"If we had come into the world," faith * he, in fuch circum"ftances, as that we could clearly and diftinctly have difcerned <6 nature herself, and have been able in the course of our lives to "follow her true and uncorrupted directions; this alone might have been fufficient, and there would have been little need of "teaching and inftruction. But now nature has given us only "fome small sparks of right reafon, which we fo quickly extinguish "with corrupt opinions and evil practices, that the true light of "nature no where appears. As foon as we are brought into the "world, immediately we dwell in the midft of all wickednefs, and "are furroundeed with a number of moft perverfe and foolish "opinions; fo that we feem to fuck in error even with our nurfes milk. Afterwards, when we return to our parents, and are com"mitted to tutors; then we are further ftocked with fuch variety "of errors, that truth becomes perfectly overwhelmed with falfhood; and the most natural fentiments of our minds are entirely ftifted "with confirmed follies. But when, after all this, we enter upon "bufinefs in the world, and make the multitude, confpiring every "wherein wickednefs, our great guide and example; then our very "nature itself is wholly transformed, as it were, into corrupti opinions." A livelier description of the prefent corrupt estate of human nature is not easily to be met with. »

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3. AND BY SENSUAL APPETITES AND WORLDLY, BUSINESS. In the generality of men, the appetites and defires of fenfe are fo violent and importunate, the bulinefs and the pleasures of the world take up fo much of their time, and their paffions are fo very ftrong and unreasonable, that, of themfelves, they are very backward and unapt to employ their reafon, and fix their attention upon moral matters; and ftill more backward to apply themselves to the practice of them. The love of pleasure is (as Ariftotle elegantly + expreffes it) fo nourished up with us from our very childhood, and fo incorporated (as it were) into the whole courfe of our lives, that it is very difficult for men to withdraw their thoughts from fenfual objects, and faften them upon things remote from fenfe. And if perhaps they do attend a little, and begin to fee the reasonableness of governing themfelves by a higher principle than mere fenfe and appetite; yet with fuch variety of temptations are they perpe. tually

«Si tales nos natura genuiffet, ut eam ipfam intueri & perfpicere, eâque optima duce curfum vitæ conficere poffemus; haud effet fanè quod quifquam rationem & doctrinam "requireret. Nunc verò &c." Cic. Tufc. Quæst. lib. III.

Nunc parvulos nobis dedit igniculos, quos celeriter malis moribus opinionibufque depra. vatis fic reftinguimus, ut nufquam naturæ lumen appareat.-Simul atque editi in lucem " & fufcepti fumus, in omni continuo pravitate, & in femma opinionem perverfitate ver"famur; ut pene cum lacte nutricis, errorem fuxifle videamur. Cum vero parentibus red"diti, deinde magiftris traditi fumus, tum ita variis imbuimur erroribus, ut vanitati veritas, & opinioni confirmate natura ipfa cedat.Cum vero accedit codem, quafi maximus quidem magifter, populus, atque omnis undique ad vitia confentiens multitudo; tum "plane inficimur opinonum pravitate, a naturaque ipfa defcifcimus." Ibid.

+ Εἰ δὲ ἐκ ν πίν πᾶσιν ἡμῖν συντέτραπται [ἡδον;] διὸ καὶ χαλεπὸν ἀπολείψασθαι τῦτο τὸ πάθος, Byxx woμiny w Big. Ariftot. Ethic. lib. II. c. z.

+ Vitia de mercede follicitant: avaritia pecuniam promittit: luxuria multas ac varias voluptates: ambitio purpuram & plaufum; & ex hoc potentiam, & quicquid potentia "ponit." Senec. Epit. 59.

tually incompaffed, and continually folicited; and the ftrength of paffions and appetites makes fo great oppofition to the motions of reafon; that commonly they yield and fubmit to practife those things, which at the fame time the reason of their own mind* condems; and what they allow not that they do. Which obfervation is fo true of too great a part of mankind, that Plato upon this ground declares, + "All arts and fciences to have in his opinion lefs

of difficulty in them than that of making men good;" infomuch that, "it is well," faith he, "if men can come to attain a right "fenfe, and juft and true notions of things, even by that time they arrive at old age."

4. AND ABOVE ALL, BY VITIOUS HABITS AND PRACTICES. But that which, above all other things, moft depraves men's natural understanding, and hinders them from difcerning and judging rightly of moral truths, is this; that as ftupid and carelefs ignorance leads them into fond and fuperftitious opinions, and the appetites of fenfe overcome and tempt them into practices contrary to their confcience and judgement; fo, on the reverse, the multitude of fuperftitious opinions, vitious habits, and debauched practices, which prevail in all ages through the greater part of the worid, do reciprocally increafe men's grofs ignorance, careleffness, and stupidity. Falfe and unworthy notions of God, or fuperftitious appre henfions concerning him, which men carelessly and inconfiderately, happen to take up at firft, do (as it were) blind the eyes of their reafon for the future, and hinder them from difcerning what of itfelf originally was eafy enough to be discovered. "That which

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may be known of God," Rom. i. 19. &c. has been manifeft enough unto men in all ages; for God hath fhewed it unto them; "for the invifible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly feen, being understood by the things that are made; " even his eternal power and Godhead:" fo that they, who are ig norant of him, cannot but be without excufe. But notwithstanding all the heathen world had fo certain means of knowing God; yet generally they glorified him not as God; neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened; and they changed the glory of the incorruptible God, into images of the meanest and most contemptible creatures; and worshiped and ferved the creature more than the Creator, who is bieffed for ever. The natural confequence of which abfurd ido latry, and also the juft judgement of God upon them for it, was, that they were given up to a reprobate mind, to uncleannefs and. to all vile affections to fuch a degree, that not only their common practices, but even their most facred rites and religious perform

Τίδι δὲ ἴσμεν, ὅτι ταῦτα τὰ πάθη ἐν ὑμῖν οἷον νεῦρα ἢ μήρινθοί τινες ἐνέσαι, σπῶσί τε ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἀλα λήλαις ἀνθέλκωσιν, ἔνωνία, ὅσαι, ἐπ' ἐναλίας πράξεις. Plato de Legib. lib. I.

Video meliora proboque, deteriora fequor."

* Εδοξε τὴν καὶ νῦν ἔτι δοκεῖ, τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ἐπιληδεύμαλα πάλα, η σφόδρα χαλεπὰ εἶναι τὸ δὲ τίνα τρόπον χρὴ γίγνεσθαι χειρὸς ἀνθρώποις, παγχάλεπον. Plato in Epinomde.

1 Φρόνησιν δὲ καὶ ἀληθεῖς δόξας βεβαιών, εὐτυχὲς ὅτῳ καὶ πρὸς τὸ γῆρας παρεγένετο. Id. de Legib. Lib. II.

ances,

ances, became themselves the extremeft abominations. And when men's morals are thus corrupted, and they run with greedinefs into all excess of riot and debauchery; then, on the other hand, by the fame natural confequence, and by the fame juft judgement of God, both their vitious cuftoms and actions, as well as fuperftitious opinions, reciprocally increafe" the blindnefs of their hearts," Eph. iv. 18, 19. darken the judgement of their understandings, ftupify and fear their confciences fo as to become paft feeling, and by degreesextinguifh wholly that light of nature in their own minds, which was given them originally to enable them to difcern between good and evil.

WHEREFORE MEN HAVE GREAT NEED TO BE TAUGHT AND INSTRUCTED IN MATTERS OF RELIGION.

By these means it comes to pafs, that though the great obligations and the principal motives of morality are indeed certainly discoverable and demonftrable by right reafon; and all confiderate men, when thofe motives and obligations are fairly propofed to them, muft of neceffity (as has been fully proved in the foregoing heads) yield their affent to them as certain and undeniable truths; yet under the disadvantages now mentioned (as it is the cafe of moft men to fall under fome or other of them), very few are of themselves able, in reality and effect, to discover thofe truths clearly and plainly for themfelves; but most men have great need of particular teaching and much inftruction, not without fome weight of authority, as well as reafon and perfuafion :

Ift. To raise and ftir up their attention; to move them to fhake off their habitual careleffnefs, ftupidity, and inconfideratenefs; to perfuade them to make ufe of their natural reafon and understanding, and to apply their minds to apprehend and study the truth and certainty of these things. For, as men, notwithstanding all the rational faculties they are by nature endued with, may yet through mere neglect and incogitancy be grofsly and totally ignorant of the plaineft and most obvious mathematical truths: fo men may also, for want of confideration, be very ignorant of fome of the plaineft moral obligations, which, as foon as diftinctly propofed to them, they cannot poffibly avoid giving their affent unto.

2. To give them a due fenfe, and right and juft apprehenfions concerning these things; to convince them of the great concern and vaft importance of them; to correct the falfe notions, vain prejudices, and foolish opinions, which deprave their judgement; and to remove that levity and heedlefnefs of fpirit, which makes men frequently to be in their practice very little influenced by what in abstract opinion they may feem firmly to believe. For there are many men, who will think themselves highly injured, if any one should make any doubt of their believing the indifpenfable obligations of morality, and the certainty of a future ftate of rewards

"Juftos natura effe factos;-tantam autem effe corruptelam malæ confuetudinis, pt "ab ea tanquam igniculi extinguantur a natura dati; exorianturque & confirmentur vitia ❝ contraria." Cic, de Legib. lib. I.

and

and punishments; who yet in their lives and actions feem to have upon their minds but a very fmall fenfe of the weight and infinite importance of these great truths.

3. To inculcate these things frequently upon them, and prefs them effectually to the practice of the plaineft and most neceffary duties; to perfuade them to moderate thofe paffions, to fubdue thofe lufts, to conquer thofe appetites, to defpife thofe pleasures of fense, and (which is the greateft difficulty of all) to reform and correct thofe vitious cuftoms and evil habits, which tempt and hurry them too often into the commiffion of fuch things as they are convinced at the fame time, in the reafon of their own minds, ought not to be practifed. For it is very poffible men may both clearly understand their duty, and alfo be fully convinced of the reafonableness of practising it; and yet, at the fame time, find "a law in "their members warring and prevailing against the law of their mind, and bringing them into captivity to the law of fin and "death," Rom. vii. 23. Men may be pleafed with the beauty and excellency of virtue, and have fome faint inclinations and even refolutions to practise it; and yet, at the return of their temptations, conftantly fall back into their accuftomed vices; if the great motives of their duty be not very frequently and very ftrongly inculcated upon them, fo as to make very deep and lafting impreffions upon their minds; and they have not fome greater and higher affiftance afforded them, than the bare conviction of their own speculative reafon.

For these reasons (I fay) it is abfolutely neceffary, that, notwithftanding the natural demonftrablenefs both of the obligations and motives of morality, yet confidering the manifeft corruptnefs of the prefent estate which human nature is in, the generality of men must not by any means be left wholly to the workings of their own minds, to the ufe of their natural faculties, and to the bare convictions of their own reafon; but must be particularly taught and inftructed in their duty, muft have the motives of it frequently and ftrongly preffed and inculcated upon them with great weight and authority, and muft have many extraordinary affiftances afforded them; to keep them effectually in the practice of the great and plaineft duties of religion.

THE GREAT USE AND NECESSITY OF AN ORDER OF PREACHERS. And hence we may, by the way, juftly obferve the exceeding great use and neceffity there is, of eftablishing an order or fucceffion of men, whofe peculiar office and continual employment it may be, to teach and inffruct people in their duty, to prefs and exhort them perpetually to the practice of it, and to be inftruments of conveying to them extraordinary afliftances for that purpofe. To which excellent inftitution, the right and worthy notion of God and his

"Quidam ad magnificas voces excitantur, & tranfeunt in affectum dicentium, alacres " vultu & animo. Rapic illos inftigatque rerum pulchritudo.-Juva protinus quæ audias, facere. Afficiuntur illi, & funt quaies jubentur, fi illa animo forma permaneat, fi non impetum infignem protines populus honelti difiuafor excipiat. Pauci illam quam conceperant mentem, domum perferie potuerunt.? Senec, epifi. 109.

divine perfections, the juft fenfe and understanding of the great duties of religion, and the univerfal belief and due apprehenfion of a future ftate of rewards and punishments, which the generality even of the meaner and more ignorant fort of people among us are now poffeft of, is manifeftly and undeniably almoft wholly owing. As I fhall have occafion hereafter more particularly to obferve.

VI. Though in almost every age there have indeed been in the heathen world fome wife and brave and good men, who have made it their business to study and practise the duties of natural religion themselves, and to teach and exhort others to do the like; who seem therefore to have been raised up by providence, as inftruments to reprove in fome measure and put fome kind of check to the extreme fuperftition and wickedness of the nations wherein they lived yet none of these have ever been able to reform the world, with any confiderably great and univerfal fuccefs; because they have been but very few, that have in earnest fet themselves about this excellent work; and they that have indeed fincerely done it, have themselves been entirely ignorant of fome doctrines, and very doubtful and uncertain of others, abfolutely neceffary for the bring ing about that great end; and those things which they have been certain of, and in good measure understood, they have not been able to prove and explain clearly enough; and those that they have been able both to prove and explain by fufficiently clear reafoning, they have not yet had authority enough to enforce and inculcate upon men's minds with fo ftrong an impreffion, as to influence and govern the general practice of the world.

1. There have indeed in almost every age been, in the heathen world, fome wife and brave and good men, who have made it their business to study and practice the duties of natural religion themfelves, and to teach and exhort others to do the like. An eminent inftance whereof, in the Eastern nations, the Scripture itself affords us in the hiftory of Job; concerning whom it does not certainly appear, that he knew any pofitive revealed inftitution of religion, or that, before his fufferings, any immediate revelation was made to him, as there was to Abraham and the reft of the Patriarchs. Among the Greeks, Socrates feems to be an extraordinary example of this kind. Concerning whom Plato tell us, in his "Apology,' that he did nothing elfe, but go continually about, perfuading both old and young, not to be fo much folicitous to gratify the appetites of the body, or to heap up wealth, or to raise themselves to honour, or gain any outward advantage whatfoever, as to improve the mind, by the continual exercife of all virtue and goodness; teaching them, that a man's true value did not arife from his riches, or from any outward circumftances of life; but that true riches,

* Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἄλλο πράττων ἐγω περιέρχομαι, ἢ πείθων ὑμῶν καὶ νεωτέρας και πρεσβυτέρες, μήτε σωμάτων ἐπιμελεῖσθαι, μήτε χρημάτων κρίτειον, μήτε ἄλλα τινὸς ἔτω σφόδρα, ὡς τῆς ψυχῆς όπως ὡς ἀρίση ἔςαι' λέγων, ὅτι ἐκ ἐκ χρημάτων ἡ ἀριδὴ γίνεται, αλλ' ἐξ ἀρετῆς χρήματα καὶ ταλλα τἀγαθὰ τοῖς ἀνθρώ mag daana, ǹ iĉią nusig. Plato in Apol. Socrat.