Εικόνες σελίδας
PDF
Ηλεκτρ. έκδοση

hath for its bafis man's nature; not according to his "intellectuals, which do but darkly grope in the pur"fuit of fcience, &c." And again, fpeaking how reafon brings men to the rule of faith, he uses this comparifon, (Append. 2. p. 183.), "She is like a dim-fighted 66 man, who used his reafon, to find a trusty friend to "lead him in the twilight, and then relied on his gui"dance rationally, without ufing his own reafon at all, "about the way itfelf." So that, according to him, the certainty of tradition cannot be founded on demonftration, because it is not founded in the intellectual part of man, which only can demonftrate. Befides, if it were founded in the intellectual part, yet that can never be able to demonftrate the certainty of tradition; becaufe that faculty, which is dim-fighted, and does but grope darkly in the purfuit of science, is uncapable of framing demonstrations. Nor can any man underftand how dim-fighted reafon fhould fee clearly to chufe its guide any more than its way; especially if it be confidered, what a pretty contradiction it is, to fay, that reafon, as it is dim-fighted, can fee clearly.

But Mr. Creffy is not contented to call every man's reafon dim-fighted; he ventures a step farther, and calls it hood-winked and blind: for he tells us, (Append. c. 6.

8.), that "private reafon is apparently a moft fallible "guide." And he pities my Lord Falkland's cafe; becaufe, in the fearch of the true religion, he did "betake "himself to the cafual conduct of blind, human, natural "rcafon," (ibid. §9.); which afterwards (§11.) he calls

61

a guide that two perfons cannot poffibly follow toge"ther; becaufe no two perfons that ever followed any "other guide befide authority, did or could think all things to be reasonable that all others thought fo; and, by confequence, fuch a guide, that, as long as "he continues in that office, there cannot poffibly be any church any where: which (fays he) is an infallible eviction, that this is an imaginary feducing guide; fince it is impoffible, that that fhould be a guide appointed for any Chriftian, which neither Chrift nor his Apoftles, nor any of their followers, ever mentioned; yea, which formally deftroys one of our twelve arti"cles of the Apoftles crced, viz. I believe the Holy Catholick

[ocr errors]

་་

"church."

"church." Thus he does by reafon clearly and infallibly evince, that reafon cannot be otherwife than a most blind and fallible guide. This it is to talk of things when a man looks only upon one fide of them; as if because reafon has a blind fide, and is uncertain in fome things, therefore we ought to conclude her univerfally blind, and uncertain in every thing; and as if because all men cannot think all things reasonable which any one man thinks to be fo, therefore it is to be doubted whether thofe common principles of reafon be true which mankind are generally agreed in. And that Mr. Crefly fpeaks here of the ufe of our private reafon in the finding out of our rule, is clear from what he fays in the next fection, viz. that "this hood-winked guide (inquiring into fcripture, and fearching after tradition) may poffibly stumble upon the way to unity and truth; that "is, the true Catholick church." If this be true, why does Mr. S. pretend, that he can by reafon demonftrate the infallibility of tradition, and by this hood-winked guide lead men to the true rule of faith? And what a pitiful encouragement would this be to an inquifitive philofopher, who knowing no other guide but his reafon whereby to find out whether fcripture or tradition be the rule, to tell him, that, by the help of this hoodwinked guide, he might poffibly ftumble upon the right ?

[ocr errors]

A man may juttly ftand amazed at the inconfiftency of these mens difcourfes and principles. In one mood they are all for demonftration, and for convincing men in the way of perfect fcience, which is the true rule of faith. But then, again, when another fit takes them, there is no fuch thing as fcience. Human reafon grows all on the fudden dim-fighted, and at the next word is ftruck ftark blind; and then the very utmost that it can do towards the bringing of an unprejudiced and inquifitive person to the true rule of faith, is, to leave him in a poffibility of ftumbling upon it: but if he be a hereti k that makes ufe of private reason for his guide, then "it

is impoffible, but that he with his blind guide fhould "fall into the pit," (Append. c. 7. §8.). I cannot, for my part, imagine how they can reconcile the blindnefs of human reafon with all that noife which they make about fcience and demonftration: but this I must confefs,

E e 2

46

confefs, that these kind of difcourfes which I meet with in Mr. S. and Mr. Creffy, are very proper arguments to perfuade a man of the blindness of human reafon. And indeed there is one paffage in Mr. Creffy which gives me very great fatisfaction concerning thefe matters; where he tells us, ibid. that "the wit and judgment of Catholicks is, to renounce their own judgment, and depofe their own "wit." Now, he that profeffes to have done this, may write contradictions, and no body ought to challenge him for it. However, it is a very ingenuous acknowledgment, that, when he forfook our church, and turned Papift, he laid afide his judgment and wit; which is juft fuch an heroick act of judgment, as if a man, in a bravery, to fhew his liberty, fhould fell himself for a flave. I am glad to understand, from an experienced perfon, what charges a man must be at when he turns Roman Catholick, namely, that whoever will embrace that religion, must forfeit his reafon.

§3. 2dly, The way of demonftration is, according to Mr. S. no certain way to find out the rule of faith. In his fourth Appendix against my Lord of Down, p. 253. 254. one of the eight mines, as he calls them, which he lays to blow up my Lord's diffuafive against Popery, is this: "That the method he takes in diffuading, cannot "be held in reafon to have power to diffuade, unless it "be proper to that effect; that is, not common to that "effect and a contrary one. Now, that being most evidently no method or way to fuch an effect, which many follow and take, yet arrive not at that effect, it is plain to common fenfe, that my Lord of Down mif"calls his book a diffuafive; and that it can have in it ་་ no power of moving the understanding one way or o"ther, unless he can firft vouch fome particularity in the "method he takes, above what is in others, in which we

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

16

experience mifcarriage, &c." If this be true, then his method of demonftration is no way to make men certain of what he pretends to demonftrate; because that is "moft evidently no way to an effect which many follow and take, yet arrive not at that effect ;” so that "it "is plain to common fenfe, that Mr. S.'s demonftrations can have in them no power of moving the underftanding one way or other, unlefs he can vouch

[ocr errors]

64

65

64 fome

་་

"fome particularity in the demonstrations he pretends "to bring, above what is in other pretended demonstrations, in which we experience mifcarriage." Do not Thomas and Scotus (as Mr. White tells us, Exetafis, p. 24.) all along pretend to demonftrate? and yet it is generally believed, that, at least where they contradict one another, one of them failed in his demonftrations. Did not Mr. Charles Thynne pretend to have demonstrated, that a man at one jump might leap from London to Rome and yet I do not think any one was ever fatisfied with his demonftration. And Mr. S. knows one in the world, whom I will not name, because he hath fince ingenuously acknowledged his error, who thought he had demonstrated the quadrature of the circle; and was fo confident of it, as to venture the reputation of his demonstrations in divinity upon it; and fome of thofe divinity-demonftrations were the very fame with Mr. S.'s. Since therefore the world hath experienced fo much miscarriage in the way of demonstration, before Mr. S.'s demonftrations can be allowed to fignify any thing, he muft, according to his own law, vouch fome particularity in his way and method of demonftration above what is in other mens. He hath not any where, that I remember, told us what that particularity is, wherein his way of demonftration is above other mens: nor can I, upon the moft diligent fearch, find any peculiar advantage that his way has more than theirs above mentioned; unless this be one, that he pretends to demonftrate a felf-evident principle, and herein I think he hath plainly the advantage of Mr. Charles Thynne; and unless this may be counted another advantage, that he has fo extraordinary a confidence and conceit of his own demonstrations; and in this particular, I must acknowledge, that he clearly excells all that have gone before him. In all other things his way of demonstra-'. tion is but like his neighbours.

I.

SECT. II. Mr. Ses demonftration à priori.

§ 1. Come now to examine his demonftrations of this felf-evident principle, (as he often calls it), That oral tradition is a certain and infallible way of convey

Ee 3

ing

ing Christ's doctrine from one age to another, without any corruption or change; which is to fay, that it is impoffible but that this rule fhould always have been kept to. That this is not a felf-evident principle, needs no other evidence, than that he goes about to demonftrate it. But yet, notwithstanding this, I think he hath as much reafon to call this a felf-evident principle, as to call his proofs of it demonstrations...

§ 2. In order to his demonstration à priori, he lays thefe four grounds, which I fhall fet down in his own

words, p. 59. 66 60. 1. That Chriftian doctrine was at

66

"firft unanimoufly fettled by the Apoftles, in the hearts "of the faithful, difperfed in great multitudes over fe"veral parts of the world. 2. That this doctrine was "firmly believed by all thofe faithful, to be the way to "heaven; and the contradicting or deferting it, to be "the way to damnation: fo that the greatest hopes "and fears imaginable were, by engaging the divine "authority, ftrongly applied to the minds of the first "believers, encouraging them to the adhering to that "doctrine, and deterring them from relinquishing it; " and indeed infinitely greater than any other whatever, fpringing from any temporal confideration : "and that this was in all ages the perfuafion of the "faithful. 3. That hopes of good, and fears of harm, "ftrongly applied, are the caufes of actual will. 4. That "the thing was feafible, or within their power: that "what they were bred to, was knowable by them. This 66 put, it follows as certainly, that a great number or body of the first believers, and after faithful in each 46 age, that is, from age to age, would continue to hold "themselves, and teach their children as themselves had "been taught, that is, would follow and stick to tradi"tion; as it doth, that a caufe, put actually caufing, produceth its effect." This is his demonftration, with the grounds of it.

66

$3. To fhew the vanity and weaknefs of this pretended demonftration, I fhall affail it these three ways; by fhewing, 1. That if the grounds of it were true, they would conclude too much, and prove that to be impoffible, which common experience evinceth, and himself must grant to have been. 2. That his main grounds are ap

parently

« ΠροηγούμενηΣυνέχεια »