times, when the retainers to the holy function were fo much fewer in comparifon? No wonder, that the appearances were then very inconfiftent, and that men, on fome occafions, might feem determined infidels, and enemies to the established religion, without being so in reality; or at leaft, without knowing their own minds that particular.

Another caufe, which rendered the antient religions much loofer than the modern, is, that the former were traditional and the latter are fcriptural; and the tradition in the former was complex, contradictory, and, on many occafions, doubtful; fo that it could not poffibly be reduced to any standard and canon, or afford any determinate articles of faith. The ftories of the gods were numberless like the popifh legends; and tho' every one, almoft, believed a part of these stories, yet no one could believe or know the whole: While, at the fame time, all must have acknowledged, that no one part flood on a better foundation than the reft. The traditions of different cities and nations were alfo, on many occafions, directly oppofite; and no reason could be affigned for preferring one to the other. And as there was an infinite number of stories with regard to which tradition was nowife pofitive; the gradation was infenfible, from the moft fundamental articles of faith, to thofe loofe and precarious fictions. The pagan religion, therefore, feemed to vanish like a cloud, whenever one approached to it, and examined it piecemeal. It could never be ascertained by any fixed dogmas and principles. And tho' this did not convert the generality of mankind from fo abfurd a faith; for when will the people be reasonable? yet it made them faulter and hesitate more in maintaining their principles, and was even apt to produce, in certain difpofitions of mind, fome practices and opinions, which had the appearance of determined infidelity.

8.

Τα

To which we may add, that the fables of the pagan religion were, of themselves, light, easy, and familiar ; without devils or feas of brimftone, or any objects, that could much terrify the imagination. Who could forbear fmiling, when he thought of the loves of MARS and VENUS, or the amorous frolics of JUPITER and PAN? VENUS, OF, he was In this refpect, it was a true poetical religion; if it had not rather too much levity for the graver kinds of poetry. We find that it has been adopted by modern bards; nor have thefe talked with greater freedom and irreverence of the gods, whom they regarded as fictions, than the antient did of the real objects of their devotion.

The inference is by no means juft, that because a fyftem of religion has made no deep impreffion on the minds of a people, it must therefore have been pofitively rejected by all men of common fenfe, and that oppofite principles, in fpite of the prejudices of education, were generally established by argument and reafoning. I know not, but a contrary inference may be more probable. The lefs importunate and affuming any fpecies of fuperftition appears, the lefs will it provoke men's fpleen and indignation, or engage them into enquiries concerning its foundation and origin. This in the mean time is ob vious, that the empire of all religious faith over the understanding is wavering and uncertain, fubject to all varieties of humour, and dependent on the present incidents, which ftrike the imagination. The difference is only in the degrees. An antient will place a stroke of impiety and one of fuperftition alternately, thro' a whole difcourfet: A modern often thinks in the fame way, tho' he may be more guarded in his expreffions.

LUCIAN

Witness this remarkable paffage of TACITUS: "Præter multiplices "rerum humanarum cafus, cœlo terraque prodigia, & fulminum monitus, & "futurorum præfagia, læta, triftia, ambigua, manifefta. Nec enim unquam "atrocioribus populi Romani cladibus, magifque juftis judiciis approbatum

LUCIAN tells us exprefly, that whoever believed not the most ridiculous fables of paganifm was esteemed by the people profane and impious. To what To what purpose, indeed, would that agreeable author have employed the whole force of his wit and fatyr against the national religion, had not that religion been generally believed by his countrymen and contemporaries? Audius laoidqololidą s LIVY + acknowledges as frankly, as any divine would at prefent, the common incredulity of his age; but then he condemns it as feverely. And who can imagine, that a national fuperftition, which could delude fo great a man, would not also impofe on the generality of the people? asdast eid gairenitsa

The STOICS beftowed many magnificent and even impious epithets on their sage; that he alone was rich, freez a king, and equal to the immortal gods. They forgot to add, that he was not inferior in prudence and unders standing to an old woman. For furely nothing can be more pitiful than the fentiments, which that fect enter-¡ tained with regard to all popular fuperftitions; while they very seriously agree with the common augurs, that, when a raven croaks from the left, it is a good omen ; but a bad one, when a rook makes a noise from the fame quarter. PANETIUS was the only STOIC, amongst the GREEKS, who fo much as doubted with regard to auguries and divinations . MARCUS ANTONINUS || tells us, that he himself had received many admonitions from

"eft, non effe curæ Diis fecuritatem noftram, effe ultionem." Hift. lib.fis AUGUSTUS's quarrel with NEPTUNE is an inftance of the fame kind. → Had not the emperor believed NEPTUNE to be sac real being, and to have dominion over the fea, where had been the foundation of this anger 891Andb if he believed it, what madness to provokeviftill farther that deity? Thes fame obfervation may be made upon QUINCTILDAN's exclamation; dom acé z count of the death of his children, lib. vi. Præf. 3 wax to notisq * Philopfeudési 25 Aids † Lib. x. cap. 402 9de vorła idgin ed? mask | Libalings plaids sua ,namo yabul vinŭ p as a the

Cicero de Divin. lib. i. cap. 3. & 7. Khi

the gods in his fleep. It is true, EPICTETUS wd osmasty him

the

forbids

us to regard the language of rooks and ravens; but it is not, that they do not fpeak truth: It is only, becaufe they can can foretel nothing but the breaking of our neck or be forfeiture of of our eftate; which are circumftances, fays he, that nowife concern us. Thus the STOICs join a philosophical enthusiasm to a religious fuperftition. The force of their mind, being all turned to the fide of 'morabs unbent itself in that of religion +

PLATO introduces SOCRATES affirming, that the accufation of impiety raised against him was owing entifely to his rejecting fuch fables, as thofe of SATURN's caftrating his father, URANUS, and JUPITER'S dethroning SATURN : Yet in a subsequent dialogue, SoCRATES Confeffes, that the doctrine of the mortality of the foul was the received opinion of the people. Is there here any contradiction? Yes, furely: But the contradiction is not in PLATO; it is in the people, whose religious principles in general are always composed of the moft difcordant parts; especially in an age, when superftition fate so eafy and light upon them §.

2

ར

Ench. § 17

The

The Stoics, I own, were not quite orthodox in the established religion; but one may fee, from these instances, that they went a great way: And the people undoubtedly went every length.

Phædo.

↑ XENOPHON'S conduct, as related by himself, is, at once, an inconteftable proof of the general credulity of mankind in those ages, and the incoherencies, in all ages, of men's opinions in religious matters. That great captain and philofopher, the difciple of SOCRATES, and one who has delivered fome of the most refined fentiments with regard to a deity, gave all the following marks of vulgar, pagan superstition. By SOCRATES'S advice, he consulted the oracle of DELPHI, before he would engage in the expedition of CYRUS. De exped. lib. iii. p. 294; ex edit. Leuncl. Śees a dream the night after the generals were feized; which he pays great regard to, but thinks ambiguous. Id. p. 295. He and the whole army regard facezing as a very lucky omen. Id. p. 300. Has another dream, when he

The fame CICERO, who affected, in his own family, to appear a devout religionist, makes no fcruple, in a public court of judicature, of treating the doctrine of a future ftate as a moft ridiculous fable, to which no body could give any attention*, SALLUST + represents CASAR as speaking the fame language in the open fenate t

AMT But

comes to the river CENTRITES, which his fellow general CHIROSOPHUS, also pays great regard to Id. lib, iv. p. 323. The GREEKS fuffering from a cold north wind, facrifice to to it, and the hiftorian obferves, that it immed'ately abated. Id. p. 329. XENOPHON Confults the facrifices in fecret, before he would form any refolution with himself about fettling a colonys Lib. v. p. 359. He himself a very skilful augur. Id, p. 31. Is deter. mined by the victims to refuse the fole command of the which was of the army, whi offered him. Lib. vi. p. 273. CLEANDER, the SPARTAN, though very defirous of it, refufes it for the fame reafon. Id. p. 392. XENOPHON mentions an old dream with the interpretation given him, when he first joined CYRUS. p. 373. Mentions alfo the place of HERCULES's defcent into hell as believing it, and fays the marks of it are ftill remaining. d. p. 375. Had almost starved the army rather than lead the field against the aufpices. Id. p. 382, 383. His friend, EUCLIDES, the augur, would not believe that he had brought no money from the expedition; till he (EUCLIDES) facrificed, and then he faw the matter clearly in the Exta Lib. vii. p. 425. The fame philofopher, propofing a project of mines for the increase of the ATHENIAN revenues, advises them firft to confult the oracle. De rat. red. p. 392. That all this devotion was not a farce, in order to ferve a political purpofe, appears both from the facts themfelves, and from the genius of that age, when little or nothing could be gained by hypocrify. Befides, XENOPHON, as appears from his Memorabilia, was a kind of heretic in thofe times, which no political devotee ever is. It is for the fame reason, I maintain, that NEWTON, LOCKE, CLARKE, &c. being Arians or Socinians, were very fincere in the creed they profeffed: And I always oppofe this argument to fome libertines, who will needs have it, that it was impoffible but that these great philofophers must have been hy pocrites.

*Pro CLUENTIO. cap. 61.

+ De bello CATILIN.

CICERO (Tufc. Quæft.) lib. 1. cap. 5, 6. and SENECA (Epift. 24.) as alfo JUVENAL (Satyr 2.) maintain that there is no boy or old woman fo ridiculous as to believe the poets in their accounts of a future ftate. Why then does LUCRETIUS so highly exalt his mafter for freeing us from thefe terrors? Perhaps the generality of mankind were then in the disposition of CEPHALUS IN PLATO (de Rep. lib. i.) who while he was young and

healthful