more they confider these causes themselves, and the uncertainty of their operation, the lefs fatisfactition do they meet with in their refearches; and, however unwilling, they muft at last have abandoned fo arduous an attempt, were it not for a propenfity in human nature, which leads into a fyftem, that gives them fome fatisfaction. There is an univerfal tendency among mankind to conceive all beings like themselves, and to transfer to every object, thofe qualities, with which they are familiarly acquainted, and of which they are intimately conscious. We find human faces in the moon, armies in the clouds; and by a natural propenfity, if not corrected by experience and reflection, afcribe malice or good-will to every thing, that hurts or pleases us. Hence the frequency and beauty of the prosopopaia in poetry; where trees, mountains and streams are perfonified, and the inanimate parts of nature acquire fentiment and paffion. And though these poetical figures and expreffions gain not on the belief, they may serve, at least, to prove a certain tendency in the imagination, without which they could neither be beautiful nor natural. Nor is a river-god or hamadryad always taken for a mere poetical or imaginary perfonage; but may fometimes enter into the real creed of the ignorant vulgar; while each grove or field is reprefented as poffeffed of a particular genius or invifible power, which inhabits and protects it. Nay, philofophers cannot entirely exempt themselves from this natural frailty but have oft afcribed to inanimate matter the horror of a vacuum, fympathies, antipathies, and other affections of human nature. The abfurdity is not lefs, while we caft our eyes upwards; and transferring, as is too ufual, human paflions and infirmities to the deity, reprefent him as jealous and revengeful, capricious and partial, and, in fhort,- a wicked and foolish man, in every refpect but his fuperior fuperior power and authority. No wonder, then, that mankind, being placed in fuch an abfolute ignorance of caufes, and being at the fame time fo anxious concerning their future fortune, fhould immediately acknowledge a dependence on invifible powers, poffeffed of fentiment and intelligence. The unknown caufes, which continually employ their thought, appearing always in the fame afpect, are all apprehended to be of the fame kind or fpecies. Nor is it long before we afcribe to them thought and reafon and paffion, and fometimes even the limbs and figures of men, in order to bring them nearer to a refemblance with ourselves. In proportion as any man's course of life is governed by accident, we always find, that he encreases in fuperftition; as may particularly be obferved of gamefters and failors, who, though, of all mankind, the leaft capable of ferious reflection, abound most in frivolous and fuperftitious apprehenfions. The gods, fays Coriolanus in Dionyfius*, have an influence in every affair; but above all, in war; where the event is fo uncertain. All human life, efpecially before the inftitution of order and good government, being fubject to fortuitous accidents; it is natural, that fuperftition fhould prevail every where in barbarous ages, and put men on the moft earnest enquiry concerning those invifible powers, who difpofe of their happiness or mifery. Ignorant of aftronomy and the anatomy of plants and animals, and too little curious to obferve the admirable adjustment of final causes they remain still unacquainted with a first and fupreme creator, and with that infinitely and perfect pirit, who alone, by his almighty will, beftowed order on the whole frame of nature. Such a magnificent idea is too big for their narrow conceptions, which, * Lib. viii. which can neither obferve the beauty of the work, nor comprehend the grandeur of its author. They fuppofe their deities, however potent and invifible, to be nothing but a fpecies of human creatures, perhaps raifed from among mankind, and retaining all human paffions and appetites, together with corporeal limbs and organs. Such limited beings, though mafters of human fate, being, each of them, incapable of extending his influence every where, must be vaftly multiplied, in order to answer that variety of events, which Thus happen over the whole face of nature. every place is ftored with a crowd of local deities; and thus polytheifm has prevailed, and still prevails, among the greatest part of uninstructed mankind *. Any of the human affections may lead us into the notion of invifible, intelligent power; hope as well as fear, gratitude as well as affliction: But if we examine our own hearts, or observe what paffes around us, we shall find, that men are much oftener thrown on their knees by the melancholy than by the agreeable paffions. Profperity is eafily received as our due, and few queftions are afked concerning its caufe or author. It begets cheerfulness and activity and alacrity and a lively enjoyment of every focial and fenfual pleafure: And during this ftate of mind, men have little leifure *The following lines of Euripides are fo much to the prefent purpose, that I cannot forbear quoting them : Ουκ εσιν εδεν πιςον, ετ ευδοξία, Ουτ' αν καλώς πρασσονία με πράξειν κακώς. Φορεσι δ' αυ οι θεοι πάλιν τε και πρόσω, Ταραγμον εντιθεντες, ως άγνωσια Σεβώμεν αυτές. HECUBA. There is nothing fecure in the world; no glory, no profperity. The gods tofs all life into confufion; mix every from our ignorance and thing with its reverfe; that all of us, uncertainty, may pay them the more worship and reverence." leifure or inclination to think of the unknown invifible regions. On the other hand, every difaftrous accident alarms us, and fets us on enquiries concerning the principles whence it arofe: Apprehenfions fpring up with regard to futurity: And the mind, funk into diffidence, terror, and melancholy, has recourfe to every method of appeafing thofe fecret intelligent powers, on whom our fortune is fuppofed entirely to depend. No topic is more ufual with all popular divines than to difplay the advantages of affliction, in bringing men to a due fenfe of religion; by fubduing their confidence and fenfuality, which, in times of profperity, make them forgetful of a divine providence. Nor is this topic confined merely to modern religions. The ancients have alfo employed it. Fortune has never liberally, without envy, fays a Greek hiftorian *, bestowed an unmixed happiness on mankind; but with all her gifts bas ever conjoined fome difaftrous circumftance, in order to chaftize men into a reverence for the gods, whom, in a continued courfe of profperity, they are apt to neglect and forget. What age or period of life is the most addicted to fuperftition? The weakest and most timid. What fex? The fame anfwer must be given. The leaders and examples of every kind of fuperftition, fays Strabo †, are the women. Thefe excite the men to devotion and fupplications, and the obfervance of religious days. It is rare to meet with one that lives apart from the females, and yet is addicted to fuch practices. And nothing can, for this reafon, be more improbable, than the account given of an order of men among the Getes, who practifed celibacy, and were notwithstanding the most religious fanatics. A method of reafoning, which would lead us to entertain a bad idea of the devotion of monks; did * Diod. Sic. lib. iii. + Lib. vii. did we not know by an experience, not fo comTM mon, perhaps, in Strabo's days, that one may practife celibacy, and profefs chastity; and yet maintain the clofeft connexions and most entire fympathy with that timorous and pious fex. SECT. IV. Deities not confidered as creators or formers of the world. The only point of theology, in which we fhall find a confent of mankind almoft univerfal, is, that there is invifible, intelligent power in the world: But whether this power be fupreme or fubordinate, whether confined to one being, or diftributed among feveral, what attributes, qualities, connexions, or principles of action ought to be ascribed to thofe beings; concerning all thefe points, there is the wideft difference in the popular fyftems of theology. Our ancestors in Europe, before the revival of letters, believed, as we do at prefent, that there was one fupreme God, the author of nature, whofe power, though in itself uncontroulable, was yet often exerted by the interpofition of his angels and fubordinate minifters, who executed his facred purposes. But they alfo believed, that all nature was full of other invifible powers; fairies, goblins, elves, fprights; beings, ftronger and mightier than men, but much inferior to the celeftial natures, who furround the throne of God. Now, fuppofe, that any one, in thofe ages, had denied the exiftence of God and of his angels; would not his impiety juftly have deferved the appellation of atheifm, even though he had ftill allowed, by fome odd capricious reafoning, that the popular ftories of elves and fairies were juft and well grounded? The difference, on the one hand, between fuch a perfon and a genuine theift is infinitely greater 2 |