and Perfecutions that have fo miferably divided and distracted the World.

This Superftition, he obferves, has spread it felf over the Face of the whole Earth, and has prevail'd generally in all Times and Places. And he accounts for it thus, p. 169. " "Tis the Obfervation of "Naturalifts (fays he) that there is no Species of Creatures but what have fome innate Weakness,

which makes them an eafy Prey to other Animals "that know how to make the Advantage of it: "now the peculiar Foible of Mankind is Supersti"tion, which at all times has made them liable to "be practis'd on, not by Creatures of different Species, but by thofe of their own; who, by a "confident Pretence of knowing more than their Neighbours, have first circumvented the Many, "the Credulous and Unwary, and afterwards "forc'd the free-thinking Few into an outward "Compliance."

Here we fee he refolves Superftition into an original Weakness of the human Nature, and not merely into an adventitious contracted Infirmity. The Nature of Man was originally form'd with this Weakness attending it; or in other Words, Man is naturally a fuperftitious Creature, inclin'd and prone to Superftition, and hence it is, that Men in all Ages have been fo eafily and generally impos'd on, all but the free-thinking Few. That we may judge the better of this, let us confider the Account he gives of the Nature of Superftition; he makes all Superftition to" confift in entertaining fuch No❝tions of God as are unworthy of him, p. 135 t." And again, that it "confifts in imagining to pro"pitiate an all-wife and gracious Being by fuch ἐσ Things as have no Worth or Excellency in them;" or ❝in confidering him to be fo light or paffionate, as with trivial Things either to be appeas'd, or

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# P. 149. † P. 119.

❝elfe

Chap. 9. "elfe mov'd to wrath." And it is the Title of his 8th Chapter, "That the not adhering to those "Notions Reafon dictates concerning the Nature of "God, has been the Occafion of all Superftition." When therefore he supposes that Men are naturally prone to Superstition, he must fuppofe that they are naturally prone to fwerve from the Notions Reafon dictates concerning the Nature of God, prone to entertain 'wrong Notions of the Deity, and to think to propitiate him by Things of no Value. This Gentleman is certainly very unfit to find fault with thofe who think that the human Nature is now in a corrupt and degenerate State, but that this is not owing to its original Conftitution, fince it was created by God in the Beginning, pure and upright, and wou'd have been tranfmitted fo (if it had not been the Fault of our firft Parents, the Fountains and Representatives of the human Race) to their Pofterity; whereas he himself afferts a Vice, a Weakness, call it what you please, originally cleaving to human Nature; a natural Proneness to Superftition, that is, to the worst of Evils, worse, in his Opinion, than Atheism, and which has fubjected the human Race to numberlefs Mischiefs and Miferies. This he fuppofes not to be the Effect of a Lapfe, but to arife from a Weakness or Defect in Man's original Conftitution; which is really to charge Superstition, and all the Evils and Mifchiefs arifing from it, upon God himself, the Author of Nature, who form'd Man with this innate Weakness, as the Author calls it, and with this wrong original Byafs,

He tells us, p. 170, 171 *. that there are two Ways which never fail to make Superftition prevail, Myfteries and gaudy Shews. And why can't thefe fail to make Superftition prevail? It must be because he fuppofes the Byafs towards Superftition to be naturally

* P. 150.

naturally fo ftrong that it is fcarce poffible to avoid it. And accordingly he fuppofes Mankind in all Ages from the Beginning, Jews, Heathens, Chriftians, to have been univerfally involv'd in Superftition, and thereby fubjected to the greatest Calamities, all but the Free-thinking Few, as he calls them; that is, those that, like himself, have been for entirely rejecting all Revelation.

And now may not his own Declamation against Dr. Clark, whom he falfly charges with fuppofing that "God plac'd Mankind without any fault of "theirs, in an unavoidable State of Degeneracy "and Corruption for 4000 Years together, and "continues the greatest Part still in the fame State," be much more juftly turn'd upon himself? This Gentleman undoubtedly looks upon Superftition to be the most wretched State the human Nature can be in; and yet he feems to make it, in effect unavoidable, at leaft to the Bulk of Mankind; and this unavoidable State of Corruption, he, in effect, afcribés to God himself; that he plac'd Men in it, without any Fault of theirs, from the Beginning of the World to this Day, fince he made Men all along from the Beginning with this innate Weakness cleaving to their Natures, and with this original Defect in their Conftitutions. And now it may be afk'd, whether God did this [that is, made the human Nature with this original innate Weaknefs and Defect] "knowingly or ig"norantly, not foreseeing the Confequences? To

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fuppofe the firft, is to make him act out of Spite "and Hatred to his Creatures, in bringing them "into Being, and making that Being a Curfe to "them. Or, if the laft, why was not that Defect

fupply'd as foon as difcover'd? p. 399*." I return him his own Words, that he may fee how he likes them when applied to his own Hypothefis. Indeed nothing can be more unjust than this way VOL. I.

P. 361.

R

of

of arguing, when used as this Author ufes it, against those that reprefent the Heathen World as in a State of great Corruption and Degeneracy, which Corruption and Degeneracy they fuppofe to beowing, not to God, but to themselves, and that he did not cause but permitted it. But I don't fee how he can well avoid the Argument, when urg'd against his own Hypothefis, which fuppofes that God made the human Nature with an original and innate Proneness to Superftition; that he himself fubjected it to this Defect and Weakness, or to this wrong Byafs, which has been the Source of all thofe numberless Evils that have infefted Mankind. How is this reconciJable with his great Principle, that in framing his Creatures God had nothing in View but their own Good? Was it for the Good of Mankind to create the human Nature in its original Constitution with an unhappy natural Bent to Superftition? Might it not be faid upon his Principles, that "this must

be the State God defign'd they fhou'd be in: "And it wou'd feem not only to be in vain, but a "Crime in them, to endeavour to change that State, *in which God, of his infinite Wisdom and Good"nefs, thought fit to place them, as he argues, P. 373."

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Thus has this Gentleman, who fo bitterly inveighs against Superstition on all Occafions, and to this afcribes all the Mischiefs, Immorality, Perfecutions that have infested the World, yet made an Apology for it, and by representing it natural and unavoidable, gone a great way to prove it innocent. This Proneness to Superftition is indeed a great Misfortune, but it may help to make us eafy, that if it be a Misfortune yet it is no Crime, nor to be charg'd upon us as fuch. But even this Comfort the Author takes from us by another Part of his Scheme. For he fuppofes that all Mankind have a clear Light given

*P. 340.

given them, a Light which, like that of the Sun, is univerfal, fhining to all that do not fout their Eyes against it; that Reafon dictates to all Men juft Notions of Religion, fo that it is fcarce poffible, even for those of the meaneft Capacity to be ignorant of their Duty. And now what a miferable Condition must all Mankind be in upon this Gentleman's Hypothefis? All prone to fall into Superstition by an original innate Weakness of their Natures, and yet if they fall into it, chargeable with counteracting the cleareft Light! All Men naturally enlighten'd with right Notions of God and of their Duty, and all of them naturally prone to entertain wrong Notions of both! Is not this an admirable Hypothefis (to use the Author's own Words, with a little Variation) which tho' it fuppofes God has given all Mankind a clear connate Light, yet does alfo fuppofe that he has created all Men with a natural Byafs to Superftition, which is moft directly contrary to that Light, fo that alike in all Ages they have been over-run with it, all but a few select Free-thinkers?

But not to urge this any further, let us now confider the Remedies this Gentleman proposes for delivering Mankind from Superftition, that formida ble Evil.

There are two Things about which Superftition has been principally converfant; the one is, about the Manner and Rites of divine Worship; the other is, about the Methods of Men's reconciling themfelves to God, and propitiating an offended Deity: Let us enquire therefore what our Author proposes on each of these Heads.

With refpect to the former, this Gentleman himfelf owns, that it is the Voice of Nature that God fbou'd be publickly worshipped, p. 116*. This is a Principle of Reafon that all Mankind have generally agreed in, as also that in this publick Worship of God

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