Portugal, and some of the Italian states, are still, how ever, totally averse to their dwelling among them.* The office of priest among the jews is still confined to the family of Aaron, but they know not of any lineal descendants of David.t continent, and in the adjacent countries. David Levi, a learned jew, who in 1796 published "Dissertations on the Prophecies of the Old Testament,” observes in that work, that deism and infidelity have made such large strides in the world, that they have at length reached even to the jewish nation; many of whom are at this time so greatly infected with scepticism, by reading Bolingbroke, Hume, Voltaire, &c., that they scarcely believe in a revelation; much less have they any hope in their future The creed of the jewish nation appears to be the same as it was when their famous Moses Mamonides, six hundred years ago, abridged the talmud, which cantained the body of their canon and civil law. They are as numerous as they have been for many denturies spast. The most of restoration. them reside in the eastern DEISTS.. THE deists are spread all over Europe, and have multiplied prodigiously among the higher rank in most nations; but the sentiments which are distinguished by this title were formerly rarely embraced among the common people.§ entitle them to share the civil and political privileges enjoyed exclusively by entire christians, it is not in his province, but belongs to the civil autherity of the country to decide. Mr. De Lue, a celebrated chymist and theologian, has published a letter to these jews, in which he boldly advances to meet them on the ground which Mr. Teller eludes: he tells them that, far from scrupling points of christian doctrine, they ought not even to abandon the standard of Moses; that the history of the earth and its present appearance are the strongest of all possible testimonies to the truth of the Mosaic history, and that if they will only take the pains to be better natural philosophers, they will not be so ready to renounce their faith as jews. There have been numerous pamphlets more written and published upon this subject, which make, as the French terin it, a great sensation in the north of Germany, See Letters from an American resident abroad, on various topics of foreign literature, published in the Port Folio, 1801. * Encyclopædia, vol. ix. p. 143, Monthly Magazine, vol, viii. 1799, p. 615. See a Century Sermon, by the Rev. Mr. Backus of Sommers. The name of deists is said to have been first assumed about the middle of the sixteenth century by some gentlemen in France and Italy, in order to avoid the imputation of atheism. One of the first authors who made use of this name was Peter Viret, a celebrated divine, who, in a work which was published in 1563, speaks of some persons in that time who were called by a new name, that of deists. These, he tells us, professed to believe a God, but shewed no regard at all to Jesus Christ, and considered the doctrines of the apostles and evangelists as fables and dreams. Lord Edward Herbert, baron of Cherbury, who flourish ed in the seventeenth century, has been regarded as the most eminent of the deistical writers, and appears to be one of the first wito formed deism into a system; and asserted the sufficiency, universality, and absolute perfection of natural religion, with a view to discard all extraordinary revelation as useless and needless. He reduced this universal religion to five articles, which he frequently mentioned in his works.--(1.) That there is one supreme God.-(2.) That he is chiefly to be worshipped. (3.) That piety and virtue are the principal parts of his worship. (4.) That we must repent of our sins, and if we do so God will pardon us.→ (5.) That there are rewards for good men, and punishments for bad men, in a future state." The deists are classed by some of their own writers into two sorts, mortal and immortal deists. The latter acknowledge a future state, the former deny it, or at least represent it as a very uncertain thing. The learned Dr. Clarke, taking the denomination in the most extensive significa tion, distinguishes deists into four sorts. The first are such as pretend to believe the existence of an infinite, eternal, independent, intelligent Being; and who, to avoid the name of Epicurean atheists, teach also that this supreme Being made the world; though, at the same time, they agree with the Epicureans in this, that God does not at all concern himself in the government of the world, nor has any regard to or care of what is done therein. The second sort of deists are those who believe not only the being, but also the providence of God, with respect to the natural world; but who, not allowing any difference be tween moral good and evil, deny that God takes any notice * Leland's View of Deistical Writers, vol. i pp. 2, 3. of the morally good and evil actions of men: these things depending, as they imagine, on the arbitrary constitution of human laws. A third sort of deists there are who believe in the natural attributes of God and his all-governing providence, and have some notion of his moral perfections, yet deny the immortality of the soul; believing that men perish entirely at death, and that one generation shall perpetually succeed another, without any future restoration or renovation of things. A fourth, and last sort of deists, are such as believe the existence of a supreme Being, together with his providence in the government of the world, as also all the obligations of natural religion; but so far only as these things are discoverable by the light of nature alone, without believing any divine revelation. explaining away the literal sense and meaning of certain passages, or by placing oneportion of the sacred canon in opposition to the other. A third class, wherein we meet with the names of Shaftsbury and Bolingbroke, advancing farther in their progress, expunge from their creed the doctrine of future existence, and annihilate among them all. the moral perfections of the Deity. Many of the modern deists in Europe are said to be of that class, who deny the immortality of the soul, and any future state of existence. The deists of the present day are distinguished by their zealous efforts to diffuse the principles of infidelity among the common people. Hume, Bolingbroke, and Gibbon, addressed themselves solely to the more polished classes of the community; and would have thought their refined speculations debased by an attempt to enlist disciples among the populace. But of late the writings of Paine and others have diffused infidelity among the lower classes of society:* and deism has even led to atheism, or a disbelief of all superior powers.† Some of the deists have attempted to overthrow the christian dispensation, by representing the absolute perfection of natural religion. Others, as Blount, Collins, and Morgan, have endeavoured to gain the same purpose, by attacking particular parts of the christian scheme, by *President Dwight, in his Centurial Sermon, delivered January 7. 1801, energetically describes the various attempts which modern infidels make ↑ Leland's View of Deistical Writers, vol. i. pp, 2, 3. Broughton's Historical Library, vol. i. p. 316. Voltaire's Universal History, vol. ii. p. 259. Ogilvie's Inquiry, p. 57. Hall's Sermon on Modern Infidelity. Y y SCEPTICS. THIS sect derive their name from the greek verboxeπTopaι, to consider, from their leading character, which is, to call in question the truth of every system of opinions adopted by other sects, and maintain that every thing is uncertain.* It is the office of the sceptic philosophy to compare external phenomena with mental conceptions, and discover their inconsistency, and the Consequent uncertainty of all reasoning from appearances. Its end is to cure that restlessness which attends the unsuccessful search after truth, and by means of an universal suspension of judgment to establish mental tranquility. Its fundamental principle is, that to every argument, an argument of equal weight may, in all cases, be applied.† are The sceptic admits no tenets, not because he discredits the immediate testimony of the senses, but because he refuses his assent to those donbtful points which science undertakes to determine. He does not deny that he can see, hear, or feel; but he maintains that the inferences which philosophers have drawn from the reports of the senses doubtful; and that any general conclusion deduced from appearances may be overturned by reasonings equally plausible with those by which it is supported. Scepticism allows the existence of sensible appearances, because the impression which external objects make upon the power of perception produces an irresistible conviction of their reality; but it demurs upon use of to spread their sentiments. "Their writings (says he) have assumed every form, and treated every subject of thought. From the lofty philosophical discourse, it has descended through all the intervening gradations to the newspaper paragraph; from the sermon to the catechism, from regular history to the anecdote, from the epic poem to the song, from the formal satire to the jest of the buffoon, Efforts in vast numbers have also been made to diffuse infidelity in a remark unexpectedly found in a discourse, where a totally different subject was under consideration, in a note subjoined to a paper on criticism or politics, in a hint in a book of travels, or a stroke in a letter of civility. In these, and the like cases, the reader was intended to be taken by surprise, and to yield his judgment before he was aware of being called to judge. The number and variety of the efforts have also been increased beyond example; have poured from innumerable presses, and from all civilized countries; have been sold at the lowest prices, and given gratuitously; and have been circulated with vast industry, and by inumerable hands, through christendom. The intention of this amazing multitude of exertions has plainly been to astonish and discourage their adversaries, to amaze and overwhelm their readers, and to persuade insersibly the mass of mankind that the world, was converted to infidelity." *Gale's Court of the Gentiles. Enfield's History of Philosophy, vol, i. p. 489, the positions which are advanced concerning the phenomena of nature. As far as concerns the offices of common life, the sceptic acquiesces in appearances; being necessarily impelled to conform to them by his natural appetites and passions. Hence he listens to the calls of nature, conforms to established customs, and practises useful Pyrrho, a greek philosopher, was the founder of this sect.-An account of the ancient sceptics, or Pyrrhonists, is given in the introduction to this work. པཎཱ Modern scepticism differs in many respects from ancient Pyrrhonism, and appears in various forms. Some writers have wholly denied the power of the human understanding to investigate truth; and, with the ancient Pyrrhonists, have attempted to bring into discredit both the principles and the method of reasoning which have been commonly employ !ed in the pursuit of knowledge. Others have busied themselves in starting doubts and difficulties on particular topics of enquiry, and endeavoured to involve every subject in uncertainty; while others, more cautious than the rest, have made use of the weapons of scepticism against the hypothetical method of investigat ing truth, for the general purpose of curbing the arrogance of dogmatism, or with the particular design of turning the study of nature out of the channel of conjecture into that of experiment. In theology, scepticism is sometimes laboring on the one hand to overturn the sacred edifice of divine revelation, and sometimes on the other to support the in terest of superstition, or of fa naticism, by declaiming on the imbecility of human reason. Some literary characters among the moderns, who were distinguished by their acuteness and sagacity, from observing the remarkable difference of sentiment which reigned among the jarring sects, took occasion to revive Pyrrhonism, and to represent truth as unattainable by such a short-sighted being as man. The restorers of Pyrrhonism began by shewing the narrowness of the human understanding; and afterwards exaggerated the difficulties attending the pursuit of truth, so as to render the search fruitless.† *Enfield's History of Philosophy, vol. i. p. 489. |