•

• •
•
•

•
•
•

• •

'

• •
 A

•
UPON

COMPOSED · •

For the C o N s o t A T Io N o tht

UNHAPPY.

By a ... F R 1 E N n to T R u T H•

Bono loco re.r humante funt, nod nemo 11ifi vitio

Juo mifer e.ft. P facet? ive. Non placet ?
L:cet tibi reverti unde ve11ijti, Seneca in Epift.

LONDON:
Printed for and Sold by W. M E A R s, at
the Lamb on Ludgate-Hill. •

MDCCXXXII:
{Pri.ce One Shilling and Sixpence.]
•

•
 •

•
•
•

'
•
••
' '
• •

I •
• . •· ..
• • 1
• • •
'
• • •
•
• •• •

' •• •
•• • • • • •
., •
• '
, •
• • , • '' •
•

••
•
_,
. ,
•
• •J • •

•
., . - .. I , •
•

•
•
' .
•

. , •
•
•
•
• • .'
•
• •

• •
, •
I
•I '
' I
•

• •
-----···· •
 •

UPON

~-~\~~- RE AD FU L and moll: hor-

' -=~ ◄-• ,._.. ...
~
~'.. • ;

i --~ r,:;'., rible has ever been the Idea,

•1 I

,;- ~ which, in a 1nanner, all Man-

kind have formed to them-
felves concerning D EAT H. An Idea
fo ancient, and fo univerfal, that the
Majority of them have believed, and do
frill believe it to be innate, or natural.
And becaufe in this rreatifa, my De-
A 2 fign
 (4 )
iign is to prove it not to be fo, but re..
ally acquired, as all other Ideas are ac-
quired, I run a great Rifque of being
•

taxed with Temerity, by ftanding up

in Oppofition to a Sentiment almoft
univerfally embraced. Neverthelefs, I
gird myfelf to the Enterprife ; not fo
much with a View of freeing the
Minds of others from that falfe Ter,,.
ror, as in order to fortify my own Spi-
. ,

rits againft: fo vain a Belief.

MY Subject I fhall divide into 'Two

Points2 Qr ·Heads. , '- , , In the Fir.fl, I
(hall q~~lare W11at I .ipean by the
U N I V E RS E, and by the Wore!
NA, TU RE~ whereof frequent Men-
tion will be made in my Di.fi:ourfe ;
A.s alfo? What is L I F Ei ancl What i~
D E AT fl: And from thence l fhall
,
, ,

c;J;imine, Whe;!ther th~ Dread which

Mt:µ ~ncQiv~ 9f ])fat!/ be. parµra.lly_

•
 ( 5)
•

jnnate, or merely contracl:ed and ill-

grounded. - - In the Second, I lhall
difcufs, Whether or no, It be lawful to
deprive one's felf of Life; and fuall
prove the fame to be at all Times a laud-
able Action, and at no Time blame-
able; natural, and not contrary to Na-
ture.

B Y the Univerfe, I comprehend

the infinite Space which contains the
•

immenfe Matter, fowed, or interfperfed

throughout with moft exiguous Vacui-
ties, wherein, with an eternal Varia-
tion, are moved to and fro its moft te-
nuous Particles i which Particles, or
Atoms could not be at all capable of
the leaft Motion, if the Whole was
completely filled. This Matter, and
•

this Motion are infeparable: For it is a

Thing no lefs impoffible, that Motion
fupyld be found where Matter is not,
· than
 (6)
th::in to find Matter deftitote of Mo-
tion: . Becaufe we are to underftand,
that all Matter is compounded of a Di-
ver.fity of Contraries, which, being in-
termingled, cannot in any wife be in
•
Repofe.
'
•
THAT Mattei· always is a Mixture,
is fufficiently known co the Chymifts;
who never -have found, nor ever can
•

.find a Body purely fimple. That Mo-

tion is the Propriety of Matter, appears
by Matter itfelf, which is throughout
replete with. Pores, .into and out of
•

which ·ate continually entering and if-

fuing the ever-active Atoms, inceffant-
Iy em'ployed either in the Formation
• • •

and Maintenance, or elfe in forwarding

the Decay and· Diffolution of Bodies.
That Motion is generally di[perfed
throughout all Matter, all Bodies atteft
it, by tht continual Mutations they un ..
dergo:
 (7)
dergo: Not only the fofc Bodies, hue
likewife the hard 011es, as Stones and
Metals, do in Tin1e fuffer Diffolution;
thro' their internal Motion, which cau-
fes to them a perpetual Exhalation of
Particles from their refpective Pores, as
alfo thro' their external Motion, from
the Echerial or Aerial Matter where-
•

with they are con~inually affaulted.

I KNOW that fome Perfons, from the

Solidity of certain Bodies, im'1gine
them to be in perpetual Repofe; and
among thefe Bodies principally the Dia-
mond, becaufe they could not ever dif-
cover any Alteration in the faid Stone.
But thofe ,vl10 talk in that manner do
not talk rationally: For, to argue with
any Foundation, they mufr make ap-
·-
pear, that the Diamond is fimple, and
not compoied of Parts, and confe-.
quently is without Pores; and being [o,
- •
lt
•

-
 (8)
'
it could not ever be cut, worked, of
broken: But fince we fee, that it is
actually cut, broken, and diminiilied,
even juft as one pleafes, we are fure that
it is fuil of Pores like ocher Bodies,
and from thence, like them, not fim-
ple and immutable, but fubject to Va...
. '
• •
r1at1on.
'

H E N c E, all can be faid · is, That

every individual Body is in perpetual
Motion; but with this Difference, that
in the more folid Bodies the Motion is
lefs perceptible, as being abundantly
flower than in the foft ones, which,
having their. Particles weakly connea:-
ed, are eafily ditjoined, and their
Motion becomes more fenfible, as be-
ing of greater Velocity. ln fhort, Mo-
tion is to Matter as effen·tial as is Heat
to Fire.

'

'
 •

MATTER then and MOTION -

are of a11 ete1·nal Co-exiil:ence, iince it
is not poffibl...; thJt tl1ey fhould be de-
rived fro111 1'1" 0 TH ING: Becaufe
as Notling has not any Propriety, it ii
unapt for t:ie Productio11 of any "fhing;
nor can a Tl1ing ,:vhicl1 has any Exif-
tence at all ever be annihilated. But
i11 cafe any one wot1ld be fo ftupid as
to go about to defend a contrary Opi-
nion, in order to eftabliili it with any
Foundatio11, he muft necetfarily prove,
that from Time to Time certain Be-
ings have appeared whicl1 never exift- ·
ed, 01· indeed, that fome which have
exifted have difappeared, neither of
which Cafes ever has, or ever will be •

feen:. Becaufe as every Tl1ing which

does exift, does exift neceifarily, it muft
therefore exifi: eternally ; the Modifica-
tions of Matter, caufed by the Motion
it has in itfelf, by a Law eternal are
B ever •

•
 t IO )

ever the fame, and from which they

cannot ever be varied.

T HI s Matter, modified by Motion

i11to an infinite Number of various
Forms, is that which I call NATURE.
Of this the ~alities and Attributes are,
Power, Wifdom, and Perfec!ion, all
which the po1feffes in the higheft De-
gree, By Means of the Fitjl, fhe has
always been able to torm whatfoever .
i11e pleafed, and what fhe knew to be
requifite, With Afliftance of the Se-
co11d, the has been capacitated to diftin•
guiili what was convenient for the
formed Beings, and to know how to
provide the fame. By Help of the
'lhird, the has been perpetually em-
•

ploying herfelf in the Formation of a

:pumberlefs Infinity of Species, all not
only neceffary and perfect, but inimita-
ble anq eternal.
N.drURE
 ( tt)
NA 'I'tl RE, being herfelt fuperla .. •

tively perfect, ever was and ever will

be acl:ive; nor can ilie once ceafe from
operating, even for the ll1orteft Inftant1
or in the fmalleft Part of the whole
Univerfe: Becaufe Inaction is the very
Summit of Imperfection. This con..
ftant and perpetual Operation is that
which I term the Courfe, or the unalter•
able Law of Nature•
•

Bv CREATION, or LlFE, I
· tnean a certain Modification of Matter;
which forms a Body different from
what it before was; And as to DEATH,
I am going to declare my Sentimentl
• •
concerning 1t,

D BATH is a Difl'olution of the

Corporeal Parts, the which, feparating
from each other, do then affume other
Forms, and receive other different Mc,..
B2 tions :.
 ( 12 )

•
tions : Becaufe Na cure, ever bufied irt
creating and dcfi1·oying, 1nakes Ufe of
the Parts of one Body deftroyed thence
to form another Body which 01e is cre-
ati11g. So that what befalls C1·eatures
when they die, is the lofing tl1eir pri-
ftine Form; 11ay, and lofi11g the fan1e
intirely and vifibly: Not after the man-
ner as they are eve1·y Moment lofing it,
in the fmall Particles ,vhich exhale thro'
the Pores of all Bodies in general ;
which· (by reafon they in part recover
them thro' the St1fienence they receive
from the Eartl1, Air, &c. or from the
.Aliments tl1ey take in) do change after
a. manner i11fenfible or unapparent to "
•
our Senfes: Notwithfianding which
Imperceptibility, we in ·Time difcover
the faid Mutations, as is to be obfe1·ved
in what we term the different Stages of
Life, in all fuch Bodies as endure
• •
not
fo long, or at leaft not longer than our
felves:
•

'
 ( 13 )
felves: Tl10' in fome certain Corpo--
real Beings whicl1 are abundantly more
permanent tha11 Man, we cannot in
any wife mal{e a like Difcovery, by
-
reafo11 that what we may call their 112-
Jancy muft continue for perhaps A Hun-
dred, or A Thou[a11d Years, their
Childhood, Two Hundred, or Two
Thou[and Years, and fo on propo~cion-
ably; as we behold in Metals, and in
Stones, wherein it is not poffible fgr,
us to difcern the leaft Kind of Varia-
•

tion: Ne11ertht:lcfs \Ve know of a Cer-

tai11ty, tl1ar no one Body at all is per-
petual, and that every Being in general,
fooner or later, anfwerably to its refpec-
tive Solidity and ~alities, muft. inevi- •

tably undergo a Diifolution. .

.

S u B J E c T to tl1is eternal and unal-

terable Decree is tl1e Human Body, as
•

are all other Bodies ; ·nor is its State and

•

Con,- •

•
 ( 14 )
Condition more unhappy than theirs,
but even the very fame: Since the Hu~
man Body is moft certain to lofe no..
thing but only its Form, as I faid be•
fore; ·for the Matter whereof it was
compofed exifts for ever. So that, the
fame individual Matter remaining, and
••
therein the fame Motion everlaftingly
continuing, we pofitively ought not
ever to fay; That the Body which once
was called a Man, a ':free, or the like,
having loft that its Form, has therefore
loft its Being or Effence ; but that the
Parts whereof it was compounded have,
at the fame Time, formed new Bodies,
aifumed new Shapes and new Lives.
Thefe ·indifputable Truths examined
and·efiablifhed, we ought not to be un..
der Apprehenfions of lofing ot1r Exif..
tence when we die; fince we only ceafe
to exift in one fort, in order to begin
to exift· in another.
NEITHER
 ( 15 )
NE ITH E R can the filly Obje~ion,
uf~ally made againfi: this Sentiment, be
of any Weight or Validity : I mean;
c, That in cafe we ever had any pre-
'' vious Beings, before we aifumed Hu-
cc mane Form, we fhould certainly have

'' thereof fome Notice." This cannot,

I fay, be of any Weight; fince in or-
der to have this come to pafs, "'.e ab-
folutely mufi: always have had Bodies
organized exacl:ly like thefe we now pof-
fefs, .to have enabled them to form like
•

lmpreffions, and conceive the fame

Imaginations as were originally for
them formed and conceived. If, when
a Man is dead, the Parts of his Body
iliould re-unite, and again form ano-
ther Body in every refpeel: like to his
own, or, to fay better, iliould all his
own individual Particles return into
their former Pofitions, each of them
re-aifuming its own priftine Station, it
•
1S
 ( 16 )
is moft evident, tl1at tl1e faid Body
would a!furedly return to have the very
fame Senfations. But as Nature deligl1ts
in Variety, ilie never forms twice one
;

and the fame Body, nor does £he ever

permit a Body, after Diffolution, to re-
•

cover its prifrine Form, even for a Mo-

ment; from whence it occurs, that
the Body or Bodies which fi.1cceed it,
being differently orgariized and difpo-
fed, mufl: confequently have new and
different Sen{atio11s, or new and diffe-
rent Movements, from which Move-
'
ments do proceed all the Operations of
.
Bodies.
\

BY this we fee, that a Child of Six

Years of Age does not remember any
Thing of what lie did in his Mothe1·'s
Womb, 11ay, nor even the Actions of
his Three firfl: Years. And when he
• • • •

1s arrived at Man's Eftate, he no longer

remem-
-
 •

( 17 )
remembers what he did when he w~
Six Years old. And laftly, when he is
grown · fuperannuate, he utterly lofes
the Rememb1·a11ce of all he ever has
done, during the ,vhole Courfe of his
Life, excepting perhaps fome of the
•

moft recent of his Operations: And

this becaufe · the intire Difpofition of
his Organization has been fundry Times
totally varied and diverfified. From
hence it proceeds, that the whole Time
he has lived and operated; and where•
•

of he now no longer retains any Me.,.

mory, is to him the very fame as if
•

none- of it all had ever been : Yet can-

-·
not it be faid of him, that he was not
in Life all that Time, or that he had
· not done abundance of Things, not..
wichftanding he cannot now recollect
any Part of thofe his quondam Tranf-
'acl:ions ; becaufe to fay fo would be -a
·very. notorious Abfurdity : Since we • •

C know

•
 ( r8)
know by Experience, that, at different
Times of our Lives, we have eaten
certain Viands and Fruits, and had cer-
tain Recreations whereof we are now
quite oblivious; yet cannot we deny
our once having great Pleafure and Sa-
tisfacti·on in eating thofe well-feafoned
Viands, and delicious Fruits, and in fo
recreating ourfelves: And we alfo know,
that our prefent Forgetfulnefs of all
thofe Matters has not prevented our taft•
ing and reliiliing the Viands and Fruits
which we have fince eaten, nor our be-
•
ing delighted with the Diverfions which
we have fince t,1ken. •

'

F o R the very fame. Reafon, ·if · a

.

Man, i in changing State, does not any .

•

longer remember any of the Pleafures

he enjoyed while he was in · this Life,
'

his havihg·loft·the Remen1brance there-

of will ·not be any manner ·of Hindet-
.,
ance
 ( 19)
ance 'to his Enjoyment of new Plea-
fures in the ne,v Life he is entering
upon.

THE Fear of Death, therefore,

with regard to Annihilation, cannot be
natural; fince the Annihilation of any
one Body whatfoever is not to be met
with in Nature: Neither can the
Dread of paffing from one State unto
another be natural; fince Nature de-
lights in and is defirous of Change.
The Fear of Death, I fay, ·cannot be
innate, fince Infants, Idiots1 the Mad
and the Superannuated Perf0ns, wholly
deftitute of Memory, have it not. No,
it cannot be innate; fince if it were fo,
· it muft be equally imprinted in all
Mankind, which it is not, by r.eafon
that not only Infants, and thofe others
above-cited, but even abundance of fen-
fib~ Perfons, in the very Flower of
C 2 their
•

'
 •

( 20 )

rheir Age, die without the leaft ·Sign of

Fear or Terror.
•

W H E N c E then does proceed this

Dread? Ir proceeds from the K1zow-
ledge of a Danger: And this Danger is
• • •

k11ow11 either thro' fome actual Experi-

ence, orelfe it is known without any fuch
Experience, btit merely from a Credit re-
.pofed in fome one who tells a plaufible
·srory of fuch or fuch Th~ngs being
•
dangerous_. Of t?efe the Firfl · is real:
The Secontl may .
be.
fallacious.
.
.
Ho,v-
'ever, neither. the one nor tl1e other Know-
• • • •

ledge is innate, .or born with us, bur

. . -

contracted long after our being bo1·n.

· F o It Example : Let us fuppofe a

•

Child of Five Years old, ignorant of

the venomous QQ,ality of Serpents, and .
• •

whofe Mother iliould prefent before him

a Dove, together with a Serpent, fine-
ly, fpeckled with beautiful • Colour~ :
Y~ry •

•
 ( 21 )

Very probable it is, that he would

more readily approach towards the
Serpent, on account of its fine Coat,
than he would towards the Dove. And
let us fuppofe him grievoufly bitten by
the faid Serpent; it is moft certain,
that another Time he would endea...
vour to keep out of its Reach, to avoid
being again fo hurt; and his Dread
would be very juft and well-grounded.
But now let us fuppofe, on the contra-
• •

ry, that his Mother iliould afterwards

bring him a Swallow, and fuould cau-
tion him to have a Ca~e thereof, filling
his Imagination with a Dread of ics
•

doing him the fame Damage as the

Serpent had done him; doubtlefs he
would be afraid of being hurt by that
little Bird; and his Fear would be vain
?-nd ill-grounded.

FROM
•

'
 ( 22 )

FR o M thefe Suppofitions we plain.;

ly fee, that the Dread of Death is not
innate, but that it commences in 1:1s
from the Time that we have Know-
ledge of the Danger of Death; as alfo
that this Knowledge may be fallacious,
when the fame is not founded on Expe,-
. rience. Now the Dangers, which Men
fear co encounter after Death, are not
founded on Experience ; :fince no Man
'

could ever die Twi.ce, in order, by the

Fi'rfi Death, to knfiw the faid Da·ngers,.
and to dread them againft the SecoRd
CJ'ime he was to die,
•

'
'
' '

TH I s Danger, which Men know

not by Practice or Experience,. is coo1e
' ' '

_to their Knowledge by thefe Means, viz.

In all Countries, anc;l at all Times,
-
there have been found ambitious. Men,
who, not contenting themfelves with
wat State of Equality which Nature
. h~d
'
 ( 23)
l1ad given tl1em, took it into their
Heacls to thi1·ft for Dominion over
•

others; and becaufe they could not, by

open Compulfion , bring. about their
Defigns, they employed Cunning and
Artifice: And what has conftantly oc-
cafioned their fucceeding in thofe their
Undertakings, has been the lamentable
Ignorance of the People whom they
fought to bring inco Subjection: ~e- •

'
caufe, they bei11g ignorant, the othtrs
could make their Advantage of an
•

Eclipfej a Comet, a Peal of Thunder,

or cf fame orr,er Pl1~nomenon, or Ac-
cident, to ir.duce them to believe that
the Deities were incenfed againfc tl1em,
and with thofe Signs
. .
were threatening
to puniih or deftroy them, except thofe
angry Divinities were immediately ap-
peafed. After this manner the Fear of
the Gods came to take Impreflion in
the Hearts of Meo. This Impreffion
· made,

•
 ( 24 )
made, thofe Projectors began to teach
the Methods of pacifying the Deities,
prefcribing to their too credulous Au-
dience; Prayers, Fafrings, . _Sacrifices,
'

Vows, Offerings, f§c. acquainting them

which and which Things were to thofe
imaginary Deities pleafing and accepta-
ble, and which they detefted and would
moft rigoroufly punilh, not only in this
Life, but alfo after Death. Thus did
thofe daring Impoftors remain Interpre.;
• ters of the Will Divine, and Lords of
the Wills of Men !
'

• • • •

T ii I s Credence eftablilhed in Hu-

man Minds, Men feared to die; not
'

merely thro' a Dread or Reluctance to

'

ceafe from being in Life, but for Fear

of encountering new and more grie-
vous Evils than a11y they had known
or fuffered while tl1ey were living. And
what I here fay is ,confirmed to us by
Ex.. •

'

•
 .

( 25 )
• . '
F.xperi~nce; fince we fee., that little
Children; fuch as have not as yet been
capable of receiving from their Mo- • • •

the1·s; &c. any Manner of Idea of the

Pains and Puniiliments of the other
Life, do die without the leaft Fear or
'
Apprehenfion ; neither do they undergo
any Pain or Torment but what pr~
•

ceeds from the Difeafe which confumes •

'
them : But tl1ey have not their Spirits •

on the Rack with the horrible Con-

templations of Infernal Flames, be-
caufe they have not thereof any Kno'l!l...
ledge: Contemplations! which .
render . '

Death moft dreadful to Men, and

which caufe them to fuffer a . Thou--
•
. '

fand racking Tortures, none of which

ihey would undergo, were not their
' ' • . • l

Minds clouded with the falfe Idea of

' '

a Danger which exifis not. Lei: us

tl1en remove away this vain Fear from
.Huma11 Intellecrs, and we iliall fee
• •

•
D Men
 ( 26 )
Men will quit Life willingly : The
which is exemplified in thofe who die
Martyrs, who with abundance of Plea-
•

fure endure the greateil: and moft cruel·

Tortures, and moft ardently defire t-0
lofe their Lives on that Occafion, be-
caufe they firmly believe they lhall not
•

meet with that menaced Danger, :fince

they ceafe to live purely for the Sak-e
and Defenfe
.
of their Religion. .
•

. '

TH falfe Ideas which we acquire

E

thro' the evil I·riftrt1clions which we

•
receive from thofc who are intrufied
'
with our firft Education; are what
caufe in t1s this Fear of Death. The
•

bad Principles which we fuck in with

our Milk a1·e whar, taking fa:ft Root
within us, do adulterate our Minds and
•
• •

corrupt our Imaginations. Lee us then

purify ot1r Intellecluals, making Re-
flections on the F alfity of thofe P1·in-
ciples,

•
 ( 27 )
ciples, ,vhich derive their Origin OI)ly
•

f1·om the Malice and Impoftures of •

Men. Let t1s pafs a ftrict Examina-

tion on all Beliefs, and we £hall know7
that they a~e all the Offsprings of
•

Human Wit and Policy; fince. they all .

have the very fame Characters, and all

the felf-fame Foundation, as I have
•

clea1·ly demonftrated in another of my

Performances * ; and then we £hall not
•

fear Death. We £hall not fear it, I

fay; becaufe_ we £hall then comprehend
Death to be what delivers us from the
Perfecutions·. of our Adverfaries, from
.

the Tyranny of the Mighty, from the

Difquiets which moleft us, .from the
Anxieties which cruelly torment us,
from the Infirmities which tyrannize
over us, and, in a Word, from all. Mi-
fery. Finally, it is Death alone which
frees us from the flavifh Bondage of
..
•

:" In my HiO:ori,al and Political Difcourfes. Dif. XI,

D 2 Men,

• •
 ( 28 )
Mc11, rendering us all Equals, fuch as
. . '

Nature created us when £he gave u~

• •

our Exiftence. To fear Death then is

• •
•

an Error: A truly great Error ! Since

• • - ' < •

the Infant, the

:. .
Idiot,,.
the
.
Mad,
.
the Su-
..
•

perannuated, and the Maintainer of

fome
. fond
.
Religious
.
Chimera,
-
fear it. ' .
•

not,
•
notwithftanding they are devoid
•
of • • • •
'
Reafon;. why then .
iliould '
it be feared .

~ya Rational Man, having a Capacity

• • • •• I

pf judging Reafon, and of conceiving • • •

the Truths here exhibited? . .,

'
I ' ' • •

-· .

· IN order
. to
'
our
.
well
.
handling
.
this .
•

pur Second Point, or Head, we · muft

' " . . ' • • • • •

examine
•
; .
Whether.
there
'
are fuch
!11hings as Good
, . .
and ·Bad
.
Morals, .
as is
.
fhe vulgar Opinion : Becaufe in difcuf..
> • I ! • . • . •

:fing that important Qt1eftion, we may

~afily difc~ver, Wl1ether or no it be
!awful for.. a Man ..
to d~prive
. . '
himfelf
.
of
'''. ·-•

Life. · .
. .. .
·• .. . ·. I

•
 ( 29 )
THE Ideas which Men have cone
~eived conce1·ning Good Morals and
Bad ones, are not innate, but really
·contracl:ed, or acquired. Fo1· were
they engraven naturally i11 the Hearts
of Men, all Mankind in general muft
neceifarily have them J which is not fo:
Si11ce ,ve are experimentally taught,
that all whatever ,ve call Bad, as Mur-
der, Theft, Adultery, Fornication, In-
.ceft , Sodomy, Rebellion, Treachery,
&c. have alwavs •
been, and frill are be-
lieved, by abundance of different Peo-
ple, to he Good ; as Hiftories, both
•

ancient and modern, do tefiify, and the

feveral Cufioms of {undry Nations, i.11
all Ages, do fufficiently con.firm.
-
DO we not i:ead, that Theft was
· efteemed a commendable and virtuous
AB:ion among the Spartans ; and Adul-
tery
'
the
. .
farc.e among both the Ra1na.ns
·· and
•
 ( 30 )
and the Lacede1ne12in11s ? · When the
Ronzans had got as many Children by
their Wives as they cared for, they
might eithe~ lend or give tht:ir faid
Wives to others who were defirous of
having Offspring by them. A Lacede-
11ionian might ask a Husband, poffeffed
of a b~autiful
',
Woman who had
brought him. fine Childrefi; to lend
him his faid Wife, that he likewife
piight beget ori her fbch fine Children:
•

Nay more; if the H~~~and faw a

fprightly young Man7 h::tle, vigorous,
and. well- pr~ortioned, he would in-
treat hi.m to 111ake Ufe pf his Wif~,
that thro· his Mea-ns hQ might have a
,

handfome
. ,
Breed.
.

T il-t 'Jews imagined they did a

De~d exceedingly pleafing in the Sight
,

of G O D, wl1en~ With unheard of

•

•
Treachery; they fiole away the Goods
of

•
 ( 3I )
of the Egyptians: Nay, they believed
that they acted, moft pioufly when they·
flaughtered fuch Numbers of innoi;ent
People, and poffeffed themfelves of their
Lands and Subftance. The Romans
thought they were doing ·a very glo-
rious Action, when, violating the pub-
lic Faith, they ravifhed the b'abine Wo-
men. Minos made a Law in Crete*,
which compelled the Husbands to fe-
•

parate themfel ves from "their Wives, du-

ring a cerEain Time, in order co pre-
vent th~ Birth of too many Children ;
and at the fame Time gave general Li-·
cence to all fo difpofed, to quench their·
Concupifcence with Sodomy: Certain it
is, that the Cretans held the. Act of
Sodomy in high Veneration, becaufe
they believed that Minos inftitured it
by Order from Jztpiter. Fornication
was deemed lawful among thofe of the
" Now Candia.
-
Hebrew
 ( 32 ) '
llebrew Nation; as was alfo what tlie
Law terms Single-Adultery ; fince from
Scripture we learn, that Abraham, Da.:.
'IJid, Solomon, and abundance more;
were married; and yet had Concubines.
The Romijh Church forbids her Priefts,
&c. to marry; and fuffers them to for.;.
nicare. The Eg;ptia1is, Carthaginians,
Grecians and Romans efteemed thofe to
be very vertuous Menr who voluntarily
flew themfelves, •either to avoid falling
into their Enemies Power, or for the
Good of their Country, or to prevent
their lofing what Honour and Renown·
they already had acquired, nay and even
if they did it only becaufe they we1·e
,veary of living. Thofe People alfo
apparently believed themfelves to be do.;
ing Acl:ions fuperlatively grateful to tl1e
Supreme Divinities, wl1ile; with fuch·'
impious Barbarity, they were facrificing-
ar their Altars fuch Numbers of Htc1-
mart
•
 ( 33 )
' .
~an Viclin.1s. 'i'l1e Primitive Chri-
- I . • '(" • •

jlians higf1ly praifed fi1~h Wom~n _and

f6und ·they· we1·e in manifeft D~nger

of having their Chaftity violated~ the • ' I I

Dru.ftans, a People of Mouqt Liba~

. • I •.
.fl .. - • •••• • .• • ...... ~ , ..........

nus, liave no Abhor1·ente to either 111-

. . , . ' '

ceft or Adultery, fince . they conabit

witb. t11eir own· Dau'gliters~ and~ at. a
folemn Feftival,
. oii a . certruii D~y'. i~ ' '

the Year, they i'nter"ch"angeably' make

U{e" of each others Wi"ves, in Token. or
mutual Friendlliip. Eve"ry orie k~ows~
that Polygamy, Adhltery- arid Forn"i"ca~·
1
tiori
.
are generally"
'
permitted to ali".
M~le-
Mahometans, 1i·11ce tbey· may. l~gally.- •

marry four Wives, and keep as· many·

C9ncu_bines~- as they are able to main... (•

tairi. Thofe of Negapatan, and. of

fume otfier Eajf-I1zdia' Provinces, fencl~

tliey may be defloweredJ by. the. Priefis,

E and

. ..·......- .
•
~.-
 ( 34.)
a.nd believ~ that, in fo doing1 they
make a moft holy Sacrifice to their
Gods : Thefe young Maidens are con-
veyed to the Temples_ in a very large
Chariot, at which Time many Men,
out of the Ardency of a Religious
Zeal, defperately caft themfelves naked
on the Ground in the Road, fo that the
Chariot Wheels, paffing over their Bo-
dies or Limbs, cruili their Bones in
'
Splinters, by which they imagine they
die Martyrs, and therefore go directly
•
and immediately to Paradife. The ve-
ry fam~ Sentiment and Belief had the
• • •

Primitive Chrifiians, when they fpon-

taneoufly embraced Death to confefs the
Name of Chrijf.

T H E Cajjirs, a People of South-

.Africa, have little or no Regard to the
Laws of Matrimony; and their Wo-
men, in Token of Gratitude to thofe
l\1en
 ( 35' )
Men from whom they have received
any fmall Favour or Courtefy, fail not
obliging thofe their Benefacl:ors with a
Sight of their Nudities, the doing
which Action unasked is, among them,
confidered as a very extraordinary Piece
of Civility. The Idolaters who inha-
bit in the City of Surat, (appertaining
to ·the Emperor of Hindojlan, other-
wife called the Grand Mogul) after· they
are dead, being to be burned, their
Wives voluntarily and joyfully go and
cafl: themfelves into the flaming Pile,
together with the Bodies of their de-
funct· Con[orts ; and this they do, be-
caufe they believe they £hall enjoy the
•

Embraces of their Husbands in the

•

next World, and alfo that thereby they

lhall gain a never-dying Reputation •
•

The like is done by the Women of Ne-

gapatan before-mentioned, and alfo by
E 2 thofe
 ( 36 )
rh,o(e qf diverfe ocl1er rarts of t~ofe Ori~
• •

~ncal Regio11s. .
\.·11 •. , ·,
• • • •

• •
•
. ' .
~-v -i; 11:ill f~r 3?9re e}ftrao~Rinai·y is
'Yh~~ i~ ~or,~ br ~t~ W~Y~~ 'qf f~p,£~ ~f
tl1e ~it~ 9'!fira,: f~.r "'h,~q thy.. ij9.-
~i;~ pf ch~i~-~e~fl Ht~~.b~uds ~r.~ Jaiµ in
.!~7, ~P-Rg ~~~ ftr~~S.h~ V~µ,l~s apppinte~
~(),; :-~~e~~ ~p~ff a[~~jo1µ,~~~ w~~QWS
fP,w.{t.~~~?~n~.
.'- ~~ufe f~f~'l\fr~X~~-- fO:
.
~~ .•

~~~~riff. .
~n,cl,?fei
. .
th~1-~i11, W~)~f~: t~ex \

• f1~ft. ~~ff~t?4' ·P-~fi~ ,W\~ .. H;~~{;

Thirft, and
. . . ,.,
.._.
Stench.
. ' "
. The,
- ..
Inhahitants
. .
'II •· . ~ ~. ◄ I . ' ... , · '. . '·, · .· · ·
. ' . - '

~f-. - :fl.f(cqcq, • ~aJit~~ o,f YaJ;a;1,, do, at

~~~y :r~\_V l\tl?,OP.,; (~cri~c~ ~h~ V,i'.~gi...
~i_cy ,?f:. ~~~ °r1~1 ~Fa,u,tifu.l, D~mfel i°'
~h~. Ci_ty; ~t.¾~~ 9a~;i,w,:e .
~ R~~(qr~~d
.. .

i.~.
. ½~ ~
~?~l,?)'{i~$,
. . . . ,, . ,?f!r :_ 1'~ .~rM.a.t4~ ,_,

e~, ~-?1 ~X l\~ f ~~~~,1i1.~s.,_ ~(· 1.el~~~~e~ .i_nr

to. tfu; Hands.'.9f a Crew of. nervous
,_ .. ·, -r • , \ •·, ;... , - r ; · , . ' ,-, • ; ;. ' , ~ r. :
- ' '

xo~1~~- Bqn~t'es,J, .9fi. :Pr,i~~s,, 'YPR,. ~9n~

•
• •
•
• •
~uct

•
 dt1cl: her to the Temple, and lead l1er
up to the Idol to wl1om the fame is
(iedicated : This done, they extin-
guifh all the Lamps, and take their
Pleafure wiih her: Wh~n they are all
••

_fufficiently fated, they conduct her to

•

a certain nnely-illuJ:1'inated A,partment,

where tl1~y; pafs the 'r~µie in lv,lirth
;in~ Rejoici~g,, cong_ratµla~ing her on
~h~ Felicity ili~ hqs enjoyed in the
• •

Car~ifes of the Holy Ic;lol:: 'they- then

convey her out of the Templ~, .c1.~d .(h_~
~s re~<tived "'ith exc;ee~ing gr.e~t Joy by
t~~ feople, wh~ v~nera(e her a_s a
S,~i1~t. Beh()l4 ~ow., in a_ll Parts of
•

the W19Jld, ·f ~i~~s ab1,Jfe Mens. Cre~

4.u,~~tyl
•
•
•
•

T H E Ci,vility of the Noblemen: of

'

the City of Pata11ia (fituate in the

(}ulf of Bengala) is fo exceilive, that
th~y take a Pride in p1·o~e~ing: the E:n~
•
Joyment

•
 •

••

joyment of their Daughters, Nieces,

&c. to fuch Strangers as come thither;
and, generally fpeaking, they them-
felves conduct them on board the Ships,
that they may folace the faid Stran-
·gers dt1ring their· Abode in thofe ~_ar-
•

ters; and all ·this• is, by thofe noble

:perfonages, done in fo loving, fo en-
iaging, and fo friendly a Manner, that
•it is not eafy for the Parties thus oblig;;.
ed to counter-balance the tranfcendent
•
•

Favour-, ,even with the utmoft Returns

• •

·of Gi-aeitude: And when the Veffels

depart,.· thofe contaminated Laffes, ex-
·tremely - well pleafed, return home to
their Friends ; and, inftead of bluiliing
on account of their having been thus
proftituted, they glory at the fignal Ho-
nours they fancy they have received•
•

I N the firft Voyages made by the

Spaniards and Portuguefes to America,
· t&ey
 ( 39 )
they were courteoufiy received by thofe
•
People, who came finging and dan-
cing co meet them, offering thein Fruits, -- ·
and their Women. ·
'

'

IN the Empire of Chzna, Adultery.

and Sodomy are tolerated, in the Men,
by the Laws both Divine and Human.
The Husbands of theCityof Calicut, in.
'

Eafl-India, very lovingly interchange

their Wives. The People of the '
'

Mountain Albors, in Perjia, willing-

ly facrifice themfelves to the Flames,
when they are grown aged. The La-
cedemonians caufed their own Chil-
dren to be {mothered in the Mud,
' '

when found to be born with any.

natural Defect. And in Fine, many .
Nations greatly venerate, or at leaft
willingly tolerate every one of thofe
Things which, by the Cbrijtians and
by fupdry other People, are utterly
condemned,

'
 ( 40 '
condemned, as may be feen in the .be!t.·
and moft authentic Relations ,ve have
•

extant.
•

AL s o Rebelliohs an·c1 Parricides •

were and ftill are deemed moft f>ious

and glorious Actions, when undertaken
and committed in order to free the·
Country from Tyranny : As Pelopidas,
Epaminondas, <fhrajibulus, Hernzodius,
Arijloghi'ton, Philopr£men, Lucius Bru-
•

tus, Publius Valerius, Marcus Brutus;

Caius Caflius, Cato; with a Multitude
• ' •
•

of others among the ancient Greeks and

•
. .

Romans, who were both the Authors·

. '

and Executors thereof, have been and' •

ever· will be very highly teverented: and

efteemed.· ·
•

A-N D' in like manner among t'he

•

'Jews, thofe who rebelled againft, or

wile· killed'. Tyrants; ~s Mqjes, .Othnie!;
•

Ehud;
•
' •

'
 ( 41 )
Ehud, Barack, Gideon, Jz,dith, Sat11h
fan, David, Jehzt, tl1e Machabees, and
many mo1·e, were exceedingly com-
mended, as the Sacred Scriptu~es do
amply tefiify.

AM o N·a modern Rebellio11s ,vorthy

of eternal Prai[e, are thofe of the Ilol-
·landers, the Englijh, the Switzc1·s, and
the Geneva11s : Some to ihake off the
cruel and infupportable Yokes of the
Spaniards and Germans, reftoring Li-
berty to their Countries ; and ochers to
prevent their becoming Bond-Slaves to
~ the Pope, and rid them[elves of a
Prince who went about to re-eftabliili
Popery in his States, and violated the
National Laws by endeavouring to ufurp
the Rights of tl1e People.

TH E Parricides Baltefar Gerard,

Jacques Cle1n111t, Jea11 Chajlel, and
•
F Francois
•
 ( 42 )
Francois Ravi/lac, believed they did
moft meritorious and holy Deeds, when
they aifaffinated the Prince of Orange,
and the Third and Fou1·th Henries,
Kings of France, notwithfranding that
the jirjl and the lafi of thofe Three
Princes we1·e the heft cle[erving Princes
of their Times : The Romijh Cl1urch,
with Multitudes of her Laity, did ex-
tol and vaunt of the faid Exploits ·;
' nay and feveral noted Pen-men fcru ..
pled not writing florid Apologies for
thofe infamous Parricides, and ·among
the reft, even the Pontiff Sixtus V. him-
felf. ·.
' '

·AND indeed all the greateft Inhu-

. mariities imaginable, Spoilings, Perfi-
dies, with other the mo.ft enormous and
deteftable Perpetrations, are, in every
Nation whatever, reputed juft and com-
•

mendable, provid(;~ the fame are prac-

. .. . tifed
 ( 43)
tifed towards fuch as are Enemies to
the refpecrive Creeds of the Perpe-
trai.ors. Thus did the Mahometans be-
lieve they acted very pioufly, while
tl1ey were barbaroufly de!l:roying fo ma-
ny N<1.tions of People, and ufurping
their Poffeffions, becau[e they refufed
to fubmit to the Docl:ri11e of Al-Coran.
A like Belief and Oriinion' .
l1ad our
Weflern Ch1·i/fia11s, when they under-
tool{ the feveral Croifades .agai11ft the
Maho111etan Sarace11s. Yet inccmpara-
bl y more inht1man ,vere the Spa11iards
and Porti,guejes to fome Afiatic and
Africa11 People, but particularly to the
Americans, than the Mahometans have
ever been to even the moft ftrenuous
Oppofers of their Religion : le being
notorious, that to all thofe who will
be any Way prevailed on to embrace
'
the Mf.!!Jitlman Creed, they indulge with
all th<; fame Privileges, Liberties and
F2 Immunities
I
 •
( 44 )
Immunities they themfelves enjoy; and
to thofe ,vho will not, when they have
'
intirely conquered them, they generouf-
•

ly not only grant Life and a compe-

tent Livelihood, but fuffer them, in
•

~lity of Vaffals or Subjects, to en-

joy their Confciences unmolefl:ed.
Whereas the others, ,vich a more than
ferine Savagenefs, cruelly and iha1ne-
'

fully in a manner quite exterminated

whole Nations of the Inhabitants of
that new-found World, tho' the Majo-
rity of them had been forcibly com-
pelled to profefs themfelves Converts to
the Catholic Religion ; and all this thro'
' '
no other real Motive, than that they
might remain. quiet Poffeffors of thofe
opulent Regions which they fo p~r.fi-
dioufly had ufurped~
' •

WHAT greater Cruelty was ever

'
committed by Man, than that in 1282
by•

•
•
 ( 45 )
by the Sicilians? With a moft hor-
•

rible Perfidy they, in one Night, bafe-

ly murdered all the French throughout
that whole Iiland, in a manner merely
at the lnftigation of Pope Nicholas III.
who favoured Don Pedro, King of
Aragoni Nay fo far did their pious
Fury extend, that they ripped open the
Bellies of all fuch Sicilian Women as
were married to French Men, to deftrqy
their Fruit, if they had any, that fo
they might extirpate the ,vhole Race
from that Kingdom.

N O lefs cruel and perfidious Wai

the Ma.ffacre of the Proteflants in
France, in the Year I 572, whereat Fa-
thers ilaughtered their own Sons, Sons
their Fathers, Brothers their own Bro-
thers and Sifters, and all this on no
other Account but becaufe thofe mifer-
•

able People ,vere of a Religion fome-

what
 ( 46)
what differing from theirs. The like
was done by the Papijls of Ireland, in
the Year 164r, who either cruelly
murdered out-right} or caufed mifera-
bly to periili about Three Hundred
Thoufand innocent Protejiants in the
faid lfiand, In fl1ort, innumerable
other Slaughters and moil: horrible Cru~
elties, from Time to Time, have been
committed by Men, thro' the Motives
of either Religion, lntereft, or fome
Punctilio of Honour, all which have
been and are ftill, by fome fuch Mon-
fters in Human Form, accounted for
honourable Trophies.

TH E Laws of both Je'lvs and Ma-

hometans, and even of moft Chrijlians,
permit the Husband to kill his Wife,
if he takes her in the Act of Adul-
tery, and likewife the Man with whom
1he commies the Fact. Finally, every
•
 ( 47 )
one knows, that all the Murders, Ra~
vages and Deeds of Perfidy, which
Men commit when they are at War
with each other, are not only autho:..
rifed by their refpective Laws; but arc
alfo looked on as commendable and
glorious Actions. But in Regard to
Truth I will add, that notwirhftanding
it mufr be acknowledged, that the Ma-
jority of Chri.ftians have been and fo
ftill continue, the cruelleft and moil:
blood-thirfty People in the whole World,
neverchelefs we are not to impute this
either to G'hrijl, or to his Law, fince
he every where commands Mercy and
Equity, but the Fault mufr be laid at
the Doors of fuch Chrijlians as act fo
contrary to the Principles of the Gof-
pel.

Now, among fuch a Diverfiry of

•

Sentiments as we meet with in the

•

World,
•
\
 ( 48 )
World, amidft fo ftrange a Confufion,
I would fain know, where we {hall find
a Man really endowed with fo much
Wifdom as to teach us, Which are the
Things honeft or diihoneft, juft or un-
juft, good or bad. Many People de-
clare certain Things to be honeft, juft
and good, they coqimend and practife
them : Many others proclaim the fame
Things to be dilhoneft, unjuft and bad,
they execrate and fly from them. Thefe
.are Men, and fo are the others. Who
is to be the Judge between them ? ·A ·
Man. . Certainly he cannot, becau·fe
he is a Party. An Angel indeed might
tletermine the Matter between them,
did we but know where any of the
Angels were to be found: But the
Mifchief is, our modern Aftronomers
having forced their Way thro' the Em-
-
pyreum, _and even annihilated its very
. .
•

Name, with the Infinity of Suns and

· Planets
'

•
 ( -i9 )
Planets which they have difcovered,
have alfo confequently difperfed and
driven away the V(J.ry Angels them-
felves from their ancient Paradijial
A.bodes, and now it is not known
what is become of them.

W H o then tnuft inftrucl us how

to difcern, which are the good and
which the bad Morals ? An Oracle ?
A Prophet? Thefe certainly may un-
veil to us this great Myftery: But the
Difficulty is to know which of them
all we a.re to credit; fince all of them
are different in Opinion•
•

IF we fhould give Credit to Bre-

mau, the Prophet of the Brachmans,
or Gymnefophijls, and of a very confi-
derable Part of the Oriental Indians,
we muft then condemn what has been
taught by Confucius, the God Fohe, Mo-
•

G fls,

''
•
 ( 50 )
Jes, Chrifl, Mahomet, and fo many o..
• •

thers; becaufe what he taught is quite

contrary to what is i11joined by the
•

·others. If we would believe in Co1ifit-

•

clus, or in Fobe, Prophets and Legifla-

tors of the Chinefes, we ihould be lia-
ble to
. the fame I neon venie11cies. If '
'

,ve believe in Moj'es, we ihall dif-

obey Ch1·ifl, and the others ; -fince
'

Mofes, not long before he died, com-

. manded his People to obferve for
. '

ever the Laws and Statutes whic:h he

•

had taught theJD, fuch being the Al-

•

mighty's Pleafure. No,v ,vhether or no

l1is Precepts were· co11trary to thofe of
Ch,·ijl, we may comprehend by thefe
•

Words. 11
Yot1 know, fays Chrijl, that
'' Mofes com1nanded you to cake -an
'' Eye from· l1im who had deprived
•

'' you of one of ) 0ur Eyes, and a 7

'' Tooth from him ,vho - l1ad taken a;,,

'' way one fron1 you: But I command
:' yoq
 ( 5I )
'~ you _not to refifr thofe ,¥ho do Evil
'' t1nto you ; and if any one fn·1ites
'' you on tl1e Rigl1t Cheek, p1·efent
'' unto him alfo the Left." · If we fub-
mit . to the Doctrine of .Chrijl, we
are obliged to detefr that of Mahomet,
and chofe of all the ochers. The fame
•

would l1appen were we to embrace that

of Maho111et. Behold th~n, we are more
imbroiled than ever. . · .•

I KN ow, that the Jews and tho

Chrijlia11s will tell me, that it is ou1·
Duty to ackno\vledge and believe iq.
the True Prophets, that is, · tl1ofe to
whom G O D hath truly manifefted
his Will, as appea1·ed from the Mira- ·
•

cles which they performed, and from

the particular Graces which tl1e Al-
mighty conceded to them in Pr~of of
their Divi11e Miflion: But thofe who.
• •' •

are Followers of the other Proppe~s

• G i . will
 ( 5~'
will alfo tell me the very fame. 'the
Reply made me by the Firft will be:
'' That the faid Prophets performed
cc their Miracles in the Prefence of
•

,, many different Sorts of People, and

cc that the Truth thereof is atteft-
,c ed by many in their ftill-extant Wri-

,c tings.'f The Second will encounter

ine with the felf-fame Argument. The
Firft will add, '' That abundance have
'' confirmed the Verity of thofe Mif...
'' fions with the Spilling of their laft
c, vital Blood." The Second will like-

wife alledge; '' That they alfo had

c, and ftill have l'Iumbers of Martyrs
cc who fuffer Death in Defenfe of thofe
cc Laws which they received from their

'' Prophets." •

TO whom then are we really to

have Recourfe, in order that the naked
•

Truth ·:may appear with regard to the

Good-
 ( 53 )
Goodnefs or Badnefs of Morals ? I do
not know the Perfon: But this I am
moft certain of; '' That if to a1l the
'' wife Men in the World, who are
'' not prejudiced in Favour of fome
'' Error, was to be put the fame In..
'' terrogatory which was put to Chri.ft
'' by Pilate, when he faid to him,
'' What is 'l'ruth? they would wifely,
'' in Imitation of Chrijl, remain fi....
'' lent, and would not railily pronounce
'' their Judgment on a Thing they
''-- know not.'',
'

SE N s IBLE I am, that thofe who

'

pretend to the Knowledge of what is

morally good and morally bad, honeft
and dilhoneft, do ground that their
imagined Knowledge on the Remorfe
of Confcience which Men do feel af-
ter l1aving committed a Crime, and on •

that Blulhing in the Countenances of

•
thofe .
 ( 54)
thofe ,vho do a di!honeft Deed, and
on the Joy and Satisfaction People con-
ceive in doing good Actions. Thefe are
the ftrongeft Reafons they alledge to
prove, that the Notiou of g?od and
bad Morals, Honefty and Dilhonefty,
is ingrafted in us naturally. But every
one may eafily free his Mind from fo
grofs an Error, by confidering and re-
flecting, how various and different are
the Motives which occafion Remorfe
and Bluiliing; and how the fame Things
which caufe Remorfe in fome, give to
others the higheft Satisfaction imagin...
•

able. •
•

F o R Example: · A Chrijlian wil'l

be well pleafed at hearing Mahomet rail-
ed againft; as will a Jew to h€ar Chri.ft
blafphemed : A11d both the 011e and the
other, fuppofing they are fully perfuad-
ed of the Ve1·ity of their refpective Re-
ligi.ons>
'
 ( 55 )
Iigions, ,vill conceive the greatefi: I-Ior-
ror at hearing their own Prophets fo
·blafphemed; and if by Accident they
happen to drop a difrefpeclful Expref-
fion concerning them, they are after-
wards extremely grieved. In like man-
ner, a Maho111etan enjoys his four Wives,
together with feveral Concubines, ,vith-
out ever feeling tl1e Ieaft Tinclure of
•

Remorfe. On the contrary, a Chrijlia11,

even if he follows loofe Courfes, has
his Intervals of Repentance. A Maho-
metan will curfe the Chrijlian who fuf-
fers a cruel Death rather than he will
become a Mtflfttlman, and on the very
fame Motive a Chrijlian will highly
conde1nn the Mahometan; yet they
both willingly die Martyrs for their Re-
ligion, and both the 011e and the other
conceive a Joy and Satisfaction in de-
priving of Life. tl1ofe who are Enemies
io their Creed, A11d it is the fame
•
•
1n
 ( 56 )
in all other Human Operations, as We
have faid and proved in examining the
Opinions of many Nat-ions utterly op-
pofite and contrary to each ocher. By
all which it is evident, that Remorfe is
not natural, but contracl:ed from the
Ideas which we form of Things long
after our Birth.

F o R if Reo1orfe was a Thing in,.

nate, all Mankind· in genera], none ex-
cepted, would infallibly feel it in their
Confciences. when they have committed
Murder, Adultery,. Theft, or any other
flagrant ·Crime; which is- fiot fo, fince
Experience teaches the contrary. Frolll
•
W·hence we ought to conclude, that
Remorfe is· no other than the Offspring
cf Education, or an Effect of the
•

Notions which thofe who breed us up

give us concerning the Goodnefs or Bad..
pc;fs of Hu1nan, Actions. As the Cre-
.

tan,
 ( 57)
ta11 and Cbi,1eje have not any Hor1·or
•

to the filthy Act of Sodomy, becaufe

none ever taught them that the fame was
. '

bad, but their Laws declare it rather to

be good, and that they ought to do it•
•

On the contrary, the Jew and tl1e

• •

Chri.flian have it in the utmo!l: Abo-

mination, becaufe, a1moft from the ve-
•

ry Cradle, they learn that· 1·t is a very_

monfi:rous Evil, and in that Belier
•

they are brought ·up. For the fame

Reafon, the Prote.flant Chrijlian lat1ghs
• • •

at and defpifes Confeffion, commanded

by the Romijh Church, and never feels
the le aft Remorfe for fo doing: Where-
. - .
as the Roman-Catholic cannot ever en-
joy Peace ot Mind if he has not Re-
courfe to i1is Choftly Father. A Pro-
•

tefla11t- will trample under Foot and ufe

in the moft fcornful manner a Confe-
crated llojlia, and w1ll feel great Sa-
ti5fatl:ion in fo doing, believing he does
H an
 ( 58)
a11 Action very pleafing . in the Sight
of GOD: B11t a good Roman-Catho-
lic will not ever dare to do .any fuch
Thing, becaufe he beli"eves he fhould
coi;nmit a moft execrable ·sacrilege,
and would foonet fuffer the moft cruel
,

Death than commit it. lri Sicz'lj, !:J"Pain~

,

Portugal, &c. a vertuous Wom~in, or

Maiden, would blufh extremely to be
faluted or kiffed by a Man; or if he ,

fuould fee her naked Breafts : Where-

•

as, at the fame Time, a French or

Englijh Damfel, alike vertudus, fuffets
it without the leaft Difturbante or ,

Emotion ; and this becaufe the Fiift

have been taught, that tho'fe Th1ngs are
,

~ndecent, and the ·second,_ that ·chey a'.re

allowable : Et fie de ctitefis. ·
•

Lt T us then conclude, that the

Confcience which People . make of
,

Things called morally good and mo-

•

rally
 ( 59)
rally- bad is not real; feeing that the
felf-fame Action which by many Peo-
• •

pie is reputed bad, is by many others

pronounced good: And this Notion
cannot be innate, becaufe it is not uni-
verfal, but merely local and pa1·ticular.
So that we ought to fay, if we would
fpeak fenfibly, that Adultery, Theft,
Murder, &c. are, by the Laws of
fome Nations, pronounced to be bad
Things, and as fuch condemned; and,
by the Laws of fome other Nations,
,

they are declared to be good, and as

fuch commended; and this according
to the Neceflity the People weri un-
der of fo declaring thofe Actions, when
they fir.ft formed their Societies, or
according to the Motives which the fe-
veral Tyrants and Ufurpers had, the
more eafily to hold in Bondage thofe
People whofe Rights and Liberties they
had ufurped.
H 2 HENCE
 ( 60 )
HEN c E, if we would truly diftin.,,
gui{h which is tl1e Local, and not Mo-
•

ral Good or Evil of a Society, we

ought to exami11e which are the Things •

which contribute to the pt1blic Quiet

and Happine.fs, and to call thofe Things
•

good; as alfo tq.ofe others which con-

.duce towarq.s it;; Difquiet and Ruin,
and co call them Evil: · And in this • • •

rafe, the faid Society rn~y, with all

~ertainty, know what Things are good,
• •

and venerate the,n, and what are evil,

• •
•

and condemn them : But wl1at may

'
have be~n received by op.e Nation, and
may be coµyenie.q.t for it, ought nor,
nor cannot ferve as an infallible Rule
• • •

to all the refl:, fince it may be to their

•
Detriment; '' Becaufe Human Laws
• • • •

~' and Infiitutions. are

. riot
. unlike
-- to cerr \

'~ tain Simples, whi~h to fome Bodies

'' a1·e falubrious Remedies, and to o-
!~ ;he1·s, tliey are mortal Poifons." •

!3ESI DES,
 ( 61 )
B E s I n E s, if we examine into the
Cat1fes of Human Operations, we ihall
difcover them not to be free, but con-
ftrained : •. So that the Actions of Men
not being voluntary, they are not there-
fore to be blamed for what they do,
be it ever fo bad ; fince there is not any
Thing bad but what is fpontaneous.
All Beings then, anfwerably to their
Organizations and the Motions given
them, are determined to operate after
fuch or fuch a Manner: If in their
•
Operations they meet any with any Ob-
fiacle, or any Thing to impede their na-
. .

tural Courfe, they 11either do themfelves

fuffer Violence, nor caufe others to·
fuffer it ; but if tl1e faid natural Courfe
be hinde1:ed or interrupted, thofe Be-
•

ings become difordered, and alfo put in-

to Diforder whatever other Beings they
· meet with, thro' the Efforts they ufe
to operate according to their Nature.
· Fo~
 ( 62)

•
F o R Example: Tl1e Nature of
Smoke is to afcend. If it can freely
exhale thro' the Air, it occafions not
any Damage at all : But if it finds it-
felf pent up in any Place whence it
cannot evaporate, that whole Space and
Circumference by little and little fills
with its tenuous Particles, and if any
Animals are there, they there\vith are
fuffocated,

•
IN like Manner, the Nature o( a
rapid Torrent is to haften towards a
lower. Bed : If it meets not with any Ob-- .
•
'

ftacle in its Courfe, it does no Mif-

•

chief; but if a huge Rock, loofened

from the impending Mountain, ftops
its Paifage, it prefently fwells, over-
flo,vs its Banks, drown.s the neighb.our-
ing Plains and ruins all .the Vegetables,
•

&c. there growing•

•

•
 ( 63 )
TH E Nature of a large flourilhing
Tree, alfo, is not to drop its Limbs,
or· to fall down on the. Ground, but
to have its Limbs ·firongly kriit toge-
ther, and to ·increafe pr-0portionably to
the' radical Moifiure it conta1as : Nor:.:
•

withftanding this, a fut•ioas Guft of

Wind !hall difmember it, or perhaps
quite root it up and caft it on the•

Earth, and with the Fa:11 it -may kill

feveral ·Reptiles, and deftroy a Num-
•

her ·of ·Plants and Shrubs which.· lived

and .grew underneath. J ·•
'

. ·L E T us now fuppofe, that the -Be-

ings which wete damaged by che S111oke,
the Torrent and ·the 'Iree, had Utterance
and fhould complain: The ~Animals
would fay to the Smoke ; ''' Why didfl
'' thou fuffocate us?'' The Yegeta!Jles
to the 'torrent ; c, Why didft thou over-
''-- flow ·and drown us?•~. And the Rep-
tiles,
 ( 64)
tiles, Plants, &c. to the great 'l'ree ~
'' Why didft thou crulh and deftroy
'' us with thy enormous Weight?;,
The Firft would reply; '' Becaufe l
'' could not freely exhale my felf thro'
'' the Air." The Second would an-
fwer; '' Becaufe the Rock turned me · .,
'' from my Courfe, and compelled me
c, to fally out of my Bounds." And

the 'third would fay; '' B::caufe I was

'' not able to refift or wichftand the
'' Fury of the impetuous Wind. Com-
e, plain therefore (all Three wou!J fay>

'' and with abundance of Reajon) of

'' thofe who confl:ra;ned us to do as
cc we did, and not of us, who acred

'' contrary to ot1r Wills and Natures;

cc for it is not we who are the Au-
•

cc thors of eith~r yours or our own

~~ Damages.':
•
 ( 65 )
HEN c E may we comprehend, that
Men are not blameable when they
commit Crimes; fince, by various
Caufes, they are compelled fo to do.
Suppofe, for Example, a very honeft
Man is, thro' feveral unexpecl:ed Ac-
cidents, reduced to Poverty: For fome
Time, his honourable Principles, to-
getl1er with the Dread of Punilhmenr,
•

here and hereafter, refrain him from •

Theft or Robbery: But afterwards,

•

his Mifery increafing, he expofes him-

felf to a diftant an,d uncertain Evil to
~void one which is moft certain and
prefent: Thus he refolves upon a
Robbery, be_ing fure that thereby he
may fomewhat alleviate his Mifery;
and the more willingly becaufe, hop-
ing not to be difcovered, he :flatters
. .

himfelf that he may preferve his Re-

putation, efcape the Puniihment 9f
I Man.,

• •
 ( 66 )
Iv1a11, ~lnd alfo appc:1fe tl1e ,<\l;i.1igr11:y·
by Repentance: T·l1:is l\!Ia'ri beili):; llOW
determined on th'e En·terp1·ife, -he may
likewife kill che Per'f6n whom he goes
•

to rob, 'dn accou·nc ·of c·l1e Refifl:ance

}1c n1akes, or perhaps to avoid hi& •

being 'by him ·detected, and delivered

into 'rh·e Hands of J·o•ftice ; - yet this
ltoober docs ·not take away the other's
. ·Li'fe out of ·any Hatred he bore him,
·but me1·ely th1·0' the Neceffity lie lies
uride1· of Self-Preferva'tidn : Fr-0in all
,vhich it ·p1ain\1y appears, ithat ·the mete
•

Neceffity · olf 'providing himfelf with

lleqt11fires to ip1·event :hi·s peri(hing
-,vitl1 Cold and ~Hunger, :and 'his be- 1

• •

: ing aetetl:ed, 'caufed him ·tb ·cotrtm·it

···both Theft · ancl Mui:der, ineitlier ·of
,
• . '

,vhich )_Crimes 'he -ivbuld . ever lia'i>e

. .'cdm)nitretl 'had he ;not iv'anted 'Neceira-
'
.
1
'

• •
 •

IN like manner, a young Virgin 7 •

ihuc up i11 a Cloiite1·, · or held i11 un-

fufferable Slavery and Confinement by
her Parents, will be guilty of fre-
qt1ent Pollutions and many other leud
anq. indecent .Pracl:ifes, in fome Mea-
fure to mitigate the Boilings of her
~oncupifcence, becaufe ~e ca~not gra-
t}fy the for~ible Stimulations ofNatUf.~,
being tp.u$ fep;irated from M,en.

r H~
s fo,9liih and t1njuft Separa.-... ,

tjon of ~he d~fferent Sexes of O!Jr Sp.e-

cies, which is pr~(J:ifed in ~~ny Places;
o,ccafions no,t ~nly. fu~h ;pollutions; .

bu,t has alfo contaQiin~~e_d ~p~ p~t-

verted the ~a.tural Geniu.s of Me11
- • • _r:J, ..
:
As we evideJ;},tly fee thro~gpout ,tl~e
D01ninions
'
.
. . " . of'
the Maho1netans
,. .
a11d
..
)'
- -·

R~ma,_n-Catkolics, the Majo1·~ty of who/e

F~mal~s ~~e fi\1,1,t up in $eraglios fl,l.ld
•

I 2 Con-
 Want r)f. \,VrJ;XlCli, ~cl.diet (11r.111felves
to the detefi,1ble P1·rtcl:fe of Sc1don1y.
Some m,1v, tell nJ.e, th:-:re are So-
don1ites alf0 in Enf!,lt11zd a11d Holland,
••

tho' the Wo1nen have ihc1·c a very great

Liberty. But I ihall anticipate them,
by_ fayi11g, Firft, That they are in ve-
ry fmall Numbers in Cornparifon with
thofe to be met with i11 the Cou11-
tries I me11tioned; and Secondly, 'fhat
even moft of ·thofe few who do it,
are fuch as are unmarried, and are ei-
ther r,oor, miferly, timorous or ugly;
and, not having Women ·of their own,
and not being able, thro' their Po- .

verty, A va1·ice, Fearfulnefs or Defo1·-

•

n1ity, to corrupt thofe of their Neigh-

bours; and alfo, 011 another Hand,
being appreheniiv·e of being infected
'
by
 ( 69 )
by reforti11g ·to fuch as are too co111-
tnon, and being lil{ewife weary of
their ove1·-frequent manual-Pollutions,
they fall into this accurfed Vice, not
•

having other Means of cooling their

Libidiny. .
•
• •

I K N ow that many People are

Thieves and Sodomites, witl1out ·the.ix
• •

being neceffitated by any of thefe

Caufes above-cited · as ·Caufes of fo
doing; and truly thefe feem to be
very blame-worthy, becaufe they fteal,
having wherewithal to live, and abufe
Catamites, · having it in their· Pu\ffi
to make Ufe of the proper Sex. There
are fame who attribute thefe Difor-
<lets to a bad Inclination or Nature
inherent in thefe Men, being in them-
. felves naturally difpofed to Evil; but
they are miftaken : Since Hu1na.n
•
•
Nature,
 • •

Nature, fimply confidered, difpofes not

either to Good or Evil, but merely
to Self-Prefervation, as ,ve fee in o-
ther Animals, and in Men really Sa-
vage, or intirely free anq. independent
of each . other, all which pracl:i(e
•
whatfoever they think neceffary fol"
their Support; or for which. they have
an Appetite, ,vithout e~amining whe-
ther it be good or bad, honeft or dif-
honeft, juft or unjuft : But it is not fo
with thofe we call Civiljzed Men, who
have ftraye.d away froiµ the Laws of
Nature in order to fubmit to other Laws
of· their own eftablifl1ing, and oppo,fi_ce
to the original ones in almoft every R,e-
fpeel:; fince .thefe teach, tha.t cer.taip
Things are good and juft, and niuft be
done, and that .cer~ain ,other Things a.~e
bad and unjuft, and mu.ft be avoided;
fo in this Manner H1J111an Natur.e is be-
come
 ( 7I )
come changed and perverted ; in as
much that as Men ha.ve pronounced
many Things for good which, i,z re-
rum natura, are bad, and abundance
,

of other Things are cried down by

them as ·bad which, in rerum natura,
are real_ly good, they have totally
contaminated their Minds; :fince their
natural Ideas being changed, their In-
clinations become alfo changed, but
not intirely: Becaufe Nature, reign-
ing in the Hearts of Men, urges them
·to obey her, and Education, being
poffetfed of their Intellectuals, con;.
ftrains them to do Things which of~
fend Nature. From this perpetual Con..
traft all Diforders are derived, as we
may fee in the following Examples,

A V 1 RGI N, prepofl'eifed in Favour

of Virginity, will confi:antly defpife
the
 ( 72 )
the f\veet foothing Remedies whicl1
the benign Mother Nature fuall pre~
fent for tl1e Eafement of her Pai11s,
to lead a ·moft unhappy Life under
the cruel Yoke of Education ; and
this, truly, becaufe ilie ftupidly be-
lieves Barrennefs to be a fuperlative
·Go0d, when it is no other than a fuper-
lative Evil, as ten~ing to th~Annihila-
.tion of the Species.

. 0 N the contrary, another Virgi.q>

notwithil:anding the., ftrong Stimula-
tions of Honour, fuall be forced by
•

-Nature to yield t<.l the Defires of a

faithful Lover, and in a ~ort Space
of Time iliall reap the Fruit of his
fweet Embraces. '' My deareft Babt:; !•

'' ( 'Z£1ill jhe cry) how tenderly do I

·~- love .thee; becaufe thou ~rt the
~' pretty~ innocent and lovely . Prq-
• '' duct
. . ' ~

•
 •

'' duel: of my Love ! Yet I pierce thy

'' Veins! by thy Death to conceal chat
'

'' my Shame and Infamy whicl1 thou

'' by living haft unvoluntarily divulg-
'' ed ! If the jufteft and moft delecra-
'' blc Actions can truly be termed
'' 1hameful and infamous ! Pardon me
'' then, thou dear and moft beloved
'

'' Pledge of my tenderefl: Affections, if

'' I deprive thee of that Being which I
'' gave thee; :fince the taking away thy
'

'' -Life is the fole Means of preferving

'
'' both my Life and my Honour! And
'' thou; _O Sacred NATURE! who
'' knoweft the wretched Condition of •

'' Mankind, compelled by the Vio-

•

'' lence of thy fierceft Enemy, Edu-

'·' cation, to perpetrate Deeds which are
'' fo very repugnant and contrary to thy
c, Wifdom and thy Juftice ! grant thy

~'' Pardon to thofe who, conftrained to

- '

K offend

•
'
 ( 74}
,, offend thee, chufe always the leaft
'' Offence, as I have done in killing
'' my pretty Babe to preferve my own
__,, Life and Reputation!''

i N thefe, and in ftill ftronger and

rYICire pathetic Accents, would the di{-
•

cortfolate ·and innocent Mother, with

·- •

very great Reafon, lament her Mitery.

And with the very fame Reafons might
a- Murderer, a 'thief, or any other De-
iinquents excufe themfelves ; becaufe,
either by Nature, by Education, or
by Hahitude, they are always- forced to
•

thett Opetations, as h~ before be-efi 1n-

titnated. • .· . ; -·
• • • • -
•
E~.ott·e:Att·oN' a:nd Habitude ate a
Second Nature, -atid as fuch are capa-
ble of corrupcirtg and chartgi11g the
natural Difpofitions both of the Mind
· · · and
 ( 75 )
and Body; fince we fee that a Man
who has habituated himfelf in a Be-
lief or Opinion, tho' ever fo falfe and
abfurd, a$ is that of Traefubfla11tiatio11, •

. or any other Trt1mpery no lefs ftupid

and -ridicµlous, he cannot abandon it,
no.rwjchftanding Reafon and all the
•

SeP.(es are continu_ally convincing hi111

pf i~s .Falfity.
•

IN like Manner we know, that Na~

ture ha~ given to Men an Equality of
Strength in their Arms: Neverthe-
lefs, he who, for the greateft Part of
his Life, has ufed his Left Arm, wil~
have his Right Arm ab.undantly weak-:-
cr, and it will be of very little Ufe
to him~ in Comparifon with the o-
the~.

• K2 Ws
 ( 76 )
· '\V E k11ow likewife, that· a Clo\•:n,
•

•
wl10 has long• habituated his Ear to •

the diiinal, difcor~ing Tone of a ca..

ierwauling Bag-pipe, will always pre•
. . ' .
fer the rude Noife of that vile Inftru-
m~nt to the perfect Harmony of the
~neft Opera. For the fame R~~fon,
the Inhabitants
. ·of fome -wild
. ' . . ·Moun-
. .

tains, &c. who have conftantiy been

accul1omed to drink onl}r Wat~r, and
• •
io feed 011 coarfe Brea<1~ ,vould . be
• .

greatly put to it were they tQ eat a

- . .

fe\v Pays at a great

. .
Man's Table,
J.vhere they muft drink the ricneft
Wines, and eat the 1noft dainty Cates,
~ut not be allowed any Water, nor
• •

f!]ch black B1·e;id as tl1ey 'ufed to feed

01J. So alfo · a Bird, grown 61d in a
Cage, and always fed ,vith hard-boil-
ed Eggs, if let loofe i~ a Wood, where
Nµn1bers of its own Species j'oyfully
•
feed
' ,- '

\
 ( 77 )
feed themfelves witl1 Fruits, Seeds, or
Herbs, wot1ld periili with Hunger, not
being ufed to thofe Foods.

B u r fully to demonfirate the

fl:range Potency of Habitude, it fuf-
fices to fay, that it can even blot out
of the Hearts of Creatures the very
Love and Defire of Liberty, and
make them fond of Confinement.
This we may obferve in thofe Birds
which are brought in their Nefis
and bred up in Cages, wherein they
are grown old, which, even if the
Door is left open, love rather to re-
mai11 Pri{oners in that narrow Con-
finement, than to go out and en-
joy the Pleafures of· the delightfome
•
Fields, anci to [pore themfelves in the
vaft Regions of cl1e Air. .

THE
•

•
 i{ 78 )
T ll·E like happens to Men when,
thro' {ome tedious Inclifpofition, or o..
ther Accident, they have been ~ny
Years confined within Doors, they ne-
ver c:a.1't t,o go out afterwards : And
I my felf r.en1ar1her ,to hav.e [een .a
:lu,rkijb Slave, in ;0ne .Qf the Mal-
tefa Galli.es o who Wai aged abo~
Sixty, of which T-ime lie had .pafr-
.fed .FtCll'lf Years in .Chain5> a11d ,had
got togoth~ a ,confiderable Sum .of Mo-
mey ,hy Triading, yet did.he refufe to,p~r..
dla{e .h.is
• •
.L~berty, which -was .offeted
mm ·:for: -j., very T-r-i.ile,_ fayi.1,1,g; cc He
cc ca\lld :n~ver dive ..cpni;entedly !~tl
•

'~ .-c1aa})~g the -CoaditiGn -of Life to

~' -wijcJ;,i 4~,(had -habitu~ted himfel£'>
•
• •
'
•
•

F :R o 'l'4 !hence l .c:ivnclude, that if

Habitude or Ufe can induce Men .tQ
defpife Liberty, the. choiceft Viands
and

•
 ( 79 )
a.nd the {weeteft Har1nony, for the
Sake of Bondage~ and of Things
Coarfe and infipid; it can alfo make
a Man, who has been accuftomed to
commit Sodomy in his -Yorith (when
he was at fame College, or Univer-
fity~ where thofe youthful Filrhinef..
{es are pradifed) to continue in that
abominable and depraved Ta!le, ·and
ro hate the Female Sex fo long ·as he
• •
•

Jives.

A, T t a the fame Manner, ano-

ther who has been ·accuftomed to live
in Grandeur, happening to be reduced
to a lower Ebb of Forc.une than will
fuffice to fatisfy that Ambition habi-
ta.tted in him, does no worfe in Steal-
ing, to gratify it, than does he in ·
whom Honour is habituated, and kills
the Perfon who goes about to rob
• •

. him
 ( So )
-
him of it; and as it is impoffible
for a Perfon truly honourable to fuf-
fer the leaft Injury offered to his Ho-
nour without refenting it, fo like..
wife is it impoffible for a Perfon
who is ambitious not to put in pra-
clife all the Methods which he thinks
proper to fatisfy his Ambition ; and
for the luftful Man thofe which will
gratify his Luft; and for the cove-
tous Mifer fuch as will content his
Avarice; and laftly, for the vin-
dictive Man thofe which may fatiate
his Revenge: '' For Human Paffion&
'' are like the Winds, of which the
'' ftrongeft hurries away the Ship ,vhere-
'' ever they pleafe, without co~fulting
'' its able Pilot; and juft fo does the
'' predominant Paffion determine the
'~ Actions of Man, without confult-
~~ ,ing Reafon:~
Nor-
'
 ( 8I )

No rwr TH s TANDI NG that I have

proved Men not to be e«entially
blameable for the Crimes they com-
mit, fince they are always forced ei-
ther by Education or Habitude to
cozrunit them; yet, in Regard to
Truth, I muft alfo fay, that I do
acknowledge that there really are fuch
Things as Phyfical Good and Phyfical
Evil, the which I will fet down, to
the End that Men may, by purfuing
the one and flying from the other, make
themfelves happy.
.

PH y s I c AL Good and Evil, then;

do confifl: either in obeying, or in
tranfgreffing the moft Sacred Laws of
Nature: We obey them, i11 grant-
ing her whatever ilie defires; we
tranfgrefs them, in oppofing her juft
Pleafures, or in doing· Violence to
L her;
 ( 82 )
}1cr; and tl1is is done by depriving
Nature of tl1ofe Tl1ings for v.-hich •

ilie has an Appetite, or by forcing her

to. do \vhat Jhe does not defire: · From
_) '

Qpedience is derived the Phyfical Good,

and fr9m Trapfgreflion derives the Phy...
~¢,il ~vii~ .
•

. LEt
.- .
us ~~prefs ourfeives more
•

(;i§:arl;y. P~·oviµ~nt Nature has ever

formed all ·Things \vh·ich were ne-
•

et1fary. ·for th.e Mai11tenance of her

•

Creatures, a11d has alwa-ys given t<;>

each Individual a full Liberty of ma-
]fj11g Vf~ of every Thing requifite •
.

and convenient for it, and never fail-

eq to eµdow it with a Kn.owledge to
difc~rn the gooq from the bad, that
'
it might enjoy the on~ llDd ab11ain
from tl1e other. Becaufe as all the
•

:P,rodµ~iQ~G of Nat1,1re are perfectly

good,
- .

•
 • . . .
'

goocl, when applied to the Ufe of

•

thofe Creatures for whom the fame

were produced, neverthelefs :tl1ey be..:
•

come moft pernicious, when employ--

- . . - -

ed for the Service of other Creatures

for whom they were not defigned.
Moreover wife Nature has always be..·
ftowed on· them a proper Senfation:;
• • •

to di•recl: .them in all their Opera..·

. . ,

c•ions: By this, when Animal .

Crea-· .

tures are wearied, they feel that they·

• • •

are ·in Need of Refl: ; when hungry; • • •

of Food; ,vhen thirfty; of Drink i

when they are fl:imulaced with the
Motions of Concupifcence, they re..
quire Coition ; and fo of all the o..
ther Neceffities to which each of
them is-- fubjecl:, according to its re-'
•

fpecl:ive Species. If therefore they

grant to Nature that which ilie re:,
quires, they enjoy a good State of
L 2 Health;
 ( 84)
Health, and live long and happily ;
but if they 'are not obedient to her
Will, but either deprive themfelves
of what is neceifary for them, or do
Violence to Nature by drinking when
they are not thirfty, eating when not
hungry, ufing Coition when not fti-
mulated by the Fleih, and in ihort
by any Kind of Excefs, they are
feverely puniihed for their Tranf-
greffion, with Pains, Difc:afes, and
frequently with untimely Death: '• So
'' jealous of her Laws is the Goddefi
..''NATURE!''
. ~

TH E s E her Laws may be tranf-.

greffed diverfe Ways; fuch are Su-
perftition, Avarice , Ambition , and
Falfe Honour: Since when thefe pof-
fefs themfelves of Human Minds ,
they deprive Reafon and the Senfes
•
of
 ( 85)
of their Faculties, and render them
impote11t; and from this I1npotency
of Reafon and the Senfes Mens Mi-
•

fery and Slave1·y deduce tl1eir Ori-

gin : So that if Men would avoid
thofe Evils, they neceffarily muft·go-
vern themfelves according to the Dic-
tates of Reafon and their Senfes, and
not according to the pernicious Max-
ims of thofe accurfed Children of
Education.
•

·NAT u R E's Scope in the Creation

of Animals is, as we have obferv-
ed, their Felicity : But becaufe 1he
knows that Men, rhro' the Fragility
of their Intellects, may eafily lofe it,
the Goddefs Nature, I fay', always
juft and benign, that Mankind might
not have Caufe to complain of her,
as a cruel Stepmother, rather than a
kind
 ( 86)
kind compaffionate Mother, gives
them Life, on this Condition ; that
they enjoy the fame fo long as it
is fweet and agreeable, and that they •

may refiore it to her immediately •

when it becomes loathfome: Seeing

that Nature, having propofed Man's
Good and not his Ill, and being an'
irreconcileable Enemy to all Vio-
•

lence, cannot compel him to live

when he is become miferable or un-
•

happy. To this Effect, . £he has giv-

- -

en to Men an intire Liberty to quit •

Life when it is become troublefomc

•
to them. • •

••

T l! A t this is· the true Intention·

of Nature, cannot .be doubted; :fince
.

to every one it is apparent, that

there are a Tho~fand Doors open
whereat
• to itfue out of this vital Pri-
fon;
 ( 87)
fon, which could not have been, had
not Nature left them fo.
•

T H E s E Truths being -known, a

Man ougl1t not to be apprehenfive
he is doing Ill when, tired and tor-
mented by Life, he deprives himfelf
of it; feeing he therein makes Ufe
of a -Right which none can cake
from him. This is a Right which
does not only belong to Man, but •

alfo to all other Animal Creatu1·es,

•

the which do know ho\v to make

a better Ufe of it than he does;
fince they, having always lived accord-
ing to the Natural Laws, their Intel-
leB:uals have not been co1·rupted by
Education: For which Reafo11, when
a_ny of them happen co lofe their
Liberty in their Old Age, or after
their h~ving been long accuftomed
to

•
 ( 88 )
to the Enjoyment of it, they always
prefer Death to Bondage : And I
. myfelf remember to have feen, be-
fides the Scorpion which ftings it-
felf to Death when furrounded with
burning Coals, diverfe Animals, both
. "'
Winged and Quadrupedes, which
would famifh themfelves ,vith Hun-
ger and Thirfr, tho' tl1ey had both
Drink and Food more than fuffi-
cient; and this becaufe they could not
enjoy any Confolation on account of
their havi11g loft that Bleffing, with
the Value whereof they ·had been fo
•

long acquainted,
•

A MAN ought not to believe he

does any Wrong
.
to the
.
Society he
chances to be a Member of, in de-
. priving himfelf of Life : For So-
cieties were founded for the . Benefit
of
•

'
 ( 89 )
of l\!Ien; and therefore when a Mafi
ceafes from reapi11g Benefit therefrom,
with Reafon he may therefrom fe-
parate himfelf, and more efpecially
if the faid Society was formed with-
out his Approbation or Concurrence;
:fince no Man is tied down to fia11d
to any Agreement made without his
Participation, or againft his Will:
And notwithftanding the Jews, the
Chriflia1zs, and the Mahometans pre-
tend the contrary, by forcing Peo-
ple to continue in the Religion where-
in they are born , I do aver and
maintain, that this Violence is un-
juft and abominable; fince a Man
is no more tied to be a Jew, a
Chriflian, or a Mahometan, on ac-
•

count of his having been Circumcif-

ed, or Baptifed, when he was. an
Infant, than if his Parents, or the
M Priefis,
••
 ( 90 )
Priefl:s, at his Birth, had bot1nd him
to love ("vhen arrived at Man's Efiate)
a \,Vo1nan to whofe Beauties or Defor-
mities, good or bad ~alities, he ili.ould
be an utter Stranger.

A M A N is not an · Enemy to his

Exill:ence when, quite tired and op-
p1·effecl, either with Poverty, or Con-
tempt, or Sicl<:nefs, or Bondage, he
fhall voluntarily ceafe to live: Since,
if it be a Thing natural always to
chufe the leaft Evil when Evils are
not poffibly co be avoided, it is a
moll: natt1ral Thi11g to have Re-
cou1·fe to Death, to get free fi·om
the Evils and Miferies of Life: So
let us fuppofe Men not liable to
thofe Calamities which moleft tl1em
duri11g their· Life, neverthelefs ought
they <',l\ivays to 1·un to Death without
· flaying
 ( 9I )
fiayi11g for it; fince they all kno1-v
th,1t, by a Dec1·ee ete1·nal, tl1ey are
conde111ned to die f1·01n the ve1·y .Mo-
ment t!1ey are bo1·n ; a11d as tl1e Sort
of Death eacl1 lvlan is to die is ui1-
ce1·tain, and as mo.ft S01·ts are ve1·y•
painful, a wife Man, finding l1im..
•

felf to be approaching his End a11d

Diifolt1tion, either thro' Age, or the
Indifpofitions attendi11g him, and 11ot
having the lea.ft Hope or P1·ofpect
of ever enjoying any more of tl1e
Pleafures of Life, would do a moft
wife Action in making Choice of tl1e
Kind of Death which appeared to
him to be the pleafanceft, in order to
evade that moft grievous one to whicl1
he is fentenced: A11d in fo doing, he
would den1onfirate himfelf a trt1e
Friend to Him!elf.
'
•

M2 IN

•
 ( 92 )
IN fhort, a Man ·ought not to
imagine that, in depriving himfelf
of Life, he any way difcompofes
the Order of Providence ; fince the
eternal Laws of Motion cannot, i11
any wife, be varied, or altered, on
account of a Creature's living a long-
• er or fhorter Space of Time, that
is, its changing fooner or later the
Modifications of its Matter: Be-
caufe Nature being inoft potent and
moft wife, and operating inceffant-
ly in all Matter, the Confequence
is, that her Operations are always
fuperlatively perfect; fo that it little
imports that the Matter which form.:.
ed the Body of a l\'Ian a:ili.1mes the
Form of a Million of W orrns, or •

of other Beings, that of rou11d it

becomes quadrangular or multangu~
!ar; the fmalleft Atom is ever of
•
• • • • • •
•

fon1e
' ' . ...

•
 ( 93)
fame fignal Utility to the infi11ite De.:
•

figns of that moft indufirious Archi-

• •

teer.

TH E foolii11 Prepoifeffion, which

Men have in Favour of their own
Species, is a Child of Ambition, and
this is tl1e Child of Education : Since,
even from their very Birtl1 they are
taught, that Cfhey are the 1nofl perfect
of all Beings; as bei,zg the lively
Images of G O D, who created all
t.he ochers purely far their Ufa a11d
Service. Reafori being confufed and
rendered frupid with thefe vain and
nonfenfical Ideas , Man believes that
the Deftruction of one of his Kind,
or Species, muft needs put into Dif-
•
order the whole Frame of Nature; and
•does not co11fi·der, '' That a l\i1an more
~,• or a Map. lefs, nay the whole Race
•
I. . ' -

'' of
••
 ( 94)
'' of Mankind united, and a Hundred
cc Millions of Worlds, a Thoufand
c, times greater and more beautiful
c, than this our Terreftrial Globe, are
''
'
no other than a very diminutive Atom,.
'' whofe exifting or not exifting is not
'' fo much, with refpeel: to the Im-
,, menfity of the Uni verfe, as is a fin-
." gle Drop of Water in Comparifon
''
~- with the vaft Ocean! ''.

L E r us then conclude; 'lhat a

Man, weary or fatiated with living,
may die when he pleafes, without ojfend-
ing NAT U RE: Since in dying, he
• •

makes Ufa of the Remedy which She

kindly has put into his Hands, where-
withal he may cure himfe!f of the Evil~
o this LIFE. _.,, ' ,.-......._
.
,' ," . . . ..•,·; . ,,l\
•' ·'-

./ ' • • • •L ~·
~ ·.'
• •,'

' -
... . ,
•• • : •
..
.,-. . -
·•,...
I
,
• •

' . .. . .' ... ' ...

1 · • · · · · · · - ' · ·

F I ''N ·1-:~
''·i
"··-~ -.j.'
. ·s..·,,..
.· •.-, ·.•-.. · . . ,. . -.1,.,
~
.
- . .. . ... - '
•.
••