PEREGRINATIONS OF THE MIND THROUGH THE MOST GENERAL AND INTERESTING SUBJECTS, Which are ufually agitated in Life. By THE RATIONALIST. PLUTARCH, de Liberor. Ed. LONDON: Printed for G. P E A R C H, Numb. 12, ia Cheapi'ide. M.DCC.LXX. r a fervations herein contained old and fa- miliar, which may to others appear in the garb of novelty and importance. Ic is with books on every fubject, in forr.e degree, as it is with a grammar ; that a fyftem, be it good or bad, is made up of trifles; on the feleftion of which depends the character of the author. In gram- mar, letters, fyllables, and words are to be properly arranged : in fpeculative topics we look for a juft difpofition and choice of ideas and femiments. In moft common fubjeds, after the multitude of authors, little elfe is to be hoped for but a difference of drefs. Writing has this in common with paint- ing. The human body has been painted numberlefs times by numberlefs painters, with limbs, colours, and canvafs, nearly the fame , but each has a manner peculiar to himfelf : and it were more agreeable fome- times to gaze on a fau!ty piece, for the &ke of variety, than always to be con- fined to the fight of a few excellent por- traits. THE THE RATIONALIST. CHAPTER I. ON THE STAGE. Nil prodejl quod non Itsdere pojjlt idem. OVID. Trift. 2. general tendency of the thea- tre has been the fubjecl. of much controverfy among moral ifts. It has been thought by fome to have a good effecl in reforming the man- ners of a people ; whilft others have declaimed againft it as one of the inftruments of the devil. One reprefents it as the fchool of virtue ; ano- ther as the nurfery of vice. One aflerts that it inflames inflames the paflions ; another that it dilates the bread and opens the human heart : but both fides agree that it is not a matter of indifference which can do neither good nor harm. In all controverfies (it is proper to premife) the difputants on either fide prefent the dark or favourable fide of a queftion to view, according as it fuits their feveral purpofes ; and endeavour to conceal and fupprefs every circumftancc that makes for their antagonifts. This obfervation is founded in fa&, and true of moft difputes in general ; but it is eminently applicable to the friends and enemies of the drama, who have, each in their turn, varioufly charaterifed it according as their different fancies led them. Among the ancients the theatre was in gene- ral in efteem with their writers, the moft auftere of whom confiuered it as a fc'nool of inftru&ion : another caufe for objections again ft it muft be affigned, which is not difficult to be difcovered. Bigotry and fuperftition have been, at different times, the parents of every folly, and, what is xvorfe, the nurfery of crimes. From this odious fource are originally derived the objections v/hich have been made to the reprefentation and writing of plays, for the public entertainment; and (to the honour of dramatic pieces be it fpoken,) they have met with the moft virulent op- pofition from the profelTors of the Romifh com- munion, who even deny thofe concerned in them the privileges of their fellow-citizens. A reafon [ 3 3 reafon for this is eafy to be imagined, and hafc been often hinted at : as it is the proper pro- vince of the comic mufe to expofe knavery and folly, that church had the higheft reafon to dread her lam. The priefts gave the alarm, and the fimple part of the world have ecchoed back their cries. In order to juftify their cenfureof the drama, ^its enemies of every denomination have unfairly felecled the loofe and unchafte productions of fome writers of this clafs, and from them pro- nounced fentence on them all. The partiality and injuftice of this procedure are too glaring to be pointed at. I am not at all furprifed if objedtions are made to unchafte comedies : it is not the intereft of a well-regulated community to encourage them. Luxury and debauchery unnerve the human frame, and are undoubtedly the charadteriftics of a ftate leaning rather to a decay, than rifing to a greater perfection, as hiftory amply teitihes ; and they fcarcely ever need a fpur, as nature is but too prone to prompt to thofe irregularities : but the pafiion of love, indulged with fuch reftriclions as comedy ought to teach, is a generous principle, and may, . under certain circumllances, be deemed even a virtue. Now I am on this point, a fair opportunity offers itfelf of paying a compliment to the deli- cacy of the prefent age. It is notorious (parti- cularly of late years) that the higheft difappro B 2 batL. [ 4 ] bation has been {hewn of wh atever borders on indelicacy in any fhape ; and that even to an cxcefs. To fuch a height has this humour been carried, as to explode what might have been very fairly allowed without violation of decorum, and what the colouring of character fometimes requires in fupport of a piece.* From Arifto- phanes, A memorable example of this mock-delicacy was not long fince. exhibited in the cold reception an excellent comedy met with from the fpedlators. The piece I mean is The Good-natured Man, the produ&ion of an author of confefled abilities. The interefling fcene of the bailiff and his follower, a fcene abounding in real humour, upon which the plot in a great meafure turned, was ordered to be curtailed, becaufe it reprefented low-life, and wounded the delicate ears of the Midafes of the up- per gallery, who firft conceived difguft. The Jo- vial Crew, the Beggars Opera, and fome other* that might be named, meet with the greateft ap- plaufe : the latter is even indulged fo far as to be played for weeks without intermiffion. Is it their delicacy and connexion with high-life that com- mands this encouragement ? But the public is a fickle judge, and does not always render merit its due. Could the eftimation of thofe pieces be ob- literated, it is chance but they would now meet the hifs that is levelled at fuppofed indecorum. Time is the touch-Hone of merit, and they have flood the left. The people are told they are good, and therefore prefume not to cenfure them on that fcore. r 5 i phanei, who had the kafl imaginable regard to decency, down to our own times, comic writers have, by a reformation on this head, gradually and wifely contributed to wipe off afperfions of this kinl, as fenfible that the wantonnefs of men needs not fatyrion, nor their madnefs wine. The objections made to indecent comedies then are equally applicable to writings of other kinds. Indecent memoirs, indecent novels, or indecent dialogues, are likewife to be exploded : but it does not follow that all memoirs, dialogues, and novels are to be extirpated becaufe fome are bad, any more than that all theatrical perform- ances are to be forbidden becaufe there have been unchafte comedies, By a fimilarity of reafoning might we plead for the prohibition ofwritings of all forts, fir.cs pure and unexceptionable works of every fpecies may be contrafted with an Aretiney a Rochefter, a Petronius, or a Cleland. The amount of fuch objections as thefe is actually no more than that bad plays are bad things ; and Co are bad priefts or bad magiftrates ; but we are not therefore to difcard all priefts and magiftrates becaufe fome have been bad. J It is likewife urged by the enemies of the ftage, that there are fome who indulge in diver- B 3 fions fcore. I mean not to depreciate either ; they have their excellence ; but this partiality to the preju- dice of more modern adventurers in authorfliip is too grofs to paf$ unnoticed. [ 6 ] fions of this nature to an excefs. To this it may be replied, that if the children or depend- ents of any one are too much addicted to them, and beftow more time and expence on them than their circumftances will. warrant, it is partly to be laid to the account of the head of the family himfelf, who fuffers this excefs. Or even ad- mitting that others, who are under no controul but that of their own wills, incline to the fame extreme, is the whole body of the public to be denied all amufement becaufe fome few indulge to a fault ? As well might we aflert that no pub- lic benefit whatever fhould be allowed, becaufe all are capable of abufe. Would it be rcafon- iible, for inflance, to iilue orders for the extir- pation of fruit-trees, or for filling up all tne xvells in the kingdom, becaufe it may happen riiat a Hoy !~y c~t cf the ens, or drink of the other, in a burning heat, and fo be thrown into a fever ? Queftions of this fort might be aflced \vithout number, were it at all neceflary. There is nothing but what is capable of abufe and mif- :ipplir:ation from human perverfenefs. Prudence is the only guide in thefe and all other points, and by that guide ought every one to fteer his courfe in the conduct of life. If there are men who have not the leaft fhare of this ufeful qua- lification in their compofitions, I know not what methods can be taken with them: they are un- fit for this world, and the fooner they are out of it the better. Perhaps, [ 7 J Perhaps, in tempers of the common {ramp, a principal reafon affignable for an immoderate paflien for any thing, is, that it is too great a novelty. This has been found to be the cafe in country towns where the comedians do not con- ftantly refort : the confequence of which has been, that when they made their appearance, the magiftrates judged it expedient to difmifs them, becaufe the giddy minds of the youths of both fexes were intoxicated with the pleafure they enjoyed in thefe fpeitacles : which difrnif- fion partly depended on the tafte of the petty fo- vereign who presided during the theatric vifit. If he chanced to be a mifer, a clown, or an hour-glafs-maker, with a tafte on a level with thofe characters, woe to the company ! Excluding the players does indeed prevent the cffedts of exceflive indulgence ; but a furfcit is the mod radical cure. In vindication of dramatic performances, it may with juftice be faid, that if they do fweli the paflions, it is the nobler paffions which are called forth ; paflions which, if well directed, are the ornaments of human nature. That they be properly regulated, it is the bullnefs of the author to provide. It is deemed by judges an imperfection in a performance if it does not re- commend virtue and propriety. The difcerning poet efteems it his pait to render vice as odious as poflible, and to expofe to view the deformity of it j to prefent virtue in its native charms, B 4 and C 8 1 and to enforce its di&ates. The feveral paflions oT the human breaft are by him fummoned only where they ought, and where Nature herfelf is the prompter. Hatred for a villain, pity for the unfortunate virtuous, and love for the amiable fair, are no blemiflies in reafon or humanity. Plays are ufeful in another view. They con- tribute to the polifhing and adorning mankind ; and politenefs is a fubordinate fpecies of huma- nity. It is a point of confequence worth con- tending for, to keep a nation from a rude and barbarous ftate, by the affiftance of the arts and fciences. Comedies, in particular, may boaft this tendency, as greatly fubfervient to the pur- pofe. In them every vice, every impropriety, every indecorum, is marksd and corrected ; and by them the fpeclator may be taught to difap- prove in another what he could not difcover in his own character. They are ferviceable in difplaying the variety of character in the world, and very proper lef- Jcns to teach what the dull apprehenfions of many would otherwife have fcarcely learned from their own obfervations. Their moft ob- ftinate enemies will not furely deny that to be one advantage refulting from them, or deem fuch an infight into life a point of no moment. It inuft be acknowledged that this confidera- tion merits every one's regard, as a princi- pal view of education ; and it is as indifputable a truth that the high colouring of a play is more I 9 J more ftriking and affecting than the infipid and faint fcenes of common life. If the rcafons above alleged are judged incon- clufive, an additional plea, and a material one, remains ftill behind. Granting that plays are, upon the whole, produ&ive of neither good nor harm, (which is the greateft conceffion that ought to be made,) yet even in that cafe they fhould be tolerated from a confideration of the pleafure and amufement which are derived from, them. Some relaxation is requifite in life from the toils and cares that furround us :* ' Apollo ' does not always bend his bow.' Theatrical exhibitions are, by the generality of the world, efteemed a moft agreeable fpecies of entertain- ment. They are more than bare reprefentations of life ; they are reprefentations embellifhed with all the decorations of fancy, and cannot fail to charm where tafte is not wanting to relifli the beauties of genius. This laft confideration of pleafure (as it is an innocent pleafure) is a plea that may be as jlrongly infifted on as any of the foregoing. It will be combated by none but thofe who have loft their relifh for enjoy- ment, or are naturally four or infenfible in their difpofitions. As fuch, they are not to be re- garded in the common light of human beings, but rather as marble ftatues, devoid of feeling. B 5 There * HORAT. lib. ii. od. 10. Ka y TO, To|a x Taj Xi^aj ant/Air, PLUTARCH, de educat* There are certain inftances of vice, and cer- tain cuftoms prevailing in fociety, which every individual in the kingdom would agree to con- demn : fuch inftances and fuch cuftoms, if in- quired into, would probably appear to merit the general cenfure. The encouragement given to the ftage is not one of thofe inftances, as the cenfure palled on it is by no means general. The greater and more fenfible half of the world con- lent to give it their countenance. Thofe that have denied it their fuffrages are much inferior in number, and prejudiced- by education, nig- gardlinefs, or want of tafte, circumftances a- rifing from fome peculiar fituation in life ; and yet even they, under a change of their educa- tion or fituation, would probably have enter- tained opinions of it wide of thofe they now are found to harbour. No one, with the common human feelings about him, can naturally diflike the ftage j and arguments deduced from reafon^ I am perfuaded, will not condemn it. An a- verfion to it muft, in courfe, be regarded only as one of thofe prejudices of a little mind which a peculiarity of education has given birth to, and deferves to be received with that contempt which is due to want of fcntiment. Upon the whole, though I cannot accede to their opinion who think that plays ought to be difcountenancecJ, yet I will not be fo bigotted in their favour as to affirm that mens morals are much mended by them in refpecl to virtue and r " i vice. That :s a good effea which I can fcarce- ly attribute to knowledge itfelf in general, arid therefore do not much expect to find refult from any particular branch of it : but thus much I muft again and again infift on in favour of the drama, that as far as it contributes to infpirc with generous fentiments, to promote good-na- ture and the focial affeiHons, and to enlarge, and refine the mind, we have ample recom- pence for all the evil it can poftibly have "in- troduced. B 6 TT A P T E R CHAPTER II. ON LOVE. Felices ter et amplius uos irrupt a tenet copula > nee mails Divulfus querlmonlis Suprema citius fohet amor die. HOR. od. 18. TH E force and influence of that great ty- rant Cuftom are fo powerful,, that the ef- fects of it have been often blended with, and rniftaken for, thofe of Nature herfelf. Amongft other doubts which this confufion has given rife to, it has been with many a queftion, Whether the paffion of LOVE, as confined to one particu- lar object, to the utter exclufion of all others, is not rather a confequence of fafhion, than a prcpenfuy of nature. For my own part, with refpedt to this difpute, both from a fuperficial view, and from a nice obfervation, I ftiould efteem it highly probable that it has as real an^xiftence, independently on cuftom, as anger, or pity, or envy, or any other affection of the mind. Firft then let it be remarked, that the natural tendency of educa- tion (or cuftom) is to diminifh and curb the paffions. r 13 ] paflions. In proportion as learning and know- ledge advance, inftin.*^7ra&ov fit : 'ly^ov Iguutw turn fit quom vivcre non quit Fra: macic : ^a^m^i vero eft jam mortua tulfi $ At gcmina et mammofa Ceres eft ipfa ab laccho : Simula *A;n ac fatyra 'ft ; labiofa Qfap*. LUCRET. lib. iv. f Auferimur culto : gemrr.is aurcque teguntur Omnia : pars minima eft ipfa puella fui. Sspe [ 20 ] fidered in this light, and not as an adventitious or diftindt mode of excellence. It is, as he ob- ferves, a part of the aegis which the god Cupid carries with him, amongft many other of his warlike accoutrements. If indeed it had ever been known, that a ftatue drefled up, or a poll adorned with female attire, equally charmed, and gained admirers, with a woman, I will give up the point 1 contend for, and with chearfulnefs own myfelf in the wrong j but till I read of a man's falling in love with a milkmaid's garland, or a polifhed golden image, I muft infiit on confidering the drels of a woman, as a part of her perfon. Upon a recapitulation in my own mind of the arguments I have urged to refur^ the deniers of the exiftence of Love, it occurred to me how much eafier a tafk it would have been for fome of the lovely fair ones I have been talking of, with that powerful perfuafion, the eloquence of looks and ornaments, which nature and art combine to lend them, to have converted thefe infidels. $ Before fuch conviction as they could afford, the fophiftry of argument would appear dry and im- pertinent, Saepe ubi fit quod amaj, inter tarn multa, requiras. Decipit hac oculos aegide dives amor. Ov.Rem. Am. lib. i. Ae'yn. WEN AND. pertinent, and all I have advanced as empty words : but alas ! our philofophers are not fa good as they ought to be they feldom appear at a church, where the fair fhcw themfelves to the greateit advantage ; and an aflembly is by much too trifling for a ftoic. As the punifh- ment due to their crimes, their inflexible obfti- nacy, and infenfibility, may they perfift in their courfe therein, and never love ! CHAPTER C 22 ] CHAPTER III. ON HAPPINESS. Et a i voli troppo alti et repentini Sogliono i precipitli effer vicini. TASSO. T TAPPINESS (fays an ancient writer) 4 j[~L bears tne femblance of fatisfaction and perfection, being the ultimate aim of all our * actions.' * How to arrive at it is the grand queition, the great bufmefs of life ; but it is univerfally agreed, that without a contented mind we catch at a fhadow in the pursuit of it. He that is not tolerably eafy in every ftation, will never be perfectly fatisfied in any. Nothing is more frequent amongft moral writers than to reprefent content, a quality merely conftitutional, as a virtue and a duty, and difcontent as a vice or a crime, a repug- nance to the difpenfations of heaven, and a tacit rebellion againft its decrees. How far this idea is juft, I fnall not now inquire ; but whe- ther it be reasonable or not, Cure I am it is a leiTon as little regarded as any that ever flowed from Ti'Xncv & TI fajtapovfei T crgax! lira TI>.&-. AaiSTOT. Eth. lib. I, C 23 ] from the pen of a moralitt. To oppofe mens reilleflnefs in fearch after happinefs, is to ftem a torrent, and to barely enjoin content is to talk in an unknown tongue. In all our attempts to correct and inform we {hould coniider it as an eflential point to humour the pbje&s of our endeavours, without which all our precepts are loft in air. The moft co- gent and perfuafive rhetoric that can be ufed, is to fpeak to the utility and felf-love of man- kind ; to make appear that our precepts are con- ducive to the delired end ; that happinefs is - qually the defideratum of both writer and reader. The difciple of this reafoning will liften with attention to fuch a promifing preceptor, and eagerly fwallow a potion that is fweetened to his palate, as preferable to the bitter draught adminiilered by the hand of a itoic. And whence, it may juftly be afked, can be derived a more powerful perfuafive in favour of content, (which is the efience of happinefs,) than from a confideration of the nearly equal dljlributlon of it bmcngjl the luuile human race ? That this pofition of a nearly equal fhare of felicity is no chimaera, will, I truft, be admit- ted by everyone who thoroughly examines it at all points, f and confiders it in every view. Ar- guments deduced from a&ual pleafure and pain, if we attentively conlider thofe fenfations, fug- geft reafons to confirm the fuppofition. Let us trace things to their very fource. Pain (which 10 f 24 ] is in many cafes the ftrongeft of thofe two fen- fations) diminifhes in a certain ratio, propor- tioned to the time it has been endured, by the very confutation of nature. This is not only the cafe in the more flight and common inftances, in the little inconveniences of life, but even in fuch as ftrike with horror at the bare mention of them. As a proof of it may be urged a memo- rable circumftance relating to one of the moft ftriking examples of pain that the rigour of law could inflict, in the execution of a notorious triminal in France ; * who, after he had fuf- tained part of the dreadful punifhment denoun- ced againft him, was afked a few queftions re- lating to the pain he had felt. Among other particulars of his anfwers is one which has an intimate connexion with the prefent argument. He declared that even under this moft intenfe circumftance of mifery, after he had been fome little time in torture, his fenfe of pain became by degrees fo languid, as in a great meafure to diminim the rigour of his fentence. But left my gentle reader fhould be (hocked at the cruelty of the example here given, I will difmifs it, and obferve that every fituation in nature is preg- nant with fuch proofs. As the hands become hard with labour, the body and mind both grow callous and infenfible to pain : a circumftance which * Mandrin, a famous fmuggler, who was broke on the wheel for murder and other crimes A fentence which he bore with a fortitude that vvoul4 have done honour to innocence. L 25 J which tends to alleviate the fufferings of the mife- rable in every degree, by a peculiar bleffing of nature. I have chofen to fpeak chiefly of pain, as it appeared to me the ftronger inftance of fen- fation : not but that pleafure (which is the im- mediate point in queftion) would have equally anfwered the purpofe of conviction. The fweet- nefs of honey, when firft it is tafted, is exquiflte ; but repeated dofes of it at laft become palling and naufeous. There are certain bounds of plea- fure and pain which cannot be parted or conti- nued in their intenfity : when arrived at thofe degrees, they ftop, and gradually die away. So much being premifed, we may draw a con- fequent inference, too obvious to be denied, as the pleafures of body and mind in fuch manner reprefent each other, as to admit of the fame arguments and obfervations The conclufion I mean is, that however flattering the ftateofonc man appears to another who is lefs diftinguifheJ by the favours of Fortune, or more involved in the hurries and bufmefs of life, yet it by no means follows that the former is happier than the latter. Bufmefs employs the load of lime; wants are the forerunners of wimes, and wiflies of enjoyment. The rnoft elevated fhtion, the mo ft cxtenfive polTeflions, the moft exalted glory, which is the Elyfium of heroes, pall and facb at laft. The king on his throne furfeits with honour : he that has all earthly blcflings at his command, has no more left to covet and raife his hopes: like Alexander, he finds that one world's C extent [ 26 ] extent will not fill up his vvifhes. It is not the nature of our conftitution to keep up an even and conftant zeft for enjoyment ; and the more intenfe the pleafure is, the fooner the fibres of fenfibility are broken. It muft be allowed that a tranfition from a prefent to a more defired ftate conftitutes afhort- lived happinefs j but it is at the commencement of our change we muft expect it. Afterwards we drop from the fummitof our wiflies, as from a high tower, meafuring our fall by the degree of impatience with which we foared to our de- fires. Happinefs then is content under another name. Without it a man cannot be happy, and with it it is impoflible he fhould be miferable. A con-, lideration of this truth (though it is not ex- pected it fhould prevent us from fnatching at every little innocent whim that floats within our reach) is a ftrong argument for refilling inordi- nate and unattainable defires, which, like a vulture, prey continually on the vitals of the ambitious and reftlefs.* If human nature re- quires fometimes a recreation, to keep off a general ftagnation and torpor, we {hould mar- ihal and dilcipline our defires, and direct them in * Nam petere imperium quod inane 'ft, nee datar unquam, Atque in eo Temper durum fufferre laborem, Hoc eft adverfo nixantem trudere monte Saxum ! L v c R E T . lib. III. in their career. Cuftom is a potent mafter, and the powers and functions of body and mind, by a little perfeverance, will fubmit to its con- troul . Had men of letters in the feveral ages of the world been duly fenfible of this one truth, the nearly equal dijlribution of hoppincfs^ fuch a confufion of fyftems had never been introduced, as the philofophers have formed, in their purfuit after that one great object of human wifhes. School had not been fet up againft fchool, and fyftem againft fyftem. The Stoic had not preached up apathy, as the only means of at- taining it, and the Epicurean fenfual delights. Cooler reafon had reigneJ among men, and common fenfe been the ftandard of truth and touchftone of abfurdity. Content, which is eiTential happinefs, would have continued in their fteady courfe thofe whofe i!l-juJgeJ and overweening expiations led aftray after fuch a {hare of it as no fituation in life will afford. Ambition, the Fury that ftirs up envy and con- tention, would not have urged on the reftlefs and greedy minds of felfifh men to invade the property of an envied neighbour. The fhep- herd would have been pleafed with his flock, and the lord of one kingdom fatisiied without afpiring after univerfal monarchy, and fometimes purchafmg to himfelf the mortification of dif. appointment. C 3 Th f 28 ] The nobleft gift of heaven is content. Riches and honour are but the flattering promifers of what content alone can give. Viewed through the medium of content, kings and peafants are feen on a level, and the cot fuffers no diminu- tion when fet by the fide of the crown. The one is not defpiied, nor the other envied : but they are equally confidered as accompanied witlv their {hare of felicity. He never wants who never wijb'dfcr more : Who ever f aid an anchoret was poor ? But, after all, if happinefs is fo eafily to be attained, why will not every one purchafe it at the price of his ambition ? Alas.! prejudice is blind, and paflion is ftrong. Men are with difficulty perfuaded out of notions interwoven with their conftitutions. It is eafy to form an untinured mind, but not eafy to difpofTefs it of the ftrong garrifon of early prejudice, which, as a lawlefs tyrant, rules and directs the alions and opinions. But though there are few who can be perluaded out of their favourite notions, the felicity of content may not be difputed. Some have actually felt the force of it, which others have not been able to conceive. Even fhould the advocate of content himfelf, the dictating moralift, by his unbridled wifb.es give the lie to his doctrine, content is ftill the fame only parent of happinefs it ever was, and t 29 ] no fubftitute whatever can be found to repre- lent it. Weighty and natural as this truth is, itwill fel- dom convert ; and the precepts that enjoin it are looked on as the ruft and rubbifh of chi- merical morality. Regarding defires which reft on probability as the principal fources of plea- fure, men will not remember that unreafonable longings are the parents of pain. I will there- fore difmifs my preaching, and not farther en- cumber a fimple truth with needlefs remarks on it, left the dull clothing it wears fhculd contribute to fcare away thofe who might other- wife be tempted to embrace it. C 3 CHAPTER For msdes of faith let gracelefs zealots fight : His can't b,: wrong, wbofe life is in the right. POPE. is not on earth a blefling which J_ the perverfenefs of man has not, at times, converted to a curfe. Religion itfelf, which de- rives its birth from heaven, and is intended to perfect what Nature has laid the foundation for, has among other things, by peculiar blindnefs and obftinacy, been oft prefled into the fervice of murderers, cheats, and debauchees.* The greateft ornament of humanity is a pro- penfity to univerfal charity and benevolence : it is the nobleft inftinct Nature has given us, the great foundation whereon all other virtues are to be built, and the only proper ftandard by which * Literally fo. Under the firft of thefe denomi- nations may be comprized the herd of perfecutors. Oracular priefts have fome right and title to the fe- cond appellation of th:ats : and Bacchanalians, and the more modern fets, \vho keep their love- feafts, or avapai, are to be confidered as under the third diitinction of debauchees. A hopeful tribe indeed, to grace the caufe of religion ! C 31 1 we muft eftimate them. The firft objecl then, which religion, as the afnftant of nature, ought to have in view, after gratitude to the divine Au- thor of our being is iatisfied, is to perfect this univerfal love, to harmonize and attune the foul to its accents, and extend its influence over the whole human race. The great aim of religion being thus defined, what ideas muil a rational man entertain of the .bigotted, perfecuting, uncharitable, fecUric;;, that clii grace that noble principle, by afl timing its facred name and authority ? Rather than efteem them as having perfected and exalted the .human condition above its natural (b.ndard, he muft reflect on them as degrading it to a level with the brute creation, vvhofe proper province it is to ravage and deftroy. Were it indeed thebufmefs of religion to ge- nerate nothing but malice and cruelty, it would be a hopeful afliftant to human weaknefs. The common abufe and mifapplication of thepafllpns, when men are not incited by external and adven- titious caufestoanimofityandftrife,arefufficiently deftru&ive of peace and harmony, without ad- ding fuel to flame. The fum of religion beingcom- prized ingratitude to God, and love to man, it- can never be the will of the Deity, that the latter divifion of it fhould be given up to {hew a zeal for the former: nor can it be fuppofed that he created, in order that man might perfecute and deib'oy the work of his hands. Yet, nb- C 4 furd C v J funl as this piclure of religious zealots may ap- pear, it is an exa& caricature of the pious mur- derers who have inlifted under the banner of religion. Modes of faith, and exterior forms of wor- fhip, are but the connexions and bands by which religion is compaded, and the frame or outward fhell in which the more facred and cflential part is depofited ; an accidental ornament, but no necefiary and indifpenfable adjunct. He, therefore, that pleads the caufe ef externals as equally a duty with the pure and fimple parts of worihip, fets up the fhadow in competition with the fubftance, and difho- nours the caufe he profelfes to ferve. Religion receives no function from rites, but rites are confecrated by religion, which are no farther proper than they contribute to its advancement. To fuppofe that the Deity requires as indifpen- fable, and regards as important, what in the bare eye of reafon, and to a moderate fliare of underftanding, appears trivial and idle, is deroga- tory from his wifdcm, and a far greater affront to his glory, than to banifh for ever every fpe- cies of ceremony from his wormip. But to perfecute r.nd torment others on thefe accounts ; to imprifon and flay, to hate and deteft, our fellow-creatures, for not adopting the fame nrecife form of words in their oaths of fidelity :md expreflions of homage to their great Supe- rior, and to fhelter our cruelty under the fane- tion C 33 J tion of his facred will, is treafon againft his divine nature and undefigned blafphemy. The great object of our adoration is but one, and every form in which he beholds his worfhip- pcr is accepted, when fanctified by purity of intention and an upright heart.* As it is the charadteriftic of fuperftition to fet up the pageantry of religion in oppofition to the eflence, it may, with a degree of pro- priety, be termed idolatry. Wherein can be the difference whether we worfhip and adore ima- ges, which are the works of our hands, or ido- lize and doat on the inventions of our brain ? If gratitude to himfelf, and love to one another, be all the Deity requires at our hands, to remove thofe virtues, in order to give place to our own fond conceits, is a&ual idolatry. If we examine into the characters of bigots in general, far from finding them to be peribns C s of * Quin damus id fuperis, de magna quod dare lance Non poffit magni Meffalla; lippa propago, Compofitum jus fafque animi, fanflofque receflus Mentis, et incoftum generofo pe&us honefto } Haec cedo admoveam templis, et farre Jitabo. % PERSIUS, fat. II. Animadverto enim etiam deos ipfos nort tam accuratis adorantium precibus, quam inndcentia et fanftitate, Ixtari ; gratioremque exiftimari qui delubris eorum puram caftamque mentem, quam qui meditatum carmen, intuleiit. PLIN, paneg. [ 34 1 of greater virtues than others, we can fee in them nothing that is amiable and laudable. Than thefe exifts not a more difagreeable and odious tribe; and in fuch a foil generally flourifh the more ignoble paflions, vvhofe growth, with refp'ecl to our neighbours, by virtue's laws, de- mand to be curbed, and not encouraged. It is obfervable that thefe animals are, fome ill- natured, others covetous, others fufpicious, o- thers revengeful, others envious and fpiteful, and all obftinate and perverfe, rigid and un- yielding. But prejudice is blind : could it but fee truth and propriety, view things in their genuine colours, and difcover its own deformity, it would be no longer prejudice.* It is not enough for the heated zealot that he alone enjoys his peculiar notions and cuftoms : his fury hurries him farther, and he difcards the virtues of religion, meeknefs, charity, and univerfal love, which are the fweeteft incenfe man can offer at the altar, to make room for the apifh quackery of fuperflition. He is not con- tent alone to fall proftrate before the idol himfelf has fet up, but he muft compel others to par- take in his idolatry. The * Nihil enim in fpeciem fallacius eft quam prava religio. Ubi deorum numen praetenditur fceleri- bus, fubit animos tiraor, ne, fraudibus humanis vindicandis, divini juris aliquid immiflum viole- mus, Conf, ap, Liv. dec. 4. f 35 ] The nun.erous evils diftempercd zeal has given birth to in the world, at many different periods of time, are not unknown to any one the leaft converfant in hiftory. They pioufly murdered and piouflv tortured the meek and confcientious profeffors of harmlefs opinions. It was for the glory of God that Calvin plotted the death of Caftalio, becaufe he diflented from his ridiculous abfurdities ; and for the glory of God the perfecuting Catholics fpread ravage and defolation among the nobleft of his works, the upright and innocent, whofe meeknefs would not even fuffer them to make a juft refiftence to their unfeeling tormentors. The fubjecl of thefe complaints is not be- ,. come Hale. If we want recent inftances of religious barbarity, we need but give a glance at fome neighbouring kingdoms, to fee it in all its blacknefs. Poland prefents us with a fcene of inexpreflible confufion : natives of the king- dom, undutiful and rebellious children, tear- ing up the bowels of their mother country ; and their unhappy fovereign, unable to hral thefe divifions, ready to fly for protection to a neigh- bour kingdom. In Spain and Portugal we have been in our times entertained with the cruelties of an Inquifition ; and the cloven tongues of the Holy Ghoit have been impiouily counterfeited by flames of real fire. Suppofmg we were to grant that religion al- lowed ieverity to compel men to come in, provided C 6 they [ 36 1 they could thereby effect their purpofe of mak- ing converts ; yet it is not to be imagined that thofe who have withftood all the artillery of their arguments can be moved by an exertion of their rage and malice. Such a carriage to their dif- ciples could only be productive of hypocrify and iniincerity. The opinions of a man are not un- der his controul : he cannot change them as a chamaeleon changes his fkin. What is not in his power, he can never be accountable for ; and bare profeflions are of no weight or value. We may add to thefe reafons the perverfenefs of party ipirit, which is only increaied by the attempts of compulfion. There are, on the contrary, advocates for ce- remony as a fubordinate part of religion ; as a form in which it fhould be feen and known ; as proper to entice and aflemble luch for its votaries as would not otherwife, through flownefs of ap- prehenilon, have difcovered its refidence ; and as conducing to confirm the minds of thofe who are inlifted in its fervice. With them I readily concur. The undifcerning minds of the vulgar are not fufiiciently refined to relifh the ' fenti- mental and pure dictates of religion without ex- ternals : foiiiething ftriking and vifible muft be adopted, which is brought down on a level with their capacities. What they do not comprehend can never pleafe them ; and what does not pleafe them will not ufurp their attention. But force mud not be allowed a (hare in our fchemes, any more [ 37 ] more than the laws require in the adminiftrafionf of jufticc. Externals then, with perfons of judgement, are to be confidered only as inftruments or af- fiitants of religion, not as actually a conftituent part of it. Under that view they are tolerable, ufeful, and in fome cafes neceffary. But as punctilios in our behaviour one towards another, mere compliments of politenefs, are not honoured with the name of fricndfhip, fo neither are ce- remonies in religion dignified with the appellation of religion j but they {houlii be ufed or ne- glected, curtailed or increafed, as the caprice of mankind and the fituation of a people are judged to require. I have been ihe more particular in reflexions that mufl be obvious to any perfon of fenfe, on account of the great prevalence of religious prejudice and animpfity amongfr. fome men of genius and learning, who have, to the difgrace of both religion and learning, efpoufed the caufe of perfecution, vainly fuppofing, that while they were the authors of mifery and death to thofe of a different opinion, they were lay- ing the foundation of life and felicity for them- felves. And how ever often fuch remarks have been ecchoed by different writers, the dignity of the fubjedt claims all the attention that has been paid to it, as a point of moment in the manners of a nation. It is true, actual perfe- cution by fire and fword is not in fafhion in our happy [ 38 ] happy country j but the feeds of it ftill remain in the breaft of many a bigot, and need only the foftering care of public encouragement to bring them to maturity. Secret hatred, private malice, is ftill rankling at the heart, and ready to fpread its venom where want of opportunity now denies it accefs. Want of opportunity to exercife vice, when the intention is not wanted, is not to be pleaded in excufe. If the intention of a man is fet on mifchief, he has already vir- tually incurred that guilt which external cir- cumftances alone prevented. Could we view his heart, we fhould difcover in it the hideous train of forms, {laughter and bloodflied, ftripes and tortures,* pictured in their proper colours, and threatening to break out of their confine- ment, as did the evils from Pandora's box, to annoy mankind. With double care ought every attempt to in- troduce the Romifh religion among us to be op- pofed. To ftop their progrefs, it were even juftifiable (as it would be for the good of man- kind) to ufe a reafonable fevcrity to thofe who fhould dare to propagate their notions, as they are to be confidered in fome refpects as crimi- nals. * Neque fruftra pr?eftantiflimus fapientiae [Plato, de repub.] firmare folitus eft : Si recludantur ty- rannorum mentes, pofle afpici laniatus et iftus ; quando ut corpora verberibus, ita faevitia, libidine, malis confultis, animus dilaceretur. TACIT. Annal. 1.6, [ 39 ] nals. The treatment they unjuftly fliew to per- fons of a different communion, might with pro- priety be retorted on them. From the late difperfion of the Jefuits over Europe, alarms were raifed in the minds of fe- veral, and fears that their endeavours and in- fmuations would meet with fuccefs : but let us hope, for the honour of our nation, that their tenets have too odious an appearance ever to gain profelytes among us. And if they are feen in their native and genuine characters, they certainly muft make that odious appearance, as they not only perfecute in order to favour their advances, but teach their difciples to do the fame, as a tenet of their religion. CHAPTER I 40 ] CHAPTER V. ON DEISTICAL PUBLICATIONS. Ita res popofcit, ut ferox populus dcorum metu mitigaretur. F I OR u s . - Teniat enim dublam mentcm rationis egcjlas. LUCRET. THOUGH I all along profefs myfelf a friend to freedom in opinions, I yet am led to think there are certain inftances of difcovering that freedom, which may be of dangerous tendency when they come under the notice of weak, unfettled, minds. A caution of this kind may not improperly be recom- mended to thofe writers who have taken upon them the talk of examining and exploding the eftablilhed religion of their country. That a man is entitled to the privilege of thinking and examining for himfelf before he gives his aflent to any point in debate, is indif- putable, and none but a bigot would go about to deny it. It is not only no crime, but the duty of a reafonable being to exercife the talent he has received, and improve his understanding; and if his own reflexion informs him that what is palmed on him as a divine truth gives the lie to his reafon, he muft be weak indeed to flight what ought $o be his ftrongeft conviction. The moft t 4i 3 moft ftrenuous advocates for the wildeft fcheffje of dodrine that ever was formed have fome re- courfe to reafon as the conductor to the points they have undertaken to fupport, and appeal to it as the higher tribunal. We have all imagi- nable caufe, then, to confult this guide, and not the fhadow of a plea why we are to reject: its remonftrances. The medicine is avowedly good ; but it is beft in the hands of a (kilful phyfician. Suppofing it even a misfortune to entertain notions repugnant to eftablifhed doctrines, (as I have already obferved,) that! can never be im- puted as a crime which is not in our power. The opinions of a man are not of his own making,, any more than the face he bears about him. They are accidents arifing from the circunv- ftances he is befet with, which irreftftibly com- pel his aflent. To fuppofe that the Deity can be offended with what he cannot help, is to at- tribute to him a weaknefs and injuftice which would be a blot in the character of a man. I will allow our deifts the full extent of this ar- gument : I will make them every conceffion of this kind they can defire. They have a licence from the dictates of common fenfe to think for themfelves : but it does not follow, that they Should propagate fuch opinions as would only tend to difturb the repofe of a nation, The enenues of the Chriftian faith are parti- cularly to blame, as it is a profeffion tending to. promote t 42 1 promote nothing but virtue and goodnefs, when perfectly underftood, and received in its genuine fpirit and meaning. The precepts of it recom- mend meeknefs, virtue, and univerfal benevo- lence, which are the foul of religion, as the moft important duties required of its profeilbrs, and not as fubordinateand trivial qualifications; in oppofition to gracelefs and perfccuting zea- lots : and if there are litigated points among its different fectaries, they are fuch as affect not morality, and had their rife in the blindnefs and obftinacy of mankind. The troubles attending a change in religion (granting it in the power of deifts to prove Chriftianity falfe) are not defirable objects of a Cation's wibes : and fure I am, no better fub- .ftitute could becompofed, to humanize and cor- xe& mankind. Were Chriftianity replete with exhortations to hate and perfecute for opinions ; to treat thofe that diflent from its doctrines with feverity and malice j or even not highly recom- mendatory of virtue, and a foe to vice, it would be incumbent on every one with all his might to oppofe its progrefs in the world. But no fuch charge can be brought againft the moft virtuous fyftem of religion that ever was compiled ; a re- ligion whofe precepts allow not even a compe- tition between the life and virtue of its profeflbrs, but command to lofe our exiftence rather than defert the caufe for which we exift. I have [ 43 1 I have elfewhere obferved, that the minds of the ignorant are not fufficiently refined to relifh a merely fentimental religion. Deifm is by much too fimple to captivate their ideas. A form, of religion is found neceflary, containing pro- mifes and threatenings in a particular manner exprefled, rewards and punifhments in peculiar form denounced, and even ceremonies, reli- gion's apes,* as a part of the fyftem recommend- ed to their obfervance. On this account (not unwifely) did Origen aflert the propriety of preaching eternal punimment for the wicked, though fuch a do&rine, in his opinion, arraigned the juftice of the Deity. None but a delicate mind, he was fenfible, could be capable of de- licate notions. The lower order of people, whofe reafon is a lamer guide to them than their paflions, f as being rude and unrefined, are more to be influenced by hopes and fears excited by the apprehenfions of divine and human juftice, than charmed with the beauty and pro- priety of virtue. And this notion is reinforced by a precedent fet by Nature herfelf, who has not * Nulla res efficacius muhitudinem regit quam fuperftitio : alioquin impotens, feva, mutabilis, melius vatibus quam ducibus fuis paret. Q^CURT. 1. 4. f Quantunque debil freno a mezo il corfo- Animofo deltrier fpeffo raccolga, Raro e pcro che di ragione il morfo Libidinofa furia adietro rolga. ARIOSTO. [ 44 I hot chofen to entruft the care of a new-born babe to the common humanity and reafon of its parent, but has implanted a paflion extraordinary to fecure its prefervation ; and even, with feeming cruelty, animated that paffion by the pangs and throes of labour.* Together with the abolition of an eftablifhed form, would follow the extinction of religion in general, in a great degree. When unruly tem- pers are once fet free, they know no bounds to their career : AJk vjhere's the north ? At York 'tis on the Tweed* In Scotland at the Orcades, and there At Greenland, Zembla, or the Lord knows where. If men are told that this or that is a mere human , invention, and of no intrinfic value, they are too prone to regard the whole fcheme of morality as an impofition. It is not fafe to leave the forma- tion of religion to the vulgar, who would make it fquarewith their opinions, inftead of correcting themfelves by its precepts, and by thefe means the bridle would be taken away from every unruly affection. A miftaken freedom, contracted from a mifconilru&ion of natural religion, wo.uld probably introduce amongft them a contempt for virtue itfelf. Like the dove, when they forfake the ark, they have no refting-place for tut v&fahaGoflui. Ao- iT Hi) TO [j.tt iv r ny.c-/ j i\v trot