rupted Christianity. They have never had ops portunity of viewing the religion of Jefus in its · native drefs. It is popifh fuperftition against which their efforts are directed. If they understood Christianity they would embrace it.' Indeed? And was this the cafe with Shaftesbury, Bolingbroke, Hume, or Gibbon.? or is this the cafe with Paine? No, they have both feen and hated the light; nor will they come to it, left their deeds should be made manifeft. It may be thought, however, that fome excufe may be made for infidels refiding in a popish coun-try; and this I fhall not dispute, as it refpects the ignorant populace, who may be carried away by their leaders but as it refpects the leaders themfelves, it is otherwife. The National Affembly of France, when they wished to counteract the priests, and to reject the adoption of the Roman Catholic faith as the established Religion, could clearly dif tinguish between genuine and corrupted Chriftiani-ty.* Deifts can diftinguish between Christianity and its abufes, when an end is to be answered by it; and when an end is to be anfwered by it, they can. with equal facility confound them. "Herbert, Hobbes, Shaftesbury, Woolfton, "Tindal, Chubb, and Bolingbroke are all guilty "of the vile hypocrify of profeffing to love and re verence Chriftianity, while they are employed in "no other defign than to deftroy it. Such faithlefs profeffions, fuch grofs violations of. truth, in "Chriftians, would have been proclaimed to the "univerfe by these very writers as infamous defer"tions of principle and decency. Is it lefs infamous Mirabeau's Speeches, Vol. II. p. 269-274 "in themselves? All hypocrify is deteftable; but "I know of none fo deteftable as that which is coolly written, with full premeditation, by a man "of talents, affuming the character of a moral and "religious inftructer. Truth is a virtue perfectly "defined, mathematically clear, and compleatly "understood by all men of common fenfe. There ❝ can be no haltings between uttering truth and "falfehood, no doubt, no mistakes, as between 66 piety and enthusiasm, frugality and parfimony, "generofity and profufion. Tranfgreffion therefore "is always a known, definite, deliberate villany. "In the fudden moment of ftrong temptation, in "the hour of unguarded attack, in the flutter and "trepidation of unexpected alarm, the best man 66 may, perhaps, be furprised into any fin: but he "who can coolly, of steady design, and with no "unufual impulfe, utter falfehood, and vend hypocrify, is not far from finished depravity.” "The morals of Rochester and Wharton need no 66 comment. Woolfton was a grofs blafphemer. "Blount folicited his fifter-in-law to marry him, "and being refufed, shot himself. Tindal was ori"ginally a proteftant, then turned papift, then pro"teftant again, merely to fuit the times; and was at the fame time infamous for vice in general, "and the total want of principle. He is faid to "have died with this prayer in his mouth,' If "there be a God, I defire that he may have mer<< cy on me.' Hobbes wrote his Leviathan to ferve "the caufe of Charles I.; but finding him fail of "fuccefs, he turned it to the defence of Cromwell, "and made a merit of this fact to the ufurper: as "Hobbes himself unblufhingly declared to Lord "Clarendon. Morgan had no regard to truth, as " is evident from his numerous falfifications of "fcripture, as well as from the vile hypocrify of "profeffing himself a Christian in those very writ"ings in which he labours to destroy Christianity. "Voltaire in a Letter now remaining, requested his "friend D'Alembert to tell for him a direct and "palpable lie, by denying that he was the author "of the Philofophical Dictionary. D'Alembert in "his anfwer informed him that he had told the "lie. Voltaire has indeed expreffed his own moral character perfectly in the following words, 'Mon"fieur Abbe, I must be read, no matter whether "I am believed or not.' He also folemnly profef"fed to believe the Catholic Religion, although at "the same time he doubted the existence of a God. "Hume died as a fool dieth. The day before his "death he spent in a pitiful and affected unconcern "about this tremendous fubject, playing at whift, "reading Lucian's Dialogues, and making filly at"tempts at wit, concerning his interview with "Charon the heathen ferry-man of hades."* Collins, though he had no belief in Christianity, yet qualified himself for civil office by partaking of the Lord's Supper. Shaftesbury did the fame; and the fame is done by hundreds of infidels to this day. Yet these are the men who are continually declaiming against the hypocrify of priests! Godwin is not only a lewd character, by his own confeffion; but the unblushing advocate of lewdnefs. And as to Paine, he is well known to have been a profane fwearer, and a drunkard. We have evidence upon oath that "Religion was his favourite topic when * The two last paragraphs are taken from Dr. Dwight's excellent Difcourfes on The nature and danger of Infidel Philofophy, p. 45—47. intoxicated; and, from the' fcurrility of the performance, it is not improbable that he was frequently in this fituation while writing his Age of Reafon. I fhall conclude this catalogue of worthies with a brief abstract of the Confeffions of J. J. Rousseau. After a good education, in the proteftant religion, he was put apprentice. Finding his fituation difagreeable to him, he felt a strong propensity to vice; inclining him to covet, diffemble, lie, and at length to steal; a propensity of which he was never able afterwards to diveft himself. "I have been a Rogue, fays he, and am fo still sometimes, for trifles which I had rather take than afk for." He abjured the protestant religion, and entered the hospital of the. Catechumens at. Turin, to be instructed in that of the Catholics; "For which in return, fays he, I was to receive fubfiftence. From-this interefted. converfion he adds, nothing remain-ed. but the remembrance of my having been both a dupe and an apoftate."‡ After this he refided with a Madame de Warrens,. with whom "he lived in the greatest poffible familiarity." This lady often fuggested that there would be no juftice in the Supreme Being, should he be ftrictly juft to us; because, not having beftowed what was neceffary to render us effentially good, it would be requiring more than he had given. She was nevertheless a very good Catholic, or pretended at leaft to be one, and certainly defired to be fuch. If there had been no Chriftian morality efta * See Trial of T. Paine at Guild-Hall for a Libel, &c. p. 43. blished, Rouffeau fuppofes fhe would have lived as though regulated by its principles. All her morality however was fubordinate to the principles of M. Tavel, (who first seduced her from conjugal fideli ty by urging, in effect, that expofure was the only crime) or rather fhe faw nothing in religion that contradicted them. Roufeau was far enough from being of this opinion; yet he confeffed he dared not combat the arguments of the lady: nor is it fuppofeable he could, as he appears to have been acting on the fame principles at the time. "Finding in her, he adds, all those ideas I had occafion for to fecure me from the fears of death, and its future confequences, I drew confidence and fecurity from this fource."* The writings of Port Royal, and thofe of the Oratory, made him half a Janfenift; and notwithstanding all his confidence, their harfh theory fometimes alarmed him. A dread of hell, which till then he had never much apprehended, by little and little disturbed his fecurity, and had not Madame de Warrens tranquilized his foul, would at length have been too much for him. His Confeffor alfo, a Jefuit, contributed all in his power to keep up his hopes.+ After this he became familiar with another female, Therefa. He began by declaring to her that he would never either abandon or marry her. Finding her pregnant with her firft child, and hearing it obferved in an eating-houfe that he who had beft filled the Foundling Hofpital was always the most ap plauded, "I faid to myfelf, quoth he, fince it is the "cuftom of the country, they who live here may * Vol. II. pp. 88, 89, 103-106. † Vol. II. p. 127. |