that Man 
 in his State of Creation, (or, in that of 
 Grace,) is raifed above all vifible Nature, 
 made like unto Gop, and a Partaker of the 
 Divinity: The other, that Man in his State — 
 of Corruption and Sin, is fallen from this 
 Pitch of Greatnefs, into a Refemblance with 
 the Beafts. Thefe two Propofitions are _ 
 alike firm and certain: The holy Scripture 
 bears a pofitive Teftimony to both. For, 
 in fome Places we read, My Delight is 
 
 S2 with 
 
ve? ap) Men*: Iwill pour out my 
 Spirit upon all Flefh>. Ihave faid ye are 
 Gods 3, Kc. but in others, 4U/ Flefh is Grafs*, 
 Man is like unto the Beafts that perifos, I 
 faid in my Heart, concerning the Ejtate of 
 the Sons of Men, that GOD might mange 
 them, and that they themfelves are Beajis °. 
 * To difengage ourfelyes from our native 
 Infirmities, is always painful and grievous. 
 We feel not our Chain, (fays St. Auffim) 
 while we voluntarily follow our Leader, 
 But when we begin to refift, and to draw 
 back, it is then we become Sufferers ; it is 
 then our Chain ftretcheth itfelf, and endures 
 the utmoft Violence, And this Chain is our 
 Body, which Death alone can break. Our 
 LORD obferv’d, that before the Coming 
 of St. Yohu Baptift, the Kingdom of Hea- 
 ven fuffer’d Violence, and the Violent took — 
 it by Foree. Before we are touch’d from 
 on High, we have nothing but the Weight 
 of our own Concupifcence, which natu- 
 rally bears us down to the Earth. But 
 when Gop is pleafed to draw us up tos 
 wards himfelf, thefe two contrary Efforts 
 make that Violence which we are fpeak- 
 ing of, and which Gop alone is able to 
 evercome. But we can do all Things (in 
 the - 
 
 4 Prov. viii. 31. 2 Joel ii;8. } Palm Ixxxii. 6. 
 4. xl. 6. 5 Pfalm xlix. 12. © Eeclef i, 18. 
 
. 
 ; 
 
 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 277 
 
 ahe Words of an ancient Father",) with him, 
 without whom we can do nothing. We fhould 
 therefore prepare ourfelves, with the great- 
 eft Refolution, to fuffer this Warfare du- 
 sing our Life; becaufe we are mot here 
 permitted to hope for Peace. FESUS 
 CHRIST came to bring not Peace, but 
 a Sword. Yet ought we to acknowledge, 
 that, as the Scripture fays, the Wifdem of 
 Men is Foolifbne[s with GOD, {fo this 
 War may be term’d a Peace with Gop, 
 how uneafy. foever it may feem to Men, 
 and of fuch a Peace may our Lord be ftyl’d 
 the Author and Prince. Yet the Perfec- 
 tion of this Peace cannot be attain’d till 
 the Deftru€tion and Diffolution of the Bo- 
 dy. And ’tis hence that we may be al- 
 low’d to with for Death; yet fo as cou- 
 rageoufly to fuftain and fuffer Life, for the. 
 Love of him, who fuffer’d both Life and 
 Death on our Behalf, and wo, in the 
 Apoftle’s Phrafe, is able to do for us abun- 
 dantly above what we can ask or think. 
 
 * Wee fhould firive to bring ourfelves 
 to fuch a Temper, as not to be troubled at 
 any Occurrence, but to take every Event 
 for the beft. I apprehend this to be a ne- 
 ceflary Duty, and the Neglect of it to be 
 properly a Sin, For the Reafon why we 
 
 S 3 term 
 1S, Lea. : 
 
™ 
 
 278 M, Pascau’s Thoughts,” 
 
 term any Thing finful, is taken from its 
 Repugnancy to the WillofGop. If then 
 the very Effence of Sin confifts in cherifh- 
 ing a Will, which we know to be contrary 
 to that of Gop, it feems clear to me, that 
 when he is pleafed to difcover his Will to 
 us by Events, we are unjuftly reputed Sin- 
 ners, if we conform not ourfelyes by a rea- 
 dy Compliance and Submiffion. 
 
 * WuEN Truth is deferted and perfecu- 
 ted, this feems to be the Time that the Ser- 
 vice which we yield to Gop in its Defence 
 is peculiarly acceptable. He permits us to 
 judge of Grace by the Comparifons of Na- 
 ture. And as a Prince dethron’d by his 
 own Subjects, retains a moft tender Affec- 
 tion for thofe who continue faithful to him 
 in the publick Revolt; fo we may prefume 
 to conceive, that Gon will ever regard 
 thofe with a peculiar Goodnefs, who main- 
 tain the Purity of Religion, when it is, on 
 _ all Sides, attack’d or opprefs’d. But here’s | 
 the Difference between the Kings of the 
 Earth, and the King of Kings; that the 
 Princes of this World do not make their 
 Subjects loyal, but find them fo; whereas 
 Gop never finds Men otherwife than difloy- 
 al and unfaithful, without the Succours of 
 his Grace, and is therefore himfelf the 
 Author of all their Conftancy and Truth. 
 $0 that while temporal Monarchs are wont 
 
 tg 
 
M. Pascats Thoughts. 279 
 
 to own an Obligation to thofe who perfift 
 refolutely in their Allegiance and Duty ; 
 thofe, on the contrary, who -perfevere in 
 the Service of Gon, are under infinite Obli- 
 gations to him, for the very Power of their 
 Perfeverance. 
 
 * Nor the moft rigorous Aufterities of 
 Body, nor the moft profound Exercifes 
 of Mind, are able to fupport the Pains and 
 Grievances of both, but only the good Af 
 fe€tions of the Heart and Spirit. For in 
 fhort, the two great Inftruments of Sancti- 
 fication are Pains and Pleafures. St. Paul 
 informs us, That al thofe who will live 
 godly in the Lord JESUS CHRIST, 
 muft faffer Perfecution. Now this ought 
 to comfort as many as feel thefe Difquiets, 
 and encounter thefe Difficulties in a Courfe 
 of holy Living, becaufe being affured that 
 the Path to Heaven, which they feck, is 
 full of them, they have Reafon to rejoice 
 at their finding fo many Marks of the true 
 Way. So that thefe Pains are not without 
 their Pleafures, by which alone they can 
 ‘be balanced or counterveil’d. For as thofe 
 who forfake Go p to return to the World, 
 do it becaufe they find more Complacency 
 in earthly Delights, than in the Satisface 
 tion of being united to the divine Nature. 
 and becaufe this fatal Charm drawing them 
 after it as its Captives, obliges them to re- 
 
 4 ; linguifh 
 
280 M. Pascau's Thoughts, 
 
 linquifh their firft Love, arid renders them, 
 as Tertullian fpeaks, the Pénitents of the 
 Devil ; in like manner, there would be 
 none found who fkould. abandon the En- 
 joyments of the World, to, embrace the 
 Crofs of JESUS CHRIST, did 
 they not feel a more real Sweetnefs, in 
 Contempt, in Poverty, in Nakednefs, and 
 in the Scorn and Rejeétion of Men, than 
 all the Delicacies and Pleafures of Sin, 
 oe therefore, as the fame Father re 
 We mjure the chriflian Life, if we fup- 
 pofe ut to bea Life Me Sadaeh le te a 
 Becaufe we never quit owr Engagements 
 to any one Pleafure, without beimg invited 
 and bribed by a greater. Pray without 
 ceajing, (fays St. Paul,) im evéry Thing 
 give Thanks, rejoice ever more. Xt is the 
 Joy of finding Go p which is the Spring of 
 our Sorrow, for having forfaken him, and 
 of our whole Change in Life and Aion. 
 He that has found a Treafure in the Field, 
 (according to the Parable of our LO RD) 
 is fo tranfported as to go and fell all that he 
 has, and buy that Field. Worldly Men 
 have their Share of Sorrow, but then they _ 
 are utterly excluded from true Joy, that 
 which the World can neither give nor take 
 away. On the other Hand, the Saints’ in 
 Heaven poffefs their Joy without forrow- 
 ing. And good Men on Earth partake “a 
 
 i the 
 
M. Pascaus Thoughts. 281 
 
 the fame Joy, not without a Mixture and 
 Allay of Sotrow, for having follow’d other 
 Joys, and for fear of lofing the former in 
 the latter, which inceflantly - folicit and ~ 
 engage their Affections. We fhould there~ 
 fore with unintermitted Pains and Care 
 endeavour to preferve this: Sorrow ever 
 frefh and lively in our Breafts, as that alone 
 which can fecure afid moderate our Joy; 
 and as oft as we find ourfelves carried too 
 far towards the one, to {way and incline 
 outfelves towards the other; that wé may 
 maintain the Balance, and keep ourfelves 
 upright. It is agreeable to the Advice of 
 Scripture, that we fhould remember our 
 Rejoicings in the Day of Affliction, and 
 our Afflidions in the Days of Rejoicing ; 
 till the Promife which our LORD has gi+ 
 ven us of making his Joy perfec in us be 
 _ happily accomplifh’d. In the mean while, 
 let us not fuffer ourfelves to be fwallow’d 
 up of overmuch Sorrow, nor imagine that 
 Piety confifts in Bitternefs without Confo- 
 lation. ‘True Piety, which receives not its 
 Completion but in Heayen, is yet fo ful 
 of Satisfaction and Delight, as to over 
 flow its Beginning, its Progrefs, and its, 
 Crown. It is a Light fo refpléndent as 
 to dart fome Rays of Brightnefs through 
 its whole Compafs and Sphere. If, in 
 its Rife efpecially, it be fhaded with 
 
 fome 
 
282 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 fome Intermixture of Grief} this proceeds 
 from the Perfons not from the Virtue, and 
 muft be look’d on, not as the Firft-fruits of 
 that Piety which is now forming in us, 
 but as the Reliques of that Impiety which 
 is not yet deftroy’d. Could we root out 
 the Impiety, the Joy would flourifh and 
 thrive. Let us therefore afcribe the Origin 
 of our Sadnefs not to Religion, but to our-, 
 felves; and let us feek our Comfort in our 
 own Correction. 
 
 * Wuar is paft ought to give us no Un- 
 eafinefs, except that of Repentance for our 
 Faults. And what is to come ought much 
 lefs to affe&t us, becaufe with regard to 
 us and our Concerns, it is not, and per- 
 haps will never be.’ ‘The prefent is the 
 only Time which is properly ours; and — 
 this we ought to ufe in Conformity to the 
 Will of him that gives it. Here, there- 
 fore our Thoughts and Studies fhould 
 principally be engaged: Yet the World is 
 generally of fo reftlefs a Difpofition, that 
 Men fcarce ever fix upon the prefent, nor 
 think of the Minutes which they are now 
 living, but of thofe which they are to 
 live. Thus we are always in the Difpo- 
 fition of Life, but never in the Aé&. Our 
 £,0 RD has caution’d us, that our Fore- 
 caft fhould not extend beyond the Com- 
 pafs of a Day. Thefe are the Limits which 
 
 we 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 283 
 
 we ought to obferve, as for the fake of 
 our fpiritual Welfare, fo even for that of 
 eur natural Quiet and Repofe. 
 
 * Tue Reformation of ourfelves is of- 
 ten more effectually affifted by the Sight of 
 Evil, than by the Example of Good. The 
 Art of profiting by Evil muft be of admi- 
 rable Ufe, becaufe the Occafions of it are 
 fo frequent and numerous; whereas the 
 Subjects of virtuous Imitation are fo few 
 in Number, and do fo rarely occur. 
 
 * In the thirteenth Chapter of St. Mark, 
 our LORD Difcourfes at large to his Dif- 
 ciples about his fecond Coming. And as 
 whatever happens to the Church happens 
 likewife in fome Manner and Proportion 
 to every Chriftian, fo is it certain, that 
 this whole Chapter defcribes as well the 
 State of each regenerated Perfon, and the 
 Deftruction of the old Man in him, as the 
 State of the Univerfe, which thall be de- 
 firoy’d to give way to the new Heavens 
 and new Earth, according to the Word of 
 Scripture. The Prediction concerning the 
 Ruin of the Temple when forfaken by 
 Gop, (which is the Figure of the reje&ted 
 and reprobate Body of Sin, dwelling in ” 
 every one of us,) and the Expreffion of 
 not leaving one Stone upon another, teach us, 
 that we ought to leave no Affection of the 
 old Man unmortified or unremoyed. And 
 
 thofe 
 
284 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 thofe Wars and Tumults, thofe Conten- 
 tions, Civil and Domeftick, are fo lively 
 a Reprefentation of the inward Troubles 
 which Men feel at their Converfion, that 
 rio Colours could have painted them to 
 more Advantage. | 
 
 * Tue holy Spirit refides invifibly in the 
 Remains of thofe who are departed in the 
 Grace of Gop, till he fhall appear vifibly 
 in them at the Refurreétion. And ‘tis 
 hence that the Reliques of the Saints be- 
 come worthy of Regard: For Gop will 
 never leave or forfake thofe that are truly 
 dis, not even in the Grave, where their 
 Bodies, which are dead to the Eyes of 
 Men, do now more properly live in the 
 . Sight of Gon; being deliver’d from that 
 Sin which ever dwelt in them during this 
 Life, as to the Root, tho’ not ever as to 
 the Fruits and Effects. And this Root of 
 Bitternefs, which is infeparable from their 
 Bodies before their Deceafe, makes thofe 
 Bodies fo long incapable of Honour, as 
 being till then more worthy of Hatred and 
 Reproach. Death alone can entirely fup- 
 prefs that unhappy Root, and is, upon this 
 Confideration, to be chofen rather than Life. 
 
 * A‘ the final ‘Judgment, the Elect 
 fhall be ignorant of their own Virtues, and 
 the Reprobate of their own Crimes. Both 
 fhall join in that Part of the Anfwer, 
 LORD, when [aw we thee an. hungry ? Kc. 
 | | FESUS 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts, 285 
 
 # JESUS CHRIST sefufed the 
 Teftimony not only of evil Spirits, but even 
 of fuch Men as had not a lawful Calling and 
 exprefs Commiffion for that Purpofe ; being 
 fatisfied with the Witnefs of GO D, and of 
 St. Fohn Baptift. ; 
 
 * Wuen [I have been going to fet down 
 my Thought, it has fometimes efcaped me 
 in the very writing. But this Accident, re- 
 minding me of my Weaknefs, which I am 
 continually inclined to forget, is 2 Leffon as 
 inftruétive to me as the loft Thought could 
 haye proved ; becaufe the whole Aim of my 
 Study is to difcover my own Feeblenefs, 
 and Vanity, and Nothing. | 
 
 * MONTAIGN is a Writer moft 
 erofsly faulty. He abounds in lewd and inci- 
 dent Expreffions. ‘Let this pafs for nothing. 
 But then his Thoughts on Self-Murder, and 
 on Death, are fuch as we cannot read without 
 Horror. He infinuates an idle Indifference 
 as to the Affair of our Salvation, without Care 
 of Repentance, and yet without Fear of Dan- 
 ger, Indeed his Work not being compofed 
 on a Defign purely religious, he was not 
 obliged to give Men exprefs Admonitions te 
 Piety, but he was indifpenfably obliged not 
 to difcourage them from it. Were we able 
 to apologize for his Libertine Thoughts on 
 all other Subjects, yet *twould be impoffible 
 to alledge any fort of Excufe for his Pagan 
 
 _  Refle- 
 
286 M. Pascau’s ‘Thoughts. 
 
 Refle€tions upon Death. For a Man miuft 
 have utterly abandon’d all Goodnefs, if he 
 defire not at leaft to die like a Chriftian ; and 
 yet a Death of Indolence and Inconfide- 
 ration is the With that runs thro’ Montaigu’s 
 whole Performance. 
 
 * Tuat which deceives us in our Com- 
 parifons between the Examples of the anci- 
 ent Church, and the Pra@tice of the modern, 
 is, that we are wont, for the moft part, to 
 confider Athanafius, Terefa, and other holy 
 Perfons, as they are now crown’d with Glo- 
 ry. At prefent, indeed, when Time has 
 clear’d up the Event, their Condition is fuch 
 as we defcribe it in our Mind. But. when 
 that great Saint was perfecuted, it was a 
 meer Man who bore the Name of Athana- 
 fius ; and when that pious Virgin pray’d, fhe 
 differ’d not from the religious Sifters of her 
 Order. Elias was a Man of like Paffins as 
 we are, fays St. ‘ames; to wean us from 
 that falfe Idea which prompts us to excufe 
 our felves from the Patterns of holy Men, as 
 difproportion’d to our Eftate and Degree. 
 They were Saints, (we cry) and not Men of* 
 our imperfect Character, and unexalted Vir- 
 tue ! 
 
 * In dealing with thofe who have at pre- 
 fent an Averfion to Religion, we ought to 
 begin with fhewing them, that it is by no 
 means contrary to Reafon ; in the next Place, 
 ' we 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 287 
 
 we fhould convince them, that it is great 
 and venerable, and infpire them with Reve- . 
 rence towatds it; after this, we fhould de- 
 , fcribe it as highly charming and lovely, to 
 engage their Wifhes for its Truth; and then 
 we may proceed to demonftrate by irrefra- 
 gable Proofs that it is true; we may evince 
 its Antiquity and Holinefs from its awful 
 Majefty and fublime Elevation ; and laftly, 
 may make it appear to be truly amiable, in 
 that it promifeth our only Good and Hap- 
 inefs. 
 - * We thall fometimes find one fingle Ex- 
 preffion of David or of Mofes, (as for in- 
 ftance, that of the latter, GOD will cir- 
 cumcife the Foreskin of your Hearts) which 
 fhall be fufficient to fettle their Character, 
 and to manifeft the Spirit by which they 
 wrote. Suppofing all their other Difcourfes 
 to be ambiguous, and to leave a Doubt whe- 
 ther they fpake by the Meafures of Philofo- 
 phy, or by thofe of Infpiration, one Word 
 of this. kind is fufficient to determine all the 
 reft. Here the Cloud muft. vanifh, tho’ All 
 fhould have feem’d obfcure before. 
 
 * SHOULD a Man happen to err in fup- 
 pofing the Chriftian Religion to be true, -he- 
 could be no Lofer by the Miftake. But how 
 irrecoverable is /is Lofs, how inexpreflible 
 his Danger, who fhould err in fuppofing it to 
 be falfe ! * * THE 
 
288 M.Pascaxs Thoughts, 
 
 * Tue: moft eafy Rules of Living, with 
 refpett to the World, are the moft diffic 
 with refpe&@ to GO D; and fo vice verfa: 
 The Duties of Religion are the reatett 
 Pains of a Life which is merely p BE osaget 
 the greateft Pleafures of a-Life Asia is pas 
 and divine, Nothing 1s fo natural and agree- 
 able whilft we live in conformity to the 
 World, .as to be poflefs’d of high ies 
 and ample Revenues; nothing is fo labori< 
 ous and difficult, while we live ea od 
 the Will of G O D, as to poffefs thefe 
 vantages, without an irregular Tafte, and 
 unwarrantable Satisfa@ion, 
 
 Tue Old Teftament exhibits to us the 
 Figures of our future Happinefs; the New 
 prefcribes to us the means of attaining it. 
 ‘The Figures were thofe of Pleafure and oY 5 
 the Means are thofe of Sadnefs and Repe: 
 tance. And yet under the former, the 4 ‘ = 
 chal Lamb was eaten with bitter Herbs, 
 (cum amaritudinibys) to teach us, that there 
 is no arriving at true Joy, but PY holy, 
 Sorrow. 
 
 * Tue Word Galilee he ing to. be 
 thrown out by the, Feawi/h Rabble before 
 Pilate, in their Cry againft our Lorn, soce 
 cafion’d the fending him to Herod, in.which 
 the Myftery of his being judg’ d by Jews and 
 Gentiles receiy’d its Completion. hea a 
 
 meer 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 289 
 
 theer Accident, ini appearance; procured the 
 Completion of the Prophecy. 
 
 _ * Two Perfons coming from Confeffion, 
 one of them told mé that he was full of Joy 
 atid Satisfaétion ; the other, that he was full 
 of Trouble and Fear. Upon which I re- 
 member my felf to have pafs‘d this Reflec- 
 tion, that thefe two Men put together would 
 make one good one; and that each was fo 
 far defective, in that he had not the Senti- 
 merits of the other. 
 
 * WE could not but feel a very peculiar 
 Pleafure in being tofs’d by a Tempeft, while 
 the Veffel was infallibly fecured from fink- 
 ing. Such a Veffel is the Church, fuch Tem- 
 pefts‘are its Perfecutions. . 2 
 ~ * As the two great Sources of all Sin are 
 Pride and Negligence, fo GOD has been 
 pleas’d to difclofe two of his Attributes for 
 ’ their Cure, his Mercy, and his Juftice. The 
 Office and Effeé&t of his Juftice is to abafe 
 and mortify our Pride; and the Office and 
 Effe& of his Mercy, is to prevail on our 
 Negligence, and excite us to good Works. 
 Lhe Goodne/s of GOD tleadeth to Repen- 
 tance. And, /et us repent, (fay the Nine= 
 - vites) and fee if He will not have Mercy on _ 
 #s. ‘Thus the Confideration of the Divine 
 Mercy is fo far from being an Encourage- 
 ment to Sloth and Remiffnefs, that it is the 
 greateft Spur to Induftry and A@ion: And. 
 
 T inftead 
 
290 M: Pascau’s Thoughts, 
 inftead of faying, “ If our God. were'not 3 
 © merciful God we ought to bend o 
 “* moft Endeavours towards the. full iting 
 “ his Commands, it is rational to fay, be- 
 “ caufe we ferve a God: of Mercy and. Pity, 
 “ therefore we ought tolabour. with all our, 
 “ Strength to yield him.an) barspteble 28k 
 €,) vice.” | 
 o.* Tus Hiftory of the Gharch pHa me 
 phatically to be tiled, the Hiftory of Truth.) 
 * Axx that is in the World, is pata 
 of the Flefo, the Luft of: thé, Eyes, ‘or, 7 
 Pride of Life : Libido: » bide 
 friendi,, tabido dominandi. Miferable is. that 
 accurfed Farth. which thefé three Rivers of 
 Fire do not refrefh, but’ burn! Happy thofe 
 who rétiiainjupon: ‘thefe Rivers, in immove- 
 able Safety, without being overwhelm’d, of 
 carried away with the Stream; not flanding: 
 ere, but fitting on.a fure-and-humble Seat, 
 whence they rife not till he Day. fp 
 from on high, when, having refted in Peace, 
 they ftretch forth their Hands to him who 
 will lift them up, and caufethem to fland.up= 
 right in the Porches‘ of the heavenly. Feru* 
 falem, where they thall be for'ever feeure 
 from. the. Affaults: of Pride}, And. yet, are 
 thefe happy Saints at. prefeat in)Tears; not 
 to fee all. thefe perifhable things 
 and pafling away, but at the Remembrance: 
 of their dear Country, the Ferufalem which; 
 banits: is 
 
M. Pasca.’s Thoughts. 292 
 is above, after which they figh inceflantly, 
 while the Days of thew Pilgrimage are pro« 
 long’d.. - Rios? c 
 . ¥* AMiracle, fays the Sceptic, would con- 
 firm my wavering Belief. Men talk after 
 this manner about things at a diftance. But 
 thofe Reafons; which being view’d afar off 
 feem the Botindaries of our Sight, do yet 
 ceafe to bound it, upon our Approach. We | 
 difcover ftill a new Scene beyond; and no 
 Profpe& can ftop the endlefs Activity of our 
 Spirit. There is no general Rule (we cry) 
 without an Exception; and no Truth fo 
 bright and folid, as not to have in fome part, 
 the Difadvantage of a Flaw. If Principles 
 be not abfolutely univerfal, we have fuffici- 
 ent Pretence to apply the Exception to the 
 Cafe before us; and by this means we evade 
 all the Force of Conviction. 
 
 * CHARITY is no figurative Precept. To 
 fay that fESUS CHRIST, who came 
 to take away the Figure, and to eftablifh 
 the Truth, came to introduce a figurative 
 Charity, and to remove the true and real, 
 which was before in poffeflion, is 2 Do@rine 
 hot to be entertain’d or endur’d. 
 
 * Tuk Heart has its Arguments and 
 Motives, with which the Reafow is not ac- 
 quainted. We feel this in a thoufand Inftan= 
 ces. It is the Heart, and not the Reafon, 
 which has properly the Perception of GOD: 
 
 ve God, 
 
‘292 Mi Pascan’s Thoughts, 
 
 God, fenfible to the Heart, is the moft- com» 
 -pendious Defcription of true and perfeé 
 F aith, : ty, cyes 
 - * In the Time of Affli€tion, the Know- 
 ‘ledge of external things will never comfort. 
 us under the Ignorance of Morality : But the 
 Knowledge of Morality will always comfort 
 
 us under the Ignorance of external things. 
 * THE Nature of Man is fo framed, that 
 not only by often hearing himfelf call’d a 
 Fool; he believes it; but by often calling 
 himfelf a Fool, he enters into the fame Opi- 
 nion. Every Perfon holds an inward and 
 fecret Converfation with his own Breaft, and 
 fuch as it highly concerns him well to regu- 
 late, becaufe even in this Senfe, Evil Com- 
 munications corrupt good Manners. ‘To ftudy 
 Silence,.as much as poffible, and to converfe 
 with God alone, is the true Artof Perfwa- 
 
 fion, in refpect of ourfelves. | 
 
 * Wuere’s the Difference. between a 
 Soldier and a Carthufian, as to the Point of 
 Obedience? They are equally under Duty, 
 and engaged in Labours equally painful and 
 grieyous. But .then the Soldier all along 
 hopes to be his own Mafter; and tho’ he 
 never compafles his Aim, (becaufe Captains, 
 and even Princes, ate always flavifh and de- 
 pending) yet he ftill wifheth for Liberty, 
 and ufeth his whole Endeavour to attain it. 
 Whereas the Carthufian, on the contrary, 
 fee ee makes 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 293 
 
 makes a folemn Vow never to be at his own 
 Difpofal and Direction, The neceflity of 
 perpetual Servitude is the fame in both 
 Perfons; only, the one ever defires, what 
 the other has for ever renounced. __ 
 — * Our own Will, tho’ it fhould obtain 
 its largeft Wifh, would always keep us in 
 - Uneafinefs. But the very Inftant that we 
 abandon our own Will, we grow ecafy. We 
 can never be fatisfied with it, nor ever dif- 
 fatisfied without it. ots 
 
 * Tis very unjuft that Perfons fhould 
 build fo much on our Familiarity, though 
 they do it with real Inclination and De- 
 light. We deceive all thofe whom we en- 
 courage in fuch a Dependence. Becaufe we 
 are not, at laft, the Perfons they fuppofe, 
 and can by no means be able to fatisfy their 
 Expeétations. Do not we ftand on the Brink 
 of the Grave? and muft not the Obje&t, of 
 which they are fo much enamonr’d, be loft 
 and’ buried with us? As it would: not ceafe 
 to be criminal in us to propagate a Falfity, 
 tho’ we might recommend it with Eloquence, 
 and others embrace it with Pleafure; fo are 
 we in the like Degree blameable, if we la- 
 bourto charm Mens Affections, and to draw 
 them into an undue Confidence and Reli- 
 ance. We ought to caution Perfons, whom 
 we find difpofed to credit a Fiction ; .what- 
 ever Adyantage we might reap by their Mi- 
 2asul * 13 ftake.. 
 
294 M. Pascar’s Thoughts, 
 
 flake. In the*fame Manner ought we. to 
 warn thofe who are courting ‘our Favour, 
 apainft engaging themfelves in fo vain a 
 Patronage and Proteétion.. Becaufe their 
 whole Life. ought really to be fpent either 
 in fecking Gop, or in ftudying ‘to pleafe 
 Him. 
 
 * To traft in Forms ‘and Ceremonies, is 
 Superftition 5 but not to comply with them 
 is Pride. 
 
 * Ary other Seéts and Raliijicets in the 
 World are left to the Guidance of meer 
 natural Reafon. Chriffiaus alone are obliged 
 not to take their Rules of a¢ting from them- 
 felves, but to gain the Knowledge of thofe, 
 which were deliver'd by FASUS CHRIST, 
 to His Church, to be tranfmitted to them, 
 There are certain Perfons who are ageriev’d 
 at this Reftraint. They defire:to have the 
 Liberty of following their own Imaginati- 
 ons, like the reft of the World. ’Tis in 
 vain that we cry to them, as the Proe 
 phets to the antient Fews, “ Enter into 
 “ the Congregation, inform your felves of 
 “ the Laws of your Fathers, and follow 
 “ their Steps.” ‘They are ready to anfwer 
 us as the fame Jews, We will not go; but 
 we will certainly do according ta the 
 Thoughts of our own Heart, hike = Nae 
 pions round about us. 
 
 - ase 
 
 es 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 295 
 
 . ® Ture ate three Means of believing ; 
 by Infpiration, by Reafon, and by Cuftom: 
 Chriftianity, which is the only rational In- 
 ftitution, does yet admit none for its Sons 
 who do not believe by Tnfpiration. Nor 
 does it injure Reafon or Guftom, or debar 
 them of their proper Force: on the contra- 
 ry, it: direéts us: to open our Mind by. the 
 Proofs of the former, and to confirm our. 
 Mind by the Authority of the latter. But 
 then, it chiefly engages us, .to offer our 
 felves, with all Humility, to the Succours 
 of infpired Grace, which alone can produce 
 the true and falutary Effect: Ne evacuetur 
 crux Gbriftic - ‘ 
 ~* A Man never does Evil with fo much 
 Complacency, fo full Purpofe and Refolu- . 
 tion, as when he does it upon a miftaken 
 Principle of Confcience. . le tis 
 _* Tus, Jews, who were .call’d. to fub- 
 due Nations and-Princes, were themfelves 
 the Captives and Slaves of Sin. Chriffians, 
 svhofe Vocation: was, to be Servants and 
 Subjects, are, in the Event, the only 
 Freemen, and the only Sons. | 
 * SuaL1 we call it Courage in a Dying 
 Man, that he dares under his Weaknefs 
 and Agony;affront an Omnipotent and’ Eter+ 
 gal,Gep?; ori 1 poli tiw 
 * TL would never difpute the Credit of a 
 Hiftory,. after the Author had fealed it with 
 his own Blood. 
 ae * THERE 
 
296 M. Pascat’s Thoughts, 
 
 * Tuere is a Virtuous Fear, which’ is 
 the Effe& of Faith; and there is a Vitious 
 Fear, which is the Produét of Doubt. The 
 former leads to Hope ; as relying on Gop, 
 in whom we believe: the latter inclines to 
 Defpair, as not relying on Gop, in whom 
 we da not believe. Perfons of the one Cha- 
 racter fear to lofe Gop ; Perfons of the other 
 Charaéter fear to find Him. 
 
 * SOLOMON and Fob judg’d the 
 bet and f{pake the trueft of Human Mifery 5 
 ' the former the moft happy, the latter the 
 
 moft unfortunate of Mankind: the one ac- 
 quainted by long Experience with the Va- 
 nity of Pleafure, the other with the Reality 
 of Afflition and Pain. 
 - * Gop does not exa& from us that we 
 Should blindly fubmit our Faith to Him with- 
 cut all Reafon, nor intends to awe ‘and con- 
 trol us ‘by mere Force. Yet He thinks not 
 Himfelf obliged to render us a Reafon of 
 all Things. And. to reconcile thefe feem- 
 ing Contrarieties, He: is pleas‘d clearly to. 
 difcover to us the Divine Marks of His own. 
 Nature, and to procure Himfelf Authority 
 by fach Wonders and Evidences, as we are 
 not able to refift: after which He requires 
 that we fhould,. in all other Cafes, believe 
 without Delay, whatever He propofes to 
 us as true, when we find no other Reafon 
 to reje& it, but becaufe we Hy of ourfelves, 
 . | unable 
 
a .. 
 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 297 
 
 unable to difcern whether it be true or no. 
 
 * Tur whole World may be divided in- 
 - to thefé three Ranks and Orders of Men ; 
 thofe who, having found Gop, refign them- 
 felves up to His Service; thofe who, ha- 
 ving not yet found Him, do indefatigably 
 fearch after Him; and laftly, thofe who 
 have neither found Him, or are inclined 
 to feck Him. . The firft are Happy and 
 wife; the Third are Unhappy and Fools; 
 the Second muft be own’d to, be Wife, as 
 they own themfelves to be Unhappy. 
 
 * Reason proceeds fo flowly, and upon 
 fo many Maxims and Views, which it muft 
 always keep prefent before it, that, every 
 - Moment, it either ftumbles or goes aftray, 
 for want of feeing all Things at once, The 
 Cafe is quite otherwife with Senfe. This, 
 as it acts in an Inftant, fo it is always pre- 
 pared for Action. When our Reafon, there- 
 fore, has brought us acquainted with the 
 Truth, we fhould endeavour to imprint our 
 Faith on the inward Senfe of our Heart, with- 
 out which it will be ever wavering and un- 
 certain. 
 
 I r belongs equally to the Perfection of 
 Almighty Gop, that He be infinitely juft, 
 and infinitely merciful. Yet His Juftice and 
 Severity towards the Wicked, is fill lefs 
 amazing, than His Mercy and Goodnefs to~ 
 swards the Ele@. 
 
 , XXIX. 
 
298 M: Pascau’s Thoughts, 
 
 ON 
 Moral Thoughts. — 
 
 NowLenGe has two Extremities, 
 
 which. meet and touch each other, 
 “rhe firft of them is pure Natural Ignorance, 
 fuch as attends eyery Man at his Birth. The 
 other is the Perfection attain’d by great 
 Souls, who having run through the Circle 
 of All that’ Mankind can know, find at length 
 that they know nothing, and are contented 
 to return to that Ignorance from which they 
 fet out.-’ Ignorance that thus knows itfelf, 
 is a wife and learned Ignorance. Thofe 
 Perfons who lie between thefe Extremities, - 
 ‘who’ have got beyond natural Ignorance, 
 ‘but cannot arrive at that Ignorance which 
 is the effe& of Wifdom, have a Tindure of 
 Science which fwells them with Vanity and 
 Sufficiency,. Thefe are the Men that trou- 
 ble the World, and that make the falfeft 
 Jadgments of all Things in it, The Vul- 
 gar, and the truly Knowing, compofe the 
 ordinary Train of Men: thofe of the. mid- 
 ‘dle ‘Charadter ‘defpife All, and, in return, 
 are defpifed by All. ai 41 
 a * THE 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 299 
 
 * Tue Multitude have a profefs’d Vene- 
 sation for Perfons of Birth and Quality. 
 - The Halflearned as» profefledly contemn 
 them} alledging ‘that the Advantage of a 
 noble Birth is the Merit of Fortune, and 
 not of the Man. The truly Learned, re- 
 fpe& and honouf them ;° not upon ‘the 
 Motives of the Vulgar, but upon a higher 
 View. Perfons of much Zeal and little 
 Knowledge do again defpife them; as judg- 
 ing, not by either of thefe Confiderations, 
 _ but by the Maxims of Religion. .But Men . 
 of an advanced and finifh’d Piety, are ftill 
 wont to treat them with Efieem and Reve- 
 rence, upon a ‘fuperior Principle, and a 
 larger Degree of Illumination. Thus there 
 is a Succeffion of Opinions, for, or againft, 
 according to the different Meafures and Pro- 
 portions of Knowledge and Light. ~ 
 - * Tu £ Soul loves the d: and the 
 Hand, if endued with Will and Choice, 
 ought to love itfelf in the fame Proportion 
 in which it is loved by the Soul. - All Love | 
 beyond this Standard, would: be partial and 
 unjoft. } ni aied bd ; 
 
 * (Qui adberet Domino unus Spiritus ¢ft. 
 A Chriftian \oves himfelf as 1a Member of 
 that Body of which fF ASUS CHRIST 
 is the Head: and he loves ASUS 
 GHRIS8T, as the Head of that Body of 
 which he is himfelfa Member, Both thefe 
 
 Motions 
 
300 M. Pascaus Thoughts. 
 
 Motions center and confpire in ‘the fame 
 Affection. If the Feet or the Hands were 
 endued with a feparate Will, they could ne- 
 ver preferve their natural Order. and Ems 
 ployment, otherwife than by fubmitting this 
 private Will to that general and fuperior 
 Will, which has the Government of the 
 whole Body. Without fuch a Refignation 
 
 they would have a Liberty only of Confu-  — 
 
 fion and Ruin: whereas in ferving the Good 
 of the Body, they moft effectually confult 
 their own. . a ve aged 
 * ConcuPIScENCE and Violence are the 
 Sources of all our Actions, merely Human. 
 From the Former arife thofe which are 
 voluntary ; and thofe which are involuntary 
 from the latter. ue. a 
 * WHENCE comes it: to pafs, that we 
 have fo much Patience with thofe who are 
 gmaim’d in Body, ‘and fo little with thofe 
 who are! defective in Mind? Itis, becaufe 
 the Cripple acknowledges that we have 
 the Ufe_of.our Legs; whereas the Fool 
 obftinately: maintains that we are the Per- 
 fons who halt in Underftanding. Without 
 this Difference in the Cafe, neither Obje& 
 would move our Refentment, but both out 
 Compaffion.  doid tk tei 
 EPICTETUS propofes a Queftion 
 of the like Nature: why we fhould not be 
 touch’d when a Man tells us, without any 
 f ground, 
 
 a 
 
M: Pascat’s Thoughts. jor 
 _ ground; that we have the Head-Ach, and 
 yet fhould fly into a Paffion when we are’ 
 tax’d (perhaps falfly) with ufing a weak 
 Argument, or making a wrong Choice, 
 Now the Reafon is certainly this: becaufe 
 we are well aflured that we have not the 
 Head-ach (or are not lame;) but we are 
 by no means fo well affured of the Redti- 
 tude of our Judgment or Will. For ha- 
 ving, in the latter Cafe, no Evidence but 
 that we behold the Thing before us, with 
 our whole Light, -when another, with as 
 full a Light, ‘fees the direct contrary, this 
 _ftartles. and ‘confounds us: efpecially when 
 we hear the Generality of Men. exploding 
 our Miftake; for then we muft prefer our 
 own Parts to thofe of fo many Thoufands, 
 who join in the Cenfure; which is a Point . 
 not to be compafs’d without the utmoft Dif- 
 ficulty and Relu€tance. But Men cannever 
 thus contradict each other, in the Reports of 
 their outward Senfes. ‘att 
 
 * Tue Vulgar have many good Noti- 
 ons; as for Inftance, that Hunting and 
 Diverfion are preferable to the Study of 
 Poetry. This the Half-learned expofe as 
 ridiculous, and triumph over the Vulgar, 
 upon the Occafion.. Yet in regard to fome 
 other Notions, as that ’tis neceflary Men 
 fhould be diftinguifh’d by external Circum- 
 -ftances, as Birth, Fortune, and the like, the 
 
 1 Vulgar, 
 
302 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 Vulgat, ‘and thefe Pretenders to Learni 
 concur in their Cenfures:’ Becaufe this Di- 
 ftinétion, for Inftance, tho’ founded upon 
 good Reafon, yet is not founded upon Rea~ 
 fons which they ate capable of penetrating ; 
 anid therefore is condemn’d as unjuft, while . 
 confiftent with the moft perfec& Juftice. 
 . * Tis a great Advantage of Quality, that 
 a Man at Eighteen, or Twenty,  fhall be 
 allow’d the fame Efteem and Deference, 
 which another purchafeth by his Merit at 
 Fifty... Here are thirty Years gain’d at 2 
 Stroke. © 
 
 * THERE are a fort of Men, who, to 
 demonftrate the great Injuftice of our Dif- 
 regard, never fail to urge Precedents of fuch 
 and fuch great Perfons, who prize them af= 
 ter an extraordinary Manner. ‘The Anfwwer 
 I would give to this Argument, is; do but 
 produce the Merit which gain’d you the 
 Efteem of. thefe Admirers, and I am ready 
 to add myfelf to the Number. 
 * Tp Defigns which we have moft at 
 Heart are very often groundlefsiand imper- 
 tinent. As for Inftance, our concealing the 
 Narrownefs of our Fortune. This Policy 
 is a mere Nothing, which our Imagination 
 fwells to a Mountain. Another turn of Ima- 
 gination would make us as: free to difcover 
 our Circumftances, as we are now induftri- 
 ous to difguife them. an es 
 * THERE 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 303 
 
 _* Tuere are fome Vices which are Re 
 tainers to us, not immediately, but by the 
 Intervention. of -others;) and which, like 
 Branches, fall, of Gowrte, upon .our remo 
 ving the Trunk. 
 
 * Reason, when ’tis on the fide of Ill+ 
 nature, difplays all its Force and Compafs; 
 and gains a Luftre from the Pride and Fierce- 
 nefs of the Paffion.. Aufterity of Life and 
 Manners, when it. has proved. unfuccefsful 
 in the Search of true Good, and; lets us loofe 
 again to follow Nature, grows violent, up- 
 OR, changing to the Extreme. 
 
 “* 'T.o. be capable of receiving. Pleafure 
 only from Sport, is but a mean Pretenfion 
 to Happinefs: ‘Becanfe all Satisf&@tion of 
 this: kind. is external and foreign, and. cotis 
 fequently dependent ; and therefore able 
 to. be. difturb’d by a thoufand Accidents, 
 which are the: Sources of inevitable. Trou~ 
 ble. 
 ot BRE World i is full of aa Makes 
 all the Fault lies in the Application. . For 
 i Example, that’ a Man ought to: expofe his 
 Life, for the Sake. of the Publick; is an Wie. 
 verfal and: undoubted Principle : and, we 
 fee, all are,ready to pradtife it in the Canfe 
 ef their Country; but few. in, the. Canute: of 
 their Religion. : 
 
 4 Man does, not pafs in the World to 
 o3 haye 
 
304. M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 have ahy Knowledge of Poefy, or of the 
 Matheinatics, unlefs he puts out the Sign of 
 a Poet, or of a Mathematician. But Per- 
 fons of true Senfe and Judgment are never 
 for pofting up their Perfeétions; nor will 
 they allow any Difference between the 
 Trade of a Poet, and that of. an Embroide- 
 rer. They defire not the Title of Profef= 
 fors, but will, wpon Occafion, difcover the 
 Ability of Judges: You muft not prefume 
 to guefs at their Talent. They are not for 
 leading the Difcoutfe, but are prepared to 
 fall in with every Subject of the Company: 
 You ean never difcern in them any one En- 
 dowment rather than another, but by the 
 Neceffity of ufing it; and ’tis equally their 
 Character, that you would not efteem them 
 fine Speakers, while it was improper to play 
 the Orator, and yet would allow them all 
 the Praifes of Eloquence, when Eloquence 
 was in Seafon. ’Tis therefore a falfe Com~ 
 mendation to extol a Man at his firft En- 
 trance into Company, as excellent in the 
 Art of Verfe: And it’s a bad Token, as well 
 as a poor Complement, never to apply to 
 him, but when the Debate is about fome 
 certain Lines in a Poet. We are made up of 
 _ Wants, and love thofe only who can fill 
 them. Such an One is an admirable Mathe~ 
 matician, they cry: But my Bufinef$ isnot, 
 : to 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 305 
 
 to be done by Diagrams. Such an One is 
 Mafter of the Art of War : But am refoly- 
 ed to keep the Peace with my Neighbours. 
 The Man we with for, muft be one of a ge- 
 neral Character, of found Prudence, and fin- 
 cere Probity, who can accommodate him- 
 felf toall our Neceffities,-and affift us in eve- 
 ty Affair of Life. 
 
 - * WHILE we continue in good Health, we 
 can by no means apprehend how we fhould be 
 able to bear the Severity of a Diftemper. Yet 
 when we are fick, we chearfully take what- 
 ever is prefcribed, and grow refolute upon 
 our Misfortune. We then no longer covet 
 - thefe Opportunities of Walking and Diver- 
 
 -  fion, which we enjoy’d in Health, but which 
 
 are incompatible with the Neceflities of our 
  Difeafe. Nature ever fupplies us with a new 
 Set of Paffions and Defires agreeable to our 
 prefent Eftate. It is not our Nature therefore, 
 but our vain Fear, which troubles us, by join- 
 ing to the Condition in which we are, the 
 Paffions of that Condition in which we are 
 not. 
 
 _ * Discourses of Humility afford Mat- 
 ter of Prefumption to the Proud, no lefs than 
 of Submiffion to the Meek. A Dogmatift 
 fhall conclude pofitively from the Reafonings 
 of a Sceptic. Few Perfons who talk of any 
 Virtue, or Quality, are inwardly acquainted 
 and affected with it. We are all full of Doue 
 | sy bling, 
 
306 M. Pascat’s Thoughts, 
 
 bling, Deceit, and Contradiétion. We love 
 to wear a Difguife, even within, and are 
 afraid of being detected by ourfelves, - ' 
 * ’Tis but a mean Character of a Man, 
 that he fays a great many fine things. / 
 * SELF is mean and fcandalous; and 
 therefore they who take no care to remove 
 it, but content themfelves barely with con- 
 cealing it, are ftill the proper Objects of our 
 Hatred. By no means, fay you; for to car= 
 ry it, as we do, fairly andobligingly to allthe - 
 World, can never put us out of Mens good 
 Affections. Your Reply would be reafona- 
 ble, if we hated nothing in Se/f, befides the 
 Uneafinefs and Diftafte which it gives us. 
 But if we hate it, becaufe it is unjuft, and 
 becaufe it prefumes to be the Center of all 
 Things, we fhall ever perfift in hating it. 
 Upon the whole matter, Se/f has two very 
 ill Qualities ; it is unjuft in its own Nature, 
 becaufe it defires to be fet up for the univer- 
 fal Mark and Aim ; and ’tis incommodious 
 to others, becaufe it defigns to opprefs and 
 _enflave them; for Se/f is a common Enemy, 
 and afpires to be abfolute Tyrant of the _ 
 World. You take away its Inconvenience, 
 (by keeping it private) but not its Injuftice ; 
 and therefore cannot render it amiable to 
 thofe who hate it on the latter Score. You 
 can only make it agreeable to thofe who are 
 likewife unjuft, and that it does not openly 
 fe _oppols 
 
M. Pascat's Thoughts. 307 
 
 oppofe them; but you will ftill be no lefs 
 unjuft, and muft be content to have no 
 
 Friends, or Favours, but thofe of your owa 
 Complexion. 
 
 _ * T don’t admire a Man who poffeffeth any 
 one Virtucin its utmoft Perfection, if he does 
 not at the fame time poffefs the oppofite Vir- 
 tue, inan equal Degree. This was the accom- 
 plifh’d Character of Epaminondas, that he had 
 the greateft Valour, in conjunction with the 
 ereateft Humanity. To appear otherwife, is 
 mot to rife, but fall. A Man never fhews 
 true Greatnefs in being fix’d at one End of 
 the Line; but he thews it to Admiration, if 
 he toucheth both Extremities at once, and 
 fills and illuftrates all between. Perhaps the 
 Soul may fill refide in a fingle Point, and 
 by fuch Aéts as thefe may fhoot itfelf by a 
 fadden Glance, from one Boundary to the 
 other. Yet this is enough to demonftrate 
 the Agility of the Soul, if not its Compafs 
 and Reach. 
 
 * WERE our Condition really happy, we 
 fhould have no Occafion to divert ourfelves 
 from reflecting on it. 
 
 * Wuewn I began my Studies, I {pent a_ 
 confiderable Time in the Purfuit of remoter 
 Knowledge; and the fmall number of thofe 
 with whom I could converfe in this way 
 difcouraged me from proceeding farther. 
 
 , U2 When 
 
308 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 When I afterwards applied myfelf to ftudy 
 Man, I difcover’d that thofe abftra&ted Sci- 
 ences are by no means the proper Entertain- 
 ments of his Nature, and that I had ftray’d 
 farther from my proper Condition, by found- 
 ing their Depths, than others by remaining 
 ignorant of them, whofe Negle& I could 
 therefore eafily forgive. I hoped at leaft to 
 find more Companions in my new Enquiry ; 
 becaufe this. was the proper Employment 
 and Exercife of Mankind. But I was again 
 difappointed, and found, on the whole mat- 
 ter, that thofe few who ftudy Geometry, are 
 itill more than thofe who ftudy themfelves. 
 
 * WHEN All moves equally, nothing 
 feems to move, as in a Veffel under fail. 
 When All run by Confent into Vice, none 
 appears to do fo. He that ftops firft, views, 
 as from a fix’d Point, the Extrayagance 
 which tranfports the reff. Oa 
 
 * Ir we would reprove with Succefs, and 
 effectually fhew another that he’s in the 
 wrong, we ought to obferve which way he 
 looks on the Objeét, (becaufe, that way, ’tis 
 generally fuch as he apprehends #) and to 
 acknowledge that he is fo far in the right. 
 He will be fatisfied with this Method, as 
 intimating that he was not miftaken, but 
 only wanted to have furvey’d the thing on 
 all fides. ‘The former Imputation is apt . . 
 wor 
 
 - 4 
 
M. Pasca 1’s Thoughts: 309 
 
 work on our Shame and Refentment; but 
 the latter gives us no Difturbance. The 
 Reafon of which, poffibly may be, that the 
 Underftanding, as well as the Senfe, can 
 never be deceiv’d in that part of a Thing 
 which it a€tually has under its. View. 
 
 * A Man’s Virtue is not to be meafur’d 
 by fome extraordinary Efforts and Sallies, 
 but by a conftant and uniform Series of 
 Action. . . ih 
 
 * Tue great ones and the little ones of 
 the World have all the fame Accidents, the 
 fame Paffions and Follies. But as the for- 
 mer are at the top of the Wheel, fo the lat- 
 ter are nearer its Center, and therefore lefs 
 agitated by the common Motion and Reyo- 
 lution. 
 
 * We are for the moft part more eafily 
 perfwaded by Reafons of our own finding 
 out, thari by any which owe their Original 
 to the Wit of others. 
 
 * Tuo’ a Man fhould have no Intereft to 
 ‘ferve in what he reports, yet we muft not 
 abfolutely, and in all Gafes, conclude hence 
 
 that he {peaks the Truth; becaufe there are 
 fome who lie for lying’s fake. 
 
 * Tue Example of Alexander’s Conti- 
 nence has not made fo many Converts to 
 Chaftity, as that of his Drunkennefs has to 
 Intemperance. Men apprehend no Shame in 
 being lefs perfeét than he, and judge it very 
 
 U3 ; - exc 
 
gto M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 excufable to be more defedtive. We are apt 
 to think ourfelves much above the Corrup- 
 tiotis of the Vulgar, when we’ fall into the’ 
 Vices of thefe great and reriown’d Perfons 5 
 not confidering that their Vices do really 
 bring them down to the vulgar Level. We 
 are proud of joining ourfelves to them, by 
 the fame comthon Term which joins them to 
 the Multitude. How lofty foever their Con- 
 dition may be, there is fome hold or other 
 about them, by which they are link’d to the 
 reft of Mankind. They don’t hang in the 
 Air, or fubfift abfolutely feparate from hus 
 man Society. If they ate above us, “tis be« 
 caufe their Head is higher; their Peet are 
 always as low as ours. They all touch the 
 fame Line, and tread the fame Ground; and: 
 in this Refpe& are not fuperiorto us,- nor to: 
 Children, nor even to Beafts. 
 
 * ’T1s the Combat that pleafeth us, and 
 not the Victory. We love to fee Beafts 
 fighting ; but not the Conqueror feeding on 
 the Vanquifh’d. The only thing we with, 
 is to behold the Iffue of the Day ; and when: 
 that once appears, we are fatisfied with 
 the Profpedt. 
 
 *Tis thus in our Diverfions; and ’tis thus 
 wi our Refearches of Knowledge. Weare 
 amufed with the contending Opinions, but 
 very little gratified with the decifive Truth.. 
 For Trath itfelf ceafeth te be. aap '4 
 
 unle 
 
M: Pascau’s Thoughts. 312 
 tinlefs it {pring from the midft of Contention. 
 The Cafe is the fame with our Paffions ; the 
 Struggle of any two amongft them enter- 
 tains us with Delight; but the Maftery of 
 either turns into Savagenefs.. We don't feek 
 the things themfelves, (in refpect of any Obe 
 jeats whatfoever) but we feek the Change 
 and Variety that is to bé met with in purfu- 
 ing them. This Reafon difcovers itfelf on 
 the Stage ; where we alike condemn a con- 
 tinued Scene of Eafe and Softnefs without 
 Terror; of extream Mifery, without Hope; 
 or, of Brutal Love, without Decency and 
 
 Humanity. | Jog 
 
 _ -* Wer don’t teach Men to be honeft, while 
 we teach them All befides; and yet they 
 pretend to this more than to All. Thus 
 they chiefly value themfelves upon knowing 
 that,which is the only thing they never learnt. 
 
 * Wuar a fenfelefs Project it was in Moz- 
 taign to give fach a Picture of himfelf; and 
 that, not by Chance, and againft his ordi 
 nary Maxims, (as all Men have their Fail- 
 ings) but upon profefs’d Principles, and with 
 his main Intention! For, to fay foolifh things 
 thro’ Accident, or Weaknefs, is a common 
 Misfortune ; but to fay them with full De+ 
 fign, efpecially thofe of fo very gtofs a Cha~ 
 saéter, is infupportably abfurd. 
 
 * Men of irregular Lives are wont to 
 Boaft, that they exactly follow Nature, and 
 U4 that 
 
312 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 that thofe who walk by Rule and Order 
 are the Perfons who really deviate from her: 
 As Men in a Ship fancy thofe to move who 
 ftand on the Shore, - Both Sides affirm the 
 very fame of each other; and we muft be 
 placed at fome one precife Point, e’er we 
 can judge between them. The Diftance of 
 the Veffel from the Haven is a clear Decifion 
 of the latter Controverfy ; but who ean ever 
 find the like Mark to determine the former? 
 
 * To lament the Cafe of the unfor- 
 tunate, is by no means a Check upon our 
 natural Concupifcence ; which may ftill reign 
 with full Power, tho’ it gives us Leave to 
 fhew this Expreffion of Humanity, and to 
 acquire the Reputation of Pity and Tender- 
 nefs. Whence we are to infer, that facha — 
 Reputation can be of no confiderable Value. 
 
 * WouLp any have thought, that a Man 
 who enjoy’d the Friendfhip of the Kings of 
 England and Poland, and the Queen of 
 Sweden, fhould at length have wanted a fafe 
 Retreat, a Shelter and 4/y/um in the World ? 
 
 * As Objects have different Qualities, fo 
 has the Soul different Inclinations. Nothing 
 prefents itfelf with the fame conftant Face to 
 the Affections ; and the Affetions. apply 
 themfelves to nothing after the fame conftant 
 manner. Hence it comes to pafs, that the 
 fame thing which excites our Laughter, may, 
 upon the yery next View, proyoke our 
 Tears. Se * WE 
 
M. PascAu’s Thoughts. 313 
 * W «x are of fo unhappy a Frame, that 
 » we can take Pleafure in no Enjoyment, but 
 upon Condition of being as much difpleas’d, 
 if any thing chance to render it lefs fuccefsful 
 to us, as a thoufand Accidents may and do 
 every Hour. He that has found out the 
 Secret of delighting himfelf in Good, without 
 difturbing himfelf with the Fear of the oppo- 
 fite Evil, feems to have hit on the Point of 
 true Happinefs. ) 
 
 * Tuere ate different Claffes and Orders 
 of Men; as the Valiant, the Sparkifh, the 
 Witty, and the Pious; who ought refpe- 
 tively to keep within their own Sphere, and 
 not to invade that of their Neighbours. Yet 
 how often do we find them at Variance, and 
 fee the Soldier and the Beau idly banging 
 one another for the Maftery ? whereas they 
 really belong to a different Empire. ‘Their 
 Fault is, that they don’t underftand them- 
 _felves, and therefore fet up for univerfal Do- 
 minion. But nothing can obtain fuch a Do- 
 minion ; not even Force itfelf; which, while 
 it tyrannizeth over external A@tions, has not 
 the leaft Command over the Realms of 
 Learning and Wit. f 
 _ * FEROX gens nullam effe vitam nift in 
 
 armis putat. "Thefe Men would have cho- 
 fen Death rather than Peace: There are 
 others who would choofe Death rather than 
 War. Any Opinion which has taken fo 
 deep, 
 
314 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 deep, and fo natural, a Root, gains an eafy 
 Preference to Life itfelf ) 
 
 * How difficult is it for me, to propofé 
 any Matter to the Judgment of another, 
 without corrupting his Judgment by my 
 manner of propofing it? I cannot intimate 
 that it is eafy and agreeable, or that it is 
 difficult and obfcure, but I-fhall, very pro- 
 bably, impofe either a favourable, or finifter. 
 Biafs on the Conceptions of my Friend. 
 T ought to give no fueh Intimation of my ~ 
 own Sentiments. For then he'll pronounce 
 of the Thing as it really is, according as its 
 prefent Condition, and thofé Cireumftances, 
 which are not of my adding, fhall repre 
 fent it. And yet perhaps my very Silence, 
 in this Cafe, may have the fame ill Efe&: 
 according to the Turn and Conftruétion 
 which my Friend fhall be in thé Humour to 
 give it; or, according to what he may ga- 
 ther from my Ait and Look, or from the 
 Tone of my Voice in propofing the Quefti- 
 on. So eafy is it to juftle Reafon out of its 
 natural Seat; or, rather, fo infirm and tot- 
 tering a Seat has Nature’ given it. 
 
 * Tue Platoniis, and even the Stoics, 
 while they believed that Gop alone was arr 
 Obje& fo worthy as to juftify our Love, did 
 yet defirée themfelves tobe beloved and ad- 
 mired by Men. They had no manner of Senfe 
 of their natural Corruption. Had they beerr 
 
 really 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 315 
 
 really difpofed to the Love’ and Adoration’ 
 of Goo, and felt the moft ravithing Joy 
 from fo Divine an Exercifé, they might 
 fairly have call’d themfelves as Good and 
 Great as they had pleas’d. Bet if they 
 _ foand their Hearts under an utter Averfion 
 and Repugnancy to thefe Duties; if they 
 had ho manner of Inclination but:to eftablith 
 themfelvés in the Opinion of Men; and if 
 their whole Perfe@ion confifted in being 
 able without Force, to make others pro- 
 pofe-a Happinefs im loving and efteeming 
 them ; fuch a PerfeGtion ought to be abhor-= 
 red) Por this was their Cafe: they pof 
 fefs'd, in fome Degree, the Knowledge of 
 Gop, and yet courted only the Love of 
 Men. They were defirous that Men fhould 
 place their Hope and Confidence in them, 
 and fhould make them the fole Objects of 
 their Choice and Delight. 
 
 * How wifely has it been ordain’d, to di- 
 ftinguith Men rather by the Exterior Shew, 
 than by the Interior Endowments! Here’s a- 
 nother Perfon and I difputing the Way. Who 
 fhall have the Preference in this Cafe ? Why, 
 the better Man of the two. But I am as 
 good a Man as he: fo that if no Expedient 
 be found, he muft beat me, or I muft beat™ 
 him. Well, but all this while, he has four 
 Footmen at his Back, and I have but one. 
 This is a yifible Advantage: we need on- 
 
 ly 
 
316 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 ly tell Nofes, to difcover it. °*Tis my Part 
 therefore to yield, and I am a Blockhead if 
 I conteft the Point: See here an eafy Me- 
 thod of Peace, the great Safeguard and Su- 
 preme Happinefs of this World! 
 
 * Time puts the fureft End to Troubles 
 and Complaints: Becaufe the World con- 
 tinually changeth, and Perfons and Things 
 become indifferent. Neither the Aggriever, 
 nor the Party ageriev’d, are long in the 
 fame Circumftances: *Tis as if we fhould 
 have perfonally affronted and exafperated 
 thofe of a certain Nation, and fhould be able 
 to vifit that Nation again; two Generations 
 hence. - We fhould find the fame French, 
 (for Inftance) but not the fame Men. 
 
 * °T1s infallibly certain, that the Soul is 
 either Mortal, or Immortal. This ought 
 to make an intire Change in Morality. And 
 yet fo fatal was the Blindnefs of the Philofo- 
 phers, that they framed their whole moral . 
 Syftem, without the leaft Dependence on 
 fuch an Enquiry. 
 
 * Tue laft A& of Life is always Bloody 
 and 'Tragical ; how pleafantly foever the Co- 
 medy may have run thro’ all the reff. A 
 little Earth, caft upon our cold Head, for 
 ever determines our Hoes and our Cor 
 dition. : ; 
 
 max. . 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 317 
 
 fii 3.) 
 Thoughts upon Death: Being an Extratt 
 
 from a Letter of M. Pafchal’s, occaftoned 
 by the Death of lis Father. 
 
 HEN we are under Affli€tion and 
 Trouble, for the Death of a Perfon 
 
 who was dear to.us, or for any Misfortune 
 which we are capable of fuffering, we ought 
 not to feek our Confolation in ourfelves, 
 or in others, or in any Part of the Crea- 
 tion, but inGop alone. And the Reafon 
 feems to be evident: inafmuch as no crea- 
 ted Being is the firft Caufe and Mover of 
 thofe Accidents which the World calls Evil. 
 Since, therefore, they are all to be referred 
 to Gop as their real Author, and fovereign 
 Difpofer, ’tis vifibly our Duty, to repair to 
 this original Source, and to expect thence » 
 the only Methods of folid Comfort. If we 
 obferve thefe Directions; if we look on 
 the Death, for Inftance, which we are la- 
 menting, not as the Effect of mere Chance, 
 nor as a fatal Neceffity of Nature, nor as 
 the Sport of thofe Elements and Particles 
 which conftitute our Frame, (for Gop ne- 
 ver 
 
318 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 ver abandons his Servants to fo capricious 
 Events) but as the indifpenfable and inevi- 
 table, the moft holy, and moft juft, Effe@ 
 of a providential Decree, now. executed in 
 its Time; if we confider that whatever has 
 “now happen’d, was from everlafting pre- 
 fent to Gop, and pre-ordain’d by His Wif- 
 dom: If, I fay, by a noble Tranfport of di- 
 vine Grace, we furvey the Accident which 
 is before us, not in it felf, and abftractedly 
 from its Author, but out of it fel and in 
 its {wpreme Author’s Will, as its true Caufe, 
 with refpect both to the Matter and the 
 Manner ; we fhall adore in humble Silence, 
 His unfearchable Judgments, His impene- 
 trable Secrets ; we fhall reverence the Holi- 
 nefs of His Decrees, we fhall blefs the Gui- 
 dance of His Providence; and uniting our 
 Will to the Will of Gop Himfelf, we thall 
 choofe with Him, in Him, and for Him, the 
 very fame Events which He, in us, and for 
 us, has chofen from all Eternity. 
 
 * ‘THERE can be no Comfort, but in 
 Truth. ’Tis moft certain, that Socrates 
 and Seneca have nothing which may per- 
 fwade, and convince, may eafe and relieve 
 us, on thefe Occafions. They were both un- 
 der the original Error which blindeth Man- 
 kind. ‘They look’d on Death as really Na- 
 tural to us; and all the Difcourfes which 
 they have built on this falfe Bs 
 
 ave 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 319 
 
 have fo much Vanity, and fo little Solidity, 
 as to ferye for no other Ufe, but to demon- 
 firate the general Weaknefs of human Race, 
 fince the moft elevated Produ@tions of the 
 wifeft amongft Men, are evidently fo chil- 
 difh and contemptible. 
 
 It is not fo that we lam FESUS 
 CHRIST; it is not thus that we read 
 the canonical Books of Scripture. *Tis here 
 alone that we fucceed in our Search of 
 Truth: and Truth is no lefs infallibly join’d 
 to Comfort, than it is infallibly feparated 
 from Error. Let us then take a View of 
 Death, by thofe Lights which the Holy 
 Spirit has given us. And by thofe we have 
 the Advantage of difcovering, that Death 
 is no other than a Punifhment, impofed on 
 Man, to expiate the Guilt, and neceflary to 
 Man to diffolve the Power of his Sins: that 
 *tis this alone which can deliver the Mind 
 from the Concupifcence of the Flefh, fome 
 Degree of which does ever adhere to good 
 Men, in this World. We are hence in- 
 firucted, that F ESUS CHRIST came 
 into the World as a Victim and Propitiati- 
 on, and as fuch offer’d Himfelf to Gon; 
 that His Birth, His Life, His Death, His ~ 
 Refurreétion, His Afcenfion, His Seffion at 
 the Right Hand of the Father, and His Pre- 
 fence in the Holy Eucharift, all belong to 
 one and the fame Sacrifice: To conclude, 
 
 we 
 
320 M Pascav’s Thoughts. 
 
 we are informed, that what was accom 
 plifh’d in JESUS CHRIST, muft be — 
 accomplifh’d alfo in His Members. 
 
 Ler us then confider Life as a Sacrifice ; 4 
 and let the Accidents of Life make no other 
 Impreffion on us, than as, in Proportion, 
 the Accomplifhment of this Sacrifice is ei- 
 ther interrupted or promoted by them. Let 
 us ftyle nothing ill but what turns the Sacri- 
 fice of Gop into the Sacrifice of the Devil ; 
 and let us honour all fuch Things with the 
 Name of Good, as render that which was 
 a Sacrifice to the Devil in Adam, a Sacri- 
 fice to Gop in F ESUS CHRIST. 
 Let us examine the Notion of Death by 
 this Rule and Principle. 
 
 In order to which Defign, it is neceflary 
 to have recourfe to the Perfon of FESUS 
 CHRIST: For as Gop regards not Men 
 but through Him as a Mediator; fo neither 
 ought we to regard ourfelves, or others, 
 but with Refpeé to the fame Mediation. 
 
 Tr we look not through this Medium, 
 we fhall difcern nothing but either real 
 Pains, or deteftable Pleafures : but if we fee 
 all Things, asin JESUS CHRIST, 
 all will confpire for our Confolation, Satis- 
 faction, and Edification, — 
 
 Lert us refleé& on Death as in F ESus 
 CHRIST, not as without fESUS 
 CHRIST. Without JESUS CHRIST, 
 
 it 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 32 
 
 it is dreadful, it is deteftable, it is the Ter- 
 _ ror of Nature. In FESUS CHRIST, it is 
 _ fair and amiable, it is good and holy, it is 
 the Joy of the Saints. All Events being 
 render’d fweet in fESUS CHRIST, Death 
 itfelf has a Share in the Influence. To 
 fandtify Death and Sufferings to us, was the 
 Reafon for which he fuffer’d and dy’d ; who, 
 as he wasGop and Man in one Perfon, com- 
 prized, at once, whatever was great and 
 illuftrious, whatever was humble and ob- 
 fcure; that he might fandtify all things in 
 himfelf, Sin only excepted, and might be 
 the ftanding Model of all Characters and 
 Conditions. | 
 
 Wou.tp we know what Death is, what 
 it is in FESUS CHRIST, we muft exa- 
 mine the Regard which it bears to his con- 
 tinual, uninterrupted Sacrifice. And we 
 may.obferve, that in Sacrifices the principal 
 Part is the Death of the Victim. ‘The Ob- 
 lation and San@tification, which precede, are 
 indeed the Difpofitions, but Death is fill 
 the Completion ; in which, by renouncing 
 its vety Life and Being, the Creature pays 
 to Gop the utmoft Homage of which it ts 
 capable; thus humbling, and as it were, an- 
 nihilating itfelf} before the Eyes of his Mae 
 jefty, and adoring his fupreme Exiftence, 
 who alone effentially exifts. There was in- 
 deed another part to be perform’d after the 
 . xX Death 
 
322 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 Death of the Sacrifice, without which it was 
 vain and ineffe@tual, namely, the Acceptance 
 of it by Gop. This is meant by the Scrip- 
 ture Expreffion, odoratus eff Deus odorem 
 fuavitatis. But this, tho’ it ctown’d the 
 Sacrifice, was rather an Aétion of Gop to- 
 wards the Creature, than of the Creature to~ 
 wards Gon; and did not hinder, but that 
 the laft AG of the Creature was ftill deter- 
 mined by its Death. byte 
 _ We find each of thefe Circumftances sie 
 fill’'d in our Lor», upon his coming into the 
 World. Thro the eternal Spirit, He offer- 
 ed himfelf up to Godi. When he cometh 
 into the World, He faith, Sacrifice and Of- 
 ferings Thou would not : Then faid I, Lo I 
 come to do thy Will, O GOD. Thy Law 
 zs within my Heart >. We have here his 
 Oblation, and his Sanétification immediately 
 follow’d. His Sacrifice continu’d thro’ his 
 Life, and was finifh’d by his Death. It 
 was needful for Him zo fuffer thefe things, 
 and to enter into his Glory 3. Tho he 
 was a Son, yet learnt he Obedience by the 
 things which he fuffer’d 4. In the Days 
 of his Flefo, when he had offer’d up Prayers 
 and Supplications, with firong Crying and 
 Tears unto Him that was able to fave aa 
 
 t Heb. ix. 14. x.-5,7. * Pfal. xl, 3 Luke 
 KxIv. 26. 4 Heb. v. 8. 
 
M. Pascaus Thoughts. 324 
 from Death, he was heard in that he fear- 
 éd*._ Finally, Gop fais‘'d him again by 
 his Glorious Power, (of which the Fire 
 ‘which fell from Heaven on the Sacrifices, 
 was a Type) to burn and confume, as it 
 were, his mortal Body, and to exalt and re- 
 ftore him to a Life of Glory. 
 
 _ Tue Sacrifice of 7 ESUS CHRIST 
 being thus perfeéted, as to the Action, by ~ 
 his Death, and, as to the Subjed&, by his 
 Refurrection, (when the Image of the Body 
 of Sin was abforb’d in Glory) he had per- 
 form’d all that was on his Part; and there 
 temain’d. nothing; but that the Sacrifice 
 fhould be accepted of God, and that, as In- 
 cenfe, it fhould afcend, and carry up its 
 Odour to the Throne of the Divine Majefty. 
 In purfuance of which, our Lorp was per- 
 fedtly offer’d, lifted up and receiv’d at Gon’s 
 Throne, at his Afcenfion ; which he effe@< 
 ed partly by his own proper Force, and parte 
 _ ly by the Affiftance of the Holy Spirit, with 
 which he was every way encompafs’d and 
 teplenifh’d. He was carried up as the Odour 
 of the Sacrifices by the Air which fupported 
 it; the former of which prefigur’d himfelf, 
 and the latter reprefented the Holy Spirit. 
 And the Aits of the Apoftles exprefsly re= 
 aon Bayi" port, 
 
 ¥ Heb. v. 7: 
 
324 M. Pascat’s Thoughts, 
 
 port, that he was receiv’d into Heaven, to’ 
 give us an Affurance, that this Holy Sacri- 
 fice, accomplifh’d on Earth, was receiv’d 
 and accepted 7 the Bofom of his Father. 
 
 Ler usthennot be forry as Gentiles with- 
 out Hope, for our departed Chrifizan Friends. 
 Our Lofs of them is not to be dated from the 
 Hour of their Death. To fpeak properly, 
 we then loft them, when they were admit- 
 ted into the Church by Baptifm. Ever 
 fince that Admiffion, they were not ours, 
 but Gon’s; their Life was devoted and 
 confecrated to Gop ; their A@tions bore no 
 Regard to the things of this World, but for 
 the Sake of Gop. By their Death they are 
 at length entirely difengaged from Sin ; and 
 *tis at this Moment, that they are accepted 
 by Gop, and that their Sacrifice receives its 
 Accomplifhment and Crown. 
 
 Tuey have now perform’d what they 
 vow'd; they have finifh’d the Work which 
 God gave them todo; they have difcharg’d 
 that which was the only End of their Crea- 
 tion. The Will of God is perfeéted in them ; 
 and their Will is {wallow’d up in the Divine. 
 What therefore God has join’d together 
 let not us put afunder; but, by aright Un- 
 derftanding, and true Judgment, let us fup- 
 prefs, or at leaft moderate the Sentiments of 
 corrupt and miftaken Nature, which exhi- 
 bits nothing but falfe Images, and whofe 
 
 Ilufions 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 325 
 
 Tllufions’ difturb: the Sandtity of thofe 
 Thoughts, which from the InfiruGtion of 
 Chriftian Truth we ought to have derived. - 
 
 Ler us form our Ideas of humane Diffo- 
 lution, not on the Pagan, but on the Chrif- 
 ‘tian Model; that is, let them, as St. Paul 
 enjoins, be built on Hope, the efpecial Gift 
 and Privilege of Chriftians. Let us look 
 on the Remains of a deceas’d Friend,. not as 
 a noifom’ and infectious Carcafs, according 
 to the fallacious Pourtraié&t of Nature ; but, 
 according to the Affurance of Faith, as the 
 eternal and inviolable Temple of the Holy 
 _Ghoft. 
 
 For we know that the Bodies of the 
 Faithful are inhabited by the Spirit of God, 
 till the Refurreétion, which fhall be per- 
 form’d by the Power of the fame Spirit, re- 
 fiding in them’ for that Defign. This is the 
 _Senfe of the ancient Fathers. And ’tis for 
 ‘this Reafon that we pay Honour even to 
 ‘the Relicks of the Saints. -Nor was it on 
 any other Principle, that the earlier Chri- 
 ftians were wont to put the Holy Eucharift 
 into the Mouths of the Deceafed ; becaufe 
 knowing them ftill to be the Temples of the 
 Holy Ghoft, they thought them to be ftill 
 worthy of an Union with this Holy Sacra- 
 ‘ment. But the Church has fince alter’d the 
 ‘Cuftom; not becaufe fhe denies the Bodies 
 of good Men to be pure and facred, but be- © 
 1 3 : caufe 
 
326 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 caufe fhe judges that the Eucharift, which 
 is the Bread of Life, and of the Living, 
 ought not to be imparted to the Dead. 
 
 Let us not confider the Faithful, who 
 are departed in the Grace of God, as having 
 ceas’d to live; which is the falfe Suggeftion 
 of Nature; but as now. beginning to ‘ive, 
 which is the infallible Teftimony of Truth. 
 Let us look on their Souls not as annihi- 
 lated and loft, but as quicken’d and enliven’d, 
 and united to the Sovereign ‘Life. And, by 
 attending to thefe found Doétrines, ‘let -us 
 correct the Prejudices of Error, which are'fo — 
 firmly rooted in our Mind, and the Appre- 
 ‘henfions of Fear, which are fo ftrongly im- - 
 printed on our Senfe. 
 
 * Gob created Man under a double Paf- 
 ‘fion; one for his ‘Creator, ‘the other ‘for 
 himfelf; but on ‘this ‘Condition, that ‘the 
 Love of his Greator fhould be infinite, that 
 is, fhould have no other End‘but‘Gop ; and 
 ‘that the Love of ‘himfelf fhould ‘be finite, 
 -with a conftant Regard and'Referve to his - 
 ‘Creator, 
 
 Man, in'this Eftate, not only loved him- 
 ‘felf'without Sin; buthad finn’d, could “he 
 -poflibly have’ceas’d to love' himfelf. t 
 
 ‘By the Entrance of Sin into the\World, 
 ‘Man was deprived of the former of thefe Af 
 fe€tions ; and his Soul, which was ftill great, 
 -and ftill capable eyen -of an‘infinite Paffion, 
 
 : . retaine . 
 
M. Pasca ’s Thoughts. 329 
 
 retaining only: the latter, this immediately — 
 diffufed it felf, and over-flow’d all the migh- 
 ty Space which had been evacuated by the 
 Love of God. And thus we came. to love 
 only our felves, and to love our felves infi- 
 nitely, that is, to love all things with refpect 
 only to our. felves. | 
 ~ Benoxp the Origine of Selflove! It was 
 natural to Adam : It was, during his Inno- 
 cence, regular and juft,; but became immo- 
 ‘derate and criminal, upon his Fall. 
 
 BeuoLp the genuine Source of this Love, 
 together with the unhappy Caufe of its Viti- 
 oufnels and Excefs ! ete 
 Tue fame will hold true of our Defire of 
 
 Dominion, of our Averfion to Bufinets, and. 
 one many the like natural Motions. And, this 
 whole Doétrine may be eafily applied to our 
 prefent Subject. The Fear of Death, to 
 - Adam in Innocence, was not .only natural, 
 but juft; becaufe humane Life being then 
 not difagreeable to Gop, ought to have been 
 ‘agreeable to. Man; and Death, for the fame 
 Reafon, ought to,have been an Objet of 
 Horror, as threatning, to cut off a Life which 
 was conformable to the Divine Will. But 
 upon \Man’s  Tranfgreffion, his Life was 
 debafed and corrupted; his Soul and Body ~~ 
 _were fet at Variance one with another, and 
 both with God. Aes 
 
 xX 4 WHEN 
 
328 M. Pascat's Thoughts. 
 
 WHEN this fatal Change had infected and 
 impair’d the Holinefs of Life, the Love of 
 Life continued fill; and, the Fear of Death 
 remaining with no "lef Vigour, that which 
 was juft in Adam, was render’d unjuft in us. 
 
 Tu1S is atrue Account of the Fear of 
 Death; whence it fprung, and by yhat 
 means it was tainted and vitiated. 
 
 Ler us then clear up the Darknefs and 
 Error of Nature, by the Light of Faith. 
 The Fear of Death was once good and com- 
 mendable; but it was fo only in Paradife, 
 where could it have prevail’d, it muft have 
 deftroy’d a Life altogether Holy and Virtu- 
 ous. ‘It was therefore juft to hate it, while 
 it could not arrive, without’ feparating a 
 holy Sout from a holy Body : but it is no 
 lefs juft to love it, while it releafeth a 
 Soul which is righteous, from a Body 
 which is impure. It was reafonable to de= 
 cline it, when it muft have diffoly’d the 
 Peace and Agreement between Soul and 
 Body ; but by no means when it compofes 
 _the Struggle and Contention, otherwife end- 
 lefs and irreconcilable. Ina "word, while it 
 muft have punith’d a guiltlefs Body, ‘by ta- 
 king away its Liberty of ferving and honour- - 
 ing Gop; while it muft have divided the 
 Soul from a Body perfectly fubje&, and uni- 
 verfally compliant, to its ‘Will; while it 
 muft have put an End to all the ’ Happinefs 
 
 which 
 
-M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 329 
 
 which Man is capable of receiving; it might 
 with Juftice, fo long, have been dreaded, 
 
 and even abhorr’d. But now, when it ends 
 -q Life ever flain’d with fome degrees of 
 Impurity ; when it takes away from the 
 Body the Liberty of Sinning; when it ref- 
 cues and delivers the Soul from a powerful 
 Rebel, which - was continually oppofing the 
 Meafures of its Safety and Blifs, it would be 
 highly injurious to maintain the fame Opinion. 
 
 LET us not abandon the Love of Life, 
 which attends our Nature ; becaufe we re- 
 ceived it from Gop. But then let usapply it 
 to fach a Life only, as Gop gave it us for; 
 and not to a quite different Object. - 
 
 W HILE we admit and embrace that 
 Love which Adam-had for his Life of Inno- 
 cence, and which even our LORD FE£- 
 SUS CHRIST retain’d for His; let us be 
 refolute in hating fuch a Life as is contrary 
 to that which was loved by 7 ESUS 
 GHRIST-: And let us be concerned at 
 fuch a-Death only, as affe&ted our LORD 
 himfelf with fome fort of Apprehenfions, a 
 Death happening to a Body pure and fpot- 
 lefs in the Sight of Gop ; but let us not fear 
 a Death, which punifhes a finful and pur- 
 ges an impure Body; and which therefore 
 ought to infpire us with quite oppofite Sen- 
 timents, were we in any degree poffeis’d 
 of thofe noble Endowments, Faith, Hope, 
 and Charity. It 
 
330 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 Ir is one of the moft acknowledg’d Prin- 
 ciples of Chriftianity, that whatever hap- 
 pen'd to f ESUS CHRIST, is likewife 
 to be tranfaéted in the Soul, and in the Bo- 
 dy of every Chriftian. So that as our 
 LORD faffer’d in this Life of Infirmity 
 and Mortality, as He was. saifed to a new 
 Life, and. at length carried up into the 
 Heavens, where He now fits at Govp’s 
 Right Hand ; ; in the fame Manner -both the 
 Soul and Body are to fuffer and dye, to be 
 raifed again, and ,to.afcend into leaven. . 
 
 ' Axx ,thefe Particulars are accomplith'd 
 in the Soulduring this Life; tho’ not in the 
 Body. 
 
 Tr HE Soul fuffers and dies to Sin, in Re- 
 pentance and Baptifm. The Soul is xais’d 
 to a new Life ,in ,the Sacrament of the 
 LORD’s Supper. ‘The Soul relinquifheth 
 this Earth, and foars ,towards Heaven .in 
 deading a heayenly Life on Earth: which 
 is St. Papl's Meaning, when he fays, Con- 
 ver{atio yofira in Calis eft. 
 
 ‘THE like - Ghanges. are Rot | accomplith’d 
 in the Body during. this prefent. Life, . but 
 thall-be agccomplith’d after it. 
 
 "Fon, at our Deceafe, the, Body. dick to 
 this Mortal: ‘Life: at the "Judgment, it fhall 
 rife to a,new Life: after the Judgment, “it 
 fhall .be exalted to Heaven, , and there Te- 
 fide for ever. 
 
 THUS 
 
_M. Pascatu’s Thoughts. 331 
 
 Tuus the very fame Things happen to 
 Soul and Body, though at different Periods: 
 - and the Revolutions of the Body do not 
 take Place, till thofe of the Soul are com- 
 "pleated ; that is, nor till after Death. In- 
 fomuch that Death, which is the End and 
 Crown of the Soul’s Happinefs, is but the 
 firft Beginning, or Prelude of Happinefs to 
 the Body. 
 
 Beuoxp the admirable Conduct of di- 
 vine Wifdom in Man’s Salvation! Upon 
 which Subjeé St. dujizw informs.us, that 
 Gop has been pleafed ito -difpofe Things in 
 this Manner, left, if the final Death and 
 ~ Refurreftion of the human Body fhould be 
 perform’d in -Baptifm, Men would yield 
 themfelves obedient to the \Gofpel on no 
 ‘other Motive, ‘but the Love and Defire of 
 iLife. Whereas the -Glory of Faith fhines 
 -out ‘in \its chief Magnitude .and Brightnefs, 
 while we purfue and prefs towards Immor- 
 tality, through the Vale and Shadow of 
 Death. : 
 
 * [7 is not reafonable that we fhould 
 -continue abfolutely unmoved and unaffected 
 at the Misfortunes and Evils which befal us; 
 like Angels, who have no Sentiments or 
 Inclinations of our ‘Nature: nor is there 
 more Reafon that we fhould forrow with- 
 out Hope, like Heathens, who have no 
 Feeling, no Apprehenfion of Grace. But 
 
 | : Rea~ 
 
332M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 Reafon and Juftice allow, that we fhould 
 mourn like Chriftians, and be comforted 
 _-like Chriftians ; and that the Confolations 
 of Grace fhould overcome the Affeétions of 
 ‘Nature: fo that Crace may not only dwell 
 in us, but may be victorious and triumphant 
 in us: that by our thus hallowing the Name 
 of our Father, His Wilk may become ours, 
 His Grace may rule and reign over our Na- 
 ture ; that our Affli€tions may be the Mat- 
 ter and Subje& of a Sacrifice: which His 
 Grace will perfe& in us, to His Glory: and 
 that thefe particular Sacrifices may. be fo 
 many Affurances of the .entire and univer- 
 fal Sacrifice, in which our whole Nature 
 fhall be purified and perfected, by the Baw 
 er of FESUS CHRIST. 
 Trus thall we make Advantage of our 
 own Infirmities, while they: furnifh Matter 
 for this Whole-burnt-offéring, And to pro- 
 fit by Failings and Imperfections isthe great 
 Aim of Chriftiaus,. who know. ‘that ail 
 Things work together for the Elect. 1m 
 Jr we obferve thefe Things with’a clo- 
 fer View, and as they’ really are in them- 
 felves, we fhall not fail:tocdraw fromthem 
 great Improvements of Edification. » “For: it 
 being moftcertain, that the Death of the Bo- 
 dy is but the T ype and Image of that» of 
 the Soul; if we have Reafon to ;hopesfor 
 the Salvation of our Friends while we Ia- 
 ment 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 333 
 
 ment their Deceafe, though we may not 
 be able to ftop the Current of our Sadnefs 
 and Difpleafure, yet we cannot but reap the 
 Benefit of this Leffon, that fince bodily 
 Death is fo terrible as to create thefe Dif- 
 orders in us, the Death of the Soulis a Sub- 
 ieét which ought to give us far more incon- 
 folable Regret. Gop having been pleaded 
 to deliver to the fir thofe for whom we 
 mourn, we may believe that He has eraci= 
 oufly refcued them from the fecond. Let 
 us contemplate the Greatnefs of our Hap- 
 pinefs, in the Greatnefs of our Mifery ; and 
 then even the Exceffes of our Grief can be 
 but the juft Standard of our Joy. 
 
 ONE of the moft folid and ufeful Cha- 
 tities towards the Dead, is to perform that 
 which they would enjoin us were they fill 
 in the World; and to put ourfelves, for 
 their Sakes, into that Condition which they 
 with us in, at prefent. 
 
 By this Means we fhall make them, in 
 fome Sort, revive in ourfelves: while *tis 
 by their Counfels and Inftructions that we 
 live and a&t. And, as the Authors of He- 
 refies are punifh’d in another Life, for the 
 Sins to which they have moved their Fol- 
 lowers, in whom their Poyfon fill ope- 
 rates after their Death; fo good Men are 
 recompens’d in a better State, not only for 
 their own Virtues, but for the Virtues of 
 
 thofe 
 
434 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. , 
 
 thofe whom they have engaged by their 
 Precepts; and influenced by their Exame 
 ples. : . 
 * MAN is undoubtedly too weak to’ form 
 a folid Judgment of Futurities. Let us truft 
 in Gop, and not fatigue ourfelyes with in- 
 difcreet and unwarrantable Apprehenfions. 
 Let us depend on the Divine Affiftance, for 
 the Condué& and Iffue of our Lives; and 
 fet us not yield ourfelves up to Difconfo- 
 latenefs and Defpair. | 
 _ Sr. Auftin obferves, that there is in every 
 Man, a Serpent, an Eve, and an Adam. 
 Our Senfes and natural Affeétions are the 
 Serpent ; our Concupifcence is the Eve; and 
 the Adam is our Reafon. Me 2 
 NATuRE continually tempts and allures 
 us: Concupifcence ever wifheth and covets: 
 but Sin is never finifh’d, unlefs Reafon au- 
 thorize it by its Confent. _ | 
 Ler us leave our Serpent and our Eve, 
 to carry on our Solicitations; if we may 
 not entirely expel them, But let us pray 
 Gop fo to fortify our Adam by His Grace, 
 that we may yield ourfelves to be govern’d 
 only by FASUS GHRIST, ‘and that 
 He may reign in us triumphantly for ever. 
 
 XXXL 
 
M: PascAau’s Thoughts. 335 
 
 XXXI. 
 Mifcellaneons Thoughts. 
 
 H E greater Degree of Parts and Sa- 
 
 . gacity any one is Mafter of, the more — 
 Originals he will difcern in the Characters 
 of Mankind. Perfons of ordinary Endow- 
 ments are utter Strangers to this Difference 
 amongit Men. : 
 
 * A Man may have good Senfe, and yet 
 not ke able to apply it alike fuccefsfully to 
 all Subjects: for there are thofe who judge ex- 
 a€tly within one certain Order of Things; and 
 yet are quite loft and confounded in another. 
 Soitie are excellent in drawing Confequences 
 from a few Principles; others from many. 
 Some, for Inftance, have an admirable Un- 
 derftanding of Hydroftatics, where the 
 Principles are few, but the Confequences 
 fo fine and delicate, as not to be reached 
 without the greateft Penetration. And 
 thefe Perfons would perhaps be no extraor- 
 dinary- Geometricians: becaufe the Princi- 
 ples of Geometry are vaftly numerous; and 
 becaufe a Genius may be fo form’d, as with 
 eafe to fearch a few Principles to the Bot- 
 | tom, 
 
336 M. Pascau’s Thoughts, 
 
 tom, and yet not to comprehend Things 
 with the fame Accuracy, where the Prin- 
 ciples are diffus’d to a larger Compais. 
 THERE are two Sorts of Gewius’s there- 
 fore; the one difpofed for a deep and vi- 
 gorous Penetration into the Confequences 
 of Principles; and this is a Genius properly 
 true and juft; the other fit to comprehend 
 a great Number of Principles without Con= 
 fufion; and this is the Genius for Geome- 
 try. The one confifts in the Force and Ex= 
 a€tnefs, the other in the Extent and Capa- 
 city of Thought. Nor is this Diftinétion 
 without Ground ; becaufe a Genius may be 
 vigorous, and yet contracted: or it may 
 have, on the contrary, a great Reach, and 
 little Strength. id | 
 THERE feems to be a wide Difference be- 
 tween a Genius for the Mathematics, and a 
 Genius for Bufinefs, or Policy. In thofe 
 Sciences the Principles are grofs and palpa- 
 ble, yet fo far removed from vulgar Ufe, 
 _ that a Man is at a Lofs to turn his Head 
 that Way, for want of Practice; but upon 
 the leaft Application he fees them all at their 
 Full, and muft have avery untoward Judg- 
 ment if he draws wrong Inferences from 
 Principles which are too big to be oyer- 
 looked, and too diftin® to. be ve 
 Bur in Bufinefs and Policy, the Princi- 
 ples are taken from daily Cuftom, and en 
 ; the 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 337 
 
 the Actions of the whole World. There is 
 no need here of giving our Head a new ply, 
 or of committing Violence on ourfelves, 
 The only Point, is to have a good Difcern- 
 ment: But then it ought to be very good: 
 becaufe thefe Principles are fo numerous and 
 fo independent, that ’tis hardly poffible but 
 fome of them fhould efcape us. And yet 
 the Omiffion of any one Principle breaks the 
 whole Thread, and betrays us into Error. 
 A Man in this Cafe, muft be clear and ca- 
 pacious, that he may comprehend the whole 
 “Set of Principles, and he muft likewife be 
 juft and folid, that from known Principles 
 he may not deduce falfe Conclufions. 
 
 Every Geometrician would, therefore, 
 be a Man of Bufinefs if he were not too 
 fhort-fighted ; for he feldom argues wrong, 
 when he’s throughly acquainted with his 
 Principles. And every Man of Bufinefs 
 might be a Geometrician, if he could once 
 turn his Thought to the lefs obvious Prin- 
 ciples of Geometry. 
 
 Tue Reafon then, why fome Perfons of 
 Management and Subtlety are not equally 
 qualified to excel in Mathematics, is, be- 
 caufe they cannot bend the whole Strefs of 
 their Mind to Principles which lie fo far out 
 of the Road: and the Reafon why fome 
 Perfons admirably fuccefsful in the Study 
 of the Mathematics, are lefs happy in civil 
 
 Y us 
 
338 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 Bufinefs, is, becaufe they are pur-blind itr 
 the Things which lie juft before them. For 
 thefe latter having been accuftom’d to Prin- 
 ciples which are full and diftiné, and ha- 
 ving never reafon’d, even from thefe Prin- 
 ciples, till they have view’d them a confi- 
 _ derable Time, and have handled them af 
 ter their own way, they cannot but lofe 
 themfelves in Matters of political Addrefs. 
 Here, the Principles will not fabmit to be 
 thus treated and managed: they are not to 
 be difcern’d without Difficulty ; the Mind 
 rather feels, than fees them; and it would 
 _ require almoft an infinite Labour, to work . 
 a Perception of them in thofe, who have it , 
 not by their own natural Sagacity. Thefe 
 ‘Things are fo nice and fo numerous, that a 
 Man muft have the cleareft and fineft Under- 
 ftanding to apprehend them; and, if appre- 
 hended, ’tis very feldom that they can be 
 fo regularly demonftrated, as the Subjeé of 
 Geometry ; becaufe no one can pretend to 
 have fo firm an hold of their Principles, and 
 neceflary Foundations, this being a ‘Task 
 next to impoffible. We muft fee them at 
 one immediate View, without the Train 
 and Progrefs of Reafon; at leaft, the intui< 
 tive Knowledge of them muft be extended 
 to fuch a Degree, e’er the Rational can pro- 
 ceed. Thus it rarely happens that either 
 of thefe Genius’s can adyance any Steps in 
 the 
 
M. PascAau’s Thoughts. 339 
 
 the Province of the other. The Mafters of 
 Geometry fometimes make themfelves ridi- 
 culous, by endeavouring to confine the Sub- 
 
 jects of Bufinefs to their own Method, and 
 by retaining the Way of Definitions and 
 Maxims, a Procefs which this kind of Rea- 
 foning will not bear. Not but that the 
 Mind does the very fame Thing which they 
 propofe to do by their Rules: but‘then the 
 Mind does it filently, and naturally, with- 
 out Art or Shew, and in a Way above the 
 Capacity of moft Men to conceive, and of 
 all to exprefs.’ - 
 
 On the other Side, the Politic Heads, ha- 
 ving been ufed to judge of Things in the 
 Way of Intuition, are fo amazed when we 
 offer them Problems which they apprehend 
 nothing of, and fuch as they cannot enter 
 into, but through a Series of Definitions and 
 barren Maxims, that they find them foon 
 difheartned, and inclin’d to give over the 
 Purfuit. But then ’tiscertain, between both, 
 that a falfe Genius will neither make a Geo- 
 metry Profeffor, nor a Privy Countellor. 
 
 MeN who have: a Genius only for Ma- 
 thematics, will be true and exact in think- 
 ing, provided all Things are explaii’d to 
 them in their own formal Manner: other- | 
 wife their.Judgment will be erroneous and 
 infupportable ; becaufe they never proceed 
 right, but upon Principles of which they 
 
 Ys haye 
 
340 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 have a perfe&t View. Again, thofe who 
 have a Genius only for Bufinefs are feldom 
 patient enough to defcend into the firft Prin- 
 ciples of fpeculative and abftraéted Things, 
 which they have not encountred in Com- 
 mon Life and Adtion. 
 
 *I fr is eafier to die without the Thought 
 of Death, than to think of Death without 
 the Apprehenfion of Danger. 
 
 “Ir often happens, that in the Proof of 
 certain Common Rules, we make Ufe of 
 fuch Examples as might reciprocally have 
 been proved by the fame Rules. Nor is 
 the former Method without its Ufe: be- 
 caufe being ever wont to fuppofe that the 
 Obicurity lies on the Side of the Thing to 
 be proved, we there difcovyer more Light 
 and Evidence in the Examples. So that 
 if we would illuftrate a general Truth, we 
 inftance in a particular Cafe; and if we — 
 would decide a particular Cafe, we begin 
 with the general Truth. We ever fancy 
 fomewhat of Doubt and Difficulty in the 
 Subject of the Queftion, and fomewhat clear 
 and convictive in the Medium by which 
 we would evince it. We propofe the for- 
 mer under the Notion of its being obfcure, 
 and we apply the latter under the Notion 
 of its being perfpicuous, and thus affift our 
 Underftanding either Way, in gaining its 
 
 Poiat. 
 * We 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 341 
 
 * We ordinarily prefume that all Men 
 have the fame Apprehenfion and Senfe of 
 the fame Obje&, when prefented to them: 
 ~ but we prefume thus much, upon a precari- 
 ous Title, and without real Proof’ I know 
 very well that Men apply the fame Words 
 to the fame Occafions ; as when two Perfons 
 look on the Snow, both the one and the 
 other expreffeth the Appearance of this Ob- 
 ject by the fame Term of White. From this 
 Conformity of Speech we draw a {trong 
 Conjeéture for the like Conformity of Idea ; 
 which tho’ highly probable, yet is not ab- 
 folutely demonftrative. 
  * Azz our Reafonings turn at laft upon 
 a Submiffion to Senfe. Now our Fancy is 
 like our Senfe in one refpect, and unlike it 
 in another: like, becaufe it cannot reafon: 
 and yet unlike, becaufe’tis falfe and treache- 
 rous. And hence it comes to pafs that thefe 
 two Powers, tho’ oppofite to each other, 
 are fo hard to be diftinguifh’d. A Man pre- 
 tends that my Senfe is Fancy, and that his 
 Fancy is Senfe, and I am even with him, by 
 fhewing myfelf the fame Favour. There 
 is need of a Rule in this Cafe: and Reafon 
 indeed offers us one, but fuch as is pliable 
 either way, and fo leaves us, in effect, with- 
 out any Rule at all. 
 
 * Tuose who judge of any Work by 
 Rule, are in refpect of others, like a Man 
 
 ig who 
 
42 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 who has a Watch, when the reft of the 
 Company have not. One Friend fays, We 
 have been two Hours together, another af- 
 firms it to have been but three quarters of 
 an Hour fince we met. Here I privately 
 look upon my Watch, and tell one that he’s 
 melancholy, and the Ophes that he’s merry ; 
 becaufe we have been together precifely an 
 ‘Hour and an half; and I defpife thofe that 
 tell me, Time paffeth as I pleafe to make ir, 
 and pretend that I judge of it by my Fancy, 
 not Knowing that I judge of it by my Watch. 
 * Tuere are Men in the World who are 
 good Speakers, and ill Writers. ‘The Rea- 
 fon of which feems to be, that the Place, 
 the Company, c. warms and .ripens them, 
 ard draws more out of their Genius than it 
 could produce without fuch an aGtuating Heat. 
 - *Tuere’snothing which does more Mif- 
 chief than our unhappy Cuftom of following 
 the Exception inftead of the Rule. We 
 ought feverely to hold to the Rule, and re- 
 folutely to oppofe the Exception, And yet 
 becaufe there will be always fome allow- 
 able Exceptions, this Severity rouBAt to be - 
 temper ’d with Juftice. ‘ 
 * I 1 feems, in one Senfe not abfurd to 
 affirm, that the whole World is under a 
 Delufion, For tho’ People’s Opinions may 
 really, and, in themfelves be found, yet 
 they are not found in their Heads ; becaufe 
 they 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 343 
 
 they generally miftake, by fancying Truth 
 to be where ’tis not, and by pointing to the 
 wrong Place. ; 
 
 *T Hose who have a Genius for Inventions 
 
 are but few, thofe who have none are vaftly 
 the more numerous, and, by confequence, 
 the flronger Side. And we find the latter 
 commonly: making ufe.of this Advantage of 
 Number and Strength, in denying the Au- 
 thors of rare Difcoveries the Glory which 
 they feek, and deferve by their Labours 5 
 who, ifin fpight of Ingratitude, they vigo- 
 roufly maintain their Title to Applaufe, and 
 exprefsa Contempt of the unskilful and par- 
 tial Multitude, all they get by their Obfti- 
 nacy is, to be expofed for Enthufiafts and. 
 Vifionaries. A Man ought, therefore, to be 
 very cautious of affuming to himielf this Ho- 
 nour, how-confiderable foever in Merit, and 
 ought to reft fatisfied with the Approbation 
 of thofe few, who know how to fet a true 
 Value on him and. his Studies. 
 - * Tur Underftanding naturally believes, 
 and the Will naturally loves; fo that if ei- 
 ther of them be not direéted to true Objects, 
 it muft neceflarily take up with falfe. 
 
 * Many things which are true, have been 
 contradiéted; many which are falfe, pafs 
 without Contradiction. To be contradicted, 
 is no more a Mark of Falfhood, than not to 
 be contradiéted, isa Mark of Truth. 
 * Y4 *CAESAR 
 
344 M. Pascat's Thoughts. 
 
 * CAESAR was too old, in my Opinion, 
 to amufe himfelf with projecting the Con-_ 
 queft of the World. Such an Imagination 
 was excufable in Alexander, a Prince full of 
 Youth and Fire, and not eafy to be check’d 
 in his Hopes. But Cefar ought to have 
 been more grave. 
 
 * All the World fees that Men venture 
 for Uncertainties; in Voyages, in War, c. 
 But all - the World does not fee the patticu- 
 lar Rule by which Men proceed, and which 
 demonftrates that they ought thus to ven- 
 ture. Montaign knew it to be true in fact, 
 that Men have a natural Difguft for formal 
 Fools; and that Cuftom governs all things ; 
 but he could not have given a Reafon for 
 either of thefe Truths. Thofe who fee not 
 the Caufes of things, but the bare Effects, 
 are, in regard to thofe who fee the Caufes, 
 like thofe who have Eyes in regard to thofe 
 that have none. For Effets are, in a man- 
 ner, the Objects of outward Senfe ; but © 
 Caufes are difcernible only by the Under- 
 ftanding. And tho’ ’tis the Underftanding 
 likewite which takes cognizance of Effects, 
 yet this Act of the Underftanding bears no 
 more Proportion to that nobler A&t which 
 diftinguifhes the Caufes, than the bodily 
 Rye to the Eye of the Mind, 
 
 * Tue Senfe we have of the Fulfencs of 
 thofe Pleafures which are prefent, and the 
 
 Igno- 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 345 
 
 Ignorance we are under as to the Vanity of 
 thofe Pleafures which are abfent, are the 
 two great Sources of all our Levity and In- 
 conftancy. . 
 
 * Te we dream’d the fame thing every 
 Night, it might perhaps affect us no lefs than 
 the Objects which we encounter by Day. And 
 if an Artifan fhould be fure of dreaming as 
 often as he wentto Bed that he was a King, 
 I think he would be as happy asa King who 
 fhould dream conftantly, for the fame Space, 
 that he was an Artifan. Should we every 
 Night dream that we were purfued by our 
 Enemies, fo as continually to lie under the 
 Fright of thefe troublefome Phantoms, or 
 that we were engaged in a Succeffion of La- 
 bour, as in Travelling, or the like ; we fhould 
 fuffer almoft as much, as if the things were 
 real; and fhould be as much afraid of fleep- 
 ing, as we are now afraid of being awake, 
 when we apprehend ourfelves to be enter- 
 ing upon thefe Misfortunes or Difficulties. 
 And the Confequence of the Reality could 
 fearce be more fatal, than that of the Ima- 
 gination. But becaufe our Dreams are ever _ 
 varying from themfelves, what they prefent 
 us with ftrikes us more faintly than what we 
 behold with open Eyes, which is for the 
 moft part uniform, equal, and _ confiftent. 
 Not but that this latter way has alfo its 
 Changes, tho’ not with fuch Frequency, or 
 
 fo 
 
346 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 fo great Abruptnefs, but in the manner of arn 
 eafy Journey. And hence’ came the Phrafe 
 of our being 7 a Dream: for Life is indeed 
 but a Dream, tho’ of a lefs inconftant and 
 - irregular kind. 
 
 * Kinas and Princes fometimes retire for 
 their Diverfion. "To be always on the 
 Throne would be a wearifome Slavery. 
 Greatnefs muft upon Occafion be abftain’d 
 from, to preferve and refrefh the Tafte of it. 
 
 “OT 1g furprizing to confider there are 
 Men in the World, who, having bid defi- 
 ance to all the Laws of Go p and Nature, 
 do yet conftitute Laws amongft themfelves, 
 to which they pay the exacteft Obedience : 
 as for inftance, ‘Thieves, c. 
 
 * THOSE mighty Efforts and Sallies to 
 which the Mind fometimes attains, are things 
 which it cannot keep Poffeffion of: It wins 
 them by a vigorous Flight, and lofeth them 
 by as fuddena Fall. 
 
 * PROVIDED we know the ruling Paffion 
 in any Man, we affure ourfelves of being 
 able to pleafe him. And yet every Man has — 
 his peculiar Fancy and Humour, contrary to 
 his real Good, even in the Idea which he 
 forms of Good: and this Diverfity breaks 
 and difconcerts the Meafures of thofe who 
 are ftudious of winning upon the AfeChons 
 of others. 
 
 * By 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 347 
 
 * By the means which we corrupt our, 
 Judgment, by the fame we corrupt our Senfe. 
 Now both our Senfe and Judgment are 
 chiefly form’d upon Converfation: fo. that 
 good or ill Company may make or mar them. 
 It is therefore of the greateft Importance to 
 _choofe our Company well; that we may 
 confirm, and not debauch our Powers: and 
 yet tis hardly poffible to make this good 
 Choice, unlefs they are already confirm’d 
 and not debauch’d.. Thus the whole matter 
 runs in a Circle, which, without a very par- 
 ticular Happinefs, we fhall never get out of 
 
 * W _E naturally fuppofe ourfelves more 
 capable of diving to the Center of Things, 
 than of embracing the Circumference. The 
 vifible Extent of the World plainly furpaf- 
 feth us and our Faculties. But becaufe we , 
 ourfelves do likewife furpafs, with a great 
 _Difproportion, the minuter parts of Nature, 
 we fancy that thefe muft neceffarily fall un- 
 der the Command of our Mind. And yetit 
 requires the fame (that is, an infinite) Per- 
 fection and Capacity to defcend to Nothing, 
 as to extend to All. And © am perfwaded 
 that if a Man could penetrate into the 
 firft Elements of things, he might, by the 
 fame Strength, arrive at the Comprehenfion 
 of Infinity. Each Labour depends on the 
 other; each conduéts to the other. Thefe 
 yaft Extremities, the farther they reach, the 
 
 | more 
 
348 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 more furely they meet and touch, reuniting, 
 at length, in Gop, and in Gop alone. 
 
 * Tr a Man did but begin with the Study 
 of himfelf; he would foon find how incapa- 
 ble he was of proceeding farther. For what 
 Poffibility is there, that the Part fhould con- 
 tain the whole? It feems, however, more 
 reafonable that we fhould at leaft afpire to 
 the Knowledge of the other Parts; to which 
 we bear fome Proportion and Refemblance. 
 But then the Parts of the World are fo nice- 
 ly interwoven, fo exquifitely link’d and en- 
 cafed one within the other, that I look upon 
 it as impoflible to underftand one without 
 another, or even, without All. 
 
 T 0 inftance in ourfelves. Man has real- 
 ty fome Dependence on every thing that he 
 knows. He has need of Place, to contain 
 him; of Time, to lengthen out his Dura- 
 tion; of Elements, to compofe his Frame ; 
 of Motion, to preferve his Life; of Heat and 
 Food, for Nourifhment ; of Air, for Refpi- 
 ration. He fees the Light which fhines up- 
 on him, he feels the Bodies which encircle 
 him ; in fhort, he contraéts an Alliance with 
 the whole World. 
 
 Iw order therefore to an exa& Know- 
 ledge of Man, we muft know whence it 
 comes to pafs, that Air, for Example, fhould 
 be neceffary for his Subfiftence: and to ap- 
 prehend the Nature of Air, we fhould know 
 
 by 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 349 
 
 by what particular means it has fuch an In- 
 fluence on the Life of Man. 
 
 AGAIN, Flame cannot fubfift without 
 Air: therefore the Philofophy of the one 
 depends on that of the other. , 
 
 Aut things then being in different Re- 
 gards, Effects and Caufes, Dependents and 
 Affiftants, near. aad remote, holding Com- 
 munication with each other by. a natural, 
 tho’ imperceptible Line, which unites the 
 moft diftant in Place, and moft repugnant in 
 kind; I fee no Poffibility either of knowing 
 the Parts without the Whole, or of knowing 
 the Whole, without a diftiné Apprehenfion 
 of the Parts. 
 
 Anp what feems to fix and complete our 
 utter Inability for the Knowledge of Things, 
 is, that they are All in their own Nature 
 fimple, whereas we are compofed of two op- 
 pofite Natures, Spirit and Body. For ‘tis 
 impoffible that our reafoning Part fhould be 
 other than fpiritual. And as for the Extra- 
 vagance of thofe who will allow themfelves 
 to confift of nothing but Body, this ex- 
 cludes them {till more forcibly from all Ac- 
 quaintance with the Objects about them, it 
 being a moft unconceiyable Paradox to af- 
 firm, that matter is capable of Reflexion or 
 Thought. 
 
 ’T is this Compofition of Body and Spirit 
 which has made the Philofophers, almoft 
 
 uniyer= 
 
350 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 univerfally, confound: the Ideas of things ; 
 -afcribing to Body. the Properties of Spirit, 
 and to Spirit the Affections of Body. Thus 
 they tell us, with good Affurance, that Bo- 
 dies have a Tendency downwards; that they 
 afpire to their proper Center; that they 
 fhun their own Deftrudtion ; that they avoid 
 a Vacuum; that they have their peculiar 
 Inclinations, Sympathies and Antipathies: 
 all which belong purely to Spirit. But on 
 the other hand, if Spirits are the Subject of 
 their Difcourfe, they confider thefe as cir- 
 cumfcribed in Place; as endued with local 
 Motion, ©c. which ought, in juftice, to be 
 applied to Body only. . 
 
 INSTEAD of receiving into our Mind the 
 true and genuine Ideas of things, we firike a 
 Tindture of oar own compound Being on all 
 the fimple Objects which we contemplate. 
 
 WHILE: we make no Scruple to compofe 
 the whole World of Spirit and Body, might - 
 it not feem natural to infer, that we really 
 
 apprehend this Compofition? And yet this 
 is what, of all things, we are moft at a Lofs 
 to apprehend. Every Man is to himfelf the 
 moft prodigious Obje& in the Extent of Na+ 
 ture: for as he knows little of Body, and lefs 
 of Spirit, fo he’ knows leaft of all, how Body 
 fhould be united to Spirit. This is the very 
 Complication ‘of all'his Difficulties: and yet 
 this is no other than his own proper Being. 
 : Modus 
 
M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 3¢% 
 
 Modus quo Corporibus adberet Spiritus 
 comprebendi ab hominibus non poteft : 3 hoe 
 tamen homo eft. 
  ™ Iw natural things, (the Knowledge of 
 which is not neceflary to us) fince there are 
 many which exceed our Difcovery, it may 
 perhaps be not amifs that there fhould be | 
 fome univerfal: Error, to bound and fix the 
 Purfuits of Men. Such, for inftance, as the 
 vulgar Opinion concerning the Moon, which 
 afcribes to her the Change of Seafons, and 
 the Progrefs of Diftempers. For it feems, 
 to be one of the principal Infelicities of Man- 
 kind, to entertain a reftlefs Curiofity for 
 things which ’tis impoffible they fhould un- 
 derftand. And I queftion whether it would 
 not be a lefs Evil, with regard to things of 
 this kind, to lie under an invincible Miftake}. 
 than. to indulge an unprofitable Enquiry. 
 “Tuts Dog’s mine, fays the poor Child: 
 
 this is my Place, in the Sun. From fo petty 
 a Beginning, may we trace the Tyranny 
 and Ufurpation of the whole Earth. 
 
 - ™Tue Judgment and Underftanding have 
 their proper Method: which is by Princi 
 ples and Demonftrations. The Heart and 
 Affetions have a Method altogether diffe- 
 rent. A Man would expofe himfelf very 
 tematkably, who fhould go about to engage 
 our Love, by laying down, in a philofophi- 
 cal Order, the Springs and Caufes of that 
 Paffion. or UR. 
 
3562 M.Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 Our Bleffed Lord, and St. Paul, have 
 oftner ufed the Method of the Heart, which 
 is that of Charity, than the other of Reafon 
 and Judgment: becaufe the principal De- 
 fign of their Difcourfes was not fo much to 
 inform as to excite and inflame. St. Auffin 
 takes the fame way: which chiefly confifts 
 in fuch lively Digreffions upon every Point, 
 as may illuftrate the main End, and keep it 
 ever in view. 
 
 * Tue common Idea which we form of 
 Plato or Ariffotle reprefents them in their 
 Garb of Profeffors, and as Perfons of com- 
 pofed Serioufnefs, and immoveable Gravity. 
 Whereas they were really honeft Gentlemen 
 who could laugh and jeft with a Friend, as 
 well as ourfelves. And *twas in this Vein 
 of Mirth and Humour that they fram/’d their 
 Laws, and Syftems of Polity. The Time 
 they fpent upon thefe Projeéts was the moft 
 unphilofophical Part of their whole Life. 
 When they pleafed to be Philofophers in 
 earneft, they had no other Care, or Thought, 
 than how to live with Privacy and Tran- 
 quility. 
 
 * THERE are fome Writers who always 
 love to put a Mask upon the Faceof Nature. 
 There’s no fuch Perfon with them as a King, 
 but, a Grand, or Auguft, Monarch; no 
 fuch Place as Paris, but, the Metropolis and 
 Capital of a mighty Kingdom. 
 
 y. * WHEN 
 
M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 353 
 
 _ * Wuen in perufing a Piece we find fome 
 Words often repeated, yet fuch as we can- 
 hot change for others without a manifeft 
 Difadvantage, we ought by all Means to let 
 them ftand. For this is a true Mark of their 
 Propriety ; and ’twas only our Envy that 
 made us Critics; which was fo blind as not 
 to fee that the Repetitiori was elegant on this 
 Cccafion, there being no general Rule in the 
 Cafe. re i in al 
 * Tuoss who bring in forced Words, to 
 preferve the Antithefis, are like thofe who 
 make falfe Windows to preferve the Sym= | 
 metry: Their Rule is, not to fpeak good 
 - Senfe, but good Point, and Turn: 
 _ * Tuere is a firft Model of Agreeable= 
 nefs and Beauty, which confifts in’ a certain 
 Relation between our own Nature, fuch as 
 it is, whether weak or ftrong, and the thing 
 with which we are affected. Whatever is 
 form’d upon this Model takes and delights 
 us: ’tis all the fame in Building, in Singing, 
 in Speaking, in Verfe, in Profe, in Women, 
 in Birds, in Rivers, in Trees, in Chambers, 
 in Dreffes: Whatever differs from this Mo- 
 del, is always difpleafing to Perfons of a 
 true Relifh and Difcernment. 
 * As we talk of Beauties in Poetry, fo 
 we ought to talk of Beauties in Geometry, 
 and Beauties in Phyfick ; and yet we never 
 ufe thefe Phrafes. ‘The Reafon of which is, 
 ‘bh — — becaufe 
 
354 M. Pascat’s Thoughts. 
 
 ‘becaufe we have an adequate Idea of the 
 ‘Objects of Geometry and Phyfick; but we 
 underftand not wherein that Agreeablenefs 
 confifts which makes the Obje& of Poetry. 
 Weare at a Lofs to know the real Model, 
 and Standard of Nature, which ought to 
 meafure fuch Compofitions: and for want of 
 this Knowledge, we invent a Sett of extra- 
 vagant Metaphors, fuch as the Golden Age, 
 the Wonder of our Times, the Fatal Laurel, 
 the Lovely Star, &c. and we ftamp this 
 Jargon with the Name of Poetical Beauties. 
 But now if we were to imagine a Woman 
 dreis’d by the fame Pattern, we fhould have 
 a certain airy Damfel bedeck’d with Plates 
 of Looking-Glafs and Tinfel Chains. And 
 a Nymph thus attired would be much fitter 
 to engage our Laughter than our Love. Be- 
 caufe we better apprehend what’s juft and 
 decent in the Habit of a Woman, than m 
 the Ornaments of a Poem. But they who 
 had not the like Gift of Difcernment, might 
 ftill admire the Lady in this antick Equipage, 
 and many a Village of good Note would in- 
 fallibly worfhip her for the Queen. Whence 
 fome Perfons of Wit have ftil’d the Sonnets 
 and Stanzas compofed after this fantaftical 
 manner, the Queens of the May. 
 
 * WHEN a juft and natural Difcourfe 
 points out fome particular Paffion, or Effedt, 
 we feel in our Breafts the Truth of what we 
 
 read 
 
| M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 356 
 
 tead, (becaufe *twas really there before, tho’ - 
 without our Notice) and we find ourfelves 
 difpofed to love the Perfon who has caufed 
 us thus to feel it, for he feems to have gi- 
 ven us a Speciinen not of his Goods, but 
 of our own; and this Civility entitles him 
 to our Affection: befides that fuch an Affiz 
 hity and Refemblance of Thought fails not 
 to beget a Kindnefs and Endearment of Soul. 
 
 * Axx true Eloquence muft be compofed 
 of what is agreeable, and what is real: but 
 then, even the agreeable part ought, in its 
 kind, to be likewife real. 
 
 ORDINARY Judges, when in reading they 
 -meet with a natural and proper Stile, are 
 quite aftonifhed, becaufe they look’d for an 
 Author, and they finda Maz. But thofe 
 who have the Happinefs of a true Tafte are 
 _ 0 lefs furpriz’d, when looking for a Man, 
 they find an Author. Plus Poetxe quam 
 Lumané locutus eff. We are very large in 
 our Compliments to Nature, if we pretend 
 that fhe is able to fpeak of all Subjects, and 
 even of Divinity. 
 
 * In Compofition we ought never to 
 draw off the Mind from one thing to an- 
 other, unlefs it be purely for the fake of 
 Refrefhment, and then it muft be at fuch 
 “time when Reffefhment is exa@tly proper, 
 and feafonable, and at no other. For he 
 that goes about to divert his Reader without 
 
 ZL 2 Occa- 
 
356 M. Pascau’s Thoughts. 
 
 Occafion, does but weary and difguft him. 
 Men are too nice and faftidious to bear an 
 unneceflary Officioufnefs, fo hard it is to ob- 
 tain any thing from them but upon the Fund 
 of Pleafure ; a Coin which fails not to pur- 
 chafe all that this World affords. 
 
 * MANKIND have indeed a natural Love 
 for Bitternefs and Severity ; yet for fuch, as 
 is by no means exercifed againft thofe who 
 are afflicted with ill Fortune, but againft 
 thofe who are proud and infolent under 
 good: and we fhall find ourfelves in a Mi- 
 ftake, if we pafsany other Judgment on this 
 matter. 
 
 * MARTIAL’s Epigram upon the poor 
 One-ey’d Men, is e’en good for nothing, 
 becaufe it affords not the leaft Confolation, 
 nor ferves for any other ufe than to give an 
 Edge to the Vain-glory of the Author: But | 
 an Author can never be of Value, when he 
 
 ropofeth himfelf as the fole End of his 
 Wrting, Ambitiofa recidet Ornamenta. We 
 fhould ftudy to pleafe thofe who havea 
 Senfe of Tendernefs and Compaffion, not 
 thofe who are barbarous and inhuman. 
 
 « 
 
PRAYER 
 
 Monfieur PASCAL, 
 
 Compofed in 
 
 SICKNESS. 
 
 1. 
 
 LORD, whofe Spirit is fo Good 
 
 and Gracious in all Things, and who 
 
 art fo infinitely Merciful; that not the 
 Profperities alone, but even the Diftreffes 
 which happen to thy Chofen, are the Ef 
 fe&ts of thy Mercy, grant that I may 
 not bring a Pagan Mind to my prefent Af- 
 fictions; but that, like a true Chriftian, © 
 may in all Events acknowledge thy Juftice, 
 and thy Providence. For the altering of 
 my Condition, can no way affe&t or influ- 
 ence thine. ‘Thou art ever immutable, tho’ 
 Z 3 T am 
 
358 Monfieur Pascat’s 
 
 { am ever fubject to change: Thou art the _ 
 fame Gop, no lefs in afflicting and punifh- 
 ing, than in the midft of thy Indulgences, 
 and plentiful Confolations. 
 
 = I. 
 
 HOU gaveft me Health to be fpent 
 in ferving thee; and I perverted it 
 to a Ufe altogether profane. Now thou 
 haft fent a Sicknefs for my Correétion: O 
 fuffer me not to ufe this likewife, as a 
 _ Means of provoking thee by my Impatience, 
 J abufed thy Gift of Health ; and thou haft 
 juftly punifhed me for my Neglect: O keep 
 me from abufing thy very Punifhment. And 
 becaufe the Corruption of my Nature is fuch, 
 that it renders thy Favours pernicious to me ; 3. 
 grant, O Gop, that thy all-powerful Grace 
 may render thy Chaftifements wholéfome 
 and beneficial. If I had a Heart fill’d with 
 Affection for the World, while I enjoy’dany 
 Degree of Strength and Vigour, deftroy 
 that Vigour for my Soul’s Health; and, 
 whether by weakening my Body, or by ij in- 
 flaming and exalting my Charity, render me 
 incapable of delighting in the World, that 
 my Delight may be only in thy Name: aS 
 
 TL 
 
Prayer in Sicknefs. 359 
 
 iil. 
 
 GOD, before whom 1 fhall be obliged 
 ‘to give an exact Account of my Adai- 
 ons at the End of my Life, and the End of » 
 the World: O Gop, who permitteft the 
 World, and all Things in #, to fabfift, - 
 only for the Probation of the Good, and for 
 the Punifhment of the Wicked: O Gob, 
 who leaveft harden’d Sinners to enjoy the 
 World, with.a delicious, but criminal Ute: 
 © Gop, who appointeft our Bedy to die, 
 and who, at the Hour of Death, zemovett 
 our Soul from all that it doated upon here: 
 O Gop, who at the laft Moment of my Life 
 wilt forcibly feparate me from all Things 
 that have engaged my Thoughts, and taken 
 up my Heart: O Gop, who wilt confume 
 the Heavens and the Earth, at the laft Day, 
 and all the Creatures they contain, to con- 
 vince Men, that nothing fubfifts but by thy 
 Hand, and that nothing befides thee deferves 
 our Love; becaufe, befides thee nothing is fix- 
 ed and permanent : O Gop, who wilt deftroy 
 all thefe vain Idols, all thefe fatal Objects of 
 our Affeétions; I praife thee, O Gon, and I 
 will blefs thee while I have my Being; for 
 that thou haft been pleas’d, of thy Favour to- 
 wards me, already to anticipate the dreadful 
 Day, by already deftroying all Things tomy 
 L 4 Tafte 
 
360 Monfieur Pascar’s | 
 
 Tafte and Thought, under this Weaknefs 
 which I fuffer from thy Providence. I praife 
 thee, that thou haft given me this Divorce from 
 the Sweetnefs of Health, and from the Plea- 
 fures of the World; and that thou haft, for 
 my Advantage, in fome fort confumed thefe 
 vain Idols, which thou wilt effe€tually con- 
 fume, for the Confufion of the Wicked, in 
 the Day of thy Wrath. Grant, O Lord, 
 that I may judge myfelf after this feeming 
 Deftruction, which thou haft made in my 
 ‘behalf; fo that after the final Deftruction 
 which thou wilt make of my Life, and of 
 the World, I may efcape when judged by 
 thee. I know, O Lord, that at the Inftant 
 of my Death, I fhall find myfelf entirely fe- 
 parated from the World, ftripp’d naked of all 
 Things, ftanding alone before thee, to anfwer 
 to thy Juftice concerning all the Motions of 
 my Thoughts and Spirit: grant that I may 
 look on myfelf as dead already, feparated 
 from the World, ftripp’d of all the Objects 
 of my Paffion, placed alone in thy Prefence,. 
 to implore thy Mercy for the Converfion of 
 my Heart ; and that I may gather hence Mat- 
 ter of exceeding Comfort, that thou fhouldft 
 be pleafed firft to fend this Image and Ap- — 
 pearance of Death, as the Subject of thy 
 Mercy, before thou fendeft a real Diffolu- 
 tion, to exercife thy Juftice. As thou feem- 
 eft to have prevented the Time of my Death, 
 
 | cha 
 
PrayeER in Sicknefs. 361 
 
 fo let me prevent the Rigour of thy Sen- 
 tence; and let me fo examine myfelf before 
 thy Judgment, that in thy Judgment I may 
 find Mercy. 
 
 IV. 
 
 RANT, O Lord, that I may, with 
 
 an obedient Silence, adore the Me- 
 
 thods of thy Divine Wifdom, in the Dif- 
 pofals of my Life, that thy Rod may com- 
 fort me; and that having lived in the Bit- 
 ternefs of my Sins, while I enjoy’d the 
 good Things of my peaceable Condition, 
 I may tafte the heavenly Sweetnefs of thy 
 Grace, during thefe falutary Evils with 
 which thou haft afflicted me. But I am fen- 
 fible, O my Gop, that my Heart is fo har- 
 den’d, fo full of worldly Ideas, Engagements, 
 Solicitudes and Difquiets, thatneither Health, 
 nor Sicknefs, nor Difcourfes, nor Books, (not 
 even thy facred Word and Gofpel) nor thy 
 moft holy Myfteries, nor Alms, nor Faftings, 
 nor Mortifications, nor Miracles, nor the 
 Ufe of thy Sacraments, nor the Sacrifice of 
 thy precious Body, nor all my ‘Endeavours, 
 nor the Endeavours of the whole World to- 
 gether, can effect any Thing toward the 
 Beginning of my Converfion, if thou blef- 
 feft not all thefe Means, with the extraor- 
 dinary Succours of thy Grace. I addrefs 
 | unto 
 
362 Monfieur Pascat’s 
 
 unto thee, Almighty Lord, to intreat from 
 thy Bounty a Gift, which the joint Concur~ 
 rence of created ‘Things can never procure 
 or beftow. I fhould not have the Boldnefs 
 to dire my Cries to thee, were there be- 
 fides, any that could hear, and could relieve 
 them. But, O my Gop, fince the Conver- 
 fion, which I now beg of thy Grace, is a 
 Work exceeding all the Powers of Nature, 
 to whom can I apply, but to the Almighty 
 Mafter of my Heart, and of Nature it felf? 
 To whom, O Lord, fhould I cry ; to whom 
 fhould I flee for Succour unlefs unto thee ? 
 Nothing that is not Gop can fix my Con- 
 - fidence, or fillmy Defires. ’Tis Gop alone 
 whom I ask and feek: ’tis thou alone, O 
 my Gop, whom I implore, for the obtain- 
 ing of thyfelf O Lord, open my Heart: 
 enter this rebellious Place, poffefs’d by my 
 Vices‘and my Sins. ‘They at prefert hold 
 it im Subjection: do thou enter, as inte the 
 __ftrong Man's Houfe ; but firtt bind the ftrong 
 and powerful Enemy, who is Mafter of 
 it; and then fpoil it of the Treafures which 
 it now conceals. Refcue and retrieve my 
 Affe@tions which the World has robbed me 
 of : fpoil thou the World of this Treafure ;_ 
 or rather refume it as thy own; for to thee 
 it is but a juft Tribute, becaufe thy own 
 Image is ftamp’d upon it. "The Treafure 
 _ was of thy forming, at the Moment my 
 ap- 
 
Prayer in Sicknefs. 363 
 
 Baptifm, my fecond Birth ; but it is whol- 
 ly impair’d and defaced: the Image of the 
 World is graven fo ftrongly on it, that 
 thine is no mote difcernible there. Thou 
 alone waft able at firft to create my Soul ; 
 thou alone art able to create it a-new. Thou 
 alone couldft imprint on it thy Image ; thou 
 alone canft revive and refrefh that defaced 
 Image; even FESUS CHRIST, 
 the exprefs Image of thy Subftance. 
 
 V. 
 
 My Gon, how happy is the Soul 
 
 which can love fo charming an Ob- 
 je&: where the Affeétion is fo Honourable, 
 the Alliance fo full of Benefit and Safety ! 
 I perceive I cannot be enamour’d of the 
 World, without incurring thy Difpleafure, 
 without prejudicing, and even degrading 
 my felf; and yet the World is ftill the 
 Mark of my Defire. O my Gop, how 
 happy are the Souls which have fix’d their 
 Defire on thee; becaufe this is an AffeGtion 
 to which they may give themfelves whol- 
 ly up, not only without Scruple, but with 
 Commendation! How firm and lafting is 
 their Happinefs, whofe Expectation can ne- 
 ver be defeated; becaufe thou faileft not, 
 and becaufe neither Life nor Death can fe- 
 ' parate them from this Diyine Obje&t of De- 
 light ! 
 
364 Monfieur Pascau’s 
 
 light! For the fame Moment which fhall 
 involve the. Wicked, together with their 
 Idols, in a common Ruin, fhall unite the 
 Juft to thee in a common Glory ; while as 
 the former perifh with the perifhing Ob- 
 jects to which they had enfnared their Af- 
 feétions; the latter fubfift eternally, in that 
 eternal and felf-fubfifting Obje& to which 
 they were fo familiarly allied. O the Hap- 
 pinefs of thofe, who with an abfolute Choice 
 and Preference, and with an invincible Bent 
 of Inclination, are able to love perfe&tly and 
 freely, what they are engaged to love, out 
 of Duty and Neceffity ! 
 
 VI. 
 
 Erfe&, O my Gop, the good Motions . 
 thou haft wrought in me. Be thou their 
 End, as thou art their Beginning. Crown thy ~ 
 own Gifts; for thy Gifts I acknowledge them 
 to be. I acknowledge them, O Gop, and am 
 fo far from prefuming on any fuch Merit in — 
 my Prayers as fhould oblige thee to a necef- 
 fary Grant, that I likewife moft humbly ac-. 
 knowledge, that having given up to the 
 Creatures this Heart which thou formedf 
 ‘purely for thy own Service, not for the 
 World, nor for myfelf, I can expect no 
 means of Favour but from thy Mercy; be- 
 caufe I haye nothing in me that can en- 
 
 BAs¢ 
 
Praver in Sicknefs. 365 
 
 gage thy Affiftance; and becaufe all the na- 
 tural Movements of my Heart, being di- 
 reéted either towards the Creatures, or to- 
 wards myfelf, can have no Force with re- 
 gard to thee, but that of incenfing and pro- 
 voking thee. I thank thee, therefore, O 
 my Gop, for the good Motions thou haft 
 infpired; and for this amongft the reft, the 
 Grace of thanking thee for them. 
 
 Vil. 
 
 Trike my Heart with true Repentance 
 
 for my Faults; becaufe without this 
 Pain and Grief of Mind, the Evils with 
 ‘which thou haft ftricken my Body, will 
 only procure to me a new Occafion of Sin. 
 Make me rightly to underftand that the 
 Evils of the Body are nothing elfe but the 
 Punifhment, and at the fame ime, the Fi- 
 _gure and Refemblance of thofe which hap- 
 pen to the Soul : But, O Lord, make them 
 prove likewife their Remedy, by making 
 me confider, in the bodily Pains I feel, thofe 
 in my Soul, which TI feel not; though my 
 Soul, as well as Body is overfpread with 
 Sicknefs and Sores. For my greateft Evil 
 of Soul is this Infenfibility, and this ex- 
 treme Weaknefs, which difables it from 
 all Apprehenfion of its own Miferies. Give 
 me a lively Senfe of thefe Miferies, my paft 
 ; Of. 
 
366 Monfieur Pascan’s 
 
 Offences 5 and grant that the refidue of my 
 ‘Life may be one continued Penitence, to 
 wafh away their Stain. : 
 
 VII. 
 
 Lord, although my Life has been hi= 
 
 therto free from more grievous Crimes _ 
 {the Occafions of which thou haft been 
 pleas’'d in Mercy, to remove) yet it muft 
 heeds have been exceedingly hateful to thee, 
 by reafon of my habitual Negle&, my 
 “Abufe of thy moft holy Sacrament, my Con- 
 tempt of thy Word and Infpirations, by the 
 Idlenefsand Unprofitablenefs of all my A@i- 
 ons and Thoughts, and by the entire Lofs of 
 all that'Time which thou haft given me, — 
 for no other Employment. but fs worfhip- 
 ing thee, of feeking in all my Bufinefs and 
 Applications the Means of doing thy Plea< 
 fure, and of becoming truly penitent for my 
 daily Trefpaffes, fuch as are common, even 
 to good Men, and therefore fuch as require 
 that their whole Life fhould be one A& of 
 Repentance, without which they are in 
 danger of falling from theit Goodnefs. _ 
 
 IX. 
 
 Witherto, O Lord, I have ever beer 
 deaf to thy Infpirations, I have de- 
 tpifed thy Oracles; I have judged contrary 
 
 (oe 
 
' PRaver in Sicknefs. 367 
 
 to what thou judgeft: I have crofled thofe 
 holy Maxims, which thou broughteft into 
 the World from the Bofom of the eternal 
 Father, and according to which thou wilt 
 gudge the World at thy fecond Coming, 
 Thou haft faid, Ble{f2d are thofe that mourn, 
 and woe unto thofe who have recesvd their 
 Confolation. My Language was direG@ly op- 
 pofite: Woe unto thofe that mourn, Happy 
 thofe who abound in Confolations and Fn- 
 joyments: thofe who poffefs a plentiful Por- 
 tane, a glorious Name, an uninterrupted 
 Health, and unbroken Vigour. And for 
 what Reafon could I make thefe Advan- 
 tages the Standards of Happimefs, but be- 
 caufe they furnifh’d their Owners with a 
 more large Capacity of enjoying the Crea- 
 tures: that is, of offending thee. Thus for 
 Health in particular, I confefs, O Lord, 
 that I efteem’d it a Good, not becaufe it 
 fapplied more eafy Means of profiting ina 
 Courfe of Holinefs, of exhaufting more Cares 
 and more Watchings m thy Service, or in 
 the Affiftance of my Neighbours; but be- - 
 caufe under its Protection 1 might abandon 
 my felf, with lefs Reftraint, to the Delica- 
 cies of Life, and receive a quicker Relith of 
 pernicious and fatal Pleafures. Grant, O 
 Lord, that 1 may reform my corrupted Rea- 
 fon, and rectify my Sentiments by. thine: 
 that I may judge my felf Happy in Afici- 
 ons, 
 
368 Monfieur PascAu’s 
 
 ons, and that under this my Difability as to 
 external Actions, thou mayft fo purify my 
 Thoughts and Intention, as to reconcile them 
 to thy own; that I may thus find thee with- 
 in myfelf, while my Weaknefs incapacitates 
 me from feeking thee without. For, 
 Lord, thy Kingdom is in the Hearts of the 
 Faithful; nor fhall my Heart be debarr’d 
 from perceiving and enjoying it in it felf, if 
 it may be firft replenifh’d with thy Spirit, 
 and with thy Wifdom. 
 
 X. 
 
 TD UT, O Lord, by what Means fhall I 
 engage thee to pour down thy Spirit 
 
 upon this miferable Soul? All that I have, 
 all that Iam, is odious to thee; nor can L 
 difcover in myfelf the leaft Foundation of 
 Union and Agreement. I fee nothing, O 
 Lord, but my Sufferings, which have a 
 Refemblance with thine. . Look therefore 
 on the Evils T now labour under, and thofe 
 which threaten me with their Approach. 
 Behold with an Eye of Pity, the Wounds 
 which thy Hand has made. O my Sa 
 viour, who lovedft thy own Sufferings, 
 even to Death: O Gop, who for no other 
 Caufe becameft Man, but that thou might’ft 
 fuffer more than mere Man could undergo 
 for human Salvation: O Gop, who a 
 theree 
 
Praver in Sicknefs, 369 
 
 therefore Incarnate fince the Fall of Man 
 by Sin, and didft therefore affume our Bo- 
 dy, that thou might’ft feel all the Evils 
 which Sin had deferv’d. O Gop, who fo 
 loveft Bodies exercis’d with Sufferings, as 
 to have chofen for thy felf a Body loaded 
 with the moft grievous Sufferings this World 
 can exhibit, be pleafed favourably to accept 
 of my Body, not for its own fake, nor for 
 all that it contains ; for all deferves thy 
 Wrath ; but on account of the Evils it en- 
 dures, which alone can deferve thy Love. 
 May my Sufferings be pleafing to thee, and 
 my Afflictions invite thee to vifitme. But 
 to compleat the Preparation for thy Re- 
 ception and Stay, Grant, O my Saviour, 
 that as my Body has this in common with 
 thine to fuffer for Sin, fo my Mind may 
 have this likewife in common with thy 
 Mind, to be forrowful for Sin; and that 
 thus I may fuffer with thee and like thee, 
 both in my Body and in my Mind, for my 
 numberlefs Tranfgreffions. 
 
 XI. 
 
 Rant me, O Lord, the Grace of join- 
 
 ing thy Confolations tomy Suffer- 
 
 ings, that I may fuffer like a Chriftian. 1 
 pray not to be exempted from.Pain; for this 
 is the glorious sani Bey of Saints: but I 
 
 a pray 
 
370. Monfieur Pascaus 
 
 pray that I may not be abandon’d to the Pains 
 of Nature without the Comforts of thy Spirit ; 
 for this is the Curfe of Jews and Pagans. 
 I pray not to enjoy a perfect Fulnefs of Com- 
 fort, without any Allay of Sufferings; for 
 that is the noble Prerogative of a Life of 
 Glory ; neither pray I for a perfeét Fulnefs 
 of Sufferings without any Mixture of Com- 
 fort; for that’s a State of Jewifh Darknefs 
 and Mifery: But I pray, O Lord, that I 
 may feel at once, both the Pains of Nature 
 for my Sins, and the Confolations. of Grace 
 by thy Spirit; for that’s the true State of 
 Chriftianity. O, may I never feel Pain 
 without Comfort! but may I fo feel them 
 together, as at length to feel thy Comforts 
 only without my Pains! for fo, O Lord, 
 thou didft leave the whole World to lan- 
 guifh under natural Suffetings, ‘till the Com- 
 ing of thy Son: but now ‘thou comforteft 
 and fweetneft the Sufferings of thy Servants 
 by his Grace, and filleft thy Saints with 
 pure Beatitudes in his Glory. Thefe are the 
 three wonderful Steps by which thou haft 
 been pleas’d to guide and exalt the Works 
 of thy Provildaces ’ Thou haft rais’d me 
 from the firft; O, conduct me to the fecond ; 
 that I may attain the third! Thy Grace, 
 O Lord, is fufficient for; mee Jp 4) 
 
 XT, 
 
PRAYER in Sicknel. 37% 
 “XH. 
 
 © Uffr me not, O Lord, to continue un- 
 der fuch an Eftrangement from thee, as 
 
 to be able to fefle& on thy Soul, which was 
 forrowful, even to Death ; thy Body which 
 was opprefs’d and overcome by Death, for 
 my Sins; without rejoicing if I may be 
 counted worthy to fuffer in my Body, and 
 inmy Soul. For what can be more fhame= 
 ful, and yet what is more ufual with Chri- 
 ftians, and even with myfelf, than while 
 thou in thy Agony, didft fweat Drops of 
 Blood; for the Expiation of our Offences, 
 we make it our whole Study to live in De- 
 licacy and Eafe? that Chriftians, who pro- 
 fefs a Dependence on thee ; that thofe who, 
 at their Baptifm renounc’d the World to 
 become thy Followers; that thofe who in 
 the Face of the Church have engaged them- 
 felves by a folemn Oath to live and die in, 
 thy Service; that thofe who pretend a Be- 
 lief, that the World perfecuted and crucified 
 thee; that thofe who acknowledge thee to 
 have been expofed to the Wrath of Gop, and 
 to the Cruelty of Men, to, purchafe their’ 
 Redemption ; that thofe who make a daily 
 Confeffion of All this; who confider thy 
 Body as the Sacrifice which was offer’d for 
 their Salyation; who look on the Pleafures 
 2 and 
 
372 Monfieur Pasc avs 
 
 and Sins of the World as the only Caufe of 
 thy Sufferings, and the World itfelf as thy: 
 Murtherer ; fhould yet feek to gratify their 
 Bodies with the fame Pleafures and Sins in 
 the fame World; and that thofe who could 
 not without Horror behold a Perfon caref= 
 fing the Murtherer of his Father, by whofe 
 voluntary. Death the Son is ranfom’d and 
 lives, fhould be able to find Delight and 
 Complacency, as I have done, in the World, 
 which I know to be the Murtherer of Him, 
 whom I own for my Father and my Gop, 
 who was delivered for my Releafement and 
 Safety, and who in his own Perfon fuftain’d 
 the Punifhment due to my Sins ? It was moft 
 juft, O Lord, that thou fhouldft interrupt 
 fo criminal a Joy, as this with which I 
 ’ folaced myfelf under the very Shadow of 
 Death. . 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Ake from me, O Lord, that Sorrow 
 
 which the Love of myfelf may raife 
 
 in me from my Sufferings, and from my un- 
 
 fuccefsful Hopes and Defigns in this World, 
 
 while infenfible and regardlefs of thy Glory. 
 Create in me a Sorrow refembling thy own. ' 
 Let my Pains be, in fome meafure, fervice= . 
 able towards the appeafing of thy Wrath: let 
 - them prove the happy Occafion of my Gon- 
 verfiors 
 
Prayer in Sicknek&. 373 
 
 verfion and my Salvation. Let me not here- 
 after with for Health or Life, but with the 
 Profpeét of {pending both in thee, with thee, 
 and for thee. I pray not that thou wouldft , 
 give me cither Health or Sicknefs, Life or 
 Death; but that thou wouldft difpofe of 
 my Health, my Sicknefs, my Life, and my 
 Death, for thy Glory, and for my own e- 
 ternal Welfare, for the Ufe of the Church, 
 -and the Benefit of thy faithful Servants, into 
 the Number of whom I hope to be admit- 
 ted by thy Grace. Thou alone knoweft 
 what is expedient for me, thou art my So- 
 vereign Mafter and Lord; guide and govern 
 me, at thy Pleafure. Give me, or take from 
 me, as fhall feem beft to thy Providence ; 
 but in all things conform my Will to thine ; 
 and grant that with an humble and perfect 
 Submiffion, and a holy Confidence, £ may 
 - difpofe myfelf to receive the Orders of thy 
 eternal Wifdom; and may. equally reve- 
 rénce and adore the moft different Events 
 which thou fhalt pleafe to accomplifh in - 
 me. . ! 
 
 XIV. 
 
 E T me with aconftant Evennefs and 
 
 # _, Uniformity of Spirit, embrace all thy 
 Ditpofals; for as much as we know not 
 what we ought to ask, and cannot with one 
 Event 
 
274 Monficur Pascats 
 
 Event rather than another without Prefump= 
 tion; and without making ourfelves the 
 Judges and the Sponfors of that Train’ of 
 _ future things which thy Wifdom has fo 
 juftly conceal’d from our View. I know; 
 ‘O Lord, my whole Knowledge may be re+ 
 duced to this one Point, that ’tis good to 
 obey thee, and evil to offend thee. After 
 this, I know not what is the beft, or the 
 worft, amongft all things. I know not 
 which is more profitable for me, Health or 
 Sicknefs, Riches or Poverty; any Condi- 
 tion, any Cireumftances of this World. For 
 fucha Judgment furpafleth the Force and Sa- 
 gacity of Men, and lies hidden amongft the 
 Secrets of thy Providence, which I reve- 
 zence and adore, but will never attempt to 
 trace or penetrate. 
 
 XV: 
 
 Rant, O Lord, that m every Condi- 
 
 tion, EF may conform myfelf to thy 
 Will; and in my prefent Sicknefs glorify 
 thee by my Pains. Without thefe ’tis im- 
 poffible I fhould attain to thy Glory, fince 
 thou thyfelf was not made Perfeéd, but 
 thro’ Sufferings. It was by the Marks of 
 thy Sufferings that thou waft known to thy 
 Difciples: And it is by their Sufferings 
 that thou knoweft who are thy Difciples, 
 Receive 
 
PRAYER in Sicknefs: 375 
 
 Receive me into that blefled Company, - 
 by means of thefe Evils which I endure 
 in Body and Mind for my paft Tranfgref- 
 fions. And becanfe no Sacrifice is accep- 
 table to the Father, unlefs prefented by thee, 
 unite my Will to thine, and my Torments 
 to thofe which thou didft not difdain to un- 
 dergo. Let my Sufferings be interpreted as 
 thine own. Unite me to thyfelf, replenifh 
 me with thyfelf, and with thy Holy Spirit. 
 Enter into my Heart and Soul, there to fu- 
 ftain my Affli€tions, and continue to endure 
 in me what is behind of thy Paflion, which 
 thou ftill fuffereft in thy Members’till the per- 
 fe&t Fulnefs and Confummation of thy Body. 
 So that being infpired and adted by thee, it 
 may be no longer I who live or fuffer, but 
 ‘thou, O my Saviour, who liveft and fuffer- 
 eft in me: and that having thus born fome 
 ‘Share in thy Sufferings, thou mayft admit 
 me to fome ‘Participation of thofe Glories 
 which thou haft acquired by them, and in 
 which, with the Fatherand the Holy Ghoft, 
 thou liyeft and reigneft for ever. Amen. « 
 
 Fe es en de 
 
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