^IOS ANGELA >^ .^^ "p \ % RN INFIDELITY With respedl to iti INFLUENCE ON SOCIE TT: **** ' v,;. V^'-^O-^ ^ \3 'PREACHED BAPTIST MEETING, By ROBERT HALL, A.M. professing, themselves to be wise they became foo\3. ST. plut. Sunt qui in fortunas jam casibiis omnia ponant, Et nullo credant mundum redlore moveri, Natiira volvente vicei et lUfcia, e*t anni ; At^ut idea iatrepidi quaecunque altaria tangunt. JtfV. THE THIRD EDITION. PRINTED BY M. WATSON; AND SOLD BY" J. DEIGHTON, AND O. GREGORY? BY j. JAMES, BRISTOL; w. BUTTON, PATERNOSTER-ROW, r. CONUER, BUCKLERSBURY, AWD W. H. LUNM, OXFORD-STREET, LONDON. 1800. *' / -^ ' Stack Annex PREFACE. JL HE Author knows not whether it be necessary to apologize for the extraordinary length of this Sermon, which so much exceeds the usual limits of public discourses; for it is only for the Reader to conceive, (by a fiction of the imagination, if he pleases so to consider it,) that the patience of his Audience indulged him with their attention during its delivery. The fact is, not being in the habit of writing his sermons, this discourse was not com- mitted to paper till after it was delivered ; so that the phraseology may probably vary, and the bulk be somewhat extended; but the sub- stance is certainly retained. He must crave the indulgence of the Religi- ous Public for having blended so little theology with it. He is fully aware, the chief atten- tion of a Christian Minister should be occu- pied in explaining the doctrines, and enforcing the duties, of genuine Christianity ; nor is he A 2 chargeable, vi.] PREFACE, object of modern Sceptics; the firft Sophist-, who have avowed an attempt to govern the world without inculcating the persuasion of a superior power. ---It might well excite our surprise, to behold an effort to fhake off the yoke of Religion, which was totally unknown during the prevalence of gross superstition, reserved for a period of the world distinguish- ed from every other by the possession of a Revelation more pure, perfect, and better authenticated, than the enlightened sages of antiquity ever ventured to anticipate, were we not fully persuaded the immaculate holi- ness of this Revelation is precisely that which renders it disgusting to men who are deter- mined at all events to retain their vices. Our Saviour furnishes the solution j they love dark- ness rather than lighf\because their deeds ar-e evil ; neither will tffKlbme to the light lest their deeds should be reproved. While all the Religions, the Jewish ex- eepted, which, previous to the promulgation of Christianity, prevailed in the world, partly the contrivance of human policy, partly the offspring of ignorant fear, mixed with the mutilated PREFACE vii/J mutilated remains of traditionary revelation, were favourable to the indulgence of some vices, and but feebly restrained the practice of others; betwixt vice of every sort and in every degree, and the Religion of Jesus, there sub- sists an irreconcileable enmity, an eternal dis- cord. The dominion of Christianity being, in the very essence of it, the dominion of virtue, we need look no farther for the sources of hostility in any who oppose it, than their attachment to vice and disorder. This view of the controversy, if it be just, demonstrates its supreme importance, and fur- nishes the strongest plea with every one with whom it is not a matter of indifference whe- ther vice or virtue, delusion or truth, govern tj^e world, to exert his talents in whatever proportion they are possessed, in contending earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. In such a crisis, is it not best for Christians of all denominations, that they may better concentrate their forces against the common adversary, to suspend, for the present, their internal disputes, imitating the policy of wise states, who have never failed to viii.] PREFACE to consider the invasion of an enemy as the signal for terminating the contests of party ? Internal peace i> the best fruit we c.in reap from external danger. The momentous co-i- test at issue betwixt the Christian Church and Infidels, may instruct us how trivial, for the most part, are the controversies of its mem- bers with each other, and that the different ceremonies, opinions and practices, by whL-'i they are distinguished, correspond to the v.i- ,riety of feature and complexion, discern i in the offspring of the same Parent, among whom there subsists the greateft family like- ness. May it please God so to dispose the minds of Christians of every visible church and community, that Epbraim no longer vexing Judah^ nor yudah Ephraim, the oniv rivalry felt in future may be, who shall mo.,c vance the interests of our common Christi- anity, and the only provocation sustained, that of provoking each other to love and good '.('//---When, at the distance of more than half a century, Christianity was assaulted, by a Woohton^ a Tindal^ and a Morgan^ it wa^ ably supported, both by Clergymen of the Established PREFACE. t lX * Establisfhed Church, and writers among Pro- testant Dissenters ; the labours of a Clarke and a Buffer, were associated with thofe of a Doddridge, a Letand, and a Lardner^ with such equal reputation and success, as to make it evident that the intrinsic excellence of Reli- gion needs not the aid of external appendages ; but that, with or without a dowry, her charms are of sufficient power to fix and engage the heart. The writer of this discourse will feel him- self happy, should his example stimulate any of his brethren, of superior abilities, to contri- bute their exertions in so good a cause. His apology for not entering more at large, into the proofs of the being of a God*, and the evi- dences of Christianity f> is, that these sub- * See an excellent Sermon on Atheism, by the Rev. Mr. Eftlin, of Bristol, at whose Meeting the substance of this dis- course was first preached. In the sermon referred to, the argument for the existence of a Deity, is stated with the ut- most clearness and precision, and the sophistry of Dupuis, a French Infidel, refuted in a very satisfactory manner. f It is almost superfluous to name a work so universafly known as Dr. Palest Ke-iu of the Evidences of Christianity, which is, probably, without exception, the most clear and satisfactory statement of the Historical proofs of the Christian Religion, ever exhibited in any age or country. B jeds *] PREFACE* \ jects have been already handled with great ability by various writers, and that he wished rather to confine himself to one view of the subject, the total incompatibility of Scepti- cal principles with the existence of Society. Should his life be spared, he may probably, at some future time, enter into a fuller and more particular examination of the Infidel Philosophy, both with respect to its specula- tive principles, and its practical effects ; its influence on society and on the individual. In the mean time, he humbly consecrates this discourse to the honour of that Saviour, who, when the means of a more liberal offering are wanting, commends the widow's mite. Cambridge, January 18. P. S. The Author has availed himself of the opportunity afforded by a new impression, to correct some errors which had crept unawares in tothe first edition, as well as to make a few other alterations too trivial to be specified. ASER- A SERMON, ON EPHESIANS,ii. 12. Without God in the World. A. S the Chriftian miniftry is eftablifhed for the inftrudUon of men, throughout every age, in truth and holinefs, it muft adapt itfelf to the ever fliift- ing fcenes of the moral world, and Hand ready to repel the attacks of impiety and error, under what* ever form they may appear. The Church and the World form two focieties fo diftinc~r, and governed by fuch oppofite principles and maxims, that, as well from this contrariety as from the exprefs warnings of Scripture, true Chriftians muft look for a ftate of warfare, with this confoling aflu ranee, that the Church, like the burning bum beheld by Mofes in the land of Midian, may be encompalTed with flames, but will never beconfumed. When (he was delivered from the perfecuting power of Rome, (he only experienced a change of trials. The oppreffion of external violence was followed by the more dangerous and infidious at- tacks of internal enemies. The freedom of en- quiry qulry claimed and aflerted at the reformation, de- generated, in the hands of men who profefled the principles without poffeffing the fpirit of the re- formers, into a fondnefs for fpeculative refine- ments, and confequently into a fource of difpute, faction and herefy. While proteftants attended more to the points on which they differed, than to thofe in which they agreed, while mor'e zeal was employed in fettling ceremonies and defending fubtleties, then in enforcing plain revealed truths, the lovely fruits of peace and charity perimed un- der the ftorms of controverfy. In this disjointed and difordered ftate of the Chriftian Church, they who never looked into the interior of Chriftianity, were apt to fufpect, that to a fubject fo fruitful in particular difputes, muft attach a general uncertainty, and that a religion founded on revelation, could never have occafion- ed fuch difcordancy of principle and practice a- mongft its difciples. Thus Infidelity is the joint offspring of an irreligious temper and unholy fpe- culation, employed, not in examining the Eviden- ces of Chriftianity, but in detecting the vices and imperfections of profeffing Chriftians. It has pas- fed through various flagcs, each diftinguifhed by higher gradations of impiety ; for when men arro- gantly abandon their guide, and wilfully (hut their eyes ( '3 ) eyes on the light of heaven, it is wifely ordained that their errors (hall multiply at every ftep, until their extravagance confutes itfelf, and the mifchief of their principles works its own antidote. That fuch has been the progrefs of Infidelity will be ob- vious from a flight furvey of its hiftory : Lord Herbert, the firft and purefl of our En- glifh Free-thinkers, who flourifhed in the begin, ning of the reign of Charles the Firft, did not fo much impugn the doctrine or the morality of the fcriptures, as attempt to fuperfede their neceflity, by endeavouring to mew, that the great principles of the unity of God, a moral government, and a future world, are taught with fufficient clearnefs by the light of nature. Bolivgbroke and others of his fucceflbrs advanced much farther, and at- tempted to invalidate the proofs of the moral cha- racter of the Deity, and confequently all expecta- tions of rewards and punifhments, leaving the Supreme Being no other perfections than thofe which belong to a firft caufe or almighty contri- ver. After him, at a confiderable diftance, fol- lowed Hume, the moft fubtle, if not the moft phi- lofophical of the Deifts, who, by perplexing the relations of caufe and effect, boldly aimed to in- troduce an univerfal Scepticifm, and to pour a more than Egyptian darknefs into the whole regi- on ( u ) on of morals. Since his time, Sceptical writers have fprung up in abundance, and Infidelity has allured multitudes to its flandard ; the young and fuperficial by its dexterous fophiftry, the vain by the literary fame of its champions, and the pro- fligate by the licentioufnefs of its principles. A- theifm, the moft undifguifed, has at length begun to make its appearance. Animated by numbers and emboldened by fuc- cefs, the Infidels of the prefent day have given a new direction to their efforts, and imprefTed a new character on the ever growing mafs of their impi- ous fpeculations. By uniting more clofely with each other, by giv- ing a fprirfkling of irreligion to all their literary productions, they aim to engrofs the formation of the public mind, and, amidft the warmeft profes- fions of attachment to virtue, to effect an entire difruption of morality from religion. Pretending to be the teachers of virtue and the guides of life, they propofe to revolutionize the morals of man- kind, to regenerate the world by a procefs entirely new, and to rear the temple of virtue, not merely without the aid of religion, but on the renuncia- tion of its principles and the derifion of its fanc- tions. Their party has derived a great acceflion of numbers and ftrength, from events the moft ma- mentous ( '5 ) mentous and aftonifhing in the political world, which have divided the fentiments of Europe be- twixt hope and terror, and, however they may if- fue, have, for the prefent, fwelled rhe tanks of In- fidelity. So rapidly, indeed, has it advanced fince this crifis, that a great majority on the continent, and in England a confiderable proportion, of thofe who purfue literature as a profeflion *, may juflly be coniidered as the open or difguifed abettors of Atheifm. With refpect to the fceptical and religious fys- tems, the inquiry at prefent is not fo much which is the trueft in fpeculation, as which is the moft ufe- ful in practice ; or in other words, whether mora- lity will be beft promoted, by confidering it as part of a great and comprehenfive law, emanating from the will of a fupreme, omnipotent legiflator ; or as a mere expedient adapted to our prefent fitu- ation, enforced by no other motives than thofe which arife from the profpects and interefts of the prefent ftate. The abfurdity of Atheifm having been demonftrated fo often and fo clearly by many eminent men, that this part of the fubject is ex- haufted, I mould haften immediately to what I * By thofe who purfue literature as a profeflion, the Author would be underftood to mean that numerous clafs ofliterary men, who draw their principal fubfiftence from their writings. have ( 16 ) have more particularly in view, were I not appre- henfive a di-fcourfe of this kind may be expected tocontain fome ftatemcnt of the argument in proof of a Deity, which, therefore, I mall prefent in as few and plain words as poffible. When we examine a watch, or any other piece of machinery, we inftantly perceive marks of de- fign. The arrangement of its feveral parts and the adaptation of its movements to onerefult, mew it to be a contrivance ; nor do we ever imagine the fa- culty of contriving to be in the watch itfelf, but in a feparate agent. If we turn from art to nature, xve behold a vaft magazine of contrivances, we fee innumerable objects replete with the moft exquifite defign. The human eye, for example, is formed, with admirable fkill for the purpofe of fight ; the ear for the function of hearing. As in the pro- ductions of art, we never think of afcribing the power of contrivance to the machine itfelf, fo we are certain the fkill difplayed in the human ftruc- ture, is not a property of man, fince he is very im- perfectly acquainted with his own formation. If there be an in-feparable relation betwixt the ideas of a contrivance and a contriver, and it be evident in regard to the human ftructure the defigning a- gent is not man himfelf, there muft undeniably be tome feparate invilible Being who is his former. This ( '7 ) This great Being we mean to indicate by the ap- pellation of Deity. This reafoning admits but of one reply. Why, it will be faid, may we not fuppofe the world has always continued as it is ; that is, that there has been a conftant fucceflion of finite beings, appear- ing and difappearing on the earth from all eterni- ty ? I anfwer, whatever is fuppofed to have oc- cafioned -this conftant fucceflion, excluftve of an intelligent caufe, will aever account for the unde- niable marks of defign, vifible in all finite Beings; nor is the abfurdity of fuppofing a contrivance without a contriver diminished by this imaginary fucceflion, but rather increafed by being repeated at every ftep of the feries. Befides, an eternal fucceflion of finite beings in- volves in it a contradiction, and is, therefore, plain- ly impoffible. As the fuppofition is made to get quit of the idea of any one having exifted from, eternity, each of the beings in the fucceflion muft have begun in time j but the fucceflion itfelf is eternal. We have then, a fucceflion of beings in- finitely earlier than any being in the fucceflion j or, in other words, a feries of beings running on ad itifinitum, before it reached any particular be- ing; which is abfurd. C, From From thefe confiderations, it is manifeft there muft be fome eternal Being, or nothing could ever have exifted ; and fince the beings which we be- hold, bear in their whole ftructure evident marks of wifdom and defign, it is equally certain that he who formed them is a wife and intelligent agent. To prove the unity of this great Being, in op- pofition to a plurality of Gods, it is not neceffary to have recourfe to metaphyfical abftractions :" it isfufficient to obferve that the notion of more than one author of nature is inconfiflent with that har- mony of defign which pervades her works, that it folves no appearances, is fupported by no evidence, and ferves no purpofe but to embarrafs and perplex our conceptions. Such are the proofs of the exiftence of that great and glorious Being whom we denominate God : and it is not prefumption to fay, it is impoffible to find another truth in the whole compafs of morals, which according to the jufteft laws of reafoning, admits of fuch ftrict and rigorous demonftration. But I proceed to the more immediate object of this difcourfe, which, as has been already intima- ted, is not fo much to evince the falmood of Seep- ticilm as a theory, as to difplay its mifchievous effects, contrafted with thofe which refult from the belief of a Deity and a future ftate. The fubject viewed ( '9 ) viewed in this light, may be confidered under two afpects ; the influence of the oppofite fyftems on the principles of morals, and on the formation of character ; the firft may be fliled their direct, tlie latter, their equally important, but indirect confe- quence and tendency, I. The fceptical or irreligious fyftem fubverts the whole foundation of morals. It may be affirmed as a maxim, that no perfon can be required to act contrary to his greateftgood, or his higheft inter- eft, comprehenfively viewed in relation to the whole duration of his being. It is often our duty to forego our own intereft/>rfr//W/y ; to facrifice a fmaller pleafure for the fake of a greater ; to incur a prefent evil in purfuit of a diftant good of more confequence ; in a word, to arbitrate, amongft in- terfering claims of inclination, is the moral arith- metic of human life. But to rifque the happinefs of the whole duration of our being in any cafe whatever, admitting it to be poflible, would be foolifh, becaule the facrifice muft, by the nature of it, be fo great as to preclude the poffibility of compenfation. As the prefent world upon fceptical principles, is the only place of recompence, whenever th$ practice of virtue fails to promife the greateft fum of prefent good, cafes which often occur in reality, c 2. and ( 20 ) and much oftener in appearance, every motive to virtuous conduct is fuperfeded, a deviation from rectitude becomes the part of wifdom $ and mould the path of virtue, in addition to this, be obftruct- ed by difgrace, torment or death, to perfevere would be madnefs and folly, and a violation of the firfl and moft effential law of nature. Virtue on thefe principles, being in numberlefs inftances, at war with felf-prefervation, never can or ought to become a fixed habit of the mind. The fyftem of Infidelity is not only incapable of arming virtue for great and trying occafions ; but leaves it unfupported in the moft ordinary occur-^ rences. In vain will its advocates appeal to amo- ral fenfe, to benevolence and fympathy ; in vain will they expatiate on the tranquillity and pleafure attendant on a virtuous courfe ; for it is undenia- ble that thefe impulfes may be overcome, and though you may remind the offender, that in dif- regarding them he has violated his nature, and that a conduct confident with them is productive of much internal fatisfaction ; yet, if he reply that his tafle is of a different fort, that there are other gra- tifications which he values. more, and that every man muft choofe his own pleafures, the argument is at an end. Rewards and puni foments awarded by omnipo- tent power, afford a palpable and preffing motive, which which can never be neglected without renouncing the character of a rational creature j but taftes and reliflies are not to be prefcribed. A motive in which the reafon of man ftiall ac- quiofce, enforcing the practice of virtue, at all times and feafons, enters into the very eflence of moral obligation ; modern Infidelity fupplies no fuch motive ; it is, therefore, eflentially and infalli- bly a fyftem of enervation, turpitude and vice. This chafm in the conftruction of morals, can only be 'fupplied by the firm belief af a rewarding and avengiog Deity, who binds duty and happi- nefs, though they may feem diftant, in an indiflb- luble chain, without which, whatever ufurps the name of. virtue, is not a principle, but a feeling, not a determinate rule, but a fluctuating expedi- ent, varying with the taftes of individuals, and changing with the fcenes of life. Nor is this ihe only way in which Infidelity Tub- verts the foundation of morals. All reafon ing on morals, pre-fuppoles a diftinction betwixt inclina- tions and duties, affections and rules : the former prompt, the latter prefcribe ; the former fupply motives to action, the latter regulate and control it. Hence, it is evident, if virtue has any juft claim to authority, it muft be under the latter of thefe notions, that is, under the character of a law. It is under this notion, in f aft, that its dominion has ( 22 ) has ever been acknowledged to be paramount and iupreme. But without the intervention of a fuperior will, it is impoffible there fliould be any moral laws, ex- cept in the lax, metaphorical fenfe. in which we fpeak of the laws of matter and motion : men be- ing effentially equal, morality is, on thefe princi- ples, only a flipulation or filent compact, into which every man is fuppofed to enter, as far as f bits his convenience, and for the breach of which he is accountable to nothing but his own mind. His own mind is his law, his tribunal and his judge, Two confluences, the mod difaflrous to focie- ty, will inevitably follow the general prevalence of this fyflem : the frequent perpetration of great crimes, and the total abfence of great virtues. I. In thofe conjunctures which tempt avarice or inflame ambition, when a crime flatters with the profpecl of impunity, and the certainty of immenfe advantage, what is to reftrain an Atheift from its O ' commiffion ? To fay that remorfe will deter him, is abfurd ; for remorfe, as diftinguimed from pity, is the fole offspring of religious belief, the extinc- tion of which is the great purpofe of the Infidel philofophy. The dread ofpunimment or infamy from his fellow creatures, will be an equally ineffectual bar- rier, becaufe crimes are only committed under fuch circumftances as fuggeftthe hope of concealment ; not to fay that crimes themielves will foon lofe their infamy and their horror, under the influence of that fyftem which deftroys the fanctity of virtue, by converting it into a low calculation of worldly intereft:. Here the fenfe of an ever prefent Ruler, and of an avenging Judge, is of the mod awful and indifpenfible neceflity, as it is that alone which impreffes on all crimes the character of folly, (hews that duty and intereft in every inftance coincide, and that the moft profperons career of vice, the moft brilliant fucceffes of criminality, are but an acciimnlation of wrath, again ft the day of wrath. As the frequent perpetration of great crimes is an inevitable confequen,ce of the difTufion of fcep- tical principles, fo to underftand this confequence in its full extent, we muft look beyond their im- mediate effects, and consider the difruption of fo- cial ties, the deftruction of confidence, the terror, fufpicion and hatred, which muft prevail in that ftate of (ociety in which barbarous deeds are fami- liar. The tranquillity which pervades a well order- ed community, aud the mutual good offices which bind its members together, is founded on the im- plied confidence in the indifpofition to annoy, in the juftice, humanity and moderation of thofe a- mong whom we dwell ; fo that the worft confe- quence quence of crimes is, that they impair the flock of public charity and general tendernefs, The dread and hatred of our fpecies would infallibly be grafted on a conviction that we were expofed, every mo- ment to the furges of an unbridled ferocity, and that nothing but the power of the magiftrate flood between us and the daggers of affaffins. In fuch a flate, laws deriving no fupport from public man- ners, are unequal to the talk of curbing the fury of the paffions, which from being concentrated into felfifhnefs, fear, and revenge, acquire new force ; terror and fufpicion beget cruelty, and inflict inju- ries by way of prevention ; pity is extinguifhed in the flronger impulfe of felf-prefervation , the ten- der and generous affections are cruthed, and no- thing is feen but the retaliation of wrongs, the fierce and unmitigated ftruggle for fuperiority. This is but a faint fketch of the incalculable cala~ mities and horrors we muft expect, fhould we be fo unfortunate as ever to witnefs the triumph of modern Infidelity 2. This fyftem is a foil as barren of great and fublime virtues, as it is prolific in crimes. By great and fublime virtues are meant, thofe which are called into action on great and trying occafions, which demand the facrifice of the deareft imerefts and profpects of human life, and fometimes of life, itfelf t the virtues, in a word, which by their rarity and ( =5 ) and iplendour draw admiration, and have render* ed illuflrious the character of patriots, martyrs, and confeflbrs. It requires but little reflection to per- ceive, that whatever veils a future world, and contrails the limits of exiftence within the prefent life, mufttend, in a proportionable degree, to dt- minifh the grandeur and narrow the fphere of human agency. As well might you expect exalted fentimentsof juftice from a profefled gamefter, as look for no- ble principles in the man whofe hopes and fears are all fufpended on the prefent moment, and who flakes the whole happinefs of his being on the events of this vain and fleeting life. If he is ev* er impelled to the performance of great atchieve- ments in a good caufe, it muft be folely by the hope of fame ; a motive which, befides that it makes virtue the fervant of opinion, ufually grows Weaker at the approach of death, and which, how- ever it may furmount the love of exiftence, in the heat of battle, or in the moment of public obfervation, can feldom be expected to operate with much force on the retired duties of a private ftation. In affirming that Infidelity is unfavourable to the higher clafs of virtues; we are fupported as well by facts as by reafoning. We fliould be for- ry to load our adverfaries with unmerited reproach ; D but but to what hiftory, to what recoid, will they ap- peal, for the traits of moral greatnefs, exhibited by their difciples ? Where fhall we look for the trophies of infidel magnanimity, or atheiflical vir- tue ? Not that we mean to accufe them of inac- tivity : they have recently filled the world with the fame of their exploits ; exploits of a different kind indeed, but of imperiihable memory and dif- aftrous luflre. Though it is confeffed great and fplendid ac- tions are not the ordinary employment of life, but muft, from their nature, be referved for high and eminent occafions, yet, that fyftem is effentially defective which leaves no room for their cultiva- tion. They are important, both from their im" mediate advantage and their remoter influence' They often fave and always illuftrate, the age and nation in which they appear. They raife the ftandard of morals ; they arrefl theprogrefs of de- generacy y they diffufe a luftre over the path of life : monuments of the greatnefs of the human foul, they prefent to the world the aueuft ima^e o ^ O f virtue in her fublimeft form, from which ftreams of light and glory iflue to remote times and ages : while their commemoration, by the pen ofhifto- rians and poets, awakens in diftant bofoms the (parks of kindred excellence. Combine Combine the frequent and familiar perpetration of atrocious deeds, with the dearth of great and generous actions, and you have the exact picture of that condition of fociety, which completes the degradation of the fpecies ; the frightful contrail of dwarhTn virtues and gigantic vices, where every thing good is mean and little, and every thing evil is rank and luxuriant ; a dead and fickening uni- formity prevails, broken only at intervals by vol- canic eruptions of anarchy and crime. II. Hitherto we have confidered the influence of Scepticifm on the principles of virtue ; and have endeavoured to (hew that it defpoils it of its dignity, and lays its authority in the duft : its in- fluence on the formation of character remains to be examined. The actions of men are oftener de- termined by their character than their intereft : their conduct takes its colour more from their ac- quired tafte, inclinations, and habits, than from a deliberate regard to their greateft good. It is only on great occafions the mind awakes, to take an. extended furvey of her whole conrfe, and tha-t flic fuffers the dictates of reafon to imprefs a new bias upon her movements ; the actions of each day, are for the mod part, links which follow each other in the chain of cuftom. Hence the great effort of practical wifdom is to imbue the mind with right D 2. taftes, taftes, affections and habits ; the elements of cha* rafter, and mafters of aftion. The exclufion of a fupreme Being and of a fu- perintending Providence, tends dire<5Uy to the de- ftru&ion of moral tafte. It robs the univerfe of all finifhed and confummate excellence, even in idea. The admiration of perfect wifdom and goodnefs, for which we are formed, and which kindles fuch unfpeakable rapture in the foul, find- ing in the regions of Scepdcifm nothing to which it correfponds, droops and languishes. In a world which prefents a fair fpeclacle of order and beauty, of a vaft family riourifhed and fupported by an almighty Parent, in a world which leads the de- vout mind ftep by ftep, to the contemplation of the fir ft fair and the firft good, the Sceptic is en- compafled with nothing but obfcurity, meannefs and diforder. When we reflecl: on the manner in which the idea of Deity is formed, we muft be convinced that fuch an idea, intimately prefent'to the mind, muft have a moft powerful effect in refining the moral tafte. Compofed of the richeft elements, it embraces, in the character of a benificent Parent, and almighty Ruler, whatever is venerable in wif- cjom, whatever is awful in authority, whatever is. touching in goodnefs. Human excellence is blended with many im. per- perfections, and feen under many limitations ; it is beheld only in detached and feparate portions, nor ever appears in any one character whole and entire : fo that, when, in imitation of the Stoics, we wim to form out of thefe fragments the notion of a perfectly wife and good man, we know it is a mere fiftion of the mind, without any real being in whom it is embodied and realized. In the be- lief of a Deity thefe conceptions are reduced to re- ality : the fcattered rays of an ideal excellence are concentrated, and become the real attributes of that Being with whom we (land in the neareft rela- tion, who fits fupreme at the head of the univerfe, J s armed with infinite power, and pervades all na- ture v/ith his prefence. The efficacy of thefe fentiments in producing and augmenting a virtuous tafte, will indeed be proportioned to the vividnefs with which they are formed, and the frequency with which they recur ; yet fome benefit will nor fail to refult from them, even in their lowed degree. The idea of the fupreme Being, has this peculiar property, that as it admits of no fubftitute, fo from the firft moment it is imprefled, it is capable of continual growth and enlargement. God himfelf js immutable ; but our conception of his character is continually receiving frefh acceffions, is conti- nually growing more extended and refulgent, by having ( 30 ) having transferred upon it new perceptions of beauty and goodnefs, by attracting to itfelf, as a centre, whatever bears the imprefs of dignity, or- der or happinefs. It borrows fplendour from all that is fair, fubordinates to itfelf ail that is great, and fits enthroned on the riches of the univerfe. As the object of worlhip will always be the ob- ject of imitation, hence arifes a fb;ed flandard of moral excellence, by the contemplation of which, the tendencies to corruption are counteracted, the contagion of bad example is checked, and human nature rifes above its natural level. When the knowledge of God was loft in the world, juft ideas of virtue and moral obligation difappeared along with it. How is it to be other- wile accounted for, that in the polifhed nations, and in the enlightened times of Pagan antiquity, the moil unnatural lufts and deteftable impurities were not only tolerated in private life*, but enter- * It is worthy of obfervation, that the elegant and philo- fophic Xcaophon, in delineating the model of a perfedl Prince in the charafter of Cyrus, introduces a Mede who had formed an unnatural paffion for his hero, and relates the incident in a lively, feftive humour, without being in the leaft confcious of any indelicacy attached to it. What muft be the ftate of manners in a country where a circumitance of this kind, feign- ed, no doubt, by way of ornament, finds a place in fuch a work? Cjri Injlit. Lib. I. ed ( 3' ) ed into religion, and formed a material part of pub- lic worfhip-f" ; while among the Jews, a people fo much inferior in every other branch of knowledge, the fame vices were regarded with horror ? The reafon is this; the true character of God was unknown to the former, which, by the light of divine revelation, was imparted to the latter. The former cad their deities in the mould of their own imaginations, in confequence of which they partook of the vices and defects of their worlliip- pers : to the latter, no fcope was left for the wander- ings of fancy, but a pure and perfect model was prefcribed. Falfe and corrupt, however, as was the religion of the Pagans (if it deferve the name), and de- fective, and often vicious, as was the character of their imaginary deities, it was ftill better for the world, for the void of knowledge to be filled with thefe, then abandoned to a total Scepticifm; for if both fyftems are equally falfe, they are not equally pernicious. When the fictions of heathen- Deiflde nobis qui conctdentilus fhilofophis antiquis, adolefcen- tulis deleftamur etiam vitia fepe jucunda funt. Cicero De Nat. Dei. Lib. i. f Nam quo non projiat famina templo, Juv. The impurities praftifed in the worfhip of Ifis, an Egyp- tian Deity, rofe to fuch a height, in the reign of Tiberius, that that profligate Prince thought fit to prohibit her worfliip, and at the fame time inflifted on her priefts the punifhment of Crucifixion. Jofefb. Antiquit. Judaic. .18. ifm ( 32 ) ifni confecrated the memory of its legiflators and heroes, it inverted them for the mod part with thofe qualities which were in the greateft repute* They were fuppofed to poffefs in the higheft de- gree the virtues in which it was mod honourable to excel, and to be the witnefTes, approvers and patrons of thofe perfections in others, by which their own charafter was chiefly didinguimed- Men faw, or rather fancied they faw, in thefe fup^ pofed deities, the qualities they mod admired dilated 10 a larger fize, moving in a higher fphcre and aflbciated with the power, dignity and hap- pinefs of fuperior natures. With fuch ideal mo- dels before them, and conceiving themfelves con- tinually acting under the eye of fuch Spectators and judges, they felt a real elevation : their eloquence became more impaffioned, their patriotifm inflam- ed, and their courage exalted. Revelation, by difplaying the true character of God, affords a pure and perfect dandard of virtue ; heathenifm, one in many refpects defective and vi- cious ; the fafhionable fcepticifm of the prefent day, which excludes the belief of all fuperior pow- ers, affords no dandard at all. Human nature knows nothing better or higher than itfelf, All above and around it being (hrouded in darknefs, and the profpecl: confined to the tame realities of life, virtue has no room upwards to expand, nor are ( 33 ) are any excurfions permitted into that unfeen world, the true element of the great and good, by which it is fortified with motives equally calcu- lated to fatisfy the reafon, to delight the fancy, and to imprefs the heart. II. .Modern Infidelity not only tends to corrupt, the moral tafte ; it allb promotes the growth of thofe vices which are the moil hoftile to focial happinefs. Of all the vices incident to human nature, the mod deftru&ive to fociety are vanity, ferocity, and unbridled fenfuality; and thefe are precifely the vices which Infidelity is calculated to cherim. That the love, fear, and habitual contemplation of a being infinitely exalted, or in other words, Devotion, is adapted to promote a fober and mode- rate eftimate of our own excellencies, is incontef- tiblej nor is it lefs evident, that the exclufion of iuch fentiments muft be favourable to pride.' The criminality of pride will, perhaps, be lefs readily- admitted; for though there is no vice fo oppolite to the fpirit of Chriftianity, yet there is none which, even in the Chriftian world, has, under various pretences, been treated with fo much indulgence. There is, it will be confefled, a delicate fenfibility to character, a fober defire of reputation, a wifli to poflefs the efteem of the wife and good, felt by the pureft minds, and which is at the fartheft remove from arrogance or vanity. The humility of a noble . E mind ( 34 ) mind fcarcely dares to approve of irfelf, until it has fecured the approbation of others. Very dif- ferent is that reftlcfs defire of difti nation, that paf- fion for theatrical difplay, which inflames the heart and occupies the whole attention of vain men. This, of all the paflions, is the mod unibcial, avarice itfelf not excepted. The reafon is plain- Property is a kind of good, which may be more eafily attained, and is capable of more minute fub- divifions, than fame. In the purfuit of wealth, men are led by an attention to their own intereft to promote the welfare of each other; their advan- tages are reciprocal ; the benefits which each is anxious to acquire for himfelf, he reaps in the greateft abundance from the union and conjunc- tion of fociety. The purfuits of vanity are quite contrary. The portion of time and attention man- kind are willing to fpare from their avocations and pleafures, to devote to the admiration of each other is fo fmall, that every fucceisful adventurer is felt to have impaired the common flock. The fuc- cefs of one is the difappointment of multitudes. For though there be many rich, many virtuous, many wife men, fame muft necefTarily be the portion of but few. Hence every vain man, every man in whom vanity is the ruling paflion, regarding his rival as his enemy, is flrongly tempted to rejoice in his mifcarriage and repine at his fuccefs. Befides, ( 35 > Belides, as the paflions are feldom feen in a fim- ple, uumixed ftate, fo vanity, when it fucceeds* degenerates into arrogance; when it is difappoint- ed (and it is often difappointed), it is exafperated into malignity and corrupted into envy. In this ftage the vain man commences a determined mif- anthropift. He detefts that excellence which he cannot reach. He detefts his fpecies, and longs to be revenged for the unpardonable injuftice he has fuftained in their infenfibility to his merits- He lives upon the calamities of the world : the vices and miferies of men are his element and his food. Virtue, talents, and genius are his natu- ral enemies, which he perfecutes with inftinctive eagernefs, and unrelenting hoftility. There are who doubt the exiftence of fuch a difpofition ; but it certainly iffues out of the dregs of difappointed vanity : a difeafe which taints and vitiates the whole character wherever it prevails. It forms the heart to fuch a profound indifference to the welfare of others, that whatever appearances he may affume, or however wide the circle of his feeming virtues may extend, you will infallibly find the vain man is his own centre. Attentive only to himfelf, abforbed in the contemplation of his own perfections, inftead of feeling tendernefs for his fellow creatures as members of the fame family, as beings with whom he is appointed to E 2 act. ( 36 ) act, to fuffer, and to fympathize ; he confiders life as a ftage on which he is performing a part, and mankind in no other light than fpectators. Whe- ther he fmiles or frowns, whether his path is adorn- ed with the rays of beneficence or his fleps are died in blood, an attention to felf is the fpring of every movement, and the motive to which every action is referred. His apparent good qualities lofe ali their worth, by lofing all that is fimple, genuine and natural . they are even preffed into the fervice of vanity, and become the means of enlarging its power. The truly good man is jealous over himfelf, left the notoriety of his beft actions by blending itfelf with their motive, fhould diminifh their value ; the vain man performs the fame actions for the fake of that notoriety. The good man quietly difcharges his duty and ihuns oftentation j the vain man confiders every good deed loft that is not publickly difplayed. The one is intent upon realities, the other upon femblances : the one aims to be virtuous, the other to appear fo. !Nor is a mind inflated with vanity more dif- qualified for right action than juft fpeculation ; or better difpofed to the purfuit of truth than the practice of virtue. To fuch a mind the fimplicity of tru.th is dfgufting. Carelefs of the improvement pf mankind, and interit only upon aftoniihing with the ( 37 ) the appearance of novelty, the glare of paradox will be preferred to the light of truth ; opinions will be embraced, not becaufe they are juft, but becaufe they are new : the more flagitous, the more fubverfive of morals, the more alarming to the wife and good, the more welcome to men who eftimate their literary powers by the mifchief they produce, and who confider the anxiety and terror they imprefs as the meafure of their renown. Truth is fimple and uniform, while error may be infi- nitely varied ; and as it is one thing to ftart para- doxes, and another to make difcoveries, we need the lefs wonder at the prodigious increafe of modern philofophers. We have been fo much accuftomed to confider extravagant ielf-eftimation merely as a ridiculous quality, that many will be furprifed to find it treated as a vice, pregnant with ferious mifchief to fociety. But, to form a judgement of its influence on the manners and happinels of a nation, it is neceflary only to look at its effects in a family ; for bodies of men are only collections of individuals, and the greateft nation is nothing more than an aggregate of a number of families. Conceive of a domeftic circle, in which each member is elated with a mofl extravagant opinion of himfelf, and a proportion- able contempt of every other, is full of little con- trivances to catch applaufe, and whenever he is not ( 33 ) not praifed is fallen and difappointed, what a picture of difunion, difguft, and animofity would fuch a family prefent j how utterly would domeftic affection be extinguished, and all the purpofes of domeftic fociety be defeated ! The general preva- lence of fuch difpofitions muft be accompanied by an equal proportion of general mifery. The ten- dency of pride to produce ftrife and hatred, is fuf- ficiently apparent from the pains men have been at to conftruct a fyftcm of politenefs, which is nothing more than a fort of mimic humility, in which the femiments of an often five felf-eftimation are fo far difguifed and fupprefied, as to make them com- patible with the fpirit of fociety ; fuch a mode of behaviour as would naturally refult from an atten- tion to the apoflolic injunction : Let nothing be dane tbroi'gh ftrifc or vain glory : but in lowlinefs of mind, let each efteem other belter than tbemfilves. But if the femblance is of fuch importance, how much more ufeful the reality : if the mere garb of humi. lity is of fuch indifpenfible necefllty, that without it fociety could not fubfift, how much better ftill would the harmony of the world be preferved, were the condefcenfton, deference, and refpect, fo ftudi- oufly difplayed, a true picture of the heart ? The fame refllefs and eager vanity which difturbs a family, when it is permitted in a great national crifis to mingle with political affairs, di (tracts a kingdom ( 39 ) kingdom ; infuling into thofe entruflcd with the enaction of laws, a ipirit of lalh innovation and da- ring empiricitm, a difdain of the eftablifhed ula- ges of mankind, a foojilh defire to dazzle the world with new and untried fy (terns of policy, in which the precedents of antiquity aud the experience of ages are only confulted to be trodden underfoot ; and into the executive department of government, a fierce contention for pre-eminence, an inceirant ftruggle to fupplant and deflroy, with a propenfity to calumny and fufpicion, profcription and mafFa- cre. We mall fuffer the moft eventful feafon ever witnefled in the affairs of men to pafs over our heads to very little purpofe, if we fail to. learn from it fome awful lefTons on the nature and progrefs of the pafllons. The true light in which the French Revolution ought to be contemplated, is that of a grand experiment on human nature. Among the various paffions which that Revolution has fo (trikingly difplayed, none is more confpicu- ons than vanity ; nor is it difficult, without advert- ing to the national character of the people, to ac count for ks extraordinary predominance. Politi- cal power, the mod feducing object of ambition, never before circulated through fo many hands - t the profpect of poffeffing it was never before pre- fented to fo many minds. Multitudes, who by their their birth and education, and not unfrequently by their talents, feemed deftined to perpetual ob- fcurity, were, by the alternate rife and fall of par- ties, elevated into distinction, and fhared in the functions of government. The fhort-lived forms of power and office glided with fuch rapidity through fucceflive ranks of degradation, from the court to the very dregs of the populace, that they feemed rather to folicit acceptance, than to be a prize contended for* : yet, as it was ftill im- poffible for all to poffefs authority, though none were willing to obey, a general impatience to break the ranks and rufh into the foremoft ground, mad- dened and infuriated the nation, and overwhelmed law, order, and civilization, with the violence of a torrent. If fuch be the mischiefs both in public and pri- vate life refulting from an exceflive felf-eftimation, it remains next to be confidered whether Provi- dence has fupplied any medicine to correct it ; for as the reflection on excellencies, whether real or imaginary, is always attended with pleafure to the poffeflbr, it is a difeafe deeply feated in our nature. Suppofe there were a great and glorious Being always prefent with us, who had given us exiftence with numberlefs other bleffings, and on whom we ^Equo pulfat pede pauperum tabernas Regumque turres. HOR. depended r 41 ) depended each inftant, as well for every prefent en- joyment as for every future good ; fuppofe again we had incurred thejuft difpleafure of fuch a Be- ing, by ingratitude and difobedience, yet that in great mercy he had not caft us off, , but had allured us he was willing to pardon and reflore us, on our. humble intreaty and fmcere repentance: fay, would not an habitual fenfe of the prefence of this Being, felf-reproach for having difpleafed him, nn 1 an anxiety to recover his favour, be the molt effectual antidote to pride ? But fuch are the lead- ing difcoveries made by the Chriftian Revelation, and fuch the difpoiitions which a practical belief of it infpires. Humility is the firft fruit of religion. In the mouth of our Lord there is no maxim fo frequent as the following, Wbojoever exalt eth himfelfjball bs abafedy and he ibat humbleth him f elf Jh all be exalted. Religion, and that alone, teaches abfolute humility, by which I mean, a fenfe of our absolute nothingnefs, in the view of infinite greatnefs and excellence. That fenfe of inferiority, which refults from the comparifon of men with each other, is often an unwelcome fentiment forced upon the mind, which may rather embitter the temper than foften it : that which devotion imprefTes, is foothingand delight- ful. The devout man loves to lie low at the foot- floolofthe creator, becaufe it is then he attains F. the ( 4'- } the mod lively perceptions of the divine excel- lence, and the mod tranquil confidence in the di- vine favour. In fo auguft a prefence he fees all diftindtions loft, and all beings reduced to the fame level j he looks at his fuperiors without envy, and his inferiors without contempt ; and when from this elevation he defcends to mix in fociety, the conviction of fuperiority which mud in many instances be felt, is a calm inference of the underftanding, and no longer a bufy, impor- tunate paffion of the heart. The wicked; fays the Pfalmift, through the pride of their countenance, will not feek after God ; God is not in all their thoughts. When we confider the incre- dible vanity of the Atheiftical fed, together with the fettled malignity, and unrelenting rancour with which they purfue every veftige of religion, is it uncandid to fuppofe, that its humbling tendency is one principal caufe of their enmity 5 that they are eager to difplace a Deity from the minds of men, that they may occupy the void j to crumble the throne of the Eternal into duft, that they may elevate themfelves on its ruins ; and that, as their licentiousnefs is impatient of re- ftraint, fo their pride difdains a fuperior ? We mentioned a ferocity of character, as one effect of fceptical impiety. It is an inconvenience attending a controverfy with thofe with whom we have ( 43 ) have fofew principles in common, that we are ofr ten in danger of reafoning inconclufively, for the want of its being clearly known and fettled what our opponents admit and what they deny. The perfons, for example, with whom we are at prefent engaged, have difcarded humility and modefty from the catalogue of virtues ; on which account we have employed the more time in evincing their importance : but whatever may be thought of humility as a virtue^ it furely will not be denied that inhumanity is a mod deteftable vice ; a vice however, which Scepticifm has a rrjpft powerful tendency to inflame. As we have already (hewn that pride hardens the heart, and that Religion is the only effectual anti- dote, the connection between irreligion and inhu- manity is, in this view, obvious. But there is another light in which this part of the fubject may be view- ed, in my humble opinion, much more important though feldom adverted to. The fuppofition that man is a moral and accountable being, deftined to iurvive the ftroke of death, and to live in a future world in a never ending ftate of happinefs or mifery, makes him a creature of incomparably more con- fcquence^ than the oppofite fuppofition. When we confider him as placed here by an almighty Ruler, in a ftate of probation, and that the prefent life is his period of trial, the firft link in a vaft and in- F 2 terminable ( 44 ) terminable chain which ftretches into eternity, ht afi umes a. dignified character in our eyes. Every thing which relates to him becomes interefling ; and to trifle with his happinefs is felt to be the moft unpardonable levity. If fuch be the defti- nation of man, it is evident, that in the qualities which fit him for it, his principal dignity confifts : his moral greatnefs is his true greatnefs. Let the Sceptical principles be admitted which reprefent him, on the contrary; as the offspring of chance, connected with no fuperior power, and finking into annihilation at death, and he is a contempti- ble creature, whofe exiftence and happinefs are in- fignificarit. The chara&eriftic difference is loft be- twixt him and the brute creation, from which he is no longer diftinguifhed, except by the vividnefs and multiplicity of his perceptions. If we reflect on that part of our nature which difpofes us to humanity, we (hall find that, where we have no particular attachment, our fympathy with the fufferings, and concern for the deflruc- tron of fenfitive beings, is in proportion to their jfuppofed importance in the general fcale ; or, in other words, to their fuppofed capacity of enjoy- ment. We feel, for example, much more at wit- neffing the deftruction of a man than of an infe- rior animal, becaufe we confider it as involving the extinction of a much greater fum of happinefs For ( 45 ) For the fame reafon, he who would fhudder at the (laughter of a large animal, will fee a thoufand infects perifh without a pang. Our fympathy with the calamities of our fellow-creatures is adjufted to the lame proportions : for we feel more powerfully affected with the diftreffes of fallen greatnefs, than with equal or greater diftrefles fuftained by perfons of inferior rank ; becaufe, having been accuftomed to affociate with an elevated ftation the idea of fu- perior happinefs, the lofs appears the greater, and the wreck more extenfive. But the difproportion in importance, betwixt man and the meaneft in- fect is not fo great, as that which fubfifts betwixt man confidered as mortal and as immortal; that is betwixt man as he is reprefented by the fyftem of Scepticifm, and that of divine Revelation : for the enjoyment of the meaneft infect bears fome pro- portion, though a very fmall one. to the prefent happinefs of man ; but the happinefs of time bears none at all to that of eternity. The Sceptical fys- tem, therefore, finks the importance of human ex- iftence to an inconceivable degree. From thefe principles refults the following im- portant inference, thar, to extinguish human, life by the hand of violence, muft be quite a different thing in the eyes of a Sceptic from what it is in thofe of a Chriftian. With the Sceptic it is nothing more than diverting the courfe of a little red fluid called ed bloocl ; it is merely leflening the number by cne of many millions of fugitive contemptible creatures: the Chriftian fees, in dfe -fame event, an accountable being cut off from a ftate of pro? bation, and hurried, perhaps unprepared, into the prefence of his Judge, to hear that final, that irre- vocable fentence, which is to fix him for ever in an unalterable condition of felicity or woe. The former perceives in death nothing but its phyfical circumftances; the latter is impreffed with the mag- nitude of its moral confequences. It is the moral relation which man is fuppofed to bear to a fuperior power, the awful idea of accountability, the influr ence which his prefent difpofitions anJ actions are conceived to have upon his eternal defliny, more than any fuperiority of intellectual powers, ab- ftradted from thefe confiderations, which inveft him with fuch myflerious grandeur, and conftitute the firmed guard on the fanctuary of human life. This reafoning, it is true, ferves more immediately to fhew how the difbelief of a future ftate endangers the fecurity of life; but though this be its dire ft confequence, it extends by analogy much farther: fince he, who has learned to fport with the lives of his fellow creatures, will feel but little folicitude for their welfare in any other inftance; but, as the greater includes the lefs, will eafily pafs from this to all the inferior gradations of barbarity. As ( 47 ) As the advantage of the armed over the unarmed is not feen till the moment of attack, fo in that tranquil ftate of fociety, in which law and order rhaintain their afcendency, it is not perceived, perhaps not even fufpected, to what an alarming degree the principles of modern Infidelity leave us naked and defencelefs. But, let the ftate' be con- vulfed, let the mounds of regular authority be once overflowed, and the flill fmall voice ot law drowned in the temped of popular fury (events which recent experience (hews to be poflible), it will then be feen that Atheifm is a fchool of fero- city ; and that, having taught its difciples to con- fider mankind as little better than a neft of infects, they will be prepared, in the fierce conflicts of party, to tfample upon them without pity, and extinguifh them without remorfe. It was late * before the Atheifm of Epicurus gained footing at Rome, but its prevalence war. foon followed by fuch fcenes of profcription, con- fifcation, and blood, as were tken unparalleled to the hiftory of the world ; from which the Republic being never able to recover itfelf, after many un- fuccefsful ftruggles, exchanged liberty for repofe, by fubmiflion to abfolute power. Such were the * Neque enim aflentior iis qui bac nuptr diflerare coeperunt cum corporibus fimul animos interirc atque omnia morte dcleri. Cirere de Amuitia. effects ( 43 } of Atheifm at Rome. An attempt has been recently made toeftablifh a fimilarfyftem in France, the confequences of which are too well known, to render it requifite for me to fliock yonr feelings by a recital. The only doubt that can arife is, whether the barbarities which have ilained the Revolution in that unhappy country are juftly chargeable on the prevalence of Atheifm. Let thofe, who doubt of this, recoiled that the men, who, by their activity and talents, prepared the minds of the people for that great change Voltaire^ Lf Akmbert^ Diderot, Roufleau, and others, were avowed enemies of Re* velation i that, in all their writings, the diifufion of Scepticifm and of revolutionary principles went hand in hand ; that the fury of the moft fanguinary parties was efpecially pointed againft the Chriflian prieilhood-f and Religious inftitutions,withoutonce f The Author finds he has given great offence to fome friends whom he highly eftcems, by applying the term Cbrijlian priejthood to the pop : lh clergy, He begs leave to make a re- mark or two by way of apology. i. It is admitted by all candid proteflants, that falvation is attainable in the Roman catholic church ; but he fhould be glad to be informed what part of the Chriftian covenant entitles u> to expedl the falvation of thofe (where the Gofpel is promul- gated) who are not even a branch of the vifible church of CJhrill. The papiftical tenets are either fundamentally errone- ous, on which fuppofition it is certain no papift can be faved, pre- ( 49 ) pretending, like other perfecutors, to execute the vengeance of God (whofe name they never men- tioned) upon his enemies j that their atrocities were committed with a wanton levity and brutal merri- ment ; that the reign of Atheifm was avowedly and exprefsly the reign of Terror; that in the full madnefs of their career, in the higheft climax of their horrors, they (hut up the temples of God, abolimed his worfhip, and proclaimed death to be an eternal fleep; as if, by pointing to the filence of the fepulchre, and the fleep of the dead, thefe fe- rocious barbarians meant to apologife for leaving neither fleep, quiet, nor repofe to the living. or tKeir errors muft be confident with Chriftian faith, and con. fequently cannot be a valid reafon for excluding thofe who maintain them from being a part (a molt corrupt part, if you pleafe, but ftill a part) of the Chriftian church. 2. The popiflt clergy were perfecuted under the charafter of Chriftians, not under the notion of Heretics or Schifmatics. They, who were the fubjefts of perfecution, were certainly the beft judges of its aim and direction : and when the Archbi ,,op of Paris, and others, endeavoured to fcreen themfelves from its effefts by a recantation, what Aid they recant? Was it popery ? no ; but the profeffion of Chriflianity. Thefe Apof- tates, doubtlefs, meant to remove the ground of offence, which, in their opinion, was the Chriftian profeffion. If the founded Ecclefiaftical Hiftorians have not refufed the honours of mar- tyrdom to fuch as fuffered in the caufe of truth amongft the Gnoftics, it ill becomes the liberality of the prefent age to G. As ( 50 ) As the heathens fabled that Minerva iffued full armed from the head of Jupiter j fo no iboner were the fpeculadons of Atheiftical philofophy matured than they gave birth to a ferocity which converted the moft poliihed people in Europe into a horde of aflaffins ; the feat of voluptuous refinement, of plea- lure and of arts, into a theatre of blood. Having already {hewn, that the principles of infidelity facilitate the commiffion of crimes by removing the reftraints of fear, and that they fofter the arrogance of the individual, while they incul- cate the moft defpicable opinion of the fpecies; the inevitable refult is, that a haughty felf-confi- Contemplate, with fallen indifference, or malicious joy, the fufferings of confcientious catholics. 3. At the period to which the Author refers, Chriflian wor- fhip, of every kind, was prohibited, while, in folemn mockery of religion, adoration was paid to a (trumpet, under the title of the goddefs of reafon. Is it neceflary to prove that men, who were thus abandoned, mull be hoftile to true religion, under every form? or, if there be any gradations in their abhorrence, to that moft which is the moft pure and perfect I Are atheifm and obfcenity more congenial to the proteftant than to the popifh pvofeflion ? To have incurred the hatred of" the ruling party of France at the feafon alluded to, is an honour which the author would be forry to refign, as the exclufive boaft of the church of Rome : to have been the objeft of the paitiality of fuch bloody and inhuman moniters, would have been a Main upon Proteftants which the virtue of ages could not obliterate. dencc, ccnce, a contempt of mankind, together with a daring defiance of religious reflraints; are the na- tural ingredients of the Atheiftical character ; nor is it leis evident that thefe are, of all others, the difpolitions which moft forcibly ftimulate to vio- lence and cruelty. Settle it therefore in your minds, as a maxim ne- ver to be effaced or forgotten, that Atheifm is an inhuman, bloody, ferocious fyftem, equally hoftile to every ufeful reftraint, and to every virtuous af- fection ; that, leaving nothing above us to excite awe, nor around us to awaken tendernefs; it wa- ges war with heaven and with earth ; its firft object is to dethrone God, its next to deftroy man *. There is a third vice not lefs deftruftive than either of thofe which have been already mention- ed, to which the fyflem of modern Infidelity is favourable ; that is, unbridled fenfuality, the li- centious and unreflrained indulgence of thofe paf- fions which are cfiential to the continuation of the fpecies. The magnitude of thofe paflions, and their fupreme importance to the exiftence as well * As human nature is the fame in all ages, it is not furprifing to find the fame moral fyftems, even in the moll diflimilar cir- cumftances, produce correfponding effefts. Jofephus remarks that the Sadducees, a kind of Jewifh Infidels, whofe tenets were the denial of a moral government and a future ftate, were dis- itnguifhed from the other fefts by their ferocity. De Bell. Jud lib. 2. He elfewhere remarks, that they were eminent for their inhumanity in their judicial capacity. as as the peace and welfare of fociety, have rendered it one of the chief objects of folicitude with every wife legiflature, to reflrain them by fuch laws, and to confine their indulgence within fuch lim- its, as lhall bed promote the great ends for which they were implanted. The Benevolence and wifdom of the Author of Chriftianity are eminently confpicuous in the laws he has enacted on this branch of morals ; for, while he authorifes Marriage, he reftrains the va- grancy and caprice of the paffions, by forbidding Polygamy and Divorce j and, well knowing that offences againfl the laws of chaftity ufually fpring from ap ill-regulated imagination, he inculcates purity of heart. Among innumerable benefits which the world has derived from the Chriftian Religion, a fuperior refinement in the fexual fen- timents, a more equal and refpectful treatment of women, greater dignity and permanence conferred on the inftitution of Marriage, are not the leafl confiderable : in confequence of which the pureffc affections, and the moft facred duties, are grafted on the flock of the flrongeft inftincts. The aim of all the leading champions of Infide- lity is, to rob mankind of thefe benefits, and throw them back into a ftate of grofs'and brutal fenfuality. Mr. Hume reprefents the private con- duct of the profligate Charles, whofe debauche- ries ( S3 ) cheries polluted the age, as a juft fubject of pane- gyric. A difciple in the fame fchool has lately had the unbluflhing effrontery to ftigmatife Marriage as the worft of all monopolies ; and, in a narrative of his licentious amours, to make a formal apolo- gy for departing from his principles, by fubmit- ting to its reftraint. The popular productions on the continent, which iffue from the Atheiftical fchool, are inceffantly directed to the fame pur- pofe. Under every poffible afpect in which Infidelity can be viewed, it extends the dominion of fenfu- ality : it repeals and abrogates every law by which divine Revelation has, under fuch awful fanctions, reftrained the indulgence of the pafii- ons : the difbelief of a fupreme omnifcient Being which it inculcates, releafes its difciples from an attention to the heart, from every care but that of outward decorum ; and the exclufion of the devout affections and an unfeen world, leaves the mind immerfed in vifible, fenfible objects. There are two forts of pleafures, corporeal and mental : Though we are indebted to the fenfes for all our perceptions originally ', yet thole, which are at the fartheft remove from their immediate imprejjions, confer the moft elevation on the cha- racter, lince, in proportion as they are multiplied and ( 54 ) and augmented, the flavifli {objection to the fenf- es is fubdued. Hence the true and only antidote to debating fenfuality is, the poffeffion of a fund of that kind of enjoyment which is independent of the corporeal appetites. Inferior in the perfection of feveral of his fenfes to different parts of the brute creation, the fuperioriry of man over them all con- fids in his fuperior power of multiplying, by new combinations, his mental perceptions, and thereby of creating to himfelf refources ofhappinefs, {epa- rate from external fenfation. In the fcale of enjoy- ment, the firft remove from fenfe are the pleafures of reafon and fociety ; the next are the pleafures of Devotion and Religion. The former, though to- tally diftinct from thofe of fenfe, are yet lefs per- fectly adapted to moderate their excefles than the laft ; as they are in a great meafure converfant with vifible and fenfible objects- The religious fentiments and affections are, in fact, and were intended to be, the proper antagomjl of fenfuality, the great deliverer from the thraldom of the appe- tites ; by opening a fpiritual world, and infpiring hopes, and fears, and confolations, and joys, which bear no relation to the material and invifibleuni- verfe. The criminal indulgence of fenfual paffi- ons admits but of two modes of prevention ; the eftablimment of fuch laws and maxims in fociety as fliall render lewd profligacy impracticable or in- famous, ( 55 ) famous ; or, the infufion of fiich principles and habits as fliall render it diftafteful : human legif- latures have encountered the difeafe in the firft. the truths and functions of revealed religion, in the laft of thefe methods : to both of which the advocates of modern Infidelity are equally hoftile. So much has been fa id by many able writers to evince the inconceivable benefit of the marriage inftitution, that to hear it ferioufly attacked by men who ftile themfelvesPhilofophers, at the clofe of the eighteenth century, muft awaken indigna- tion and furprife. The object of this difcourfe leads us to direct our attention particularly to the influence of this inftitution, on the civilization of the world. From the records of Revelation we learn, that Marriage, or the permanent union of the fexes, was ordained by God, and exifted under different mo- difications in the early infancy of mankind, with- out which they could never have emerged from barbarifm. For, conceive only what eternal dif- cord, jealoufy and violence would enfue, were the objects of the tenderefl affections fecured to their pofleffor by no law or tie of moral obligation ; were domeftic enjoyments difturbed by inceffant fear, and litentioufnefs" inflamed by hope. Who could find fufficient tranquillity of mind, to ena- ble him to plan or execute any continued fchcme of. .action, or what room for arts, or fciences, or religion, feligion, or virtue, in that ftate in which the chief earthly happinefs was expofed to every lawlefs in- vader ; where one was racked with an incetfant anxiety to keep what the other was equally eager to acquire ? It is not probable in itfelf, indepen- dent of the light of fcripturej that the benevolent Author of the human race ever placed them in fo wretched a condition at firil ; it is certain they could not remain in it long without being exter- minated. Marriage, by fhutting out thefe evils, and enabling every man to reft fecure in his en- joyments, is the great civilizer of the world ; with this fecurity the mind is at liberty to expand in generous affections, has leifure to look abroad, and engage in the purfuits of knowledge, fcience, and virtue. Nor is it in this way only that marriage inftitu- tions are efiential to the welfare of mankind. They are fources of tendernefs, as well as the guardians of peace. Without the permanent uni- on of the fexes, there can be no permanent fami- lies : the diflblution of nuptial ties involves the diflblution of domeftic focicty. But domeftic fo- ciety is the feminary of focial affections, the cra- dle of fenfibility, where the firft elements are ac- quired of that tendernefs and humanity, which cement mankind together, and which, were they entirely extinguimed, the whole fabric of focial inftitutions would be difTolved. Families ( 57 ) Families are fo many centres of attraction, which preferve mankind from being fcattered and diffi- paced by the repulfive powers of ielrifhnefs. The order of nature is, evermore, from particulars to generals. As, in the operations of intellect, we proceed from the contemplation of individuals to the formation of general abftradlions, fo in the developement of the paflions, in like manner, we advance from private to public affections, from the love of parents, brothers, and fifters, to thofe more expanded regards, which embrace the im- menfe fociety of human kind * In order to render men benevolent, they muft firft be made tender : for benevolent affections are not the offspring of reafoning; they refult from that culture of the heart, from thofe early impref- fions of tendernefs, gratitude, and lympathy, which the endearments of domeftic life are fure to fup- ply, and for the formation of which it is the befl poffible fchool.. The advocates of Infidelity invert this eternal order of nature. Inflead of inculcating the pri- * Arftior vero colligatio focietatis propinquorum : ab ilia enim immenfa focietate humani generis, in exiguum anguftum- que concluditur, nam cum fit hoc natura commune animan- tium ut habeant libidinem procreandi prima focietas in ipfo conjugio eft, proxima in liheris, deinde una domus, communia omnia. Id autem eft principium urbis, et quafi feminarium rcipublicae. C;V. dt Of. H. vate vate affections as a difcipline by which the mind is prepared for thole of a more public nature, they fet them in direct opposition to each other ; they propofe to build general benevolence on the de- flruction of individual tendernefs, and to make us love the whole fpecies more, by loving every par- ticular part of it lefs. In purfuit of this chimeri- cal project, gratitude, humility, conjugal, paren- tal, and filial affection, together with every other focial difpofition, are reprobated j virtue is limit- ed to a paffionate attachment to the general good. Is it not natural to afk, when all th'e tendernefs of life is extinguifhed, and all the bands of fociety are untwifted, from whence this ardent affection for the general good is to fpring ?, When this favage philofophy has completed its work, when it has taught its difciple to look with perfect indifference on the offspring of his body and the wife of his bofom, to eftrange himfelf from his friends, infult his benefactors, and illence the pleadings of gratitude and pity ; will he, by thus divefting himfelf of all that is human, be better prepared for the difmterefted love of his fpecies ? Will he become a philanthropifl only becaufe he bas ceafed to be a man ? Rather, in this total ex- emption from all the feelings which humanize and foften, in this chilling froft of univerfal in- difference, may we not be certain felfifhnefs, un- mingled and uncontrouled, will aflume the em- pire ( S9 ) pire of his heart ; and that, under pretence of ad- vancing the general good, an object to which the fancy may give innumerable fhapes, he will be prepared for the violation of every duty, and the perpetration of every crime ? Extended benevo- lence is the laft and moft perfect fruit of the pri- vate affections ; fo that to expect to reap the for- mer from the extinction of the latter, is to oppofe the means to the end ; is as abfurd as to attempt to reach the. fummit of the higheft mountain, without paffing through the intermediate fpaces, or to hope to attain the heights of fcience by for- getting the firft elements of knowledge. Thefe abfurdities have fprung, however, in the advo- cates of Infidelity, from an ignorance of human nature, fufficient to difgrace even thofe who did not ftile themfelves Philosophers. Prefuming, contrary to the experience of every moment, that the affections are awakened by reafoning 9 and per- ceiving that the general good is an incomparably greater objeft in itfelf^ than the happinefs of any limited number of individuals, they inferred no- thing more was neceffary than to exhibit it in itsjuit dimenfions; to draw the afeftions towards it ; as though the fact of the fuperior populous- nets of China to Great Britain, needed but to be known, to render us indifferent to our domeftic concerns, and lead us to direct all our anxiety, to the profperity of that vaft, but remote Empire. It It is not the province of reafon to awaken new paffions, or open new fources of fenfibility, but o JirtcT: us in the attainment of thofe ob- vhich nature has already rendered pleating, or ro determine among the interfering inclinations and paffions which (way the mind, which are the fitted to be preferre \ Is a regard to the general good then, you will reply, to be excluded from the motives of action ? Nothing is more remote from my intention : but as the nature of this motive has, in my opinion, been much mifunderftood by fome good men, and abuied by others of a different defcription, to the worft of purpofes, permit me to declare, in a few words, what appears to me to be the truth on this fubject. The welfare of the whole fyftem of being muft be allowed to be, in itje/f, the object of all others the mod worthy of being purfued ; fo that, could the mind diftinclly embrace it, and difcern at every ftep what aftion would infallibly promote it, we fhould be furnifhed with a fure criterion of right and wrong, an unerring guide which would fuperfede the ufe and neceflity of all inferior rules, laws, and principles. But this being impoflib.le, fmce the good of the whole is a motive fo loofe and indeterminate, and embraces fuch an infinity of relations, that before we ( 6! ) we could be certain what action it prefcribed, the feafon of action would be pad; to weak, fhort- fighted mortals, Providence has afligned a fphere of agency, lefs grand and extenfive indeed, but better fuited to their limited powers, by implant- ing certain affeftions which it is their duty to cul- tivate, and fuggeiling particular rules to which they are bound to conform. By thefe provifions, the boundaries of virtue areeafily afcertained, at the fame time that its ultimate object, the good of the whole, is fecured ; for, fince the happinefs of the entire fyftem refults from the happinefs of the feveral parts, the affections which confine the attention immediately to the latter, confpire in the end to the promotion of the former ; as the labourer whofe induftry is limited to the corner of a large building, performs his part towards rearing the ftructure, much more effectually than if he extended his care to the whole. As the intereft, however, of any limited num- ber of perfons may not only not contribute, but may poflibly be directly oppofed to the general good j the intereft of a family, for example, to that of a province, or, of a nation to that of the world ; Providence has fo ordered it, that in a well regulated mind there fprings up, as we have already feen, befides particular attachments, an extended regard to the fpecies, whofe office is two- fold ( 62 ) ibid ; not to defooy and extinguifo the more private affections, which is mental parricide j but firft, as far as is confident with the claims of thofe who are immediately committed to our care, to do good to all men; fecondly, to cxercife ajurifdiction and controll over the private affections, fo as to prohi- bit their indulgence, whenever it would be attend- ed with mawfeft detriment to the whole. Thus eve- ry part of our nature is brought into action j all the practical principles of the human heart find an ele- ment to move in, each in its different fort and manner, confpiring, without mutual collifions, to maintain the harmony of the world and the hap- pinefs of the univerfe.* * It is fomewhat fingular, that many of the fafhionable Infi- dels have hit upon a definition of virtue, which perfectly coin- cides with that of certain rnetaphyfical divines in America, firft invented and defended by that moft acute reafoner, Jona- ikan Edwards \ They both place virtue, exclusively, in a paflion for the general good, or, as Mr. "' _.^^<~ ^ ' ^, p/, /*.*** /*^*i * - x / ^> < *^"* ' ?t9 i*s i University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. H 4WKAPR "- l-LIBR -^/cu3Aiijn.ia\> AHVHfl A 000 096 796 8 Universi South Libr;