and to confine all his wants and defires and pleasures within himfelf and his own mind: The aim of PASCAL was to keep a perpetual sense of his dependence before his eyes, and never to forget his numberlefs wants and neceffities. The antient fupported himself by magnanimity, oftentation, pride, and the idea of his own fuperiority above his fellow-creatures. The modern made conftant profeffion of humility and abasement, of the contempt and hatred of himself; and endeavoured to attain thefe fuppofed virtues, as far as they are attainable. The aufterities of the GREEK were in order to inure himself to hardships, and prevent his ever fuffering: Thofe of the FRENCHMAN Were embraced merely for their own fake, and in order to fuffer as much as poffible. The philofopher indulged himself in the most beastly pleasures, even in public: The faint refused himself the most innocent, even in private. The former thought it his duty to love his friends, and to rail at them, and reprove them, and fcold them: The latter endeavoured to be abfolutely indifferent towards his nearest relations, and to love and fpeak well of his enemies. The great object of DIOGENES's wit was every kind of superstition, that is, every kind of religion known in his time. The mortality of the foul was his ftandard principle; and even his fentiments of a divine providence feem to have been very licentious. The moft ridiculous fuperftitions directed PASCAL's faith and practice; and an extreme contempt of this life, in comparison of the future, was the chief foundation of his conduct.

In fuch a remarkable contraft do thefe two men ftand: Yet both of them have met with general admiration in their different ages, and have been propofed as models of imitation. Where

4

Where then is the universal standard of morals, which you talk of? And what rule fhall we eftablifh for the many different, nay contrary fentiments of mankind?

An experiment, faid I, which fucceeds in the air, will not always fucceed in a vacuum. When men depart from the maxims of common reafon, and affect thefe artificial lives, as you call them, no-one can answer for what will pleafé or difplease them. They are in a different element from the reft of mankind; and the natural principles of their mind play not with the fame regularity, as if left to themselves, free from the illufions of religious fuperftition or philofophical enthusiasm.

THE

NATURAL HISTORY

O F

RELIGIO N.

A

INTRODUCTIO N.

S every enquiry which regards religion is of the utmost importance, there are two questions in particular, which challenge our principal attention, to wit, that concerning its foundation in reason, and that concerning its origin in human nature. Happily, the first question, which is the most important, admits of the most obvious, at least, the clearest solution. The whole frame of nature bespeaks an intelligent author; and no rational enquirer can, after serious reflection, suspend his belief a moment with regard to the primary principles of genuine Theism and Religion. But the other question, concerning the origin of religion in human nature, is expofed to some more difficulty. The belief of invifible, intelligent power has been very generally diffused over the human race, in all places and in all ages; but it has neither perhaps been

fo

fo univerfal as to admit of no exceptions, nor has it been, in any degree, uniform in the ideas, which it has fuggested. Some nations have been difcovered, who entertained no fentiments of Religion, if travellers and hiftorians may be credited; and no two nations, and scarce any two men, have ever agreed precifely in the fame fentiments. It would appear, therefore, that this preconception fprings not from an original instinct or primary impression of nature, such as gives rife to self-love, affection between the sexes, love of progeny, gratitude, refentment; fince every instinct of this kind has been found abfolutely univerfal in all nations and ages, and has always a precife determinate object, which it inflexibly pursues. The first religious principles must be secondary; such as may easily be perverted by various accidents and causes, and whose operation too, in fome cafes, may, by an extraordinary concurrence of circumftances, be altogether prevented. What those principles are, which give rise to the original belief, and what those accidents and causes are, which direct its operation, is the subject of our prefent enquiry.

SECT. I. That Polytheism was the primary Religion of Men.

It appears to me, that if we confider the improvement of human fociety, from rude beginnings to a state of greater perfection, polytheism or idolatry was, and neceffarily must have been, the first and most antient religion of mankind. This opinion I fhall endeavour to confirm by the following arguments.

'Tis a matter of fact inconteftable, that about 1700 years ago all mankind were idolaters. The doubtful and fceptical VOL. II. Kkk prin

principles of a few philofophers, or the theifm, and that too not entirely pure, of one or two nations, form no objection worth regarding. Behold then the clear teftimony of history. The farther we mount up into antiquity, the more do we find mankind plunged into idolatry. No marks, no fymptoms of any more perfect religion. The moft antient records of human. race ftill present us with polytheism as the popular and eftablished fyftem. The north, the fouth, the east, the west, give their unanimous teftimony to the fame fact. What can be opposed to fo full an evidence?

As far as writing or hiftory reaches, mankind, in antient times, appear univerfally to have been polytheifts. Shall we affert, that, in more antient times, before the knowlege of letters, or the discovery of any art or fcience, men entertained the principles of pure theifm? theism? That is, while they were ignorant and barbarous, they discovered truth: But fell into error, as foon as they acquired learning and politenefs.

But in this affertion you not only contradict all appearance of probability, but alfo our prefent experience concerning the principles and opinions of barbarous nations. The favage

tribes of AMERICA, AFRICA, and ASIA are all idolaters. Not a fingle exception to this rule. Infomuch, that, were a traveller to tranfport himself into any unknown region; if he found inhabitants cultivated with arts and fciences, though even upon that fuppofition there are odds against their being theifts, yet could he not fafely, till farther inquiry, pronounce any thing on that head: But if he found them ignorant and barbarous, he might beforehand declare them idolaters; and there fcarce is a poffibility of his being mistaken.

It