you. What? You are upon fecuring your Credo? I
fee you are drawing out from thence fome Detachments
to make good fome weak Place or other in it. Creden
tius was rifing up to make his Complement, and to bid
him Welcome; but Philologus running to him, ftops
him; faying he should not ftir, till he had made an End
of his Mufter-Roll of Quotations, as he called it; that
he did not come to give him Disturbance, but that he
would wait his Leifure till he had done, and that in the
mean Time he would talk a Word or two likewife with

the old Conftantinopolitan Bishop. Credentius, after fome
preffing, accepts the Offer; who when he had tranfcribed
what he defigned, he thus addreffes himself to Philologus.

Credentius. Well, Sir, I fuppofe you are weary
of
this old Father by this Time, for your Palate does not
ferve you for fuch grave Writers; come we will go down
and take a Glafs, which will relish better.

Philologus. In good Truth, Sir, this old Gentleman is very good Company: I did not think these grey Beards had had fo much Wit; I proteft, here is a Vein of fine Reasoning and neat Language; honest John would have made fomething of it, if he had had the Luck but to have lighted upon a better Subject: Had he but made Speeches at the Areopagus, or the Forum, he might have made as good a Figure as Demofthenes or Efchines; but as for Faith and Hope they are deadly dull Subjects to play the Orator upon.

Cred. How! Sir. What can be a better Subject, than the great Creator of all Things, his Eternal Son, his Bounty and Mercy, the wonderful Mazes and wife Contrivances of his Providence; the Miracles and Sufferings of our Bleffed Saviour, the Peace of a good Confcience, and the Joys of another World? Are not these, think you, as noble Themes, as the little Squabbles of Landlords and Tenants, and the putting Cafes between Cains

and Titius?

Phil. 'Tis true, thefe are fine golden Tales to thofe whofe Throats are wide enough to fwallow them; but they lie crofs miné prefently: I am fick of a Chapter in

Rudeness

Mark before it is half done; for I muft needs tell you, nothing lies fo hard upon my Stomach, as a Miracle, or a Revelation. My Nurfe was a Popifh Irish Woman, and fhe told me fuch strange Stories of the Patricks, the Bridgets, and the Urfula's, that I took fuch a Surfeit before I was eight Years old, that I never much cared for that facred Food fince. After I grew up, it is true, I have been more converfant in Bibles than in Legends; but I find I fhall be converted by both alike; for I have a Budget full of Exceptions against the whole Story, there feems to be fo much of the Sir Bevis in all the Relations; for in almost every Page I meet with fomewhat which turns my Stomach, from Genefis to the Revelations. What a Work do we make with Mofes and the Prophets, with Chirft and the Apostles----

Cred. For God's fake, Sir, hold. If Religion has and Danger no Tie upon you, let Civility reftrain you from this of Atheist- Talk; although you fhould not, it may be, be Chrical Dif- fiian enough, yet you are too much a Gentleman to courfe. abufe my Friend before me; and I think I may befpeak of you as much Civility to my Saviour, which I am fure I have more Reafon for. Such Difcourfe as this may be very edifying in a Club of you Wits; but as much as you laugh at my Credo's, I want Faith to think my felf fecure amongst thofe that talk after this rate. You Gentlemen ought to be very fecure of your Hand, and your Houfe too, let me tell you, before you venture to talk thus: I think my Houfe is none of the flendereft built, and I take my Walls to be proof against any Thing but Blafphemy; but when Men make fport with God and Religion, I am afraid of the Rafters cracking, and the Bricks tumbling about my Ears. Therefore, pray, Sir, let us go down and talk of fomething

elfe.

Phil. Well, Sir, I fee you want not Zeal, and I am forry I fhould want good Manners. I beg your Pardon heartily, fince I have offended you; but for the future you fhall fee I will be as refpectful to you upon this Account as you can defire. I can bow if you pleafe at

the

the Name of Jefus, as reverently as a Bishop. I find I can learn a Court Fashion as well as Naaman himfelf; nay, if I fhould happen to go with them into the House of Rimmon, my Confcience would ne'er read me a Lecture of Idolatry, for I could ev'n fcrape a Leg as well as the beft of them, and go in Peace. But when you tie up our Tongues from fpeaking upon this Subject, you will hinder us from a juft Information, fo that we poor Infidels fhall never be able to look Sion-wards. For my Part I fhould be very glad to take a View of the new feru falem, if I could but once fee it; nay, I would make the beft Ufe of mine Eyes, and take the Help of a little Opticks to discover it ; but there feem to me to be fo many Difficulties in the Belief of Revealed Religion, that I cannot fanfy any Man of Senfe does really believe it. I know you have too much Reason to be impofed upon by fuch grofs Fallacies; and if we were to measure, I imagine your Creed and mine are much of the fame Length: You only are the filent, and I the talking Unbeliever. I have a little more Impudence to keep me from blufhing when I appear fingular, and I have a Back broad enough to bear the ill Names the Parfons give me ; but you lie fnug and keep your own Counfel, you fet in with the Mob, and do as they do, only for fear of being hooted at. So that when all is done, I fanfy, Credentius and Philologus are Believers both alike.

Cred. I am forry you should conceive fo ill an Opinion of me, feeing I am not confcious I have given you any juft Occafion for it. For I will affure you, as I have not taken up my Religion upon Truft, fo I do not profefs the leaft Article of it upon account of Popularity. I am fo fully perfuaded of all the Parts of the Truth of the Chriftian Religion, I think it fo admirable a Syftem of Morality; fo excellently contrived for the good of Mankind; the Rewards it promifes, and the Punishments it threatens, are founded upon fuch firm and unfhaken Grounds; that I would venture to maintain it against the Contradictions of all Mankind; and SinguJarity fhould be fo far from difcouraging me, that I

B 3

would

neous, not

would profefs the Doctrine of the Cross by my felf alone against the whole Infidel World. As for your Difcourfing upon this Subject, it is fo far from being ungrateful to me, that I think it the greatest Comfort and Happiness I can enjoy ; to run over thofe bleffed Truths, which are the Comfort of my Life, and the Hopes of my Salvation; nay, I can easily hear what Objections you have to raife against them, if fo be you will be pleafed to urge them with Modefty, or with a Defign to receive Satisfaction; but I have no Patience to hear you only expofe and ridicule thofe Doctrines, whilft you are refolved never to be convinced of their Truth.

Phil. I might very well deferve this Reprimand of yours, if I fhould pretend to laugh at that Religion I did believe; but I muft needs tell you, as far as my Creed goes, I am a very ftrong and orthodox Believer, and a very ftrict Obferver of it. I only laught at fome other filly Opinions, which I fanfy the reft of the World are gull'd with; and why should not I laugh at them, as well as they laugh at me? They call me Atheift, and make me their Fool, and I call them Bigots and give them the fame Livery. I have as much Refpect, Sir, for Natural Religion, as you can have for the Chriftian, and I hope if I live up to that, to be as happy hereafter; therefore I prefume I may make bold to be merry a little with your Religion, as your Gentlemen are with mine. I am fure mine is of the ancienter Houfe; and Natural Religion is God's Law moft certainly, whether your Revealed one, as you call it, be fo or no. So that if I do not believe your Tenets, why fhould not I make as much Sport with you, as you do with the Moon in Mahomer's Sleeve?

Religion, Cred. I confefs I never liked making Sport with tho' the erro any Man's Religion, for it is not only a piece of Rudeto be feuffed nefs, but a very inhuman Cruelty; for it fets a Man's Soul upon the Rack, to fee that ridiculed, which he accounts most facred. And perhaps that Precept in the Mofaick Law, Thou shalt not speak evil of the Gods of

the

the People, is to be understood in this Senfe. For when the Jews were going into a strange Country, it was the most probable Way to gain Profelytes to their Law, ra ther to demonftrate the Truth of their own, than to rail at the Heathens Religion. Suppofe that I was about to convert a Turk at Conftantinople, can you think it was the moft prudent Way to railly upon Mahomet's Peafe and his Pidgeon, and his falling Sickness? I'll warrant you, I fhould catch a Tartar inftead of converting a Turk: 'Tis ten to one, but the outrageous Infidel revenged his Prophet's Quarrel with his Scimetar; fo that I fhould make my felf a Martyr, inftead of making him a Convert.

If

Phil. I beg your Pardon heartily, if I have spoken my Thoughts a little too freely upon this Subject, for I will affure you I did not in the leaft defign to offend you; my only Aim was to perfue the Truth, and to hear what you can fay upon this Subject, wherein I promise my felf a great deal of Satisfaction; for then I am fure I fhall hear no common-place Talk, but fomething new and folid of your own Stock. If you are convinced of the Truth of the Chriftian Religion, I am certain it is upon ftrong Arguments and weighty Grounds; for as you are too wife to be impofed upon by Fallacy, fo you are too honeft to be byaffed by Intereft; therefore I may expect to hear fomething more confiderable from you, than from the Parfons, who are too well paid for making Speeches upon this Subject, to be impartial in it. But I proteft, Sir, I am no hardy refolved Infidel, nor fuch an one that has nothing to fay against Christianity, but only to call it Names; for I have fo many confiderable Objections to urge against it, that I muft needs fufpend my Faith 'till I can fee them anfwered. Nor are these my Objections only levelled against a word or two in the Bible, or fome few feeming Contradictions, which may perhaps be accounted for by dif ferent Acceptations, and Variety of Transcribers; but against the whole Compafs and Tenor of Christianity, which all feems to be contradictious and contrary to Reafon. For as far as ever I could perceive, Chriftiani