Mexicani Trapuja vid. Acoftam, lib. 5. rerum American. Gerard. Joann.Voffium de Idololatria Gentili, in add. Lib. 1.

sequently seem obliged not only to permit, but authorize Sin, this Knowledge proves rather pernicious than useful to a State. No, there's nothing but the fear of being punish'd after this Life for Crimes committed, or the hope of being rewarded for good Actions after Death, that can be certainly and effectually useful to keep Subjects in Obedience. Now those other Principles have been often changed with the Times; and besides the Sadducees, there have been, and are still whole Nations, who be lieve the Existence of a God, without having any Idea of the Pains or Rewards that attend them after Death. Fourthly, Princes, Politicians, and to say something more, those who were not only capable of governing Commonwealths, but also of -making new Laws, and establishing new States, the - Socrates's and Plato's, who laughed at the Super-stitions made use of by Politicians to amuse the People, derided also the plurality of Gods, but yet fincerely believed the Existence of one God; as it appears by the Letters they wrote with = great confidence to one another. Fifthly, and Lastly we must observe, there are Two forts of Means which Policy makes use of to attain its = end; the one it invents, the other it supposes, -without doing any thing else but putting them =in Execution: And these Two ways the Roman = Politicians formerly made use of to gain the Af= fections of the People. For First, they made use

of the Vanity of the People, as a Spring that was not of their own Contrivance, but was much more antient than their Designs. And in the Second Place, they employed Games, Shews, diverse kinds of Crowns and Pompous Triumphs, as Instru ments to set this first Spring a going, or to flatter this Vanity. I can easily grant then, that Numa Pompilius took advantage of the Opinion the People had, that there was some Deity, and of all other Principles of Natural Religion; but he only made use of this principle which his Policy supposed, and not contrived. He instituted divers Sacrifices and other Ceremonies, to move this first Spring, or to render the People Sociable, by proposing some certain Object to fix those loose Principles of Religion and Conscience, he supposed in them. For as he that first invented the use of Mills, did not produce the force requisite to turn about those great Machins, but only supposed it in the Wind, and in the Water, whose Motion he directed by his Art; so likewise we may say, that Policy only supposes, but does not frame this natural knowledge of God, which is a Bridle to keep Men within the bounds of Duty.

CHAP. III.

In which 'tis further ron we have Prejudice

onstrated, that the Oe of God, is

E

Errors which we

as they are has Senfes, apable to they do so,

therefore we do not deny, but they may produce conftant and universal Errors.

Thus the Difficulty there was in conceiving there should be Inhabitants upon that Surface of the Earth opposite to ours, who without falling stood with their Feet directly against our Feet, hath till these last Ages occasion'd the rejecting the Opinion of those who believed the Antipodes. Thus the Vulgar People of all Times and Countries, imagine that the Sun is not above a Foot in breadth, and that the Stars are much less than the Sun appears to be; not to mention in this Place, the Opinion of Copernicus, who taxes all other Men as being in an Error as to those points.

But what can Men find to object further, if the Knowledge we have of the Existence of God, not only proves to be no false Prejudice, arifing from the Senfes, Imagination or Affections of the Heart, but is rather directly contrary than conformable to those Three Principles of our Er

Tors?

I confess the Senfes, the Imagination and the Heart, do not of themselves inform us that there is no God, since those Three Faculties were not given us to be the Causes of Error and Illusion; but it happens by Accident, through the ill ufe we make of them, that from them proceed most of the Difficulties we meet with in the Knowledge of this Truth.

The Custom we have taken up of fubmitting Our Reason to our Senfes, and rejecting as too 'ative, what we neither fee nor feel, makes e Prejudices of the Atheists, who do e there is any God, because they don't The difficulty they have to imagin what God is, and what he did before he created the World, produces a Second Prejudice in their Mind. In fine, all the Affections of the Heart, oppose the Truth of the Existence of God, because this Truth mortifies them all, it humbles Pride, cramps up Voluptuousness within narrow bounds, stops the career of Injustice and Intereft; and though this Principle doth not always entirely correct the Disorders of the Passions, yet at least it restrains them, and puts a stop to their Violence. But it is not very necessary to insist upon this point, for Atheists themselves acknowledge, that the Idea of God curbs Humane Paffions, since they pretend that Policy is succesful in making use of this Bridle to restrain the Disorders of Ambition', and to keep Men under due Obedience to Civil Laws.

Suppose therefore that the Senses and the Imagination have accidentally produced univer. sal Errors, and that the Heart be, (as it was ever acknowledged,) a fruitful source of Illusions and false Measures in the business of Civil Life ; this consideration makes for us, since we here take part only with Good Sense, which assures us, that there is a God; against all the Negative Reasons of the External Senfes, which do not perceive this Deity; against the difficulties of the Imagination, which is not able to represent to it self an Object so far above its reach, and against all the reluctancies of the Affections of the Heart, which this Object doth afflict and curb. And is it not very surprising, that during fo many Ages, the Senses, the Imagination and the Affections of the Heart, have continually suggested to the Minds of Men, such forcible Prejudices against this Truth, and yet have not been able to extinguish its Light? Tis

'Tis true, that not being able to stifle this truth, Men had most prodigiously disguised it; and that Irregularity proceeded from those Three Causes of our Errors we have already laid down. For to content the Senses, Men had made the Deity visible, either in representing it by Sta. tues, or imagining it clothed with Human Shape; to satisfie the imagination which cannot tell how to conceive so many Vertues, whose effects daily appear in Nature, to be centred in one and the same simple Subject, they had multiplied the Deity, attributing to each part of the Universe, and to each Element its particular Providence. And in fine, to satisfie the evil Inclinations of their Hearts, they had ascribed to God, even their Paffions and vices, framing to themselves Debauched and Dissolute Deities, that by those Examples which Religion seemed to have consecrated, they might the better excuse their own Extravagancies.

But at length, notwithstanding our propension to judge of Objects only by the Senfes, notwithstanding the Difficulties and Reluctancies of our Imagination, in spite of all those Passions of our Hearts, which for their own interest, continually raise Scruples in our Minds, all Men have at all times acknowledged, that there is a Sovereign Wisdom which acts in the Universe.

After what hath been said, let any one judge whether the Incredulous have any reason here to entertain any distrust; and if on the contrary, ■ we have not good reason to suspect the Scruples - our Passions suggest, and the Prejudices which visibly take their rise from all the known Principles

- of our Errors.