bably communicated to our First Parents by Revelation, and was tranfmitted by them to their pofterity by Tradition; this may well mean, that God made them and their pofterity capable of difcovering it by their rational faculties. Such is the Author's regard to truth and fincerity; and fuch the key, which he gives us, to the real value of his Solemn Appeal to Heaven, already mentioned.

SECT. XX.

The Author's Treatment of the CLERGY, and the Falfehood of his Charge against PRIESTS in general, confidered.

O Writer for the caufe of Deifm or Infide

N°

lity omits to pay his compliments to the Clergy: And as our Author has at leaft kept pace with his Brethren in this particular, it seems abfolutely neceffary to take a fhort notice of what he has defignedly made fo confpicuous a part of

his work.

He fays, "That charity, fhould incline us to "think the beft of every one, especially in re

ligious opinions":"And, " That we fhould "throw a veil over the faults of our fellow"creatures ;-And "That unlefs we can speak "in their favour, they ought not to be the sub"ject of our converfation - But though these are certainly the doctrines of JESUS, and he enforces them as fuch, he feems to think that the Laity are under no fort of obligation to obferve thefe rules in their behaviour towards the Clergy:

y P. 24.

z P. 126.

a P. 148.

Y 4

whom

whom he always affects to ftile Priests, as it should feem, with the hopes of rendering them odious evenby a name. He perpetually fpeaks of Them, as the authors of almost all the mischiefs and errors the world has ever known. Mankind, he tells us, were perfectly well acquainted with all their duties, and even difpofed to fulfil them, till Priefts arofe, and introduced darkness, and every thing evil into Religion, for their own intereft and power. When one reads fuch tragical accounts as these of the miseries which Priests have brought upon the world, it is impoffible to help afking, whence they came, and what they were? Whether these fame Priefts were Men; or a particular fpecies of Noxious Animals, created by fome Evil Being, and fent into this goodly world to fpoil it? If Priesthood had been every-where, as in fome countries it has been, hereditary; a man of our Author's extraordinary genius, and remarkable antipathy to Priefts, might perhaps have adopted this opinion: But as in many countries, the Priefts have been made, as in our own, out of Laymen; the fuppofition would be attended with fome difficulties. One cannot help enquiring likewife, whether they came into the world by degrees; or started up, like Cadmus's teeth ready armed for mischief, every-where, all at once? And if fo, whether this was by chance, or by fome strange concert, and how that concert was brought about? And even paffing over all thefe difficulties; as well as how they should come to conceive the feemingly hopeless defign, of changing the Noon-day of pure Morality and true Religion, into the dark mid-night of Superftition, and the worft forts of it; how they came actually to fucceed; and to fucceed every where, and even without refiftance, as far as we can learn ?

3

He

He says that Natural Religion was in every part perfectly clear and obvious, and that nothing else could be wanting: But that what Priests taught men was myfterious; that is, in his ideas, abfolutely unintelligible; and, in the nature of the thing itself, impoffible to be believed by any one man, or to have any good influence upon him, if believed.-Will the Author forgive us for asking, how it happened, that creatures fo full of good fenfe and real knowledge, could come to imagine, that they believed fo many things which they could not believe; and how they came to receive among them fo much fenfelefs Superftition? And fince Sacrifices, for inftance, appear to him fo ftrange and unnatural an inftitution; will he account for any one's propofing such a practice; or for mankind's coming into it, when propofed? These facts are really as hard to be accounted for, upon our Author's representation of things, as the very Interpolation of the New Teftament.

But perhaps it will be replied, we have not hiftories of the earliest times fufficient to acquaint us with the manner in which this was done. Do they then acquaint us, that it was done at all? On the contrary, fo far as we can learn, originally the Head of every family was the Prieft of his family. And what intereft could these Heads of families have in misleading their own children and fervants? When many families entered into one Civil Society; which was not early everywhere; moft probably the Civil Magiftrate, or acknowledged Chief of the Society, took upon Him fo much of the office, as the whole Society was to join in. Particular Orders of men were not fet apart for this function till afterwards, at different periods, in different places. And fo far is it from being true, that Priests were the

original

original introducers of Superftition; that it is felf-evident, from the very nature of the thing, that the previous eftablishment of Superftition muft have been the cause of the first introduction of Priefts. Could a particular Order of men be inftituted by the Civil Magiftrate, before there was any cause for their inftitution? Could a number of men be fet apart in any Society to perform the ceremonies of the religious Worthip of their Gods; till that Society had adopted fome Gods, whom they chofe to worship; and were at leaft determined to have a fixed Ceremonial to obferve? Such a fuppofition would be manifeftly abfurd; and not much unlike afferting, that the previous invention of human language, was the original caufe of our defire to communicate our thoughts, inftead of fuppofing, that the natural defire of communicating our thoughts, was the real caufe of the invention of human language.&

Some Deities must have been believed in, and must have had Public, as well as Private Worfhip offered to them, before any diftinct Order of men could have been fet apart purposely for the performance of this fervice. The very nature of the thing is fufficient to convince us, not only that Gods must have been worshipped, and fome Ceremonial for that worship have been made ufe of; but further, moft probably, that That Ceremonial was fo far increafed, as to require more time for the performance of it, than the Civil Magiftrate could fpare from his other avocations; before diftinct Order of men was fet apart to perform it. And accordingly, the concurrent voice of all History affures us, that the original establishment of the Religion of every Pagen Nation was the work, not of Priefts, but of the Civil Magiftrate, before Priests existed among them. Nay history affures us of much more. It

any

affures

affures us, that not only the original establishinent of the Pagan Superftitions was the work of the Civil Magiftrate, and not of the Priests; but that every subsequent addition to their National Superftitions; even after an Order of men was fet apart to perform the Rites attendant upon them; was always adopted by the Civil Magistracy; though they might often be proposed by the Priefts, as well as often by others; and never could be introduced by the Priests, without the concurrence and authority of the Supreme Civil Power.

Such was the cafe in Egypt, that fruitful Mother of Superftitions; where their ridiculous He÷ ro worship, and their ftill more contemptible worship of Animals, was all introduced by their Princes, and committed to the care of the Nobles; who were the Priests; but could neither be increased, nor in any particular altered, without the Supreme Civil Authority of the State. Such likewife was the cafe in Greece; whofe Superftitions derived their origin from Egypt, through the hands of the Civil Magiftrate; were at first esta blished by Him; were always under the Official care and infpection of the principal Officers of the State; and could never be increased or altered by the Priests. And fuch again was the cafe in Rome: there likewise it is notorious, that both their Gods Themselves, and the Worship paid to them, were originally introduced by their Chief Magiftrates inftead of their Priests; and that neither any New God, nor any New Worfhip of an Old one, could be introduced, but by the legal authority of the principal Civil Magiftrate, inftead of the Priefts. And from thefe capital inftances, as well as all the lights we have of others, it is beyond question evident, that it is fo far from true, that Priefts have been the Original Authors of all the wretched Superftitions,

5.

which