REFLECTIONS 
 
 ;■ 
 
 O N 
 
 The late Lord Bolingbroke*s Letter* 
 
 c N r H E 
 
 Study and Use of History; 
 
 Efpccially fo far as they relate to 
 
 CHRISTIANltY, 
 
 A W D THE 
 
 li O L Y SCRIPTURES, 
 
 . To which ire added. 
 
 Observations on feme Paflagcs in thofe Letters 
 , concerning the C o n s e qjj e n c e s of the late 
 RE VO L U T I O N, and the State of Things 
 under the present Establishment, 
 
 • • • ' . 
 
 > ' III — r\ ' 
 
 By J O H N LELAN D, D. D. . 
 
 Author of yfn AhJwct tt Dr, Tyndall'i Cbrijllanitf j; Old fit 
 /A/ Creathn ; 
 
 5^/ Divine Authority of the Old and New Tejiamtnt dfferted^ kc% 
 againft the Moral Phihfopher j and ' 
 
 ^fieniarks on a late PamfbUt^ intituled^ CbriJUanit^ nct/tundrS 
 §n Argumen^^ 
 
 : 
 
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 LONDON: 
 
 Sbintcd for Bin J. Dod, at the BiUe and Key vn Avf'J^f 
 
 
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 THE 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 ALTHOUGH no man needs to 
 make an apology for ufing his bcft 
 endeavours in defence of our common 
 Chfiftianity, when it is openly attacked ; yet 
 as my engaging again in this caufc, after having 
 4ione it on fome former occafions, might have 
 4in appearance of too niuch forwardncfs; it 
 was with fome reloSancc that I was pcrfua- 
 ded to undertake it. What had great weight 
 wirh me was, the }ttdgmenC and advice of a 
 perfon of great worth*, of whofe fincerc 
 friend(hip I have had many pfoofs, and whom 
 I greatly honour for his truly ChriAian and 
 
 • The Rer. Dr. Thtmas TTdfin^ Reaor of Pf^^sU^r^K 
 jsd P/ebcodarjr of fFiflminfler, 
 
 A ^ candid 
 
 ^ 866 •IrtStlofi 
 
 
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 i 
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 11 
 
 t 
 
 W PREFACE. 
 
 I 1 ■ . i: 
 
 candid fpirit, as well as his zeal for our holy 
 religion. He urged, that it was highly proper ■; 
 to take PQtice of the contempt and abufe 
 attempted to be thrown upon Chriftianity '. 
 and the holy Scriptures, by a writer of fo great 
 name, ;and whole fpecious infinuations, and 
 confident aflertions, might probably make dif- 
 advantageous impreilions upon minds too well 
 prepared to receive them. And^ as he had not 
 then heard that any other had undertaken it, 
 or intended to do fo ; he thought my drawinji; 
 up remarks on thcle Letters, which had mac 
 i fo much noife, might be of fome ufe. This 
 
 determined me to attempt it ; and how far 
 what is now offered is fitted to anfwerthe in- 
 tention, mud be fubmitted to the judgment of 
 the public. I am fcnfible of the difadvantage 
 one \^ under in appearing againll a writer ofifo 
 dlrtingiiifliedacharader, as the kte Lord Vif- 
 count Bolingbroke, His lordihip's admirers 
 will no doubt expeft, that a proper decent re- 
 fpedl lliould be paid to his great abilities and 
 talent?, as well as quality. This I readily ac- 
 kriowlege. But there is certainly a ftill greater 
 regard due to the honour of Chriftianity, which 
 he hath unworthily infulted; and to the intered 
 pf the prefcnt eflabli(liment, which he hath en- 
 deavoured to weaken and cxpofe. However, 
 it is hoped the reader will find, that care has 
 
 been 
 
I 
 
 P R E F A C-E.: yv . 
 
 t)cen taken not to tranfgrefs the rules of decen- 
 cy^ or to pufli the eharj»e againft him farther 
 than his own words givcjuft ground for j and 
 that angry and reproachful cxprcifions have 
 not been made ufc of, even where there feem- 
 cd to beafufficient provocation given. 
 
 It might have been cxpcfted, from a perfort 
 dfhislorddup's genius, and who feems fond of 
 faying things which had not been infifted 
 Upon before, that whdh he thought fit to ap- 
 pear againft the authority of the hoiv Scriptures, 
 and the Chriftian religion, he would have ma- 
 naged the argument in a different manner, and 
 to greater advantage, than had been done by 
 others in the fame caufe before him. But I 
 do not find, that, with all his fagaclty and penc-* 
 tration, he hath advanced any thing on the ar-» 
 gument, that c?.n be properly called a new dif- 
 covery ; or that he hath given any additional 
 force to the objedions which had been urged 
 by others, and to which fuffictent anfwers havd 
 I been made. 
 
 In that part df his Letters, in which he at- 
 tcmptcih to cxpofe the Scripture-hiftory a^ 
 falfeor uncertain, there arc fevcral things throwil 
 in, which feem rather calculated to fhcw his 
 lord(liip*s reading, th^n toanfwcr the main de^ 
 figh he appears to have had in view. It wo!)ld 
 bene difficult matter to point to feme miflake^ 
 , • A3 and 
 
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 fi PREFACE. I 
 
 and inaccuracies he hath fallen into. But C 
 have cbofcn for the mod part to pafs them by, 
 and confine myfclf to thofe things that have a 
 nearer relation to the argument. 
 
 Anyone that is cooverfant with thofe that arc 
 called the deiftical writers, muft have obferved, 
 that it is very ufual for them to put on an ap- 
 pearance of rcfpcdt for Chriflianity,,at the fame ' 
 time that they do all in their power to lubvert 
 it. In this his lordihip hath thought fie to 
 imitate them. 
 I He hath fometimes cxpreflfed a fccming re- 
 
 gard for the holy Scriptures; and hath carried it 
 fo far as to make a flicw of owning the divine 
 mfpiration offome parts of them. But I believe 
 he would have been loth to have had it thought^ 
 that he was in earneft. It is not eafy to fee the 
 juftice, or even the good (enfe^of (uch a conduft ; I 
 fince the difguifc is too thin to impofe upon 
 ihemoft unwary reader-^ nor can I fee what 
 end it can anfwer, but to give one no very good- 
 opinion of the writer's fipcerity. 
 
 This juftice, however, muil be done to the 
 noble author, that he hatn brought the con- 
 troverfy rcKiting to the divine authority of the 
 Chriftian religion into a narrov/cr compafs than 
 ^ il, fomc others cneaeed in the fame caufc have 
 . feemed willing to do. He affcrtcth, that Chri- 
 ilianiry is a religion founded upon fails ; and 
 
 £iir!y 
 

 PREFACE. vii 
 
 fairly acknowlcgeth, that if the fads caa be I ' 
 
 proved to be true, the divine original and au* 
 ihority of the Chriftian religion are eflablifhed. 
 And what he requircth is, that thcfc fafts fliould 
 be proved, as all other pad fafts, that arc 
 judged worthy of credit, arc proved j viz. by f. 
 
 good hiftorical evidence. This bringeth the J 
 
 controvcrfy to a (liort iflac : for if it can be \ 
 
 (hewn, that the great, important fads, recorded 
 in the evangelical writings, have been tranfmit-* 
 ted to 1)6 with as much evidence as could be 
 rcafonably expcdted, fuppofing thofe fadls to 
 have been really done \ then, by his lordfliipV 
 concelhons, and according to his own way of 
 dating the cafe, they are to be received as 
 true J and confcquenily the Chriftian religioa 
 is of divine authority. 
 
 His lordfliip had too much fcnfe to deny 
 (as fome have been willing to do) the certain* 
 ty of all hiftorical evidence as to paft fads, of 
 to infifi upon ocular demcnftration for things, 
 done in former ages. Since therefore the bcft- • , 
 way of knowing and being aflured of piift facts 
 is, by authentic accounts, written and published 
 in the age in which the fads were done ) all thac 
 properly remains is, to prove the credibility and 
 authenticity of the Oofpcl-records i and that , 
 they have been tranfmiited to us with fuch a \ 
 degree of evidence, as may be fafely depended. 
 
 A 4 upon* 
 
I' , ••• 
 
 I' 
 
 ii 
 
 
 !l 
 
 ■1 
 
 tUi PREFACE. , 
 
 Upon. And notwithftanding what his lordfliip i. 
 hath infinuated to the contrary, this hath been 1 
 I || often done with great clearnefs and force, by 
 
 the writers that have appeared on the behalf of 
 Chriftianity. What is offered in this way in 
 the following Refleftlons, will^ I hope, be judged 
 fufficicnt ; though I have done little more than 
 point to the heads of things, which might eafi- 
 ly have been inlarged upon, if I had not been 
 afraid of fwclling thefe Refiedions to too great 
 a bulk. 
 
 The chief danger to be apprehended from 
 his lordfliip's book, appears to me to arife 
 from the contemptuous infinuations lie has 
 thrown out againft Chriftlanity, as if it could not 
 bear the light, or (land the teft of an in. partial 
 inquiry j and as if every man of k^'Sc thai exa- 
 mines into firft principles without prejudice, 
 muft immediately fee through the delufion. 
 This, from a man of his lord(hip*s known 
 abilities, and fine tafte, may be apt to do mifchlef 
 among thofe, who, without any uncommon 
 abilities, or giving thcmfelves the trouble of 
 much thinking, yet want to pafs for perfons of 
 extraordinary penetration, and railed above 
 vulgar prejudices. But if authority were to de- 
 cide this caufe, it were eafy to produce, on the 
 fide of Chriflianity, trjuny great names of per- 
 fons, wliofc learning and good fcnfe, and eminent 
 
 merit. 
 
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 PREFACE. li 
 
 merit, arcuniverfally acknowleged. I (hall not 
 rtiention any thing of the C/ergy on this ac- 
 count, becaufe they might perhaps be excepted 
 againft: though, if extcnfivc knowlcge and 
 learning, if depth of thought, and exadlnef: of 
 judgment, if great candour and probity of man- 
 ners, or if finenefs of genius, and elegance of 
 taftc, in polite literature, might recommend 
 them a'l fit to judge in |thcfc matters; many 
 of them might be named, fo confcfledly eminent 
 in all thefe refpefts, as would render them or- 
 naments to any profefTion in the world. But it 
 may not be improper to mention fomc illuflri- 
 ous Laymen^ who have cither profefledly writ- 
 ten in defence of Chriftianity, and the holy 
 Scriptures, or have, in their writings, fliewn aa 
 high cftcem and veneration for them. Of fo- 
 reigners, among many that might be mentioned 
 to advantage, I (hall only take notice of the 
 Lord Du PUfUs Moriiay. who was both a very \ 
 wife ftatefman, and eminently learned; the 
 celebrated Monfieur Pafcal, one of the fineft 
 writers, and greatcft geniuses, of the laft age ; that 
 extraordinary man G^otius, not cafily to be 
 paralleled for force and extent of genius, as well 
 as variety of learning; thofc great men the Ba- 
 rons Pw^w^^r/and Ezekiel Spanheim^ the latter 
 peculiarly eminent for his acquaintance with 
 the belles lettres, and refined taftc in the politcr- 
 
 — f parts 
 
I' 
 
 I 
 
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 r\ ; 
 
 x^ PREFACE. 
 
 parts of learning. To thcfc might be added | 
 many excellent pcrfonsof ourown nation, fuch 
 as Lord Bdcon^ Mr, SeUeny Sir Cbarla IVulfely^ 
 Sir Matthew Hale^ the honourable Robert Boyle^ 
 Mr. Locke^ Sir Ifaac Newton^ Mr. Addtfon^ 
 Mr. Forbei the late Lord Prefidcnt of Scotland. 
 I believe there are few but would thinic it an 
 honour to be ranked with thefe illullrious names, 
 Ibme of them remarkable for their eminent 
 flat ion and figure in the world, and great poli- 
 tical abilities; and all of them juftly admired for 
 the extent of their learning andknowlcge, tha 
 folidity of their judgment, or correftnefs of 
 their tafte. And I cannot help, on this occa- 
 fion, mentioning two gentlemen now living, of 
 acknowleged learning and fine fenfe, who have 
 diftinguifhed themfelves by their writings in 
 defence of Chriftianity \ Sir George Lytteltortj 
 and Mr. Weft. 
 
 No man needs therefore be apprehcnfive, a» 
 if his appearing to fliew a zeal for Chriftianity, 
 might be looked upon as a rcflcftion upon his 
 undcrftanding, or as a mark of a narrow and 
 bigotted way of thinking} fincc it cannot be 
 denied, that fome of the wifeft men, thegreatcft 
 genius's, and exadteft reafoncrs, of the age, have 
 been perfons that profcflcd an high regard for 
 the Chriftian religion. And the fame might, 
 I doubt nor, be faid of numbers of gentlemen 
 now living, of eminent abilities, and diftin- 
 6 guilheJ 
 
PREFACE. xi 
 
 guiflied worth, who might be mentioned with 
 great honour, though they have had no occa- 
 sion of appearing in the world as writers. But 
 the controverfy is not to be decided by the au- 
 thority of great names. Chriftianity doth not 
 Hand in need of that fupport. It ftandeth 
 fixed on its own folidbafis > and only requireth ' 
 • to be confidered with an attention fuitablc to its 
 vaft importance. It hath nothing to fear frona 
 a true freedom of thought, from deep reafon-? 
 ing, and impartial inquiry. What it hath 
 moft to apprehend, is a thoughtlefs levity and 
 inattention of mind, and an abfolute indiffer- 
 cncy to all religion, and to all inquiries about 
 it. It is no eafy matter to prevail with thofc 
 to think clofely in fuch a cafe as this, who are J 
 under the power of fenfual afFeSions and ap- 
 petites, who arc funk in Indolence and a Love 
 cf Eafe^ or carried ofF with a perpetual hurry 
 of Dherfions and AmufemcntSy or engaged in 
 the warm purfuits of jimbition or Avarice. 
 But furely, if the voice of reafon is to be heard, ,' 
 and if there be any thing at all that defervcth 
 a ferious attention, it is this. The inquiry 
 whether Chriftianity be true, and of a divine 
 original, or not, is a matter of high importance, 
 and upon which a great deal depcndcih. The 
 Gofpcl itfelf moft certainly reprcfcntcth it fa. 
 If Chriftianity be true and divine^, thofc to 
 . whom 
 
 
 
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 : 
 

 jjil PREFACE. 
 
 Vrhom It is pXibUfhcd, and who have an o|ii 
 portunity of inquiring into it, and yet ncglcft 
 to do fo, can never be able to juftify their con- 
 dud to the great Ruler and Judge of the worlds 
 It cannot with any confiftency be fuppofcdy 
 that if God hath fent his Son into the worlds 
 I to bring a clear revelation of his will, and to 
 
 guide men in the way of falvation^ ic is a 
 matter of indifFercncy whether thofc to whom 
 it is offered, and made known, pay any regard 
 to this fignification of the divine will or not, 
 or comply with the terms which afe there pre- 
 fcribed. And therefore for fuch pcrfdns to re-* 
 jeft it at a venture, without giving ihemfclves 
 the trouble of a ferious inquiry, or to continue 
 in a wilful negligence and carclcfs fufpcnfe of 
 mind in a matter of fuch vaft confcquencc, is a 
 moft unaccountable and inexcufable conduft^ 
 altogether unworthy of reafonable, thinking 
 beings. 
 
 Let Chriftianity therefore be carefully exa- 
 mined. Let the evidence for the fads on 
 which its divine authority is fupported, be coolly 
 and impartially confidered, whether it is not as 
 much as could be rcafonably defired, fuppofing 
 thofe fadts were true, and which v/ould be ac^ 
 counted fufficient in any other cafe. Let the 
 original records of Chriftianity be inquired intOy 
 whether they have not the charaders of gcniMn« 
 
 fimplicity^ 
 
 4 
 
PREFACE. xlU 
 
 pmplicity, integrity, and a finccrc regard to 
 truth ; and whether they have not been tranf- 
 rnitted to us with an evidence equal or fuperior 
 to wliat can be produced for any other writings 
 whatfoever. Let ^ the nature and tendency of 
 the religion itfclf be confidercfd j whether, the 
 idea there given us of the Deity be not fuch 
 jis lendcth to render him both raoft amiable 
 and mod venerable, to fill our hearts with a 
 fuperlativc love to God as having given the 
 moft amazing proofs of his wonderful love ^nd 
 goodnefs towards mankind, and at the fame 
 time with a facred awe and reverence of him as 
 the wife and righteous Governor; of the world,, 
 a lover of order, and an hater of vice and wicked-* 
 nefs ;, whether its precepts be not unqueftion- 
 ably pure and holy, and fuch as, if faithfully 
 complied with,would raife our natures to an high 
 de^'rec of moral cijccellencc j whether the uni-. 
 form tendency of the whole fcheme of re*, 
 ligion there hel4 forth to us, be not to promote 
 the honour pf God, apd the good of mankind,, 
 and the caufe of piety, righteoufqefs, andj 
 virtue, in the world ; to engage u$ to worfliip 
 Cod with a pure adoration and devotion, to 
 dcaljuftly, kindly, and equitably, with all mcn,» 
 ard to fubdue the fcnfual irregular affe(5lion«. 
 and luds, and keep them within proper bounds. 
 §uper(lition; and falfc devotion, haye frequently 
 
 put 
 
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 p^^^^ 
 
 wmm 
 

 \l 
 
 i&T t ti E I^ A C E. 
 
 pot men \ipoh unnatural artd t^ccciTivtfigbaf* 
 and auAerities i but Chriftianity, like tht bkflcd 
 Author of it, keeps clear of all extremes. It 
 6bridgeth ot of no pleafures within the bounds 
 of purity and innocence : nor doth it oblige 
 OS to extinguifli our natural appetites and 
 paflions, but to govern and moderate them, 
 and preierve them in a regular fubjedion to 
 rcafon, and the law of the mind : and certainly 
 It IS ncccflary for our own quiet and happincfs, 
 and for the good order of focicty, that we 
 (hould do fo. And finally, let it be confidered, 
 whether any motives could poflibly be exhibited 
 more powerful and engaging, than thofc which 
 the Gofpcl fctteth before us. It propofcth the 
 noblcft models for our imitation, God himfelf, 
 in his imitable moral excellencies; and his vvell- 
 bcloved Son, the moft perfcA image of his own 
 goodncfs and purity. It difplayeth all the 
 charms and attra<flions of redeeming grace and 
 love to allure us. It giveth the grcatcft en- 
 couragement to finners to repent, and forfakc 
 their evil ways; and promifcth the moft gracious 
 afliftances to help our infirmities, and to 
 ftrcngthen our weak, but fincere, endeavours in 
 the performance of our duty. It raifeth us to 
 the moft glorious prcjpe^s^ and fublime bopes^ 
 tlian which nothing can poffibly have an happier 
 tendency to engage us to a patient continuance 
 
 in 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 in well doing, an^idft the many difficulties and 
 temptations of this prefcnt ftate. The Rewards 
 it propofcth are fuch as arc fitted to animate 
 holy and generous fouls, and to produce, not a 
 fcrvilc and mercenary frame of fpirit, but a 
 true greatnefs of mind ; viz. an happinefs con- 
 filling in the pcrfedlion of our natures, in a 
 conformity to God, and the eternal enjoyment 
 of him, and in the pure pleufurcs of fociety 
 and fricndfliip with glorious angels, and the 
 fpirits of the juft made pcrfedt. And on the 
 other hand, to make an impreffion upon thofc 
 that are infenfible to the charms and beauty of 
 virtue, it makcth the mod lively and afFefting 
 rcprcfcntations of the Terrors of the wrath to 
 come, and the Punijhments that (ball be exe- 
 cuted in a future ftate upon thofe that obftinately 
 perfid in a coprfe of prpfumptuous fm and di(- 
 obedience^ 
 
 This is an imperfeft Sketch of the nature 
 anddefign of Chriftianity, as laid down in the 
 GofpcL In this view let it be confidered, and 
 not be unjuftly charged, as it hath often been, 
 with corruptions that arc only owing to a dc* 
 viatioQ from its original purity ; or with the 
 pradtices of thofe, who, though they make a 
 profeflion of believing it, allow th^mfelvcs iii 
 ixxirfes which it forbids and condemns. Wh;^t 
 gn happy world would tnis b^^ if pien could be 
 
 *morq 
 
 ii 
 
MNHIiMiMHIriiMllHIIHaHfliiHMlIM^^ 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 ^xvi P R E F A G E. 
 
 more generally pcrfuadcd to yield a wUimg fub-i 
 ^jcftion to its divine authority, andto compty 
 -with it^ true fpirit and dcfign, and to give up 
 
 • thrmfclvcs to be governed by its exiellent pic- 
 *ccpt^, and important motives ! 
 " What then can thofe propofe that take pains 
 •'to turn men from fuch a religion as this, and 
 
 • to weaken or fubvert the evidences of its divine 
 authority ? Can they pretend to introduce a 
 more pure and fublimc morality, or to enforce 
 it with more powerful motives ? Do* they pro- 
 
 ^-pofe to render men more holy and virtuous, 
 more pious and devout towards God, morcjuft 
 and kind and benevolent towards men, more \ 
 
 'temperate and careful in the due government . 
 of their appetites and paffions, than the Gofpel 
 rcquireth and obligeth them to be? Do they 
 intend to advance the interefts of virtue by de- 
 priving it of its moft efFcdtual encouragement 
 and fupports, or to exalt the joys of good men 
 by weakening their hopes of everlafting hap- 
 pinefs, or to reftrain and reclaim the wicked 
 
 ^and vicious by freeing them from the fears 
 
 "of future punifliment ? 
 
 ' There is a great complaint of a growing 
 dijlolutenefs of manners, and of a general ^cr- 
 
 •ruption. His lordlhip rcprefenteth this in the 
 
 'moft lively terms ; but, inftcad of afcribing it to ; 
 the proper caufes/ he is for laying the whole 
 
 load 
 
PREFACE. 3cvli 
 
 load of It on the prefent cftabliflimcnt. Far 
 from dircfting to the proper cure, he hath 
 'done what he could to take away that which 
 would be the mod cffeftual remedy, the in^ 
 flucnce of Chriilianky on the minds and con- 
 fcicnces of men. When the reftraints o( re* 
 ligion art once taken off, what Can be ejtpefted^ 
 but that they fhould abandon thcmfcl^cs to the 
 conduft of their paflions } Human Laws and 
 penalties will be found to be weak ties.^ wherft 
 there is no fear of God, nor regard to a future 
 ftatc, * or the powers of the world to come, Iri 
 proportion as a fi'egleSi or contempt of religioii 
 groweth amongft us, a dijfolutenefs of morals 
 will prevail ; and when once this becometh 
 general among a people, true probity and virtue^ 
 a right public fpirit^ ^nd generous concern for 
 the r^al interefts of our country^ will be rx- 
 tinguiJkeJi Surely then all that wi(h well t6 
 the good order of fociety, and to the happinefs 
 of mankind, ought tO wi(h, that true uncor* 
 rupted Chriftianity ftiould generally obtain and 
 prevail ; and that men (hould hot only heartily 
 believe, but fcrioufly confider it, and endeavour 
 to get it wrought into the very frame and 
 temper of their fouls. For Chriftianity" is not 
 a mere outward form and profeffion, but 4 
 living principle, of a praftical nature and tend- 
 f ncy. And it is not enough to have a fpccula* 
 
 a I tire 
 
I ••• 
 
 ! 
 
 ! 
 
 
 xym PR E F A^ C B. 
 
 trre notion and beiief of it, but wc muft coi^ 
 iider it with that attention which becooieth us^ t 
 ftnd do what we can to qiforce iu d^cellea^ 
 llofb'Ines and motives upon pur own hearts. 
 
 This fubjed hath carried nie to a greatef 
 length than I at firfl intended : but I hope k 
 will not be thought improper to the pccafion. 
 I I fhall only add, that though the principal 
 
 I defign of the following remarks on tlie laitc 
 
 I; lord Bolingbroke's Letters is to take notice of 
 
 thofe paflkges in them which relate to Chrifli* 
 anity, and the holy Scriptures, the reader will 
 meet with other refleiftions of a mifcellaneous 
 kind, and feme that are of a political nature. 
 In thefe laft I may perhaps be thought to havQ 
 ^one a little out of my province. And I muft 
 confeis, that I am not fond of appearing in th^ 
 world under the charafter of a political writer. 
 For this rcafon feveral things have been omit- 
 ted upon the review, which I had adually pre- 
 pared for farther detecting the mifrcprcfcnta- 
 iions and inconfiftencies which I thought I faw 
 in fome prts of his Letters, efpccially that 
 long one, which is the firft of the fccpnd vo- 
 lume. Nor (hould I have meddled with thefc 
 matters at all^ if it had not been from a defirc 
 fo contribute to the obviating fome prejudices 
 yrhich thefe Letters have a tendency to raife or 
 ilrcngthen in the minds of fome perfons, botl^ i 
 3 againft 
 
 • \ 
 
P R B^F A C e. xix 
 
 ♦ • . 
 
 jigainft the prcfent government, and againft 
 th^lr fellowrfubjedt^ j and I think it rtiould be 
 tfieeaincft <kfirc of every true Chriftian, and 
 jover of hj$ couptryj tha^ all.fhould be iinite<i> 
 }o ^ (le^dy and weU-ref|ilatefl ^cal £)r pur holy 
 Migion, fod for that ciUbli(hmen^ od whjch^ ' 
 lindeir Ppd* the Security of our mp^ft valuable 
 dri| a&d religious ^bcrties doth ^ a great 
 Iheafurp depend, ... , ^,..,; , , .,„. , j , , ,,, ;, ., ^,..- , 
 
 "Mi 
 
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 ^.„,^.„glggalHlllaMMinMiaMii 
 
 lo Three Volume* OAavo, Price S^od li t. ■ 
 
 ARGUMENTS and REFLECTIONS 
 
 ON THE I 
 
 H O L Y B I B L Ejl 
 
 MTfitten originally xntrtmch^ by that eminent and pioot I^ivioc^| i 
 
 The Reverend Mr. O S T E R V A L D. I 
 
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 The THIRD EDITION, Revifcd, Corrcaed, and 
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 Abridgment of the Hiftory of the Bible. Pr. id. a 
 
 4>/. l>er 102. 
 
 /"i 
 
C'.] 
 
 ^ «■• • 
 
 . » -' / » • ' • 
 
 • ' 
 
 R E F L EC T I ON S 
 
 On the Late ., > 
 
 Lord Bolikgbroke's LsTTERSt 
 
 PART I, 
 
 On the Study and Ufe of History. 
 
 ff';*^'*^"^H E late Lord Bolingbroke has generally 
 ? tI^^'^c ^htained the reputation of being one 
 
 6, :r^ ,^ of the fined writers in our language. 
 tUikw*^ This hath procured him a kind ot 
 authority in the world, which makes way for am 
 eafy and favourable reception of any thing that is 
 publifhed under his name. A writer poflcfled 
 of fuch talents hath it in his power to be fig- 
 nally fcrviceable to religion, and the true intcreft 
 of his country ; and on the other hand, there 
 is fcarce any thing of more pernicious influence 
 than fuch talents mifapplied. When the public 
 was firft informed of Letters written by him oa 
 the Study and Ufe of Hiftory, it was natural to 
 cxpcdt fomething fcry entertaining arid improvc- 
 
 B 
 
 mm 
 

 ^ i 
 
 1 
 
 \ 
 
 
 2 ReHcdions on the Late I 
 
 ing from fuch an author on fach a fubjcd. AndL^ 
 it will not be denied, that he has many good k^ 
 and fomc very curious obfervationSj cxprcflcd bL- 
 a very genteel manner, and with great elegance! j,^ 
 and purity of ftilc : but thefe are interfperfedlji 
 with others of a very different kind, and of alj^ 
 dangerous tendency. ly, 
 
 I In thefe letters his lordfhip has done what hei^ 
 
 I could to cxpofe the authority of the ScripturcsL, 
 
 ! to contempt 5 and at the fame time has made thcL, 
 
 moft difadvantageous reprefentation of the prefent \ ^ 
 flatc of the government and conftitution of his 
 country. If we arc to truft the accounts he 
 i Ij giveth us, Chrlftianity hath no real foundation of 
 
 truth in faft to depend upon ; it hath been up- 
 held by fuperftition, ignorance, and impofture; 
 and hath been vlfibly decaying ever fince the re- 
 vival of learning and knowlege. And our civil I 
 conftitution, inrtead of being rendered better at 
 the late revolution, hath been ever fince growing 
 worfe ; and our liberties are in more real danger 
 than they were in before. The natural tendency 
 of fuch reprefcntations is to infpire a thorough 
 contempt and difregard of the religion into 
 which we were baptized, and to produce endlcfs 
 jealoufies and difcontcnts, if not open infurrec- 
 tions, againft the government under which we 
 live. No man therefore who hath a juft zeal 
 for either of thefe, can fee without concern fuch 
 an infolent attempt agoinft both. And, in this 
 cafe, the quality, the ability, the reputation of 
 the writer, as it maketh the attempt more 
 dangerous, rcndereth it more ncceflury to guard 
 
 agai il 
 
 ^ 
 
- ff) 
 
 Lord SoIiiigbrok^V Letters. 3 
 
 fnjrainfl: it. If an irtferior writer had faid all that 
 
 ihis lordfhip Hath advanced, it would have de- 
 
 lerved v^ry littk notice. But there are too 
 
 marty that arc ready alinoft implicitly to fwallow 
 
 down any thing that comrth to them recom- 
 
 fmcnded by a great name ; efpecially if it be ad- 
 
 |vanccd with a very peremptory and decifive air.* 
 
 |And if an author's account of himfelf muft be 
 
 ^takcn, there perhaps fcarcc ever was a writer 
 
 |whofe judgn-rent ought to have greater weight, 
 
 or who better deferves, that an almoft implicit 
 
 regard (hould be had to his diftates, than the 
 
 author of thefe letters.— 
 
 He enters upon his firft letter with declaring, 
 that the rules he isgoing to recommend as neceflary 
 to be obferved in the lludy of hiftory ^ were ■ 
 ** very different from thofe which writers bn the 
 ** fame fubjedt have recommended, and which 
 " arc commonly praftifed."— — But he aflurcth 
 
 his reader (and 1 believe him) that ** this' 
 
 ** never gave him any diftruft of them." And 
 
 therefore he propofeth to tell his fentiments— -' 
 " without any regard to the opinion and pradlice 
 " even' of the learned- world V— He dc-' E' 
 dareth it as his opinion, that— - *• A creditable 
 •' kind of ignorance ft the whole benefit, ^hich' 
 '• theg^ncrality of men, even of the moft learned, ' 
 " reap from the ftudy of hirtoryj ivhich yet ap-' . 
 '• pearstobim of 'all ofher'thc moft proper td' |i 
 ** train us up to private and public Virtue \\ '' — — ' 
 Surely then the ^^orldtnuftKfe'mighfify obliged- 
 to^n author who^btties t6 grve therii^inftrudtibns' 
 
 , •,ToL I. p. r, li \ ''■' '+ ibid. p. it.^ '^ .'' V V ^ 
 
 B a and 
 
 I 
 
 ! 
 
IlilftMIHHiaHaMiMHIMMHnMMaMaHlMIMH^^ 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 ( 
 
 ( <c 
 
 \ 
 i! 
 
 4 RcflcAions on thi Late ;^ 
 
 and dire<5t!ons in a matter of fuch great im« 
 portancc, which the generality of men, even of 
 the moft learned) were unacquainted with before. 
 In his letter on the true ufe of retirement ani 
 Jludy^ he finely rcprcfcntcth, what — " a dc» 
 ** Arable thing it muft be to every thinking man, 
 ** to have the opportunity indulged to lo few, 
 ** of living fome years at lead to purfelves in a 
 *' ftatc of freedom, under the laws of reafon, 
 inflead of palling our whole time under thofe 
 of authority and cuflom." — And afks— " Is 
 it not worth our while to contemplate our- 
 felves and others, and all the things of this 
 world, once before we leave them, through the 
 •* medium of pure and undefiled reafon* ?"— 
 
 He obferves, that " They who can abftradi 
 
 *' themfelves from the prejudices, and habits, 
 ** and pleafures, and bulinefs of the world, 
 **• which, he fays, is what many arc, though 
 ** all are not, capable of doing, may elevate 
 «' their fouls in retreat to an higher ftation, and 
 M may take from thence fuch a view of the 
 ** world, as the fccond Scipio took in his dream 
 <* from the feats of the blefled.'* — That this 
 
 will enable them to " diftinguifli every de- 
 
 ** gree of probability, from the lowcft to the 
 ** higheft, and mark the difference between this 
 ** and certainty, and to eftablifli peace of mind, | 
 ** where alone it can reft fecurely, on refigna- 
 
 " tion -f. '* In what follows he fecms to 
 
 apply this to his ovvn cafe. He reprefents him- 
 fclf as in a ilatc of retirernent from the world, 
 
 • Vol. II. p. 197. I Ibid. p. 199. 
 
 abftradlcd 
 
 a 
 t 
 t 
 c 
 
 V 
 
 ' 
 
1 
 
 
 Z/(7r^BoIingbrokeV Letters. 5 
 
 abilraflcd from it'? plcafnrcs, and difcngaged from 
 the habits of buiinefs : though at the fame 
 time he dcclarcth his refolution in bis retreat to 
 contribute as much as he can to dejend and pre* 
 ferve the Britidi conflitution of governmtnt \ for 
 which he cxpedled his reward from God alone, 
 to whom he paid thisfervice *. He goes on to 
 
 obferve in the fame letter, that *' he who has 
 
 •* not cultivated his reafon young, will be utterly. 
 
 " unable to improve it ok!." And that— 
 
 *' not only a love of ftudy, and a define of 
 " knowlcge, mu(l have grown up with us, but 
 " fuch an induftrious application likewife, as 
 ** requires the whole vigour of the mind to be 
 *' exerted in tne purfuit of truth, through long 
 " trains of difcourfc, and all thofc dark recedes, 
 
 " wherein man, not God, has hid it.** And 
 
 then he declares, that this love^ and this dcfire^ 
 he h^s/elt all bis life, and is 710 1 quite a ftranger 
 to this indujiry and application "f*. 
 
 His rcflcdions upon Exile tend alfo to give one 
 an high idea of the author. Speaking of the 
 ncccffity of ftanding watchful as centinels, to 
 difcover the fecret wiles and open attacks of that 
 capricious goddcfs Fortune before they con reach 
 us, he adds — ** 1 learned this important lelTon long 
 " ago, and never truded to Fortune, even while 
 " fhe fecmed to be at peace with mc. The 
 " riches, the honours, the reputation, and all 
 ** the advantages which her treacherous indul- 
 " gcnce poured upon mc, I placed fo, that flic 
 'f might fnatch them away without giving me 
 
 • Vol. II. p. aoi, 202. t Ibid. \, 205, 2c6. 
 
 B 3 '* any \ 
 
 i! 
 
I 
 
 
 6 ReflcQIons on th La^ 
 
 *^ %nj difturbance. I kept a gre^K interval b^ 
 " tween me and them. She topk them, bm 
 ** (he could not tear them from me*.** He 
 frequently expreffetli himfelf in thofe reflections, 
 as one fuperior to fortune and exile, and that 
 had attained to a pcrfcdl philofophic calmnefs 
 and tranquillity, whofe mind was not to be dif. 
 compofcd by any outward evils j as one who wai 
 Jar from the burry of the ivorldy and almo/l an 
 unconcerned fpectator of what pajjes in it^ and 
 who, having paid in a public life what he ov:ei 
 to the prefent age^ was rclolvcd to pay in a pri» 
 vate life ivhat he owes to po/lerity \ and who 
 i; was determined to write as well as live without 
 
 pajjion -f-. And who would not be inclined to 
 pay a Vift regard to the fentimcnts of a great 
 genius, that had always from his youth loved 
 ftudy, and defired knowlege, and to this added 
 induftry and application; whq bad an opportunity 
 for retirement from the world, and knew how 
 to improve it ; and who had made ufe of his 
 folitudc to contemplate himfelf and others, and 
 all the things of this world, through the medium 
 of pure and undcfiled reafon ! 
 
 But there arc fcvcral things that tend to take 
 off from that dependence one might otherwifc 
 be apt to have upon an author pofl'clTcd of lo 
 many advantages. 
 
 It can fcarce be denied, that there is a great 
 {ippearance of vanity in thcfe letters, A certain 
 jtir of fufficiency breathes through the whole, 
 lie every-wherc pronounceth in a dogmatical j 
 
 « Vol. II. p. 7J4. I Ibid. p. ^%^. \ 
 
 a;;d [ 
 
 «M 
 
MMapiM 
 
 Lord BoHngbrokc'j Letters. 7 
 
 and dccifive way, and with a kind of diftatorial 
 authority j and fccmcth to regard himfelf as 
 placed in a diftinguilhcd fphere, from whence 
 he looketh down with fupcriority and contempt 
 upon thofe that have hitherto paffed for learned 
 and knowing. To this may be added, what can 
 fcarcc cfcapc the notice of the commoneft 
 reader, a vifible affectation of advancing fome- 
 thing new, and which had not been thought of, 
 or infifted upon, before. How often doth the 
 polite author of thefc letters, when giving his 
 diredlicns, and making his obfervations upon the 
 ftudy and ufc of hiftory, put his noble corre- 
 fpondcnt in mind, that they were quite different 
 from any thing that had been obferved by thofe 
 learned men who had treated of this fubjedl be- 
 fore him ! In this I think him miftaken. But 
 at prefent I '.only mention it as a proof of the 
 defire he was poffeffcd with of appearing to 
 think in a way different from, and fuperior to, 
 the reft of mankind, even of the learned world. 
 Such a dcfirc and affeftation of novelty, and of 
 thinking out of the common way, may lead 
 pcrfons of great parts affray in their inquiries 
 after truth, and hath often done fo. 
 
 But there arc other paffions and affcdtion?, 
 that have a ftill lefs fiicndly influence, and which 
 are apt to give a wrong byafs to the mind. 
 Such is that keennefs and bitterriefs of fpirit, 
 which difpofeth a man to find fault, and to put 
 the moft unfavourable conftrudions upon perfons 
 and things. I will not charge the late Lord 
 BoUngbroke with having been really under the 
 
 B 4 • • influence 
 
 f 
 
 f 
 
 
 F 
 
 
8 Rcfledions on the Late 
 
 influence of fuch a temper ; but there arc fcvcral 
 things in his letters which have that appearance. 
 In his reflc<flions upon exile he Liyeth it down as 
 a rule, to live and write without pii/fion ; he talks 
 ns if he had got above all outward evils, and 
 had attained to a pcrfctfl tranquillity. And yet 
 in thcfc very rcflcdions there arc fcveral paflages 
 that difcovcr a very ftrong refcntment, and great 
 bitternefs of fpirit. lie there intimates that — 
 •• his country had reaped the benefit of his ff?r- 
 ** vices, and he fuflcred for them — That the 
 ** pcrfons in oppofition to whom he ferved, and 
 " even favcd the public, confpired and accom- 
 ** plifli'vd his private ruin : That thcfc were his 
 •• aceufcrs, and the giddy ungrateful croud his 
 •* judges : That art joined to malice endeavoured 
 ** to make his beft adions pafs for crimes, and 
 ** to ftain his charafter — That for this purpofc 
 " the facred voice of the Senate was made to 
 . ** pronounce a lye ; and thofc records, which 
 •* ought to be the eternal monuments of truth, 
 ** became the vouchers of impoihire and ca- 
 
 ** lumny *.** This is very ftrongly cxpreflVd. 
 
 I Hull not at prcfcnt inquire into the truth and 
 juftncfs of thofc reflcdions. I flrall only oh- 
 ferve, that this is not the language of a man who 
 iroci andivrites \i'ithout f^affion^ or who is fo indif^ 
 f event to ccmmon ccnfure or approbation^ as he pro- 
 fcfTcth himfclf to be -j-. Nor is it eafy to reconcile 
 I this with that philofophic calmnefs, that modcra- 
 
 I tion, anJ tranquillity of mind, which he fouK- 
 
 I times makethfo great a (hew of. There arc fcvcral 
 
 j • Vol. 11. p. 270, 271, t Vol. I. p. 6. 
 
 « ' parts 
 
■Ma 
 
 
 ► 
 
 , 
 
 Lord Bolingbroke*x Letters, 9 
 
 parts of his letters, as I may have occafion more 
 diftin^Illy to obfervc afterwards, in which he cx- 
 prcileth himfelf with all the rage and virulence 
 of a paffionate party-writer. 
 
 It were not fo much to be wondered at, if he 
 difcovcred a refcntment againft thofc whom he 
 might apprehend to be the authors of his fufFer-»' 
 ings ; but there arc feveral things that look as 
 if he were out of humour with mankind. Of 
 the Critics, Chronologers, Antiquaries, and of the 
 Learned in general, even ihofe of them that have 
 been in the higheft reputation, he frequently 
 cxprcfllth the utmoft contempt. He inveighs 
 fevcrcly againll the Divines, antient and modern ; 
 antj reprefcnts even thofe of them, who, he 
 fays, may be called fo without a fneer, as not 
 fagacious or not honeft enough, to make an 
 impartial examination. The gentlemen of the 
 Law fall under his heavy cenfurc % and he will 
 fcarce allow, that fincc lord Bacon^ and the 
 carl of Clarendon^ there have been any of them 
 that have attained to any eminent degree of 
 learning and knowlegc ; and he takcth upon v 
 him to foretcl, that except there (hould come \ 
 fomc better age, there will not be any fuch 
 among them ior the future. The Members of 
 Parliament he reprefcnts as regarding the bufmefs 
 of parliament only as a trade j that few know, 
 and fcarce any refpeft, the Britijh conftitution ; 
 and that the very idea of wit, and all that can 
 be called tafte, has been loft among the Great. 
 Such general cenfures might be cxpcded in a 
 writer that profeffcdly fets himfelf to difplay his 
 
 talents \ 
 
"I 
 
 :i 
 
 I 
 
 lo Reflections on the hate 
 
 talents in fatire and ridicule; but do not look fo 
 VfcU in one that appcareth in a fuperior charac- 
 tcr» and who taketh upon him to inftrudt and 
 guide, to form mens tafte^ and direct their con- 
 duifly and enable them to pafs right judgements 
 pn perfons and things. Such a tempii' is not a 
 very good difpofition for an impartial inquiry j 
 it is apt to reprcfent perfons and things in a dif- 
 advnntageous light, and to give a malignant 
 tinfture to the rcfleftions : nor is it very fur- 
 prifing to fee a writer of this turn pafs harfli 
 and fevere cenfures, not only on the adminiftra- 
 tion, but on tKe religion, of his country. 
 
 All the ufe I would make of thefc obfervations 
 is, to keep us from fufFering ourfel /es to be too 
 ftrongly byaflcd in favour of a writer fo diftin^ 
 guiflied by his abilities, and who putteth on 
 fuch fpeclous appearances. 
 
 I fhall now proceed to a more diftinft exami- 
 nation of Lord Bolingbroke's Letters. 
 
 In them we may find, as hath been already 
 hinted, many good and fine obfcrvations relating 
 to the ftudy and ufe of hiftory j delivered with 
 great clearncfs of expreflion, and propriety of 
 fcntiment. His directions arc full of good lenfe, 
 and many of them very aptly illullratcd by 
 proper and welUchofcn inflanccs. In general, 
 Jt muft be allowed, that his obfcrvations con- 
 cerning the ufcfulnefs of hiftory, the advantages 
 he afcribes to it, and the ends to be propofed in 
 it, are, for the moft part, juft j but there is 
 not much in them that can be regarded as per- 
 fcvflly new. I do not lay this by way of dif- 
 
 paragcmcnt, 
 
 (b^ 
 
f^^Tf 
 
 Lord Bolingbrok'x Letters. i % 
 
 paragcmcnt, to detradt from the merit of his 
 refleftions : perhaps on fuch a fubjedl it is fcarcc 
 poffiblc to make any obfcrvation which hath not 
 been made by fomc one or other before. It is 
 a fufficient commendation of an author, if he 
 hath placed his rcfleftions and obfervations in an 
 agreeable and advantageous light, if he hath dif- 
 pofcd them in a beautiful order, and illuftrated 
 his rules by proper exemplifications. But his 
 lordfliip feems not to be contented with the 
 praife of having done this^ He appears to be 
 extremely defirous to have it thought, that his 
 obfervations are not only juft, but new, and fuch 
 as other writers have not made before him. He 
 declareth, in a paffage cited before from his firft 
 
 letter, that the rules he gives ^* are verv 
 
 ** different from thofe which writers on the fame 
 " fubjeft have recommended, and which arc ? 
 
 ** commonly pradtifcd */* And that *' he ( 
 
 ** will have no regard to the methods prefcribed ] 
 •* by others, or to the opinion and praftifc even t 
 " of the learned world -f .*'— And he fpeaks | 
 to the fame purpofe in his third letter §. And 
 after having declared, that the ftudy of hiftory 
 will prepare us for adion and obfervation ; and ; 
 
 that *' hirtory is converfant about the paftj ] 
 
 •• f Jid by knowing the things that have been, • 
 •* we become better able to judge of the things ^ 
 " that are " — he adds — r " This ufe, my lord, i 
 ** which I make the proper and principal ufe of • 
 ^* the ftudy of hiftory, is notinfiftcd on by thofe \ 
 ** who have writ concerning .the method : 
 
 f Vol. I. p. I. t Ibid. p. 2. 5 Ibid. p. 69. J 
 
 " to ; 
 
 I 
 
il 
 
 f * ' 
 
 5» i 
 
 $•■'■:; « 
 
 
 
 . I 
 
 1 2j Refle6lions on the Late 
 
 •* to be followed in this ftudy J and fincc vire 
 *^ propofc difFercnt ends, wc mpftof coarfe 
 *^ take different ways ♦."—He immediately fub- 
 joins -r^** Few of their treatifcs have fallen into 
 
 my hand^."— -And is it not a little ftrange, 
 that he (hould To pofitively pronounce, that 
 others have not, in their treatifes concerning the 
 method to be followed in the ftudy of hiftory, 
 infifted on that which he makes the proper and 
 principal ufe of it, when at the fame time he 
 acknowlegcth, that few of their treatifes had 
 fallen into his hands ? One would think by his 
 way of reprcfcnting it, that none before this 
 noble writer had mentioned it as the proper ufe 
 and end of hiflory to promote our improvement 
 in virtue, to make us better men and better 
 citizens, to teach us by example, and to pre- 
 pare us for aftion and obfcrvation, that by 
 knowing the things that have been, we may 
 become better able to judge of the things that 
 are. And yet I am apt to think, that few have 
 fet themfelvcs to fhew the ufe that is to be made 
 of hillory, the ends to be propofcd in it, and 
 the advantages arifmg from ir, but have in efFedt 
 faid the fame thing. And it were no hard 
 matter, if it were neceflary, to fill up fevcral 
 pages with quotations to this purpo(e, from 
 authors antlenc and modern. 
 
 Hiftory i$, no doubt, capable of being impro- 
 ved to excellent purpofes : and yet the author 
 of thefe letters feems fomctimes to have carried 
 it too far ; as- if hiftory (not facred hiftory; for 
 
 • • Vol. I. p. 67, 68. 
 
 7 ^^^^^? 
 
 M^fW^ 
 
 mmmmmmmmi^ 
 
ttltmmmmilammtl^mammmtmmiimmmmammmt m I H ii«i » ii "t_ ^ i i « i«i«i — n ai^ ■! i \ mmm^i^mium^^um^tltltt 
 
 t. 
 < 
 
 «c 
 cc 
 «c 
 
 ; 
 
 r 
 I 
 
 t. 
 
 ZjOtJ BoHngbroke*^ Letters, 13, 
 
 this, with the examples it afFordeth. he difcards [ 
 as of little or no ufe) were, the bcft, tlie only f 
 fchool of virtue, the mod univerfal and ncceflary, | 
 means of inftrudtlon, alone fuffjcient to naake us., f 
 good men and good citizens,- and to furnjifli us. 
 with all the knowlege thatis jw-operfor pur di-^ 
 rcdtionin prafticc. HeobferyeSj— — That.^f hi-.. 
 '« ftory is^ philofophy, teaching us by exanip)c,. 
 *</how toconduft ourfclves In all the ftationsof 
 "private and. public life *--4— And that ■; i 
 **at is of all other the moft proper to train us 
 *i up to public; and private virtue*/'-— -, He 
 declares, that — - " every one that is able to read, 
 " and to refleft upon what he reads, is able to 
 M make] that ufe of hiftory vrhich he recom- I 
 mends: and every one who makes it, will l 
 find in his degree the benefit that arifes from | 
 an early acquaintance, with mankind, contract- [ 
 «* ed in this method f/'— ^- ,Hc adds, .that — * j 
 ** we are only paffengers. or jfojourncrs in this^ | 
 *V world; but wc are abfolute grangers at the i 
 " firft fteps wetake in it. , Our guides are often 
 " ignorant, often unfaithful. But by this map ^ 
 *V of the country which hiftory fpreads before J; 
 ** us, we may learn, if we pleale, to guide our-, 
 
 *' felves." • So that hiftory is the guide he 
 
 propofeth to all men to condufl thcna in their, 
 journey through this world, and by whiclx 
 every man is capable of guiding himfclf in all 
 the fituations and cir^umftanccs of publij? and 
 private life. ■ y, ; * , ^i . j ;mV|ji 
 
 ' '^^ Vol. I. p. 15, 57- ' t Ib.p. iy^rya; '^*^' 
 
 
14 Renc^tkms on toe Late ^ 
 
 Hiftory is, no doubt, v^y ufcful in its proper* 
 place ; but there are other melons bf inftrudion 
 tb be joined with it in brdfcr to its anfwering the 
 end. It fe not to ferve inftead of every thing, 
 and to fupcrfede all other methods of inftruc*- 
 tion. We (land in need of being well-feafoned 
 and principled with a juft fcnfe of the moral 
 differences of things, and with the excellent rules 
 of religion, and the important confiderations it 
 fettcth before us, that we may form juft fenti- 
 ments of things, and may make a right ufc of 
 hiftory for our improvement in virtue, aud may 
 know how properly to apply the examples itfur- 
 nifhcth. Accordingly our author himfelf in- 
 fifteth upon it, that we muft apply ourfclves to* 
 hiftory " in a philofophical Ipirit and man- 
 ner ♦.'* He obfcrveth, that " particu- 
 lar examples in hiftory may be of ufc fomc- 
 timcs in particular cafes, but that the appli- 
 
 •* cation of them is dangerous." He would 
 
 have a man therefore ftudy hiftory as he would 
 ftudy philofophy. And in the account he gives 
 in his third letter of what is neccflary in order to 
 make a right ufe of hiftory, he carriethit fofar, 
 and really maketh the work fo difficult, as to be 
 above what can be cxpcdted from the generality 
 of mankind; and concludeth with faying, that— 
 •^ by fuch methods as thefe a man of parts may 
 ** improve the ftudy of hiftory to its proper and 
 
 •* principal ufc •}-.*' Where he lecmeth to 
 
 reprefcnt the making a right ufe of hiftory as a. 
 very difficult thing, which none but men of pans 
 
 •Vol.1, p. 58. +Ib. p. 65,66. 
 
 and 
 
 « 
 
 ti^mmm 
 
I 
 
 \ 
 
 Lord Bolingbrokc'x Letters. 15 
 
 and of philofophic fpirits ?.rc capable bf, ahd 
 which requireth the cxadteft judgment, and niceft 
 difccrnment, as well as a very clofe applicatipri* 
 In this paflagc the ufc and advantage of hiftbr/ 
 ''xms to be confined within too narrow bounds, ^ 
 as in fomc of the former It had been extended 
 too far. 
 
 As to the method to be followed in the tludy 
 of hiftory, though the author of thcfe letters 
 fpeaks with great difregard, and even contempt, of 
 inofc that have written on this fubjeft before 
 him, yet the only one he particularly mentions is 
 Bodin. He obfervcth, that — ** in his method 
 " we are to take firll a general view of univcr- I 
 " fal hiftory and chronology in (hort abftrafts,, f 
 " and then to ftudy all particular hiftories and j 
 " fyftems." — — Upon which his lofdfhip r 
 reniarketh, thatr— — " This would take upour^ 
 ** whole live?, and leave us no time for adion, 
 
 *• or would make us unfit for it .*" ^ And 
 
 afterwards he obferves, that ** the maa 
 
 " who reads without difcernment and choice, 
 " and, like Bodins pupil, rcfolves to read all, will 
 * not have time, nor capacity neither, to do any 
 
 " thing elfc •{•/• But I cannot think it was 
 
 Bodin'^ intention to lay it as an injunction upon 
 his pupil to read without choice and difcern- 
 ment all the particular hiftories that have ever, 
 been publilhed. But the meaning is, that the, 
 beft and moft regular way of reading and ftudy- 
 inghillory is^ firft to take a brief general view, 
 andfurvey of univerfal hiftory and chronology, 
 
 • lb. p. 69. t lb. p. 142, 143. 
 
 and !i 
 
 H' 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
cc 
 
 16 Reflexions M the Late \ 
 
 and then to proceed to the hiftories of particular 
 countries, nations^ and ages. And this appeareth 
 to be a very rcafonablc and natural method. 
 And if Bodin propofes the taking a large fcopc 
 and compafs in reading hiftory, his lordfhip, 
 though he fcems here to blame him for it, fomc- 
 timcs exprcffcth himfelf in a manner that looks 
 no lefsextenfivc : for he recommendeth the read- 
 ing hiftory of all kinds, of civilized and unci- 
 vilized, of ancient and modern nations, as nccef- 
 fary to give us a right knowlegc of the human 
 fbecics, and of ourfclvcs. He obferves in his 
 
 fifth letter, that " man is the fubjcdt of 
 
 " everv hiftory, and 10 know him well, we muft 
 fee him and confidcr himas hiftory alone can 
 prefent him to us in every age, in every coun- 
 ** try, in every ftate, in life and in death. 
 " Hiftory therefore of all kinds, of civilized 
 ** and uncivilized, of antient and modern na- 
 ** tions, in fhort, all hiftory that dcfcends to a 
 ** fufiicient detail of human adions and charac- 
 ** ters, is ufcful to bring us acquainted with our 
 " fpecics, nay with ourfelves*." — And particu- 
 larly, with refpedl to antient hiftory, he mention- 
 eth it in his fecond letter as a great advantage, 
 
 that *' in antient hiftory the beginnine, the 
 
 ** progreflion, and the end, appear not 01 parti- 
 ** cular reigns, much kfs o\ particular cntcr- 
 ** prizes, orfyftems of policy alone, butof go- 
 ** vernments, of nations, of empires, and of all 
 ** the various fyftems that have fucceeded one 
 ** another in the courfe of Uieir duration J." 
 
 ♦ Vol. I. p. 170. % lb. p. 42. 
 
 And 
 
 . 
 
«KM 
 
 Lord BblihgbrokeV LettefS, tf 
 
 And yet he afterwards fccms to confine out at^ .| 
 tention to modern hiftory* He will allow us in-* \ i 
 deed to reed the hiftorics of fDrmer ages and [ - 
 nations, bccaufe it would be (hamcful to be in-*, 
 tircly ignorant of them j but he Would not have 
 MsJiuJy any hiftories, but thofe of the two laft 
 centuries. That thefe dcfcrve a particular at- 
 tention, will cafily be acknowleged for fevfcral 
 rcafons j and, among others, for that which he I 
 afligns I the great change that has been brought r 
 about in the civil and ccclefiaftical policy of thefe 
 
 parts of the world fince the latter end of the fif- 
 teenth century j of which he gives an elegant 
 reprefentation in his fixth Letter* But certainly 
 there arc many things in the hiftories of the pre- 
 ceding ages, both in other countries, and in our 
 own, that well deferve to be not only read^ but 
 to be thoroughly confidered by us j and which 
 are capable of fumiftiing very ufeful refledions^ 
 and anfwering thofe excellent ends, for which, in 
 the former part of thefe LrCtters, he had recom-* 
 mended the ftudy of hiftory. This might eafily 
 be (hewn, if it admitted of any doubt, both with 
 regard to civil hiftory and ecclefiafticah 
 
 But, not to infift longer upon this, and fome , 
 other obfervations that might be made on par- 
 ticular paflages in thefe Letters^ I ihall proceed 
 to what is the principal intention of thefe Re- 
 marks ) viZi to confidcr thofe things in them, of 
 which a bad ufe may be made^ or which ap- 
 j)car to be of a pernicious tendency : and my Re* 
 marks Hull be diflributed under three heads« i 
 
 liliaJt 
 
 II 
 
 '• 
 
 V 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
f 8 RcflcAionar en the Late 
 
 *, I fhall firft confidcr the rcflcftions he has caft 
 * , upon literature. . . * . 
 
 . And then (hall proceed to thofe paffagck in his 
 Letters, which arc defigned to c^pofe the 
 j; i! , holy Scriptures, and the Chriftirn religion. 
 
 " And, laftly, (hall take feme rK)tice of the fcverc 
 rcfle<flions he has made upon the confe- 
 quenccs of the late Revolution, and the ftate 
 of things under the prefcnt EftablKhmrnt. 
 
 ( 
 
 . '.» 
 
 ( 
 
 I 
 
 V, 
 
 11 
 
 i 
 ii i 
 
 
 • It may fecm a little furprifing, that fo polite a 
 writer, and one who, as he lets us know, always 
 from his youth loved ftudy and application, 
 (hould yet, in fcvcral partsof thefe Letters, cxprcfs 
 himfclf in a manner that fcems calculated to 
 throw a contempt upon learning, and to put 
 men off from applying thcmfelves to the purfuit 
 of it. Every friend of learning (liould, I think, 
 acknowlegc, that there is a regard due to thofc 
 that in their fevcral ways have contributed to 
 promote it. But this ingenious writer takes 
 ^very occafion tc place them in a ridiculous or 
 contemptible light. In his firft Letter, he gives 
 a very difi\dvantageous idea of thofe who, as he 
 
 exprefleth it, *• make fair copies of foul ma- 
 
 *V nufcripts, give the fignification of hard words, 
 ** and take a great deal of other grammatical 
 
 ** ■ pain^" He owns indeed, that they enable 
 
 offjcrs tojitidy ivit/j ^rreater eafe^ and to purpofes 
 mere ujefuly but he uflures us, ihwi they neither 
 Lr g^'O'^v ivijer nor better by Jludy tbemjehes. He 
 r i • adds. 
 
 ^****WWPW*'^— ■' — '■ I I— ii.—r— ——»—«— »»^ II I ■ m a n i i iii a iii. H i n . n mm 
 
 I 
 
 r.. ,■:■ 
 
 ■J? \'' 
 
 
 J'. 
 
•^.t^^ 
 
 f 
 
 5? 
 
 Lord BolingbrokeV Letters. 19 
 
 adds, that' ** the obligation to thefc men \ 
 
 ** would be great indeed, if they were in gene- |i 
 ** ral able to do any thing better, and fubmittcd [ 
 ** to this drudgery for the ufe of the public, as J 
 " fome of them, it mud be owned with grari- I 
 " tude, have done ; but not later, I think, than i 
 *^ about the time of the refurreftion of letters."-*-* ^ 
 And he at length condefcendeth to declare, that—* 
 " they defervc encouragement, whilft they con* 
 ** tinue to compile, and neither afFedl wit, nor 
 •* prefumc to reafon*." This is a very hard 
 cenfurc pronounced upon all thofcj without dif- 
 tinftion> that about the time of the refurredion 
 of letters, /. e, for thefe two centuries part, have 
 compiled diftionaries or glolfaries, or have rcvi* 
 fed and publi{hed antient manufcripts, or correal 
 editions of books j or who have been employed 
 in explaining hard words, and in clearing obfcure 
 paflages, in antient authors, or making critical 
 obfervations upon them, and in other things of 
 that kind. Not content to repreient them as j 
 ftbfolutcly void of genius, and having no preten- it 
 fions to wit or reafon, and as neither wifer nor } 
 better for their ftudies themfelves^ he will not 
 allow, that any of them had the public good in 
 view in the drudgery they fubmittcd to. But I 
 fcarce knoW a greater fign of a malignity of 
 temper, than a dilpofition to give the worft turn 
 to every thing, and to judge harfhly of the in- 
 ward intentions of mens hearts, when there is 
 nothing in their adions to fupport fuch a judg- 
 mcht. It were cafy toname-pcrfons, that with- 
 
 ♦Vol I. p. 5, 6* ^ m 
 
 C 2 jn 
 
 III 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
20 Reflexions on the Late 
 
 in limfc two laft centuries have employed tliem* 
 icives in the way he mejitions, who were unquc- 
 ilionably men of great judgment and genius, as 
 well as induftry : or, at leaft, a fmall (hare of 
 good-nature and candour would incline one to al- 
 low them the praifc of having had the public 
 utility in view in works, which,' by his own 
 acknovvlegement, have greatly ferved the inter- 
 cfls of learning, and contributed to the fprcading 
 of it. 
 
 But how meanly foevcr he thinks of the gram- 
 marians, critics, compilers of dictionaries, and re- 
 vilcrs and publifhers of manufcripts, he makcth 
 a ftill more difadvantageous repreleniation of 
 antiquaries and chronologcrs. Speaking of per- 
 fons that have hitherto been regarded as of great 
 figure and eminence in the republic of letters, he 
 avoweth — — - ^^ a thorough contempt for the 
 *^ whole bufinefs of their learned lives ; for all 
 *' the refearches into antiquity, for all the (y* 
 ** ftems of chronology and hiflory, that we owe 
 *' to the immenfe labours of a Scaliger^ a Bo» 
 •* ckart^ a Petavius^ an LJ^^^r, and even a Mar^ 
 
 ** Jham *." It feems very odd, for one that 
 
 fpcaks fo highly of the advantage of hiftory, to 
 cxprcfs fuch a contempt for the labours of chro- 
 nologcrs, which certainly are of great ufc for di- 
 gcfting hiftory into its proper periods, in order to 
 a regular and orderly conception andunderftand- 
 ingof it. In a paflage cited above, he mentioneth 
 it among the advantages of hirtory, cfpecially 
 articnt hiflory, that we there fee events us they 
 
 • WiA, I. p. 6, 
 
 foU 
 
 T 
 
 mff 
 
li 
 
 (( 
 
 a 
 
 <( 
 
 c< 
 
 it 
 
 Lord BolingbrokeV Letters. 2 1 
 
 followed one another i— " that there the begin- 
 ning, theprogreflion, and the end, appear, not of 
 particular reigns, muchlcfs of particular cnt^r* 
 prizes or fyllcms of policy alone, but of go- 
 vernments, of nations, of empires, and of all 
 the various fyftems that have fucceeded one 
 another in the courfc of their duration."* 
 This fcems to fhew the advantage, and even ne* 
 ccffity, of chronology ; and, with regard to this, 
 the labours <)fd,Scaltger, a Petavius^ and UJIjer^ 
 arc highly ufcful and commendable. To endea- 
 vour to digeft thehiftory of mankind, and of the 
 principal events that have happened in the world, 
 in a regular feries, to mark the rife and fall of 
 cities and empires, to compare and connedt the 
 hiftories of different countries and nations, fa- 
 cred hiftory and profane j and, in order to this, 
 to lay together the Scattered hints and fragments 
 of diiTercnt ages ; is, notwithftandinghis degrad- 
 ing reprcfentationof it, a noble employment, an 
 employment that even a Sir IfaacNtwton]\idigti 
 not to be unworthy of his great genius. One 
 would be apt to think, that every impartial per-* 
 fon, who hath a juft value for learning, muft have 
 a great honour forthofc that have taken pains' to 
 fct thcfc things in a proper light; and where 
 abfolute certainty cannot be attained to, an happy 
 conjcfture maybe both pieafing and ufeful. 
 
 In his third Letter, he findeth great fault with 
 thofc that makq laborious inquiries into the fiift 
 originals of nations. And in his fifth Letter^ he 
 warneth the noble lord to whom be writcfs, ta 
 throw none of his timeawayy as he faith he himfclf 
 
 C 2 l^»* 
 
 T 
 
 i; 
 
 
 
 * 1 
 
 I 
 
 

 J^ RcflciSlions on tie Late 
 
 had done, in groping in the dark in bisfearch$ 
 into antiquity *. He fpcaks with contempt of 
 what he calls dry rcgijicrs of ujelejl anecdotes y 
 
 and declares, that '< <en millions of fuch 
 
 ♦* anecdotes, though they were true j and com- 
 " pletc authentic volumes of Egyptian or CbaU 
 ** dcan^ of Greek or Latin, o{ Gallic or Britljh^ 
 ** of French or Saxon records ; would be of no 
 <^ value in his fenfe, becaufc of no ufc towards 
 our improvement in wifdom and virtue; if 
 they contained nothing more than dynallies 
 *^ and genealogies, and a bare mention of remarkt 
 ** able events in the order of time, like jour- 
 " nals, chronological tables, or dry and meagre 
 
 •* annals-}-.** But whatever opinion I may 
 
 have of his lordfhip's tafte, I cannot help think** 
 ^ ing, that in this he is too rigid. It fcems to be a 
 very natural and unblameablc curiofity, to fcarch 
 as far as we can into the reccflcs of antiquity, and 
 the originals of nations ; and there is a pleafure 
 even in thofe glimmerings of light that break 
 through the obfcurity, provided we do not re- 
 prefcnt thofe things as certainties, which are on- 
 ly conjedtural. And I believe there are few but 
 would be apt to wi(h, that there were— " au- 
 <* tlientic volumes of Egyptian or Chaldean^ 
 '* Greek or Latin, Gallic or Britijh records,** 
 
 even though they were only like what he 
 
 calls " dry and meagre annals," or, as he 
 
 clfcwhere fpeaks, " the gazettes of antiqui-? 
 
 f^ ty y* and contained dynafties and genea- 
 
 ^ Vol. I. p. 149, f lb. p. 150. 
 
 W9U 
 
 **iWiPiP — t i m- i K i i. 
 
 mmmmm 
 
MMM 
 
 MIMB 
 
 Lord BolingbrokeV Letters, l^ 
 
 logics, with a mention of remarkable events that 
 happened to thofc nations in the order of timc^ 
 like journals, or chronological tables. And if 
 .nny learned man could difcover fuch antient au- 
 thentic records or monuments, few, I fliould 
 think, would blame him, or think him idly em- 
 ployed in puhlilhing them to the world. 
 
 It looks a little odd, that there is no kind of 
 men for whom, throughout thefe Letters, he 
 Iheweth a Icfs regard than for thofc that are ge- 
 nerally accounted men of learning. Speaking 
 of thofc who— — ** affecfl the reputation of great 
 •* fcholars, at the cxpence of groping all their 
 
 lives in the dark mazes of antiquity,*' • 
 
 he favs, that ^* all thefc miftakc the true 
 
 •^ dcfign of ftudy, and the true ufc of hi- 
 *^ ftory.*'— — • Great as the advantages are that 
 he afcribcth to hiftory, and which he thinks 
 every man is capable of that is able to read, and 
 
 to reflet^ upon what he reads, yet ^* a credita- 
 
 •* ble kind of ignorance is, in his opinion, the 
 ^^ whole benefit which the generality even of the 
 ** moft learned reap from it/'-— And he inti- 
 mates, .that the only cfFedl of their reading and 
 ftudying hiftory is, to become pedants, /. e. as he 
 cxplaincth it,— *< worfcthan ignorant, always 
 •* incapable, fomctimes meddling and prefu- 
 ♦' ming*.— — And clfcwherc he reprefenteth 
 
 the credulous learned as only employed ** in: 
 
 ^' wrangling about antient traditions, and ringing 
 ?* different changes on the fame fct of bells f." 
 ♦ Vo|. I, p. 14, 15, 21. t lb. p. 169. 
 
 ■i ^ 
 
 i\ 
 
 9A 
 
 To 
 
mj^ Kefje^ons m the Ijati 
 
 To ftll which may be added, what he faith, iq 
 his Letter on the true uf^ of retirement and ftudy, 
 concerning — -^ ^* the fcholar and philofophcr, 
 *^ who, far from owning that he throws away 
 ^* his tjme, reproves others for doing itj that fo- 
 ** lemn mortal \vho abftains from the plcafurcs 
 ^* and declines the bufinefs of the world, that he 
 ♦^ may dedicate his whole time (o the fcarch 
 ^* of truth, and the improvement of know^ 
 ♦^ Icge/'s— — He fuppofes him to have read-i-f 
 ♦* till he is become a great critic Jn Latin ancl 
 <* Greeks in the Oripntal tongues, in hiftory and 
 ^^ chronology ; and not only fo, but to have 
 ♦* fpcnt years in ftudyipg philofophcrs, commcn-f 
 ♦* tators, rabbles, and whole legions of modern 
 <* doftors, and to be extremely well vcrfed in all 
 ^* that has been written concerning the nature of 
 ^* God, and of the foul of man, about matter and 
 ^* form, body and fpirit, Qc */* — - And yet 
 he pronounceth, that, notwithftanding all his 
 learning, he is in a ftate of ignorance, for want of 
 
 having '* examined the firft principles, and the 
 
 *•• fundamental fafts, on which thefe queftiong 
 ^* depend, with an abfolute indifference of judg- 
 ** mcnt, and fcrupulous exaftncfs ^, '* ■ 
 This he fuppofeth to be the cafe o f " many 
 ^' a great fcholar, many a profound philofopher, 
 ^' many a dogmatical cafuift" — - Yea, and, as 
 appeareth from other paffages in his Letters, of 
 every learned man, ot every philofopher and di- 
 vine whatfoever, that believeth Chriftianity. On 
 the otherhand, he declareth concerning— — *'thc 
 
 f V«i. II. r* ?*'> 212, t ^b. p« 2ti3, 2T4. 
 
 ** man 
 
 «< 
 
 a 
 
 "mm 
 
Lord Bolingbroke V Letters, 2 5 
 
 ^* man who hath paffed his life in thcplcafurcs 
 ** or bufincfsof the world/'*— that whenever 
 he fets about the work of examining principles, 
 jmd judging for himfelf—-— *^ concerning thof^ 
 ^* things that are of greatcft importance to us 
 ^* here, and may be fo hereafter, he will foon 
 •* have the advantage over the learned philofo- 
 ^* pher. For he will foop have fecured what is 
 " neceflary to his happinefs, and may fu down 
 " in the peaceful enjoyment of that knowlegc ; 
 '^ or proceed with greater advantage and fatif-i 
 ^* fadlion to the acquifition of new knowlege ; 
 *' whilft the other continues his fearch after things 
 " that are in their nature, to fay the beft of them, 
 y hypothetical, precarious, and fupcrfluous */* 
 
 The natural tendency of thefc, and other refle- 
 xions of a like kind, which occur in thcfe Letters, 
 feems to be to pour contempt upon what have 
 been hitherto efteemed valuable branches of litc-p 
 rature. Refearches into antiquity, chronological 
 ftudies, criticifni and philofophy, difquifitions 
 concerning the nature of God, the human foul, 
 and other philofophical and theological fub- 
 jefts, all thefc are reprefented ^s of little or no 
 ufe J and only a more fpccious kind of idlenefs^ 
 And if this be the cafe, I think it is wrong to 
 complain of the Gothj Vandals^ Saracens^ and 
 other barbarous nations, that burnt whole libra- 
 ries, and deftroyed the monuments of learning.. 
 They rid the world of a great deal of ufclefs 
 lumber, whiph tempted men to mif-fp<ind their. \ 
 time and pains ; and it would have been ap adf 
 
 • Vol. II. p. 216, 2 17, 
 
 Vantage 
 
 ^- 
 
 li 
 
b6 
 
 Refltftions on the Late 
 
 vantage to mankind, if more of them liad been 
 dcftroycd: inftcad of being thankful to thofc 
 learned perfons that have taken fuch pains to re- 
 cover and publifti antient monuments, wc are 
 only to regard them as induftrious triflers, to 
 whofc labours the world 'is very little obliged, 
 Nor can I fee, upon fuch a view of things, what 
 ofe or need there is of feminaries of learnirg. 
 But, in good earncft, can this be regarded as a 
 proper way to mend our tafte, and help forward 
 our improvement ? Such a way of thinkinjr, 
 if it generally obtained, would, it is to be fearea, 
 inftcad of producing an extraordinary rcfiocmcnt 
 of tarte, tend rather to fink us into ignorance 
 and barbarifm, and bring us back to the dark- 
 nefs of the moft illiterate ages. 
 
 Taken in this view, I cannot think, that thefo 
 Letters have a favourable afpedt on the intercfts 
 of literature. Methinks there appearcth to be 
 no great ncceffity at prefent of warning perfons 
 not to fpend their lives in laborious purfuits of 
 karning. The prevailing turn of the age doth 
 notfeem to lie this way. Many of our gentle- 
 men will no doubt be very well plcafed to be af- 
 fured, that though they pafs their lives in the bu- 
 finefs or plcafures of the world, yet if they at 
 length fet thcmfelves to examine firft principles, 
 and confult the oracle of their own realbn, with- 
 out any regard to the opinion of others, or trou- 
 bling them felves to read the writings of philofo- 
 phers or divines, they are in a more likely way 
 of difcoverinjr truth, ;ind making; a pro;;rcfs \\\ 
 
 «c 
 
 ■Mi|v>iVM«aMi^«fMHr<n 
 
Lord BoHngbrokeV Letters, ly 
 
 ufeful knowlegc, than any of thole—— *' fo- 
 <* Icmn mortals* who abftain from the pica- 
 " fnres and decline the bulincfs of the world, 
 «« that they may dedicate their whole time to 
 " the fearch of truth, and the improvement of 
 
 <* knowledge.*' This is certainly a very 
 
 flattering fcheme^ and feems to open a very fliort 
 and cafy way for attaining to wifdom, Whea 
 they find a man of his lordlhip's fine and elegant 
 tafte^ and great talents, and who by his own ac-* 
 count hath fpcnt fo much time and pains in 
 learned inquiries, pronouncing them abfolutely 
 vain and ufclcfs j they will be very apt to take 
 bis word for it, and not give thcmlclves the 
 trouble of laborious ftudy; the refult of which 
 might be only filling their heads with what he 
 calleth learned lumber^ and cxpofing them to 
 the ridiculous chaxader of pedants^ i. e. as he 
 
 dcfcribeth them, ** men worfe than ignorant, 
 
 ♦' always incapable, fometimes meddling and 
 " prcfuming."— Inftead of fuch learned drudg-- 
 cry, the more eafy and delightful tafk of ftudy- 
 }ng modern hiftory, may be fufficient to furni(h 
 them with all the knowlcge they want, and an- 
 fwcr every end of ufeful improvement. 
 
 Butfurcly fucha manner of rcprefenting things 
 it not altogether juft, nor is this the moft efFedla- 
 al way of promoting real improvement in wif-» 
 dom and virtue. Great is the extent, and wide 
 the field, of fcience. Many noble fubjedls there 
 $rc of inquiry, which well dcferve our attention; 
 The deUrc of knowlegc is the ftrongcft in the 
 
 pobleft 
 
 IL 
 
s8 
 
 Reflexions on th hate 
 
 iji 
 
 Qobleft minds \ but comparatively fmall is tbo 
 progreis that a man is capable of making by 
 nis own unaffiftcd ability, within the ihort 
 compafs of this prcfcntlifc: and therefore, be his 
 abilities never fo great, he will need the affiftancc 
 of others, and ought to be very thankful for it. 
 Many excellent perfons in different ages haveem*. 
 ployed their pains this way ; and a mighty ad*- 
 vantage that man hath, who has the opportu- 
 nity, and knows how to improve it, of profiting 
 by their labours. He may, by reading, vaftly 
 increafe his ftock of knowlege, may meet with 
 many valuable hints, which elfc would not have 
 occurred to him, and may find important fub-- 
 jecfts fet in a clearer light than otherwife he 
 would have feen them. The author of our be- 
 ings, who hath implanted in us the defire of 
 knowlege, and fitted us for communicating our 
 fentimcnts, undoubtedly defigned, that, in aci 
 quiring knowlege, as well as in other things, wc 
 fhould l)e helpful to one another, and not depend 
 merely upon ourfelves. And this is the great 
 ^vantage of language, and of letters. We mujft 
 indeed make ufe of our own reafon, but we 
 ought alfo to take in all the helps and advantages 
 ve can get : and he that is careful to improve 
 ihofe helps which arc afforded him, and who, 
 without lubmitting implicitly to the judgments 
 and opinions of others, endejivours to make the 
 beft ufe he can of their labours and ftudies, as 
 >ve)l as of his own thoughts, is in a far more likcr 
 
 bcttei 
 
 men, 
 
 own 
 
 helps 
 
 oracl 
 
 mmm 
 
 mmwtmm 
 
Lof^d Bolingbroke'j Letters. 29 
 
 ly way of improving his knowlege, and will 
 better approve himfelf to God, and to all wife 
 men, than he that, from a vain confidence in hia 
 own judgment, defpifeth and rejefteth thofc 
 helps, and, under pretence of confulting the 
 oracle of reafon in his own bread (for, as his 
 
 lordfliip expreffcth it ** every man's reafon 
 
 " is every man's oracle") — ^will not give him- 
 felf the trouble to read and to examine what 
 others have faid and thought before him. Such 
 sn high conceit of a man's own capacity and 
 judgment, fuch in arrogant fclf-fufficicncy, and 
 a contempt of the labours f>nd judgments of 
 others, is not a very proper difpofition for find- 
 ing out truth. A man of this charafter was 
 Epicurus^ who boafled that his knowlege was 
 all of his own acquiring, and fcorncd to fcem to 
 be beholden to any other for his notions. 
 
 Having confidered thofc parts of the late 
 Lord BoUngbroke*s Letters that feem not very fa- 
 vourable to the interefts of literature, I fhall 
 now proceed to what is the principal defign of 
 ihefe Remarks, to examine the reflections he has 
 caft upon the (acred monuments of our religion. 
 He firft attacks the hiftory of the Bible, cfpecially 
 as contained in the books of the Old Teftament; 
 and then proceeds te a more direQ: attempt upon 
 Chriftianity. And this appears not to be a thing 
 he treats of merely by the bye, but to be a point 
 he has formally in view, and for which he pro- 
 fcflci a kind of zeal. I (hall therefore confidcr 
 diftindlly what he hath offered. , . 
 
 In 
 
c< 
 c< 
 
 I 
 
 CC 
 
 cc 
 
 36 Reflations on the Laie '^ 
 
 In his third Letter on the ftudy of hiftoryi U 
 fctteth himfelf to confidcr the ftate of antieot 
 biftory, both facred and profane t and l>cgini 
 with declaring his rcfolution •— " to fpeak 
 plainly and particularly in favour of common 
 lenfc, againft an abfurdity which is almoft 
 fanftified *." — After having made fome ob* 
 fervations on the flate of antient profane hiftory, 
 and .fliewn, that it is full of faolcs, and altOk 
 gather uncertain j he next comes to apply thcfc 
 oblcrvations to antient facred hiftory -f . What 
 he feems at firft to propofe, is, to (hew, that it >- 
 is»— — *^' infufficient to give us light into the j rcj 
 original of antient nations, and the hiftory of 
 thofe ages we commonly call the firft £ges.** 
 'But it i5 evident, that, under pretence, of 
 (hewing this, his intention is, to reprefent thi 
 whole hiftory of the Bible as abfolutely uncer- 
 tain, and not at all to be depended upon for t 
 juft account of fads. lie not only dcniethj 
 that the writers of the hiftorical parts of the 
 Old Tcftamcnt were divinely infpired, but he 
 will not allow them the credit that is due to any 
 common honeft hillorians. He reprefents thofe 
 
 hiftories as ** delivered to us on the faith of a 
 
 fuperftitious people, among whom the cuftom 
 and art of lying prevailed remarkably J/' — * 
 and obfcrves, that — *' the JfU-r/Jj hiftory nevcf 
 obtained any credit in the world, till Chrifti* 
 anity was ellabliftied §.*' lie foiAetimes tx^ 
 
 ♦ Vol. I. p. 70* t IbiJ. p. 83. et fcq» J Ibid. p. 2j» 
 § Ibid. p. 91. 
 
 prefleth 
 
 
 
 pre 
 the 
 ph< 
 
 rei< 
 
 to 
 
 Sa 
 
 afi 
 
 the 
 
 pre 
 
 reg 
 
 dci 
 
 car 
 
 crc 
 hi 
 mc 
 
 Lc 
 
 as 
 
 wi 
 (I 
 
 (( 
 
 (f 
 
 if 
 
 (I 
 
 (C 
 
 he 
 fa( 
 
 « 
 
Lord BolingbrokeV Letters, ^r 
 
 prefleth himfclf, as if he were willing to allow 
 the divine infpiration of the dodrinal and pro- 
 phetical parts of the Bible, and were only for 
 rtfjeding the hiftorical. And this he pretends 
 to be the bed way to defend the authority of the 
 Scriptures*. But it is evident, that this is only 
 a Iheer. For he was, no doubt, fenfible, that 
 the facrcd hiftory is fo interwoven with the 
 prophecies and laws, that if the former is to be ' 
 regarded as lying fiftion, and not at all to be 
 depended upon^ the divine authority of the other 
 cannot be fupported. And what he afterwards ' 
 repeatedly affirnTiCtb of Chriftianity, that the' 
 credit of its divine inftitution dcpendcth upon 
 fads, holdeth equally concerning the Old Tefta- 
 mcnt oeconomy. 
 
 After having done what he can, in his third 
 Letter, to (hew the uncertainty of antient facred 
 as well as profane hiftory ; he begins his fourth 
 
 with obferving, that as ** we arc apt naturally 
 
 *' to apply to ourfelvcs what has happened to 
 " other men ; and as examples take their force 
 " from hence ; fo what we do not believe to 
 " have happened we (hall not thus apply ; and, 
 " for want of the fame application, the»examples 
 ** will not have the fame cfFedl/'-- — And then 
 
 he adds " Antient hiftory, fuch antient hiftory 
 
 " as I have dcfcribed '* [in which antient 
 
 (acred hiftory is manifeftly comprehended]— 
 " is quite unfit in this rcfpeft to anfwcr the ends . 
 " that every reafonable man (hould promife toi 
 
 • Vol. I. p. 93. 98, 99. \ •^ 
 
 himfelf 
 
 *mi^ 
 
 i.t 
 
3 a . Redediori^ m the Laii 
 
 *< bimfelf in this ftady ; bectufc fuch antiedt 
 *« hiftory will never gain fufficicnt credit with 
 
 •• any reafonable man*." And afterwards^ 
 
 fpeaking of antient fabulous narrations, he de« 
 cJarcs, that—-** fuch narrations cannot make 
 " the flighted monjcntary imprcflions on a mind 
 •* fraught with knowlcge and void of fuper- 
 ** ftition. Impofcd by authority, and afEfted 
 <* by artifice, the delufion hardly prevails over 
 *^ common fenfc ; blind ignorance almoft fees, 
 ** and rafh fu per ftition hefitatcs : nothing Icfs 
 *^ than cnthufiafm and phrenfy can give credit 
 •• to fuch hiftorics, or apply fuch examples/*— 
 
 He thinks, that what he lias faid will ** not 
 
 ** be much contioverted by any man that has 
 •* examined our antient traditions without pre- 
 •* poffelfion :'* and that all the difference be- 
 tween them, and Jlmadis of GW, is this, that 
 
 ** In Amadii of Gaul we have a thread of 
 
 " abfurditics that lay no claim to belief j but 
 ** antient traditions are an heap of fiiblcs, under 
 •* which fome particular truths infcrutable, and 
 ** therefore ufelefs to mankind, may lie con* 
 •* cealed, which have a juft pretence to nothing 
 
 *^ more " [;. e. to no more credit thzn jimadis 
 
 of Gauf\ *' and yet impofc themfelvcs upon 
 
 •* us, and become, under the venerable name of 
 •* antient hiilorv, the foundation of modern 
 •* fables •[-/* He doth not diredly apply this 
 to the Scriptures. But no one can doubt that 
 this was his iiuention. It is too evident, that ihefo^ 
 
 ^ Vol I. p. 1 18. f Ibitl. p. 120, 12 1 4 
 
 are 
 
 
 ■ ■Km \wmmmmmmimm' 
 
Lord Bolingbrokc V Letters. 3 3. 
 
 are dcfigncd to be included in what he callcth 
 
 . — ** our anticnt traditions ** (a word which 
 
 he had applied feveral times before to the facred -% 
 records) j and which he rcprcfcnteth as ** im« > 
 ♦* pofed by authority, and affiftcd by artifice" -» 
 •— And I think it is fcarce poffible to expefs 
 a greater contempt of any writing, than he nere 
 dcKh ^ the hiftory of d^ Biblejr aikt tbi ts^\ 
 implei ft affords, - -^ • ' - ^^ 
 
 \ 
 
 ". ^1 .', 4 
 
 tt ^ T 
 
 !' 
 
 'f \ 'I 
 
 V/^v'- r: .V . \'V '•; *^ ^ \^/^ 'Hj >m\4h '^^t/l-i.iCfw 
 
 i..- 
 
 ^> , . ,« 
 
 t, V 
 
 .r. 
 
 ^h }U. 
 
 
 rffb^ftl 
 
 
 H 
 
 • ■> t . t<^ » • • 
 
 
 
 t 
 
 
 
 ii-au i^:^' 
 
 'J •:il4n >'l 
 
 1- .,» iyr*! >i f' 
 
 * • 
 
 i 
 
 s 
 
 
 RE, 
 
 it/" 
 
 i" 
 
^4^ 'Refleaiais ckifye Lafe' ^ 
 
 . I 
 
 REFLECT I ON S 
 
 On the Late 
 
 Lord Bolingbrokb's Letters. 
 
 P A R T II. 
 
 jIn Examination of the principal things offered 
 by bis Lord/hip to iffvalidate the Authority and 
 Credibility of the Sacred Hiflory^ 
 
 HAVING given this general view of the 
 author's dcfign, I (hall now proceed to a 
 more diftinft and particular examination of the 
 principal things he hath oflfcred to invalidate the 
 authority of the Old Tertamcnt Hiftory. What 
 he faith of Chriftianiiy rtiall be conlidcred after- 
 wards. 
 
 I need not take nrAUch notice of what he hath 
 urged to (hew, that the writers of the Sacred 
 Books did not intend an univcrfal hiftory, or 
 fyftcm of chronology *. I know nobody that 
 
 Vol. J. p. 2C2. ct fcq. 
 
 fup- 
 
:Ki 
 
 Lord Bolingbroke*x Letters. 35 
 
 fuppbfcs they did ; fo that he might have fparcd 
 that part of his pains. But notwithftanding the 
 Bible was not defigned for an univerfal hiftoryi 
 or to exhibit a complete fyftem of chronology^ 
 though it may be fafely affirmedi that no one 
 book irl the world gives fo great! helps this way. 
 It is fufficient if it gives us a true hiftory as far 
 as it goes, and Which may be fafely depended 
 upon. This is what Our author will not allow* 
 It is manifed, that he placettt it in the fame 
 rank with the moft fabulous accx)Unts of antient 
 timeSk This then is the point we are to confidcr* 
 Let us therefore examine what proofs or argu- 
 ments he hath brought againfl the truth and 
 credit of the facred hiftoryi 
 
 Some of the things offered by him to this 
 purpofe have fcatce fo much as the appearance 
 of argument* Of this kind is what he faith 
 concerning the ufe that has been made by Jemjh 
 Rabbiesj and Chriftian Fathers, and Mahometan 
 Doftors, of the fliort and imperfedt accounts 
 given by Mofes of the times from the creation to 
 the deluge. Let us grants that the fables they 
 have feigned concerning jidam and Eve^ Cain | 
 and jil^eil Enochs Noab^ and his fons^ f^A are 
 fuch as - — ** Bonzes or Talapdns would almoft 
 ** blufti to relate j"- — I do not fee how this can 
 be reafonably turned to the difadvantagc of the 
 books oi Mofes ^ or hurt the credit of thcmi * 
 fincc his lordfliip owns, that thefc fables arc— - 
 •* profanc^extenfions of this part of the Mofaic ' 
 
 !' hiftory.** And that hiftory is ccrUinly np* 
 
 way anhvcrablc for the additions which have j 
 
 D i b-ren ji 
 
 i' 
 
 I* 
 
:S6 RdSedioM (^ thi Late ^ 
 
 l)ccn tn^rdc to it. Ji would have bcih^fy for 
 MofiSp if he had been a fabulous writer/to.have 
 iilldd up this part of his hiftory with morveloui 
 relations, and to have embellUhed it with fuch 
 fiftions concerning our firft parents, and the inoft 
 anticnt patriarchs, as our author here refcrreth 
 to : an,d his not having done fo is a ftrong pre- 
 sumption in his favour, that he' did not give 
 •Way to fancy or invention, bnt writ down the 
 fadts as they came to him, with an unafF'ifttd 
 limplicity. His accounts arc (hort, becaufc he 
 kept clofc to truth, and ^ook care to record no 
 more of thofc times than he had good informa- 
 tion of, or than was nccclfary to the dcfign he 
 had in view ; which fecms principally to have 
 been to give a brief account of the creation, the 
 formation of the firft human pair, the placing 
 them in Paradiic, the fall, and the flood, which 
 were the moft remarkable events of that period 5 
 and to continue the line from Adam by Seth to 
 Noab^ as afterwards he docs from him to Abra^^ 
 'bam. ■ 
 
 What his lordfliip obfcrvcs concerning the 
 blundtrs of the ^e*u>i(h chronologers *, is not 
 mnch more to his purpofc, except he could 
 prove, that thofc blunders are chargeable upon 
 the Scriptures \ which is fo far from being true, 
 that, if accurately examined, arguments may 
 be brought from thole very Scriptures to con- 
 fute the blunders he mentions. 
 
 As to the difflrencts he takes notice of 
 •(• between the Scripture-accounts of the 
 
 ♦ Vol. I. p. 104. t Ibid. p. 114, 115. 
 
 Ajjyrian 
 
Ik-: 
 
 Lord BolingbrokeV Letters. 37 
 
 JJIyrian empire,* and tho(e givea by profane 
 authors, /« e, by Ctefias^ and them that copy 
 from him, very ^ble chronologer* have en- 
 deavoured to (liew, ,that tholb accounts may b^ 
 Reconciled, ^\M if pot, it would only follow, 
 that the Scripture-hiflory differcth from Ctefias^ 
 who, in his lordlliip's own judgment, and by 
 the ficjcnowlegemenf of the pioft judicious 
 among thp Gr^eh themfelves, was a very fa- 
 bulous vriter * i and how this can be fairly 
 tliought to derogate from the credit and authority 
 pf the Sacred Hiftory, I cannot fee, ^ 
 
 But to come to thofe things on which he f^ 
 feems to lay a greater ftrefs. The fum of what 
 be hath offered to deftroy the truth and credit 
 of the Sacred Writings amounteth to this — »- 
 ** That the J^ws^ upon whofe faith they arc 
 ♦' delivered to us, were a people unknown to 
 •' the Greeks^ till the time of Alexander the 
 ^' Great — That they had been flaves to the 
 •• Egyptians^ jljjyrians^ Medes^ and Perfians^ as ^ 
 
 " thcfe fevcral empires prevailed That a great 
 
 ** part of them had been carried captive, and loft 
 ^* in the Eaft \ and th^ remainder were carried 
 •* captive to Babylon^ where they forgot their ^f 
 
 • country, and cvew their language And 
 
 *• he intujiates, that there alfo they loft their |^ 
 ^^ anticnl facred books : that they were a fu- 
 ^* perftitious people, among whom the cuftom 
 ^* and art of pious lying prevailed remai^kably-T- 
 •* That the original of the Scriptures was com- 
 y piled in their own. country ^j an4^ as it wcrij^, 
 
 • ♦ Vol I. p. 76. 80. ^ 
 
 D 5 ^* ?^^ 
 
 
 
 
 ■} 
 
 
-<c 
 
 
 38 Reflexions on the Late 
 
 ■ « 
 
 ^ out of the fight of the rpft of the world -r^ 
 •* That the Jewijb hiftory never obtained any 
 <• credit till Chriftianity was eftabJJflicdi but 
 
 though both ^tws and Chriftians bold th^ 
 ♦* fame books in great veneration, yet each con- 
 ** demns the other for not undcrftanding, or for 
 •* abufing them*— Th^t the accidents which 
 
 have happened tq alter the text of the Bible 
 
 (hew, that it pould not have teen originally 
 <* given by divine infpiration \ and that they 
 «*« are come down to us broken and confufed^ 
 ** full of additions^ interpolations, andtranfpo-s 
 
 ** fitions Th^t they are nothing more than 
 
 •* compilations of old traditions, and abridg- 
 
 ** ments of old records made in later times — - 
 
 *• And that Jenai and Chriftians differ among 
 
 ** themfelvcs concerning almoft every point that 
 
 •-** is neceflary to cftablifli the authority of thofc 
 
 ** books. He concludes with feme obfervations 
 
 ** on the curfc faid to be pronounced by Noah 
 
 ** upon Canaan, which lie would have pafs for 
 
 •" an abfurd fiftion of the writer of the book 
 
 ** of Genefis \ and he feemeth to have finglcd 
 
 *^* out' this as one of the properefl inflances ho 
 
 ** could find for expofing the Scripture.**— 
 
 ' I et us confider thefe things diftind:ly. 
 
 It IS no juft prejudice againft the credit of the 
 Scripture- hiftory, that the JewSy among whon> 
 thole writings were prcferved, and whofe affairs 
 are there recorded, were, as appearcth from 
 
 thofe writings • Slaves to the Egyptians^ 
 
 !^ ^JJy^i^^h Medes^ and Perfians^ as thefe feveraj 
 
 jr . i' empires 
 
 ■DP" 
 
 ■^w*^p« 
 
 wmtr w mmtmmmmim 
 
Lord BoIingbrokeV Letters. 39 
 
 *• empires prevailed ♦.*• It rather furniftieth a. 
 
 proof of tnc truth and impartiality of thofe 
 records, that they give an undifguifed account, 
 not only of the flourifliing times of their ftate ; 
 for there were times in which they vjtxt flourifh- 
 ingj free, and independent ; but of their dif- 
 graces, defeate, captivities, and all the calamities 
 that befcl them^ which, according to thefe ac- 
 counts, were in a way of juft punifliment for 
 their national iniquities, their difobedience and 
 ingratitude. Yet under all thefe various revo-' 
 lutions their nation was never intirely loft, nor 
 incorporated with their conquerors. Though* 
 many of them revolted, ftill there was a number 
 of them that with an unalterable zeal and con-^ 
 ftancy adhered to their antient religion and laws, 
 which they regarded as of a divine original j a 
 religion remarkably diftinft from that of the 
 nations to which they were fubjeded, and, on 
 the account of which, they were frequently cx- 
 pofed to hatred, perfccution, and reproach. 
 
 If the Jews were unknown to the Greeksht^ 
 fore Alexander the Great, this afifbrdeth not the 
 leaft probable prefumption, that their antient 
 hiftory is not to be depended upon. The Greeks^ 
 by this authors own acknowlcg,cment, did not 
 begin to write hiftory till very late. The 
 knowlege they had of other nations was very 
 narrow and confined. And, particularly, they 
 were in a great meafure ftraneecs to the languages, 
 laws, cuftoms, and hiftory, oF the caftern nation?; 
 He hinxfelf obferves, that after the times oC 
 
 ? Vol I. p. 84. • 
 
 ■^ " D 4 /il^xanden 
 
 
 p.'' 
 

 "rJ 
 
 li 
 
 40 RcfliAiom ah tU Lata \ 
 
 jlkxander the Great, and even long after th^ 
 5^rw/}Z> Scriptures were tranfl^tcd into GntK ^^ 
 Jtwiy and tneir biftory, were neglected by theirii 
 and continued to be almoft as much unknown as 
 before*. And yet certain it is, that the 3^^w 
 were then a confidcrable people, and that the 
 Greeks had many opportunities of being ac- 
 quainted with them. Let us grant what he in* 
 finuates, that this was owing, not tp want of 
 
 curiofity in the Greeks^ fince <* they were, aa 
 
 ** he obferves, inquifitive to the hjghcft degree, 
 ^ and publiflicd as many idle traditions of other 
 
 ** nations ^ of their own -f but to the 
 
 contempt they had for the Jewt. What can b^ 
 inferred frbm thence ? Do|b it follow, that th^ 
 jfewi/h. Scriptures are pot authentic, nor their 
 hiftorics to be credited, bcc^ufe the Greeks neg- 
 Icdted or defpifed them, and did not own their 
 authority ? This is eafily- accounted for by any 
 one that confiders the nature of the yewijh in- 
 llitutions. It is not to be wondered at, that a 
 people fo cxceffively vain as the Greeks^ and who 
 looked upon the reft of the world as Barbarians^ 
 fljou Id. conceive an averfion or contempt for a 
 j^ation whofe laws and ^religion were fp different 
 from their own, among whom all image-worftup 
 was moft expreily prohibited, and no adoratioq 
 was paid to inferior deities^ in which the religion 
 of the Greeks^ and of which they were extremely 
 fond, principally confiftcd, If the yr4i;;yi6 facrcd 
 books had contained ftrange ftories of the ex- 
 ploits pf tlieir gods, of their genealogies, battles^j 
 ♦ Vol, I. p. 90. + Ibid. p. 88. 
 
Lord Bolingbroke*i Letters, 41^ 
 
 and amours, or traditions that tended to fupport 
 a fyftem of idolatry, the Greeks undoubtedly 
 would have been ready enough to tranfcrlba 
 thefc things inp their writings ; thefc fables 
 would have been fqi^ed to their tafte, But it 
 cannot be fuppofed, that they (hould pay jiny 
 regard to the accounts given of extraordinary 
 piiraculous fadls, that were defigned to cftabli{H 
 and give fandtion to a conftitution, the manifeft^ 
 tendency of which was to condemn and fubvert 
 that idolatrous worftijp, to >vhich they were fo 
 pxceffively addicted. , ^ • 
 
 Among all the heathen nations none expreffed 
 a greater enmity to the Jews than the Egyptians^ 
 who were themfelves of all people the mod 
 Aupldly idolatrous. One of their writers, Apion 
 oi yllexandria^ is particularly mentioned by our 
 author as having -^ — " fpoken of the Jrwi in a 
 *^ manner neither much to their honour, nor ta 
 
 *' that of their hiftories,*' This feems to have 
 
 recommended him to his lordfhip's favour % for 
 
 lie fpeaks of him as a man ** of much cru- 
 
 ^* dition, and as having paiTed for a curious, a 
 
 ** laborious, and learned antiquary " though 
 
 he owns, that he paffed alfo " for a vain and 
 
 ** noify pedant*." But if we may judge ot 
 
 him by the fragments of his work, which Jo^ 
 fiphus has given us, he was, with regard to the 
 ^f^wj, an ignorant and malicious writer, who 
 does not appear to have been acquainted with 
 their hiftories and laws, though he pretended to 
 write againft them \ and might io eafily have 
 
 prof 
 
 i'l 
 
 
 '.' 
 
 t 
 
 (.■ 
 I 
 
 i 
 I. 
 
 * 
 
(\ 
 
 4a -Refl^Aions tm the Late ■ '- 
 
 Srocuttd Information, if he had dcfircd it. And* 
 lis appears to have bc^n the cafe of Tcveral' 
 others of the heathen writers that mention the 
 Jews: They fcern not tp have given them fel vet' 
 the trouble to make any diligent inquiry into' 
 their hiftory or laws, as delivered by thcmfclvcs,* 
 but took up with idle reports and traditions tof 
 their prejudice : and yet in the accounts givciV 
 of the Jews by the heathen wiitcrs, imperfcdt 
 as they are, there are fome valuable hints and* 
 traces to be difccrncd, which fhew the falfhood 
 of other things th^y report concerning them *. ^ 
 It is therefore a little odd, that fuch a ftrefs 
 
 fiiould be laid upon this, that *^ the Jewi/i 
 
 ** hiftory never obtained any credit in the worlds 
 
 «« till Chriftianlty was cftablifhcd r /, e. it 
 
 obtained no credit among the heathen nations j 
 or, as he elfewhere exprefleth it-^ — " we do not 
 ** find, that the authority of thefe books prevailed 
 
 • ♦ There is in heathen writer of a very different chara£le^, 
 from /fpiorty who gives a much more candid account of tbo 
 'JewtJ)) nation ; I mean the judicious Straho^ of whom our 
 author himfelf fpeaks with the higheft cftcem. He makes 
 the c^ufc of Mofn'% forCiking Egypt lo be his being diflatif- 
 ficd with the falfc notions of God, and his worOiip, that had' 
 obtained among the Egyptians ; and fuppofes him to have en- 
 tertained jufter and nobler notions of the Divinity than the 
 Egyptians^ or Libyans y or Greeks : chat with nim went* 
 from Egypt many that honoured the Deity ^ toAAm T//u»»f]tf t^ 
 Oltcv : that he perfuadid many good men^ and brought ^hera. 
 unto the country where Jerufalem is built ; and that there 
 they continued praHiftng jujiice or righttoufnefsy and being 
 truly religious y ox fin cere worjhippers of Uody J\t/-cH9Tf^Ayi{\%;< 
 >5J iJffiC^f v( fltAM9<yj ofjif, but that afterwards they degcnc- 
 i-atcd.— Sec Strato* lib. xvi, 
 
 ' •• among 
 
 i.3 
 
Lord BolingbrokeV Letters* 43 
 
 ^' among the pagan world *."-^ How could it 
 l)C cxpcdcd, that it (hould ? Since the heathens 
 could not acknowlege it, and continue heathens ; 
 for it was abfolutely fubvcrfivc of the whole 
 fyftem of paganifm. The authority of -thoffc 
 l)Ooks was believed and received among all thofc, 
 by whom it could be reafonably expefted that 
 it ihould be believed and received: that is, it 
 was acknowleged and received by that nation 
 among whom thofc writings, and the menmor^ 
 of the laws and fads, had been conftantly pre- 
 fcrved, and who regarded them with great vene- |j 
 ration, as of a divine original 5 and alio by thofe jl 
 among the heathens themfclves, who, upon the |j 
 ctedit of the Jrivifi religion, laws, and records^ 
 quitted the heathen idolatry : and thcfe were all 
 that could be reafonably cxpc£ted to acknowlege 
 the authority of the Jrwijb facrcd books, evea 
 fuppofing their authority to have been never f6 
 well founded, ^' -^ 
 
 "^ But it is urged as aground of fufpicion agamft 
 the yewjh Scriptures, that——** they were cotn- 
 ^* piled in their own country, and, as it were,^out 
 ♦* of the fight of the reft of the world.** — ^And 
 it was certainly moft proper, that the books in 
 which their laws, and the moft remarkable | | 
 events relating to their nation, are recorded, ; 
 fliould be publiflied in their own country, thfc ! 
 fccne where the chief adtions were laid. This 
 is no diminution of their credit, but the con- | 
 trary. And if they had been compiled in any \ 
 other country, or by foreigners^ and perfons not 
 
 * VoL 1.^87. 91^ . " t; - ^1 
 
 I, 
 
 \- 
 
 i: 
 I. 
 
m$ 
 
 \ 
 
 I 
 
 i{ 
 
 < V 
 
 J 
 
 I ill 1 
 
 !iji 
 
 "i'l 
 
 ■ii 
 
 f Refle^i<ms M the ZmH \, 
 
 of their own Jiatipn; it might have becii (aid, 
 and not without ibmc appearance of rcafoo; 
 that they n)ight>?,iniftaken, and uke up witli 
 wrong Mdimi^kd agirounts^ toth of lavr^ and 
 
 fafts^ . • v;;:j!' ...» i..:ii:i 
 
 But what this author fccms chiefly, tQ infift 
 ijpoa^ to (hew that little credit is t;0 be give n-to 
 ih^fe wciting§» i$ — -■ f that they a^rp hiftorics dc^ 
 ** livercd to us on the faith Of t fuperftitious 
 •* people ; among whom the cuftooi and 4ft of 
 *' pious lying prevailed remarkably */' 
 
 in order to form; t proper judgment of this 
 matter^ let us t^kc: arbrief vicvy pf, the ye^jjb 
 Scriptures, that we may fee what likelihood there 
 is of their having beca feigned by a fuperftitiout 
 ^nd lying people. . 
 
 :. In general, it may be obfcrved/ th^it if we 
 compare the facrcd books of the ^ews with 
 jthofe of any other the moft admired nations, 
 fuch as Greece and Romey we (hall foon fee % 
 moft ftriking and amazing difference, Their 
 "whole conftitution was of a, peculiar, nature ; f(> 
 vaftly different from that of other cguntries, ithat 
 it well deferveth the attention and admiration of 
 every impartial and confidering obferver. It 
 w^ the only conftitution in the world, where 
 the acknowlegement and worftiip of the one 
 true God, the fovcreign Lord of the gniverfe, 
 4nd of him akne, is made the fundamental 
 maxim of their ftate, and principle of their go* 
 verrHtent, in which aJl their laws centre, and 
 the main end to which thev are all directed, 
 » VoL I. p. 87. 
 
t 
 
 Lord BolingbrokcV Lettdrs, 45 
 
 All worfhip of inferior deities }s forbidden 5 ho 
 deified heroes admitted ; no images fuffered. 
 Many of their facrcd rites feem to have been 
 inlVitutcd in a defigncd oppofition to thofe of 
 the neighbouring nations, that they might not 
 incorporate with them, or learn their idolatrous 
 cuftoms, to which the IJraelites^ for a long time, 
 were very prone. Nor is there any likelihood 
 Aat they would have embraced or fubmitted to 
 a( confticiition fo different from the then generally 
 prevailing idolatry, if it had not been for the 
 manifeft proofs that were given them of its 
 divine original. The author of thefe letters 
 indeed intimates, that many of their rites wero 
 derived from the Egyptians ; but whatever con- 
 formity there might be in fome particular in- 
 ftances, nothing is more certain and evident, 
 than that the whole fvftem of the yewijb re- 
 ligion was moft effcntially oppofitc to that of the 
 Egyptians^ and other pagan nations j and tended 
 to cad contempt on their adored deities, and on 
 that idolatrous worfhip to which the heathens 
 were fo much addifted, and which was efta- 
 Wiflied by the laws of their refpeftive countries. 
 As to the moral and devotional treatifes, which 
 make up another part of their facred writings, 
 they are inconteftably excellent. Their poetry 
 is of a moft divine ftrain, for fuperior to that of 
 other antient nations, having an unexampled 
 dignity, elevation, and fublimity, in it, filled with 
 the nobleft fentiments of the Divinity, and of his 
 glorious incomparable pcrfeftions, and governing 
 providence. <- *: 
 
 The 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
riMriMMi 
 
 < I 
 
 ■ '-W 
 
 11 
 
 :^li 
 
 h: 
 
 46 . Rtfledtians oh the LAti 
 
 r;The nime obfemtibn iilajr b^ made on (hei 
 prophetical writing^ in which we may difceril 
 many remarkable charafters of genuine truth and 
 puri^. A fervent zeal for God^ and for pure 
 and undefiled religion^ every-whcre appears i nor 
 18 there any thing in them that breathes thef 
 fpirit of this worlds or that favours of ambition^ 
 artifice, or impofturc* The whole intention of 
 them is manifcQly to reclaim the people "from 
 idolatry, vice, and wickcdncfs, to engage theni 
 to the pure worfhip of God, and to the pradlice 
 of univcrfal righteoufnefs* With a noble free- 
 dom and impartiality do they reprove their kings, 
 princes, priefts, people j denouncing the moft 
 awful thrcatcnings againft them, if they (hould 
 pcrfift in their evil and finfiil courfcsj and en-* 
 couraging them with the moft gracious promifca 
 to repentance, and new obedience : and all this 
 mixed with raany remarkable and exprefs pre- 
 didions of future events, which no human fa- 
 gacity could have fbrefcen, and which derived 
 fuch an authority to them, that thio' they were 
 often reproached and perfecuted when alive, their 
 charadter and writings were afterwards regarded 
 by the whole nation with the profoundcft vene- 
 ration. And it dcferveth to be particularly re- 
 marked, that whereas the Jeu'S^ as well as man- 
 kind, in all ages, have been prone to place re- 
 ligion chiefly in external forms, and ritual ob- 
 fcrvanccs, as if thefe would compenfate for the 
 neglcd of the moral precepts, there are many 
 pallagcs in their facred books, efpecially thofe of 
 the prophets, which in the ftrongcft terms re* 
 
 prefent 
 
f 
 
 Lord Bolingbroke^x Letters. 47 [ 
 
 prcfcnt the utter infufEcicncy of all ritual ob- 
 icrvanccs without real holincfs of heart anrd life t 1 
 
 and even fpcak of them in a very diminutive 
 manner, and with a feeming contempt, when 
 oppofcd to, or abftradted from, moral goodnefs 
 and virtue \ and fuch writings certainly do not I 
 look like the inventions of a fuperftitious and \ 
 lying people. s 
 
 But as the facred hiftory is what this writer \ 
 fcttcth himfelf particularly to expofc and in- ♦ 
 validate, let us take a brief view of the hiftori- • 
 cal parts of Scripture j and thcfc arc no lefs re- 
 markable, and worthy of our attention, than the \ 
 laws, the prophecies, the moral and devotional 
 writings. 
 
 As to a general idea of their hiftory, it is of 
 as different a complexion from that of other • 
 nations as their laws, and is of the fame noble 
 tendency with their other facred books. It every- 
 where breathes the profoundeft veneration for tne ) 
 Deity. The chief defign of it is not merely to 
 anfwer civil or political views, or to preferve thp 
 annals of their nation, or trace it up to its ori- 
 ginal, though this alfo is done, but for nobler ' » j 
 purpofes; to promote the true worfliip of God^ 
 and the pradlicc of piety and virtue ; to preferve *' 
 the remembrance of God's wonderful works of ^ 
 providence towards his jprofefling people j to ^ 
 (hew the favours, the blemngs, the deliverances, ' 
 vouchfafed to them, the profperity and happinefs * 
 they enjoyed, when they kept clofc to the laws ' 
 of Cod, and continued in the practice of virtue 
 and righteoufnefs ^ and on the other Ifond, the.: [ 
 
 li^' ^ great [ 
 
 X 
 
 V 
 
'!■ 
 
 f •' 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 i T 
 
 ;| 
 
 ■~<l 
 
 ill 
 
 48, . Reflc<aioiia m the Late 
 
 great! calamities which befcl them, when they 
 broki:. the divine law and covenant/ and lapfed, 
 into idolatry, vice, and wickednefs. Such are 
 the ufcf^il lellons which jheir hiftory is dcfigned 
 to teach, and to this excellent end is it directed. 
 : Tq which it may be added, that there are 
 cii>fervable in it remarkable characters of fim- 
 plicity, and an in^partial regard to truth. It is* 
 plaifi^ froin the whole tchor of their hiftoryi chat 
 It ^as not compiled to give falfe.and flattering 
 accounts of their nation, or partial and elegant 
 encomiums of their great men. Their great. 
 a<3iPQs indeed are recorded, but their faults are 
 alfo related with a fimplicity and impartiality 
 that deferves' to be admired. Neither Rmans^ 
 Greets, Egyptians, nor any other people, have 
 formed their hiftories fo much to the difadvan* 
 ta^q of their own nation, or charged them with 
 fuch repeated revolts from the religioti and laws : 
 of their country. Let us fuppofe the Jews- 
 n^vQ.r fo much poflTefled with the fpirit of lying^i 
 it vyould never have put them upon forging a . 
 body of hiftory fo much to.the prejudice of their 
 own national character. It tcndeth indeed' to ; 
 give an high idea of the great things God had * 
 diQW, for them, of the privilegca conferred upon ] 
 them, and the excellency, of their laws (and 
 that their laws are excellent, no man can doubt 
 tl^at ferioufly reads and confidcr^ them), but at 
 the fame time it fetteth thq ingratitude, the / 
 difobedience, the ftupidity, of that people, their 
 oppofuion to God's authority, andabufe of his 
 goodncfe, their manifold backflidings and un- 
 
 ■••il*IW^*W»^*"«^ 
 
Ijord BoHngbrokeV Letters. 49 
 
 ftedfaftnefs in his covenant, in the ftrongeft light, ! 
 Their difgraces^ defeats, captivities, are no- | 
 where concealed ; they are reprefented as frc- ^ 
 qucntly brought under the yoke of the neigh- 
 bouring nations in a manner much to their dif- 
 honour ; and their deliverances are afcribed, not } 
 to their own wifdom, conduct:, and bravery, but 
 to the mercy of God, upon their repentance. 
 In a word, their hiftory is a continued account 
 of God's goodnefs, patience, and jufticc, exer* 
 cifcd towards them ; and of their own ftrangc, 
 pcrverfc, and unaccountable condufl:. This is fo 
 manifeft, that it hath been often turned to thclt 
 reproach, and hath given occafion to the reprc- 
 fcnting them as an obftinatc, ungrateful, and re- 
 bellious race, and to fuch a charge as St, Stephen 
 advance th againft them from their own Scrip- 
 tures : Te /Uff'^ffeckedi and uncircumcifed in bedrt 
 end earSy ye do airways rejijl the Holy Ghofi : as 
 your fat hers did ^ jo do ye. Which of the prophets 
 have not your fatheri perfecutedt Adhvii. 51, 
 Thefe confiderations naturally tend to derive z 
 peculiar credit to the yewijh Scriptures^ as con* 
 taining true and faithrul accounts, not forged by ' 
 a fuperftitious lying people. Whatever opinioii 
 therefore we may have of the Je^ws^ yet their 
 Sacred Books deferve great regard. Nor is there 
 any ground to fuppofe, that thefe books or re- 
 cords were of their inventing. At lead, I believe, 
 this will fcarcc be pretended with regard to the 
 Jews m the latter times of their ftate, however 
 they might othcrwife be addifted to tiCVion ana 
 cmbcUilhment. They i-eccivcd thcfc books as 
 -*'- " E facrcd 
 
 ii 
 
 I 
 
 *»i 
 
50 .lU^edliom^ii&rL/i/^ i, 
 
 jfacre^ from their anceRors, aod were themfclvei 
 (<^ fully pcrfiiaded of the djvine origbal and 
 authority of their laws, and the certainty and 
 authenticity of thcfc records, that they adhered 
 
 j |o them with a zeal fcarce to be paralleled in any 
 
 other nation : fo great was the veneration they 
 had For them, that after the c^non was com-, 
 plctcd, they. were extremely fcriipulous not to 
 make any additions to their Sacred Books, or 
 receive any others into their, number as of equal, 
 authoiity, tlioi^gh written by the grcateft and, 
 ^ifeft men of their nation. And if any perfons 
 bfid cndeavoi^rcd to ahcr or corrupt them, the 
 fraud, tlic iippofture, mull hrive been Immcdi-. 
 atcly dcte6tcd. For thcii $acred Looks wcrq 
 not, like thofc of otlicr nations, confined to the 
 priefts only r tlKy f were in the hands of the 
 j^eople," conilantly and publicly read in their 
 lynagogucs j the laws, a!\d tlic fads, were what 
 they were all acquainted with, and intruded in| 
 iljij {loin their infancy. 
 
 If* therefore there be any ground of fufpicion, 
 [t muft fall, not upon the hitter Jews, but upon 
 Ezra, and tiiofe by whom tlie facrcd canon 
 Was finifl^cd. If their hillory and Satrcd Books 
 were forged or corrupted, the moll likely time, 
 tliat can be fixed upon for it is upon their return^ 
 from the Babylonijh captivity. And this feems 
 
 ti;; to be the aera fixed upon by the author of thcfe. 
 
 Letters. He obfervcs that ** the Bahylonijh, 
 
 •' captivity laftcd fo long, and fuch fircum- 
 ^ ftances, whatever they were, accompanied it,,* 
 ** that the captives forgot their country, and 
 
 •' even I 
 
 H 
 
 ( 
 
 Si 
 
 
 Mi «| 
 
 M^' 
 
 M 
 
Lord Bolingbrokcx Letters. .51 
 
 ^ even their language, tlic Hebrew dialed, at 
 
 ** Icaft, f.nd charadtcr */' And afterwards, 
 
 he intimates, that the Scriptures were ** loft 
 
 ** during the captivity -f-." And he obferves, 
 
 that •* Ezra began, and Simon thejuft finiflicd, 
 
 ** the canon of the Scriptures ||.'* 
 
 Let us grant, that in the Babylmijh captivity, 
 the ^Jewi learned the Chaldee language, which 
 thenceforth became more familiar to them than 
 the Hebrew j and that the old Hebrew charafter 
 was, as many learned men fuppofc, though it is 
 far from being certain, changed for ih^Chaldecy 
 the latter being fairer, eaficr, and more generally 
 ufcd among the people ; yet this is far from 
 proving, either that the Hebrew language was 
 intirely forgotten by them, or that their Sacred 
 Books were loft in the captivity. There arc 
 many things that plainly ftiew the contrary. The 
 prophet EzEKiEL, who prophefied during the 
 captivity to the ^ewi in Chaldea^ writ and pub- 
 lilhed his prophecies in Hebrew. So did the 
 prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, 
 who prophefied fcveral years after the return 
 from the Babylonijh captivity : which (hews, that 
 ^& Hebrew language was ftill in ufc, and was 
 underftood by many of the people. The fame 
 thing may be concluded from this ; that all the 
 Sacred Books that were written after the captivity 
 were written \{\ Hebrew^ except a part of Ezra 
 and Daniel* Nehemiah, who had been a great 
 9ian in the Perfian court, writ his own memoirs 
 in Hebrew : which ftiews, that the Jews who 
 
 '^^ Vol. I. p. 84. t I^»<i' P- '©»• 1 ^^'<J' P- ^5- ■ • 
 ::i; E 2 con- 
 
 1 1 > 
 
m 
 
 I. '■ 
 
 52 Reflexions on tie Late ^ 
 
 continued in Perjta, their great men at Icaft, ftifl 
 retained the knowlegc of that language. And 
 as the Hebrew language was not abfolutely for- 
 gotten among the Jev)i in their captivity, fo 
 i| neither were their Sacred Books intircly loft, 
 i Indeed it wereabfurd to fuppofc it. That cap- 
 jj tivity, though it laftcd feveiity years from the 
 i||l| firft beginning of it under yehoiakim^ yet from 
 the time of the utter defolation of JerufaUm^ 
 and the temple, and the carrying away the laft 
 remainder of the people to Bchylcn^ continued 
 but about fifty years. And there were not a 
 few of them that had been carried away from 
 yerufalenjy who furvived the whole time, and 
 lived to come back. Alany of the priejis and 
 Levitfs^ and chief of thefathen^icLx) uere ant tent 
 vien^ that had fee n the fir jl houfe^ ivhen the fourth 
 dation of the feccnd houfe was laid btfore their 
 eyeSy wept with a loud voice^ Ezra iii. 12. All 
 thofe among them that lived to fcvcnty or eighty 
 years were twenty or thirty years old when 
 Jen/Jdltm nnd the Temple v^ ere clclhoyed ; and to 
 iuppofe, that thcfe fliould iniirely forget their 
 language, or their religion, hiftory, and laws, is 
 very abfurd. Add to this, that the people were 
 in cxpedlation of a deliverance, and reftitution 
 to their own land, of which the prophets had 
 artnrcd them ; and this would naturally make 
 them more careful to prcierve their law?, and 
 the antient authentic records and memorials of 
 their nation. It appearcth from the accounts 
 given cf ihofc tliat returned, that many of the 
 rriefs the Lrjkcs^ the Stagers, the Porters, 
 \ ' ■ tlic 
 
 _,.M 
 
 1* 
 'ill! 
 
 •i 
 
 ■ ■ wvm w ttmmmmmm^m^rmmitmtmf 
 
i : 
 
 Lord BolingbrokeV Letters, 53 
 
 the Netbifiims^ &c. had prefervcd their genealo- 
 gies during the captivity, in profpcift of their 
 return, and of their being again employed in the 
 facred funftionsj and thofe who could not 
 clearly (hew their genealogies, were put from 
 the pricfthood, Ezra ii. 6i. Neb. vii. 64, 
 Great numbers of the people could alfo prove 
 their genealogies : and where there were any 
 that could not do this, it is particularly taken no» 
 tice of, tliat they could not Jhew their fathers 
 bot/fey Ezra ii. 59. It is manifcft therefore^ 
 that there were regi/icn of gcnealcgic3 prefcrv- 
 cd in Babylon ; and is it not reafonable to con- 
 clude, that they would be no lefs careful to 
 prcfervc their Sacred Books, efpecially thofe of 
 Mofes^ in which were their original records, and 
 the laws on which their whole conditutioa 
 depended? • 
 
 If the Jews had been for changing their own 
 laws and cuftoms, we may fuppofc it muft have 
 been in order to their adopting thofe of their | 
 conquerors, and of the country to which they 
 were tranfplanted, and in which they fettled. 
 But it is evident, that, in fad, they did not do ' 
 this ; (incc the whole fyftem of their worrtiip and 
 conftitution was, upon their return, very differ- 
 ent firom that of the Babylonians. If therefore 
 they learned their language, or ufed their letters 
 and charadlersin writing; yet ftill it is certain, 
 that they worfhipcd not their gods, nor adopt- 
 ed their religion, and facred rites. They ftill pre- 
 served their own; and the captivity and defo- 
 lation of their nation, which they looked upon as 
 
 E 3 a punifli- 
 
 mmmm 
 

 :i 
 
 .i r 
 
 t 
 
 I 3 
 
 M 
 
 I. * 
 
 I; 
 
 
 54, Refledlions cin tie Late > 
 
 a punilhment for their manifold revolts, idola* 
 trieSy and deviations from their law, tended to 
 increafe, inftead of extinguishing, their venera** 
 tion for it. 
 
 ' By Daniel's folemn fupplication and fafting, 
 when the time came that had been marked out in 
 the prophecies for their return, itappeareth,thai 
 he had the book of Jeremiah's Prophecies before 
 him^ Dan, ix, ;. And the confeffion he there 
 , makeih is remarkable : jilllfrael bavetranfgrejj* 
 id thy law — therefore the ciirfe is come upon us j 
 and tlk oath that is written in the law of Mofes 
 the fervant ofGod^ becaufe we have finned againfi 
 
 him j^nd he hath confirmed his words which he 
 
 f pake againfi us^ and againfi our judges that judged 
 
 us j^s it is written in the law of Mofes^ all 
 
 this evil is come upon uSy ver. ^ii, T2, 13. 
 Here it is plainly fuppofed, that there u^as a writ- 1 
 ten law oi Mojes extant in his time, known to him 
 and to the people, and which was regarded as 
 
 ;||| the law of God himfelf : that they had tranf- 
 greffed that law, and thereby had exp9fcd them. 
 
 l||jj' fclves to the dreadful judgments denounced 
 againft.them, and written in that law, as the 
 juft punifhment of their revolt and difobedicnce. 
 Soon after thi?, when the people returned, under 
 the condacfl of Zerubbabel, J eshua, and others, 
 we find them gathered together to celebrate the 
 Feait of Tabernacle?, in the feventh month, and 
 offering the daily burnt^fferings^ and thofe of 
 the new^moons^ and J^t Jeafisy be fides freewill 
 
 I ! offerings : and all this is laid to be done as 
 
 ] j written in the law of Mofcs^ Ezra iii, 1-^6. and 
 ':!! • this 
 
Lord Bolingbroke V Letters. 5 ^ 
 
 this plainly flicwcih, that they had the written 
 lawofiWi?/?^ with them. They alfo appointed 
 the Pricfts and LeviteSy in their fevcial courfcs, |f , 
 
 ind the Singers, and lervice of the temple^ ac^ 
 cording to the ordinances of DiJvid the man oj God^ 
 Ezra iii. 10, 11. The iacred hymns or pfalms, 
 therefore, that had been ufed in the temple- wor-* 
 ihip, were not loft in the captivity j and indeed 
 fhe Pfalms of David carry evident charafters of 
 gcnuiiiencfs in them. They were many of 
 themcompoled on fpecial occafions, and adapt- ' 
 cd to his peculiar circumftances, in a manner 
 which plainly (hevveth they were not forged in 
 after-times. And the preferving fo many of 
 the pfalms and hymns, fome of which contain 
 an abridgment of their facrcd hiftory, is a mani- 
 feft indication of the care they took ; and that 
 there was not a general dcftrnftion of their Sacred 
 Books in the captivity. The fame obfervation 
 may be applied to the prophetical writings, 
 and to their facrcd records. It is plain, that the 
 hiftory of iheir kings was prcfcrved j to whicfr 
 there \s frequent reference in books compiled 
 after the Babylonip^ captivity. > 
 
 ThccommiiVion afterwards given to Ezra by *- 
 Artaxerxes, plainly fuppotcd the lawofiVfo- 
 y^rtobc then in being, and in the higheft au- 
 thority; and only impowered him to regulate 
 every thing according to that law. He is de- 
 fcribcd in Artaxerxes'^ commiflion as a ready 
 fcribe in the law of Mofs s as one greatly fkiDcd 
 in that law, and fit to inftrudl others in it r J^tid 
 is required to fct magi ft rates and judges to judge: 
 
 E + the 
 
 ik 
 
56 JReflc(fiions on the Late ^ 
 
 the people, "fuch as knew the Law of Gpd^ 
 Ezra vii. 6. 10. 1$ Soon after Ezra came 
 I^EHEMiAH, a great man in the Pcrfinn court, 
 and who was appointed governor of Judea \ and 
 every thing thioughout his book difcovereth^ 
 that he and the whole people profcffcd the higheft 
 veneration for the law ot Mo/es, Before ho 
 came to "Judea^ he was well acquainted with 
 that law, and regarded it as of divine authority; 
 JV^A.i. 7, 8, 9. Daring his adminiftratlon, wo 
 have an account of a (olciiin reading of the 
 L»aw, by Ezra^ in the hearing of all the people j 
 who heard it with the utmoft reverence and zU 
 teniion : in this he was afliikd by ieveral Levttes^ 
 who read in the bock^ in the law cf God^ di^ 
 Jlindlhy and gave the fcnfe^ and caufedthem to un^ 
 derjiand the readings Neh. viii. j — 9 Again, wo 
 are told of another fulcnin reading of the Law, 
 before all the people, N^b, ix. i, 2, 3. And in 
 lii the admirable confcfllon made on that account 
 by the L'vitiSy thcie is an excellent fummary of 
 the principal events recorded in the hiftorical 
 parts o: the books ofMofesy fuchas, the calling 
 oi Abraham \ ihcir bondage and opprcffion in 
 Egypt', their being brought out from thence with 
 iigns and wonders, and dreadful judgments exe- 
 cuted upon Pharaoh and his people j the dividing 
 of the fca before them, fo that they pafled 
 through it as on dry land, whilft the EgyptiafSi 
 that purfucd them were overwhelmed in the 
 deep ; the promulgation of the law at Sinaiy with 
 remarkable tokens of the divine prefence and 
 riil glory, the miracles wrought in the Wildernefs, 
 '■' ; ^ the 
 
 ;i!a> 
 
 ■ UU 
 
 
 ill 
 
 i 
 
 
Lord Bolingbroke^ Letters, 57 
 
 the leading them by a cloud in the day, and a 
 pillar of fire by night; the giving them manna- 
 bread from heaven to cat, and cleaving the rock 
 to give them water to drink j and finally, bring- 
 ing them into poflTeflion of the land ot Canaan. 
 Thcfc things, which arc the moft remarkable 
 fads in the hirtory of their nation, together with 
 their frequent rel ellions, difobedie ncc, and ingra- 
 titude, panicularly their making and worfhip* 
 ing the molten calf in the Wildcrncfs, the (land- 
 ing difgrace of their nation, and their fubfc- 
 quent , revolts, calamities, and deliverances, after 
 they came into the land of Canaan^ are there 
 taken notice of in the public confcflions and ac- 
 knowlegcmcnts made to God in the name and 
 prcfcncc of all the people; and arc mciitioncd 
 as things commonly known and acknowlegcd 
 among them, and as of undoubted truth and ccr* 
 tainiy. 
 
 Taking thcfc things together, it fcems to ap- 
 pear, with all the evidence which the nature of 
 the thing is capable of, that the yewijb facrcd 
 books and records were not loft in the Babylonijb 
 captivity j that they were in poffeffion of them, 
 and had them in great veneration, before Ezra 
 came to yerufaUm, And it would be a wild 
 imagination to fuppofe, that he had it in his 
 power, even if he had it in his inclination, fo Sax 
 to impofe upon all the Jews ^ both ihoitinjudea^ 
 and thofe that continued in Babylon^ and other 
 {Ktrts of the Perfian empire, as to make them all 
 ^ith one confent receive thofe for their antient 
 UwSy by which their nation had been always go- 
 
 vcrncd. 
 
ycf ncd, >vhich wq^c not their aiUient laws j an^ 
 thofe for their antient s^uthentic hinories, ^d fa< 
 €rcd reqords, whicji \yerc not th^^atitient authen-; 
 tic records. All that his commifnon fcpiq 
 jirtaxerxes extended to was, to order things ac- 
 cording to tlic law oi Mofes 5 and this hecfFedted. 
 When he came, he found feveral abufcs tontra^^ 
 ry to that law, countenanced by men of great 
 power and intere^, and in which feveral of the 
 chief priefts, as well as numbers of the people, 
 were engaged 5 and he fet himfclf to refornx 
 them according to that law : and thefe regula- 
 tions would not have been tamely fubmitted to^ 
 if it had not been well known, that the laws anci 
 conftitutions he urged upon ihem, were thrt 
 
 true original laws o/iWb/fi. 
 
 II ; ^A^totheeftablifliiag the facred canon, whtchis 
 |l attrlhuied to E^ra. and to thofc whom the^^^i 
 A call the men of the great fynagogue j the laft of 
 j|;l \yhom A^'as ;SiMo!}i the Just j this is not to be 
 fl podje:i:fto(^ as if.tbc^ i)ooks were not accounted 
 
 
 I ^Cfed, or were. regarded as of no authority be^ 
 Mr fore. .The b6ok;s. were iilready mil known, )and 
 III: looked upon as Iftcred 5 they had not their au^i 
 
 ijioray^ hccifufe F^zr-^ acknowleg^d. them; t)ut. 
 
 hc;cplledcd;aodr pi^bliflivd them, becaufe they 
 ,|L 'i we^-e; jcnpwn to be authentic, Jt fnwy indeed be 
 v'|; j yi'eU /uppof<;dj that ftulis and varia,^ions might 
 
 have crept ii)t9 tjio; copies ofjthofp books ; ancf 
 
 that , tt^^i/ needed ro be carefully revifed. And; 
 
 thisf>yas.a work, for which E?ftA was^admi/a.bly- 
 
 ^ I fitt$;d by.hiS;gr€RV(ki3[J i'^ the law, and in the ft-' 
 
 crcd records of hiS:.|liV^ipn, 1 a,§ vycU as his no^^i 
 
 J- ' intc- 
 
 •1 '\ 
 
Ijord Bolingbroke'^ Letters. 5^ 
 
 Integrity. And if he accordingly revifed the 
 original Sacred Books, and publiilieda morecor^ 
 redt edition of them, or abridged fome of their 
 antient records, to render them of more gen^* 
 ril ufe among the people, and here and there in* 
 fertcd fome paflages for explaining andilluftratC'- 
 ing things that were grown obfcurc 5 this was 
 certainly a work of great ufe. And fuppofing 
 him to have done this, and that this work con- 
 tinued to be afterwards carried on by fome of 
 the mod knowing and excellent men of their 
 nation, till it was with great care completed, I 
 do not fee how it in the lead affefts the autho4# 
 rity or credibility of thofe books. The whole 
 nation in general were fo fenfible of Ezra's 
 great fidelity and diligence, that he was always 
 afterwards had in the highcft honour; and they 
 were fo convinced, that thefe were the originsi 
 Sacred Books, that they received them with an 
 extraordinary veneration. Nor did they ever 
 pay the lame regard to any other fubfequent 
 writings in their own nation. And though thi 
 Sanhedrim continued to have great author 
 rity among them, they never pretended to 
 put any other books upon them as divine, or as of 
 equal authority with the Sacred Books. Now 
 how comes it, that they put lb great a difference 
 between them, and that the autliority of theft 
 booko was univerfally acknowlcged by the whole 
 nation, and the other not ? This fhewetb, that 
 however credulous the Jews might be in other 
 things, yet they \^ere particular ly exaft and fcru* 
 pulous in not receiving any books into the facred 
 
 canoa 
 
 v* 
 
6q 
 
 Rcflcdions on the Late 
 
 A 
 
 canon, but what they judged they had good 
 reafon to look upon as authentic. > 
 
 The moft remarkable part of the Jewijh hU 
 ftory is, that which is contained in tlic books of 
 Mops. It is there we have an account of the 
 firft conflitution of ihcir facrcd polity ; the pro-» 
 inulgation of the ten commandments, with ihc 
 moft amazing dcmonftrations of a divine power 
 and majcfty ; and the extraordinary miraculous 
 fads done in Egypt ^ and in the H^ildernefs^ by 
 ivhich the autliority of that law was cftabiiflicd. 
 And whofoever alloweth this part of the JcwiJh 
 hiftory to be authentic, will not much fcruple the 
 fubfcquent parts of their hirtory. Now it is 
 evident, that as it was not Ezra that gave au- 
 thority to the law of Mofes^ which was in the 
 higheft authority before, or who caufed the 
 people to receive it as divine ; fo neither were 
 thcya<f?r, whereby the authority of that law was 
 :ittefted, ^r^publKhed by him. They had been 
 all along believed, and the remembrance of them 
 kept up, among the people. The bocki of Mofei 
 exhibit a remarkable intermixture of lavjs and 
 fadii: and it appears to be fo from the beginning, 
 though our author infmuates the contrary, but 
 gives no reafon for it *. And it was wifely or- 
 dered, that the fadls fhould go along with the 
 laws ; fcvcral of which fuppojfc thofe fafts, and 
 have a manifeft relation to them. And as the 
 laws were received with great veneration, fo the 
 fafts were equally received and believed among 
 the people^ iri all ages, from the time in which 
 
 ♦ Vol. I. p. ICO. 
 
 thofe 
 
Lord Bolingbroke'x Letters, tt 
 
 thofc laws were giren. And it defcrveth lobe 
 remarked, that the fafts were of fuch a kind^ 
 that they could not have been impofed upon the 
 people, however ftupid we fuppofc them to havo 
 been, at the time the laws were given, if they 
 had not been true. If Moses had only told tho 
 Ifraelites^ as Mahomet did the jdrabians^ in-- 
 ftead of working miracles before them, as 
 they demanded, of a journey he made tp hea- 
 ven, where he received the law j or as Numa 
 did the antient Romans^ of conferences he had 
 with the Goddefs Egeria in a wood or grove, to 
 which no other pcrfons were witncdes, and 
 which depended intirely upon his own wordi 
 this might have adminiftrcd ground of fufpicion^ 
 that he only feigned a divine commiffion, the 
 more cffedually to enforce his laws upon an 
 ignorant and fupcrftitious people. But he took a 
 quite different method. The fafts he relateth, 
 and upon the credit of which the divine authority 
 of his lav^s is refled, were of a molt public na*- 
 ture, done in open view before the people, of 
 which they were all faid to be witnelfes, and in 
 which therefore, if they had not been true, it 
 would have been the cafieft thing in the world 
 to have detedted him. And indeed, confidcring 
 the ftubborn difpofuion of the people, and their* 
 great pronenefs to idolatry, it can fcarcc be con- 
 ccived. that they would have received or fub*; 
 mitted to fuch a law and coniljtution, if tbey^ 
 themfclves had not been aflurcd of die trutn 
 of thole fads whereby the divinity of it was con-* 
 Armed. In the admirable recapitalation of the 
 
 J 
 
r 
 
 
 ^t Reflations tm the Late 
 
 laWyCobtainedin the book oiDeuterononty^ViKi^ 
 forricth as ftrong evidences of gtnyimt antiquity^ 
 fimpHcity^ and integrity^ as any writings can po{- 
 £bly have, and in v\ hich he dclivereth himfelf 
 with an inimitable gravity,dignity, and authority, 
 mixed with the mort affectionate tendernefs ind 
 concern, as bccometh the lawgiver and father of 
 his people, andcxhortcth them to the obfcrvation 
 of die law in the moft pathetical and engaging 
 manner; there is a conftant reference to the 
 great and extraordinary fads wrought in Egypt^ 
 and in the fyHdernefs ; an appeal is made to 
 the people, concerning them, as things which 
 they thcmfclvcs had feen and known. And 
 never was there greater care taken to preferve 
 a remembrance of any laws and fidks than there 
 was of thcfe. He delivered the book of the 
 law, containing an account both of laws and 
 fefts, not only to the/>r/V/?x, but to all the elder $ 
 of Ifraelf the heads of the feveral tribes, before 
 his death. And the original of the law was de« 
 pofited in the fides of the ark, in the mod holy 
 place, A moft folemn charge was laid upon the 
 people, in the name of God, as tliey valued his 
 £a.vour, and dieir own happinefs, frequently to 
 conlider thofe laws and fads themfelvcs, and to 
 teach them diligently to their cliildren. Sacred 
 rites were inftituted, and public feftivals ap- 
 pointed, to preferve the memorials of the prin- 
 cipal fads, from the time in which thofe fads 
 were done. And accordingly the remembrance 
 of them was conftantly preferved afhong them 
 in all ages. Jn all the fucceeding monuments of 
 , -f* their 
 
Lord Bolingbrokc'x Letters. $ j 
 
 their nation, throughout their whole 'liiflory, 
 and in their devotional and prophetical writings^ 
 and in their .public folemn forms of coufcflioa 
 aofi thankfgiving, there was ftill a conftant rc-» 
 fcrence to thofe fafts as of undoubted crediv j and 
 upon the credit of thofc fac^s, thofe laws were 
 both at firft received, and continued afterwards 
 ti) be acknovvleged and fubmitted to : for not- 
 vvithftanding the frequent defedions of thp 
 people to the idolatrous rites and cudoms pf the 
 neighbouring natipns, yet they never totally 
 aiid univcrCilly apoftatized from ^he. law of Mo^ 
 feSj but dill acknowleged its facrcdncfs ^nd di» 
 vine authority *. <» 
 
 The author of thefe letters takcth particular 
 notice of the fables invented by the Hellentjlic- 
 Jews, to authorize the Greek verfion of the Hc-j 
 brew Scriptures ^. B^t 1 do not fee how any argu- 
 ment can be fairly drawn from thefe fables fo the 
 prejudice of the Sacred Books them felves^ which, 
 were thus tranflated, or to deftroy their autho- 
 rity or credibility. The ftrong pcrfuafion they, 
 had of the divine authority of the original Scri- 
 ptures, might make the Jews at Alexandria 
 more ready to entertain ftories in favour of the 
 tranflation of thefe Scripture^ into Greek^ from 
 
 • That the law of M»/a, with the fafls there recorded, may •^^ 
 traced, from the time in which that law was given, and the t^\M 
 done, through all the fucoeeding agei of theje^ci/^ oation; and that 
 w« hafe all the evidence of thetr haying been tranOnitted without 
 any material corruption or alteratioD, that can be rtafooably de-. 
 fired 1 1 hare elfewhere more fully (hewn in tht Aiifvutr f Cbhfii^ 
 m^jm,9UMthfcrtM/i$9, Vol.II. cU^4. ' ^ 
 
 t YqL I. p- 85. 86. ) . ^ .^ " , ^ 
 
 which 
 
 mmn 
 
iJMi ^ 
 
 64 Refledions on the Lati 
 
 whidi thev found great benefit ; this being the 
 language they bed undcr(\ood, and which wa 
 tiien become of general ufe. But thofe ftories 
 were not generally received by the yewip) nation, 
 though they all univerfally agreea in acknow* 
 Icging the authority of the originals ) nor were 
 1 they ever infertcd in the facred writings, or in 
 
 any books, the authority of which was generally 
 received among them. . 
 
 The firft thing that gave rife to thofe ftories 
 was, the hiftory of Arifteas ; which fccms to 
 have been contrived on purpofe to do honour 
 to that verfion, and eives a pompous account of 
 it. And yet even in chat hiftory there is nothing 
 ikid of thofe miraculous circumdances, which 
 were afterwards invented to (hew, that thofe in- 
 terpreters were under an extraordinary divine 
 guidance. On the contrary, that book, though 
 it be the foundation of all that is faid concerning 
 the Scptuaginr, may be proved to be plainly incon* 
 fiftent with thofe fubfcqnuct fables and fidions > 
 and is fufficicnt to detcfl the falfity of them. 
 There is therefore no parallel at all between thcfc 
 HelUm/iicalhh\cSy2ind the facred Hebrew records \ 
 except it could be proved, that one part of thofe 
 anticnt records is inconfiftent with other fubfe- 
 quent parts of them, and furniflieth manifcft 
 
 S roofs of their falihood j which neither his lord* 
 lip, nor any other, has been able to (hew. 
 Another argument, on which he fecms to lay 
 a mighty ftrcf*, in order to fet afide the autho* 
 ruy of the Scripture, is drawn from the acci- 
 dents that have happened to the facred text, 
 r- • . / He 
 
 
Lord BolingbrokeV Letters. 65 
 
 Jtc will not allow the anfwcr made by Ahhadie 
 Und others, that-— *' fuch accidents could not 
 ** hive been prevented without a perpetual 
 ** (landing miracle, and that a perpetual (land- 
 •* ing miracle is not in the order of Providence*' 
 On the contrary, it feems evident to him, that 
 if the Scriptures had been originally given by di- 
 vine infpiration, ** cither fuch afxidents 
 
 •' would not have happened, or the Scriptures 
 ** would, have been preferved intirely in their 
 " genuine purity^ notwithftanding thefe acci- 
 
 " dents/* He thinks the proof of this 
 
 *^ is obvions and eafy, according to our cleared 
 •' and mod diftinft ideas of w^ifdoni, and moral 
 " (itnefs*. *• But, befides that the prefcnt 
 queftion^ as he h^s managed it, relating 10 the 
 facred hiftoryj is not about the divine inspiration 
 of it \ but whether it be a true and faithful hi- 
 ftory/ an htineft and credible relation of fadls^ 
 \\'hich heiabfolutely denies j I fee no confcquence 
 at all in his way of reafoning, even if the quc- 
 ilion wete, whether thofc facred books were 
 originally written by pcrfons divinely infpired* 
 For all that could be reafonably concluded, 
 fuppo(ing any books to have been originalfy 
 •given by divine infpiration, is, that Providence 
 would take care, that thofc books fhould be 
 [tranfmitted with a fufficient degree of certainty 
 and integrity, to anlwer the end for which 
 they were originally intended* But it was no- 
 Way necc(rary to this purpofc, that all the tran- 
 fcribcn that (hould ever copy thofc writings in 
 
 f V9l.Lp.9s. J . '' '^ 
 
 F any 
 
 
, 
 
 66 Reflexions cm tie Late 
 
 any age or natioDi (hould be under an infalH* 
 ble guidance, fo as to be kept by an exrraordU 
 nary interpofition from ever committing any 
 miftake or blunder, or being guilty of any dipt 
 or negligences ; or that all thofe that have ever 
 rcvifcd and compared thofe copies, ftiould, in 
 every inftancc, be infallibly guided in their 
 judgments concerning them. This is cvidendy 
 abfurd. It would be a multiplying miracles 
 without neccflity ; and would therefore be un« 
 worthy of the divine wifdom, and not very con* 
 fiftcnt with the methods of God's moral go- 
 vernment of men, confidered as rcafonablc 
 creatures, free agents. For, will any man, in 
 good earneft, undertake to prove, that, luppofe- 
 ing an excellent revelation given of dodrincs, 
 laws, Gfr. together with authentic accounts of 
 extraordinary fads, tending to confirm and efta- 
 blifh the divine authority of thofe dodrines and 
 laws, this revelation could not be of any 
 ufe, nor could thofe accounts of fa<fls be at all 
 fit to be depended on, if there were any variations, 
 ■omi(rioiis.tranfporitions,or miftakcs, in any copies 
 that fliouldbe taken of them in any age ? If, not- 
 withftanding thole variations, the copies (hould 
 ftill fo far agree, that from thence a fufficicnt no- 
 tion might be formed of the dodrincs and laws 
 contained in that original revelation, and of the 
 truthof the fads whereby it was attcftcd and con- 
 iirmcd, this would be fufficient toaniwer the end 
 which we might fuppofe the divine wifdom to 
 have had in view in giving fuch a revelation. 
 And this is adually the cafe with regard to the 
 
 holy 
 
Lord BoHngbrokeV Letters. - 67 
 
 holy Scriptures. Whatever additions^ interpo^ 
 lations^ or tranfpofuiom^ may be fuppofcd td 
 have crept into any of the copies, yet all the 
 main laws and fadls are ftill prefcrved. Of this 
 we have a remarkable proof, by comparing the 
 llehri'W2S\^ Samaritan codes of the Pentateuch. 
 There are differences between them : but the . 
 laws^ the precepts, the hiftory, the important 
 fads, whereby the law wasattefted, are the fame 
 In bothi Andj in general^ it may be juftly af- 
 firmed, that notwithftanding all the differences 
 in the copies^ about which fuch a clamour hath 
 been railed, yet there is a fufficient agreement 
 among them to fatisfy us, that fuch and fuch 
 laws were originally given, fuch prophecies were 
 delivered^ and that fuch fafts were done. And 
 the variations among the copies in fmaller mat* 
 tcrSj the miftakes that have crept into the genea- 
 logieSi numbers^ dates, catalogues of names, ages 
 of fome of the patriarchs, and the like (and it is 
 in thcfc things that the differences principally lic)^ 
 do really confirm their harmony in the main i 
 and therefore jire far from deffroying the autho- 
 rity of the Saci ed Writings, or the credibUity of 
 the Scripture-hiRory* * ^ 
 
 The learned Capellus, ^ho had {hrbdghly. 
 tonfidered thismattcrj and who^ it is well known^ 
 allowed himfclf great liberties in judging con-, 
 cerning the variations in the copies of the Hlf-^ 
 brew. Scriptures, juftly obfcrvcth, in his dcfcnco 
 of his Criticd Sacra^ that all ihcfe variations arc 
 of little or no moment as to faith or manners i 
 fo that in that rcfped it is indiffcrcpt which ^cad* . 
 
 F > ing. 
 
^ggllgtg^^iati^mK^mmmmmmmmimmmitmmmmtmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm i m 
 
 68 Rcflcftions on the Late 
 
 ing we follow: San^ omnesill^ varietates, utl 
 Japiui in Critica Sacra repeto^ nullius aut 
 feni nullius funt quoad Jidem et mores momenti^ 
 ut eo refpe^u perindejit banc an illamfequaris k» 
 Hionem. And I believe there are few com- 
 petent and impartial judges of thefe things, but! 
 .will be ready to own, with Mr. Le Clerc, the I 
 frccdoni of whofe judgment in fuch matters 
 niuft be acknowlegcd, that, through the good 
 
 f providence of God, no books, from the ear- 
 icft antiquity, have come to us equally correal 
 with the Sacred Books of the Hebrews^ particu- 
 larly the Maforcticcl copies. Nullos libros ex 
 ultima antiquitate ad nos Dei beneficio perveivjjt 
 (cqub emendatos ac facros Hebraorum codices^ et 
 quldem Alaforcticos. See his Dijfertatio dc 
 Lingua Uebraa^ prefixed to his Commentary en 
 ike Pentateuch. 
 
 What our author himfelf makcth a (hew of 
 
 granting is very true, that ** amidllall the 
 
 •* changes and chances to which the books, ia 
 •* which they are recorded, have been expofcd, 
 •* neither original writer, nor later compilers, 
 i ** have been luffercd to make any cflential al- 
 ** terations, fuch as would have faliified the 
 ** law of God, and the principles of the Jewijb 
 •* and Chriftian religion^ in any of thofc divine 
 " fundamental points'''.** — And indeed the pre- 
 cepts, the dcdlrines of religion inculcated in the 
 Scripruresof thcOldTeftanicnt, are lb frequent- 
 ly repeated, and the principal fadts there related 
 arc fo often referred to, in different parts of 
 
 * Vol. I. p. 97, 98. 
 
 thofc 
 
 
Lord Bolingbroke'j Letters. 69 
 
 diofe Sacred Volumes, as to be abundantly fuf- 
 ficient toanfwer the defign for which they were, 
 originally intended; viz. to inftruft men in the 
 knowlege, adoration, and obedience of the one 
 true God, and to engage them to the pradlice of 
 righteoufnefs, and to prepare the way for a more 
 pcrfcft difpcnfation, which was to be introduced 
 in the fulnefs of time, by that Divine Person, 
 whofe comings chc^radler^ office Sylufferings^glor)\ 
 jnd kingdom, were there prefigured and foretold. 
 Accordingly our Saviour fpeaketh of the wri- 
 tings of M'Jis and the Prophets^ as of fignal ufe to 
 inltruft and direft men in the knowlegc and 
 pradice of religion, Luke xvi. 29, 30, jr. And 
 though it be not true, which our author aflcrteth, 
 that the ye'ivijh Scriptures had no authority but 
 what they derived from Chriftianity (for they 
 had an authority founded upon fufficient creden- 
 tials before Chriftianity was eftabliftied); yet their 
 being acknowleged as divine, by Chrift and his 
 ApoiUes, giveth them a farther confirmation : 
 For when a fubfequcnt revelation, which is 
 itfelf founded on convincinj[^ proofs and evidences, 
 giveth tcrtimony to a prior revelation, and refer- 
 rcth to it as af divine authority, when botli to- 
 gether coacur to form one fyftem of religion, 
 and to. exhibit the hiftory of God's various dif- 
 penfdtions towards his churchj^ the former being 
 iubtcrvient and preparatory to the latter, and the 
 letter giving farther lights and a fuller complex' 
 tion, to the formj^r; this confirmeth the autho. 
 ^ity of boll?, and fhcweih one great uniform 
 
 dc- 
 
 f 3 . • ; • liga 
 
 mm 
 
I 
 
 M 
 
 i 
 
 • 
 
 ^6 Rcf!c£t{ons oh tie Lais \ 
 
 6gn ind plan carried on by the divine wifdoni 
 and gobdnefs from the beginning. 
 
 It is no juft objcdion again ft the aathority of 
 the Saered Books of the Old Tcftamcnt^ thougl^ 
 the writer of thefc Letters fccms to think it fo, 
 
 that ** though Jews and Chriftians hold thq 
 
 ^* fame books in great veneration, yet each con- 
 V dcmns the other for nc^ underftanding, or for 
 i* abufing them*." This is to be underftood, 
 not of the Sacred Hiftory, which yet he woul4 
 be thought to have particularly in view j for, a^ 
 fo this, the Jrws and Chriftians are generally 
 agreed ; but of fome paftages in the prophetical 
 writings, in the intferuretalion of which they 
 differ. And, with relpeft to thele, it may be 
 Obferved, that if the Jenvs^ at the time of our 
 Saviour's appearing, hiid univerfally interpreted 
 the prophetical writings as the Chriftians do, 
 and applied them to JclusiChrift; and hadac^ 
 cordingly turned Chriltians, and embraced y^i^i 
 as the Messiah promifcd to their fathers ; it 
 •would undoubtedly have been alleged, tha^ 
 they forged or corrupted the prophecies in favour 
 of the Chriftian fyftem j whereas now there 
 J? no room for this pretence. Their vouching 
 and acknowleging thofe writings, as of divine 
 authority, notwithftanding the difficulty they 
 have been put to, in anfwering the argument^ 
 brought from thence againft their own favourite 
 notions and prejudices^ giveth their teftimonv 
 \o the prophetical books great force. 
 
 f Vol. I. p. 9;>» 
 
Lord BoIingbrokcV Letters. 7 % 
 
 iThcrc is another rcmnrkable paffagc in hi$ 
 third Letter, which it is proper to take fomc no- 
 tice of. He obfcrves*, that ** iht'Je'ws 
 ** and Chriftians differ among themfclvcs, and 
 '' from one another, concerning almgft every 
 ♦* point that i& ncccflary to be known, and {Agreed 
 •' upon, in order to cftabiifli the authority of 
 " books which both have received as authentic 
 ^ and facred. Who were the authors of thcfc 
 ^ Scriptures, when they were publiflied, hovy 
 ^* they were compofc J, and preferved, or renew- 
 " cd J in fine, how they were loft during the 
 ** captivity, and how they were retrieved after 
 ** it J arc all matters of controverfy to this day." 
 ••——That the Sacred Books were not lofi in- 
 the captivity, and that confequently they were 
 vot 'retrieved after it by immediate infpiration, 
 hath been clearly (hewn. Afidlion whicli feems 
 to have had its rife from the apocryphal fecond 
 book of Efdras^ the authority of which never 
 was acknowleged cither in the Jeivijh or Chri- 
 ftian Church. There are indeed differences,, 
 both among yews^^ndi Chrirtian?, concerning fe^ 
 veral points relating to thofe Sacred Books; but 
 ihcfc differences are, for che moft part, about 
 things that do not properly concern the diving 
 authority or credibility of tbofc writings. Thcro 
 is a general agreement among them, that thq 
 propnetical books were written by perfons di-^ 
 Tiocly infpircd; and that thcP^NTAXEVCH was 
 Written by Mo^es^ ibc grca^tQft of all the pro« 
 
 % Ibid. ^, ^00, 10^. 
 
 F 4 • jphct$4 
 
mm 
 
 ■■MM 
 
 ! 
 
 'i 
 
 : 
 
 ^ i • ' Reflexions ch the Late /^ 
 
 fhctr^ and th^t the hiftorical writings were d-i 
 thcr the very original ai^ihciitic records; or faiths 
 fully compfilcd out of them j and were received 
 
 and atknowleged by the whole nation, as conJ 
 t;iining true and juft accqunts of fadts, And 
 whereas he urgeth, thai it is matter iS contro- 
 verfy, who were the authors of thofe ScnpturesJ 
 Or when tliey were compol'cd or publifhed ; it is 
 certain, that, with refpeft to x\\c much greater 
 part of the Sacred Books, both ye'u;s and Chri- 
 rtians are generally agreed who were the auihors 
 pf them. • 
 
 '' 1 his is true concerning all the writings of 
 the Prcpbets^ the books of Solomon^ moft of 
 the PJhImSy the five books of Mrfe%^ which have 
 been conlhniiy rv:cc»vcd by tiie yetoi/h and 
 ' ChriiVian church, in ullages, ias written by A/b/^ij 
 though a few in thelc Litter times have at-. 
 temp.Cil to contcft it. The books of Ezra^ 
 Nebemiah^ and Daniel^ feem plainly to fliew 
 their authors. And concerning all thefe, there 
 has been a general agreement. The books 
 therefore, concerning the authors of which there 
 is properly any ground of controverfy, are the 
 hiltorical t)ook8 of Jojhua^ Judges^ Samuel^ 
 Kirtgs^ and Chronicles, As to the firft of thefe^ 
 i)iz. the book of Joflma^ the antient ^ews in 
 general, and the greater part of Chriltian wri- 
 ters, with good realbn look upon it to. have beca 
 written by Joff^ua himfclf; though there arc 
 iomc particalar paftLgcs in it that were inferred 
 aficrwards, by way of illuilration. It is princi- 
 
Liord Bollngbroke'j Letters. 73 
 
 p;illy concerning the books of Judges^ Samuel^ 
 jiingSy and Ckronicles^ that there is any coloura-; 
 ble pretence for laying with our author, that 
 
 $hey were *' abridgnncnts of old records 
 
 r made in later times*." — 'Some of thcn%> 
 feem plainly t;o have been compiled after the re-, 
 turn froni the Babylonijh captivity, probably by^ 
 Ezra^ from aniicr.t cUthentic records, which arc^ 
 frequently quoted and referred to in them aSt 
 books of acknowlcged (;redit and authority; fp, 
 that there is little room to doubt of the truth 
 and ctriainty of the accounts there given. For? 
 that they were faithfully extracted from thofc; 
 original records, to which they refer for a larger, 
 Jiccount of the things there related, there is that 
 higheft reafon to believe. And it was wifely^ 
 ordered, that thefe fliorter accounts (hould bc» 
 inlerted in the facred canon, when it was to bC' 
 brought, as it were, into one volume for the laft-- 
 ing inftruftion and edification of the church, 
 for as the facred hiftory was intended not merely* 
 to gratify curiofity, but to promote the purpofes 
 of religion, piety, arid vjrtue, and to keep up* 
 the remernbrancc of the remarkable actings of 
 Divine Providence towards them, both in a way. 
 of mercy and judgment according to their be- 
 haviour, it was proper that it ihould be brought 
 ^nto as narrow a compafs as was confident with 
 that dcfign. This would make it more generally 
 l^own, ^d eafily remcmbrcd j whereas larger 
 ftpd more particular accounts might have beca 
 
 ■ • 
 
74^ Reflc^libnii m the LdU \ 
 
 too Tokiminouf for a book defigned for univetU 
 fal ufc, ■' . 
 
 ' The -dnly thing that yet rcm^incth to be corw 
 fidered with regard to the Sacred Books of thv 
 Old Teflainent is what he faith concerning the 
 curfe pronounced upon Canaan by Noah% of 
 which we have an account, Gen. ix. 24^ 25, 
 2<J, 27. This he fecms to have fixed upon as 
 one of the propcrcft in (lances he could find to 
 cxpofe the authority of the Scripture. Ho 
 treateth it as an invention of the writer to juAify 
 the IJrae/itfsm their invafion of the Canaanitesy 
 and rcprefcnteth this curfe as contradiding all 
 bur notions of order and juftice 5 bccaule it 
 punifhcth Canaan^ who was innocent, for tha 
 
 iault of Ham^, ** One is tempted to think, 
 
 •* fays he, that the patriarch was ftili drunk ; 
 ♦* and that no man in his fcnfcs could hold fuch 
 ** language, or pafs fuch a fentence. Certain 
 ** it is, that no writer but a Jrii; could impute 
 •^ to the ceconomy of Providence the accom- 
 *' pliftiment of fuch a preJidion, nor mak^? th^ 
 •• Supreme Being the executor of fuch a curfe/* 
 That Mojes might have in view, in recording 
 this prophecy, to raifc the fpirits of the Ifra^lites^ 
 who were entering on a war with the Canaamtes^ 
 js not unlikely. But this doth not prove, that he 
 forged it. If it had been a fiftion purely con- 
 trived to bring an odium upon Lanaan^ and hisr 
 pofterity, the ftory would have been oiherwifo- 
 Ibrmed than it is. It would not have been prc- 
 tcmjcd, that Ham^ but that Canaan^ h^d beci^ 
 
 '^ Y9I. I. p. ;ic, lu, 112, 
 
 guilty 
 
 MiwBiawiVwmMm'WWW 
 
Z/C?r^ Bolingbrokc/ Letters. 75 
 
 guilty of the impiety and irrcrcrence ofFcrcd 
 towards Noab the Iccond father of mankind, and 
 repairer of the world, and who was had in 
 great veneration. But Afo/rx gave the account 
 as he had received it. Why Noah paflcd Ham 
 by without cenfure, and mentioned only Canaan^ 
 we are not told : there might be rcafons for it 
 that we do not know. Or perhap?, Noab faid 
 fomething more concerning Ham^ and his pcM 
 flerity : but Mofes takes notice only of what \s 
 faid concerning Canaan, Nor is the maledhSion 
 pronounced upon Canaan declared to be on ac- 
 count of what Ham had done. It is indeed re- 
 lated immediately after it ; but it doth not follow 
 that this was the propter caufe of that curfc :» 
 all that followeth from it is, that upon that oc-' 
 cafion, and at that time, Noah pronounced a 
 remarkable predidion importing favours and 
 bleffings upon Sbem and Japhct^ and their de- 
 fccndents 5 and that the defcendents of Canaan^ 
 one of Hams fons, (hould be in a low and fervilo 
 condition, fubjeded both to thofe of Sbem and 
 Japbet, Ix was not in a pajjion^ or drunken f\ 
 that Noah pronounced this, as his lordfliip feem» 
 willing to reprefcnt it ; but God was pleafed Oii 
 that occafion to enlighten Noab with lome view^ 
 of the fates of bis pofterity. That part of the 
 predidlion that relates to Sbem and Japbet^ feemt 
 to be of a ooble cxtenr, and looks a great way 
 forward, as many have obfervcd, concerning 
 y^hich I (hall not now inquire. And as to that 
 p^rt of the prophecy which relates to Canaan ^^ 
 \\ |3 recorded by Mcfes^ l{iat when it came to be 
 ^ 3 jccomplidK'd 
 
^ 
 
 76 . Refleilions on the Late 
 
 tccoiftplifhed in Canaan's pofterity, the hancf of 
 Providence in it might be the niore diftindtly 
 obftrvcd* The Canaanites were not accurlid of 
 God, bccaufc Noah in his paflion pronounced a 
 curie upon them ; but Noab^ endued with a pro- 
 phetical fpirit, was enabled to foretcl and pro- 
 nounce the curfe and puniflmient that (hould 
 afterwards in a courfe of ages bcfal them for 
 their wickednefs. For that the true and proper 
 ground of the punifhment inflidted upon the 
 Candanites was their own execrable wickednefs, 
 k evident from many exprefs declarations of 
 Scripture. This wickednefs of theirs God per- 
 fcftly forefaw, and determined, on the account 
 of it, to inflidt exemplary punifhmeni upon them: 
 nor would he fuffcr the threatening and punifli^ 
 ment actually to take place, till their iniquities 
 iDereJull^ /. e. till their fins were arrived at the 
 height J and, when tlfis was the cafe, it tended 
 V> render the event the more remarkable, that it 
 was foretold lo long before. And perhaps one 
 ifcafon why there is luch particular notice taken 
 qi Canaan^ on occafion of Ham's impure and 
 wicked behaviour, might be the monftrous and 
 unnatural impurities that it was forefeen the 
 Canaanites^ i. e. Hams defcendents by Canaan^ 
 would be guilty of; and which arc exprcfly 
 mentioned among the caufcs of their ruin "*. 
 • Having examined what the late lord Baling^ 
 broke hath urged againlt the authority and cre- 
 dibility of the Scriprurcs of the Old Tcftamcnr, 
 Ipt us next confidcr the attempt he makes ajainf^ 
 
 * J-cvir. xviii. 24, 25. Zn 2^' '/ 
 
 4hQ 
 
 wmm 
 
Lord BolingbrokeV Letters. 7^ 
 
 flie authority of the New. He had indcecf, 
 whilft he exprefled a great contempt of the 
 ycivip Scriptures, affeftcd to fpcak with a fa- 
 vourable regard to Chriftianity. But he after- 
 wards throws off the difguife, and makes it 
 plainly appear, that he hath as litde veneration 
 and eftcem for the one as for the other. It is no 
 great fign of his refpcdt for Chriftianity, that at 
 the fame time that he does all he can to deftroy 
 the credit of the Jeivijh hiftory, and to (hew, 
 that it is not at all to be depended upon, he de- 
 clares ** that the foundation of the Chriftian 
 
 •* fyftem is laid pardy in thofe hiftories, and in 
 *^ the prophecies joined to them, or infcrted in 
 
 •" them *.** But, not content with this general 
 
 infinuation, he afterwards procecdcth, in his fiftK 
 Letter, to a more diredt attack upon the Chriftian 
 revelation -j*. He infifteth upon it, that th[C 
 fadls, upon which the authority of the Chriftian 
 religion is founded, have not been proved as alt 
 liiftorical fads, to which credit (hould be given, 
 ought to be proved. He deciares to the noble 
 lord to whom he write?, that - — " this is a 
 ** matter of great moment ; and that therefore 
 " he makes no cxcufe for the zeal which obliges 
 
 «< him to dwell a little on it ||/' And ancr 
 
 having endeavoured to fliew, that—** there re- 
 " mains at this time no ftandard at a!l of Chri- 
 •• ftianity " - — cither in the text of Scripture, 
 pr in tradition, he argues, that-^ — " by confe- 
 
 «* qucncc cither this religion Was not originally 
 
 ' . ■ ', - , ., 
 
 • • Vol. I. p. 91, 92; t ^^i<5« fjfo'n p. i74« to 185, 
 Jbid. p. 176. . •' • 
 
 •'of 
 
 f 
 
1 
 
 7 8 Refledions m the Lati 
 
 ^ *of 4ivinc Inftitutlon ; or clfe God has not proi 
 •* vided cffedluaJly for prcfcrvuig the genuiae 
 •* purity of it, and the gates of hell have 
 ^* actually prevailed, in contradidion to hb 
 ** promile, againft the church. He muft be 
 ** worfe than an Athcift that affirms the laft | 
 ** and therefore the bcft cffeft of this rcafoning 
 *^ that can be hoped for is, that men {hould fall 
 ** into Theifm, and fubfcribc to the firft. *'— - 
 And accordingly he roundly declares, that — • 
 ** Chriftianity may lean on the civil and ecclcfi- 
 •• adical power, and be fupportcd by the forcible 
 •• influence of education : but the proper force 
 •^ of religion, that force which fubdues the 
 •* mind, and awes the confcicnce by convidion, 
 
 •* will be wanting *. He adds ^* Since I 
 
 ** have faid fo much on the fubjedl in my zeal 
 •* for Chriftianity, I will add this further. The 
 *• refurrcdion of letters was a fatal period : the 
 ^* Chriftian fyftcm has been attacked, and wound-* 
 •* ed too, very feverely fince that time *!•."— 
 And again, fpcaking of thofe of the clergy whd 
 adl for fpiritual, not temporal ends, and are de* 
 (irous, that men fhould believe and pradice the 
 dodlrincs of Chriftianity, he faith, that — ** they 
 •* will feel and own the weight of the con^ 
 " fiderations he offers j and will agrec^ thaf 
 " however the people have been, or may be, 
 •• amufed, yet Chriftianity has been in decay 
 ** ever fince the refurrcdtion of letters ||.*' — -*. 
 This is an odd proof of his pretended zeal fo^ 
 
 • Vol L p. i8oi i8i, >82. t Ibid. p. 182. g tMi 
 p. 185* 
 
 Cbrijiianity^ 
 
Lord Bolingbroke'j Letters. ^g 
 
 Chriflianify^ to infinuatc that all good and honcft 
 divines will agree with him, tiiat Chriftianity 
 has been lofing ground ever fince the revival of 
 learning and knowlcgc j as if it could not bear 
 the light, and only fubfiftcd by darknefs and 
 ignorance. It will help farther to (hev? his 
 dcfign in this, if we compare it with what he 
 faith in his fixth Letter •{• j where he mentions 
 the rcfurreclion of letters, after the art of print- 
 ing had been invented, as one of the principal 
 caufcs that contributed to the diminution of the 
 papal authority and ufurpations. And he ob- 
 
 lerves, that " as foon as the means of ac- 
 
 *' quiring and fpreading information grew com- 
 ** mon, it is no wonder that a fyftem was un- 
 ** ravelled, which could not have been woven ' 
 ** with fuccefs in any age, but thofc of grofs 
 ^ ignorance, and credulous fupcrftition.**— -Wc 
 may fee by this what a compliment he dcfigns 
 to Chriftianity, when he reprefents it as having 
 received a fatal blov^ at the rcfurrc<aion of 
 letters, and as having been in decay ever iincc. 
 He plainly puts ij: on a level with the pap^l 
 authority and ufurpation, and fuppofes the iamc 
 of Chrillianity that he docs of popery, that It 
 was a fyftem which could only have been woven 
 in the ages of ignorance and fuperftition, which 
 owed its reception and prevalency to times of 
 darknefs, and has been decaying ever iince the 
 means of acquiring and fpieading inforixmtion 
 gticw common. 
 
 • Vol. I. p. 206, 007^ . , 
 
 This 
 
 *mmm 
 
I 
 
 ^80 Reflections dn the LaH '^ 
 
 ^ This may fufficc to (hew the rcfpcft that tfie 
 writer of thcfe Letters bears to Chriftianity. 
 Before I enter on a diftindl examination of what 
 he hath offered, I would obferve, that he ea- 
 deavoureth to prepare his way by declaiming^ fbr 
 • feveral pages together, againft the priefts, divine^ 
 and ecclcfiaftical hillorians, on the account (rf 
 th,U fpirit of lying that hath prevailed among 
 •them in all ages*. But he himfelf well ob- 
 iferves and proves, in oppofition to an hiftoricsi 
 Pyrrhonifm, that though there have been abun- 
 dance, of lyes and fulfe hiftory put upon the 
 •world, this ought not to diminifh the credit of 
 the true. And therefore the frauds and falfhoods 
 of many that have profcfTcd a zeal for Chrirtl- 
 anity, ought to be no prejudice againft the aii- 
 .thority of the New Tcftanient, or the crcdl- 
 bility of the h&s on which it is fupported, prd- 
 .vidcd it can be fliewn, that thcfe fads come to 
 us with a futRcient degree of evidence to make 
 ic rcafonable for us to receive them as true. 
 
 If, as he aflerts " numbcrlefs fables haVc 
 
 ** been invented to fupport Judailm and Chri- 
 
 •** flianity ; and for this pu'polc falfe hillory as 
 
 1^ •* well as falle miracles have been employed ;**-*• 
 
 . .it is certain, that no perfbns have taken greater 
 
 pains, or been more lucccl^ful in their attempts 
 
 to detcA and expofe fuch frauds, and falfe hiftoiy, 
 
 than Chriflian divines and critics J many ot whom 
 
 ' ,have exercilcd themfclvcs this way with greit 
 
 judgment and impartiality, as being fenfible, that 
 
 Chfiflianity necdeth no (uch iupportsj and that 
 
 ♦ Vol. I. p. 123. ct fcq. 
 
 "t^mtmtmmmmm 
 
ILord BoHngbroke*j Letters. 81 
 
 fuch frauds diflionour the caufe they are intended 
 to fcrvc. If wc examine the New Teftannent, 
 we (hall find no encouragement there given to 
 fuch methods. A remarkable fimplicity, and im- 
 partial regard to truth, every-whcre appear. 
 And to lye for the glory of God, or to do evil 
 that good may come of it, is there moft exprefly 
 condemned. It was when men began to fall 
 from the true original fpirit of Chriftianity, and, 
 not content with the fimplicity of religion as 
 Chrift and his Apoftles left it, attempted to bring 
 in innovations, additions, alterations in the 
 Chriftian do<ftrinc and worfliip, it was then thac 
 fraud and impofture, or a foolifh credulity, 
 began to prevail, and grew more and more, the 
 farther they removed from the firft and pureft 
 ages. And it is capable of a clear proof, that it 
 was principally in favour of thofc corrupt ad-, 
 ditions, and abufes of Chriftianity, that falfc. 
 hiftory and falfc miracles have been artfully con-i 
 trived, and zealoufly propagated. And why 
 (hould it be turned to the difadvantage of the 
 gofpel hiftory or miracles, that hiftory has been 
 corrupted and falfified in favour of doftrines or 
 practices, e. g. the invocation of faints^ the 
 worjhip of images^ relics^ &c. which Chriftianity 
 has not countenanced or authorized ? To which 
 it may be added, that it is plainly foretold in the 
 New Teftament, that there fliould be a great; 
 APOSTASY from the purity of religion, and that: 
 the corruption (hould be introduced, and carried' 
 on, by ftgnSy and lying wonders. And if this] 
 tiath aftually been the cafe, inftcad of furnilhing 
 
 ' G ' * a proper 
 
 ' 
 
82 Refle<5^ions on the Late 
 
 • proper objection againft true original Chrifti. 
 anity^ it affordcth a nianifcft proof of the per* 
 feA foreknowlcge of its divine Author. 
 
 He feems to lay a great ftreisupon it, that-^ 
 ** the church has had this advantage over her 
 
 ** advcrfaries that the works of ihofc who 
 
 *' have written againft her have been deftroyed i 
 ^ and whatever Ihc advanced to juftify herfelf, 
 *• and to defame her advcrfaries, is prcferved in 
 ♦* her annals, and the writings of her dod-ors *, 
 
 •* And he takes particular notice of Gregory 
 
 ** the Great's proclaiming war to all heathen 
 •^ learning, in order to promote Chriftian verity •!•.• 
 But ic is certain, that the humour of deAroying 
 the heathen writings never generally obtained in 
 the Chriftian church. On the contrary, it was 
 principally owing to Chriftians, that fo many of 
 thofe writings have been tranfmittcd to us. The 
 Mahometans^ and fomcof.the barbarous nations^ 
 deftroycd libraries^ and monuments of learn- 
 ing, wherc-ever they came. But it is a matter of 
 faS: not to be contcftcd, that great numbers of 
 heathen writings and monuments have been prc- 
 ferved 5 by Chriftians they have been preferred f 
 and from thence the learned have been able to 
 give an ample account of their religion^ rites^ 
 JawSy 2SiA htjiory. And this is fo far from being 
 a difadvantage to Chriftianity, that great ufe hath 
 •been made of the heathen learning to fervc and 
 
 Promote the Chriftian caufe. The emperor 
 ULiAH was fo fcnfible of this, that he formed 
 4 defign of modelling the fchools fo, that th# 
 
 • Vol. 1. p» 127, i28v X Ibid. p. 131. 
 
 ChriftianS 
 
Lord BolingbrokeV Letters. - 83 
 
 Chrlftians (hould not be acquainted with tho' 
 heathen writers. As to the books that have been 
 written againft Chriftianity *, it is poffible that 
 the ill-judged zeal of fome Chriftians may have 
 occafioned the lofs of fome of them : but 1 am 
 apt to think it was owing, in moft ihftances, to 
 the fame caufes and accidents, to which wc muft 
 attribute the lofs of fo many antient monuments, 
 and admired writings, not only of the heathens, , 
 but of eminent fathers, and antient writers of 
 the Chriftian church. Many celebrated apologies 
 for Chriftianity, and books in defence of religion, 
 have been loll ; when, on the contrary, the 
 works even of Lucretius^ a fyftem of Epicurifnf^ 
 the life of Apollonius Tyaneus^ and others of the 
 like fort, have come down to our times. 
 
 Thefc infiDuations do not properly come up 
 to the main point. But in his hfth Letter, undet 
 pretence of giving advice to divines, and (hew- 
 ing, that it is incumbent upon them to apply 
 themfelves to the ftudy of hiftory, he fets him- 
 
 • The heathen writings againft Chriftianity fcem not tti 
 have been much cftccrocd among the pagans themfelves ; and 
 this may be one reafon why they were not very carefully 
 preftrved. There is a remarkable parage of Chryfojiom^ to 
 this purpofe, who in a difcourfc addreflcd to the heathens 
 obfcrves, That the philofophers, and famous rhetoricians, who 
 wrote againft Chriftianitv, had only rendered themfelves ri- 
 diculous : that they had not been able to pcrfuadc any one 
 among fo many people, either wife or fimple, man or woman ; 
 that the books written by them were had in fuch contempt^) 
 that they difappcarcd alnaoft as foon as they Wf re publiflicd ; 
 and that if any of them wert prcferved, it was among 
 Chriftians that 9AC m^ght find them. Cbryf^ 7i)9i. U. p. 539- 
 
 T ■ ' G i Wf 
 
 0m^mtn 
 
84 RcflcAioris ort the Late 
 
 fclf more directly to attack the authority of the 
 Chriftian religion, and to fubvcrt, as far as in him 
 lieth, the foundations on which the proof of its 
 divine original depends. And the courfe of his 
 reafoning is plainly this : that Chriftianity is 
 wholly lounded upon fafts 5 and that thofe fadts 
 do not come to us with a fufticlent degree of 
 evidence to be relied on : they have not been 
 proved as matters of fatl ou^ht to be proved. 
 
 He declares, that " it has been long matter 
 
 ** of aftonifhment to him, that Chriftian divines, 
 ** thofe of them that can be called fo without a 
 ** fncer, could take fo much filly pains to 
 ** eftablifh myftcry on metaphyfics, revelation 
 ** on phllofophy, and matters of fail on abftrad 
 ** reafoning. A religion founded on the authority 
 ** of a divine miffion, confirmed by prophecies 
 " and miracles, appeals to fadls : and the fads 
 " muft be proved, as all other fadls that pafs 
 ** for authentic, are proved. If they are thus 
 ** proved, the religion will prevail without the 
 " afliftancc of fo much profound reafoning : if 
 ** they are not thus proved, the authority of it 
 ** will link in the world, even with this afTift- 
 
 " ance*.'* He therefore blames the divines 
 
 for ufing improper proofs in their difputes 
 
 with Theills. He afks <* What do they 
 
 " mean to din improper proofs in ears that are 
 
 ** open to proper proofs ?" Thus it is that he 
 
 charadlcrizes the Deifts j and afterwards he dc- 
 
 fcribes them as perfons " of minds candid, 
 
 •* but not implicit J willing to be informed, but 
 
 • Vol. I. p. 175. 
 
 " curiou9 
 
L,ord BolingbrokeV Letters. 85 
 
 *' curious to examine *." But how different is the 
 account he giveth even of the moft learned 
 Chriftians ! He affirms, that — '* they have not 
 ** been hitherto impartial enough, or fagacious 
 " enough, to take an accurate examination of 
 ** the Jewifh and Chriftian fyflem, or have not 
 
 " been honeft enough to communicate it |[." . 
 
 This is a very fcverc and confident cenfurc. 
 There have been many perfons, not only among 
 divines, but among the laity, of diftinguifhed 
 eminence for probity and virtue, as well as for 
 learning and judgment, and who, to fpeak mo- 
 deftly, were in thefe refpedts no way inferior to 
 the late Lord Boitngbroke, that have profefled 
 to examine, with all the attention they were ca- 
 pable of, and with an earnefl defire of knowing 
 the truth, the evidences of the Jewifh and 
 Chriflian fyflem : but bccaufe, as the refult of 
 their inquiries, they were confirmed in the be- 
 lief of the divine original of the Jewifh and 
 Chriflian revelation, therefore, in his judgment, 
 not one of them was honeft or fagacious enough 
 to make an accurate examination : and I appre- 
 hend they have no other way of obtaining the 
 charafter of fagacity or impartiality from writers 
 of this caft, but by renouncing Chriftianity. If 
 they do this, they 'fhall be allowed to be faga- 
 cious and impartial inquirers ; but otherwife, 
 they muft be content to have their judgment or 
 honefty call'd in queftion. But if wc may judge, 
 by the writings of the Dcifts that have hitherto 
 appeared, not excepting thofc of his lordfhip,- 
 
 • Vol. 1. p. 179. I Ibid. p. iSi. 
 
 G 3 tliey 
 
 0mm 
 
.< 
 
 ■^ 
 
 66 Reflexions en the Late 
 
 they have not given very favourable indicationa, 
 either of an uncommon fagacity, or of a candid 
 and impartial inquiry. 
 
 He tells the noble lord to whom he writes,-* 
 ** You will find reafon perhaps to think as I do, 
 *^ that it is high time the clergy in all Chriftian 
 ** communions (hould join dieir forces, and 
 *^ eftablilh thofe hiftorical fads, which are the 
 ^* foundations of the whole fyftem, on clear 
 " and unqucftionable hiftorical authority, fuch 
 •* as they require in all cafes of moment from 
 ** others, and rejeft candidly what cannot be thus 
 
 « eftablifhed ♦." 
 
 Chriftian divines have frequently done what 
 his lordftiip blames them for not doing. The 
 fails on which the Chriftian fyftem is founded, 
 relate principally to what is recorded in the 
 writings of the New Tcftament concerning the 
 holy life^ and excellent charaiier^ of our bleflid 
 Saviour^ his admirable dijcourjes^ the many il- 
 luftrious miracles he performed during the courfe 
 of his perfonal miniftry in proof of his divine 
 miflion, his rtJurrc£lion from the dead, and 
 confequent exaltation^ the extraordinary effufict: of 
 the Holy Gbojl upon his difciples, and the mira- 
 culous atteftations that were given to his Apoftles, 
 and the firft publifhers of the Chriftian revela- 
 tion. The queftion is, what reafon have we to 
 think that thoft fails were really done ? His 
 loi*cIlhip requires, that thefe fads fliould be 
 proved, as all other fads that pafs for authentic 
 arc proved \ and that divines (hould eftablifti the 
 
 * Vol. I. p. 183. 
 
 trcdit 
 
 ■p«r»».«««i^pWW«ww««".^^p^^W^^W*IHP^ 
 
Lord BolingbrokcV Letters. 87 
 
 credit of thofc f&dts on clear and unqucftionable 
 hiftorical authority, fuch as they require in all 
 cafes of moment from others. The Chriftian 
 divines arc willing to join iflTac on this point. 
 The bcft, the propcreft way of proving the truth 
 of anticnt fads is undoubtedly by authentic ac- 
 counts publiihcd in the age in which the fa6h 
 were done, and tranfmittcd with fufRcient marks 
 of credibility to our own times. And fcveral things 
 arc to be confidcr'd, in order to our judging 
 whether, and how far, thofe accounts may be 
 
 depended on. If the fads there related were 
 
 of a public nature, done for the mod part in 
 open view, and for which an appeal is made to 
 
 numbers of witnefles : if the accounts ofthofc 
 
 fads were given by perfons that were perfcdly 
 well acquainted with the fads, and who, having 
 had full opportunity to know them, were them- 
 felvcs abfolutely pcrfuaded of the truth and reality 
 
 of thofc fads : if they appear from their 
 
 whole charader to have been perfons of great 
 probity, and undefigning fimplicity, and who 
 could have no worldly intcreft to ferve by feign- 
 ing or difguifing thofe fads j and if their preju- 
 dices had not any tendency to bias them in favour 
 of thofe fads, but the contrary : — if the write- 
 ings thcmfclves have all the charaders of genu- 
 ine fimplicity, and an impartial regard to truth, 
 that can be rcafonably dc fired : — and if they 
 can be clearly traced from the age in which 
 diey were written, and the fads were faid to be 
 done, through the fuccccding ages, to our own 
 tiines : — and finally, if it is undeniably evident, 
 
 G 4 that 
 
88 RcfleAions on the Late 
 
 that there were furprifing efFcSs produced in 
 the very age in which the fadts were faid to be 
 done, and which cannot otherwife be accounted 
 for, than by allowing the truth of thofe fafls> 
 and the cfFcits of which continue to this day :— 
 where thefe feveral circumftances concur, they lay 
 ajuft foundation for receiving the accounts given 
 of fads as true. — According to the jufteft rules 
 of criticifm, fuch accounts of fadls may be de* 
 pendcd on: and many fads are generally received 
 and believed, that fall greatly fliort of this evi- 
 dence. 
 
 Now it is capable of being proved, it has been 
 often proved with great clearnefs and ftrength, 
 that all thefe circumftances concur in relation to 
 the important fads on which the Chriftian fy- 
 ftem is founded. The fads themfclvcs were, for 
 the moft part, done in ot>cn view, and of which 
 there were many witncfles. Chrift's whole per- 
 fonal miniftry was a very public thing. The 
 fcenc of it was not laid in a dark obfcure cor- 
 ner, nor was it ca ried on merely in a private 
 way. His admirable difcourfes were, for the 
 moft part, delivered, and his miracles wrought, 
 in places of the moft public concourfe, before 
 great multitudes of people^ and even before his 
 enemies themfelves, and thofe who were moft 
 |trongly prejudiced againft him. Many of his 
 wonderful works are rcprefented as having been 
 done at ^erufalem^ at the time of their folemn 
 feftivals, when there was avaft concourfe of people 
 from all parts. The fame may be faid of the 
 remarkable circumftances which attended his 
 
 crucifixion. 
 
 
 ,ff„0fmtr'-*'mmmmmm<mimn'''»'<"' •*■■ 
 
Lord BolingbrokeV Letters. 8g 
 
 crucifixion, the earthquake, the fplitting of the 
 rock, the extraordinary preternatural darknefs that 
 covered the whole land for the fpace of three hours, 
 Gfr. which things happen'd at the time of the 
 Jewifli paflbver ; and could not have been impofed 
 upon the people of that age, if they had not been 
 known to be inconteftably true. And the re- 
 lating fuch things was, in effedt, appealing to 
 thoufands of witnefles. And though Jefus did 
 not appear publicly after his refurreftion to all 
 the people 5 yet, befides that he fhew'd hirnfelf 
 alive after his paflion by many infallible proofs, 
 to his Apoftles and others, who beft knew him, 
 and were therefore moft capable of judging that 
 it was he himfelf, and not another -, and was 
 feen even by five hundred at once, who all con- 
 curr'd in their teftimony ; befides this, the ex- 
 traordinary eflfufion of the Holy Ghoft upon his 
 difciples on the day of Pentecojiy which was the 
 moft illuftrious confirmation of his refurreftion 
 and afccnfion, is reprefented to have been of the 
 moft public nature, in the prefence of vaft mul- 
 titudes then gather'd together at Jerufalem frora 
 all parts of the world. To wnich it may be 
 added, that many of the miracles that were 
 wrought in the name, and by the power, of a 
 rifen Jcfu*?, and which were fo many additional 
 proofs of his refurredion, were alfo done in 
 open view, before great numbers of people. 
 The accounts of thefc fadts were written and 
 publiftied in the very age in which the fadts 
 were done, and the laws and do<fh"ines delivered 
 which arc there recorded, and by perfons who 
 \ appear 
 
 I l« I mmmmmmmmmmm^tifgg^ 
 
, 
 
 ^o , Refle<ftions on the Late 
 
 appear to have been pcrfcftly acquainted witk 
 the things they relate^ and fully pcrfuadcd of 
 the truth of tliem. And many of the fadts were 
 of fuch a nature, and fo circumftanced, that 
 they could not be deceived in thenn, allowing 
 them to have had their fenfcs, which I think it 
 is but reafonable to fuppofe. 
 
 The writers of thcfe accounts appear to have 
 been perfons of plain fenfc, and of great pro« 
 bity and fimplicity, and to have had a finccre 
 regard to truth. They write without art, with- 
 out paflion, or any of that heat which enthu- 
 fiafm is wont to infpire. They take no pains to 
 prcpoffefs or captivate the reader ; bat content 
 themfelves with a plain fimple narration of fadb^ 
 without ornament, amplification, or difguife. 
 They relate, with a calm fimplicity, and in a 
 manner that hath not the leaft fign of an over- 
 heated imagination, ChrilVs wonderful adtions, 
 and excellent difcourfe«, without intcrpofing any 
 reflexions of their own. With the fame cool- 
 nefs they relate the bitter ccnfurcs, the fcoflfs and 
 reproaches, that were caft upon him by his ad- 
 verfaries, and the grievous and ignominious fuf- 
 ferings he endured, without exprcfling their in- 
 dignation againft the authors of them. And it 
 is obfervable, that they do not reprefent him, as 
 one might be apt to expedl they would have 
 done, as triumphing over thofe fufterings with 
 an exulting bravery, but rather as manifcfting 
 great tcndernefe of heart and fenfibility under 
 them, though mixed with a remarkable CPn-* 
 itancy and reiignauoo. 
 
 It 
 
 H^Wi 
 
Lord Bolingbroke'/ Letters. 91 
 
 It is a farther proof of that impartial regard 
 to truth, which is obfervablc in tne writers of 
 thofe accounts, that, though fomc of them were 
 Apoftlcs themfelves, and others their fpecial 
 friends and intimates, yet they relate, without 
 difguffe, things which feem to bear hard upon 
 their charadcrs. They relate not only the low- 
 nefs and meannefs of their condition and circum- 
 ftanccs, but their ignorance, their dulnefs of 
 apprehenfion, the weaknefs of their faith, the 
 power of their prejudices, their vain ambition, 
 and contentions among nhemfclves who (hould 
 be the greateft, the reprx)fs they received from 
 their Lord, their cowardly forfaking him in his 
 laft fufferings, and particularly the flbameful fall 
 ofPeter^ one of the chief pf them, and his denial 
 of his Lord and mailer, with the aggravating 
 circumftances that attended it. They have not 
 attempted to conceal any of thefe things, which 
 they might cafily have done, or to excufe or dif- 
 guifc them; than which nothing could better 
 fhew their impartiality, and love of truth. 
 
 It farther ftrengthens the credit of their rela- 
 tions, when it is confider'd, tliat tliey. had no 
 temptation to difguife or falfify the great fads 
 recorded in the Gofpels, in order to fervc any 
 worldly intcreft, or to humour and confirm any 
 darling prejudices. On the contrary, it appcareth, 
 that they were themfelves brought, by the irrc- 
 iiftible evidence of the fads they relate, to em* 
 brace a religion, which was not only contrary to 
 their workl\y intereils, and expofed them to all 
 manner of reproachesi perfecutions^ and (uSa-' 
 
 
92 • Rencdlions on the Late 
 
 ings, but which was alfo contrary to their former 
 moil favourite notions, and rooted prejudiceii 
 For what could be more contrary to the notions 
 and prejudices, which then univerfally poffeffed 
 the minds of the Jews, both of the learned and 
 of the vulgar, than the dodrine of a crucified 
 Mcffiah, who was to eredt a kingdom, not of 
 this world, but of a fpiritual nature, in the be^ 
 nefits and privileges .of which the Gentiles were 
 to be joint fharers with the Jews ? And, finally, 
 they gave the higheft proof of their being them- 
 felves perfuaded of the truth of thole fadts, by 
 their pcrfifting in their tcftimony with an un- 
 fhal^en conftancy, in oppofition to all the powers 
 and terrors of this world. To this it may be 
 added, that the writings themfelves have all the 
 characters of genuine purity, fimplicity, and un- 
 corrupted integrity, that any writings can have ; 
 nor is there any thing in them that gives the 
 leaft ground of fufpicion of their having been 
 written in any later age, or that favours of the 
 fpirit of this world, of ambition, avarice, or 
 fenfuality. And thefe writings have been tranf- 
 mitted to us with an unqueftionable evidence, 
 greater than can be produced for any other 
 writings in the world. We can clearly trace 
 them through all the intermediate ages up to 
 that immediately fucceeding the ApofUes, and 
 have the moft convincing proof of their having 
 been ftill extant, and ftill received and acknow- 
 leged among Chriftians. There are great num- 
 bers of books, now in our hands, that were 
 written and publifhed in the feveral ages between 
 . .; that 
 
 m iip m i 
 
, 
 
 Lord BolingbrokeV Letters. 9 3 
 
 that time and this, in which there arc continual 
 references to the Gofpels, and other facrcd books' 
 of the New Teftament. And by the numerous 
 quotations from them, and large portions tran- 
 fcribed out of them in every age, it is incon- 
 teftably manifeft, that the accounts of the fads, 
 difcourfes, doctrines, Csfr. which now appear in 
 them, are the fame that were to be found in 
 them in the firft ages. Innumerable copies of 
 them were foon fpread abroad in different na- 
 tions : they have been tranflated into various 
 languages : many commentaries have been writ- 
 ten upon them by different authors, who have 
 inferted the facred text in their writings : they ' 
 have been conftantly applied to on many occa- 
 lions, by pcrfons of different fects, parties, in- * 
 dinations, and interefts. Thefe are things which ' ' 
 no man can be fo hardy as to deny. And by 
 Lhis kind of evidence, the greatefl and the moft 
 convincing which the nature of the thing can ' 
 poffibly admit of, we are affured, that the evan- 
 gelical records, which are now in our hands, * 
 have been tranfmitted fafe to us,, and arc the 
 fame that were originally published in the apo- - 
 ftolical age J and that a general corruption of', 
 them, or a fubftitution of other accounts in-" 
 ftcad of them, if any had attempted it, would » 
 have been an impoffiblc thing. 
 
 Taking all thefe confiderations together, it 
 appcareth, that never were there any accoiuits ' 
 oif facts that better deferved to be depended on. 
 And what mightily confirtpcth the credit of thofo ' 
 writings, and of the facts there, related, is, that 
 I it 
 
 1 
 
g4> Reflt^ions o^ tie hate 
 
 it cannot be contefled, that great numbers, b^tK? 
 of Jcw$ and heathens, upon the credit of thofe 
 facts, forfaking the religion of their anceftort, 
 were brought to receive the religion of Jefus ia 
 the firft age, when they had the bcft opportunity 
 of inquiring into the truth and certainty of thofe 
 fa<fts : and this in oppofition to their moft inve- 
 terate prejudices, and when, by embracing it,' 
 they expofed themlclves to all manner of evils 
 and fufferings. The fpreading of the Chriftian' 
 religion, as the cafe was circumftanced, fur- 
 niflieth a very ftrong proof of the truth of the 
 fafts on which it was founded, and cannot 
 otherwife be accounted for. 
 
 Our author afl'crts, — that, ** if the fads can 
 be proved, the Chriftian religion will prevail, 
 without the affiftance of profound reafoning : 
 *^ but, if the fadls cannot be proved, the autho* 
 ** rity of it will fink in the world, even with 
 
 •* this affiftance *•" I think it may be fairly 
 
 argued from this, that if the extraordinary fads 
 had not been true, on the evidence of which 
 alone Chriftianity is founded, it muft have funk 
 at the very beginning, and could never have been* 
 cftabliflied in the world at all ; confidering the 
 nature of this religion, and the difficulties and 
 xDppofitions it had to encounter with. It was 
 inanifeftly contrary to the prevailing prejudices 
 both of Jews and Gentiles : it tended intirely to 
 fubvert the whole fyftem of the pagan fupcr- 
 ftition and idolatry, which was wrought into 
 their civil conftitution, and upon which the 
 
 • Vol. I. p. 175. 
 
 profperlt/ 
 
 « 
 
Lord BolingbrokeV Letters. 95 
 
 profperity of the Roman empire, and the cfbu 
 blidiment of their ftate, were thought to dc-* 
 pend. It alfo tended to fet afide the peculiar 
 polity of the Jews, upon which they fo highly 
 valued thcinfclves, and to fubvcrt all the pleafing 
 
 hopes and expedlationsof the temporal kingdom 
 of the Mefliah, with which they were fo infi-i 
 nitely delighted. It obliged men to receive one 
 that had been ignominioufly condemned and 
 crucified, as their Redeemer and their Lord, the 
 Son of God, and Saviour of the world. It pro-^ 
 pofed no temporal advantages to its votaries, to 
 bribe men to embrace it j gave no indulgence to 
 their corrupt lulls, nor had any thing in it to 
 footh and gratify their vicious appetites and in-' 
 clinations. At the fame time it had all the 
 powers of the world engaged againft it : yet it 
 foon triumphed over all oppofition, tho* propa-* 
 gated by the feemingly meanell inftrumentsj and' 
 made an aftonifliing progrefs through a great' 
 part of the Roman empire, then the moft know- 
 ing and civilized prt of the earth. This is a' 
 ftrong additional confirmation of the truth of 
 thofe accounts which are contained in the GofpeL 
 records; fince tlierc could not be, as the cafe* 
 Was circumftanced, any pofliblc inducement ta> 
 Jews or Gentiles to embrace Chriftianity, but a^ 
 thorough convi(flion of its divine original, and' 
 of the truth of thofe extraordinary fads by which,' 
 it was attefted. 
 
 And if the firft propagators of this religion,^ 
 had ofFcry no other proof but their own word§. 
 in fupport of it, and in confirmation of the. di- 
 vine 
 
^ 
 
 :-i 
 
 96 Refle6lions an the Late " 
 
 vine authority of a crucified Jdus, it cannot^ 
 with any confiftcncy, be fuppofcd, that a fclieme 
 of religion, fo dcftiiutc of all worldly advantages, 
 and fo oppofite to mens prejudices, as well as 
 vices, and which fubjcdlcd thofc that made pro- 
 fcflion of it to fuch bitter reproaches and pcrfc- 
 cutions, could poffibly have prevailed in the 
 world. 
 
 If, at the time when C hriftianity made its firft 
 appearance in the world, it had been embraced 
 by the Roman emperor, as it afterwards was by 
 Conjlantine the Greats if it had been counte- 
 nanced by the higher powers, there might have 
 been fome pretence for afcribing the proerefs it 
 made to tne encouragement it met witn from 
 the great and powerful. The author of thefe Let- 
 ters, fpcaking of the miracles faid to be wrought 
 
 at the tomb of the Abbe Paris, obferves, 
 
 " That, if the firft miniftcr had been a Janfenift, 
 ** all France had kept his feftival, and thofe 
 •' filly import ures would have been tranfmitted, 
 •* in all tne folemn pomp of hiftory, from the 
 •* knaves of this age to the fools of the next-f.'*— 
 But this very inftance, in which the Dcifts have 
 triumphed fo much, may be turned again ft them, 
 fince It afFordeth a plain proof, how difficult it 
 is to maintain the credit of miraculous fails, 
 when they are difcounrenanccd by tlie civil 
 power. The miracles fuppofcd to be wrought 
 at the tomb of the Abbe Paris were foon quafli*d, 
 and a full ftop.put to the courfc of tlie. miracu- 
 lous operations, notwitliftanding there was a nu«^ 
 
 f Vul. I. p, 125, 126. 
 
 merous. 
 
Lord BolingbrokeV Letters. 97 
 
 merous, a powerful, and artful body of men 
 engaged in reputation and intcreft to fupport the 
 credit of therti. It may therefore bcjuftiy con- 
 cluded, that if the extraordinary faft?, on which 
 Chriftianity was founded, had been falfe. the 
 credit of them muft foon have funk, and that 
 religion with it, when all the reigning powers 
 of the world, Jewilh and Heathen, joined their 
 force and influence to fupprefs it *♦ 
 
 In what hath been faid above, to fhew the 
 credit that is due to the accounts given of the 
 fafts by which Chriftianity is eftablifhcd, it is 
 fuppofed, that thefe accounts were written by 
 Chrift's own difciplcs, or their moft intimate 
 companions, and in the firft age, the age in 
 which the fadls were done, /. e, by perfons per- 
 fcftly well acquainted with thofe fadts. But this 
 is what our autl^or fcems unwilling to allow. 
 In his fifth Letter, after having obferv*d, that — 
 " falfe hiftory has been employed to propa- 
 " gate Chriftianity formerly, and that the fame 
 '* abufe of hiftory is ftill continued'' — he in- 
 ftances in Mr. Ahbadic*^ faying, that — " the Go- 
 *' fpe! of St» Matthew is cited by Clemens bifhop 
 " of Rome^ a difciple of the Apoftles j that Bar* , 
 '* wjA^j cites it in his Epiftle ; that j^^^///a and 
 •* Polycarp receive it ; and that the fame fathers 
 •' give tcftimony for St. Mark"' — He adds, that 
 — *' the bifliop oi London^ in his third Paftoral 
 ** Letter, fpcaks to the fame cftcdt.''* And 
 
 • ThcdifficuUics Cbrlftianitv had to encoui 
 eWgantIv reprefcnrcd b'f Mr, fr^/i^ rn his aamual 
 on ihc Rcfuf rr^iup. 
 
 H thea I 
 
 Wmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmifmf 
 
 inter with, art t 
 
i 
 
 '■ 
 
 cc 
 
 (C 
 
 cc 
 
 <( 
 « 
 
 : « 
 
 ' <c 
 
 98 Reflexions* on the Late ^ 
 
 ' then he proceeds ** I prefumc the fadt ad- 
 
 ** vanced by the miniftcr, and the bifhop, is a 
 • " miftake. * If the fathers of the firft century do 
 '* mention fome paflages that are agreeable to 
 what we read in our Evangelifts, will it fol- 
 low, that thcfe fathers bad the fame Gofpds 
 before them ? To fay fo, is a manifeft abufe 
 of hiftory, and quite inexcufable in writers 
 " that knew, or might have known, that thefc 
 fathers made ufe of other Gofpels, wherein 
 fuch paffagcs might be contained, or they 
 might be prcfcrvcd in unwritten tradition. 
 Befides wliich, I would alm.oll venture to af- 
 firm, that the f.itlKTS of the firft century do 
 not cxprcfly name the Ciofpcls we have of 
 
 MattLt^Oy Mark^ Luke^ and '^ohn ^." His 
 
 defign is plainly to fignify, that there is no 
 proof, that the Gol'pels, the books of the Evan- 
 *gclifts which wc now have in our hands, were 
 'written in the riril age of Cnriftianity. 
 
 As this is a matter of importance, I (hall offer 
 fome obfcrvarions upon it. 
 
 And, firft, Ir is to be obfervcd, that though but 
 few of the writings of the fathers of the firfl 
 century arc come down to us, and thofe gene- 
 rally vcrylliortj yet it cannot l;)c denied, that in 
 all thcfe writings the ladts recorded in the 
 Gofpels, efpecally relating to our Lord's paflion 
 ;ind rc-funection, and the fcheme of religion 
 there tau;i;ht, are all along fuppofed, and referred 
 to, as of undoubted trutli and certainty, and of 
 divine oiijjinal : fo thptthofe writings of the apo- 
 
 • V'ul. 1. p. 177^ ijy, 
 7 ' ftolical 
 
Lord Bolingbroke'j Letters. 99 
 
 /lollcal fathers bear tcftimony materially to the 
 Gofpcls, and to the fadls there related, and come 
 in aid of thofe accounts. It is alfo manifeft, that 
 there are feveral particular paflagcs quoted in thefc 
 writings, which fcem plainly to refer to paffiges 
 that are now found in the Evangclifls j and thefc 
 palTagcs are mention'd in a manner which (hews, 
 that they regarded them as of divine authority. 
 Nor is it a valid objeL>ion againft this that they 
 do not cite the Gofpels oi Matthew^ Mark^ Luke^ 
 and John^ by name : for it is not their cuftom, in 
 mentioning pafiages of Scripture, to name the par- 
 ticular books out of which thefc paflagcs are ex- 
 tracted ; they content themfelves with producing 
 the pafl^agcs, or giving the fenfc of them. Thus 
 they generally do with regard to teftimonies pro- 
 duced from the facred books of the Old Tefta- 
 ment : and yet no one will deny, that they had 
 thofe books in their hands, and acknowleged 
 their divine authority. 
 
 Barnabas^ in his Epiftle, has fomc plain re- 
 ferences to paflagcs that are to be found in St 
 Matthew's Gofpcl. And, with regard lo one of 
 them, he introduceth it with faying, It is icrittcn-, 
 which was a form of quotation ufual among the 
 Jews in citing their Sacred Books ; and feems 
 plainly to fliew, that he referred to written ac- 
 counts of the adVions and difcourfes of our Saviour. 
 
 Clement^ in his Epifl:le, mentions feveral re* 
 markable pafl^ages in our Lord's difcourfes, re- 
 corded by die Hvangelifts, Matthew^ Mark^ and 
 Luke J he calls them, the words of the Lord 
 Jefus^ which he f[ake \ and reprefcnts them as 
 
 Hi of 
 
I Co Refledtions on the Late 
 
 of the highcft authority, and dcfcrving the 
 grcateft regard. 
 
 Ignatius hath feveral paflages, which cither 
 arc plain references, or manifeft allufions, to 
 paffages that are to be found in St. Mattheiif% 
 Gofpel, and to feveral other books of the New 
 Teftament He tells thofe to whom he writes, 
 that they — ** ought to hearken to the Prophets, 
 *' but efpecially to the Gofpel, in which the paf- 
 •* (ion has been manifefted to us, and the refur- 
 ** redion perfefted §.'* — Where, as by the Pro^ I 
 jphcts are undoubtedly to be underftood the pro- 
 phetical writings, fo by the Go/pel fcem plainly 
 to be underftood the writings of the Evangelifts, 
 collected into one book called the Gofpel. And 
 in other paflages he fpeaks to the fame purpofc ||, 
 and in a manner which fliews, that this book of 
 the Gofpel was of the moft facred authority 
 among Chriftians. 
 
 Polycarp^ in his Epiftle, though very fhort, 
 hath many paflages that plainly refer or allude 
 to texts of the New Teftament. And, quoting 
 fome paflages which are exprcfly found in the 
 Evangelifts, he introduces them thus. The Lord 
 hath [aid. He exprefles his confidence, that the 
 Phi/ippianSy to whom he writes, were urlJ exer- 
 cifed in th^ Holy Scriptures. And it is manifeft 
 from what he tliere adds, that by the Holy 
 Scriptures he particularly intends the facred 
 writings of the New Teftament : which fliews, 
 that they were had in the grcateft veneration by 
 the Chriftians of that age. 
 
 § Ep. ad Smyrn. S. 7. | li^» ad Philaddph. S. 5, and 9- 
 
 He 
 
Lord Bolingbroke'j Letters, loi 
 
 He that would fee a more didind: account of 
 thefe things, my confult the learned Dr. LarJners 
 accurate coUedlion of paflages from the apofto- 
 lical fathers, in his Credibility of the Gofpel-hU 
 jlory. Part II. Vol. I. 
 
 It appeareth from this brief account, that 
 the apofiolical fathers have taken as much notice 
 of the evangelical writings, as could be reafon- 
 ably expeded, or as they had occafion to do. 
 And therefore I fee not why Mr. Ahbadie fliould 
 be charged with an abufe of hiflory, for reprefent- 
 ing the fathers of the firft century, as having 
 cited the books of the Evangelifts ; fince though, 
 they do not cxprefly quote them by name, yet 
 they quote paOagesas of facred authority, which 
 are to be found in thcfe books : and therefore it 
 may be reafonably fuppofed, that they refer to 
 thcfe books, which, as I fhall prefcntly fhcw^ 
 were then extant, and the authority of which 
 Was then acknowleged. 
 
 But it is urged, that if the fathers of the firfl 
 century do mention fome paflages that are agree- 
 able to what vc read in our Evangelifts, it does 
 not follow, that they had the fame Gofpcls be- 
 
 forethem ; bccaufe ** thofe fathers made ufc 
 
 " of other Gofpels, wherein fuch pafTages might 
 " be contained, or they might be prefervcd ia 
 
 " unwritten tradition." But this way of 
 
 ftating the cafe docs not afford the leafl prclum- 
 ption, that the books of our Evangelifts vyerc not, 
 then extant. It is only fuppofed, that thcrp 
 might be other accountsin that age, in which the 
 6mc things might be contained ; and that the 
 
 H 3 adlions 
 
 ■■ 
 
( 
 
 1 
 
 102 Reflexions on the Late 
 
 aiflions and difcourfcs of cur Lord were well 
 known among the Chriftians of the firft age, 
 both by written accounts, and by tradition re- 
 ceived from the preaching of the Apoftles. And 
 this certainly contirmeth, inftead of invalidating, 
 iheaccounts given in the Gofpels ; andfuppofeth 
 the fafts there recorded to have been of well- 
 known credit and authority. But he ought not 
 to mention it as a thing that is and muft be ac- 
 knowleged by all the learned, that thofe fathers 
 of the firil century made ufc of other Gofpels 
 befides thofe of the Evangelifts. Ic cannot be 
 proved, that they ever refer to any other Gofpels, 
 The only paflage in all the apoftolical fathers, 
 which feems to look that way, is one in Ignatius^ 
 which fomefuppofe wa^ taken out of the Gofpel 
 of the Hebrews^ which itfelf was really St. 
 Matthew'^ Gofpel, with fome interpolations and 
 additions; and yet that paflage may be fiirly in- 
 terpreted, as referring to the v/ordsof our Saviour, 
 recorded by St. Luke^ Ch. xxiv. 39*. 
 
 It may be gathered indeed from the introdu- 
 ftlon to St. L«^/s Gofpel, that many, in that firft 
 age, had undertaken to write an account of the 
 hiflory of our Saviour's life, miracles, difcourfcs, 
 ^c. but it does not appear, that thofe writings 
 were generally received among Chiiftians as au- 
 thentic; probably becaufe they were not done 
 with fufficicnt exadtncfs, and had a mixture ot 
 things filfe or uncertain. And therefore it is 
 nor likely, that the paffagcs, referred to by the 
 
 . • Sec Lardntr'% Crcilibility, i^i. Pan II.. Vol. I. p. iS4» 
 185,186.' • • » • • ....... .^ 
 
 •' ' fathers 
 
Lord Bolingbroke*j Letters. 103- 
 
 fathers of the firft cent nry, were taken from ihofp ' 
 writin;;s : it is far more probable, that they were 
 taken Ironi the books of the Evangciifts, where we . 
 ftill find them, and which were then extant, and 
 their authority acknowJeged among Chriftians. 
 
 That the Gofpels which we have now in our 
 bands were undoubtedly extant in the apoftoH- • 
 cal age, and regarded as authentic, admitteth of * 
 a clear proof, if it be confidcred, that in the? 
 age immediately fuccccding wc find them uni- 
 verfally received and acknowleged in the Chri- . 
 ftian church. There are fevcral books come 
 down to our times, which were written by au-; 
 thors who unqneftionably lived in the fccond 
 century, in which thcfe Gofpels are frequently, 
 and by name, referred to as of divine authority; 
 and many exprefs Quotations drawn from them, 
 by which it is manitcll, that they were then re- 
 ceived with great veneration in the Chriftinn • 
 churches. And it appcareth, from the firft Apo-' 
 logy of yujliii Martyr^ pubhll^ed about an liun- 
 dred years after the death of our Saviour, that it 
 was then the ordinary pradice to read the me- 
 moirs of the Apojlles, and the writinz^ of the 
 Prophets^ in the religious afl'cmblies of Chri ft i 
 ans. And that, by tht: me/r:oirs of the ylfcfilci^ 
 he means ihc books of the Evangclifts, is evident 
 from fevcral paflagcs in his writings; and par- 
 ticularly frcm a paffage in this very Apology, 
 where, having mentioned the vii^moiri compcfrd by 
 the Apoftlei^ he adds, which are <:al!cd Go/pcis : 
 and there arc frequent citation^. Irom all of them 
 in his wiiting^i which plainly ihcw, that he 
 
 H 4. looked 
 
o 
 
 104^ ReflcAions m the Late 
 
 looked upon thofc books as authentic hiftorics of. 
 Jcfus Chrift. The fame miy be obfervcd con- 
 cerning other writers in that century. And linco 
 it is nunifcit, that the four Gofpcls were gene- 
 rally received, and had in the higheft efteem and. 
 veneration, among Chriftians in the fccond cen- 
 I tury, even in the former-part of it (for that Apo-» 
 logy was written about the year 139. or 140.) ji 
 this plainly flicwcth, that the Go 1 pel muft have 
 been written and pubUflicd in the apollolical age. 
 itfclf. And it was, becaufe they were known 
 to have been written by thcApofllcs, or their 
 companions and intimates ; and that the accounts 
 there given were authentic, and abfolutely to be 
 depended upon ; that thefe writings were fo 
 early and generally received. Eujebius^ fpcak-; 
 ing oii^adriitus^ and other eminent pcrfons, who 
 — •* held the hrft rank in the lucccflionof the 
 ** Apoftles/*-— informs us,— *• that they, travel- 
 ** ling abroad, performed the work of Evangclifts, 
 ** being ambitious to preach Chrift, and deliver^ 
 ♦* the Scripture of the divine Gofpels ^."- — -.. 
 The perions he fpcaketh of flouriflied in the 
 reign of Trajan^ in the beginning of the fecond 
 century, and had undoubtedly lived a good part 
 of their time in the firll; and their carrying the 
 books of the Gofpels with them where they 
 preached, and delivering them to their converts, 
 ihcwcth, that thofe Gofpels were then well 
 known to be genuine, and had in great efleem. 
 And indeed if they had not been written in the 
 {jpcltolicalcge, and then known to be genuine, U 
 
 ♦ Eufeb, EccUf. hift. Lb. iii. cap. 37; 
 
 : - can-» 
 
 i 
 
 ""^m^ 
 
Lord BolihgbrokeV Letter?/ 1 05^ 
 
 cannot be conceived, that fo foon after, even in 
 the next age, they could have been fo generally 
 diCperfed, and ftatcdiy read in the ChriftLin af-- 
 fcmblies, and regarded as of equal authority 
 with the writings of thcantient prophets, which 
 had been for fome ages read in the fynagogucs 
 on the Sabbath-days. And though a great cla« 
 mour hath been raifcd concerning fomc fpurious^ 
 Cofpels, which appeared in the primitive times^. 
 there is nothing capable of a clearer proof, than* 
 that the four Gofpels, and thofc only, were ge-* 
 ncrally received as of divine authority in the 
 Chriftian church, in the ages neareft the Apo-' 
 ftlcs; and have continued fo 'ever fince, and 
 have been all along regarded with the profound-- 
 eft veneration, . . ( 
 
 To this it ought to be added, that the heathen^ 
 writers, -who lived neareft thofc times, never 
 pretended to deny, that the books of the Evan-> 
 gdifts received among Chriftians were written^ 
 byChrift's own difciples. Celfus lived in the: 
 fccond century. He (peaks of Jefiis the author 
 of the Chriftian religion, as having lived «»tjo? 
 •araVu oKiyoiv iT«i', a Vfry few yean before.^ 
 He mentions many things recorded in ourEvan*-* 
 gclifts, relating to the birth^ life^ miracles^ fuf^" 
 feringSy and rejurredlion^ of Jefuy Chrift; and/ 
 tells the Chriftians— <* Thefc things wc have: 
 " produced out of your own writings.*'-— r*. 
 He all along fuppofcth them to have becm 
 written by Chrift's own difciples, that lived and 
 convcrfed with him, though he does all he can 
 
 6 td 
 
1 
 
 j 
 
 io6 Rcflediotis m the Late . ^ 
 
 to ridicule and cxpofc them*. To this it may 
 be added> that the emperor yuUan\ who floii- 
 rifhcd about the middle of the fourth. century, 
 and who was both of great acutcnefs, and very 
 wclldifpofcd to take all advantages againftChrl- 
 ftianity, and had, no doubt, an opportunity of 
 reading whatfoever books had been written^ 
 againil the Chriftians before his time, never pre- 
 tends to contcft the Gofpels being written by 
 Chrlll's own difciplcs, and thofe whofe names 
 they bear, Matthew^ Mark^ Luke^ and John \ 
 whom he exprcfly mentions as the writers of 
 thofc books •!•; though, no doubt, he would have 
 been very well pleafcd, if he could have met 
 with any proof or prefumption that could make 
 it probable, thit the books of the Evangelirts, 
 fo generally received among Chrirtians, were 
 written, not by Chrift's own immediate dif^ 
 ciples, or their companions, or in the apo- 
 ftolical age, but were compiled afterwards, and 
 falfly afcribed to the Apoftles. To which it 
 may be added, that none of the ^ti^'f, in any of 
 their writings againft Chriftianity, though they 
 often mention the books of the EvangeliQs, have 
 ever pretended, that thole books were not writ- 
 ten by thofe to whom they arc attributed ; but 
 by others, in after-times, under their names : 
 nor do they ever mention any charge or fufpi- 
 cionof this kind, as having been broughc againft 
 thofe books by their anceflors. 
 
 1 ■ ' ■ ' 
 
 . * Ortg. contra Cdf. lib. ii. p. 67. 69* 70. + Cyrii' 
 jflex. contra yir//«v, lib, x. p. '^i'].Ldit. Spanhchn. 
 
 Thus 
 
 mm 
 
i«Hi 
 
 Lord Bolingbroke'i Letters. 107 
 
 Thus wc find, by the acknowlcgcmcnt of 
 friends and enemies, who lived ncareft to thofe 
 times, that the accounts contained in the books 
 of the Evangelirts were written in the apoftoli- 
 calagc; the age in which thofe fii(fi"s are faid to 
 have been done, which are there recorded. 
 There are plain references to them, and paff- 
 agcs produced out of them, in the few writings 
 that remain ot the firft century. And in the 
 age immediately fucceeding, we have full proof, 
 that they were univerfally received in the Chri- 
 ftian church, as of divine authority; and read 
 as fuch in the Chriftian aflemblies; and were 
 afcribed to Chrift s own immediate attendants, 
 or their intimate companions, Matthew^ Mark^ 
 Luke^ and Johny by name. This hath been 
 univerfally admitted ever hnce in all ages : and 
 thefe books have been tranfmitted down to our 
 times with fuch an uninterrupted and continu- 
 ed evidence, as cannot be produced for any other 
 books whatfoever. He would be accounted a 
 veryunreafonable man, that fhoulddcny, or even 
 queftion it, whether the books of Livy^ Snllu/l^ 
 Tacitus f were written by thofe whofe names 
 they bear. But the Dcifts, and his lordfhip, 
 among the reft, moft unreafonably rejeft that 
 hiftorical teftimony and evidence in behalf of 
 the Scriptures, which they would account to be 
 fufficient with regard to any other books in the 
 world. 
 
 It gives a mighty force to all this, that, upon 
 a careful examining and confidcring the books 
 thcmfelves, they bear the plain marks and cha- 
 
io8 Reflexions on tie Late 
 
 r^^c^ of the firft, the apodolical age; and not 
 ciicp>ark of a later date. Though three of the 
 • Evangelifts make particular mention of our Sa- 
 viour's prcdidions concerning the deftrufiion of 
 yeru/iuemy and the temple ; yet there is not any 
 intimation given in any one book of the New 
 Tcftument, of that dcftrudlioii as having been 
 aftually accomplifhed, which yet was in forty 
 years after our Lord*s crucifixion. And it could 
 fcarce have been avoided, but that fomc or other 
 of them muft have taken notice of it, confidcr* 
 ing the many occafions there were for mention- 
 ing it, if theie books had been generally written 
 after that event. It appcarcth, from the be« 
 ginning of St,Luke*s Gofpcl, compared with the 
 introdudlion to the ^^s cf the ANjUcs^ that he 
 wrote his Gofpcl before he wrote the A5l5, And 
 yet this latter was evidently written in the apo- 
 ftolical age, and fome time before the death of 
 St. Paul For it is plain, from the accounts 
 given in that book, that the writer of it was a 
 companion of St. Paul in his labours and tra« 
 vels, and particularly was with him in his voy- 
 age to Rome; with an account of which, and of 
 his preaching there two years in his own hired 
 houfe, the book ends. It taketh no notice of hi« 
 after-labours and travels, and of his martyrdom 
 ^ at Rcmei which it would undoubtedly have 
 done, as well as of the martyrdom of St. James^ if 
 if it had been written after thofe events hap- 
 pened. And it is a great proof of the high ve-» 
 Deration the firft Chriftians had for thofe wri- 
 tings, and how careful they were not to infcrr 
 
 anj 
 
 "••IB" 
 
 pn>w«»«««iia«ap«*r«aw«P<^ 
 
L^r^BolingbrokcV Letters. ♦ io^ 
 
 any accounts into them, which were not origi- 
 nally there, that none of them evci^ pretended 
 to make fupplcmental additions to that book, 
 cither with regard to St. Paul himfelf, or any 
 other of the Apoftles. And as wc may juflly 
 conclude, that St. Luke*s Gofpcl was publirtied 
 in the apoftolical age itfelf, vvhilft many of the 
 Apoftles were "yet living ; fo it hath been gene- . 
 rally agreed, that St,Mufthcw's Gofpel was pub- 
 lirticd before that of St. Luke ; and that the Go- 
 fpel of St. Jobn was written lafl: of all. And 
 yet this laft, as is manifcft from the book itfelf, 
 was written by one of Chrift's own difciplcs, f/:e 
 iifciple ivhomjefus loved. And itappcarcth to 
 have been principally dcfigncd to record feverai 
 thing??, which were not diflinftly taken notice of 
 by the other evangelical writers. Accordingly 
 we find, that though the fa^^s are there plainly 
 fuppofed, which are related by the other Evan- 
 gel ills ; yet thofe miracles and dlfcourfes of our 
 L/jrd are chiefly infifled upon, which either 
 were omitted by tliem, or but flighdy mention- 
 ed. Indeed whofoevcr impartially confidereth 
 the writings of the New Tcflament, will cafily 
 obferve in them many peculiar characlers, which 
 plainly point to the. time in which they were 
 written. And there is all the reafon in th*c world 
 to think, that if thefe books had been written 
 in any fuccecding age, they would have been in 
 fcveral refpedb different from what they now arc. 
 The Chriftian religion here appcarctb in its pri- 
 mitive fimplicity, without any of the mixtures 
 of following agci. The idea that is given of the 
 
 Chrif ian 
 
3 
 
 i 
 
 jc I o . Reflexions on the Late 
 
 Chriftian church, in the writings of the New 
 Tcftament, is fuch as is proper to the firft age i 
 and in which there were feme variations, 
 even from that which immediately followed. 
 The difcourfes of our bleflcd Lord, as recorded 
 by the Evangelifts, arc of fuch a nature, fo full 
 of divine wifdom, and admirable fentiments, as 
 would manifeftly appear, if there were room in 
 this place to enter on a particular confiderationof 
 them. They are delivered with fo much gravi- 
 ty and authority, and yet, for the mod part, in 
 fuch a particular way, that they carry the evi- 
 dent proofs of their own genuinenefs. The 
 charafter given of our Saviour, in the books of 
 the Evangelirts, feems plainly to have been 
 drawn from the life. And it may be juft- 
 ly affirmed, that it was not in the power 
 of fuch writers, deftitute, as they appear to be, 
 of all art and ornament, to have feigned fuch a 
 charader : a charader, in which is wonderfully 
 united a divine dignity becoming the Son of God, 
 and an amiable humility and condefcenfion be- 
 coming the Saviour of men ; an admirable wif. 
 dom in conjunction with the greateft candor 
 and fimplicity of heart; an ardent zeal for the 
 glory of God, and the moflextenfive charity and 
 benevolence towards mankind ; an impartial 
 freedom and feverity in reproving faults, and 
 great tendernefs in bearing with mens weakneffcs 
 and infirmities J an unparalleled purit^'and fan- 
 £t\iy of manners, without any thing fiur or un- 
 fociable, or a fupercilious contempt of others j 
 the moll exemplary patience and fortitude under 
 
 the 
 
Lord Bolingbroke*^ Letters, lit 
 
 the grcateft fufFcrings, joined with a remarkable 
 tenderncls and fcnlibihty of fpirit. To this may 
 be added the bi^auty of his maxims, the folidity 
 of his reflc(ftion9, the juft and fubhme notions of 
 religion, wliich he every-wherc inculcateth, far 
 Superior to any thing that was taught by the mod 
 celebrated dodors of the ^cwip nation. The 
 morals he is rcprefented as having taught arc the 
 mofl: pure and refined, and yet without running 
 into any fupcrftitious extremes, fuchas were the 
 afFcdted ftridtnefles of the PWZ/i'^i ^^AEJjenes^ 
 or the falfe refinements of fome Chriftians in 
 the following ages. The motives there propofed 
 are the moft powerful and. efficacious that can 
 be prefented to the human mind, drawn from 
 all the charms of the divine love and gcwxlnefs ; 
 from the engaging offers of grace and mercy 
 made to the truly penitent, which yet arc fo or- 
 dered as not to give the leaft encouragement to 
 theobftinatcly wicked and difobedient j from the 
 promifcs of divine aids toafliftour fincere endea- 
 vours in the performance of our duty > from the 
 important folemnities of the future judgment, and 
 the eternal retributions of the world to come, 
 the inexprefliblc glory and felicity prepared for 
 good men, and the dreadful punifhmentsthatfhall 
 be infiiftcd upon the wicked. In a word, fo per- 
 fect is the idea of religion contained in thofe wri- 
 tings, that all attempts to add to it in fuccceding 
 ages, or,raife it loan higher degree of perfeftion, 
 have really fallen (hort of its original excellence, 
 and tended to tarnifli its primitive beauty and 
 ^ glory.. 
 
 Taking 
 
■ 
 
 1 1 2 ReHedlions m tie Lati 
 
 " faking all ithcfc confidcrations together, they 
 form a very ftrong and convincing proof of the 
 truth and authenticity of the Gofpel-records; 
 and that, whether we confider the method of 
 conveyance, whereby they have been tranfmiu 
 ted to us, and which we can trace up with a con- 
 tinued evidence to the firft age, or the internal 
 charaftcrs of original truth and purity, and gc» 
 ,nuine integrity, which appear in tlie writing! 
 ^cmfelves. 
 
 r To take off the force of the evidence, brought 
 for the fads on which Chriftianity is eftablifhed, 
 it hath b^n urged, that thefe fads are only at- 
 •tcftcd by Chriftians. The author of thefe Let* 
 ters obfervc8,.that the church has the advantage 
 over her adverfarics j that the books that were 
 written againft her have been deftroyed, whilft 
 Avhatcver tends to juftify her has been prefcrvcd 
 in her annals — And that-— '* he mult be very 
 ^* implicit indeed, who receives for true the hi- 
 •*^ ftory of any nation or religion, and much more 
 ** that of any fedt or party, without having the 
 •** means of confirming it with fome other hi- 
 << ftory *." He here fecms to fuppofe it as a 
 thing certain, that there had been hiftorical 
 evidence againft Chriftianity 5 but that the church 
 had fupprefled it. But this is a precarious fup- 
 pofition, without any thing to fupport it. The 
 account of the fafts on which Chriftianity is 
 founded, were publifhed, as hath been fliewn, 
 by perfons who pretended to be perfedly well 
 acquainted with thofe fads, and in the age in 
 
 , • Vol. I. p. 128. 132. 
 
 which 
 

 Lord BoIingbrokeV Letters. 113 
 
 which they were done, and who fpcak of them 
 as things publicly known, and of undoubted 
 certainty. The proper way therefore for the 
 enemies of Chriftianity to have taken, would 
 have been, to have publidied, if they were able, 
 contrary authentic accounts, in that very age, for 
 difproving thofc fafts ; which it would have been 
 cafy to have done, if they had been falfe : for, 
 in that cafe, thoufands muft have known them 
 to be fo; fince many of the fads are reprefentcd 
 as having been done in public view, and in the 
 prefence of great multitudes. But that no fuch 
 contrary hiftorical evidence was then produced or 
 publlfhed, we may confidently affirm j not only 
 becaufe there is no account of any fuch evidence, 
 but becaufe, if the fails on which Chriftianity is 
 cftablilhed, had been authentically difproved 
 even in the age in which they were faid to have 
 been done \ arid if there had been good hiftori- 
 cal evidence produced on the other fide, by 
 which it appeared, that thcfe fads were falfe; 
 the Chriftian religion, confidering the other dif- 
 advantages that attended it, and that it was prin- 
 cipally fupportcd by thofe fads, muft have funk 
 at once. How is it conceivable, that in that cafe 
 it would have flouriftied more and more; and 
 that vaft numbers, and many of them perfons oi 
 confiderablc fenfe and learning, would have con- 
 tinued to embrace it, in the ;facc of the grcateft 
 difficulties and difcouragemehts ? How comes it,' 
 jthat none of the Apologia for Chriftianity that 
 .were publifticd very early, and prcfented to the 
 Roman Emperors^ Tome of which arc ftill ejtan\, 
 • ' ^ • • I ^ • - take 
 
1 14 Reflexions on the Late 
 
 take any notice of fuch contrary hiftorical evi- 
 dence, or endeavour to confute it, but ftill fpeak 
 of thofe fads as inconte(tably true and certain ) 
 The firft heathen authbr that appears to have 
 written a formal book againft the Chriftian re. 
 Hgion, is Celfus. And what he advanced to this 
 ipurpofe we learn from his own words, preferved 
 hy Origen^ in. his excellent anfwcr to him. He 
 endcavoureth, as far as he can, to turn the Go- 
 fpcl-accounts to ridicule ; but he never rcferredi 
 to any authentic hiftory, or book of credit and 
 authority, which had been publifhcd, to (hew 
 that the fafts, recorded by the Evangclifts, and 
 believed by the Chriftians, were falfc. He pre- 
 
 tendeth indeed, that ** he could tell many 
 
 •' other things, relating to Jefus, truer than thofc 
 " things that were written of him by his own 
 •* difciples j but that he willingly paffed them 
 *• by *,*'——- And we may be fure, that if he 
 had been able to produce any contrary hiftorical 
 evidence, which he thought was of weight fuf- 
 ficient to invalidate the evangelical records, a 
 man of his virulence and acutenefs would not have 
 failed to produce it ; and his not having done fo, 
 plainly fheweth, that he knew of none fuch { 
 though, if there had been any fuch, he muft 
 have known it. Nor do I find, that Julian^ 
 when he wrote againft Chriftianity /pretended td 
 produce any contrary hiftorical evidence for dif- 
 proving the fafts recorded in the Gofpels : if ht 
 had, fomething of it would have appeared ill 
 C^nTs anfwer, in which there are many frag* 
 
 mcnta 
 
Lord Bolingbroke V Letters. 115 
 
 mcnts of his book prefervcA I think therefore 
 the pretence of there having been contrary evi- 
 dence to difprove the fads recorded in the Go- 
 fpcl, which evidence was afterwards fuppreffcd 
 by the Chriftians, is abfolutely vain and ground- 
 Icfs. And to refufc our aflent to the Gofpcl- 
 biftory, for want of having an opportunity to 
 confront it with conti-ary hiftorical evidence, 
 when we have no reafon to think there ever wa^ 
 fuch evidence, would be the mcft unreafonable 
 condudt in the world. 
 
 73ut ftill it is urged, that the accounts ofthofe 
 fafts, in order to their obtaining full credit from 
 any impartial perfon, ought to be confirmed by 
 the teftimony of thofc who were not themfelves 
 Chriftiansj fincc Chriilians may be excepted 
 againft as prejudiced perfons ; and that, if there 
 be no fuch teftimony, it adminifters juft ground 
 of fufpicion. As a great ftrefs has been frcr 
 quently laid upon Uiis, I (hall confidcr it di- 
 ftinaiy. 
 
 To cxpcft, that profeflcd enemies, who rc* 
 Tiled and pcrfccuted the Chriftians, fhould ac- 
 knowlege the truth of the main fads on which 
 Chriftianity is founded, is an abfurdity and con- 
 tradiftion. And if any tcftimonics to this pur- 
 pofe were now to be found in their writings, 
 Jt would undoubtedly be alleged by thofc gentle- 
 men, who now complain of the want of fuch 
 tcftimonieSy that thole paflagca were fgifted^ in 
 by Chriftians, and ought to be rejea<:d as fup- 
 pofititious. But yet we have the teftimony of 
 ^vwiiarics concerning many &^ relating to 
 , :;■ I « Cbiiftianity, 
 
■ 
 
 i 
 
 
 ii6 RcfleAions on the Late^ 
 
 Chriftianity, as far as can be cxpcdted from ad* 
 vcrfarics. It cannot he expedlcd, that ^^t;; or 
 Heathens^ continuing fuch> (liould acknowlcgc 
 Chrift*s divine miff.on ; that he was the Son of j 
 'God, the Saviour of the world; butnoneof thcra 
 ever pretended to deny, that there ^ was fucha 
 pcrfon as ye/us Chriji^ who was the author of 
 thcChriftian religion, and appeared in Judea in 
 the reign of Tiberius. Tacitus*$ tcftimony, as 
 >vcll as that of Celfus^ is very exprefs to this pur- 1 
 pole*. And fome of the heathens' went fo far 
 as to fpcak very honourably of him. So did 
 the Emperor Jllexander Scverus^ who would 
 have built a temple to him, if fome of the pa- 
 gans about him had not made ftrong remon- 
 ftranccs againft it, as Lampridius informs us in 
 his life -f*. And even Porphyry himfelf, whofc 
 words Eufeiius hath preserved, fpeaks of him 
 ^s a pious jnan, whofe foul was taken into hea- 
 ven :f. It would be unreafonable to cxped, 
 that the enemies of Chriftianity fl)ould acknow- 
 lege the accounts given of Chrift by the Evan- 
 gelifts to be true and authentic, and abfolutely 
 to be depended upon j for then they mufl have 
 turned Chriftians. But yet they never denied, 
 •what fome of our modern unbelievers fecm un- 
 willing to acknowlegc, that Chrift's own difci- 
 ples, who had lived and converfed with him, 
 nad written accounts of his life, and adlions, and 
 difcourfes^ which were received by Cbiiftians al 
 
 ; ♦ Tflr/V.' Annal. Jib. xv. + Cap. xxiic. xliil. Hlft. i^«- 
 fyjl, torn. L Edit. Far. % Euftb, Dcmonftrat, Evangel 
 Lbiii.p. 134. 
 
 • true 
 
Lord Bolingbroke'x Letters, 117 
 
 true and authentic. The teftimony o{CelJus\ as 
 was obfervcd before, is very full to this purpofc. 
 It cannot be cxpedled, that yews and heathens 
 ihould acknowlcgeChrift's miracles to have been 
 really wrought by a divine power. But they do 
 not deny, that he did, or fcemcd to do, wonder- 
 ful works. And the way they take to account 
 for them amounteth to an acknowlegement 
 of the fafts. Some afcribed them to magical 
 arts, isCelJus, who faith, that on the account of 
 the ftrangc things- he performed, jfefi^s claimed 
 to be regarded as a God *. Others^ as Hieroc/eSj 
 oppofed to them the wonders pretended to have 
 been wrought by Apolloniui Tyaneus, The 
 Jeivs afcribed the works he performed to the 
 virtucof the ineffable Name, which he i\ole out 
 of the temple. And the Emfctotyulian cxpref- 
 ly acknowkgeth fome of his miraculous works, 
 particularly his healing the lame and the blind, 
 and carting out devils, at the fame time that he 
 affedts to J peak of them in a very flight and di- 
 minifhing manner -f. As toChrift's having fuf- 
 fercd under Pontiui Pilate^ tlic .heathens and 
 Jews were fo far from denying it, that they en- 
 deavoured to turn it to the reproach of Chri- 
 ftians, that they believed in, and worfhipcd, one 
 thatiiad been crucified. It cannot be cxpeded 
 indeed, that they fhould own, that he really rofc 
 again from the dead oh the third day, as he him- 
 fclf had foretold ; but they acknow lege, that hi^ 
 •difciples declared, that he did fo 1 and profeffed to 
 
 • Ori>. con^ CiJf. lib. i. p. 7. 22^ 30* ; t Sc« hii wc^t 
 iaCyril Qontx^JuHafu lib vi, p. i%u Edit. Sfanhiim. 
 
 i \..'i'; I ^ have 
 
xi8 Rcflcaions ch the Late T 
 
 have iccn him, and converfed with buB, after hb' 
 rcfurre<ft!on. This appeareth from the teftimony 
 of Celfu^^ at the fame time that he endeavours to 
 ridicule the account given, by the Evangelifts, of 
 Chrift*8 Refurrcdion ♦. The Jewi^ by pre- 
 tending that the difciples flolc away the body of 
 Jefus, whilft the foldicrs that were appointed to 
 guard it flcpt, plainly acknowlcged, that the 
 body did not remain in the fcpulchre where it 
 had been laid after his crucifixion } iind that 
 therefore he might have rifcn from'the dead, for 
 any thing they could, prove to the contrary^ 
 The early and remarkable diffu Aon ofChriftia- 
 nity, notwithilanding all the difficulties it had 
 to encounter with, and the perfecutions to which 
 the profcflbrs of it were expofcd, is a very im- 
 portant fadt, and which, as the cafe wa^ circum** 
 flanced, tends very much to confirm the truth 
 of the Gofpel-accounts. And this is very fully 
 attcftcd by heathen writers, though it cannot 
 be expeded, that they would afcribe this propa- 
 gation of Chriftianity to its proper caufes, the 
 force of truths and a divine power accompany** 
 ingit. ^ 
 
 Tacitus^ in a paflage where he exprefTeth hlm- 
 felf in a manner that ihews he was ftrongly pre- 
 judiced againfl Chriftianity, informs us, that there 
 \vas a great multitude of Chriftians at Rame in 
 Nerd^ time, which was in lefs than forty yean 
 after the death of our Saviour > and gives an ac« 
 couut of the terrible torments and fufferings to 
 
 f Ori^, contra dlf, Ub. iL p, 94, 961 97. lib. vii. p. 355^ 
 
 ' . y^hicbl 
 
 m^n^vvi 
 
Lord Bolingbroke'j LfCtters, ? 1 9 
 
 ^^rhich they were cxpofcd *. yuliariy fpcaking 
 of the Evangelift John^ whom he reprefents as 
 one of Chrift's own difciples, faith, that in his 
 I time a great multitude, in mofl: of the cities of 
 Greece and Italy^ were feized with that difeafe j 
 for fo he calls Chriftianity j and that John, ob- 
 ferving this, was encouraged to affert, thatChrift 
 was God, which none of the. other Apolllcs had 
 done'f'. And we Icam from the younger Pliny^ 
 that in the reign of Trajan^ i. e. about feventy years 
 after our Lord's crucifixion, the Chriftian faith 
 had made fuch a progrefs in feveral parts of the 
 Roman empire, that the temples of the gods 
 were almoft defolate ; their folemn facred rite& 
 long negicifled j and that there were very fev«f 
 that would buy the facrifices \, It cannot be 
 cxpeded, that heathens, continuing fuch, fhould 
 acknowlege, that the Chriftians were right in 
 their notions of religion; but the laft-mentioned 
 celebrated heathen gives a noble teftimony to 
 the innocency of their lives and manners, and 
 that they bound themfelves by the moft facred 
 engagements to the practice of rightcoufnefs and 
 virtue, and i\qi to allow themfelves in vice and 
 wickednefs, falftiood and impurity. Even Cel- 
 fiiSy than whom Chriftianity never had a bitterer 
 f nemy, owns, xhat there were amons Chriftians 
 ffr^ny tefnperate^ tnodefi^ and underjtanding per- 
 fon^ Jl : apd Julian reconuncnd$ to his heathc^ 
 I^t^i}ti4rf4m.^ ,thc ,cx^plc oi the Chriftians, fey 
 
 • fd^lt, Aimal. li<>. XT. t 5c« t))« paflagc ^C^friU 
 
 *b. X. p. 327: • \PUn. lib. X. Ep. 57. ad Trojan. 
 lO'iX.caoiraCrjr.lib.l. p.ai. : • ^ -^ 
 
 :* :=: I 4 thctf 
 
 iw» 
 
- 
 r 
 1 
 
 J 
 
 X 20 * Reflexions on the Late ^ 
 
 'their kindncfs and humanity to ftfaftgcrf; 
 
 and not only to thofc of their own religion, but 
 
 . to the hcuthcns ; and for their appearing fandity 
 
 of life ; and this he fuppofes to be the chief 
 
 'caufc why Chriftianity had made fuch a pro- 
 
 grefs *. If none but Chriftian writers had cclc- 
 
 :brated the conftancyof the antient martyrs, Tome 
 
 would have been ready to have fufpcfted, that 
 
 they feigned this to dp them honour, or,atleaftj 
 
 greatly heightened it : but it appeareth from the 
 
 undoubted teflimonics of the above-mentioned 
 
 5P//V/y, ofjirriarty who flourirtied under the rcign I 
 
 of Iladriariy and of the emperor Marcus Anto^ 
 
 'ninuSy that the antient Chriftians were very re- 
 
 'markable for their fortitude, and contempt of 
 
 .torments and death, and for their inflexible firm- 
 
 ncfs and condancy to their religion under the 
 
 grcateft fuffcrings -f*. 
 
 Though therefore it were abfurd to expeft, 
 that the enemies of Chriftianity, continuing fuch, 
 fliould diredlly atteft the truth and certainty of 
 the main fafts on which the Chriftian religion is 
 founded J yet we have feveral teflimonics from 
 them, that contribute not a little to the confirma- 
 tion of thofc fadls. Befides which, what ought 
 to have great weight with us, we have the tefli- 
 mony of perfons who were once Jews or 
 "heathens, and ftrongly prejudiced againft the 
 Chriftian fyflem, who yet, upon the convincing 
 evidence they had of thofe fafts, were thcmfclves 
 
 . • Julian, t^, xlbr. ad Arfac. f W/i. ubi fupra. Arrian* 
 £fi£i. lib. iv. cap. 7. Marcus Anun* lib. xL 3. / . 
 
 brought 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 w m. . — ii n i.<» ww. i " |ii ■■■' » ■ I " '* "" ' " ' "^ 
 
Lord Bolingbroke* J Letters, 'r 21 
 
 brought over to the' religion of Jcfus*. Of 
 fuch pcrfons there were great numbers even in 
 the firlt age, the age in which the fadls weffe 
 done, and in which they had the bed oppor- 
 tunity of inquiring into the truth and certainty of 
 them. But there could not be a more remark- 
 able inftancc of this kind than the Apoftle Paul. 
 Never was there any man more ftrongly pre* 
 judiced againll Chriftianity than he : which had 
 carried him fo far, that he was very adivc in per^ 
 fccuting the profcflbrs of it, and thought that 
 in doing fo he had done God good fervice.- He 
 was at the fame time a pcrfon of great parts and 
 acutenefs, and who had a learned ' education • 
 yet he was brought over to the ChrifHan faith 
 by a divine power. and evidence; which he was 
 not able to fefift ; and thenceforth did more than 
 any other of theApoftlesto propagate the religion 
 of Jefus ; though thereby he not only forfeited 
 all his hopes of worldly intereft and advance- 
 ment, but cxpofed himfelf to a fucceflion of the 
 -mod grievous reproaches, perfecutions, and 
 fuffcrings j all which he bore with an invincible 
 €onftancy,and even with a divine exiiltation ^nd 
 joy. In his admirable Epiftles, which v/ere uh-^ 
 'dcniably written in the firft age of Chriftiafiity; 
 and than which no writings cart bear more uh- 
 rontcftcd marks of genuine purity and integrity, 
 there are continual references to the principal 
 fadls recorded in the Gofpcls, as of undoubted 
 truth and certainty. - Aod it manifefily appear-.: 
 
 ; ; ^ Ses Jd4nfiie% Ut^xSh of the Cfar ifi^P rt ligioa, Sm. 
 
 cthji 
 
 U 
 
 mmmmmm 
 
i 
 
 ■i 
 
 o 
 
 'i 
 
 sth, di^t great miracles were then wrqoght. in 
 ab<^ nam^ cdT Jcfu^ l ancl Uiat extraordinary gifts 
 yrcre pourc4 forth upon the difqiplcs. And why 
 ihould not his tcftimony b favour of Chriftianiiy 
 be of the greatcft force ? Muft it bcdifregardcd, 
 becaufe of his turning Chriflian; t\ e. becaufe he 
 was fo convinced of thofe fadb by the ftrongeft 
 evidence, that it over- ruled all his prejudices, and 
 Iwougbt him PYcr to Chriftianity, in oppofition 
 tp all bis former notions, inclinations, and inf^ 
 t^r^iU ? Whereas it is this very thing that giveth 
 hi$ tcftimony a peculiar force *. And if he had 
 fjot turned Chriftian, his teftimony in favour of 
 Chriftianity, if be had given any, would not 
 hav^ bad ib great weight, as being infufficient for 
 I^s owa convidlion y or it would have been re- 
 jected a$ a forgery, under pretence that he could 
 fu^ fey and believe fuch things without cmbrace- 
 ipg the Chriftian faith, 
 
 . ^ Thi$ very pretence has been made ufe of to 
 let a,fixic the remarkable teftimony of yojepbui. 
 yVnd in^^ecd, if that teftimony be genuine (and ^ 
 great A^\ has b^cn ftrongly urged to prove i; fo, 
 lU^ k^ft fpr the fubftance of it), it muft be ac- 
 ImQwleged, that he was far from being an enemy 
 to Chriftianity^ though h^ was perhaps too 
 vm^h g courtier openly to prgfcfs it 
 ^ . There is anpjth^r argument, which the \nr 
 {enious author of thefe L(etter$ propofeth, and 
 upon which he.l^yeth pp fmall ftrefi, as i^ i|t 
 yf^i:^ft demQnftratioft agftipft the divii^ authority 
 
 . ^ Ste^hU ckarty «ft4 /olidty trgued in iir Gmgi Lytuliim*^ 
 9^kvi^m on the Coavfrwa mkI Apo^cOup of St. Paul* 
 c . '-' of 
 
 ''W 
 
Lor^ Bolingbrokc X Letters, 123 
 
 of the Chriftian religion. He obfervcs, that— u 
 " The writers of the Romijh religion have at- 
 '* tempted to (hew, that the text of the holy 
 ** writ is on many accounts infufficient to be the 
 " folc criterion of orthodoxy ; and he apprc- 
 " henda they have (hewn it : and tho writers 
 " of the reformed religion have crcdled their 
 ** batteries again ft tradition : and that thcjr 
 ** have jointly laid their axes to the root of 
 '* Chriftianity : that men will be apt to reafon 
 " upon what they have advanced, that there 
 " remains at this time no ftandard at all of Chri^ 
 " ftianity : and that, by confcquencc, cither thii 
 *' religion was not originally of divine inftitution, ' 
 " or elfc God has not provided efFedlually for 
 " preferving the genuine purity of it ; and the ' 
 ** gates of hell have adually prevailed, in con-^ 
 " tradition to his promife, againft the church* 
 <* He muft be worle than an Athcift that aifirmf 
 ** the laft : and therefore the beft cfFeft of thii 
 " rcafoning that can be hoped for is, that men ' 
 " fhould fall into Theifm, and fubfcribc to the 
 
 ** firft j" 'viz, that the Chriftian religion was 
 
 not originally of divine inftitution *. He fccmi 
 to think this dilemma unanfwerable ; and, ia 
 order to this, he pronounccth on the fide of the 
 Rmijh church, that their writers have (hewn, 
 
 that the facred text is ** mfuffidcnt to be the 
 
 " fole criterion of orthodoxy ; ** — - 6r,. ks lie • 
 afterwards cxprefTeth it, that—-'' it hath not that 
 •f tutbenticitjr» ckamcfs, And preciSoiiy which 
 1^ ire neodUry to eftabllih it asAdifioe ftxxi m 
 
 V. ccrtajj 
 
 mmmm 
 
-;5 
 
 5[ 2 4 RcflcAloni an tfie Late - ^ 
 
 H ccttam nilc of faith and pradticc.**— Why 
 hx3 lofdlhip givcth the preference to the Romijh 
 divines in this controverly; is very evident. It i$ 
 becaufe it beft anfwcreth the dcfign he hath iil 
 view J which manifeftly 19, to fubvcrt the credit 
 and authority of the Chriftian religion, ar d leave 
 it nothing to depend upDn but the y^rcv of edu* 
 caticn^ and the chil and ecclefiffjlical power. - 
 '-'. It cannot be denied, that fome writcrb of the | 
 Romijh church, whil ft they have endeavoured to 
 (hew, that the Scripture is infufficicnt to be a' 
 complete rule of faith and praftice, have faid a^ 
 much to expofe the facred text, as if they were 
 in league with the infidels againft it, though 
 they,' as well as we, profefs to own its divine 
 original : The enemies of Chriftianity have not 
 failed to take advantage of this« And indeed 
 there cannot be a greater abfurdity than to fup- 
 pofe, that God (hould infpire men to reveal hiis 
 will to mankind, and to inftruit them in the 
 way of falvation, and order it fo, that they 
 fliould commit that revelation to writing, for the 
 ofe and benefit of his church j and yet that it 
 fliouId be infufficient to anfwer the end, or to 
 guid^ thofe that in the fincerlty of their hearts, 
 and with the attention which becometh them in 
 ^n affair of fuch infinite importanc^> apply them-» 
 felves to'thc undcrftanding and pracliiing of it. ' 
 -.! What. his lordfliip here offers, and it contain^ 
 the. fumiof what has been advanced by tho 
 
 Romi/h writers pr^ this fubje<^i is this " I 
 
 !.* 'am furc, that experience, froni the firfl pro-* 
 ^ mulgation of Chrifjiaoity to.thla.'bouf, fhews 
 r - .,i '* *^ abundantly 
 
Lord Bolingbroke'j Letters. 125 
 
 ^ abundantly with how much eafe and fuccefsj 
 " the mod oppofitc, the moft extravagant, nayi 
 " the moft impious opinions, and the moftconi 
 *' tradidory faiths, may be founded on the fame 
 *' text, and plaufibly defended by the fame au- 
 " thority*/' — This Way of arguing beareth a near 
 affinity to that which lieth at the foundation of all 
 fcepticifm ; viz, that there is no certain criterion 
 of truth, or right reafon, becaufe reafon is pre- 
 tended for the moft contradidlory opinions ; and 
 that it is impoffible to be certain of any thingi 
 becaufe of the differences among mankind about 
 every thing : that there arc no certain principles 
 at all even in natural religion or morality j finco 
 there are none, not even thofe relating to the 
 cxiftcncc and perfcdlions of God, a Providence, 
 a future ftate, the natural differences of good 
 and evil, but what have been controverted, and 
 that by pcrfons who have pretended to learningi 
 to wifdom and philofophy, Kut the abfurdity 
 of this way of arguing is very evident The 
 •principle is fallacious, that whatever hath beeri 
 controverted is uncertain. As wdl might it be 
 faid, that whatever is capable of being abufed 
 is not good or ufcful. It doth not follow, that 
 the Scriptures are not fufficiently clear and dc- 
 tcrt^inatc '.o be a rule of faith and pradicc ii! all 
 that is effential or neccffary to falvatlon, becaufe 
 there have been men in every age that' have in-* 
 tcrpreted them in different fcnfes. The plaincft 
 j^flagcs in' any writings whatfoever may be pcr-^ 
 verted ; nor is mens differing about the meaning 
 
 ♦ Vol. I. p. 179. 
 
 of 
 
 «.• 
 
■: 
 
 
 -'3 
 
 ,•; 
 
 
 926 Pjeikc^ions m the Late \ 
 
 p£ the facred text any argument againft its cer« 
 tainty or perfpicuity. Laws may be of great 
 ufe» though they do not abfolutely exclude chi- 
 canery and evafion. That can never be a good 
 argument to prove^ that the Scriptures are not a 
 cule to be depended upon, which would equally 
 prove, that no revelation that God could give 
 could pofTibly be a rule of faith and practice, or 
 of any ufe to guide men to truth and happineik 
 If God (hould make a revelafion of his will for 
 jnftrudting mankind in what it mod nearly con* 
 cerneth them to know, and for diredling them 
 in the way of falvation ; the poffibility of which 
 cannot be denied by any Theift ; and (hould for 
 this purpofe appoint a code to be publifhed, con« 
 taining do£lrines and laws ^ it may be jufUy 
 queflioned, whether it could poflibly be made 
 io clear and explicit, as that all men in all ages 
 Ihould agree in their fenfe of it. This could 
 hardly be cxpefted, except God ihould mira- 
 culoufly interpofe with an irrefiilible influence 
 to caufe them all' to think the fame way, and 
 give them all the iame precife ideas of things, 
 the fame meafures of natural abilities, and 
 exadlly the fame means and opportunities for 
 acquired improvement, the fame fagacity, tht 
 fame leifure, the fame diligence ; and except he 
 (hould exert his divine power in an extraordmary 
 imnner for fubduing or removing all their pre- 
 judices, and over-ruling their different paf&ons, 
 humours^ inclinations, and interefts > and fhould 
 pla^e them ^ cxadly in the iame (ituation and 
 
 cixgu^iftwccit 
 
 '^gf^^^m w mi* 11 m I » ■ ■ ■ I l u ii II . I I II \ , i n < tmmmim>mmmimmmmmt n i n ■ i n .^ m ■■■l umu r i . i mmmtmmB 
 
Z/#n/ BolingbrokeV Letters, ilf 
 
 circutnftanccs. And this would be by no m^aha 
 confiftcnt with the wifdom of the divine goverty-^ 
 mcnt, or with the nature of man, and his frtc^k 
 dom as a moral agent, and with the methodi 
 iind orders of Providence* Nor is there iny 
 ncceflity for fo extraordinary a procedure. Fdt 
 ft would be abfurd to the laft degree to pretend^ 
 that the Scripture can be of no ufc to any man^ 
 except all men were to agree about it ; or that 
 it is not fufficicntly clear to anfwcr the end, if ^ 
 there be any perfons that pervert or abufc it. 
 
 Yet, after all the clamour that has been raifcd 
 about differences among Chriftians as to the fcnfc 
 of Scripture, there arc many things of great im- 
 portance, about which there hath been in all 
 ages a very general agreement among profcfled 
 Chriftians : They are agreed, that there is on« 
 God, who made heaven and earth, and all thing* 
 which are therein : that he preferveth all things 
 by the word of his power, and governeth all 
 things by his Providence : (hat he is infinitely 
 powerful, wife, and good, and is to beloved^ 
 feared, adored, obeyed, above all : that as there 
 is one God, fo there is one Mediator between 
 God and man, y^fus Cbrijl the righteous^ whom 
 he in his infinite love and nrrercy fent into the 
 World to iavc and to redeem us : that he cam^ 
 to inftrud as by his dodlrine, and bring a dear 
 revelation of the divine will, and to fet before 
 08 • a bright and mpft peffeft example for our 
 irhitatibn : that he ftbmittcd to the moft grievous 
 (ffficridgs/ and ta death itfeif> (otxnxt fakes^ that 
 V»* • ht 
 
 fi 
 
 mi) 
 
f a5 .: Rcfl^aions nh /& Latp \ 
 
 be might obtain eternal redemption for us : , £h«^ 
 he rofe again from the dcad^ and afcended into 
 heaven, and is now crowned with glory and 
 honour, and ever liveth to make intercefUon foe 
 VS : tha^ through him, and in his name, we are 
 to offer up our prayers, and hope for the ac- 
 ceptance of ourperfons and fervices : that in him 
 there is a new covenant cftablifhed, and publiflicd 
 to the world, in which there is a free and uni- 
 i^rfal offer of pardon and mercy to all the truly 
 
 {)enitent| and a mod exprefs promife of eternal 
 ifc, as the reward of our fincerc, though im- 
 perfcft, obedience : that it is not enough to have 
 a bare fpeculative faith, but we muff be formed 
 into an holy and godlike temper j and, in order to 
 be prepared for that future happinefs, muff live 
 fobcrly, righteoufly, and godly, in this prefent 
 world : that there Ihall be a refurredlion both of 
 the jurt and the unjuft, and a future judgment, 
 when Chrift fliall judge the world in the Father's 
 name, and give to every man according to his 
 deeds ; that the wicked ffiall be doomed to the 
 moff grievous punidimentSj, and the righteous 
 (hall be unfpcakably happy to all eternity. 
 Thefe are things of great confequence, and 
 which have been generally acknowleged by 
 Chriftians in all ages. And if there have been 
 icveral things advanced by thofc that call them- 
 felves Chriftians, which are not well confiftcn^ 
 with thefe generally acknowleged principles; if 
 there have been controverfies among them abou^ 
 points of confiderablc importance, as well as 
 i.1 ■ many 
 
Liord Bolingbroke^i Letters, 129 
 
 many contentions about things of little or no 
 moment, this is no argument againft r.he divine 
 authority or ufefulnefs of the facrcd writings. 
 Thofc that ivreji the Scriptures mud be account- 
 able to him that gave them, for that pervcrfion 
 and abufc \ as men muft be accountable for the 
 abufc of their rcafon s but this is far from prove- 
 ing, that therefore the Scriptures anfwer 00 
 valuable purpofc, and could not be of a divine 
 original. Still it is true, that whofoever will, 
 with a teachable apd attentive mind> and an up- 
 right intention to know and do the will of God, 
 apply himfelf to read and confider the holy 
 Scriptures, in an humble dependence on God's 
 gracious afliftances, will find vaft advantage for 
 inftruding him in the knowlege of icligion, and 
 engaging him to the praftice of it, and for 
 guiding him in the way of falvation. 
 
 It appears then, that the foundation, on which 
 his formidable dilemma is built, will not bear. 
 There is at this time a ftandardfor Chrijlianity ; 
 c%'cn the do<fb'ines arxd laws of our Saviour and 
 his Apoftles, as contained in the holy Scriptures. 
 It muft be and is acknowleged by all that profefi 
 thcmfelves Chriftians, that whatever is revealed 
 in thofe facred books is true and certain, and 
 whatever can be (hewn to be contrary to what 
 is there revealed is falfe. The Romam/ls as well 
 as Proicftants own the divinity and authenticity 
 of the facred text, though for particular views 
 they would join unwritten traditions with it ; and 
 «rc for giving the church alone the aqthor ity to 
 
 K interprot 
 
 *, 
 
 mmmm 
 
^ ** T 
 
 Kcliedions^^ the Late ' 
 
 i 
 
 Interpret the Scriptures. The rcalbrt of thcit 
 conduQ: \i evident. It is not becaufe they look 
 upon the facred text to be* fo obfcurc and am* 
 biguous, that it cannot be underftood by the 
 jxroplcj but becaufe they think the people, if 
 Jeft to themfelvc% will undcrftand it fo far as to 
 fee the inconfiftency there is between true primi- 
 tive Chriftianity as laid down in the New 
 Teftament, and the Papal fyftem, and becaufe 
 their corrupt additions to Chriflianity cannot be 
 proved by Scripture* authority. 
 « I have already taken notice of what he faith 
 concerning the fatal blow that Chriftianity re- 
 ceivcd by the refurrciftion of letters. I fuppofc 
 we are to take his word as a decifive proof of 
 this 5 for no other proof of it is offered. But it 
 inay be affirmed on the contrary, that true 
 primitive Chriftianity, that is, Chriftianity as 
 lad down in the New Teftament, had then a 
 glorious revival. Many coirupt additions that 
 had been made to it were thrown off. It hath 
 never been better underftood, nor its evidences 
 let in a clearer light, than fince that time. Some 
 t^f the moll admired names in the republic of 
 letters have thought themfclves worthily em- 
 ployed in endeavouring to illuftrate the beauties 
 of ScriptJrc, and to clear its difficulties. It 
 wc^e cdi'y to ftiew, if it were not a thing fo well 
 l^nown as to render it nccdlefs, that thofe who 
 luvc'ilone moft for the revival and fprcading of 
 iea» nlng and knowlcge in all its branches, and 
 \vho Were moft celebrated for their genius, judg* 
 niyit, various readings . and probit;', have been 
 
 pqfons 
 
Lord BolingbrokeV Letters. 131 
 
 berfons that exprcfled a great admiration for the 
 noly Scriptures, arid an hearty zeal for Chriftia- 
 liity. . / 
 
 Thus I have confidcred what the !at(i Ldrd 
 BoUngbroke hath offered in thefe Letter^ again ft 
 the authority of the holy Scripture, and the 
 Chriftian rehgion, iis far as may be rrtceflary to 
 take ofT the force of the objtcflldns he hatht 
 raifed agaiiift it, and which fccm to have nothing 
 in them proportioned to the unufual confidence 
 with which they arc advanced. It is hard i6 
 fee what good end could be propofed by fuch ari 
 attempt. But f)erhaf)S it may ht thoc^ght art 
 
 advantage, that by " difcovering error in 
 
 ** firft principles founded upon fads, and break- 
 " ing the charmi the inchanted caftlc,' the 
 " ftecpy rock, the burning lake^ will difippear^.** 
 \ — -And there are perfons, no doubt, that would 
 be well-pleafed to fee it proved, that Chriflianity 
 is no better than delufion and inchantment ; and 
 particularly {hat the wicked have nothinn: to-^tH^ 
 from the burning lake; fome apprehenfions of 
 which may prokibly tend to make tJierri uneafy 
 in their vicious courfes. But I (hould think, that 
 a true lover of .virtue, ^nd bf mankind, who' 
 impartially confiders the purity of the Gofpcl- 
 inorals, the excellent tendency of its dodlrines 
 and precept^, and the power of its motives for 
 Engaging men to the pradice of piety add virtue; 
 and deterring them from vice and wickednefs, 
 will be apt to look upon it as a very ill employ-^ 
 
 .^ Sochif Letter oq the Ufe of ^tud; anil RetiremcnU 
 Vol. n. p. ail. ... 
 
 K a incnt 
 
 mm 
 
:] 
 
 i .Reflections M tie Late 
 
 mcnt to endeavour to cxpoft this religion to con- 
 tempt, tnd to fct bad riieh free from the ^hol- 
 fomo^ terrors it infpires, and deprive, good men 
 of the fublimc hopes and racrcd joys it yields. 
 But Chriftianity hath withftood much more 
 formidabl6 attacks ; and will, I doubt not, con- 
 tinue to approve iticlf to thole that examine it, 
 and the evidences by which it is eftabliflied, 
 with minds free from vicious prejudices, and 
 with that fincerity and fimplicity of heart, that 
 ferioufnefs and attention, which becomes them in 
 an affair of fuch vaft importance. 
 
 ■ 
 
 i 
 
 ; 
 
 I '- 
 
 'ir: f 
 
 
 » . 
 
 i 
 
 
 i > : •. 
 
 r« » 
 
 v^*»-' t't * i.!*A*t*u^|.,^. i: 
 
 . ... / • 
 
 
 > ' ^ 
 
Lord Bolinghrokc'/ Letters. ^33 
 
 REFLECTIONS 
 
 f ■ 
 
 On the Late 
 
 J^prd Boljngbroke's Letters. 
 
 PART III. 
 
 His Lordjkip'i Refections upon our Cvil Con* 
 
 Jiitution^ confidered. 
 
 I Now come to what I propofcd in the laft 
 place; viz. to confidcr the refledions caft 
 in thcfe Letters upon our Civil Conftitulion. 
 
 If the reprcfcntation he makes of the ftatc of 
 things be juft, tbc late Revolution was far from 
 being an happy event to thefe nations. The 
 confcquence of it hath been to bring us to po- 
 verty^ and into the mod imminent danger of 
 flavery, and to put us, in all refpedts, in a much 
 worfe condition than we were in before. He 
 
 finds great fault with ** the new conftitution 
 
 " of the revenue that was formed foon after 
 the Revolution, and the method of funding 
 thiat immediately took place : that the creation 
 " of funds, and the multiplication of taxes^ has 
 ** increafed yearly the power of the crown j and 
 ^ that this has brought, and muft bring, our 
 •* liberties, by a Natural and neceffary progrcffiop, 
 II mto more real, though lefs apparent danecr^ 
 
 a 
 
 
i 
 
 I 
 
 iH ^^^^^iom on the Late \ 
 
 •*. than they were in before the Revo!ution.V*-^:7 
 
 He ^ocs on to obierve, that " a free peoplVi 
 
 f* ihodld not truft the fole management of fq 
 *' gr^^i^.t a revenue, and the fole nomination of 
 ft il^ Icglqns of otiiccrs employe^ in jt, to thcif 
 
 •* chief magiftratc." And he propofes, that it 
 
 would be proper — — *f to ta^vc this pc^wer and in-* 
 
 ,; 
 
 ; 
 
 ** tluciicc tiom the prince, or to fh^re it \vitl^ 
 iiri:-* That ^* national corruption is the 
 
 
 hiiri:-* That ^* national corruption 
 
 nuiural and neceflary confequence of invert^ 
 ** ing the crown wiih the management of fo 
 ** gicat a revenue j and that the lois of liberty 
 ^? i^ tj^e natural and neccffary coniequcncc qf 
 ** national cjrmption f ." — I leave it to thofe 
 y:ho i^nderil;ind this matter better, to debate 
 about the method cf Jundifig^ as he calls it. In 
 'general, it may be laid, that the creating public 
 . Im^ds, as a foundation for public credit, may 
 be oi great advantage when kept within proper 
 bouiid.^, though this, as every thing el le, is ca- 
 pable of being abufed. And the vaft national 
 debt that hath been incurred is not properly to be 
 charged upon this, but chiefly upon the nccelhty 
 *of luf porting cxpenfive wars, fome of which 
 he himielt owns to have been unavoidable. But 
 'that on which he appcUrcih to lay the greateft 
 ilrefs Iccfns to proceed upon a wrong foundation j 
 'viz^ That the king, by the new conftitution of 
 'the revenue that was formed foon after the Re- 
 'volation,has the fole management of the revenue, 
 and the public money, in his hands. The very 
 teverfc of this, is true. Before the Revolution tbp 
 'king might be faid to have the fole managcmer^t 
 ! ^ V^l. I. p. 45, 46, 47, 48. 
 
 /^ 
 
Lord Bolingbroke*^ Letters. 135 
 
 of the revenue. The whole income of the ftatc, 
 as Bifliop Burnet juftly obferves, was in the 
 power ot the crown, and was called the revenue 
 of the crown 5 and there was no diftindion of 
 Avhat was to be allotted for the king's ufc, and 
 what for the fcrvice of the public ; by which 
 means the application of the public money was 
 ill the difpoial of the court, and the king had 
 an opportunity of rcferving what he pleafed for 
 his own defigns. But after the Revolution, fof 
 preventing the mifapplication of the public 
 money, it was judged a wife meafure to allot a 
 fcparatc income for the king's cxpences and 
 houfliold, called the civil lift, and to put the 
 reft of the public revenue intircly under the 
 command of the parliament. And this is the 
 prelent conftitution of the revenue. The par- 
 liament, /./. the people by their reprefentativpa, 
 difpofe of the public money as they think proper; 
 they affign and appoint the ufes and ferviccs to 
 which it Ihall be applied : an account of which 
 in. every feffion is conftantly fubtnitted to par- 
 liament, before any farther fupplies arc granted. 
 It is certain therefore, that, by the newconlljtution 
 at the Revolution, the public money is not left 
 folely to the difcrctionary management of tb^ 
 crown. The produce of the taxe?, and all the 
 public revenue, is appropriated and difpofed^of 
 by parliament. The king's minifters are ac- 
 counuble for the management of it ; and fo are 
 all the otBcers he employs. Though therefore 
 he hath the nomination of the officers ; yet 
 thcfe officers are under the controul of the pt^^^Ic,, 
 .Jtri4 ^cir reprefentatives : nor is ii in the povver^ 
 * K 4 of 
 
 MliP 
 
f J 6 Reflections on the Late 
 
 of the crown to fcreen them from &n inquiry; 
 or from punifhmcnt, if they abufc that truft^ 
 ^ '\ and embezzle or mifepply the public money. 
 And what could a free people defire more? 
 Whatimore wife or rcafonable con (lit a tion could 
 have been e(labli{hed? If, as he infinuates, the 
 parliament, or the people, will fufFer thcmfclves 
 lo be corrupted, if they will not cxcrcife the 
 power they have of infpcdling the management 
 of the public money, and calling the officers to 
 an account, upon what is this to be charged } 
 Not on the conilitution, but on the corruption of 
 mankind. And this is capable of abufing and 
 perverting the beft conftitution in the world, 
 feut he would have the people take the nomina- 
 . tion of officers from the prince, or at lead (hare 
 it with him ; fincc, as he fays, the public revenue 
 by this conftitution is not his revenue, nor the 
 public expence his expence. So that all he feems 
 to allow tne king is, to keep a magnificent court, 
 to live in fplcndor, upon what he calls the 
 falary fettled upon bim ; but he is, in effed, for 
 taking the executive powef out of his hands. 
 And I (hall leave it to the confideration of thofc 
 that are fkilled in thefe matters, whether this 
 would not be a changing our anticnt Bn'ti/b 
 conftitution, and a reducing the power of the 
 1 crown into fuch bounds, as would deftroy the 
 
 I balance fo wifely appointed between the fevcral 
 powers legiflative and executive ; efpecially con- 
 sidering in how many inftanccs the power and 
 prerogatives of the crown have been weakened, 
 and the vaft acceffion that has been made to the 
 
 power 
 
 ■•^ 
 
Lord Bolingbrokc*i Letters, 137 
 
 power of the commons, as his lordfhip has mort 
 than once obfcrved, fincc the reign of Henry 
 the fevcnth, and particularly fince the Revolution; 
 I (hall on this occafion infert fomc other 
 paffages of this author, in which he makes it 
 very difadvantagcous reprcfcntation of the confer* 
 quenccs of the Revolution, and of the prefcnt 
 date of thefe nations. In his eighth Letter on th6 
 Ufc and Study of Hiftory, which is the firft of 
 
 the fecond volume, he faith, that *^ in the 
 
 •' adminiftration that preceded the Revolution, 
 ** trade had flourifhed, and our nation had grown 
 ^* opulent: but the general intereft of Europe 
 ** had been too much negledcd by us ; and 
 ** flavery, under the umbrage of prerogative, had 
 •* been well nigh eftabliCied atnong us. In thofe 
 •* that have followed, taxes upon taxes, and 
 ** debts upon debts, have been perpetually ac- 
 •* cumulated, till a fmall number of families 
 ** have grown into immenfe wealth, and national 
 
 " beggary has been brought upon us The 
 
 ** f cign of prerogative was fliort j and the cvih 
 •* and dangers to which we were cxpofed by it 
 «< ended with it: but the reign ox 61 fc and 
 «* fquandering policy has laftcd longj it lafts 
 ** ftill ; and will finally complete our ruin. Beg* 
 •* gary has been tVx tx>nfcqucncc of flavery in 
 ^ fomc countries t flavery will probably be the 
 •* confequenoc of beggary in ouri : and if k i^ 
 •^ (b, we know at whofo qdov to lay it ^Z'— -And 
 again, he fayt, that—** th^ rage of waning 
 ^^ confirmed the beggary of cur natjoo, which 
 
 mmm 
 
133 
 
 Reflexions on the Late 
 
 f 
 
 ^^ began as early as the Revolution ♦."—And 
 tftcrwards> that—-" the whole conftitution of 
 *• our country, and even the charafter of our 
 ** nation, has been altered. That the men called 
 ♦* Whigs have made a worfe ufe of long wars^ 
 ^ and )iew fyftems of revenues, fince the Revo« 
 •* lution^ than the men called Tories made be* 
 ?* fore it of long peace, and ftale prerogative +."* 
 ••-—In the fame Letter he drawcth a comparilon 
 between the ftate and temper of the nation after 
 the Reiloration, and that fmce the Revolution j 
 and gives the preference greatly to the former^ 
 
 He obferves, that ** fince the Revolution our 
 
 •* kings have been reduced indeed to a fecming 
 *^ annual dependence on parliament \ hut the 
 ^ buGnefs ot parliament, which was cfteemed 
 ** in general ^ duty before, has been exerciled 
 ?* in general ?s a trade — Few know, and fcarce 
 *• any rcfpc(fk, the B^itijh cpn(Utution, That of 
 *' the church has been long derided, that of the 
 ** ftate as long ncglcdled y and both have been 
 *^ left at the mercy of the men in power, who- 
 <* foevcr they were- — That the church, at leaft 
 •* the hierarchy, however facred its origin, is 
 •V become an uielefs burden on the ftate : and 
 ** the ftate is become, under antient forms, a 
 f new and undefinable monfter, compofed of a 
 ** king without monarchical fplendor, a fcnate 
 ^' .of nobles without ariftocratical independency, 
 ** and a feuate of commons v/ithout democrati- 
 •* cal freedom. The very idea of wit, and all 
 *< that can be called tafte, has been loft ampng 
 ♦ Vol II. p. 167. t {bid. p. 172^ i-ji^, : 
 
 *-w 3 
 
 the 
 
Zjord Bolingbrokc'x Letters. 13^ 
 
 f^ the great : arts and fcienccs arc fcarce alive ; 
 ^* luxury has been increafed, but not refined : 
 ff corruption ha& been eftabliflied, and is 
 f* avowed*.'^ 
 
 I think a more odious reprefentation could 
 fcarce be made of the ftate of things under the 
 prefent cftablifliment j and that by one who 
 hiakes frequent and ftrong profeflions of his love 
 to his country, and concern for its welfare. And 
 as this lecms to be calculated to inflame the 
 people, fo his lordfliip takes care to let them 
 know their power in fuch a cafe. For after 
 having obfcrved, that the king, in fuch a con- 
 ilitution as ours, is but the Jirft fervant of the 
 feotle^ he plainly declares, that the people not 
 only have a right to complain, reprefent, and pe- 
 tition, but have a right of refiftance, not merely 
 to the king, or to part of the legiflature, but to 
 the whole legillative power, the king and par- 
 liament together— •• For furc, faith he, there 
 ** cannot be a greater abfurdity, than to affirm, 
 •* that the people have a remedy in refiftance, 
 V when their prince attempts to enflave them ; 
 f * biU that they have none, when their reprefen- 
 
 ** tatives fell themfelves and them •(•." He 
 
 farther obicrves, that " in free governments 
 
 *• like ours the care of the ftate is the care of 
 ** multitudes ; and that even tnofe whom the 
 *• prince appoints are not only anfwerable to him, 
 •• but like him, and before him, to the nation, 
 ^? for their behaviour in their fcveralpofts ||.'*— 
 
 * Vol. tl. p. 873, 174, 175. t Vol.1, p. 1^2, 193. 
 
 » 
 
149 Reflcijlkintf ontbi'Lait ^ 
 
 The manner of Qxprcflloq here is rrmarkabtc— 
 f* Thofc v^hom the prince appoin|3 gre ^nfwcr- 
 ♦* able, like him^ to the nation for their bc- 
 
 •• haviour in their fcveral ports.** Where he 
 
 pUinly intimates, that not only is the king ac- 
 countable by his offic^r^ and minifters, but the 
 king himfelf, as wqU as his ofiicers^ and dir 
 ftinclly from them, is accountable to the nation 
 for his behaviour in his poft, I fhall not at 
 prefcnt enter into the debate, whether thefe 
 principles are well-founded or not, P^t there 
 arc two or three obfervations that naturally offer 
 themfelve^ on this occafion. One is, that thift 
 was not the doctrine encouraged at the latter end 
 of Queen Anne'^ reign, when the late lor^ 
 Bolingbroke had fo gre^t a fliaje in the admini^ 
 fti-ation, and whcp it was io much the f^lhion 
 to run down thofc who expreflcd a zeal for the 
 principles on which the late Revolution was 
 founded, as men of republican and antimonarr 
 chical principle?. Another refledlion is this, 
 that it is hard to fee with what confiftcncy he 
 could, as he docs in his fecond Letter, brand 
 the refiftance of the parliament to the king in 
 1641. with the name of Rehcllion^ at the fame 
 time that he owns-— r-** it was not without reafon 
 
 ^ on account of liberty *," He not only afferts 
 
 ft right in the people to refift the king, but to 
 rcfift the whole legiflaturc, the king and par- 
 liament together, and to call the king himfclf, 
 as well as his officers, to an account for his be- 
 haviour in his poft, as being — " the firft fervant 
 • Vol I. p. 4^. « i. 
 
X(?ri Bolin^roWi Lettcrt. 141 
 
 <* of the people 5^*— which is tarrying it fiar^bet' 
 than many of thofc did that were cdtcetncd ia' 
 carrying on the war againft the king, and \^as 
 die very principle on which the high*commi(rioTi' 
 coart was founded. Bat the moft important re-' 
 fleftion hy that if we compare this with fomc- 
 other parts of his Letters, he fetfns to point at 
 the prcfent as a proper tirtic for the people to 
 exert the powers he inrefb tliem with : fot he- 
 cxprefly dcclafeth, that our liberties are now ivk 
 ihore real danger than they ^^tvc in before the" 
 Revolution ; and yet, at that time, they were ii> 
 fach danger, by his own acknowJegemcnt, as 
 -■'-^^* rendered a Revelation nfeceffary and pradli*^ 
 ^* cable/*-'^*^He avers, that national corruptiorv, 
 which he makes the neceflary confequencc of 
 inverting the crown with the nomination of iht 
 officers employed in managing the revenue, is 
 became univerfal ; and that the lol's of liberty is 
 the natural and neceflary confcquence of national 
 corruption : that the church is become an ufelefs 
 burden on the ftate, and the ftate is become a 
 new and undefinablc monfter : and that the 
 bufinefs of parliament has fincc the revolution 
 been exercifed in general as a trade ; 1. e. they 
 have been willing, as he elfewhere exprcffes it 
 -^ — ** to fell themfelves, and the people."-— If 
 this be the cafe, it is high time, upcin hia prin- 
 ciples, for the people to exert themfdvea, and 
 abfolotely to new-^mold the eonditution, and 
 tiot only to complain, reprefent, and petition, 
 but to make ufe of force to this purpofe, tgainft 
 
 mm 
 
riHMHHMtMMMMiMMMHMMIMMHMMHAkMH^^ 
 
 14a .KtBc&xoh& on tie Latii 
 
 the king» and the parliament too, if they 0iouM 
 oppofe chem» 
 
 . It is not mj defign to enter upoii a laborious 
 Vindication of our prefent conftitutioa and go-^ 
 vernment againil thefe reprefentations^ which 
 appear to l>e highly exaggerated^ and betray more 
 of fpleen and difcoiitent^ than of a true patriot. 
 Ipirit, or gencrcais concern for the pubhc If 
 any man (hould with modefty and candor point 
 to what he thought amifs in the conftitution or 
 adminiftration, and propofc what appeared id 
 him the propercft remedies, it would defervc 
 regard, as proceeding from an honeft zeal for 
 the true intereft of his country. But fuch 
 general odious refledlions, which plainly difcoyer 
 a difpofition to find fault, and give the moil 
 malicious turn to -"very thing, feem not fo much 
 intended for correcting and reftifying abufcs, as 
 for inflaming the paffions of the people. The 
 natural tendency of fuch repre fen tat ions is, if 
 not to excite infurrediions, yet at leaft to weaken, 
 the government, and expole it to contempt, and, 
 to deprive it of all fupport in the affections of* 
 rfie people. For who that believes thefe repre* 
 fcntations to be juft, can have any zeal for £iach 
 an eftablifhment, or think it worth contending 
 for ? Since whatever change (hould happen, there 
 may pofTibly be a better, but can hardly be a 
 worfe^ But let it be remembred, that the fame 
 perfoh who gives this difadvantageous idea of the 
 prefent ftate of* our conftitution, hath alfo 
 thought proper to make a very difadvantageous 
 -rcprcfentation of Chriftianity itfelf. The fame 
 
 perfori 
 
Jjord tJolingbrokeV Letters. 1 4 j 
 
 perfon who pronounccth, that our liberties havtf 
 been more endangered than cVer fince the RcvO« 
 lution, hath alfo taken upon him to affirTn, that 
 Chriftianity hath been decaying ever fince iho 
 fcfurredion of letters. One would think, ac- 
 cording to his reprcfentation, that ever finCc the 
 Revolution, which he in efFedl makes the cera of 
 beggary, corruption, and flavery, we were be- 
 come a moft miferable people. And yet certain 
 it is, that fincc that time the national profpcrity 
 and glory have been raifed to the greateft heigh^ 
 beyond the example of former ages. Never ia 
 any period of the Englijh hiftory had we fo long 
 together times of greater felicity, or fo full an 
 enjoyment of our liberties civil and religious, 
 fuch affluence and opulence, and fuch an abun- 
 dance of every thing that can contribute to make 
 a nation happy. It this profperity and affluence 
 hath produced luxury, which is the too ufual 
 effect of it, and the liberty we have enjoyed 
 hath given occafion to a boundlefs licentioufricfs, 
 it would be wrong to lay the fault upon the ad- 
 vantages themfclves, rather than upon our own 
 ungrateful abufc of them. If, as his lord{hip 
 affirms, we arc fallen into a great degeneracy of 
 taftc, as well a$ diffolutenefs of manners, I can- 
 not think it the propereft way to retrieve our 
 tafte, to exprefs fuch an extreme contempt, as he 
 frequently doth, of thofe that devote themfelve« 
 to the purfuits of learning : nor is it likely to 
 mend our morals, to take pains to fet the people 
 loofc from the obligations of Chriftianity, by 
 attempting to weaken or .dcftroy the cvldencd^ 
 
 i of 
 
 *^: 
 
i«MMiilMMHMtoM«MaMHMIH«MMHHBIIMWi^^ 
 
 o 
 
 ^P44 .? RcfleSUods ffH tie Lots . 
 
 of its lUttius avfthoritf. It is t much be;tfr iirajp 
 to promoie the national happineft, to endeavour 
 to revive the true .Chfiftianfpirit, and t ftr^^ng 
 knfc pf religion^ on the minds of men ) and to 
 put the people upon improving the advantages 
 they enjoy, inftead of fomenting their difcono 
 tents, and keeping up that fpirit of party, which 
 bath done Co much miibhief among ]}s, and 
 hath greatly contributed to deprave our tafte, 
 and our morals too. And, furely, any onc^ 
 that hath a juft ooncern for oar civil liberties 
 and privileges, or for our holy religion, and the 
 liberty of profefling it in its purity, and ibr the 
 ^cred rights, of confcience. ought to fet a value 
 on an eftablifhn>ent, ini which thcfe rights are 
 prefcrvedr Hru5 to a degree that is not to be pa- 
 ralleTd in any other nation. 
 . If there bean huge national debt upon us, if, 
 ms he complains, taxes upon taxcs^ Jebts upon 
 debts, have been acaimulated, it would be great 
 injuftice to charge this upon the Revolution, and 
 the fettlemcnt confequent upon it. This indeed 
 hath been often done by the enemies of our 
 prefent eftablifhrn^ent, with the worft of vicwi 
 But the principles laid down by the admired 
 author of thcfc Letters, and the concelfions he 
 himfelf hath nwdc, will help to take off the 
 force of this charge, and fliew it not to be well- 
 jfounded. . , 
 
 In bisfixth Letter he has fomc good obfcrva- 
 
 tions on the notion of a balance of power in 
 
 Europe^ on the equal poife of which the fafety 
 
 and tranquillity of the whole muft depend : and 
 
 I tliat 
 
Lord BolingbrakeV Letters. ."14^ 
 
 that — ^ *^ to hinder it from being deftroyed by 
 " preventing too much power from falling imo 
 ^' one fcale, has been the principle of all the 
 " wife counfels of Euroj^e^ relatively to Trance^ 
 ** and the houfc of Aujlria^ for thcfe two cen- 
 
 ^^ turiespaft, and fubfifts at this hour*." And 
 
 in his feventh Letter, In which he gives a fkctch 
 of the ftate and hiftory of Europe^ from the 
 Pyrenean treaty in 16C9. to the year 1688. he 
 gives a clear and elegant account of the at- 
 tempts made by France towards an univerfal 
 monarchy, and of the feveral fteps by which 
 they arrived to fuch an exorbitant power ; and 
 that — *^ an oppofition to the growing power 
 ** of France has been the principal affair of 
 " Europe^ during the greateft part of this pe- 
 
 " riod/* And in the fame Letter he acknow- 
 
 Icgcth, that 1 — r- " England was fatally engaged 
 " to adt a part in the confpiracy agamft the 
 ** peace and liberty of Europe ; nay, againft her 
 ** own peace, and her own liberty : for a bub- 
 ** b!e*s part it was, equally wicked and impo- 
 *^ litic." And he exprefly declares concern- 
 ing King Charles the fecond, that " he . 
 
 ^* thought it neceffary to abet the defigns.pf 
 ^* France on the continent, that France might 
 ** abet his defigns in his own kingdom ; which 
 ** were, to favour popery, and. make himfelf 
 •' abfolute at home. This (he iays) he. could 
 ** prove, if he were, at liberty to produce the 
 ^* private relations he had read formerly drawn 
 !* up, by thofe who were no enemies to fuch 
 
 ♦ Vd/I. p.»3i,^3». ' -- '3 -'^ ' . 
 
 .; L •••'•defigfts. 
 
 wmi 
 
 "¥ 
 
^i 
 
 
 146 Reflexions an the Late^ 
 
 ^* defigns^ and on the authority of thofe who 
 ** were parties to thenni.** — He adds; that — 
 ** whatever King Charles the fecond intended, 
 '** certain it is, that his condudt eftabliftied 
 '*• the fuperiority of France in Europe '^.^-'^^ 
 ' And afterwards, he again foeaks of—-—*' the 
 ' "falfe notions and iniquity of the counfels of 
 England^ as what, among other caufes, not 
 
 * ** only hindered the growth of the French power 
 ' •* from being flopped in time, but nurfcd it up 
 
 * ** into a ftrength almoft infuperable by any future 
 : " confederacy §/* And in nis eighth Letter he 
 ' faith, that — *' the court of England had fub- 
 .'•• mittcd to abet the ufurpations of France^ 
 
 " and the king of England had ftooped to be 
 
 *" her pcnfioner:" • and that, ^* after 
 
 " ** the elevation of the prince of Orange to the 
 "^ ** throne of England^ the nation engaged with 
 ];** all imaginable zeal, in the common caufe of 
 
 <* Europe, to reduce the exorbitant power ot 
 
 * « France^ to prevent her future, and to revenge 
 ' « her part attempts :" and that w_ « diffi- 
 
 * ** cult as it was, we were obliged on every ac- 
 
 * •* count, and, by reafons of all kinds, to en- 
 ; ** gage in it:'* — though he blames them for 
 
 not doing it with more order and ceconomy ||. 
 .^ Before I pioceed farther, it may be proper to 
 : make fome reflexions. It appcareth then, by 
 *" his own acknowlegcment, that it was abfolutely 
 ' neceflary, for the lafety of Europe in general, 
 
 * and our own in particular, to oppofe the grow- 
 
 • Vol. I. p. 28a. 284, 285.' § lb. p. 298. II Vol. U 
 
 ' O. 7. A. IQ. ' ' 
 
 u 
 r( 
 
 c 
 a 
 c 
 c 
 t 
 ( 
 
 I 
 
LfOrd BolingbrokcV Letters, ^i 4.7 
 
 ing power of France j that yet Englnnd^ in the 
 reign of King Charles the fecond, inftcad of 
 checking that power, abetted it; and adcd in 
 a fatal confpiracy againft the peace and liberty 
 of Europe \ nay, againft her own peace, and her 
 own liberty: and that this co du(ft tftabliflicd 
 
 .the fuperiority of France in Europe \ and not 
 only hindered the growth of the French power 
 from being ftopped in time, but nurfed it up 
 
 . into a ftrength ahnoft infuperable by any future 
 confederacy. He a!fo acknowlegcth, ihat, after 
 the Revolution, the nation cugagcd with zeal to 
 
 . reduce the exorbitant power of France ; and 
 that we were obliged to do' it on every account, 
 and by all manner of rcafons. Upon this view 
 of things, it appears, that the condudl of F.ng^ 
 
 . land^ before < he Revolution, was, as he calls it, 
 wicked and impolitic ; and that, after the Revo- 
 lution, under King IFiiliam^ it was wife and 
 glorious : that the war England then cntcr*d 
 into, to put a ftop to the growth of the French 
 power, was abfolutely neceflary for our own li- 
 berty and fafcty, as well as that of Europe : 
 and that what made this war ncceflary, - was the 
 wretched conduct oi En, land, before the Revolu- 
 tion, in abetting the French power, and eftablifli- 
 
 . ing their fuperiority in Europe^ whereby it w^s 
 
 « carried to an height almoft^infuperable. J think 
 
 , therefore it manifeftly folio weth, that wjiiatever 
 cxpenccs were caufcd by the war, are properly 
 
 V. chargeable, not on the Revolution, button the 
 management in the times preceding it ; which 
 brought the nation under a ncceility of cn- 
 
 L a ^ tcring 
 
 \\ 
 
iMiiiMtt 
 
 Jtcring into a moft hazardous and expcnfivc war 
 for defending their own liberty and fafcty : and 
 this war it was which brought on their debti» 
 and their taxes. He indeed blameth the want 
 ,of (Economy : and it is ^'ery eafy, in this and 
 mapy other cafes, for thole that come after, to 
 
 * fee where affairs might poflibly have been bet- 
 ter conduced, and to point to errors and ddfedls 
 
 'in management, which perhaps the wifeft per- 
 fons were not fcnfiblc of at the time. But what- 
 ever there is in this charge, it is wrong to lay it, 
 'where he feems willing intircly to lay it, on the 
 men called Whigs. It was partly owing to acci* 
 ' dents, which could* not well be prevented, and 
 •partly to the applotting infufficient funds ; which 
 'n faid to have been principally owing not to 
 ^IfCing William and his friends, but to the managc- 
 7nient of thofe that oppofcd his adminiftration, 
 
 * and endeavoured to clog the war, and diftrefs 
 the government. But let the oeconomy have 
 
 ' been never fo good, an increafe of taxes and 
 
 * debts could fcarce poflibly have been avoided. 
 
 As to the war which wc entered into under 
 '"Queen Amey he faitli, that — •*' it muft be 
 
 * '•* confeffcd, that the war was unavoidable, for 
 '** the immediate fecuring of commerce, and of 
 '.*V barriers, for the preventing an union of the 
 ' ** two monarchies of France and Spain in any 
 ' ** future time, and the prefervation of a certain 
 '' *^ degree, at lead, of equality, in the fcale of 
 ^** power'*." And again, that- — ^ ** the war 
 ^ '^ was wife and juft till 1706. becaufe ncceffary 
 
Xjord BolIngbrokeV Letters. ^49. 
 
 ** to maintain that equality among the powers of 
 ** Europe^ on which the public peace and com- 
 *• mon profperity depends*." We have then 
 his own acknowlegement, that the war carried • 
 Qn ^gainft France in King /^/7/i jaw's time, and- 
 in Queen y^/z;2^'s, till the year 1706. i.e. till* 
 the latter end of that year, was unavoidable, 
 and neceflary for dur oWn liberty, peace, and 
 fafety ; and, confcquently, whatever debts were 
 contradted, and taxes laid on, in that time, and 
 io confeque^ce of that war, ought not to bc^ 
 turned to the prejudi^ of the adminiftration. 
 
 He aficrts indeed, that tlie war was unwife 
 and unjuft, after the year 1706. becaufe France 
 was then reduced, and all the ends of the war, 
 and of the grand alliance, might have been then 
 
 obtained by a peace ; and that *' thenceforth. 
 
 ** it became a war of paflion, of ambition, of 
 ** avarice, and private intereft, to which the 
 ** general intereft of Europe was facrificed §.** 
 
 Let us examine this a little by his own prin- 
 ciples and conceflions. , 
 
 He acknowlegeth, that — *' one of the prin- 
 '* cipal ends propofcd by the war, was, to bb- 
 " tain an cfFcdual fecurity againft the contingent 
 *• union of the two crowns of France and 
 ** Spain^J* — And, indeed, the preventing that 
 union is exprefly mentioned as one main article 
 of the grand alliance. And he himfdf owns, 
 
 that ** the fetting an Aujlrian prince upon 
 
 " the Spanijh throne, was, n6 doubt, the fureft 
 *i expedient to prevent an union of the two mon-j 
 
 ^ Vol. 11. p. 68. $ lb. p. 53. . I Iix p. 52,j 
 
 L 3 ." archies 
 
 . * 1 1 
 
 mmtm 
 
■MHiMi 
 
 
 150 Reftcdions on the Late — 
 
 ** archies of France and Sp^n jl.**- — And tgain 
 he faith, that ■ ■ >■ " ' he who tranfports himfelf 
 ** bacfv to that tiro^^ (fpcakir.g of the time -of the 
 *^ beginning of the war) muft acknowlege, that 
 ** the confederated powers in general could not 
 «* but be of Gartb*s niiind, that 
 
 
 <» ;— , ^;i Auftrian prince alone 
 
 •* /j fit to ncd upon the Spanilh throne. 
 
 w h * 
 
 CI 
 
 c« 
 
 And that they could not but think it more 
 agreeable to the intereft of Europe^ that a 
 branch of Aujiria^ than a branch of Bour^- 
 ** bon^ (hould gather the Spanijh fucceflion ) 
 *^ and that the maritinne powers might think 
 ** this to be more for their particular intereft -f-." 
 •— Though, therefore, as he often urges, and 
 feems to lay a mighty ftrefs upon it, the reftitu- 
 tion of the who'e Spnnifj monarchy to the empe- 
 ror was not exprcfly flipulated in the grand aU 
 hance, the reafon oiit could not be what he is 
 
 pleafed to allege *' bccaufe the allies, in 
 
 ^ the wifdoin of their counfels, faw, that the li- 
 ** berties of Europe would be in no danger, if 
 •' Spain and the Indies were left in the hands 
 ** of a prince of the houfe of Bourbon §/' For 
 I believe there were few at that time, who were 
 really enemies to France^ that did or could fup- 
 pofc this. On the contrary, fince the grand al- 
 liance, by his own acknowlegemcnt, was princi- 
 pally deflgned to prevent the union of the two 
 fnonaixhie^)^^7g^^n^^J^^jj^^^^^ 
 
 hnr»e 
 
Lord BolirtgbrokeV Letters. 151 
 
 himfelf alfo confcffes, that the fureft expedient 
 to prevent that union was, undoubtedly, to fet 
 a prince of the houfe of Aujiria on the Spa- 
 nijh throne 5 and that the confederate powers . 
 were, at the beginning of the war, and could 
 not but be, of opinion, that it was more agree- 
 able to the intereft of Europe in general, and 
 of the maritime powers in particular, that a 
 branch of the houfe of Aujiria^ than a 
 branch of Bourbon^ fliould gather the Spanijh 
 fucceflion ; it may be fairly concluded, that 
 this was what they had all along in view from 
 the beginning pf the war, if they could be able 
 
 to accompli(h it, Heobferves, that *' the 
 
 councils in England and Holland preferred 
 very wifely, by their engagements in the 
 grand alliance, what was more prafticable, 
 /* tho* lefs eligible, to what they deemed more 
 ** eligible, but faw become, by the courfe 
 ** of events, abfolutely imprafticable, or too 
 " difficult *."— — - Here he plainly intimates^ 
 that the wife councils in England and Holland^ 
 at the beginning of the war, judged it would 
 be more eligible, if it were practicable, to wreft 
 the Spanijh monarchy out of the hands of a 
 prince of the houfe of Bourbon ; and that the 
 only reafon why they did not cxprefly bind 
 themfelves to it in the grand alliance, was, their 
 judging it not practicable, or too difficult. Yet 
 it is plain they refolved to try. what they could 
 do ti> cffcA it. And they themfelves, who beft 
 knew their own meaning, iro mediately attempted 
 • Vol.11, p. 78. . .1; ; » 
 
 L 4 It, 
 
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 cc 
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 mmmmmmmmmmm 
 
It iiiiniiiin iiriiim [ iir'irnMiitfi 
 
 <yi 
 
 it, as foon as erer they had ah opportcink)^ fer^ 
 it^ as he o>¥ns ^. He treats this, indeed, as a 
 departing from the principles of the grand alli*^ 
 ancc J but the contrary i I think, now plainly 
 appears from his own conceffions. When there- 
 fore, in the courfe of the war, the furprillngi 
 fuccefs tliey met with, even in Spain itfelf, gave 
 them reafon to believe they ftiould be able td ' 
 efFeft it, it would be abfurd to imagine tL^y* 
 would not be for pufhing their advantage, and* 
 making ufe of that which ihey judged, and he ac- 
 knowlegeth, to be undoubtedly the fureft expe-^ 
 dient for preventing that union of the two crowns 
 which they fo much dreaded. It would be no' 
 proof of the wifdom of their councils, if they' 
 did not prefer what was in itfelf, and what ap-* 
 peared to them, more eligibley and which now, 
 they had reafon to think, was become pradiica** 
 
 hie. He owns, that, ** in 1706. the con- 
 
 ** federate arms were fuperior in 8pain^ and fe- 
 ^ vcral provinces acknowleged Charles the thirtl : 
 *^ and that the Spanijh dominions in Italy were 
 
 ** in their power when tliey pleafcd §/' Now, 
 
 I think, whoever confiders this, and that France^ 
 
 as he avers, " had not only been defeated on 
 
 ** every fide, but the inward ftate of that king* 
 dom was already more exhauftcd than ever it 
 had been," will eafily fee, that there were 
 then very fair profpedls of fettling a prince of 
 the houfe of Aujiria on the Spanijh throne, and 
 thereby taking the moft efFedual expedient to 
 1 prevent an union of the two crownf; afVgV^w^:^_ 
 
 
Lord BolingbrokcV Letters. 1 5 j 
 
 and Spain. And I dare apped to any man/ 
 whether, to have quitted it at that time, and in 
 thofe circumftunces, and to haVc accepted a par- 
 tition of the Sfanijh monarchy, ftlll leaving* 
 Spain and the Indies in the hands of the houfe 
 of Bourbcny would hot have been the moft un* 
 accountable cdndudt in the world, contrary to 
 all the rules of good policy: except they hacf 
 the gift of prophecy^ and could have forefcen 
 what afterwards happen d. And it is Tcry pro** 
 bablc, that fomc of thofe men, who wcte after- 
 wards loudeft in their clamours againft the therr 
 miniftry, for not having made a peace with 
 France upon the terms propofed by her in i/otf. 
 would have been equally loud in their clamour? 
 againft them, if they had made it, and Would 
 not have failed to charge them with having 
 bctray'd the interefts of Great Britain znd 
 Eurcpfy and given up the Spanijh monarchy to 
 France^ when there was fo great a probability 
 of wrefting it out of their hands. How could 
 Jlny miniftry have anfwer'd giving up agaih what 
 they had already conquered in Spain, when they 
 had fo fair a profpeik of obtaining the whole ? - 
 or how would they have dared to do it, when, by 
 his own confeflion, the parliament had made an 
 exprefs declaration agairift making peace, while 
 Spain and the Indies were in the hands of the 
 houfe of Bourbon ? Upon the whole, the mat- 
 ter may be brought to this (hort iffuc: He 
 owns, that, from the beginning, t*he powers 
 that formed the grand aHiance, would have 
 thought it more eligible to fix an jiujlrian ptmcc 
 • • . * 00 
 
^MHHMwawH 
 
 MMaMMMMMMlMMMMMiMMIMlMIIH 
 
 i 
 
 
 1 54 Refledlons on' the '. late. 
 
 i on the, throne o( Spain^ if they had judged it. 
 
 5)ra^cablc : and that this was really the heft and. 
 iireft. expedient to prevent an unipn pf the two: 
 crowns^ of France and Spain \ tp prevent which, 
 was the principal objeft of the grand alliance. 
 When, therefore, in the courfe of the war, by^ 
 their extraordinary fuccejQTes, they had reafon to. 
 think .this prafticable, as undoubtedly they did 
 ii 1706. it would have been adting a ftrange patt,- 
 to have given up thele profpeds for any offers 
 France could tncn make, with a refervation of 
 Spain and the Indies to the houfe of Bourbon. 
 
 The fame way of reafoning will juflify the. 
 not hearkening to the terms nropofed by France 
 
 in 1709. He acknowleges, that *' before the 
 
 year 1710. the war was kept alive with alter- 
 nate fuccifs in Spain \ and it maybe faid thcre- 
 *V fore, that thedefign ofconqucring this kingdom 
 V . continued, as well as the hopes of fucceed- 
 
 *} ing*/* And fince, even till the year 1710, 
 
 tliere was hope of fuccecding in Spain ^ it wad 
 right to continue the war till that time, and not 
 to liearken to any terms, that (hould leave the 
 houfe of Bourbon in poflcffion of Spain and the 
 Indies^ efpecially, confidering the great fuccefles 
 of the allies in the Netherlands lincc 1706. 
 which gave ground to think, that France would 
 be under a ncceflity of coming into the terms 
 infifted on by the allies. He endeavoureth, in- 
 deed^ to depreciate th^fe fucceffes. He obferves, 
 that — ^ — " a deluge of blood was fpilt to dif- 
 ** lodge the French, for we did no more, at 
 Vol. II. p. 92, 
 
 4C 
 «< 
 
 ^ 
 
Lord Bollngbroke*; Letters, 155^ 
 
 " Malplaquet -f-/* But this diflodgmcilt, con- ; 
 fidering the difficulties that were furmounted, fo 
 cffedually intimidated the French^ that they, 
 durft no more look the army of the allies in. 
 the face, and fuffer'd them to take the import 
 tant town of Mons in their fight, foon after, 
 without offering to relieve it. But, I fuppofc, 
 the taking of that city muft alfo pafs for no* 
 more tlian a diflodging the French from it. 
 He cxprefly affirms, that there were but three 
 towns taken in the year 1710 ||. jiirCy Be^ 
 tbune^ and S/. Venant \ and intirely drops 
 Douay\ the moft important conqueft of that 
 campaign ; and which was of fuch confequencc 
 to France^ that, in all propofals about yielding 
 places to the allies for a barrier, Douay was ftill 
 excepted. It can hardly be fuppofed, that his 
 lordihip iiad forgotten that fuch a place as 
 Dcuay was taken that campaign, when he £b di- 
 ftin(5lly remcmbred Aire Bethune, and St. 
 Venant^ places much more i neon fiderablc: but 
 fic judged it to his purpofc not to mention it 
 
 The princip:d dcfign of the long Letter which 
 is the eighth on the ufe and ftudy of hiftory, 
 and the firft in the fecond volume^ appears 
 plainly to be to vindicate the condu<5l of the mi- 
 niftry that made the peace of Utrecht. This is 
 not to be wondcr'd at. confidering the great hand 
 his lordihip had in carrying on and concluding 
 that treaty, And if he had contented himfelf 
 with rcprcfcnting the leafons the mimftry had 
 io^ that meafurc, nobody would have blamed 
 t Vol IL p. X47, I lb. p. 103. 
 
 wmmmmmmmmmmfmmmammmmmmmmmmmmmHmmmmmmmmm^mmmm 
 

 -'■i 
 
 -3. 
 
 v?! 
 
 .1^ ..J8US\iSiM&i^c^^^^ V 
 
 bim IT 0nce k> h tiatural ffjc every nuo 10 <todta-i>* 
 K>br to dear hia own rcpuUtioa md mm^t^i 
 mctJL ' fiot it icaa. fcarce escape tibe oUferVatioob 
 o£t}i»4x>[nmDncft reader^ that he ic€ms to bavC) 
 give{) himfelf uptr. rcfcntment and prejudicc^^ 
 A*! great part of this Letter is written with the; 
 fWe and fpirit of a party-pamphlet : nor is thera 
 mach in it that had not been urged, and replied; 
 tOy in the pamphlets of that time, which were, 
 written with too much heat and paflion on bothi 
 Jides. /And I am forry to find, that his lord*; 
 fhip, after fo many years, had not fuifercd hir. 
 fpirit and refentmcnis to cool, but ftill prdervcd 
 the rage of that party-fpirit, which had fo much) 
 prevailed through the nation during the time that* 
 he was in the adminillratioEL 
 
 V/hole. pages might be fiHed with the in-' 
 vcfihres which he has poured forth againft thci 
 Whigs, and thofe that oppofed the meafures 
 which were carrying on in the latter end of. 
 Queen -'-/^ww's reign. He rcprefents th<;ra, as 
 having facrificed the wealth of their country to*l 
 the interefts of foreigners ; and avers, that all 
 their oppofition to the peace was laid in jnjufticc! 
 and folly ; and that, it their fccret defigns and. 
 intrigues were laid open, tlie moil confufcd» 
 fccnc of iniquity and folly that it is poffble to 
 imagine, would appear; and tliat it would fhock 
 the eye of every honeft man. He chargeth. 
 them with being engaged in a leaguQ with fo-» 
 rcigiiers againft their country, and their Queen ;• 
 and. with a phrenfy more unaccountable, andi 
 
 not much lefs rrim in^l rhnn fhrif wKir^jyii^ 
 
Lord Boiirtgbroke'ir Liters. §57 
 
 ^ha nfiamtain'd the folemn league and covenant 
 
 formerly : that they were guilty, during the 
 
 even's life, of f eal trcafons, and might, if (he 
 
 mcF lived a little longer, have broken out into 
 
 «opcn rebellion. Nor is he much left fre^ i|i 
 
 liis inveftives aeainft the Dutch, He rebre- 
 
 fenteth the chiel men that governed in Uollari^ 
 
 as neither wife nor honcft ; and chargeth them, 
 
 *as he doth the Whigs, with phrenfy : that the 
 
 ^prudent and fober ftates continued to aft like 
 
 froward children, or like men drunk with re- 
 
 fcntment and paffion j and that a fpirit of fafiiop 
 
 ^and private intereft prevailed amon? them 6ver 
 
 reafon of ftate. And he declares his aftonifh- 
 
 ^mcnt at their arrogance, in prefuming to exclaim 
 
 againft a Queen of Great Britain for the orders 
 
 given to her general, not to join in any liege or 
 
 battle. ' ' ' ^ "* 
 
 Without taking any particular notice of thcfe 
 
 .inveftives, which I have mentioned as^fif'fpcd- 
 
 men of the fpirit and temper widi which he 
 
 'writes, I fhall only obferve, that what hj^ hatli 
 
 ^himfelf owned in this Letter, with regard*to the 
 
 peace of Utrecht^ tendeth to giVe no very" ad- 
 
 ^vantageous idea of it. " I (hall not'be fur- 
 
 *''^' prifed (faith he to his noble corr^fpOndent)lf 
 .^^^*' you think diat the peace of ^WrrrA/ was 
 7^' not mfwerable to the fuccefs of the war, nor 
 ; ■• to the efforts that were made in it. I thiiik 
 ' *Vfo 'niyfclf, and have always; owtied that 1 
 ' ^ Vfcciogbt fo. Since we totnmitted a fuccefs- 
 v^%l folly, we ought to ha^cteapcd mdrc ^&- 
 
 V vaet^c firom jt thaji vft did ;-:awl o«ght to 
 tJ *^ have 
 
.r*" 
 
 ; II 
 
 i 
 
 t s8 . ReflcaTons w thi tati • ^ 
 
 .f* have reduced the power of, France^ 9nA to 
 ^* have ftrcngthcncd her neightourhood, muc& 
 
 ^^ more than we did*.** And again, that 
 
 ^»— - ** the low and exhaufted ftate to which 
 ^ Fru^r^ was reduced by the laft great war, 
 ^** was but a momentaiy reduftion of her 
 ** power ; — — and whatever redudlion was 
 ** brought about by the treaty of Utrecht was 
 I** not fufBcient: that the true rcdudion of 
 .*V the exorbitant power o{ France confifted in 
 •V difarming her frontiers, and fortifying the 
 ,*' barriers againft her, by the ceflion and de- 
 /* molition of many more places than (he 
 «* yielded up at Utrecht ^ but not of more 
 ,** than (he might have been obliged to facrx- 
 *' fice to her own immediate relief, and to tlie 
 .** future fecurity of her neighbours §.'*—— 
 Here is a fair confeffion, that the peace of 
 .Utrecht was not, what it was fo often, with tri- 
 , umph, declared to be, at the time when it was 
 . made^ a fai'e and honourable peace. For, if 
 this reprefcntation be true, it was neither fafc 
 nor honourable ; it was neither anfwcrable to 
 the fuccefs of the war, nor to the efforts that 
 ^ were made in it : we ought to have reduced the 
 power of France^ and to have ftrengthened her 
 ' neighbours, more than we did: France ought to 
 . have been obliged to a ceffion and demolition of 
 . many more places than fhe yielded up at Utrecht. 
 This was a facrificc (he might have been obliged 
 J to make to her own immediate relief, and to the 
 •^ future fecurity of her neighbours. To this may 
 
 * • Vol. II, p. xi3, 119. 5 Ibid. p. 123. 
 
 |i ;. : be 
 
Lord Bolingbroke'5 Letters, 'i 59 
 
 be added what he faith in the conclufion of hfs 
 
 Seventh Letter, that — " France xhzri wound 
 
 •* up advantageoufly the ambitious fyftcm (he 
 
 •' had been fifty years in weaving, and concluded 
 
 ** a war, in which (he was defeated on every 
 
 •' fide, and wholly cxhauftcd, with little dimi- 
 
 ^* nation of tlie provinces and barriers acquired 
 
 ^" to France^ and with the quiet po(rc(rion of 
 
 ** Spain and the Indies to a prince of the houfe 
 
 '• * of Bourbon ||." And if this was the cafe, 
 
 it cannot be wonder'd at, that there were many 
 perfons that difapproved, and did all they couy 
 to prevent a peace, which helped France to 
 -wind up fo advantageoufly her ambitious fy- 
 ftem, and left her, after a war, in which (rie 
 had been defeated on every fide, and wholly ex- 
 haufted, in poflre(rion of fo many advantages, 
 ■ and unjuft nfcquifitions. His lordfhip, indeed, 
 
 • has found out an excellent way for throwing 
 
 • the blame of making fuch an infufRcient peace, 
 ^ not upon thofe that concluded it, but upon thofe 
 
 • that oppofed it. He affirms, that '* it was 
 
 '^^** folely owing to them that oppofed the peace, 
 •••* that France w^s not obliged to make thofe 
 \^* facrificcs : and he is willing to put his whole 
 •*«* credit, and the whole merit of the caufe, 
 
 ^' « upon this ifTue §". That '^ the Queen 
 
 '^** was, to the utmoft degree, defirous to aft in 
 ^^** union with her allies; and that the difunion 
 \** of the allie? gave France great advantage ; but 
 •^** that this difunion was owing to thofe that 
 "^ •* oppofed the Queen's meafurcs." ^— ^ This^hc 
 
 I Vol. I p. 315. S Vol n» jh 124., ^* -- '. 
 
 K • reprcfents 
 
 ^i. 
 
t 
 
 n6o .-^ Ilefltii£tions m the Late i 
 
 Tcprefpots as fo plain^ that no man that has ai^ 
 ihame about him can deny it. , Thefe things 
 Jic blarges upon, for many pages together, in 
 m declamation, which, for heat and bittemefs, 
 cannot be cafily parallel'd §. But, without cn- 
 .tering very deep into the matter, one may ven- 
 ture to fay, and yet not be tliought loft to all 
 •iicnfe of fliame, that how good foever the inten- 
 tions of the managers might be, fome of the 
 mcafures they took were very unhappily chofen, 
 .cither for prefcrving union among the allies, or 
 obtaining an advantageous peace from France. 
 They entered into a fccret correfpondence with 
 France^ and canied it on for fome time, without 
 the participation of the other allies : and the firft 
 preliminaries that were publifhed, in confequencc 
 of this, on the part of France^ were vifibly fliort 
 of what fhc had oflfer'd not long before. Great 
 and public abufc was dirown upon the allies, in 
 papers known to be written under the dircdllon 
 ' of the miniftry 5 and endeavours were ufed to 
 raife a fpirit againft them through the nation. 
 The Dutch^ in particular, were treated with 
 great infolence and reproach ; odious charges 
 , were advanced againft them j and what they 
 caufcd to be publilhed in their own vindication, 
 was, inftead of being anfwcr'd, trcaied with tl;^ 
 utmoft indignity. At the fame time, pains were 
 taken to perfuade the people, that the nation 
 was fo impoverifti d and exhauftcd, that they 
 . were ujvable to carry on the war any longer. 
 .Heavy charges were laid againft the former 
 
 $ Vol II. p. 124, i2i> 126, i:fc. 
 
 miniUry, 
 
Lord Bolingbroke'i Letters, x 6 1 
 
 minlftry for continuing the war fo long; anci 
 the new minifters made it a point, on which 
 
 they valued themfclvcs, " to fave their coun-* 
 
 •* try (as he expreffeth it) from abfolute infoU 
 " vency and bankruptcy, and to deliver her 
 " from the neceflity of bearing any longer fo 
 ** unequal a part in fo unneceffary a war." •— ^ 
 Thefe being the meafures that were taken in Eng^m 
 lanJy can it be imagined, that fo politic a court 
 as that of France would not lay hold of fuch an 
 advantage, and improve it? They were, undoubt* 
 cdly, very defirous of peace ; but they knew alfo» 
 that a peace the Britijh miniftry muft and 
 would have j and that therefore, by (landing out 
 a little longer, they fliould obtain p>eace upon 
 much more advantageous terms to France^ than 
 before they had rcafon to expeft. And fo 
 eager were the Britijh miniftry to get rid of 
 the war, that, though they had given the Dutch 
 pofitive aflurances, in the beginning of the year 
 171 2, that they wcmld aft vigoroufly in the 
 common caufe, yet, in two months after, in 
 the beginning of the campaign, orders were fent, 
 in the Queen's name, to the Britijh ^tncr^l^ not 
 to engage in any fiege or battle till farther orders. 
 This was done in concert with the French^ the 
 common enemy, and without the participation 
 of the allies ; and was foon followed by a cef- 
 iation of arms, and by an aftual feparation of 
 the national Britijh troops, and an endeavour toi 
 fcparatc all the foreign troops in the Britijh 
 pay, from the reft of the confederate army. A 
 Ib^gc meafure this, if confidcred in all its cir- 
 
 M cumftanccs. 
 
 ^j^m^m^m^amm^ 
 
MMNII 
 
 _ _ -| 
 
 162 Refledions on the Late ' 
 
 iumftanccs. And his lordfliip's vindication 6f II 
 is almoft as extraordinary. I (hall not exaaiine | 
 h, though, if I were difpofed to do fo, I (hould 
 not dcfirc greater advantage than he has given. 
 And thofe who arc not acquainted with his lord- 
 fhip's manner, will be apt to wonder at the pe- 
 ^uliar ftrain of confidence with which he ex- 
 prefleth himfclf on this occafion. 
 • After having charged the dates with arrogance 
 and prefumption,in finding fault with thcQuecn's 
 mealures, he inhftethuponit, that if they would 
 have made a right ufc of the two months fuf- 
 
 pennon, by joining with the Qneen- ** even 
 
 ^* then we might have refumcd the fuperio- 
 '* rity we began to lofc in the congrefs */*— — 
 This is a fair confcflion, that from the time thofe 
 Orders were given to the Britijh general, we be- 
 gan to lofe that fuptriority in the congrefs, 
 which he had before acknowlcged we had in the 
 beginning of the year 1712 -f-. And indeed \ 
 ^/inot fee, how it could be otherwife ; (ince, 
 by thi& ftcp, the French plainly faw, that jB/?^- 
 land^^% determined not to carry on the war any 
 longer. Nor, after fuch a ftep, would it have 
 been in the power of the Q^een, and \htDutcb 
 united, to regain that fuperiority in the ccngrcfs 
 ivhich they had loft ; except France had been 
 pcrfuaded, that, in calcthey did not come into fuch 
 terms as the allies might thiiik neceffary, Great 
 'Britain would join heartily in pufhing the war, 
 
 * Vol. II. p. 144. \ \\Ai,^, t^o, HI. 
 
 But 
 
Lord BolingbrokeV Letters. 1 63 
 
 ^utthey very well knew the contrary; and thatt 
 they had nothing farther to fear from ^hc ErU 
 tijh counjeh or Jorces, 
 
 But I fhall not infift longer on thefc things, 
 as it is not my intention to enter on a particular 
 examination of what he hath offered in vindica- 
 tion of the peace of Utrecht, I (hall only add 
 this one farther remark, in relation to it ; that he, 
 all along, prefcrves the favourite ftilc of that 
 time, the ^ueen*s peace^ the ^een*s meafures ; 
 and all oppofition againft the then miniftry, and 
 the mealures they were taking, is conftantly rc- 
 prefented as a fort of high treafon againft her 
 Majcfty, and an infult upon her authority royal. 
 But his lordfhip has, fince that time, known very 
 well how to diftinguilh between the king and 
 his rainiftcrs ; and has treated it as great info* 
 Icnce in a miniftry, to fcreen their meafures un- 
 der the fliadow of the royal authority. 
 
 His lord(hip, after having fo vehemently 
 inveighed againft the Whigs, for being fo eager 
 to carry on the war in Queen /Inne'^ reig^> finds 
 nolefs fault with them, for the too pacific difpo- 
 fitioa they fhewed afterwards. He obferves, 
 
 that **a rage of watring poffeffed a party m 
 
 /* pur nation till the death of the late queen; a 
 ** rage of negotiating has poffeffed the fame par- 
 " ty of men ever fince -f-/' And fo he goes on to 
 cxpofe the meafures of the nainiftry, whom he 
 rcprefcnts as having been in one ferpetual maze. 
 I tbali ooc ^nter into the queftion, how far tho 
 
 ,\ 
 
 *'t voi.u. p. 167. / *' ^<-- 
 
 Ma mini- 
 
 mm 
 
 ■HI 
 
i£«M 
 
 1 64 Reflexions <m the 'Late-- 
 
 minifters' were in the right or wrong, }hma»» 
 naging their negotiations. This I leave t6 thofe 
 who underfland thcfe matters better than I can 
 pretend to do» and about which probably men 
 of excellent fcnfe and undcrftanding may differ 
 in their fcntiments. I (hall only obferve, how 
 impoffible it is for that party of men topleafe his 
 lordfhip, againll whom he hath declared fo fix- 
 ed an avcrfion, and who, he fays, have had the 
 adminiftration in their hands almoft ever (incc 
 the Revolution. Whether they war or nego^ 
 tiatc, they -arc always in lae wrong. His lord (hip 
 has mentioned a twofold rage> as he calls it, a 
 rage of warring, and a rage of negotiating. There 
 is a third rage, as remarkable as either of them j 
 and that 15, the rage of a party-fpirjt, which leads 
 men to give the worft turns, and put the moft 
 odious conftrudtlon upon every thing. Scarce 
 any me^ures can be taken in political matters, 
 but what are liable to objcdions and inconveni- 
 ences, which, when they fall into the hands of 
 a perfon of fuch bright parts, and great com- 
 mand of words, as the late lord liolingbrohy may 
 be made to appear in a very di (advantageous 
 light. And yet perhaps the perfons he blam« 
 were not fo much in the wrong, or fo incon» 
 fiftent with thcmfelvcs, as he reprcfcnts them, 
 in having been firft for warring, and afterwards 
 for negotiating. He himfelf owns, that the w^r 
 entered intoagainft France^ was, ^>r 'bme years, 
 ncceCTaryj and that it was carried op with fur- 
 prifmg fucceO. The Whig^ wcrp for continuing 
 
 to 
 
 • 
 
 ~ 1 • 
 
Lord BolingbrokeV Letters. 1 65 
 
 to pu(h the war, though the nati:^ was very 
 much burdened, till they had cffedually brokea 
 and humbled the French power, and had reaped 
 advantages anfwerablc to fuch unparalleled fuo- 
 ceflcs. And they might very confiftently be of this 
 opinion, and yet afterward?, when the opportu- 
 nity was let flip, and not to be retrieved, when 
 the peace was made, and the confederacy bro- 
 ken, they might be againft plunging the nation 
 into new wars, which would add to that debt 
 which had been neceflarily incurred before. And 
 if, for preventing fuch new wars, they fomctimes 
 carried their defirc of negotiating'too far, if in 
 fomc cafes they appeared pacific, even to a dc^ 
 gfee of tamenefs, however others might findfault 
 with diem, his lordfliiip, and thdfe of his fenu- 
 meuLs, had no right to do fo ; who had fo bit* 
 terly inveighed againft them, for being eager to 
 carry on a war, in which they had fo glorious 
 profpcds. For certainly, if the nation's being 
 cxhauftcd, and overburdened with debts. Were t 
 reafon for putting an end to that glorious tmd 
 fucccfsful war,*by a peace, which was iax from 
 anfwcring the ends of it, or reaping the tdvan* 
 Cages that might be expected from it; this reafoa 
 wasmuch ftrongcr for not entering into new wars, 
 in which they could not promiie themfelves 
 equal fuccefs^ and of which it was not eafy co fee 
 the confcquenccs. Though therefore their trea- 
 ties and negotiations were not in all refjpedi 
 io happily condufiedv as hii lord(hipi m his lupe* 
 vo€ wUdom might think (hould have been dcnfl, 
 
 1 . . y* 
 
t66 ' Reflections on the Late- 
 
 yet he ought at Icaft to havis commended thcJr 
 pacific intention. It is proper to obfcrve, thdt 
 /fince the Writing of his long Letter on the peace 
 of Utrecht, there hath been another war, which 
 could notbe avoided, bcfidcs a dangerous rebel- 
 lion at home, which hath occafioiled a new and 
 ^vaft expcnce, and hath mightily increafed the 
 -national debt, which was fo great before. But 
 the adminiflration is not to be blamed, who 
 kept out^ of that war as long as they could, till 
 ithe voice of the nation demanded it ; much lefs 
 arc they to be blamed for that rebellion, which 
 was raifcd with a view to overturn the prefcnt 
 cftablifhmcnt. And yet fo unreafonable are 
 the enemies of our conflitution, as to exclaim 
 •againft the government, for the expcnces and 
 •debts, that the war which the whole nation de- 
 'manded, and the rebellion whi/ ♦hey them- 
 felves had raifcd, made ncccfliry» 
 . i have now finiflicd my remarks on the 
 Jatc Lord Bolingbroke^s Letters on the Study 
 iind Ufe of Hiftory. It is with regret that I 
 have found myfelf obliged to fay many things 
 that may feem to bear hard upon the reputation 
 of a writer of fuch eminence. But, I believe, 
 by this time, it appears, that how great foever 
 his abilities muft be acknowlegcd to be, his con- 
 iident affertions are notabfolutely to be depend- 
 ed upon, not even in civil and political, much 
 lefs ;n religious matters. It cannot but be matter 
 ■of great concern, to fee fuch open attempts 
 jxiade againft what ought to be dearer to us than 
 X)vjr lives. But, I hope, the cffcd will be^ to 
 
 
Lord Bolingbroke'j Letters. 1 67 
 
 convince all good men of the ncceflky tbcy arev 
 under of uniting in hearty and earneft crtdca* 
 vours to ferve and prooiote the C|iriftian caufe/ 
 aud the real welfare of their country ; and Khali, 
 count my felf happy ) if theferefledtionsr can coiv*^ 
 ^ibute in any dqgrce to fo exccUtnt an epd. 
 
 
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