{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_7819/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_7819","id":"gutenberg_7819","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7819","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Warfare","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Honor"],"text":"Produced by David King, Stan Goodman, and Charles Franks\nand the Online Distributed Proofreading Team\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAN ENQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN OF HONOUR AND The Usefulness of\nCHRISTIANITY IN WAR.\n\nBy the Author of the FABLE of the BEES.\n[Bernard Mandeville]\n\n\nTHE PREFACE.\n\n\nI take it for granted, that a Christian is not bound to believe any\nThing to have been of Divine Institution, that has not been declared\nto be such in Holy Writ. Yet great Offence has been taken at an Essay,\nin the First Part of the Fable of the _Bees_, call'd An Enquiry into the\nOrigin of Moral Virtue; notwithstanding the great Caution it is wrote\nwith. Since then, it is thought Criminal to surmise, that even Heathen\nVirtue was of Human Invention, and the Reader, in the following\nDialogues, will find me to persist in the Opinion, that it was; I beg\nhis Patience to peruse what I have to say for my self on this Head,\nwhich is all I shall trouble him with here.\n\nThe Word Morality is either synonimous with Virtue, or signifies that\nPart of Philosophy, which treats of it, and teaches the Regulation of\nManners; and by the Words Moral Virtue, I mean the same Thing which I\nbelieve Every body else does. I am likewise fully persuaded that to\ngovern our selves according to the Dictates of Reason, is far better\nthan to indulge the Passions without Stop or Controul, and\nconsequently that Virtue is more beneficial than Vice, not only for\nthe Peace and real Happiness of Society in general, but likewise for\nthe Temporal Felicity of every individual Member of it, abstract from\nthee Consideration of a future State, I am moreover convinced, that\nall wise Men ever were and ever will be of this Opinion; and I shall\nnever oppose Any body, who shall be pleased to call this an Eternal\nTruth.\n\nHaving allow'd and own'd thus much, I beg Leave to make a short\nGrammatical Reflection on the Sounds or Letters we make use of to\nexpress this rational Management of ourselves: For tho' the Truth of\nits Excellency is Eternal, the Words _Moral Virtue_ themselves are not\nso, any more than Speech or Man himself. Permit me therefore to\nenquire which Way it is most probably, they must have come into the\nWorld.\n\nThe Word _Moral_, without Doubt, comes from _Mos_, and signifies every\nThing that relates to Manners: The Word _Ethick_ is synonimous with\n_Moral_, and is derived from [Greek: ithik], which is exactly the same\nin _Greek_, that _Mos_ is in _Latin_. The _Greek_ for Virtu, is [Greek:\narete], which is derived from [Greek: ares], the God of War and\nproperly signifies Martial Virtue. The same Word in _Latin_, if we\nbelieve _Cicero_, comes from _Vir_; and the genuine Signification likewise\nof the Word _Virtus_ is Fortitude. It is hardly to be conceived, but\nthat in the first Forming of all Societies, there must have been\nStruggles for Superiority; and therefore it is reasonable to imagine,\nthat in all the Beginnings of Civil Government, and the Infancy of\nNations, Strength and Courage must have been the most valuable\nQualifications for some Time. This makes me think, that _Virtus_, in its\nfirst Acceptation, might, with great Justice and Propriety, be in\n_English_ render'd _Manliness_; which fully expresses the Original Meaning\nof it, and shews the Etymology equally with the _Latin_; and whoever is\nacquainted with that Language must know, that it was some ages before\nthe _Romans_ used it in any other Sense. Nay, to this Day, the Word\n_Virtus_ by it self, in any of their Historians, has the same\nSignification, as if the Word _Bellica_ had been added. We have Reason\nto think, that, as First, Nothing was meant by _Virtus_, but Daring and\nIntrepidity, right or wrong; or else if could never have been made to\nsignify Savageness, and brutish Courage; as _Tacitus_, in the Fourth\nBook of his History, makes use of it manifestly in that Sense. Even\nWild Beasts, says he, if you keep them shut up, will lose their\nFierceness. _Etiam sera animalia, si clausa teneas, virtutis\nobliviseuntur_.\n\nWhat the Great Men of _Rome_ valued themselves upon was active and\npassive Bravery, Warlike Virtue, which is so strongly express'd in the\nWords of Livy: _Et facere & pati fortia Romanum est._ But\nbesides the Consideration of the great Service, All Warriours received\nfrom this Virtue, there is a very good Reason in the Nature of the\nThing it self, why it should be in far higher Esteem than any other.\nThe Passion it has to struggle with, is the most violent and stubborn,\nand consequently the hardest to be conquer'd, the Fear of Death: The\nleast Conflict with it is harsh Work, and a difficult Task; and it is\nin Regard to this, that _Cicero_, in his _Offices_, calls Modesty, Justice\nand Temperance, the softer and easier Virtues. _Qui virtutibus\nbis lenioribus erit ornatus, modestia, justitia temperantia,_ &c.\nJustice and Temperance require Professors as grave and solemnn, and\ndemand as much Strictness and Observance as any other Virtues. Why\n_lenioribus_ then; but that they are more mild and gentle in the\nRestrain they lay upon our Inclinations, and that the Self-denial they\nrequire is more practicable and less mortifying than that of Virtue\nitself, as it is taken in it proper and genuine Sense? To be Just or\nTemperate, we have Temptations to encounter, and Difficulties to\nsurmount, that are troublesome: But the Efforts we are oblig'd to make\nupon our selves to be truyly Valiant are infinitely greater; and, in\norder to it, we are overcome the First, the strongest and most lasting\nPassion, that has been implanted in us; for tho' we may hate and have\nAversion to many Things by Instinct, yet this is Nothing so generally\nterrible, and so generally dreadful to all Creatures, rational or not\nrational, as the Dissolution of their Being.\n\nUpon due Consideration of what has been said, it will be easy to\nimagine how and why, soon after Fortitude had been honoured with the\nName of Virtue, all the other Branches of Conquest over our selves\nwere dignify'd with the same Title. We may see in it likewise the\nReason of what I have always so strenuously insisted upon, _viz._ That\nno Practice, no Action or good Quality, how useful or beneficial\nsoever they may be in them selves, can ever deserve the Name of\nVirtue, strictly speaking, where there is not a palpable Self-denial\nto be seen. In Tract of Time, the Sense of the Word _Virtus_ received\nstill a grated Latitude; and it signify'd Worth, Strength, Authority,\nand Goodness of all Kinds: _Plautus_ makes use of it, for Assistance.\n_Virtute De\u00fbm_, by the Help of the Gods. By Degrees it was applied not\nonly to Brutes, _Est in juveneis, est in equis patrum Virtus_,\nbut likewise to Things inanimate and was made Use of to express the\nPower, and peculiar Qualities of Vegetables and Minerals of all Sorts,\nas it continues to be to this Day. The Virtue of the Loadstone, the\nVirtue of Opium, &c. It is highly probable, that the Word _Moral_,\neither in _Greek_ or _Latin_, never was thought of before the\nSignification of the Word _Virtue_ had been extended so far beyond its\nOriginal; and then in speaking of the Virtues of our Species, the\nAddition of that Epithet became necessary, to denote the Relation they\nhad to our Manners, and distinguish them from the Properties and\nEfficacy of Plants, Stones, &c. which were likewise call'd _Virtues_.\n\nIf I am wrong, I shall be glad to see a better Account, how this\nAdjective and Substantive came to be join'd together. In the mean\nTime, I am very sure, that this is Nothing strain'd or forc'd in my\nSupposition. That the Words, in Tract of Time, are be come of greater\nImportance, I don't deny. The Words _Clown_ and _Villain_ have opprobrious\nMeanings annex'd to them, that were never implied in _Colonus_ and\n_Villanus_, from which they were undoubtedly derived. _Moral_, for ought I\nknow, may now signify _Virtue_, in the same Manner and for the same\nReason, that _Panic_ signifies _Fear_.\n\nThat this Conjecture or Opinion of mine, should be detracting from the\nDignity of _Moral Virtue_, or have a Tendency to bring it into\nDisrepute, I can not see. I have already own'd, that it ever was and\never will be preferable to Vice, in the Opinion of all wise Men. But\nto call Virtue it self Eternal, can not be done without a strangely\nFigurative Way of Speaking. There is no Doubt, but all Mathematical\nTruths are Eternal, yet they are taught; and some of them are very\nabstruse, and the Knowledge of them never was acquir'd without great\nLabour and Depth of Thought. _Euclid_ had his Merit; and it does not\nappear that the Doctrine of the _Fluxions_ was known before Sir _Isaac\nNewton_ discover'd that concise Way of Computation; and it is not\nimpossible that there should be another Method, as yet unknown, still\nmore compendious, that may not be found out these Thousand Years.\n\nAll Propositions, not confin'd to Time or Place, that are once true,\nmust be always so; even in the silliest and most abject Things in the\nWorld; as for Example, It is wrong to under-roast Mutton for People\nwho love to have their Meat well done. The Truth of this, which is the\nmost trifling Thing I can readily think on, is as much Eternal, as\nthat of the Sublimest Virtue. If you ask me, where this Truth was,\nbefore there was Mutton, or People to dress or eat it, I answer, in\nthe same Place where Chastity was, before there were any Creatures\nthat had an Appetite to procreate their Species. This puts me in mind\nof the inconsiderate Zeal of some Men, who even in Metaphysicks, know\nnot how to think abstractly, and cannot forebear mixing their own\nMeanness and Imbecillities, with the Idea's they form of the Supreme\nBeing.\n\nThere is no Virtue that has a Name, but it curbs, regulates, or\nsubdues some Passion that is peculiar to Humane Nature; and therefore\nto say, that God has all the Virtues in the highest Perfection, wants\nas much the Apology, that it is an Expression accommodated to vulgar\nCapacities, as that he has Hands and Feet, and is angry. For as God\nhas not a Body, nor any Thing that is Corporeal belonging to his\nEssence, so he is entirely free from Passions and Fralities. With what\nPropriety then can we attribute any Thing to him that was invented, or\nat least signifies a Strength or Ability to conquer or govern Passions\nand Fralities? The Holiness of God, and all his Perfections, as well\nas the Beatitude he exists in, belong to his Nature; and there is no\nVirtue but what is acquired. It signifies Nothing to add, that God has\nthose Virtues in the highest Perfection; let them be what they will,\nas to Perfection, they must still be Virtues; which, for the aforesaid\nReasons, it is impertinent to ascribe to the Diety. Our Thoughts of\nGod should be as worthy of him as we are able to frame them; and as\nthey can not be adequate to his Greatness, so they oughts at least to\nbe abstract from every Thing that does or can belong to silly, reptile\nMan: And it is sufficient, whenever we venture to speak of a Subject\nso immensly far beyond our Reach, to say, that there is a perfect and\ncompleat Goodness in the Divine Nature, infinitely surpassing not only\nthe highest Perfection, which the most virtuous Men can arrive at, but\nlikewise every Thing that Mortals can conceive about it.\n\nI recommend the fore-going Paragraph to the Consideration of the\nAdvocates for the Eternity and Divine Original of Virtue; assuring\nthem, that, if I am mistaken, it is not owing to any Perverseness of\nmy Will, but Want of Understanding.\n\nThe Opinion, that there can be no Virtue without Self-denial, is more\nadvantagious to Society than the contrary Doctrine, which is a vast\nInlet to Hypocrisy, as I have shewn at large [1]: Yet I am willing to\nallow, that Men may contract a Habit of Virtue, so as to practise it,\nwithout being sensible of Self-denial, and even that they may take\nPleasure in Actions that would be impracticable to the Vicious: But\nthen it is manifest, that this Habit is the Work of Art, Education and\nCustom; and it never was acquired, where the Conquest over the\nPassions had not be already made. There is no Virtuous Man of Forty\nYears, but he may remember the Conflict he had with some Appetites\nbefore he was Twenty. How natural seem all Civilities to be a\nGentleman! Yet Time was, that he would not have made his Bow, if he\nhad not been bid.\n\n[Footnote 1: Fable of the _Bees_. p. ii. P. 106.]\n\nWhoever has read the Second Part of the Fable of the _Bees_, will see,\nthat in these Dialogues I make Use of the same Persons, who are the\nInterlocutors there, and whose Characters have been already draw in\nthe Preface of that Book.\n\n\n\n\nThe CONTENTS OF THE FIRST DIALOGUE.\n\n\n_Honour is built upon a Passion in Human Nature, for which there is no\nName_\n\n_The Author's Reasons for Coining the Word Self-liking_\n\n_How the Passion of Self-liking is discovered in Infants_\n\n_A Definition of Honour, and what it is in Substance_\n\n_The Author's Opinion illustrated by what we know of Dishonour or Shame_\n\n_The different Symptoms of Pride and Shame in the Mechanism of Man_\n\n_Are both the Result of the same Passion_\n\n_The Word Honour, as it signifies a Principle of Courage and Virtue, is\nof Gothick Extraction_\n\n_All Societies of Men are perpetually in Quest after Happiness_\n\n_The true Reason, why no Nations can be govern'd without Religion,\nenquired into_\n\n_Why no one Sort or Degree of Idolatry can be more or less absurd than\nanother_\n\n_For what Purpose all Religions may be equally serviceable_\n\n_All Men are born with the Fear of an invisible Cause_\n\n_The Usefulness of that Fear, as to Religion_\n\n_The Impossibility of making_ Atheism _universally received_\n\n_Religion no Invention of Politicians_\n\n_The Benefit expected from the Notions of Honour_\n\n_The Reasonableness of Mens Actions examined_\n\n_How the Strictness of the Gospel came to be first disapproved of, and\nthe Consequence_\n\n_How Mens Actions may be inconsistent with their Belief_\n\n_That many bad Christians were yet kept in Awe by the Fear of Shame,\ngave the first Handle to the Invention of Honour as a Principle_\n\n_What it is we are afraid of in the Fear of Shame_\n\n_Why the Principle of Honour has been of more Use to Society than that\nof Virtue_\n\n_The Principle of Honour, clashing with Christianity_\n\n_Reasons why the Church of_ Rome _endeavour'd to reconcile them_\n\n_The real Design of_ Legends _and_ Romances\n\n_The Stratagems of the Church of_ Rome _to enslave the Laity_\n\n_What gave Rise to the Custom of Duelling_\n\n\n\n\nThe Contents of the Second Dialogue.\n\n\n_Of the Principle of Honour in the fair Sex_\n\n_The Motives of Women who turn Nuns, seldom Religious_\n\n_Which is most serviceable to the Preservation of Chastity in Women,\nReligion, or Self-liking_\n\n_How the Notions concerning the Principle of Honour came to be commonly\nreceived_\n\n_The Qualifications thought Necessary in a Man of Honour_\n\n_But Courage alone is sufficient to obtain the Title_\n\n_When the Fashion of Duelling was at its greatest Height_\n\n_Courts of Honour erected in_ France\n\n_Laws of Honour made by them to prevent Duelling_\n\n_Why those Laws were the Reverse of all others_\n\n_The Laws of Honour introduced as speaking_\n\n_The Effect such Laws must have on Human Nature_\n\n_The Arguments a true Christian would make use of to dissuade Men from\nDuelling_\n\n_The Reasons why Men are despised who take Affronts without resenting\nthem_\n\n_No Scarcity of Believers in Christ_\n\n_The Principle of Honour contrary to Christianity_\n\n_Why the Principle of Honour is of greater Efficacy upon many than\nReligion_\n\n_How Men may adore themselves_\n\n_Equivalents for Swearing_\n\n_A ludicrous Proposal of_ Horatio _upon the Supposition, that Honor is an\nIdol_\n\n_A Passage in the Fable of the Bees Defended_\n\n_Satyr as little to be depended upon as Panegyrick_\n\n_Whatever belongs to Honour or Shame, has its Foundation in the Passion\nof Self-liking_\n\n_The Church of_ Rome's _cunning in consulting and humouring Human Nature_\n\n_Heraldry of great influence on the Passion of Self-liking_\n\n_Of Canonizations of Saint, and the different Purposes they serve_\n\n_The want of Foresight in the first Reformers_\n\n_The worldly Wisdom of the Church of Rome_\n\n_Hor. owning the Self-denial required in the Gospel in a literal Sense_\n\n_The great Use she has made of it_\n\n_The Analogy between the Popish Religion and a Manufacture_\n\n_The Danger there is in explaining away the Self-denial of the Gospel_\n\n_How the Self-denial of some may seem to be of use to others that\npractise none_\n\n_Easy Casuists can only satisfy the_ Beau Monde\n\n_Jesuits don't, explain away Self-denial in General_\n\n_What sort of Preachers will soonest gain Credit among the Multitude_\n\n_Men may easily be taught to believe what is not Clashing with received\nOpinions_\n\n_The force of Education as to Self-denial_\n\n_The Advantage the Church of Rome has made from vulgar Nations_\n\n_Divines, who appeal to Men's Reason, ought to behave differently from\nthose, who teach implicite Faith._\n\n_Why the Luxury of a Popish Clergy gives less Offence to the Laity,\nthan that of Protestants_\n\n_What the Church of_ Rome _seems no to dispair of_\n\n_The Politicks of_ Rome _more formidable than any other_\n\n_What must always keep up the Popish Interest in_ Great-Britain\n\n_The most probable Maxims to hinder the Growth as well as Irreligion\nand Impiety as of Popery and Superstition_\n\n_When the literal Sense of Words is to be prefer'd to the figurative_\n\n_What the Reformers might have foreseen_\n\n_What has been and ever will be the Fate of all Sects_\n\n\n\n\nThe Contents of the Third Dialog\n\n\n_The Beginning of all Earthly Things was mean_\n\n_The Reason of the high Value Men have for things in which they have\nbut the least Share_\n\n_Whether the best Christians make the best Soldiers_\n\n_Remarks on the Word_ Difference\n\n_An excursion of_ Horatio\n\n_Why Religious Wars are the most Cruel_\n\n_The Pretensions of the Huguenot Army in_ France, _and that of the_\nRoundheads _in England near the same_\n\n_What was answered by their Adversaries_\n\n_What would be the natural Consequeuce of such Differences_\n\n_The Effect which such a Contrariety of Interests would always have on\nthe sober Party_\n\n_Superstition and Enthusiasm may make Men fight, but the Doctrine of\nChrist never can_\n\n_What is required in a Soldier to be call'd virtuous and good_\n\n_Instances where debauch'd Fellows and the greatest Rogues have fought\nwell_\n\n_What is connived at in Soldiers and what not_\n\n_Divines in Armies seldom rigid Casuists_\n\n_How Troops may aquire the Character of being good Christians_\n\n_Why Divines are necessary in Armies_\n\n_Why the worst Religion is more beneficial to Society than Atheism_\n\n_Whether Preachers of the Gospel ever made Men Fight_\n\n_The use that may be made of the Old Testament_\n\n_An everlasting Maxim in Politicks_\n\n_When the Gospel is preach'd to military Men, and when it is let aside_\n\n_Whether_ Cromwel's _Views in promoting an outward Shew of Piety were\nReligious or Political_\n\n_The Foundation of the Quarrels that occasion'd the Civil War_\n\n_How Men who are sincere in their Religion may be made to Act contrary\nto the Precept of it_\n\n_When the Gospel ought no longer to be appeald to_\n\n_A promise to prove what seems to be a Paradox_\n\n_What all Priests have labour'd at in all Armies_\n\n_The Sentiments that were instill'd into the Minds of the_ Roundheads\n\n_The Use which it is probable, a crafty wicked General would make of a\nConjucture, as here hinted at_\n\n_How Men may be sincere and in many Respects morally good, and bad\nChristians_\n\n_How an obsure Man might raise himself to the highest Post in an Army,\nand be thought a Saint tho' he was an Atheist_\n\n_How wicked men may be useful soldiers_\n\n_How the most obdurate Wretch might receive benefit as a soldier from\nan outward Shew of Devotion in others_\n\n_That Men may be sincere Believers and yet lead wicked Lives_\n\n_Few Men are wicked from a desire to be so_\n\n_How even bad Men may be chear'd up by Preaching_\n\n_Hyopcrites to save an outward Appearance may be as useful as Men of\nSincerity_\n\n_There are two sorts of Hypocrites very different from one another_\n\n\n\n\nThe Contents of the Fourth Dialogue.\n\n\n_An Objection of_ Horatio, _concerning Fast-Days_\n\n_What War they would be useful in, if duely kept_\n\n_How Christianity may be made serviceable to Anti-Christian Purposes_\n\n_What is understood in_ England _by keeping a Fast-Day_\n\n_The real Doctrine of Christ can give no Encouragement for Fighting_\n\n_Instances, where Divines seem not to think themselves strictly tied to\nthe Gospel_\n\n_The Art of Preaching in Armies_\n\n_The Use which Politicians may make of extraordinary Days of Devotion,\nabstract from all Thoughts of Religion_\n\n_The miserable Nations, which many of the Vulgar have of Religion_\n\n_How the Rememberance of a Fast-Day may affect a Wicked Soldier_\n\n_The Power which Preaching may have upon ignorant Well-wishers to\nReligion_\n\n_The Days of Supplication among the Ancients_\n\n_A general Show of Religion cannot be procured at all Times_\n\n_What Conjuncture it is only practicable in_\n\n_A Character of_ Oliver Cromwell\n\n_A Spirit of Gentility introduced among Military Men_\n\n_An improvement in the Art of Flattery_\n\n_A Demonstration that what made the Men fight well in the late Wars was\nnot their Religion_\n\n_Why no Armies could subsist without Religion_\n\n_A Recapitulation of what has been advanced in this and the former\nDialogue_\n\n_Horatio's Concurrence_\n\nERRATA Page 81. Line 6. _read_ Influence. P. 94. l. 12. r. _Propr\u00e6tors_.\nP. 174. l. 3. r. Rites.\n\n\n\n\nThe First Dialogue Between _Horatio_ and _Cleomenes_.\n\n\n_Horatio_. I Wonder you never attempted to guess at the Origin of\nHonour, as you have done at that of Politeness, and your Friend in his\nFable of the Bees has done at the Origin of Virtue.\n\nCleo. I have often thought of it, and am satisfied within my self,\nthat my Conjecture about it is Just; but there are Three substantial\nReasons, why I have hitherto kept it to my Self, and never yet\nmention'd to any One, what my Sentiments are concerning the Origin of\nthat charming Sound.\n\nHor. Let me hear your Reasons however.\n\nCleo. The Word Honour, is used in such different Acceptations, is now\na Verb, then a Noun, sometimes taken for the Reward of Virtue,\nsometimes for a Principle that leads to Virtue, and, at others again,\nsignifies Virtue it self; that it would be a very hard Task to take in\nevery Thing that belongs to it, and at the same Time avoid Confusion\nin Treating of it. This is my First Reason. The Second is: That to set\nforth and explain my Opinion on this Head to others with Perspicuity,\nwould take up so much Time, that few People would have the Patience to\nhear it, or think it worth their while to bestow so much Attention, as\nit would require, on what the greatest Part of Mankind would think\nvery trifling.\n\nHor. This Second whets my Curiosity: pray, what is your Third Reason?\n\nCleo. That the very Thing, to which, in my Opinion, Honour owes its\nBirth, is a Passion in our Nature, for which there is no Word coin'd\nyet, no Name that is commonly known and receiv'd in any Language.\n\nHor. That is very strange.\n\nCleo. Yet not less true. Do you remember what I said of Self-liking in\nour Third Conversation, when I spoke of the Origin of Politeness?\n\nHor. I do; but you know, I hate Affectation and Singularity of all\nsorts. Some Men are fond of uncouth Words of their own making, when\nthere are other Words already known, that sound better, and would\nequally explain their Meaning: What you call'd then Self-liking at\nlast prov'd to be Pride, you know.\n\nCleo. Self-liking I have call'd that great Value, which all\nIndividuals set upon their own Persons; that high Esteem, which I take\nall Men to be born with for themselves. I have proved from what is\nconstantly observ'd in Suicide, that there is such a Passion in Human\nNature, and that it is plainly [2] distinct from Self-love. When this\nSelf-liking is excessive, and so openly shewn as to give Offence to\nothers, I know very well it is counted a Vice and call'd Pride: But\nwhen it is kept out of Sight, or is so well disguis'd as not to appear\nin its own Colours, it has no Name, tho' Men act from that and no\nother Principle.\n\n[Footnote 2: Fable of the Bees, part II. p. 141]\n\nHor. When what you call Self-liking, that just Esteem which Men have\nnaturally for themselves, is moderate, and spurs them on to good\nActions, it is very laudable, and is call'd the Love of Praise or a\nDesire of the Applause of others. Why can't you take up with either of\nthese Names?\n\nCleo. Because I would not confound the Effect with the Cause. That Men\nare desirous of Praise, and love to be applauded by others, is the\nResult, a palpable Consequence, of that Self-liking which reigns in\nHuman Nature, and is felt in every one's Breast before we have Time or\nCapacity to reflect and think of Any body else. What Moralists have\ntaught us concerning the Passions, is very superficial and defective.\nTheir great Aim was the Publick Peace, and the Welfare of the Civil\nSociety; to make Men governable, and unite Multitudes in one common\nInterest.\n\nHor. And is it possible that Men can have a more noble Aim in\nTemporals?\n\nCleo. I don't deny that; but as all their Labours were only tending to\nthose Purposes, they neglected all the rest; and if they could but\nmake Men useful to each other and easy to themselves, they had no\nScruple about the Means they did it by, nor any Regard to Truth or the\nReality of Things; as is evident from the gross Absurdities they have\nmade Men swallow concerning their own Nature, in spight of what All\nfelt within. In the Culture of Gardens, whatever comes up in the Paths\nis weeded out as offensive and flung upon the Dunghill; out among the\nVegetables that are all thus promiscously thrown away for Weeds, there\nmay be many curious Plants, on the Use and Beauty of which a Botanist\nwould read long Lectures. The Moralists have endeavour'd to rout Vice,\nand clear the Heart of all hurtful Appetites and Inclinations: We are\nbeholden to them for this in the same Manner as we are to Those who\ndestroy Vermin, and clear the Countries of all noxious Creatures. But\nmay not a Naturalist dissect Moles, try Experiments upon them, and\nenquire into the Nature of their Handicraft, without Offence to the\nMole-catchers, whose Business it is only to kill them as fast as they\ncan?\n\nHor. What Fault is it you find with the Moralists? I can't see what\nyou drive at.\n\nCleo. I would shew you, that the Want of Accuracy in them, when they\nhave treated of Human Nature, makes it extremely difficult to speak\nintelligibly of the different Faculties of our intellectual Part. Some\nThings are very essential, and yet have no Name, as I have given an\nInstance in that Esteem which Men have naturally for themselves,\nabstract from Self-love, and which I have been forced to coin the Word\nSelf-liking for: Others are miscall'd and said to be what they are\nnot. So most of the Passions are counted to be Weaknesses, and\ncommonly call'd Frailties; whereas they are the very Powers that\ngovern the whole Machine; and, whether they are perceived or not,\ndetermine or rather create The Will that immediately precedes every\ndeliberate Action.\n\nHor. I now understand perfectly well what you mean by Self-liking. You\nare of Opinion, that we are all born with a Passion manifestly\ndistinct from Self-love; that, when it is moderate and well regulated,\nexcites in us the Love of Praise, and a Desire to be applauded and\nthought well of by others, and stirs us up to good Actions: but that\nthe same Passion, when it is excessive, or ill turn'd, whatever it\nexcites in our Selves, gives Offence to others, renders us odious, and\nis call'd Pride. As there is no Word or Expression that comprehends\nall the different Effects of this same Cause, this Passion, you have\nmade one, _viz_. Self-liking, by which you mean the Passion in general,\nthe whole Extent of it, whether it produces laudable Actions, and\ngains us Applause, or such as we are blamed for and draw upon us the\nill Will of others.\n\nCleo. You are extremely right; this was my Design in coining the Word\nSelf-liking.\n\nHor. But you said, that Honour owes its Birth to this Passion; which I\ndon't understand, and wish you would explain to me.\n\nCleo. To comprehend this well, we ought to consider, that as all Human\nCreatures are born with this Passion, so the Operations of it are\nmanifestly observed in Infants; as soon as they begin to be conscious\nand to reflect, often before they can speak or go.\n\nHor. As how?\n\nCleo. If they are praised, or commended, tho' they don't deserve it,\nand good Things are said of them, tho' they are not true, we see, that\nJoy is raised in them, and they are pleased: On the Contrary, when\nthey are reproved and blamed, tho' they know themselves to be in\nFault, and bad Things are said of them, tho' Nothing but Truth, we see\nit excites Sorrow in them and often Anger. This Passion of\nSelf-liking, then, manifesting it self so early in all Children that\nare not Idiots, it is inconceivable that Men should not be sensible,\nand plainly feel, that they have it long before they are grown up: And\nall Men feeling themselves to be affected with it, tho' they know no\nName for the Thing it self, it is impossible, that they should long\nconverse together in Society without finding out, not only that others\nare influenced with it as well as themselves, but likewise which Way\nto please or displease one another on Account of this Passion.\n\nHor. But what is all this to Honour?\n\nCleo. I'll shew you. When _A_ performs an Action which, in the Eyes of\n_B_, is laudable, _B_ wishes well to _A_; and, to shew him his Satisfaction,\ntells him, that such an Action is an Honour to Him, or that He ought\nto be Honoured for it: By saying this, _B_, who knows that all Men are\naffected with Self-liking, intends to acquaint _A_, that he thinks him\nin the Right to gratify and indulge himself in the Passion of\nSelf-liking. In this Sense the Word Honour, whether it is used as a\nNoun or a Verb, is always a Compliment we make to Those who act, have,\nor are what we approve of; it is a Term of Art to express our\nConcurrence with others, our Agreement with them in their Sentiments\nconcerning the Esteem and Value they have for themselves. From what I\nhave said, it must follow, that the greater the Multitudes are that\nexpress this Concurrence, and the more expensive, the more operose,\nand the more humble the Demonstrations of it are, the more openly\nlikewise they are made, the longer they last, and the higher the\nQuality is of Those who join and assist in this Concurrence, this\nCompliment; the greater, without all Dispute, is the Honour which is\ndone to the Person in whose Favour these Marks of Esteem are\ndisplayed: So that the highest Honour which Men can give to Mortals,\nwhilst alive, is in Substance no more, than the most likely and most\neffectual Means that Human Wit can invent to gratify, stir up, and\nencrease in Him, to whom that Honour is paid, the Passion of\nSelf-liking.\n\nHor. I am afraid it is true.\n\nCleo. To render what I have advanced more conspicuous, we need only\nlook into the Reverse of Honour, which is Dishonour or Shame, and we\nshall find, that this could have had no Existence any more than\nHonour, if there had not been such a Passion in our Nature as\nSelf-liking. When we see Others commit such Actions, as are vile and\nodious in our Opinion, we say, that such Actions are a Shame to them,\nor that they ought to be ashamed of them. By this we shew, that we\ndiffer from them in their Sentiments concerning the Value which we\nknow, that they, as well as all Mankind, have for their own Persons;\nand are endeavouring to make them have an ill Opinion of themselves,\nand raise in them that sincere Sorrow, which always attends Man's\nreflecting on his own Unworthiness. I desire, you would mind, that the\nActions which we thus condemn as vile and odious, need not to be so\nbut in our own Opinion; for what I have said happens among the worst\nof Rogues, as well as among the better Sort of People. If one Villain\nshould neglect picking a Pocket, when he might have done it with Ease,\nanother of the same Gang, who was near him and saw this, would upbraid\nhim with it in good Earnest, and tell him, that he ought to be ashamed\nof having slipt so fair an Opportunity. Sometimes Shame signifies the\nvisible Disorders that are the Symptoms of this sorrowful Reflection\non our own Unworthiness; at others, we give that Name to the\nPunishments that are inflicted to raise those Disorders; but the more\nyou will examine into the Nature of either, the more you will see the\nTruth of what I have asserted on this Head; and all the Marks of\nIgnominy, that can be thought of; have a plain Tendency to mortify\nPride; which, in other Words, is to disturb, take away and extirpate\nevery Thought of Self-liking.\n\nHor. The Author of the Fable of the _Bees_, I think, pretends somewhere\nto set down the different Symptoms of Pride and Shame.\n\nCleo. I believe they are faithfully copied from Nature. ---- Here is\nthe Passage; pray read it.\n\nHor. [3] _When a Man is overwhelm'd with Shame, he observes a Sinking\nof the Spirits; the Heart feels cold and condensed, and the Blood\nflies from it to the Circumference of the Body; the Face glows; the\nNeck and part of the Breast partake of the Fire: He is heavy as Lead;\nthe Head is hung down; and the Eyes through a Mist of Confusion are\nfix'd on the Ground: No Injuries can move him; he is weary of his\nBeing, and heartily wishes he could make himself invisible: But when,\ngratifying his Vanity, he exults in his Pride, he discovers quite\ncontrary Symptoms; his Spirits swell and fan the Arterial Blood; a\nmore than ordinary Warmth strengthens and dilates the Hear; the\nExtremities are cool; he feels Light to himself, and imagines he could\ntread on Air; his Head is held up; his Eyes are roll'd about with\nSprightliness; he rejoices at his Being, is prone to Anger, and would\nbe glad that all the World could take Notice of him._\n\n[Footnote 3: Fable of the Bees, Page 57.]\n\nCleo. That's all.\n\nHor. But you see, he took Pride and Shame to be two distinct Passions;\nnay, in another Place he has call'd them so.\n\nCleo. He did; but it was an Errour, which I know he is willing to own.\n\nHor. what he is willing to own I don't know; but I think he is in the\nRight in what he says of them in his Book. The Symptoms of Pride and\nShame are so vastly different, that to me it is inconceivable, they\nshould proceed from the fame Passion.\n\nCleo. Pray think again with Attention, and you'll be of my Opinion. My\nFriend compares the Symptoms that are observed in Human Creatures when\nthey exult in their Pride, with those of the Mortification they feel\nwhen they are overwhelm'd with Shame. The Symptoms, and if you will\nthe Sensations, that are felt in the Two Cases, are, as you say,\nvastly different from one another; but no Man could be affected with\neither, if he had not such a Passion in his Nature, as I call\nSelf-liking. Therefore they are different Affections of one and the\nsame Passion, that are differently observed in us, according as we\neither enjoy Pleasure, or are aggriev'd on Account of that Passion; in\nthe same Manner as the most happy and the most miserable Lovers are\nhappy and miserable on the Score of the same Passion. Do but compare\nthe Pleasure of a Man, who with an extraordinary Appetite is feasting\non what is delicious to him, to the Torment of another, who is\nextremely hungry, and can get Nothing to eat. No Two Things in the\nWorld can be more different, than the Pleasure of the One is from the\nTorment of the other; yet Nothing is more evident, than that both are\nderived from and owing to the same craving principle in our nature,\nthe Desire of Food; for when this is entirely lost, it is more\nvexatious to eat, than it is to let it alone, tho' the whole Body\nlanguishes, and we are ready to expire for Want of Sustenance.\nHitherto I have spoken of honour in its first literal Sense, in which\nit is a Technic Word in the Art of Civility, and signifies a Means\nwhich Men by Conversing together have found out to please and gratify\none another on Account of a palpable Passion in our Nature, that has\nno Name, and which therefore I call Self-liking. In this Sense I\nbelieve the Word Honour, both as a Verb and a Noun, to be as Ancient\nas the oldest Language. But there is another Meaning besides,\nbelonging to the same Sound; and Honour signifies likewise a principle\nof Courage, Virtue, and Fidelity, which some men are said to act from,\nand to be aw'd by, as others are by Religion. In this latter Sense, it\nis much more modern, and I don't believe to be met with a Thousand\nYears ago in any Language.\n\nHor. How! Is it but within these Thousand Years that there have been\nmen of Bravery and Virtue? Have not the _Greeks_ and _Romans_ had great\nNumbers of them? Were not the _Horatii_ and _Curiatii_ Men of Honour?\n\nCleo. They never were call'd so. All Ages and most Countries have\nproduced Men of Virtue and Bravery; but this I do not enquire into\nnow: What I assert to be modern is the Phrase, the Term of Art; it is\nthat which the Ancients knew Nothing of; nor can you with Ten Words,\nin either _Greek_ or _Latin_, express the entire Idea which is annex'd to\nthe Word Honour when it signifies a Principle. To be a Man of Honour,\nit is not sufficient, that he, who assumes that Title, is brave in\nWar, and dares to fight against the Enemies of his Country; but he\nmust likewise be ready to engage in private Quarrels, tho' the Laws of\nGod and his Country forbid it. He must bear no Affront without\nresenting it, nor refuse a Challenge, if it be sent to him in a proper\nManner by a Man of Honour. I make no Doubt, but this Signification of\nthe Word Honour is entirely Gothick, and sprung up in some of the most\nignorant Ages of Christianity. It seems to have been Invention to\ninfluence Men, whom Religion had no Power over. All Human Creatures\nhave a restless Desire of mending their Condition; and in all Civil\nSocieties and Communions of Men there seems to be a Spirit at Work,\nthat, in Spight of the continual Opposition it receives from Vice and\nMisfortunes, is always labouring for, and seeking after what can never\nbe obtain'd whilst the World stands.\n\nHor. What is that pray?\n\nCleo. To make Men compleatly Happy upon Earth. Thus Men make Laws to\nobviate every Inconveniency they meet with; and as Times discover to\nthem the Insufficiency of those Laws, they make others with an Intent\nto enforce, mend, explain or repeal the former; till the Body of Laws\ngrows to such an enormous Bulk, that to understand it is a tedious\nprolix Study, and the Numbers that follow and belong to the Practise\nof it, come to be a Grievance almost as great as could be fear'd from\nInjustice and Oppression. Nothing is more necessary than that Property\nshould be secured; and it is impossible but on many Occasions Men must\ntrust one another in the Civil Society. Now Nothing has ever been\nthought to be more obligatory or a greater Tie upon Man than Religion.\n\nHor. This I have often wonder'd at: Considering the Absurdities on the\nReligion of the _Greeks_ and _Romans,_ the bad Examples and Immoralities\nof their Deities, the ridiculous Fables of a _Charon,_ a _Styx,_ a\n_Cerberus,_ &c, and the obscenity display'd in several of their\nFestivals, I cannot conceive how Men could expect, that such Religions\nshould make Men Honest, or do any good to their Morals; and yet, which\nis amazing to me, most wise men in all Ages have agreed, that, without\nsome Religion or other, it would be impossible to govern any\nconsiderable Nation. However, I believe it is Fact, that it never was\ndone.\n\nCleo. That no large Society of Men can be well govern'd without\nReligion, and that there never was a Nation that had not some Worship,\nand did not believe in some Deity or other, is most certain: But what\ndo you think is the Reason of that?\n\nHor. Because Multitudes must be aw'd by Something that is terrible, as\nFlames of Hell, and Fire everlasting; and it is evident, that if it\nwas not for the Fear of an After-Reckoning, some Men would be so\nwicked, that there would be no living with them.\n\nCleo. Pray, how wicked would they be? What Crimes would they commit?\n\nHor. Robbing, Murdering, Ravishing.\n\nCleo. And are not often here, as well as in other Nations, People\nconvicted of, and punished for those Crimes?\n\nHor. I am satisfied, the Vulgar could not be managed without Religion\nof some Sort or other; for the Fear of Futurity keeps Thousands in\nAwe, who, without that Reflection, would all be guilty of those Crimes\nwhich are now committed only by a Few.\n\nCleo. This is a Surmise without any Foundation. It has been said a\nThousand Times by Divines of all Sects; but No body has ever shewn the\nleast Probability of its being true; and daily Experience gives us all\nthe Reason in the World to think the Contrary; for there are\nThousands, who, throughout the Course of their Lives, seem not to have\nthe least Regard to a future State, tho' they are Believers, and yet\nthese very People are very cautious of committing any Thing which the\nLaw would punish. You'll give me Leave to observe by the By, that to\nbelieve what you say, a Man must have a worse Opinion of his Species,\nthan ever the Author of the _Fable of the Bees_ appears to have had yet.\n\nHor. Don't mistake me: I am far from believing, that Men of Sense and\nEducation are to be frighten'd with those Bugbears.\n\nCleo. And what I say, I don't mean of Libertines or Deist; but Men,\nthat to all outward Appearance are Believers, that go to Church,\nreceive the Sacrament, and at the Approach of Death are observed to be\nreally afraid of Hell. And yet of these, many are Drunkards,\nWhoremasters, Adulterers, and not a Few of them betray their Trust,\nrob their Country, defraud Widows and Orphans, and make wronging their\nNeighbours their daily Practice.\n\nHor. What Temporal Benefit can Religion be of to the Civil Society, if\nit don't keep People in Awe?\n\nCleo. That's another Question. We both agree, that no Nation or large\nSociety can be well govern'd without Religion. I ask'd you the Reason\nof this: You tell me, because the Vulgar could not be kept in Awe\nwithout it. In Reply to this, I point at a Thousand Instances, where\nReligion is not of the Efficacy, and shew you withal that this End of\nkeeping Men in Awe is much better obtain'd by the Laws and temporal\nPunishment; and that it is the Fear of them, which actually restrains\ngreat Numbers of wicked People; I might say All, without Exception, of\nwhom there is any Hope or Possibility, that they can be curb'd at all,\nor restrain'd by any Thing whatever: For such Reprobates as can make a\nJest of the Gallows, and are not afraid of Hanging, will laugh\nlikewise at Hell and defy Damnation.\n\nHor. If the Reason I alledge is insufficient, pray give me a better.\n\nCleo. I'll endeavour it. The First Business of all Governments, I mean\nthe Task which all Rulers must begin with, is, to make Men tractable\nand obedient, which is not to be perform'd unless we can make them\nbelieve, that the Instructions and Commands we give them have a plain\nTendency to the Good of every Individual, and that we say Nothing to\nthem, but what we know to be true. To do this effectually, Human\nNature ought to be humour'd as well as studied: Whoever therefore\ntakes upon him to govern a Multitude, ought to inform himself of those\nSentiments that are the natural Result of the Passions and Frailties\nwhich every Human Creature is born with.\n\nHor. I don't understand what Sentiments you speak of.\n\nCleo. I'll explain my self. All Men are born with Fear; and as they\nare likewise born with a Desire of Happiness and Self-Preservation, it\nis natural for them to avoid Pain and every Thing that makes them\nuneasy; and which, by a general Word, is call'd Evil. Fear being that\nPassion which inspires us with a strong Aversion to Evil, it is very\nnatural to think that it will put us up on enquiring into the means to\nshun it. I have told you already, in our Fifth Conversation, how this\nAversion to Evil, and Endeavour to shun it, this Principle of Fear,\nwould always naturally dispose Human Creatures to suspect the\nExistence of an intelligent Cause that is invisible, whenever any Evil\nhappen'd to them, which came they knew not whence, and of which the\nAuthor was not to be seen. If you remember what I said then, the\nReasons why no Nations can be govern'd without Religion, will be\nobvious. Every Individual, whether he is a Savage, or is born in a\nCivil Society, is persuaded within, that there is such an invisible\nCause; and should any Mortal contradict this, no Multitude would\nbelieve a Word of what he said. Whereas, on the other Hand, if a Ruler\nhumours this Fear, and puts it out of all Doubt, that there is such an\ninvisible Cause, he may say of it what he pleases; and no Multitude,\nthat was never taught any Thing to the contrary, will ever dispute it\nwith him. He may say, that it is a Crocodile or a Monkey, an Ox, or a\nDog, an Onion, or a Wafer. And as to the Essence and the Qualities of\nthe invisible Cause, he is at Liberty to call it very good or very\nbad. He many say of it, that it is an envious, malicious, and the most\ncruel Being that can be imagin'd; that it loves Blood and delights in\nHuman Sacrifices: Or he may say that there are two invisible Causes;\none the Author of Good, the other of Evil; or that there are Three; or\nthat there is really but One, tho' seemingly there are Three, or else\nthat there are Fifty Thousand. The many Calamities we are liable to,\nfrom Thunder and Lightning, Hurricanes and Earthquakes, Plagues and\nInundations, will always make ignorant and untaught Men more prone to\nbelieve, that the invisible Cause is a bad mischievous Being, than\nthat it is a good benign one; as I shew'd you then in that Fifth\nConversation.\n\nHor. On this Head I own I must give up Mankind, and cannot maintain\nthe Excellency of Human Nature; for the absurdities in Idolatrous\nWorship, that have been and are still committed by some of our own\nSpecies, are such as no Creatures of any other could out-do them in.\n\nCleo. The Protestant and the Mahometan are the only National Religions\nnow, that are free from Idolatry; and therefore the Absurdities in the\nWorship of all the Rest are pretty much alike; at least, the\nDifference in the Degrees of Mens Folly, as Idolaters, is very\ninconsiderable. For how unknown soever an invisible Cause, Power, or\nBeing may be, that is incomprehensible, this is certain of it, that no\nclear intelligible Idea can be form'd of it; and that no Figure can\ndescribe it. All Attempts then, to represent the Deity, being equally\nvain and frivolous, no One Shape or Form can be imagin'd of it, that\ncan justly be said to be more or less absurd than another. As to the\ntemporal Benefit which Religion can be of to the Civil Society, or the\nPolitical View which Lawgivers and Governours may have in promoting\nit, the chief Use of it is in Promises of Allegiance and Loyalty, and\nall solemn Engagements and Asseverations, in which the invisible\nPower, that, in every Country, is the Object of the Publick Worship,\nis involved or appeal'd to. For these Purposes all Religions are\nequally serrviceable; and the worst is better than none: For without\nthe belief of an invisible Cause, no Man's Word is to be relied upon,\nno Vows or Protestations can be depended upon; but as soon as a Man\nbelieves, that there is a Power somewhere, that will certainly punish\nhim, if he forswears himself; as soon, I say, as a Man believes this,\nwe have Reason to trust to his Oath; at least, it is a better Test\nthan any other Verbal Assurance. But what this same Person believes\nfurther, concerning the Nature and the Essence of that Power he swears\nby, the Worship it requires, or whether he conceives it in the\nsingular or plural Number, may be very material to himself, but the\nSocicty has Nothing to do with it: Because it can make no Alteration\nin the Security which his Swearing gives us. I don't deny the\nUsefulness which even the worst Religion that can be, may be of to\nPoliticians and the Civil Society: But what I insist upon, is, that\nthe temporal Benefit of it, or the Contrivance of Oaths and Swearing,\ncould never have enter'd into the the Heads of Politician, if the Fear\nof an invisible Cause had not pre-existed and been supposed to be\nuniversal, any more than they would have contrived matrimony, if the\nDesire of Procreation had not been planted in Human Nature and visible\nin both Sexes. Passions don't affect us, but when they are provoked:\nThe Fear of Death is a Reality in our Nature: But the greatest Cowards\nmay, and often do, live Forty Years and longer, without being\ndisturb'd by it. The Fear of an invisible Cause is as real in our\nNature, as the Fear of Death; either of them may be conquer'd perhaps;\nbut so may Lust; and Experience teaches us, that how violent soever\nthe Desire of Propagating our Species may be whilst we are young, it\ngoes off, and is often entirely lost in old Age. When I hear a Man\nsay, that he never felt any Fear of an invisible Cause, that was not\nowing to Education, I believe him as much as I do a young married\nWoman in Health and Vigour, who tells me, that she never felt any Love\nto a Man, that did not proceed from a Sense of her Duty.\n\nHor. Does this Fear, this Acknowledgment of an invisible Cause,\ndispose or excite men any more to the true Religion, than it does to\nthe grossest and most abominable Idolatry?\n\nCleo. I don't say it does. But there is no Passion in Human Nature so\nbeneficial, that, according as it is managed, may not do Mischief as\nwell as good. What do you think of Love? If this Fear had not been\ncommon to the whole Species, none could have been influenc'd by it;\nthe Consequence of which must have been, that Men would have rejected\nthe true Religion as well as the false. There is Nothing that Men may\ndiffer in, in which they will ever be all of the same Opinion: And\nabstruse Truths do often seem to be less probable than well dress'd\nFables, when they are skilfully accommodated to our Understanding, and\nagreeable to our own Way of thinking. That there is but one God, the\nCreator of Heaven and Earth, that is an all-wise and perfectly good\nBeing, without any Mixture of Evil, would have been a most rational\nOpinion, tho' it had not been reveal'd. But Reasoning and Metaphysicks\nmust have been carried on to a great Height of Perfection, before this\nTruth could be penetrated into by the Light of Nature. _Plutarch_, who\nwas a Man of great Learning, and has in many Things display'd good\nSense and Capacity, thought it impossible, that one Being should have\nbeen the Cause of the Whole, and was therefore of Opinion, that there\nmust have been Two Principles; the one to produce all the Good; and\nthe other all the Evil that is in the World. And Some of the greatest\nmen have been of this Opinion, both before and since the Promulgation\nof the Gospel. But whatever Philosophers and men of Letters may have\nadvanced, there never was an Age or a Country where the Vulgar would\never come into an Opinion that contradicted that Fear, which all men\nare born with, of an invisible Cause, that meddles and interferes in\nHuman Affairs; and there is a greater Possibility, that the most\nSenseless Enthusiast should make a knowing and polite Nation believe\nthe most incredible Falsities, or that the most odious Tyrant should\npersuade them to the grossest Idolatry, than that the most artful\nPolitician, or the most popular Prince, should make Atheism to be\nuniversally received among the Vulgar of any considerable State or\nKingdom, tho' there were no Temples or Priests to be seen. From all\nwhich I would shew, that, on the one Hand, you can make no Multitudes\nbelieve contrary to what they feel, or what contradicts a Passion\ninherent in their Nature, and that, on the other, if you humour that\nPassion, and allow it to be just, you may regulate it as you please.\nHow unanimous soever, therefore, all Rulers and Magistrates have\nseem'd to be in promoting some Religion or other, the Principle of it\nwas not of their Invention. They found it in Man; and the Fear of an\ninvisible Cause being universal, if Governours had said nothing of it,\nevery Man in his own Breast would have found Fault with them, and had\na Superstition of his own to himself. It has often been seen, that the\nmost subtle Unbelievers among Politicians have been forced, for their\nown Quiet, to counterfeit their Attachment to religion, when they\nwould a Thousand Times rather have done without it.\n\nHor. It is not in the Power then, you think, of Politicians, to\ncontradict the Passions, or deny the Existence of them, but that, when\nonce they have allow'd them to be just and natural, they may guide Men\nin the Indulgence of them, as they please.\n\nCleo. I do so; and the Truth of this is evident likewise in another\nPassion, (_viz_) that of Love, which I hinted at before; and Marriage\nwas not invented to make Men procreate; they had that Desire before;\nbut it was instituted to regulate a strong Passion, and prevent the\ninnumerable Mischiefs that would ensue, if Men and Women should\nconverse together promiscuosly, and love and leave one another as\nCaprice and their unruly Fancy led them. Thus we see, that every\nLegislator has regulated Matrimony in that Way, which, to the best of\nhis Skill, he imagin'd would be the most proper to promote the Peace\nFelicity in general of Those he govern'd: And how great an Imposter\nsoever _Mahomet_ was, I can never believe, that he would have allow'd\nhis _Mussulmen_ Three or Four Wives a piece, if he had thought it\nbetter, than one; Man should be contented with and confin'd to One\nWoman; I mean better upon the Whole, more beneficial to the Civil\nSociety, as well in Consideration of the Climate he lived in--, as the\nNature and the Temperament of those _Arabians_ he gave his Laws to.\n\nHor. But what is all this to the Origin of Honour? What Reason have\nyou to think it to be of Gothick Extraction?\n\nCleo. My Conjecture concerning Honour, as it signifies a Principle\nfrom which Men act, is, that it is an Invention of Politicians, to\nkeep Men close to their Promises and Engagements, when all other Ties\nprov'd ineffectual; and the Christian Religion itself was often found\ninsufficient for that Purpose.\n\nHor. But the Belief of an over-ruling Power, that will certainly\npunish Perjury and Injustice, being common to all Religions, what\npre-eminence has the Christian over the Rest, as to the Civil Society\nin Temporals?\n\nCleo. It shews and insists upon the Necessity of that Belief more\namply and more emphatically than any other. Besides, the Strictness of\nits Morality, and the exemplary Lives of Those who preach'd it, gain'd\nvast Credit to the mysterious Part of it; and there never had been a\nDoctrine or Philosophy from which it was so likely to expect, that it\nwould produce Honesty, mutual Love and Faithfulness in the Discharge\nof all Duties and Engagements as the Christian Religion. The wisest\nMoralists, before that Time, has laid the greatest Stress on the\nReasonableness of their precepts; and appeal'd to Human Understanding\nfor the Truth of their Opinions. But the Gospel, soaring beyond the\nReach of Reason, teaches us many Things, which no Mortal could ever\nhave known, unless they had been reveal'd to him; and several that\nmust always remain incomprehensible to finite Capacities; and this is\nthe Reason, that the Gospel presses and enjoins Nothing with more\nEarnestness than Faith and Believing.\n\nHor. But would Men be more sway'd by Things they believed only, than\nthey would be by those they understood?\n\nCleo. All Human Creatures are sway'd and wholly govern'd by their\nPassions, whatever fine Notions we may flatter our Selves with; even\nthose who act suitably to their Knowledge, and strictly follow the\nDictates of their Reason, are not less compell'd so to do by some\nPassion or other, that sets them to Work, than others, who bid\nDefiance and act contrary to Both, and whom we call Slaves to their\nPassions. To love Virtue for the Beauty of it, and curb one's\nAppetites because it is most reasonable so to do, are very good Things\nin Theory; but whoever understands our Nature, and consults the\nPractice of Human Creatures, would sooner expect from them, that they\nshould abstain from Vice, for Fear of Punishment, and do good, in\nHopes of being rewarded for it.\n\nHor. Would you prefer that Goodness, built upon Selfishness and\nMercenary Principles, to that which proceeds from a Rectitude of\nThinking, and a real Love of Virtue and Reasonableness of Mens\nActions?\n\nCleo. We can give no better Proof of our Reasonableness, than by\njudging rightly. When a Man wavers in his Choice, between present\nEnjoyments of Ease and Pleasure, and the Discharge of Duties that are\ntroublesome, he weighs what Damage or benefit will accrue to him upon\nthe Whole, as well from the Neglect as the Observence of the Duties\nthat are prescrib'd to him; and the greater the Punishment is he fears\nfrom the Neglect, and the more transcendent the Reward is which he\nhopes for from the Observance, the more reasonably he acts, when he\nsides with his Duty. To bear with Inconveniencies, Pain and Sorrow, in\nHopes of being eternally Happy, and refuse the Enjoyments of Pleasure,\nfor Fear of being Miserable for ever, are more justifiable to Reason,\nand more consonant to good Sense, than it is to do it for Nothing.\n\nHor. But our Divines will tell you, that this Slavish Fear is\nunacceptable, and that the Love of God ought to be the Motive of good\nActions.\n\nCleo. I have Nothing against the refin'd Notions of the Love of God,\nbut this is not what I would now speak of. My Design was only to\nprove, that the more firmly Men believe Rewards and Punishments from\nan invisible Cause, and the more this Belief always influences them in\nall their Actions, the closer they'll keep to Justice and all Promises\nand Engagements. It is this that was always most wanted in the Civil\nSociety; and, before the Coming of _Christ_, Nothing had appear'd upon\nEarth, from which this grand _Desideratum_, this Blessing, might so\nreasonably be expected as it might from his Doctrine. In the Beginning\nof Christianity, and whilst the Gospel was explain'd without any\nRegard to Wordly Views, to be a Soldier was thought inconsistent with\nthe Profession of a Christian; but this Strictness of the\nGospel-Principles began to be disapproved of in the Second Century.\nThe Divines of those Days were most of them become arrant Priests, and\nsaw plainly, that a Religion, which would not allow its Votaries to\nassist at Courts or Armies, and comply with the vain World, could\nnever be made National; consequently, the Clergy of it could never\nacquire any considerable Power upon Earth. In Spirituals they were the\nSuccessors of the Apostles, but in Temporals they wanted to succeed\nthe Pagan Priests, whose Possessions they look'd upon with wishful\nEyes; and Worldly Strength and Authority being absolutely necessary to\nestablish Dominion, it was agreed, that Christians might be Soldiers,\nand in a just War fight with the Enemies of their Country. But\nExperience soon taught them, that those Christians, whose Consciences\nwould suffer them to be Soldiers, and to act contrary to the Doctrine\nof Peace, were not more strict Observers of other Duties; that Pride,\nAvarice and Revenge ranged among them as they did among the Heathens,\nand that many of them were guilty of Drunkenness and Incontinence,\nFraud and Injustice, at the same Time that they pretended to great\nZeal, and were great Sticklers for their Religion. This made it\nevident, that there could be no Religion so strict, no System of\nMorality so refin'd, nor Theory so well meaning, but some People might\npretend to profess and follow it, and yet be loose Livers, and wicked\nin their Practice.\n\nHor. Those who profess to be of a Theory, which they contradict by\ntheir Practice, are, without Doubt, hypocrites.\n\nCleo. I have more Charity than to think so. There are real Believers\nthat lead Wicked Lives; and Many stick not at Crimes, which they never\nwould have dared to commit, if the Terrors of the Divine Justice, and\nthe Flames of Hell, had struck their Imagination, and been before them\nin the same Manner as they really believe they shall be; or if at that\nTime their Fears had made the same Impression upon them, which they do\nat others, when the Evil dreaded seems to be near. Things at a\nDistance, tho' we are sure that they are to come, make little\nImpression upon us in Comparison with those that are present and\nimmediately before us. This is evident in the Affair of Death: There\nis No Body who does not believe, that he must die, Mr. _Asgil_ perhaps\nexcepted; yet it hardly ever employs People's Thoughts, even of Those\nwho are most terribly afraid of it whilst they are in perfect Health,\nand have every Thing they like. Man is never better pleas'd than when\nhe is employ'd in procuring Ease and Pleasure, in thinking on his own\nWorth, and mending his Condition upon Earth. Whether This is laid on\nthe Devil or our Attachment to the World, it is plain to me, that it\nflows from Man's Nature, always to mind to Flatter, Love, and take\nDelight in himself; and that he cares as little as possible ever to be\ninterupted in this grand Employment. As every organ, and every part of\nMan, seems to be made and wisely contriv'd for the Functions of this\nLife only, so his Nature prompts him, not to have any Sollicitude for\nThings beyond this World. The Care of Self-Preservation we are born\nwith, does not extend it self beyond this Life; therefore every\nCreature dreads Death as the Dissolution of its Being, the Term not to\nbe exceeded, the End of All. How various and unreasonable soever our\nWishes may be, and how enormous the Multiplicity of our Desires, they\nterminate in Life, and all the Objects of them are on this Side the\nGrave.\n\nHor. Has not a Man Desires beyond the Grave, who buys an Estate, not\nto be enjoy'd but by his Heirs, and enters into Agreements that shall\nbe binding for a Thousand Years.\n\nCleo. All the Pleasure and Satisfaction that can arise from the\nReflection on our Heirs, is enjoy'd in this Life: And the Benefits and\nAdvantages we wish to our Posterity are of the same Nature with those\nwhich we would wish to our Selves if we were to live; and what we take\nCare of is, that they shall be Rich, keep their Possessions, and that\ntheir Estates, Authority and Prerogatives shall never diminish, but\nrather encrease. We look upon Posterity as the Effect of which we are\nthe Cause, and we reckon our Selves as it were to continue in them.\n\nHor. But the Ambitious that are in Pursuit of Glory, and sacrifise\ntheir Lives to Fame and a lasting Reputation, sure they have Wishes\nbeyond the Grave.\n\nCleo. Tho' a Man should stretch and carry his Ambition to the End of\nthe World, and desire not to be forgot as long as that stood, yet the\nPleasure that arises from the Reflection on what shall be said of him\nThousands and Thousand of Years after, can only be enjoy'd in this\nLife. If a vain Coxcomb, whose Memory shall die with him, can be but\nfirmly persuaded, that he shall leave an eternal Name, the Reflection\nmay give him as much Pleasure as the greatest Hero can receive from\nreflecting on what shall really render him immortal. A Man, who is not\nregenerated, can have no Notion of another World, or future happiness;\ntherefore his Longing after it cannot be very strong. Nothing can\naffect us forcibly but what strikes the Senses, or such Things which\nwe are conscious of within. By the Light of Nature only, we are\ncapable of demonstrating to our Selves the necessity of a First Cause,\na Supreme Being; but the Existence of a Deity cannot be render'd more\nmanifest to our Reason, than his Essence is unknown and\nincomprehensible to our Understanding.\n\nHor. I don't see what you drive at.\n\nCleo. I am endeavouring to account for the small Effect and little\nForce, which Religion, and the Belief of future Punishments, may be of\nto mere Man, unassisted with the Divine Grace. The Practice of nominal\nChristians is perpetually clashing with the Theory they profess.\nInnumerable Sins are committed in private, which the Presence of a\nChild, or the most insignificant Person, might have hinder'd, by Men\nwho believe God to be omniscient, and never question'd his Ubiquity.\n\nHor. But pray, come to the Point, the Origin of Honour.\n\nCleo. If we consider, that men are always endeavouring to mend their\nCondition and render Society more happy as to this World we may easily\nconceive, when it was evident that Nothing could be a Check upon Man\nthat was absent, or at least appear'd not to be present, how Moralists\nand Politicians came to look for Something in Man himself, to keep him\nin Awe. The more they examin'd into Human Nature, the more they must\nhave been convinced, that Man is so Selfish a Creature, that, whilst\nhe is at Liberty, the greatest Part of his Time will always be\nbestow'd upon himself; and that whatever Fear or Revenerence he might\nhave for an invisible Cause, that Thought was often jostled out by\nothers, more nearly relating to himself. It is obvious likewise, that\nhe neither loves nor esteems any Thing so well as he does his own\nIndividual; and that here is Nothing, which he has so constantly\nbefore his Eyes, as his own dear Self. It is highly probable, that\nskilful Rulers, having made these observations for some Time, would be\ntempted to try if Man could not be made an Object of Reverence to\nhimself.\n\nHor. You have only named Love and Esteem; they alone cannot produce\nReverence by your own Maxim; how could they make a man afraid of\nhimself?\n\nCleo. By improving upon his Dread of Shame; and this, I am persuaded,\nwas the Case: For as soon as it was found out, that many vicious,\nquarrelsome, and undaunted Men, that fear'd neither God nor Devil,\nwere yet often curb'd and visibly with-held by the Fear of Shame; and\nlikewise that this Fear of Shame might be greatly encreas'd by an\nartful Education, and be made superiour even to that of Death, they\nhad made a Discovery of a real Tie, that would serve many noble\nPurposes in the Society. This I take to have been the Origin of\nHonour, the Principle of which has its Foundation in Self-liking; and\nno Art could ever have fix'd or rais'd it in any Breast, if that\nPassion had not pre-existed and been predominant there.\n\nHor. But, how are you sure, that this was the Work of Moralists and\nPoliticians, as you seem to insinuate?\n\nCleo. I give those Names promiscuously to All that, having studied\nHuman Nature, have endeavour'd to civilize Men, and render them more\nand more tractable, either for the Ease of Governours and Magistrates,\nor else for the Temporal Happiness of Society in general. I think of\nall Inventions of this Sort, the same which told [4] you of\nPoliteness, that they are the joint Labour of Many, Human Wisdom is\nthe Child of Time. It was not the Contrivance of one Man, nor could it\nhave been the Business of a few Years, to establish a Notion, by which\na rational Creature is kept in Awe for Fear of it Self, and an Idol is\nset up, that shall be its own Worshiper.\n\n[Footnote 4: Fable of the Bees, Part. II. page 132.]\n\nHor. But I deny, that in the Fear of Shame we are afraid of our\nSelves. What we fear, is the judgment of others, and the ill Opinion\nthey will justly have of us.\n\nCleo. Examine this thoroughly, and you'll find, that when we covet\nGlory, or dread Infamy, it is not the good or bad Opinion of others\nthat affects us with Joy or Sorrow, Pleasure or Pain; but it is the\nNotion we form of that Opinion of theirs, and must proceed from the\nRegard and Value we have for it. If it was otherwise, the most\nShameless Fellow would suffer as much in his Mind from publick\nDisgrace and Infamy, as a Man that values his Reputation. Therefore it\nis the Notion we have of Things, our own Thought and Something within\nour Selves, that creates the Fear of Shame: For if I have a Reason,\nwhy I forbear to do a Thing to Day, which it is impossible should be\nknown before to Morrow, I must be with-held by Something that exists\nalready; for Nothing can act upon me the Day before it has its Being.\n\nHor. The Upshot is I find, that Honour is of the same Origin with\nVirtue.\n\nCleo. But the Invention of Honour, as a Principle, is of a much later\nDate; and I look upon it as the greater Atchievement by far. It was an\nImprovement in the Art of Flattery, by which the Excellency of our\nSpecies is raised to such a Height, that it becomes the Object of our\nown Adoration, and Man is taught in good Earnest to worship himself.\n\nHor. But granting you, that both Virtue and Honour are of Human\nContrivance, why do you look upon the Invention of the One to be a\ngreater Atchievement than that of the other?\n\nCleo. Because the One is more skilfully adapted to our inward Make.\nMen are better paid for their Adherence to Honour, than they are for\ntheir Adherence to Virtue: The First requires less Self-denial; and\nthe Rewards they receive for that Little are not imaginary but real\nand palpable. But Experience confirms what I say: The Invention of\nHonour has been far more beneficial to the Civil Society than that of\nVirtue, and much better answer'd the End for which they were invented.\nFor ever since the Notion of Honour has been receiv'd among\nChristians, there have always been, in the same Number of People,\nTwenty Men of real Honour, to One of real Virtue. The Reason is\nobvious. The Persuasions to Virtue make no Allowances, nor have any\nAllurements that are clashing with the Principle of it; whereas the\nMen of Pleasure, the Passionate and the Malicious, may all in their\nTurns meet with Opportunities of indulging their darling Appetites\nwithout trespassing against the Principle of Honour. A virtuous Man\nthinks himself obliged to obey the Laws of his Country; but a Man of\nHonour acts from a Principle which he is bound to believe Superiour to\nall Laws. Do but consider the Instinct of Sovereignty that all Men are\nborn with, and you'll find, that in the closest Attachment to the\nPrinciple of Honour there are Enjoyments that are ravishing to Human\nNature. A virtuous Man expects no Acknowledgments from others; and if\nthey won't believe him to be virtuous, his Business is not to force\nthem to it; but a Man of Honour has the Liberty openly to proclaim\nhimself to be such, and call to an Account Every body who dares to\ndoubt of it: Nay, such is the inestimable Value he sets upon himself,\nthat he often endeavours to punish with Death the most insignificant\nTrespass that's committed against him, the least Word, Look, or\nMotion, if he can find but any far-fetch'd reason to suspect a Design\nin it to under-value him; and of this No body is allow'd to be a Judge\nbut himself. The Enjoyments that arise from being virtuous are of that\nNicety, that every ordinary Capacity cannot relish them: As, without\nDoubt, there is a noble Pleasure in forgiving of Injuries, to\nSpeculative Men that have refin'd Notions of Virtue; but it is more\nNatural to resent them; and in revenging one's self, there is a\nPleasure which the meanest Understanding is capable of tasting. It is\nmanifest then, that there are Allurements in the Principle of Honour,\nto draw in Men of the lowest Capacity, and even the vicious, which\nVirtue has not.\n\nHor. I can't see, how a Man can be really virtuous, who is not\nlikewise a Man of Honour. A Person may desire to be Honest, and have\nan Aversion to Injustice, but unless he has Courage, he will not\nalways dare to be just, and may on many Occasions be afraid to do his\nDuty. There is no Dependance to be had on a Coward, who may be bully'd\ninto vicious Actions, and every Moment be frighten'd from his\nPrinciple.\n\nCleo. It never was pretended, that a Man could be Virtuous and a\nCoward at the same Time, since Fortitude is the very First of the Four\nCardinal Virtues. As much Courage and Intrepidity as you please; but a\nvirtuous Man will never display his Valour with Ostentation, where the\nLaws of God and Men forbid him to make Use of it. What I would\ndemonstrate, is, that there are many Allowances, gross Indulgences to\nHuman Nature in the Principle of Honour, especially of modern Honour,\nthat are always exclaim'd against by the Voice of Virtue, and\ndiametrically opposite to the Doctrine of _Christ._\n\nHor. Yet the further we look back for these Seven or Eight Hundred\nyears, the more we shall find Honour and Religion blended together.\n\nCleo. When Ignorance, for several Ages, had been successfully\nencouraged and was designedly introduced to make Way for Credulity,\nthe Simplicity of the Gospel and the Doctrine of _Christ_ were turn'd\ninto Gaudy Foppery and vile Superstition. It was then, that the Church\nof _Rome_ began openly to execute her deep-laid Plot for enslaving the\nLaity. Knowing, that no Power or Authority can be established or long\nmaintain'd upon Earth without real Strength and Force of Arms, she\nvery early coax'd the Soldiery, and made all Men of Valour her Tools\nby Three Maxims, that, if skilfully follow'd, will never fail of\nengaging Mankind in our Favour.\n\nHor. What are those, pray.\n\nCleo. Indulging Some in their Vices, Humouring Others in their Folly,\nand Flattering the Pride of All. The various Orders of Knighthood were\nso many Bulwarks to defend the Temporals of the Church, as well\nagainst the Encroachments of her Friends, as the Invasions of her\nEnemies. It was in the Institutions of these Orders, that Pains were\ntaken by the grand Architects of the Church, to reconcile, in outward\nShew, the Principle of Honour with that of the Christian Religion, and\nmake Men stupidly believe, that the Height of Pride is not\ninconsistent with the greatest Humility. In these Solemnities the\njugling Priests resolved to be kept out no where; had commonly the\ngreatest Share; continually blending Rites seemingly Sacred with the\nEmblems of vain Glory, which made all of them an eternal Mixture of\nPomp and Superstition.\n\nHor. I don't believe, that ever Any body set those Things in such a\nLight besides your Self; but I see no Design, and the Priests gave\nthemselves a great Deal of Trouble for Nothing.\n\nCleo. Yet it is certain, that, by this and other Arts, they made\nthemselves sure of the most dangerous Men; for by this Means the\nboldest and even the most wicked became Bigots. The less Religion they\nhad, the more they stood in Need of the Church; and the farther they\nwent from God, the more closely they stuck to the Priests, whose Power\nover the Laity was then the most absolute and uncontroul'd when the\nCrimes of These were most flagrant and enormous.\n\nHor. I believe, that among the Men of Honour Many were tainted with\nPride and Superstition at the same Time; but there were others in whom\nsuperlative Bravery was united with the strictest Virtue.\n\nCleo. All Ages have had Men of Courage, and all Ages have had Men of\nVirtue; but the Examples of Those you speak of, in whom superlative\nBravery was united with the strictest Virtue, were always extremely\nscarce, and are rarely to be met with, but in Legends and Romances,\nthe Writers of both which I take to have been the greatest Enemies to\nTruth and sober Sense the World ever produc'd. I don't deny, that by\nperusing them Some might have fallen in Love with Courage and Heroism,\nothers with Chastity and Temperance, but the Design of both was to\nserve the Church of _Rome_, and with wonderful Stories to gain the\nAttention of the Readers, whilst they taught Bigotry, and inured them\nto believe Impossibilities. But what I intended was to point at the\nPeople that had the greatest Hand in reconciling, to outward\nAppearance, the Principle of Honour with that of the Christian\nReligion, the Ages This was done in, and the Reasons for which it was\nattempted. For it is certain, that by the Maxims I named, the Church\nmade her self sure of Those who were most to be fear'd. Do but cast\nyour Eyes on the childish Farces, some Popes have made great Men the\nchief Actors in, and the apish Tricks they made them play, when they\nfound them intoxicated with Pride, and that at the same Time they were\nBelievers without Reserve. What Impertinence of tedious Ceremonies\nhave they made the greatest Princes submit to, even such as were noted\nfor being cholerick and impatient! What Absurdities in Dress have they\nmade them swallow for Ornaments and Marks of Dignity! If in all these\nthe Passion of Self-liking had not been highly gratify'd as well as\nplay'd upon, Men of Sense could never have been fond of them, nor\ncould they have been of that Duration; for many of them are still\nremaining even in Protestant Countries, where all the Frauds of Popery\nhave been detected long ago; and such Veneration is paid to some of\nthem, that it would hardly be safe to ridicule them. It is amazing to\nthink, what immense Multitudes of Badges of Honour have been invented\nby Popery, that are all distinct from the Rest, and yet have Something\nor other to shew, that they have a Relation to Christianity. What a\nvast Variety of Shapes, not resembling the Original, has the poor\nCross Cross been tortur'd into! How differently has it been placed and\nrepresented on the Garments of Men and Women, from Head to Foot! How\ninconsiderable are all other Frauds that Lay-Rogues now and then have\nbeen secretly guilty of, if you compare them to the bare-fac'd Cheats\nand impudent Forgeries, with which the Church of _Rome_ has constantly\nimposed upon Mankind in a triumphant Manner! What contemptible Baubles\nhas that Holy Toy-shop put off in the Face of the Sun for the richest\nMerchandize! She has bribed the most Selfish and penetrating\nStatesmen, with empty Sounds, and Titles without Meaning. The most\nresolute Warriours She has forced to desist from their Purposes, and\ndo her dirty Work against their own Interest. I shall say Nothing of\nthe Holy War; how often the Church has kindled and renew'd it, or what\na Handle She made of it to raise and establish her own Power, and to\nweaken and undermine that of the Temporal Princes in Christendom. The\nAuthority of the Church has made the greatest Princes and most haughty\nSovereigns fall prostrate before, and pay Adoration to the vilest\nTrumpery, and accept of, as Presents of inestimable Worth, despicable\nTrifles, that had no Value at all but what was set upon them by the\nGigantick Impudence of the donors, and the childish Credulity of the\nReceivers, the Church misled the Vulgar, and then made Money of their\nErrors. There is not an Attribute of God, and hardly a Word in the\nBible, to which she gave not some Turn or other, to serve her Worldly\nInterest. The Relief of Witch-craft was the Fore-runner of Exorcisms;\nand the Priests forged Apparitions to shew the Power they pretended\nto, of laying Spirits, and casting out Devils. To make accused\nPersons, sometimes by Ordeal, at others by single Combat, try the\nJustice of their Cause, were both Arrows out of her Quiver; and it is\nfrom the latter, that the Fashion of Duelling took its Rise. But those\nsingle Combats at first were only fought by Persons of great Quality,\nand on some considerable Quarrel, when they ask'd Leave of the\nSovereign to decide the Difference between them by Feats of Arms;\nwhich being obtain'd, Judges of the Combat were appointed, and the\nChampions enter'd the List with great Pomp, and in a very solemn\nManner. But as the Principle of Honour came to be very useful, the\nNotions of it, by Degrees, were industriously spread among the\nMultitude, till at last all Swords-men took it in their Heads, that\nthey had a right to decide their own Quarrels, without asking any\nBody's Leave. Two Hundred Years ago----\n\nHor. Pardon my Rudeness, I cannot stay one Moment. An Affair of\nImportance requires my Presence. It is an Appointment which I had\nentirely forgot when I came hither. I am sure I have been staid for\nthis Half Hour.\n\nCleo. Pray, _Horatio_, make no Apologies. There is no Company I love\nbetter than I do yours when you are at Leisure; but----\n\nHor. You don't stir out I know; I shall be back again in Two Hours\nTime.\n\nCleo. And I shall be at Home for No body but your Self.\n\n\n\n\nThe Second Dialogue Between _Horatio_ and _Cleomenes_.\n\n\nHoratio. I Believe I am within my Time.\n\nCleo. By above Ten Minutes.\n\nHor. When I came back in the Chair, I was thinking how artfully, all\nthis Afternoon, you avoided saying any Thing of Honour, as it relates\nto the Fair Sex. Their Honour, you know, consists in their Chastity,\nwhich is a real Virtue in your own Sense, not to be practis'd without\npalpable Self-denial. To make a Vow of perpetual Virginity, and to be\nresolute enough, never to break it, is a Task not to be perform'd\nwithout the utmost Mortification to Flesh and Blood, especially in\nhandsome clever Women that seem to be made for Love, as you and I have\nseen a great many in the Nunneries in _Flanders_. Self-liking or Pride\nhave Nothing to do there; for the more powerfully that Passion\noperates in either Men or Women, the less Inclination they'll shew to\nbe mew'd up in a Cloyster, where they can have None but their own Sex\nto converse with.\n\nCleo. The Reason why I said Nothing of Honour as it relates to the\nfair Sex, was because we had spoke of it already in a former\nConversation; by the same Token, that I told you then, that [5] _the\nWord Honour, I mean, the Sence of it, was very whimsical, and the\nDifference in the Signification so prodigious, according as the\nAttribute was either applied to a Man, or to a Woman, that neither\nshall forfeit their Honour, tho' each should be guilty, and openly\nboast of what would be the other's greatest Shame._\n\n[Footnote 5: Fable of the Bees, part II. page 128.]\n\nHor. I remember it, and it is true. Gallantry with Women, is no\nDiscredit to the Men, any more than Want of Courage is a Reproach to\nthe Ladies. But do you think this is an Answer to what I said?\n\nCleo. It is an Answer to your Charge against me of making Use of an\nArtifice, which, I declare to you, never enter'd into my Head. That\nthe Honour of Women in general, is allow'd to consist in their\nChastity, is very true; the Words themselves have been made Use of as\nSynonimous even among the Ancients: But this, strictly speaking, ought\nonly to be understood of Worldly Women, who act from Political Views,\nand at best from a Principle of Heathen Virtue. But the Women you\nspeak of among the Christians, who, having vow'd a perpetual\nVirginity, debar themselves from sensual Pleasures, must be set on,\nand animated by a higher Principle than that of Honour. Those who can\nvoluntarily make this Vow in good Humour and Prosperity, as well as\nHealth and Vigour, and keep it with Strictness, tho' it is in their\nPower to break it, have, I own with you, a Task to perform, than which\nNothing can be more mortifying to Flesh and Blood. Self-liking or\nPride, as you say, have Nothing to do there. But where are these Women\nto be found?\n\nHor. I told you; in the Religious Houses.\n\nCleo. I don't believe there is one in a Thousand that answers the\nCharacter you gave of them. Most Nuns are made whilst they are very\nyoung, and under the Tuition of others; and oftner by Compulsion than\ntheir own Choice.\n\nHor. But there are Women grown, who take the Veil voluntarily, when\nthey are at their own Disposal.\n\nCleo. Not many, who have not some substantial Reason or other for it,\nthat has no Relation to Piety or Devotion; such as the Want of a\nPortion suitable to their Quality; Disappointments or other\nMisfortunes in the World. But to come to the Point. There are but two\nThings which, in Celibacy, can make Men or Women, in Youth and Health,\nstrictly comply with the Rules of Chastity; and these are Religion,\nand the Fear of Shame. Good Christians, that are wholly sway'd by the\nSense of a Religious Duty, must be supernaturally assisted, and are\nProof against all Temptations. But These have always been very scarce,\nand there are no Numbers of them any where, that one can readily go\nto. It would perhaps be an odious Disquisition, whether, among all the\nyoung and middle-aged Women who lead a Monastick Life, and are\nsecluded from the World, there are Any that have, abstract from all\nother Motives, Religion enough to secure them from the Frailty of the\nFlesh, if they had an Opportunity to gratify it to their Liking with\nImpunity. This is certain, that their Superiors, and Those under whose\nCare these Nuns are, seem not to entertain that Opinion of the\nGenerality of them. They always keep them lock'd up and barr'd; suffer\nno Men to converse with them even in Publick, but where there are\nGrates between them, and not even then within Reach of one another:\nAnd tho' hardly a Male Creature of any Kind is allow'd to come near\nthem, yet they are ever suspicious of them, pry into their most Secret\nThoughts, and keep constantly a watchful Eye over them.\n\nHor. Don't you think this must be a great Mortification to young\nWomen?\n\nCleo. Yes, a forc'd one; but there is no voluntary Self-denial, which\nwas the Thing you spoke of. The Mortifitation which they feel is like\nthat of Vagabonds in a Work-House: There is no Virtue in the\nConfinement of either. Both are dissatisfied, without Doubt, but it is\nbecause they are not employ'd to their Liking; and what they grieve\nat, is, that they can't help themselves. But there are Thousands of\nvain Women, whom no Thoughts of Futurity ever made any Impression\nupon, that lead single Lives by Choice, and are at the same Time\ncareful of their Honour to the greatest Nicety, in the Midst of\nTemptations, gay sprightly Women, of amorous Complexions, that can\ndeny a passionate, deserving Lover, whose Person they approve of and\nadmire, when they are alone with him in the dark; and all this from no\nbetter Principle than the Fear of Shame, which has its Foundation in\nSelf-liking, and is so manifesty derived from that and no other\nPassion. You and I are acquainted with Women, that have refused\nHonourable Matches with the Men they loved, and with whom they might\nhave been Happy, if they themselves had been less intoxicated with\nVanity.\n\nHor. But when a Woman can marry, and be maintain'd suitably to her\nQuality, and she refuses a Man upon no other Score, than that his\nFortune, or his Estate, are not equal to her unreasonable Desires, the\nPassion she acts from is Covetousness.\n\nCleo. Would you call a Woman covetous, who visibly takes Delight in\nLavishness, and never shew'd any Value for Money when She had it: One\nthat would not have a Shilling left at the Year's End, tho' she had\nFifty Thousand Pounds coming in? All Women consult not what is\nbefitting their Quality: What many of them want is to be maintain'd\nsuitably to their Merit, their own Worth, which with great Sincerity\nthey think inestimable and which consequently no Price can be equal\nto. The Motive therefore of these Women is no other, than what I have\ncall'd it, their Vanity, the undoubted Offspring of Self-liking, a\npalpable Excess, an extravagant Degree of the Passion, that is able to\nstifle the loudest Calls of Nature, and with a high Hand triumphs over\nall other Appetites and Inclinations. What Sort of Education now do\nyou think the fittest to furnish and fill young Ladies with this high\nEsteem for themselves and their Reputation, which, whilst it subsists\nand reigns in them, is an ever-watchful and incorruptible Guardian of\ntheir Honour? Would you mortify or flatter; lessen or increase in them\nthe Passion of Self-liking, in order to preserve their Chastity? In\nshort, which of the Two is it, you would stir up and cultivate in them\nif you could, Humility or Pride?\n\nHor. I should not try to make them Humble, I own: And now I remember,\nthat in our Third Conversation, speaking of raising the Principle\nHonour in both Sexes, you gave some plausible Reasons why [6] Pride\nshould be more encourag'd in Women than in Men. So much for the\nLadies. I shall now be glad to hear what you have to add further\nconcerning Honour, as it relates to Men only, and requires Courage.\nWhen I took the Freedom to interupt you, you was saying Something of\nTwo Hundred Years ago.\n\n[Footnote 6: Fable of the Bees part II. p. 126.]\n\nCleo. I was then going to put you in Mind, that Two Hundred Years ago\nand upward, as all Gentlemen were train'd up to Arms, the Notions of\nHonour were of great Use to them; and it was manifest, that never any\nThing had been invented before, that was half so effectual to create\nartificial Courage among Military Men. For which Reason it was the\nInterest of all politicians, among the Clergy, as well as the Laity,\nto cultivate these Notions of Honour with the utmost Care, and leave\nno stone unturn'd to make Every body believe the Existence and Reality\nof such a Principle; not among Mechanicks, or any of the Vulgar, but\nin Persons of high Birth, Knights, and others of Heroick Spirit and\nexalted Nature. I can easily imagine, how, in a credulous, ignorant\nAge, this might be swallow'd and generally receiv'd for Truth; nor is\nit more difficult to conceive, how illiterate Men and rude Warriours,\naltogether unacquainted with Human Nature, should be so far imposed\nupon by such Assertions, as to be fully persuaded, that they were\nreally posses'd of; and actually animated by such a Principle,\nconstantly ascribing to the Force and Influence of it every Effort and\nSuggestion they felt from the Passion of Self-liking. The Idol it self\nwas finely dress'd up, made a beautiful Figure, and the Worship of it\nseem'd to require Nothing, that was not highly commendable and most\nbeneficial to Society. Those who pretended to pay their Adoration to\nit, and to be true Votaries of Honour, had a hard Task to perform.\nThey were to be Brave and yet Courteous, Just, Loyal, and the\nProtectors of Innocence against Malice and Oppression. They were to be\nthe profess'd Guardians of the Fair; and chaste, as well as profound\nAdmirers of the Sex: But above all, they were to be Stanch to the\nChurch, implicite Believers, zealous Champions of the Christian Faith,\nand implacable Enemies to all Infidels and Hereticks.\n\nHor. I believe, that between Two and Three Hundred Years ago, Bigotry\nwas at the greatest Height.\n\nCleo. The Church of _Rome_ had, long before that Time, gain'd such an\nAscendant over the Laity, that Men of the highest Quality stood in Awe\nof the least Parish-Priest. This made Superstition fashionable; and\nthe most resolute Heroes were not ashamed to pay a blind Veneration to\nevery Thing which the Clergy was pleased to call Sacred. Men had an\nentire Confidence in the Pope's Power; his blessing of Swords,\nArmours, Colours and Standards; and No body doubted of the Influence,\nwhich Saints and Angels had upon Earth, the miraculous Virtue of\nRelicks, the Reality of Witches and Enchantments, the Black Art, or\nthat Men might be made invulnerable.\n\nHor. But the Ignorance of those Days notwithstanding, you believe,\nthat there were Men of that strict Honour, you have been speaking of.\n\nCleo. Men of Honour, I told you, were required and supposed to be\npossess'd of those Qualities; and I believe, that several endeavour'd\nto be, and some actually were such, as far as Human Frailty would let\nthem; but I believe likewise, that there were others, who gain'd the\nTitle, by their Undauntedness only, and had but a small Stock of any\nother Virtue besides; and that the Number of these was always far the\ngreatest. Courage and Intrepidity always were, and ever will be the\ngrand Characteristick of a Man of Honour: It is this Part of the\nCharacter only, which it is always in our Power to demonstrate. The\nbest Friend a King has, may want an Opportunity to shew his Loyalty:\nSo a Man may be just and chaste, and yet not be able to convince the\nWorld that he is so; but he may pick a Quarrel, and shew, that he\ndares to Fight when he pleases, especially if he converses with Men of\nthe Sword. Where the Principle of Honour was in high Esteem, Vanity\nand Impatience must have always prompted the most proud and forward to\nseek after Opportunities of Signalizing themselves, in order to be\nstiled Men of Honour. This would naturally occasion Quarrelling and\nFighting, as it did and had frequently done before the Time I speak\nof. As Duelling was made a Fashion, the Point of Honour became, of\nCourse, a common Topick of Discourse among the best bred Men: By this\nMeans the Rules for Quarrelling and Ponctilio in Behaviour, which at\nfirst were very uncertain and precarious, came to be better\nunderstood, and refin'd upon from Time to Time, till, in the Beginning\nof the last Century, the Sence of Honour was arrived to such a Degree\nof Nicety all over _Europe_, especially in _France_, that barely looking\nupon a Man was often taken for an Affront. The Custom of Duelling, by\nthis, was become to universal in that Kingdom, that the Judges\nthemselves thought it dishonourable to refuse a Challenge. _Henry_ IVth.\nseeing the best Blood of France so often sacrific'd to this Idol,\nendeavour'd to put a Stop to it, but was not able; and the several\nEdicts made in 1602 and 1609 were fruitless. The Resolutions of\nParliament likewise, made in the Reign of _Lewis_ XIIIth. were as\nineffectual: the First Check that was given to Duelling, was in the\nMinority of _Lewis_ XIVth, and from the Method by which it was prevented\nat last, it is evident, that Honour is an Idol, by Human Contrivance,\nrais'd on the Basis of Human Pride.\n\nHor. The Method by which a Stop was put to it, was strictly to punish\nand never to pardon Any that either sent or accepted of Challenges,\nwhether they fought or not.\n\nCleo. This was not trusted to only. An Edict was publish'd in the Year\n1651, by which Courts of Honour were erected throughout the Kingdom,\nwith Gentlemen Commissioners in every Bailiwick, that were to have\nAdvice of, and immediately to interpose in all Differences that might\narise between Gentlemen. The Difficulty they labour'd under was, that\nthey would abolish the Custom of Duelling without parting with the\nNotions of Honour; destroying of which must have been certain Ruin to\na warlike Nation, that once had received them; and therefore they\nnever design'd, that the Worship of the Idol should cease, but they\nonly try'd, whether it was not to be satisfied with less valuable\nVictims, and other Sacrifices besides human Blood. In the Year 1653,\n_Lewis_ XIV. set forth another Declaration against Duels; in which\nhaving made some Additions to his former Edict, he commands the\nMarshals of _France_ to draw up a Regulation touching the Satisfactions\nand Reparations of Honour, which they should think necessary for the\nseveral Sorts of Offences. This Order was immediately obey'd, and\nnineteen Articles were drawn up and publish'd accordingly. In these,\ncalling a Man Fool, Coward, or the Like, was punish'd with a Month's\nImprisonment; and after being released, the Offender was to declare to\nthe Party so offended, that he had wrongfully and impertinently\ninjur'd him by outragious Words, which he own'd to be false, and ask'd\nhim to forgive. Giving one the Lie, or threatning to beat him, was two\nMonth's Imprisonment, and the Submission to be made afterwards yet\nmore humble than the foregoing. For Blows, as striking with the Hand,\nand other Injuries of the same Nature, the Offender was to lye in\nPrison Six Months, unless, at the Request of the offended, half of\nthat Time was chang'd into a pecuniary Mulct, that might not be under\nFifteen Hundred Livres, to be paid before he was set at Liberty, for\nthe Use of the Nearest Hospital to the Abode of the offended; after\nwhich, the Offender was to submit to the same Blows from the offended,\nand to declare by Word of Mouth, and in Writing, that he had struck\nhim in a Brutish Manner, and beg'd him to pardon and forget that\nOffence.\n\nHor. What Mortal could submit to such Condescensions?\n\nCleo. For Caning, or Blows given with a Stick, the Punishment was\nstill more severe; and the Offender was to beg pardon upon his Knees.\n\nHor. I should have no great Opinion of a Man's Honour, who would not\nchuse to Die rather than comply with such Demands.\n\nCleo. Several thought as you do, and were hang'd for their Pains. But\nwhat Need a Man come to those Extremes, when he could have\nSatisfaction for any real Offence that might provoke him? For the\nArticles took Notice of, and made ample Provisions against all Manner\nof Injuries, from the most trifling Offences to the highest Outrages,\nand were very severe against all those that should refuse to submit to\nthe Penalties imposed. The Marshals of _France_ remain'd the Supreme\nJudges in all these Matters; and under them acted the Governours and\nLieutenants General of Provinces, in whose Absence the Gentlemen\nCommissioners in every Bailiwick, having Power to call the Officers of\nJustice to their Assistance, were to take all provisional Care\nimaginable; so that no Lawyers or Mechanicks had a Hand in composing\nany Differences concerning the Point of Honour.\n\nHor. All these Things, we'll say, are wisely contriv'd; but in\ncomplaining first there is a meanness which a Man of Honour cannot\nstoop to.\n\nCleo. That the Instinct of Sovereignty will always bid Men revenge\ntheir own Wrongs, and do Justice to themselves, is certain. But I\nwanted, to shew you the Equivalent, that wise Men substituted in the\nRoom of Dueling, and which Men of unqueston'd Honour took up with. The\nScheme was contrived by Men of tried Valour, whose Example is always\nof great Weight: Besides, from the Nature of the Remedies that were\napplied to the Evil, it must always follow, that those who had given\nthe greatest Proofs of their Courage, would be the most ready to\nsubscribe to those Articles.\n\nHor. In our last Conversation but one you told me, that [7] all Laws\npointed at, and tally'd with some Frailty or Passion in our Nature;\npray, what is it that these Laws of Honour tally with?\n\n[Footnote 7: Fable of the Bees, part II. page 318.]\n\nCleo. It is self-evident, that they point at Self-liking and the\nInstinct of Sovereignty. But what is singular in these Laws is, that\nin their Operation they are the reverse of all others.\n\nHor. I don't understand you.\n\nCleo. All other Precepts and Commandments are visibly labouring to\nrestrain the Passions, and cure the Imperfections of our Nature; but\nthese Regulations of Honour are endeavouring to prevent Mischief, by\nsoothing and flattering the Frailties they point at. In Offences\nagainst a Man's Honour, Pardon is not ask'd of God or the King, but of\nhim who receiv'd the Affront. It is he, therefore, whom all the\nAddress and Homage are paid to: He is the Idol that is kneel'd to, and\nthe only Sovereign that can forgive the Trespasses committed against\nhimself. The Punishment of the first Aggressor, you see, is altogether\na Compliment to the Person offended, whose Wrath the Law is so far\nfrom blaming, that it justifies it, and gives him an Opportunity of\nindulging it by the Indignity it puts upon the Offender. The real\nMischief is not apprehended from the Offender, but the Person\noffended; and therefore it is him, whom the Law coaxes and wheedles\ninto good Humour, by offering him a Reparation that shall be equally\nhonourable with what he would chuse, tho' less prejudicial to the\nSociety. What the Law promises is a Tribute to the same Passion which\nhe wants to gratify, a Sacrifice to the Idol which he himself adores.\nShould Any one personate these Laws, and, representing the Sentiments\non those who made them, speak to a Man of Honour, who had receiv'd an\nAffront, an Officer of the Guards, we'll say, who had been call'd Fool\nby his Equal, the Purport of the Discourse would be this: You are very\nmuch in the Right, Sir, to be highly incensed against the Man who\ndared to call you Fool, you that are a Man of Honour, to whom, as\nsuch, the whole World ought to pay the highest Esteem. You have not\nonly an undoubted Right to do your Self justice, and revenge the\nAffront that has been given you; but there is likewise such a\nNecessity of your resenting it, that if you could tamely put up the\nInjury you have receiv'd, and neglect demanding Satisfaction, you\nwould deserve to be branded with Ignominy, and all Men of Honour would\njustly refuse ever to converse with you for the future. But the\nPerson, whom you have this Affair with, being likewise a Man of\nHonour, it is greatly to be fear'd, that upon your demanding\nSatisfaction of him, a Battle will ensue, which, between two Persons\nwho value their Honours a Thousand Times more than their Lives, will\nprobably be fatal to one, if not to both; you are therefore earnestly\ndesired by the King himself, that for his Sake you would make some\nAlteration in the Manner of taking that Satisfaction which you ought\nto receive; and the Marshals of _France_ have not only given it under\ntheir Hands, that the Equivalents, which they have proposed for\nFighting, will be as entire a Reparation to your Honour as can be\nobtain'd by Arms; but moreover they have promised and engaged their\nHonours, that in Cases of Affronts they will take up and content\nthemselves with the same Equivalents, and on all Occasions submit to\nthe same Regulations, which you are now desired to follow. And that it\nmay appear, how highly reasonable this Request is; you are likewise\ndesired to take the following Remonstrance into your Consideration:\nThat the Valour and Steadiness of Men of Honour: are the grand Support\nof all States and Kingdoms, is a Truth not to be denied; and that not\nonly the Peace and Tranquility, and all the Blessings we enjoy, but\nlikewise the King's Crown and Safety would be precarious without them,\nis as unquestionable. For this Reason all wise Princes, Magistrates\nand Governours, will ever take all imaginable Care, on the one Hand,\nto cultivate and encourage the most noble Principle of Honour, and, on\nthe other, to encrease the Numbers of the worthy Posessors of it, by\nfavouring and on all Occasions shewing them the most tender Affection,\nas well as highest Esteem. It is easy then to be imagin'd, that a\nMonarch, who loves his People, and has the Interest of his Nation at\nHeart, must be sensibly afflicted to see it become a common Practice\nfor such valuable Men to destroy one another, and behold that Bravery\nand Spirit, which should only be made Use of against the Enemies of\nthe Country, hourly employ'd and lavish'd away in private Quarrels,\nthat can have no other Tendency that the weakening of the Kingdom, and\nwhich, if suffer'd to go on, must compleat its Ruin.\n\nHor. You make these Laws speak very notably.\n\nCleo. I have said Nothing but what is certainly imply'd in them. Every\nMan in _France_ knew, that the chief Motive of all those Edicts against\nDuelling, was the Loss of the brave Men that was sustain'd by that\nCustom. The Sinfulness of it was the least Consideration.\n\nHor. There, I believe, you wrong them, for I have seen some of these\nEdicts, where Duelling is call'd an Antichristian Practice, which God\nwas highly offended at.\n\nCleo. In wording of the Edicts, indeed, some such Thing was put in for\nForm's Sake; but the Regulations themselves, by which the Men of\nHonour were to walk, were openly Antichristian; and in some Cases,\ninstead of Teaching Men to forgive those that had trespas'd against\nthem, they obliged and forced the Offended to shew their Resentment,\ntho' they would rather not, and desired to be excused.\n\nHor. Where the Affront was very heinous, I know what you say is true.\nBut you set these Things in a strange Light. I can make the same\nGlosses upon our Laws, which oblige me to prosecute a Man that has\nrobb'd me, if I can catch him, whether I will or not; and he shall be\nhang'd, tho' I forgive him the Injury, and even would beg his Life.\n\nCleo. There is a vast Difference between the two Cases, a Robbery, and\nan Affront: No body hinders you from forgiving a Man that robb'd you;\nbut notwithstanding your pardoning him, he is punish'd for acting\nagainst the Laws; therefore his Offence is against the King, who is\nthe Guardian and Superintendant of them. And No body but the King can\npardon the Trespasses that are committed against his Crown and\nDignity. Whoever robs you, must be hang'd, because he robb'd, not\nbecause he robb'd YOU in particular: Tho' you are bound to prosecute\nhim for Robbing you, yet the Injury is reckon'd as done to the\nPublick; and you become a Criminal your Self, if you connive at his\nEscape, tho' he restor'd to you what he had robb'd you of. But in the\nCase of an Affront the Injury is reckon'd to be done to him only who\nreceiv'd it. His Anger, as I said before, is thought to be just, and\nhis Resentment reasonable, till an ample Satisfaction be made him;\ntherefore it is He who is to be appeas'd, and He only who is to be\napplied to. The Laws that were compiled by the Marshals of _France_,\ndon't pretend to mend the Heart, and lay no greater Restraint on the\nSpirit of Revenge, than Matrimony does on the Desire of Procreation;\non the Contrary, they flatter the Frailty, and are administring to the\nHaughtiness of the offended: They are so far from denying him his\nDemands, or refusing to give him Satisfaction for the Affront, that\nthey appoint it by Authority; in the ordering of which they make such\nample Provisions for the Gratification of his Pride, as no reasonable\nMan could ever think of without blushing. The only Thing they oblige\nhim to is, that he shall take the Satisfaction in such a Manner, as\nshall be most safe to himself, and least detrimental to the Publick.\nNow if you will consider first, that those who made these Regulations\nwere Men of undoubted Honour, who hourly feeling the Force of it\nwithin themselves, were perfectly well acquainted with the Principle\nwhich it is built upon; and secondly, that the profound Humility of\nthe Offender, and his asking Pardon of the offended, are two main\nPoints in the repairing of Honour, necessary _postulata_, without which\nthose knowing Judges thought it impossible, that an Affront could be\nforgiven: If, I say, you'll consider these two Things, you'll see\nplainly, what Passion in Human Nature it is, which those Laws of\nHonour tally'd with, and likewise that it is true, what I have\nasserted of them, that instead of reproving, curbing, or diminishing\nthe Frailty that is offensive, which seems to be the Intention of all\nother Laws, their Aim is to prevent Mischief and do Service to the\nCivil Society, by approving of, cherishing, and indulging that very\nPassion, from which the Evil they would prevent can only proceed.\n\nHor. You think those Regulations were effectual, and yet you seem to\ndislike them.\n\nCleo. I dislike them because they are destructive to Religion; and if\na Minister of the Gospel was to dissuade and deter Men from Duelling\nhe would do it in quite another Manner. By a Minister of the Gospel I\ndon't mean a Philosophizing Divine, or a polite Preacher, but a\nsincere Follower of the Apostles, a down-right Christian. He would, in\nthe First Place, insist upon it, that Forgiving of Injuries was a\nChristian Duty never to be dispens'd with; because it is made the\nCondition on which we are taught to beg Pardon for our own Offences. In\nthe Second, he would demonstrate that no Man is ever to revenge\nhimself, how highly and how atrociously soever he might have been\ninjured. If ever he heard of a Man's sending a Challenge for having\nbeen call'd Fool, or other verbal Injuries, he would reprove his\nFrowardness and Want of Temper, for resenting such Trifles as the Law\nof his Country thought it not worthy to take Notice of. He would\nappeal to his Reason, and ask him, whether he could think, that the\nAffront he complain'd of, was a sufficient Cause to take away a Man's\nLife. He would represent to him the Heinousnesss of Murder, God's\nexpress Command against it; his Justice, his Wrath, his Vengeance when\nprovok'd. But if all these could not divert the Dueller from his\nPurpose, he would attack his stubborn Heart in its inmost Recesses,\nand forget Nothing of what I told you on the Subject in our Second and\nThird Conversation. He would recommend to him the Fable of the _Bees_,\nand, like that, he'd dissect and lay open to him the Principle of\nHonour, and shew him, how diametrically opposite the Worship of that\nIdol was to the Christian Religion; the First consisting in openly\ncherishing and feeding that very Frailty in our Nature, which the\nlatter strictly commands us with all our Might to conquer and destroy.\nHaving convinced him of the substantial Difference and Contrariety\nbetween these Two Principles, he would display to him, on the one\nHand, the Vanity of Earthly Glory, and the Folly of Coveting the\nApplause of a Sinful World; and, on the other, the Certainty of a\nFuture State, and the Transcendency of everlasting Happiness over\nevery Thing that is perishable. From such Remonstrances as these the\ngood, pious Man would take an Opportunity of exhorting him to a\nChristian Self-denial, and the Practice of real Virtue, and he would\nearnestly endeavour to make him sensible of the Peace of Conscience\nand solid Comforts that are to be found in Meekness and Humility,\nPatience, and an entire Resignation to the Will of God.\n\nHor. How long, pray, do you intend to go on with this Cant?\n\nCleo. If I am to personate a Christian Divine, who is a sincere\nBeliever, you must give me Leave to speak his Language.\n\nHor. But if a Man had really such an Affair upon his Hands, and he\nknew the Person, he had to do with, to be a resolute Man that\nunderstood the Sword, do you think he would have Patience or be at\nLeisure to hearken to all that puritanical Stuff, which you have been\nheaping together? Do you think (for that is the Point) it would have\nany Influence over his Actions?\n\nCleo. If he believ'd the Gospel, and consequently future Rewards and\nPunishments, and he likewise acted consistently with what he believ'd,\nit would put an entire Stop to all, and it would certainly hinder him\nfrom fending or accepting of Challenges, or ever engaging in any Thing\nrelating to a Duel.\n\nHor. Pray now, among all the Gentlemen of your Acquaintance, and such\nas you your Self should care to converse with, how many are there, do\nyou think, on whom the Thoughts of Religion would have that Effect?\n\nCleo. A great many, I hope.\n\nHor. You can hardly forbear laughing, I see, when you say it; and I am\nsure, you your Self would have no Value for a Man whom you should see\ntamely put up a gross Affront: Nay, I have seen and heard Parsons and\nBishops themselves laugh at, and speak with Contempt of pretended\nGentlemen, that had suffer'd themselves to be ill treated without\nresenting it.\n\nCleo. What you say of my self, I own to be true; and I believe the\nsame of others, Clergymen as well as Laymen. But the Reason why Men,\nwho bear Affronts with Patience, Are so generally despised is, because\nEvery body imagines, that their Forbearance does not proceed from a\nMotive of Religion, but a Principle of Cowardice. What chiefly induces\nus to believe this, is the Knowledge we have of our selves: We are\nconscious within of the little Power which Christianity has over our\nHearts, and the small Influence it has over our Actions. Finding our\nown Incapacity of subduing strong Passions, but by the Help of others\nthat are more violent, we judge of others in the same Manner: And\ntherefore when we see a vain, worldly Man gain such a Conquest over\nhis known and well establish'd Pride, we presently suspect it to be a\nSacrifice which he makes to his Fear; not the Fear of God, or\nPunishment in another World, but the Fear of Death, the strongest\nPassion in our Nature, the Fear that his Adversary, the Man who has\naffronted him, will kill him, if he fights him. What confirms us in\nthis Opinion is, that Poltrons shew no greater Piety or Devotion than\nother People, but live as voluptuously and indulge their Pleasures as\nmuch, at least, as any other of the _beau monde_. Whereas a good\nChristian is all of a Piece; his Life is uniform; and whoever should\nscruple to send or to accept of a Challenge for the Love of God, or\nbut from a Fear of his Vengeance, depend upon it, he would have that\nsame Fear before his Eyes on other Occasions likewise: And it is\nimpossible that a Religious Principle, which is once of that Force,\nthat it can make a Man chuse to be despis'd by the World, rather than\nhe would offend God, should not only not be conspicuous throughout his\nBehaviour, but likewise never influences the Rest of his Actions at\nany other Time.\n\nHor. From all this it is very plain, that there are very few sincere\nChristians.\n\nCleo. I don't think so, as to Faith and Theory; and I am persuaded,\nthat there are great Numbers in all Christian Countries, who sincerely\nbelieve the Bible to be the Word of God, and the old as well as new\nTestament to be a Revelation from Heaven: But as to Works and Practice\nI am of your Opinion; and I not only believe, that there are very few\nsincere and real Christians in their Lives and Conversation, for that\nis a difficult Task, but I believe likewise, that there are very Few\nwho are sincere in endeavouring to be so, or even in desiring to be\nreal Christians. But this is no Argument against Christianity, or the\nReasonableness of its Doctrine.\n\nHor. I don't say it is. But as the Principle of Honour, whatever\nOrigin it had, teaches Men to be just in all their Dealings, and true\nto their Engagements, and there are considerable Numbers in every\nciviliz'd Nation, who really take Delight in this Principle, and in\nall their Actions are sway'd and govern'd by it, must you not allow,\nthat such a Principle, let it be owing to Education, to Flattery, to\nPride, or what you please, is more useful to Society than the best\nDoctrine in the World, which None can live up to, and but Few\nendeavour to follow?\n\nCleo. Tho' those who are deem'd to be Men of Honour, are far from\nbeing all really virtuous, yet I can't disprove, that the Principle of\nHonour, such as it is, does not fully as much Good to Society as\nChristianity, as it is practised; I say, to Society, and only in\nrespect to Temporals; but it is altogether destructive as to another\nWorld: And as the greatest Happiness upon Earth to a good Christian,\nis a firm Belief, and well grounded Hope, that he shall be Happy in\nHeaven, so a Man who believes the Gospel, and pretends to value\neverlasting Happiness beyond any Thing of shorter Duration, must act\ninconsistently with himself unless he adheres to the Precepts of\nChristianity, and at the same Time explodes the Principle of Honour,\nwhich is the very Reverse of it.\n\nHor. I own, that in the Light you have put them, they seem to be, as\nyou say, diametrically opposite.\n\nCleo. You see, that those who act from a Principle of Religion, fairly\nattack the Heart, and would abolish Duelling and all other Mischief,\nby restraining, conquering, and destroying of Pride, Anger, and the\nSpirit of Revenge; but these Passions are so necessary to Society for\nthe Advancement of Dominion and worldly Glory, that the Great and\nAmbitious could not do without them in a Warlike Nation. Those who\ncompiled in _France_ the Regulations we have been speaking of, were well\naware of this: They judged from what they felt within, and knew full\nwell, that take away Pride, and you spoil the Soldier; for it is as\nimpossible to strip a Man of that Passion, and preserve in him his\nPrinciple of Honour, as you can leave him his Bed after you have taken\naway the Feathers. A peaceful Disposition and Humility are not\nQualities more promising in the Day of Battle, than a contrite Heart\nan broken Spirit are Preparatives for Fighting. In these Regulations,\nso often mention'd, it is plainly to be seen, what Pains and Care were\ntaken, not to arraign, or lay the least Blame upon the Principle of\nHonour, tho' the Kingdom groan'd under a Calamity which visibly arose\nfrom, and could be the Effect of no other Cause than that very\nPrinciple.\n\nHor. All the Fault, in my Opinion, ought to be laid on the Tyranny of\nCustom; and therefore the Marshals of _France_ were in the Right not to\ndepreciate or run the least Risque of destroying or lessening the\nPrinciple of Honour, which, I am confident, has been a greater Tie\nupon Men than any Religion whatever.\n\nCleo. It is impossible that there should be a greater Tie, a stronger\nBarrier against Injustice, than the Christian Religion, where it is\nsincerely believ'd, and Men live up to that Belief. But if you mean,\nthat the Number of Men, who have stuck to the Principle of Honour, and\nstrictly follow'd the Dictates of it, has been greater than that of\nChristians, who, with equal Strictness, have obey'd the Precepts of the\nGospel; if, I say, you mean this, I don't know how to contradict you.\nBut I thought, that I had given you a very good Reason for that, when\nI shew'd you, that in the Notions of Honour there are many Allurements\nto draw-in vain worldly Men, which the Christian Religion has not; and\nthat the Severity of this is more mortifying and disagreable to Human\nNature, than the Self-denial which is required in the other. There are\nother Reasons besides, which I have likewise hinted at more than once.\nA Man may believe the Torments of Hell, and stand in great Dread of\nthem, whilst they are the Object of his serious Reflection; but he\ndoes not always think of them, nor will they always make the same\nImpression upon him, when he does. But in worshiping Honour, a Man\nadores himself, which is ever dear to him, never absent, never out of\nSight. A Man is easily induced to reverence what he loves so entirely.\n\nHor. The Fear of Shame cannot restrain Men in Things that are done in\nSecret, and can never be known. Men of Honour are true to their Trust,\nwhere it is impossible they should be discover'd.\n\nCleo. That is not universally true; tho', without doubt, there are\nmany such. The grand Characteristick of a Man of Honour, at least of\nModern Honour, is, that he takes no Affront without resenting it, and\ndares fight Any body without Exception; and such there are that have\nnot common Honesty, and are noted Sharpers. Besides, by Education and\nconversing constantly with Men of Honour, and some of real Honour and\nProbity, Persons may contract a strong Aversion to every Thing that is\ndishonourable. The most effectual method to breed Men of Honour, is to\ninspire them with lofty and romantick Sentiments concerning the\nExcellency of their Nature, and the superlative Merit there is in\nbeing a Man of Honour. The higher you can raise a Man's Pride, the\nmore refin'd you may render his Notions of Honour.\n\nHon. The Substance of this you have said twenty Times; but I don't\nunderstand your adoring of one's self.\n\nCleo. I'll endeavour to explain it to you. I am acquainted with Men of\nHonour, who seem to have a very slender Belief, if any, of future\nRewards and Punishiments, and whom yet I believe to be very just Men.\nOf these there are several, whom I could entirely confide in, and\nwhose Words I would much rather take in Business of Moment than any\nBishop's, whom I know Nothing of. What is it that keeps these Men in\nAwe? What keeps them true to their Word, and steady to their\nEngagements, tho' they should be Losers by it?\n\nHor. I don't know any Thing but the Principle of Honour, that is\ndeeply rooted in them.\n\nCleo. Still the Thing, whatever it be, which a Man loves, fears,\nesteems, and consequently reverences, is not without, but within\nhimself. The Object then of Reverence, and the Worshiper, who pays it,\nmeeting and remaining in the same Person, maynot such a Person be\njustly said to adore himself: Nay, it seems to be the common Opinion,\nthat this is true; for unless some Sort of Divinity was supposed, to\nreside in Men of Honour, their affirming and denying Things upon that\nPrinciple could never be thought an Equivalent for an Oath, as to Some\nit is allow'd to be. Pray, when a Man asserts a Thing upon his Honour,\nis it not a Kind of Swearing by himself, as others do by God? If it\nwas not so, and there was supposed to be the least Danger, that Men,\nendued with the Principle of Honour, could deceive or prevaricate, I\nwould fain know, why it should be binding and acquiesc'd in.\n\nHor. You may say the same of the Quakers; and that there must be\nsupposed to be some Divinity in them, that their solemn Affirmation\nshould be thought equivalent to an Oath.\n\nCleo. That's quite another Thing. The Quakers take all Oaths whatever,\nwhether they are made before a Magistrate or otherwise, to be sinful,\nand for that Reason they refuse to Swear at all. But as it is their\navow'd Opinion, that a wilful notorious Lie is not less Criminal in\nthe Sight of Heaven than we take Perjury to be, it is evident, that in\ngiving their Testimony, they stake their Salvation equally with other\nPeople that make Oath. Whereas those who, with us, are credited upon\ntheir Honour, have no such Scruples, and make Oath themselves on other\nOccasions: The Reason therefore why they don't try Criminals and\npronounce their Judgment upon Oath, as other Judges and Juries do, is\nnot, that they think appealing to God or Swearing by his Name to be\nSinful, which is the Case of the Quakers; but because they are\nsupposed to be altogether as credible without it, as if they did. And\nif there was not some Adoration, some Worship, which Men of Honour pay\nto themselves, the Principle they act from could not have produced the\nvisible Effects it has in so many different Nations.\n\nHor. You have said several Things which I cannot disprove, and some of\nthem, I own, are probable enough; but you are like to leave me as you\nfound me. The Principle of Honour has lost no Ground in my Esteem; and\nI shall continue to act from it as I did before. But since you imagine\nto have so plainly proved, that we are Idols to our Selves, and that\nHonour is diametrically opposite to Christianity, I wonder you don't\ncall it the Beast in the _Apocalypse_, and say, that it is the Whore of\n_Babylon_. This would be a notable Conceit, and suit Papists as well as\nProtestants; nay, I fancy, that the Colour of the Whore, and her\nThirst after Blood, might be better accounted for from Duelling, than\nany other Way that has been tried yet.\n\nCleo. The Revelations of St. _John_ are above my Comprehension; and I\nshall never laugh at Mysteries for not understanding them.\n\nHor. What you say of Mysteries, I think, ought to be more justly\napplied to the Principle of Honour, which we do understand; for\nwhatever it may be derived from, the Advantages the Civil Society\nreceives from it, both in Peace and War, are so many and so manifest,\nthat the Usefulness of it ought to exempt and preserve it from being\nridicul'd. I hate to hear a Man talk of its being more or less\nportable, the melting of it over again, and reducing it to a new\nStandard.\n\nCleo. I know, you dislike this in the Fable of the _Bees_; but if you'll\nexamine into what you have read there, you'll find, that my Friend has\nridicul'd Nothing but what deserves it. There is certainly a great\nDifference between the Men of Honour in former Ages and many of those,\nwho now-a-days assume the Title. A Man in whom Justice, Integrity,\nTemperance and Chastity are join'd with Fortitude, is worthy of the\nhighest Esteem; but that a debauch'd Fellow, who runs in every\nTradesman's Debt, and thinks himself not obliged to pay any Thing but\nwhat is borrow'd or lost at Play, should claim the same Regard from\nus, for no other Reason than because he dares to Fight, is very\nunreasonable.\n\nHor. But is he serious, when he speaks of the Men of ancient Honour,\nof whom he thinks _Don Quixot_ to have been the last?\n\nCleo. When the Romance-Writers had carried the Prowess and\nAtchievements of their heroes to an incredible Pitch, was it not\nridiculous to see Men in their Senses, not only believe those\nExtravagancies in good Earnest, but likewise endeavour to imitate\nthose fabulous Exploits, and set about copying after those imaginary\nPatterns? For it was that which _Cervantes_ exposed in _Don Quixot_.\n\nHor. In the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century, the _Spaniards_ were the\nbest Soldiers in the World; they shew'd themselves on many Emergencies\nto be a grave and wise Nation, and had many real Patterns of strict\nHonour and great Virtue among them. Things are as often over-done in\nSatyrs as they are in Panegyricks; and the Likeness of a _Caricatura_ is\nno more to be trusted to than that of the most flattering Pencil.\n\nCleo. I shall always bear the highest Esteem for Men of strict Honour\nand real Virtue, and will never ridicule what is approved of by\nCustom, and the Consent of several Ages has render'd valuable; but no\nTitle or Dignity, no Name or Distinction can be so honourable, or so\neminent, that a serious Enquirer may not have Leave to trace it to the\nBottom. I have acknowledged, that the Word Honour, in its first and\ngenuine Sense, is as ancient as the oldest Language in the World. As\nto my Conjecture concerning the same Word, as it signifies a Principle\nwhich Men act from, I leave it entirely to your Judgment: But whatever\nthe Origin may be of either, it is certain, that whatever the Words\nHonour and Honourable are join'd with, added or applied to, there is\nplain Design in them of pleasing and gratifying those it concerns, on\nAccount of the Passion of Self-liking, and a palpable Tendency to\nhumour, approve of, or encrease the good Opinion Man has of himself:\nAs you'll find, on the Contrary, that in the Words Dishonour Shame,\nIgnominy, and whatever is dishonourable, there is an Intention, or\nSomething imply'd, to displease and mortify those it concerns, on\nAccount of that same Passion of Self-liking, and an Endeavour to\nlessen, contradict or destroy Self-Esteem, which is that good Opinion\nwhich Man has of himself from Nature.\n\nHor. That the Words Honour and Shame are either literally made Use of,\nas you say, or metaphorically applied to other Creatures or Things\ninanimate, I believe: I allow likewise, that the Principle of Honour\nis found in no Breast that is not possess'd of Self-liking to an\neminent Degree; but I don't think that a Fault.\n\nCleo. The only Fault I have found with the Principle of Honour, is,\nit's clashing with the Christian Religion. I have told you the\nReasons, why the Church of _Rome_ thought it her Interest to reconcile\nthem, and make People believe, that they did not interfere with one\nanother. She has always consulted Human Nature, and ever join'd gay\nShew and Pomp, as I have hinted before, to Superstition; well knowing,\nthat, as to keep Man under and in Subjection, you must work upon his\nFear, so, to make him act with Alacrity, and obey with Pleasure, where\nLucre is out of Question, you must flatter his Pride. It is from this\nPolicy of hers, that all Names of Dignity and Distinction among\nChristians, as Earl, Baron, Duke, Marquis, &c. had originally their\nRise as Hereditary Titles. To the same have been owing all the various\nCeremonies of Institutions and Instalments; and Coronations, as well\nas Inthronizations. Of the Orders of Knighthood, and the vast\nMultiplicity of them, I have spoke already.\n\nHor. You give more to the Church of _Rome_ than her Due: Most Countries\nin _Christendom_ have Orders of Knighthood peculiar to themselves, and\nof which it is evident, that they were instituted by their own\nSovereigns.\n\nCleo. But look into the Ceremonial of those Institutions, and the\ngreat Share the Clergy has in most of them, and you'll easily see,\nwhat Stock they sprung from. And tho' the Sovereign, in every Country,\nis deem'd to be the Fountain of Honour, yet the Sovereigns themselves\nhad their Titles, as well as Coats of arms, from the Popes; nor had\nthey ever any Ensign of Honour, Power or Authority, which they could\ndepend upon, unless it had first been granted, or confirm'd and\nratify'd, by the See of _Rome_.\n\nHor. I take the _Insignia_, which the Proconsuls and Proprietors had in\nthe different Provinces of the _Roman_ Empire, and which _Pancirolus_ has\nwrote of so amply, to have been much after the Nature of Coats of\nArms.\n\nCleo. Those _Insignia_ belong'd to the Office; and a Governour could\nonly make Use of them, whilst he was in it: But hereditary Coats of\narms, that were given to particular Men or Societies, by Way of Reward\nfor Services perform'd, were never known; and Heraldry it Self had no\nExistence, before the Pope's Supremacy had been acknowledged by the\nChristian World. And if we consider the fine Opportunities, which the\nmost idle and indolent, the most insignificant and unworthy of the\nSociety, often meet with from this Invention of valuing themselves\nupon Actions that were perform'd several Ages before they were born,\nand bespeak a Merit which they know in their Consciences that they are\ndestitute of; if, I say, we consider what I have now mention'd, we\nshall be forc'd to confess, that, of all Arts and Sciences, Heraldry\nhas been the most effectual to stir up and excite in Men the Passion\nof Self-liking, on the finallest Foundation; and daily Experience\nteaches us, that Persons of Education and Politeness can taste no\nPleasure in any Thing at Home or Abroad, at Church or the Play-House,\nwhere the Gratification of this Passion is entirely excluded. Of all\nthe Shews and Solemnities that are exhibited at _Rome_, the greatest and\nmost expensive, next to a Jubilee, is the Canonization of a Saint. For\none that has never seen it, the Pomp is incredible. The Stateliness of\nthe Processions, the Richness of Vestments and sacred Utensils that\nare display'd, the fine Painting and Sculpture that are expos'd at\nthat Time, the Variety of good Voices and Musical Instruments that are\nheard, the Profusion of Wax-Candles, the Magnificence which the Whole\nis perform'd with, and the vast Concourse of People, that is\noccasion'd by those Solemnities, are all such, that it is impossible\nto describe them.\n\nHor. It is astonishing, I own; but what would you infer from them?\n\nCleo. I would desire you to observe, how vastly different some of the\nEnds and Purposes are, that Canonizations may be made to serve at the\nsame Time. It is pretended, in the First Place, that they are\nperform'd to do Justice and pay Veneration to the Memory of those Holy\nPersons: Secondly, that by Men's worshiping them, they may be induced,\namong the Rest of the Saints, to intercede with God for the the Sins\nof their Votaries: And lastly, because it is to be hoped, that among\nsuch Numbers as assist at those Solemnities, there are many who will\nbe affected by them, and endeavour to imitate, in their Lives, the\nholy Examples that are set before them: For there is no Time more\nseasonable to stir Men up to Devotion and Sentiments of Piety, than\nwhen Rapture and high Admiration have been rais'd in them first.\n\nHor. Besides Canonizations keep up the Reputation of the _Roman_\nCatholick Faith; for the new Saints, that are made from Time to Time,\nare always fresh Witnesses, that Miracles are not ceas'd, and\nconsequently that the Church of _Rome_ continues to be the same Church\nwhich Christ and his Apostles first establish'd.\n\nCleo. You are in the Right; and whilst we consider and give Credit to\nthose Pretences, the Design must seem to be religious; and every _Roman_\nCatholick, who is firm in his Belief; is obliged to think, that\nwhatever Cost is bestow'd upon Canonizations, no Money could be laid\nout better. But if we mind, on the other Side, the strong\nSollicitations of the great Men, that either are, or pretend to be the\nRelations of the venerable Person, whose Holiness they vouch for; the\nvast Pains that are taken, the Intrigues that are carried on for Years\ntogether, to procure this high Favour of the Sacred College; and when\nit is obtain'd, what an Honour it is to the whole Family; the Visits\nthat are paid from all Parts to every Rich Man that belongs to it, and\nthe Compliments that are made on Account of it; besides the Privileges\nthey receive from it ever after; If, I say, we mind these Things on\nthe other Side, we shall find, that in the Motives from which Men sue\nfor this Honour, there is not a Grain of Religion to an Ounce of\nPride, and that what seems to be a Solemnity to celebrate the Sanctity\nof the Dead, is in Reality a Stratagem of the Church to gratify the\nAmbition of the Living. The Church of _Rome_ has never made a Step\nwithout Regard to her Temporal Interest, and an After-Thought on her\nSuccessors, _Luther_ and _Calvin_, and some Others of the chief\nAdversaries of _Rome_, were Men of great Parts, that have gain'd\nthemselves Immortal Names; but it must be confess'd, that they rais'd\nthemselves altogether at the Expence of their Brethren. They gave up\nboth the Patrimony and Dominion of the Church, and made Presents of\nthem to the Secular Powers, that would espouse their respective\nCauses, and establish their Doctrines; by which, and the destroying of\nPurgatory, they not only stript the Clergy of their Wealth and Power\nfor the present, but likewise took away the Means by which, one Day or\nother, it might have been possible for their Successors to retrieve\nthem. It is well for the Protestant Cause, that the Multitude can't\nhear or know the Wishes, that are made in Secret by many of the\nClergy, nor the hearty Ejaculations, which the Men of Spirit among\nthem are often sending after the Memory of the first Reformers, for\nhaving left their Order in that Pickle, and almost at the Mercy of the\nLaity, after they had been made dependent on the Clergy. If those\npious Leaders had understood, or at least consulted Human Nature, they\nwould have known, that strict Lives and Austerity of Manners don't go\nby Inheritance, and must have foreseen, that as soon as the Zeal of\nthe Reformation should begin to cool both the Clergy and the Laity\nwould relax in their Morals; and consequently, that their Successors,\nafter Two or Three Generations, would make wretched Figures, if they\nwere still to continue to preach Christianity without Deceit or\nEvasions, and pretend to live conformably to the Rules of it: If they\nhad but reflected on what had happen'd in the Infancy of their\nReligion, they must have easily foreseen what I say.\n\nHor. What is it that happen'd then?\n\nCleo. That Christ and his Apostles taught by Example as well as\nPrecepts the Practice of Humility and the Contempt of Riches; to\nrenounce the Pomp and Vanity of the World, and mortify the Flesh, is\ncertain: And that this was striking at the very Fundamentals of Human\nNature, is as certain. This could only be perform'd by Men\npreternaturally affected; and therefore the Founders of Christianity\nbeing gone, it could not be expected, that the same Austerity of Life\nand Self-denial should be continued among the Successors of them, as\nsoon as the Ministry of the Gospel became a Calling, that Men were\nbrought up to for a Livelihood; and considering how essential those\nmortifying Principles are to Christianity, it is not easy to conceive,\nhow the one could be made still to subsist, when the other should\ncease to be. But Nothing seems more impracticable than that the\nGospel, which those Principles are evidently taught, should ever be\nturn'd into an inexhaustible Fund of Worldly Comforts, Gain, Honour,\nand Authority; yet this has been perform'd by the Skill and Industry\nof the Architects, who have built that Master-Piece of Human Policy,\nthe Church of _Rome_. They have treated Religion as if it was a\nManufacture, and the Church a Set of Workmen, Labourers and\nArtificers, of different Employments, that all contribute and\ncooperate to produce one entire Fabrick. In the great Variety of their\nReligious Houses, you have all the Severity of Manners and Rigour of\nDiscipline, which the Gospel requires, improved upon. There you have\nperpetual Chastity, and Virgins wedded to Christ: There is Abstinence,\nand Fasting; there is Mortifying of the flesh, Watching, Praying, the\nContempt of Money and Worldly Honour; a literal Retirement from the\nWorld, and every Thing you can ask for, relating to Self-denial, as to\nCarnal Enjoyments and the renouncing of Pomp and Vanity, at least to\nall outward Appearance. When Men see that Strictness of Morals, and\nthat Christian Self-denial, which are so manifestly taught in the\nGospel, own'd by the Clergy, and some where or other actually comply'd\nwith, they will easily give Ear to any Thing that is said to them\nbesides. This grand Point concerning the Austerity of Life, and\nmortifying the Flesh, being literally understood, and acknowledged by\nthe Clergy to be such, as the Apostles have deliver'd them without\nPrevarication, it will not be difficult to make the Laity believe, not\nonly mysterious Contradictions, but likewise the most palpable\nAbsurdities, such as Transubstantiation; that the Pope is infallible,\nand has the Power of Thundering out _Anathema's_ and granting\nAbsolutions; and consequently of damning and saving whom he pleases;\nthat the Pomp and Magnificence of the Sacred College, and even the\nLuxury of a Court, are laudable Means, and absolutely necessary to\nkeep up the Dignity and outward Luster of the visible Church; and that\nthe Spiritual Welfare of it depends upon Temporal Authority, and\ncannot be duely taken Care of without large Revenues, Princely Power,\nPoliticks, and Military Force. No Set of Men have deserv'd better of\nthe Church of _Rome_, than the Writers of Legends and the Forgers of\nMiracles. In the Lives of the Saints, there is a plausible\nRepresentation of the Church Militant; and considering how naural it\nis for Man to be superstitious, and to love the _Merveilleux_, Nothing\ncould be thought of more agreeable or edifying than to read of such\nNumbers of Holy Men and Women, that did not flinch from Combating\nthemselves, and to see the noble Victories that have been obtain'd\nover the World, the Flesh and the Devil, in a literal Sense, as are to\nbe met with in those judicious Relations.\n\nHor. But what Analogy is there between the _Roman Catholick_ Religion,\nand a Manufacture, as you insinuated?\n\nCleo. The Division of the whole into so many different Branches. The\ngreat Prelates, of whom not many have any Religion at all, are yet for\nWorldly Ends continually watching over the Temporal Interest of it.\nThe little Bishops and ordinary Priests take Care of the Mystical Part\nof it; whilst the Religious Orders contribute meritorious Works, and\nseem actually to comply with the harshest Precepts of Christianity,\noften in a more rigid Construction than the Words themselves will\nbear.\n\nHor. Then have the Laity no Share in it?\n\nCleo. Yes; but their Task is the easiest, and what they club towards\nReligion chiefly consists in Faith and Money. But when Men pretend to\nbe Christians, and Nothing is to be met with in any Part of their\nReligion, but what is easy and pleasant, and Nothing is required\neither of the Laity or the Clergy, that is difficult to perform, or\ndisagreeable to Human Nature, there is Room to suspect, that such a\nSet of People lay claim to a Title, that does not belong to them. When\nMinisters of the Gospel take Pains to undermine it themselves, and\nflatly deny the Strictness of Behaviour, and Severity of Manners, that\nare so manifestly inculcated in every Part of it, I don't wonder, that\nMen of Sincerity, who can read, should refuse to give Credit to every\nThing that is said by such Ministers. It is easier to speak with\nContempt of the recluse Lives of the _Carthusians_, and to laugh at the\nAusterities of _La Trappe_, than it is to refute what might be alledg'd\nfrom the Gospel to prove the Necessity there is, that to be acceptable\nto God, Men should fly from Lust, make War with themselves, and\nmortify the Flesh. When Ministers of _Christ_ assure their Hearers, that\nto indulge themselves in all earthly Pleasures and Sensualities, that\nare not clashing with the Laws of the Country, or the Fashion of the\nAge they live in, will be no Bar to their future Happiness, if they\nenjoy them with Moderation; that Nothing ought to be deem'd Luxury,\nthat is suitable to a Person's Rank and Quality, and which he can\npurchase without hurting his Estate, or injuring his Neighbour; that\nno Buildings or Gardens can be so profusely sumptuous, no Furniture so\ncurious or magnificent, no Inventions for Ease so extravagant, no\nCookery so operose, no Diet so delicious, no Entertainments or Way of\nLiving so expensive as to be Sinful in the Sight of God, if a man can\nafford them; and they are the same, as others of the same Birth or\nQuality either do or would make Use of, if they could: That a Man may\nstudy and be sollicitous about Modes and Fashions, assist at Courts,\nhunt after Worldly Honour, and partake of all the Diversions of the\n_beau monde_, and at the same Time be a very good Christian; when\nMinisters of _Christ_, I say, assure their Hearers of this, they\ncertainly teach what they have no Warrant for from his Doctrine. For\nit is in Effect the same as to assert, that the strictest Attachment\nto the World is not inconsistent with a Man's Promise of renouncing\nthe Pomp and Vanity of it.\n\nHor. But what signify the Austerity of Life and Forbearance of Nuns\nand Friars, if they were real, to all the Rest who don't practise\nthem? And what Service can their Self-denial and Mortification be of\nto the Vain and Sensual, who gratify every Appetite that comes\nuppermost?\n\nCleo. The Laity of the _Roman_ Communion are taught and assured, that\nthey may be of great Service even to the Wicked; nay, it may be proved\nfrom Scripture, that the Intercession of the Righteous and Innocent,\nis sometimes capable of averting God's Vengence from the Guilty. This\nonly wants to be believed; and it is the easiest Thing in the World to\nmake the Multitude believe any Assertion, in which there is Nothing\nthat contradicts receiv'd Opinions, and the common notions which Men\nhave of Things. There is no Truth, that has hitherto been more\nunanimously believed among all Sects and Opinions of Christians in all\nAges, than that the gospel warns Men against Carnal Pleasures, and\nrequires of them Humility, the Contempt of Earthly Glory, and such a\nStrictness of Manners and Morality, as is difficult for Human Nature\nto comply with. Now when a clergyman, who pretends to preach the\nGospel, puts such Constructions on the plainest texts, in which the\nDoctrine I spoke of is literally taught, as can only tend to extenuate\nand diminish the Force of them, and when moreover he leaves no Shifts\nor Evasions untied, till he has destroy'd the Observance of those\nPrecepts; when a Clergyman, I say, is thus employ'd, it is no Wonder\nthat his Doctrine should raise Doubts and Scruples in his hearers,\nwhen they compare it with the common Notions Men have of Christianity.\n\nHor. I am no Admirer, you know, of Priests of any Sort; but of the\nTwo, I would prefer a Man of Learning and good Sense, who treats me\nwith good Manners, recommends Virtue, and a reasonable Way of Living,\nto an ill bred sour Pedant, that entertains me with fanatical Cant,\nand would make me believe, that it is a Sin to wear good Cloaths, and\nfill my Belly with what I like.\n\nCleo. There is no Doubt, but the _beau monde_, and all well bred People,\nthat desire to be judged of from outward Appearance, will always chuse\nthe most easy _Casuists_; and the more ample the Allowances are, which\nClergymen give them, of enjoying the World, the more they'll be\npleas'd with them. But this can only be of Service among the\nFashionable and the Polite, whose Religion is commonly very\nSuperficial, and whose Virtue is seldom extended beyond good Manners.\nBut what will it do to Men of greater Sincerity, that can and dare\nexamine themselves? What will it do to serious and able Enquirers,\nthat refuse to trust to Outsides, and will not be barr'd from\nsearching into the Bottom of Things? If this was only a Matter of\nSpeculation, a disputable Point in a Ceremony, as whether Men are to\nsit or to stand at the Performance of it, the Thing might easily be\ngiven up: but it plainly appears to be a Theory skilfully raised by\nClergymen, to build a Practice upon in their Favour. Those easie\nDivines don't make such large Allowances to others for Nothing: They\nspeak one Word for the Laity, and two for themselves, and seem to have\nNothing more at Heart than to enjoy the Benefit of their own Doctrine.\nIt is no Wonder therefore, that so many of the Clergy are always\ndesirous to converse with the _beau monde_. Among the best bred People\nthere is seldom any Difference to be seen between Believers and\nUnbelievers; neither of them give any Trouble to their Pastors, and\nthey are all equally cautious of offending. Polite People contradict\nNo body, but conform to all Ceremonies that are fashionable with\nRegard to the Time and the Places they are in; and a courtly Infidel\nwill observe Decency at Church, and a becoming Carriage there, for the\nsame Reason that he does it at a Ball, or in the Drawing-Room.\n\nHor. As to Indulgences and large Allowances, the _Roman Catholicks_\nout-do us far, especially the _Jesuits_, who certainly are the most easy\n_Casuists_ in the World.\n\nCleo. They are so; but it is only in the Management of those, whose\nConsciences are under their Direction. A Jesuit may tell a Man such or\nsuch Things are allow'd to Him in particular, and give him Reasons for\nit from his Quality, or the Post he is in, from the State of his\nHealth, his Temperament, his Age, or his Circumstances: But he'll not\ndeny or explain away the Self-denial and the Mortification in general,\nthat are commanded in the Gospel. When you come to this Point, he'll\nnot lessen the Difficulty and Irksomeness of Christian Duties to Human\nNature and the Flesh; but he'll refer you to the Founder of his Order,\nand the great Self-denial he practis'd: Perhaps he'll relate to you,\nhow that Saint watch'd his Arms all Night, after he had dedicated\nthem, together with his Life, to the _Virgin Mary_. But that the Gospel\nrequires a literal Mortification of the Flesh, and other hard Tasks\nfrom us, is the very Basis which the Pope's Exchequer is built upon.\nHe could have no Colour for enjoining Fasting and Abstinence, if it\nwas not supposed, that he had a Warrant for it from the New Testament.\nIt is this Supposition, that brings all the Grist to his Mill; and\nthus a Man may eat Flesh in Lent, without a Sin; but tho' he can get\nthe Meat perhaps for Nothing, he shall pay for the Liberty of Eating\nit. Buying Absolutions implies the Consciousness of having committed a\nCrime; and No body would give Money for Indulgences, if he thought,\nthat what he desires to be indulged in, was lawful without them. All\nMultitudes will sooner believe a Man to come from God, who leads an\nAustere Life himself, and preaches Abstinence and Self-denial to\nothers tho' they themselves, I mean the Hearers, don't practice it, or\ntake any Pains to comply with his Precepts, than they will another,\nwho takes greater Liberties himself, and whose Doctrine is less\nsevere. This the wise Architects of the Church of _Rome_, who were\nthoroughly skill'd in Human Nature, were well aware of; and\naccordingly they have improved upon the Scriptures, and added Lustre\nto all those Precepts, which is most difficult to comply with; and in\ncommenting on the severest Duties of Christianity, they have been so\nfar from extenuating and explaining away our Obligations to perform\nthem, that they have heighten'd and magnify'd them, not only by Words\nand in Theory, but the Practice and Example; as is so manifest from\nthe hard and almost incredible Tasks, which many of them have actually\nimpos'd upon themselves, and gone through. They have flinch'd at\nNothing on this Head.\n\nHor. A Man must be very stupid to believe, that his close Attachment\nto the World, and the Loosness of his own Morals can be atton'd for by\nthe recluse and strict Lives that are led in some Religious Houses.\n\nCleo. Not so stupid as you imagine: There is Nothing in it that\nclashes with the common Notions of Mankind. Ceremonies are perform'd\nby Proxy; Men are Security for one another; and a Debt is not more\neffectually discharg'd, when we receive the Money from him who\nborrow'd it, than when it is paid by his Bail, tho' the Principal\nhimself runs away. If there is but real Self-denial to be met with any\nwhere in a Religion, it is no difficult Matter to make Multitudes\nbelieve, that they have, or may buy, a Share in it: Besides, all _Roman\nCatholicks_ are brought up in the firm Belief of the Necessity there is\nof Self-denial. They are strictly forbid to eat Flesh on Fridays; and\nPains are taken to inspire them from their very Childhood with a\nHonour against the breaking of this Commandment. It is incredible,\nwhat Force such a Precept is of, and how closely the Influence of it\nsticks to men, when it has been earnestly inculcated to them from\ntheir early Youth. There is no Difficulty in the Thing when they are\ngrown up; and I'll engage, that a _Roman_ Catholick, who always has been\naccustom'd to this Piece of Observance till he is Five and Twenty\nYears of Age, will find it more easy afterwards to continue than to\nleave it off, tho' he should turn Protestant, or even Turk.\n\nHor. I have often admired at the great Force this senseless Piece of\nSuperstition is of; for I have seen great Reprobates and very loose\nFellows among the _Roman_ Catholicks, who stuck at no Manner of\nDebauchery, and would often talk prophanely, that yet refused to eat\nFlesh on a _Friday_, and could not be laugh'd out of their Folly; tho'\nat the same Time I could see, that they were actually ashamed of it.\n\nCleo. No Set of People have so artfully play'd upon Mankind as the\nChurch of _Rome_. In the Use they have made of Scripture, they have\nconsulted all our Frailties; and in their own Interpretations of it,\nmost dextrously adapted themselves to the common Notions of all\nMultitudes. They knew perfectly well, not only, that all Men are born\nwith the Fear of an invisible Cause, but likewise that it is more\nnatural, or, at least, that the rude and ignorant of our Species are\nalways more apt to suspect, that this invisible Cause is their Enemy,\nthan they are to think it to be their Friend, and will sooner believe\nit to be an evil and malicious, than a good beneficent Being. To turn\nthis to their Advantage, they made Use of all their Skill and Cunning\nto magnify the Devil, and cry up his Force and Subtlety, his\nsupernatural Art, his implacable Hatred to Mankind, and great\nInfluence over Human Affairs. All the strange Stories they have\nspread, the monstrous Fables they have invented, and the gross Lies\nthey have maintain'd, of Spirits, of Witchcraft, and Apparitions,\nnever had any other Tendency than to manifest the Works of Satan, and\nmake Every body afraid of his Power and Stratagems at all Times, and\nin all Places; which has been a prodigious Gain to them. They never\ntaught any Thing that contradicted Vulgar Opinions, and never gave\nMen any Ideas of Heaven, that were not borrow'd from Something on\nEarth. That Courts of Princes are not deem'd to be compleat without\nWomen, has advanced the _Virgin Mary_ to be Queen of Heaven. From the\nInfluence of Mothers, and the Authority they are known to exercise of\ntheir Infants, they have drawn the most childish Conclusions to raise\nSuperstition; for to that Notion, and the great Honour which is every\nwhere allow'd to be due to Parents, it has been owing, that the Mother\nof God in the _Roman_ Communion has been all along more address'd and\npray'd to, than her Son; and of the Two She seems to be the more\nvenerable Person. All Patrons in ancient _Rome_ had their Clients, whom\nthe protected; and all Favourites of Princes have their Creatures,\nwhose Interests they espouse upon Occasion: This has produced the\nInvocation of Saints and Angels; and that no Advocates might be\nwanting in the Celestial Court on any Emergency, the Church has\nprovided, that there is no Town or Country, no Handicraft or\nProfession, no Pain or Disease, Danger or Distress, but there is a\nkind Saint for that particular Affair, whose peculiar Province is to\npreside over and take Care of every Thing that relates to it; which\nhas made the Number of them equal with, if not superiour to that of\nthe Pagan Deities. She knew, that the Incredibility of Things is no\nObstacle to Faith among Multitudes; and that in believing of\nMysteries, Propositions will not be the less swallow'd for being\ncontradictory to Reason.\n\nHor. But I thought you was not for keeping Men in Ignorance.\n\nCleo. What I am for, is not the Question. Priests who would bear an\nabsolute Sway over the Laity, and live luxuriously at their Cost,\nought First to make them believe Implicitly: Whereas an honest Clergy,\nthat will teach Nothing concerning Religion, but what is consistent\nwith good Sense, and becoming a rational Creature to believe, ought to\ndeal uprightly with Men throughout the Whole, and not impose upon\ntheir Understandings in one Point more than they do in another. From\nthe real Incomprehensibility of God, just Arguments must be drawn for\nbelieving of Mysteries that surpass our Capacities. But when a Man has\ngood Reason to suspect, that he who instructed him in these Mysteries,\ndoes not believe them himself, it must stagger and obstruct his Faith,\ntho' he had no Scruples before, and the Things he had been made to\nbelieve, are no Ways clashing with his Reason. It is not difficult for\na Protestant Divine to make a Man of Sense see the many Absurdities\nthat are taught by the Church of Rome, the little Claim which Popes\ncan lay to Infallibility, and the Priestcraft there is in what they\nsay of purgatory and all that belongs to it. But to persuade him\nlikewise, that the Gospel requires no Self-denial, nor any Thing that\nis irksome to Nature, and that the Generality of the Clergy of _England_\nare sincerely endeavouring, in their Lives and Doctrine, to imitate\nthe Apostles, as nearly as Human Frailty will let them, and is\nconsistent with the Difference of the Age and Manners between their\nTime and ours; to persuade, I say, a Man of Sense, that these Things\nare likewise true, would not be so easy a Task. By a Man of Sense, I\nmean a Man likewise of some Knowledge, who, in the First Place, has\nread the Bible, and believes the Scripture to be the sole Rule of\nFaith; and, in the Second, is no Stranger to our Church, or any Thing\nthat is openly to be seen relating to her Clergy, especially the Heads\nof them, the Bishops; such as their Palaces and Manner of Living;\ntheir Translations, Revenues and Earthly Power, together with the\nWorldly Honours, Precedency and other Privileges, which our Spiritual\nLords insist upon to be their Due.\n\nHor. I have often laugh'd my Self at Apostles in Coaches and Six; but\nwhat must at that Rate the Men of Sense and Sincerity among the _Roman\nCatholicks_ think of their Prelates, who live in much greater Splendour\nand Luxury than ours? What must they think of the Cardinals and the\nPope himself?\n\nCleo. Think of them? What they please, so they dare not to open their\nLips against them, or any Thing which the Clergy are pleas'd to call\nSacred. In all _Roman Catholick_ Countries, you know, no Books or\nPamphlets may be publish'd, but what are Licensed; and no Man is\nallow'd to divulge any Sentiments concerning Religion, that are not\nentirely Orthodox; which in all Countries, so regulated, is a vast\nEase and an unspeakable Comfort to the Clergy of the establish'd\nChurch.\n\nHor. I never thought to hear you speak against the Liberty of the\nPress.\n\nCleo. And you never will; for tho' Orthodoxy and the National Clergy\nare always the Gainers by these Curbs and Prohibitions, yet Truth and\nReligion are ever the Sufferers by them. But all prudent Men ought to\nbehave according to the Condition they are in, and the Principles as\nwell as Privileges they lay claim to. Reform'd Divines own themselves\nto be fallible: They appeal to our Reason, and exhort us to peruse the\nScripture Ourselves. We live in a Country where the Press is open;\nwhere all Men are at full Liberty to expose Error and Falshood, where\nthey can find them; and No body is debarr'd from Writing almost any\nThing, but Blasphemy and Treason. A Protestant Clergy ought always to\nremember the Reasons, which their Predecessors alledg'd for separating\nthemselves from the _Roman_ Communion, and never to forget, that the\nHaughtiness and Luxury of the Prelates, as well as the Covetousness,\nthe Insolence, and barefac'd Encroachments of the Clergy, were a\nconsiderable Part of the Complaints against Popery. No equitable\nGuides, that have open'd our Eyes to see the Frailties of others,\nought to expect from us, that in Regard to themselves we should keep\nthem shut close, and never look upon their Behaviour. The _Roman_\nPastors, who keep their flocks in the Dark, teach them blind\nObedience, and never vouchsafe to argue with 'em any more than if they\nwere real Sheep. They don't advise Men to read the Bible, but such\nBooks of Devotion as their Priests shall think proper for them; and\nare so far from appealing to their Judgment, that they conjure them,\non Pain of Damnation, never to trust their Reason, but implicitly to\nbelieve whatever the Church shall require of them.\n\nHor. You put me in Mind of Father _Canaye_, the Jesuit in St. _Evremond_.\nNo Reason! No Reason at all!\n\nCleo. Where the Clergy are possess'd of, and keep up this Authority\nover the Laity, and the Secular Arm is at their Devotion, to punish\nwhom they condemn, they need not be nice or circumspect in their\nManner of Living; and no Pomp or Luxury will easily lessen them in the\nEsteem of the Multitude. No Protestant Clergy have wrote better in\nDefence of the Reformation than ours; but others have certainly gone\ngreater Lengths in it, as to Worship and Discipline in outward\nAppearance. The Difference between the _Roman Catholicks_ and us seems\nto be less irreconcilable, than it is between them and the Reformed\nChurches of the united _Netherlands_ and _Switzerland_; and I am fully\npersuaded, that the Mother Church despairs not of bringing back to her\nBosom this run-away Daughter of hers, and making this Island one Day\nor other repay with Interest the Losses she has sustain'd by its long\nDisobedience. Arguments alone will never keep out Popery; and _Great\nBritain_ being once reconciled to the Church of _Rome_, would add such a\nWeight to her Power, that it would not be difficult for her in a\nlittle Time to reduce all the Rest of the Protestants by main Force,\nand entirely to Triumph over what She calls the Northern Heresy.\n\nHor. We have very good Laws to secure us from the Usurpation of _Rome_;\nand the Abbey Lands, that are in the Possession of the Laity, I\nbelieve, are a better, I mean, a stronger Argument against the Return\nof Popery, than ever will be shewn in Print.\n\nCleo. I believe so too; but it is not easy to determine, what\nDifficulties and Discouragements true Politicks and never ceasing\nIndustry may not surmount in Time. The Church of _Rome_ is never without\nMen of great Parts and Application; she entertains Numbers of them;\nand there is no Government, without Exception, of which the true\nInterest is so well understood, or so steadily pursued without\nInterruption, as hers.\n\nHor. But why may not Protestants have Men of good Sense and Capacity\namong them, as well as _Roman Catholicks_? Do not other Countries\nproduce Men of Genius as well as _Italy_?\n\nCleo. Perhaps they do; tho' none more. The _Italians_ are a subtle\nPeople; and I believe, that consummate Knowledge in State Affairs, and\nWorldly Wisdom are less precarious at _Rome_, than in any other Place\nyou can name. Men of uncommon Genius are not born every Day, no more\nin _Italy_ than any where else; but when in other Countries a good\nPolitician goes off the Stage, either of Life or Business, it is often\nseen that a Bungler succeeds him, who in a few Years does more Hurt to\nthe Nation, that the other had Time to do them good in a long\nAdministration. This never happens at _Rome_; and there is no Court in\nthe Universe so constantly supplied with able Managers and crafty\nStatemen as hers: For how short soever the Lives of most Popes may be,\nthe Sacred College never dies. Tell me now pray, what unlikely Change,\nwhat Improbability can you imagine, of which we have not Reason to\nfear, that, if it be possible at all, it may be brought about by such\na Set of Men; when every one's private Interest, as well as that of\nthe Common Cause, are highly concern'd in it, and they are not stinted\nin Time?\n\nHor. Assiduity and Patience, I know, will do strange Things, and\novercome great Obstacles. That the Church of _Rome_ is more diligent and\nsollicitous to make Proselytes, than the Protestants generally are, I\nhave long observed.\n\nCleo. There is no common Cause among the Reformed: The Princes and\nLaity of different Persuasions would have been firmly united long ago,\nif the Clergy would have suffer'd it; but Divines, who differ, are\nimplacable, and never known to treat any Adversary with Temper or\nModeration; and it has never been seen yet, that Two Sects of\nChristians did agree, and join heartily in one Interest, unless they\nwere oppress'd, or in immediate Danger of suffering by a common Enemy\nto both. As soon as that is over, you always see their former\nAnimosities revive. If the Church of _Rome_ had no Hopes left, and given\nover all Thoughts of ever bringing this Kingdom back within her Pales,\nyou would see the English Seminaries abroad neglected and dropt by\nDegrees; which she now cultivates with the utmost Care: For it is from\nthem only, that She can be furnish'd with the proper Instruments to\nkeep Popery alive in _England_, and buoy up the drooping Spirits of the\ndistress'd _Catholicks_, among the many Hardships and Discouragements,\nthey labour under beyond the Rest of their Fellow-Subjects. Such\nOffices as these, are every where best perform'd by Natives: Whatever\nPersuasion People are of, if the National Church of their Country, be\nnot of their Religion, it is natural the them to wish it was; and that\nall imaginable Care is taken in the English Seminaries to encourage,\nand with the utmost Skill to heighten and encrease this Natural Desire\nin those under their Care, no Man can doubt who considers the\nAbilities of the Tutors that are employ'd in them, and the vast\nAdvantage the Reduction of _Great Britain_ would be to the See of _Rome_.\nWhilst those Colleges are constant supply'd with _English_ and _Irish_\nYouth, the Popish Interest can never die in this Realm, nor the Church\nof _Rome_ want insinuating Priests, or hearty Zealots, that will act any\npart, put on any Disguise, and run any Risque for their Cause, either\nin Strengthening the _Roman Catholicks_ that are among us in their\nFaith, or seducing Protestants from theirs. No Foreigners could do us\nhalf the Mischief. People love their own Language from the same\nMotives as they love their Country; and there are no Priests or\nClergy, whom Men will sooner hearken to and confide in, than such, as\ntake great Pains and express an uncommon Zeal in their Function, at\nthe same Time that they exercise it at the Hazard of their Liberty or\ntheir Lives. The Church of _Rome_ has fit Tools for every Work and every\nPurpose; and no other Power upon Earth has such a Number of Creatures\nto serve it, nor such a Fund to reward them when they do. That the\nProtestant Interest lost Ground soon after it was well establish'd,\nand is still declining more and more every Day, is undeniable. To one\n_Roman Catholick_, that is converted to the Reform'd Religion, Ten\nProtestants turn Papists, among the highest Quality as well as the\nVulgar. What can be the Reason of this Change? What is it that this\nEvil ought to be imputed to?\n\nHor. Either the Church of _Rome_ is grown more vigilant and mindful of\nher Cause since the Reformation, than She was in _Luther's_ Days, or the\nProtestants are become more negligent and careless of theirs.\n\nCleo. I believe both to be true, but especially the latter; for if the\nMaxims, that were most instrumental in bringing about the Reformation,\nhad been continued, they certainly would have prevented, at least in a\ngreat Measure, not only this Evil, but likewise another, which is\nworse, I mean the Growth of Irreligion and Impiety: Nay, I don't\nquestion but the same Maxims, if they were to be tried again would\nhave that Effect still.\n\nHor. This is a fine Secret, and what, I dare say, the Clergy would be\nglad to know. Pray, which are those Maxims.\n\nCleo. The Sanctity of Manners and exemplary Lives of the Reformers,\ntheir Application and unwearied Diligence in their Calling; their Zeal\nfor Religion, and Disregard of Wealth and Worldly Enjoyments, either\nreal or counterfeited, for that God only knows.\n\nHor. I did not expect this. The Bench of Bishops won't thank you for\nyour Prescription: They would call it an Attempt to cure the Patients\nby blistering the Physicians.\n\nCleo. Those who would call it so, must be strange Protestant Divines.\n\nHor. I am sure, that some, if not most of them, would think the Remedy\nworse than the Disease.\n\nCleo. Yet there is none equal to it, no Remedy so effectual, either to\ncure us of those Evils, and put an entire Stop to, or to hinder and\nobstruct the Encrease as well of Atheism and Prophaneness, as of\nPopery and Superstition. And I defy all the Powers of Priestcraft to\nname such another, a practicable Remedy, of which there is any\nProbability, that it would go down or could be made use of in a\nclear-sighted Age, and among a knowing People, that have a Sense of\nLiberty, and refuse to be Priest-rid. It is amazing, that so many fine\nWriters among the Clergy, so many Men of Parts and Erudition should\nseem very earnestly to enquire into the Causes of Libertinism and\nInfidelity, and never think on their own Conduct.\n\nHor. But they'll tell you, that you make the Doctrine of the Gospel\nstricter than it really is; and I think so too; and that you take\nseveral Things literally, that ought to be figuratively understood.\n\nCleo. When Words are plain and intelligible, and what is meant by them\nin a literal sense is agreeable to the Tenour and the whole Scope of\nthe Book in which we meet with those Words, it is reasonable to think,\nthat they ought to be literally understood. But if, notwithstanding\nthis, there are others, who are of Opinion, that these Words are to be\ntaken in a figurative Sense, and this figurative Sense is more forced\nthan the literal, and likewise clashing with the Doctrine and the\nDesign of the Book, we have great Reason not to side with their\nOpinion: But if it appears moreover, that those who contend for the\nforced, figurative Sense, should be Gainers by it, if their Opinion\nprevail'd, and it would bring them Profit, Honour, Pleasure, or Ease,\nthen we ought to suspect them to be partial, and the figurative Sense\nis to be rejected.\n\nHor. I don't know what to make of you to Day. You have shewn the _Roman\nCatholick_ Religion to be a bare-faced Imposture; and at the same Time\nyou seem to blame the _Protestants_ for having left it.\n\nCleo. I am very consistent with my Self. I have laid open to you the\nPoliticks, Penetration and Worldly Wisdom of the Church of _Rome_, and\nthe Want of them in the Reformers, who exposed the Frauds of their\nAdversaries, without considering the Hardships and Difficulties, which\nsuch a Discovery would entail upon their Successors. When they parted\nwith their Power, and gave up their Infallibility, they should have\nforeseen the necessary Consequences of the Honesty and Candour. A\nReform'd Church, that will own she may err, must prepare for Heresies\nand Schisms, look upon them as unavoidable, and never be angry with\nthose who dissent from her. They ought likewise to have known, that no\nDivines, who will preach the Gospel in its Purity, and teach Nothing\nbut Apostolick Truths without Craft or Deceit, will ever be believ'd\nlong, if they appeal to Men's Reason, unless they will likewise lead,\nor at least endeavour or seem to lead Apostolick Lives. In all Sects\nand Schisms it has always been and will ever be observed, that the\nFounders of them either are, or pretend to be Men of Piety and good\nLives; but as there never was a Principle of Morality that Men have\nset out from, so strict yet, that in Tract of Time Human Nature has\nnot got the better of it, so the Successors of those Founders always\nbecome more remiss by Degrees, and look out for Ways and Means to\nrender the Practice of their Doctrine, or the Exercise of their\nFunction, more comfortable and commodious: And all Persuasions have\never lost Ground, and been sunk in their Reputation in proportion, as\nthe Teachers of them have relax'd their Manners. No Doctrine ever\nprevail'd or got any Advantage over the establish'd Religion in any\nCountry, that was not accompanied with a real Austerity of Life, or a\nPretence at least to a stricter Morality, and greater Forbearance,\nthan was generally to be seen in the National Church, at the Time in\nwhich the Doctrine was advanced. These are eternal Truths, that must\nflow from the Fabrick, the very Essence of Human Nature. Therefore the\nClergy may write and preach as they please: They may have all the\nSkill and Learning that Mortals can be possess'd of, and all the\nassistance into the Bargain, that the secular Power can give them in a\nfree Nation, they will never be able long to keep up their Credit with\na mixed Multitude, if no Show is made of Self-denial, and they will\ntotally neglect those Means, without which that Credit was never\nacquired.\n\n\n\n\nThe Third Dialogue Between _Horatio_ and _Cleomenes_.\n\n\nHoratio. Tho' it is but Two Days ago that I troubled you almost a\nwhole Afternoon, I am come again to spend the Remainder of this, and\nsup with you, if you are at Leisure.\n\nCleo. This is exceeding kind. I am no Ways engaged; and you give me a\nvast Deal of Pleasure.\n\nHor. The more I have thought and reflected on what you said of Honour\nlast _Tuesday_, the more I have perceiv'd and felt the Truth of it in\nSpight of my Teeth. But I shall never dare to speak of so wretched an\nOrigin.\n\nCleo. The Beginning of all Things relating to Human Affairs was ever\nsmall and mean: Man himself was made of a Lump of Earth. Why should we\nbe ashamed of this? What could be meaner than the Origin of Ancient\n_Rome_? Yet her own Historians, proud as they were, scrupled not to\nmention it, after she was arrived at the Height of her Glory, and\nbecome a Goddess, _Dea Roma_, to whom Divine Honours were paid\nthroughout the Empire, and a stately Temple was erected within her own\nWalls.\n\nHor. I have often wonder'd at that _Dea Roma_, and her Statues\nresembling those of _Pallas_. What could they pretend her Divinity to\nconsist in?\n\nCleo. In her vast Power, which every Freeman had the Privilege to\nimagine, he had a Share in.\n\nHor. What a _Bizar_, what a monstrous Humour must it have been, that\ncould make a wife People suppose that to be a Goddess, which they knew\nto be a City!\n\nCleo. Nothing in the Universe, but the Pride of the Citizens. But I\ndon't think, that the Humour, which you seem to be so much astonish'd\nat, is altogether worn off yet. In Poetry, Painting and Sculpture, you\nsee Rivers, Towns, and Countries continue to be represented under the\nImages of Men and Women as much as ever. Look upon the Marble Figures\nabout the Pedestal of Queen _Anne's_ Statue at St. _Paul's_.\n\nHor. But No body is so silly as to worship them.\n\nCleo. Not in outward Shew, because it is out of Fashion; but the\ninward Veneration, which is paid by many to the Things represented by\nthose Images, is the very same as it was formerly, and owing to the\nsame Cause.\n\nHor. In what Part of the World is it, that you have observed this?\n\nCleo. In _Christendom_; Here. If you was to hear a vain Man, that is a\nconsiderable Inhabitant of any large Capital, when he is speaking on\nthe Part and in Behalf of his City, _London_ for example, _Paris_ or\n_Amsterdam_, you would find the Honour, the high Esteem, and the\nDeference, which in his Opinion are due to it, far superiour to any,\nthat are now paid to Mortal Creatures.\n\nHor. I believe there is a great Deal in what you say.\n\nCleo. It is worth your Observation, what I am going to mention.\nWherever you see great Power and Authority lodged in a considerable\nNumber of Men, mind the profound Respect and Submission, each Member\npays to the whole, and you'll find, that there is great Plenty,\nthroughout the World, of what you said, two Days ago, was\ninconceivable to you.\n\nHor. What is that, pray?\n\nCleo. Idols, that are their own Worshipers, and sincerely adore\nthemselves.\n\nHor. I don't know but there may be, in your Way of construing Things:\nBut I came with a Design to discourse with you on another Subject.\nWhen you said in our last Conversation, that _a peaceful Disposition\nand Humility were not Qualities more promising in the Day of Battle,\nthan a contrite Heart and a broken Spirit are Preparatives for\nFighting_, I could not help agreeing with your Sentiments; yet it is a\ncommon Notion, even among Men of very good Sense, that the best\nChristians make the best Soldiers.\n\nCleo. I verily believe, that there are no better Soldiers, than there\nare among the Christians; and I believe the same of Painters; but I am\nwell assured, that the best in either Calling are often far from being\nthe best Christians. The Doctrine of _Christ_ does not teach Men to\nFight, any more than it does to Paint. That _Englishmen_ fight well is\nnot owing to their Christianity. The Fear of Shame is able to make\nmost Men brave. Soldiers are made by Discipline. To make them proud of\ntheir Profession, and inspire them with the Love of Glory, are the\nsurest Arts to make them valiant: Religion has Nothing to do with it.\nThe _Alcoran_ bids its Followers fight and propagate their Faith by Arms\nand Violence; nay, it promises Paradise to All, who die in Battle\nagainst Infidels; yet, you see, how often the _Turks_ have turn'd Tail\nto the _Germans_, when the latter have been inferiour in Number.\n\nHor. Yet Men never fight with greater Obstinacy than in Religious\nWars. If it had not been taken for granted, that Men were animated to\nBattle by Preaching, _Butler_ would never have call'd the Pulpit, _Drum\nEcclesiastick_.\n\nCleo. That Clergymen may be made Use of as Incendiaries, and by\nperverting the Duties of their Function, set Men together by the Ears,\nis very true; but no Man was ever made to fight by having the Gospel\npreach'd to him. From what I have said of Self-liking and Human\nNature, the Reason is manifest, why among People, that are indifferent\nto one another, it is a difficult Task to make a Man sincerely love\nhis Neighbour, at the same Time, that it is the easiest Thing in the\nWorld to make him hate his Neighbour with all his Heart. It is\nimpossible that Two distinct Persons or Things should be the same;\ntherefore they must all differ in Something.\n\nHor. Cannot Two Things be so exactly alike, that they shall differ in\nNothing?\n\nCleo. No: For if they are Two, they must differ in Situation, East and\nWest, the Right and the Left; and there is Nothing so small, so\ninnocent, or so insignificant, that Individuals of our Species can\ndiffer in, but Self-liking may make a Handle of it for Quarrelling.\nThis close Attachment and Partiality of every Man to himself, the very\nWord, Difference, points at, and upbraids us with: For tho' literally\nit is only a Term, to express that Things are not the same; yet, in\nits figurative Sense, Difference between Men signifies Disagreement in\nOpinions, and Want of Concord. For not only different Nations, but\ndifferent Cities in the same Kingdom, different Wards, different\nParishes, different Families, different Persons, tho' they are Twins,\nor the best Friends in the World, are all in a fair Way of\nQuarrelling, whenever the Difference, that is between them, be that\nwhat it will, comes to be look'd into and discuss'd; if both act with\nSincerity, and each Party will speak from the Bottom of their Hearts.\n\nHor. Self is never forgot; and I believe, that many love their Country\nvery sincerely for the Sake of One.\n\nCleo. Nay, what is all the World to the meanest Beggar, if he is not\nto be consider'd as a Part of it?\n\nHor. This is a little too openly inculcated at Church; and I have\noften wonder'd, how a Parson, preaching before a few Clowns in a\npitiful Village, should, after he has named all the great People in\nthe Nation, pray God to bless more _especially_ the Congregation there\nassembled; and this at the same Time that the King and the Royal\nFamily are at Prayers likewise; and the House of Lords at one Church,\nand the House of Commons at another. I think it is an impudent Thing\nfor a Parcel of Country Boobies to desire to be serv'd first, or\nbetter, than so many Hundred Congregations, that are superiour to them\nin Number and Knowledge, as well as Wealth and Quality.\n\nCleo. Men always join most heartily in Petitions, in which they\nmanifestly have a Share; and that the _Especially_, you find Fault with\nwas put in from that Consideration, I believe No body denies.\n\nHor. But there seems to be a low Artifice, a crafty Design, by which\nthe Compilers of those Prayers, knowingly made People lay a Stress\nupon a Thing, in which there is no Reality. When I hear a Man pray for\nBlessings on All, especially the Congregation where I am present, it\npleases me well enough, and the Word _Especially_, has its Effect upon\nme whilst I think no further; but when I consider, that the same Words\nare said to every audience of the same Church throughout the Kingdom,\nI plainly find that I was pleas'd with Nothing.\n\nCleo. Suppose I should own, that it was a Contrivance of those, who\ncomposed the Prayers, to raise Devotion, and that this Contrivance had\nbeen the Effect of a thorough Knowledge of Human Nature; where would\nbe the Harm, since No body can be injured by it? But to return to our\nSubject. If Difference in the least Things is capable of raising\nAnger, there is no Doubt, but it will do it most in Things that are\nvery material, and of the highest Concern: And that Religion in all\nCountries is an Affair of the greatest Concern, is taken for granted\nby all good Men, and seldom denied by the bad. This is the Reason,\nthat in Religious Wars Men are more inveterate, and commit more\nCruelties, than when they fight upon other Account. Here the worst and\nmost vicious Men have fine Opportunities of gratifying their natural\nMalice and Rancour of Heart, without being blamed for it; and placing\na Merit in doing Mischief. Therefore we see, that those, who are most\nneglectful of their Duty, and act most contrary to the Dictates of\ntheir Religion, are so often the most zealous in fighting for it.\nThere are other Things that help, and all contribute, to make\nReligious Wars the most bloody. Men are commonly sure of Nothing so\nmuch, as they are of the Truth of the Religion they profess; so that\nin all Religious Quarrels, Every body is satisfied that he has Justice\non his Side: This must make Man obstinate. The Multitude in all\nCountries ascribe to the Deities they worship the same Passions which\nthey feel themselves; and knowing how well pleas'd they are with Every\nbody that is on their Side, and will take their Part, they expect\ntheir Reward from Heaven, which they seem to defend; and on that Score\nthey think with Delight on the Losses and Calamities which they make\nothers suffer; whether _Churchmen_ fight with _Presbyterians_, _Papists_\nwith _Protestants_, or _Mahometans_ with _Christians_ of any Sort. Those who\nare of Opinion, that the best _Christians_ make the best Soldiers, have\ncommonly their Eyes on the Civil Wars both in _France_ and in\n _England_.\n\nHor. And if you compare the Prince of _Conde's_ Army with that of the\nLeague there, or _Cromwell's_ Troops with the King's Forces here, the\n_Whigs_ will tell you, that in either Nation you may meet with\nsufficient Proofs, to confirm the Opinion you speak of.\n\nCleo. I have Nothing to do with _Whigs_ or _Tories_; but let us narrowly\nlook into this Affair, and examine it impartially. Religion was\nbrought into the Quarrel, you know, in both Kingdoms, and the Cases\nbetween the Adversaries here and there were much the same. The\n_Huguenots_ and _Roundheads_ on the one Side said, that they had Nothing\nso much at Heart as Religion; that the National Worship was Idolatry;\nthat Christianity required no outward Shew of Altars or Vestments, but\nthe Sacrifice of the Heart to be seen in Men's Lives; that God was to\nbe serv'd with greater Strictness, than was observed by the National\nClergy; that they fought his Cause, and did not question, but by his\nHelp to obtain the Victory. The _Leaguers_ and _Cavaliers_ said on the\nother Side, that Lay-men, especially Soldiers, where improper Judges\nin Matters of Religion; that themselves were honest Men, loyal\nSubjects, who fought for the establish'd Church, their King and\nCountry; and as to their Adversaries, that they were under a Parcel of\nHypocritical Rascals, that under the Mask of Sanctity carried on an\nopen Rebellion, and had no other Design than to dethrone the King, and\nget the Government into their own Clutches. Let us see the Consequence\nthat would naturally follow from this Difference. The First, to\nsupport their Cause, would think it necessary not to be too glaringly\ninconsistent with themselves; therefore they would display somewhat\nmore of Devotion, and by praying often, and perhaps singing of Psalms,\nmake a greater Shew of Religion, than is commonly seen in Armies.\nShould the Chief of such Troops, and the great Men under him, who are\nmost likely to get by the Quarrel, be more circumspect in their\nActions, and attend Divine Worship oftner than is usual for Persons of\nQuality, their Example would influence the inferiour Officers, and\nthese would take Care, that the Soldiers should comply, whether they\nwould or not. If this was well perform'd on one Side, it is very\nnatural to suppose, that the other, knowing the first to be no better\nMen than themselves, and believing them to be Hypocrites, would not\nonly be offended at their Behaviour, but likewise, in Opposition to\ntheir Enemies, be more neglectful of Religious Duties, than well\ndisciplin'd Armies generally are, and the Soldiers allow'd to be more\ndissolute in their Lives than is usual. By this Means the Contrast\nbetween two such Armies, would be very conspicuous. A good Politician\nmay add to, or take from the Principle of Honour, what Virtue or\nQualifications he pleases; and a skillful General, who can guard his\nown Actions, and will be at some Trouble in Self-denial where he may\nbe observed, may model an Army as he thinks fit. All Superiors, in\nCamps as well as Courts, will ever serve for Patterns to their\nInferiours; and should Officers unanimously resolve to render Swearing\nunfashionable, and in good Earnest set about this Task, by Example as\nwell as Precept and Discipline, it would not be difficult to manage\nSoldiers in such a Manner, that in less than Half a Year not an Oath\nshould be heard among them. If there were Two Armies in the Same\nCountry, and of the same Nation, in one of which the Soldiers should\ncurse and swear, as much as is commonly done among all loose, and\nill-bred People, and in the other the Men should have been cured of\nthat bad Custom, it is incredible what Reputation of being Good and\nReligious, those, who would only forbear Swearing, would gain beyond\ntheir Adversaries, tho' they were equally guilty with them of Whoring,\nDrinking, Gaming, and every other Vice except that one. Therefore if\none General, to please and keep in with a Party, should think it his\nInterest that his Troops should make a greater Appearance of\nGodliness, than is commonly observed among Military Men; and another,\nto please a contrary Party, should take it to be his Interest to act\nas contrary as it was possible to what his Enemies did, and endeavour\nto be the Reverse of them, the Difference would be prodigious.\n\nHor. Then if in one Army they were Valiant, the General of the other\nwould endeavour to make his Men Cowards.\n\nCleo. They would differ in every Thing that Soldiers can differ in:\nThe Observance of the Point of Honour and Hatred to their Enemies are\ninseparable from their Calling; therefore resenting of Affronts among\nthemselves, and cruel Usage to their Enemies, were not more banish'd\nfrom the Armies of the _Huguenots_ and _Roundheads,_ than they were from\nthose of the _Leaguers_ and _Cavaliers._\n\nHor. The true Reason of the Difference, in the Lives and Morals of the\nSoldiers, between the King's Forces and the Rebels, was the Difference\nof their Circumstances, and the Care that was taken of them. The\nParliament's Army was regularly provided for, and always able to pay\nfor what they had. But the others, who were most commonly in Want,\nwere forced to live upon the Country, and take their Provisions where\nthey could get them; and this will make all Troops more dissolute and\ndisorderly, than is consistent with the Service, tho' they had the\nbest Officers in the World.\n\nCleo. The Misfortune you speak of, and which the King's Army labour'd\nunder, must every where be a great Hinderance to Discipline; and I\nverily believe, that his Soldiers suffer'd very much in their Morals\non Account of it; but I am persuaded, that the Contrariety of\nPrinciples, which I hinted at, was an Addition to that Misfortune, and\nmade it worse; for that the _Cavaliers_ laughed at the _Roundheads_ for\ntheir praying so long and so often, and the great Shew they made of\nDevotion, is certain; and there is always a Pleasure in appearing to\nbe the Reverse of what we ridicule in our Enemies. But whatever was\nthen, or might at any other Time, be the true Reason of the Difference\nin the Shew of Piety and Goodness between two such Armies, let us see\nthe Consequence of it, and the Effect it would naturally have on the\nsober Party. All Multitudes are superstitious; and among great\nNumbers, there are always Men prone to Enthusiasm; and if the\nPretenders to Godliness had skilful Divines (as no doubt, they would\nhave) that knew, how to extol the Goodness and Piety of the General\nand the Soldiers, declaim against the Wickedness and reprobate Lives\nof the Enemies, and remonstrate to their Hearers, how God must love\nthe first, and, from his known Attributes, hate the latter, it would\nin all Probability produce every Thing we read of in the Armies of the\nPrince of _Conde_ and the Parliament. Some Colonels would preach, and\nsome Soldiers would learn Prayers and Scraps of Psalms by Heart, and\nmany of them would grow more circumspect in indulging their Vices,\nthan is common to Men of their Function. This latter would make the\nMen more governable, and consequently better Troops, and all together\nwould make a great Noise. Besides, Mankind are so given to flatter\nthemselves, that they'll believe any Thing, that is said in their\nPraise; and should, in any Regiment of such an Army, the Chaplain\ndisplay his Eloquence before a Battle, exhort the Men to Bravery,\nspeak in Commendation of the Zeal and Piety of the Officers and the\nTroops in general, and find out some particular Reason, why God should\nlove and have Regard for that Regiment beyond any other, it might have\na very good Effect upon the most Wicked, as well as the better Sort.\nAnd if this Chaplain, from what he knew of them, should pathetically\nencourage them, and promise them the Victory, Enthusiasm is so\ncatching, that a Fellow, who lay with a Whore over Night, and was\ndrunk the Day before, if he saw his Comrades moved, might be\ntransported with Joy and Eagerness to fight, and be stupid enough to\nthink, that he had a Share in God's Favour. The _Greek_ and _Roman_\nHistories abound with Instances of the immense Use that may be made in\nWar of Superstition well turn'd: The grossest, if skilfully managed,\nmay make the fearful, undaunted, and the loosest Livers exert\nthemselves to the utmost of their Power, from a firm Belief, that\nHeaven is on their Side. That Superstition has had this Effect upon\nMen of almost every Persuasion, as well as Heathen Idolaters, is\ncertain; but he must be a notable Divine, that can expect the same\nfrom the Doctrine of _Christ_, faithfully deliver'd, and preach'd in its\nPurity. It is possible therefore that any Number of Troops may, by\ncrafty Declamations and other Arts, be made Zealots and Enthusiasts,\nthat shall fight and pray, sing Psalms one Hour, and demolish an\nHospital the next; but you'll as soon meet with an Army of Generals or\nof Emperours, as you will with, I won't say an Army, but a Regiment,\nor even a Company of good Christians among Military Men. There never\nwere better Troops, or Men that behaved with greater Gallantry and\nChearfulness, than we had in the two last Wars; Officers as well as\ncommon Soldiers; but I would as soon believe, that it was Witchcraft\nthat made them brave, as that it was their Religion.\n\nHor. Yet I have often heard it from experienc'd Officers, that the\nmost virtuous, the soberest, and the most civiliz'd Fellows made the\nbest Soldiers, and were those whom they could most depend upon.\n\nCleo. I heartily believe that to be true for the Generality; for I\nknow, that by Virtuous, you don't mean much more than tolerably\nHonest, such as are not given to wrong or decieve Any body; or else\namong the Officers themselves, you know, that very Few of them are\npossess'd of many Christian Virtues, or would be fond of the\nCharacter. Do but consider what is required of a Soldier. There are\nThree Things which the officers are chiefly afraid of in their Men:\nThe First is, that they may desert, which is so much Money lost: The\nSecond, that they may rob or steal, and so come to be hang'd: The\nThird is, that they may be sick, and consequently incapable of doing\nDuty. Any middling Honest secures them entirely as to the two First;\nand, without Doubt, the less vicious; that is, the more sober and\ntemperate the Men are, the more likely they are to preserve their\nHealth. As for the Rest, Military Men are easy _Casuists_ for the\nGenerality, and are used to give, as well as take, large Grains of\nAllowance. A Soldier, who minds his Business, is seldom reproved for\ntaking any Pleasure he can come at, without being complain'd of: And\nif he be brave, and understands his Exercise, takes Care always to be\nsober when he is upon Duty, pays a profound Respect to his Officers,\nas well as a strict Obedience to their Commands, watches their Eyes,\nand flies at a Nod, he can never fail of being beloved. And if\nmoreover he keeps himself clean, and his Hair powder'd, is neat in his\nCloaths, and takes Care not to be pox'd; let him do what he pleases\nfor the Rest, he'll be counted a very valuable Fellow. A Man may do\nall this without Christianity, as well as he can do it without having\nan Estate. There are Thousands that are less circumspect and not half\nso well accomplish'd, who yet are well esteem'd in that Station. And\nas I have allow'd on the one Hand, that the soberest and the civiliz'd\nFellows make the best Soldiers, and are, generally speaking, the most\nto be depended upon in an Army, so it is undeniable on the other,\nthat, if not the major, at least a very considerable Part of our best\nTroops, that had the greatest Share in the Victories we obtain'd, was\nmade up of loose and immoral, if not debauch'd and wicked Fellows.\nNay, I insist upon it, that Jayl-birds, Rogues, who had been guilty of\nthe worst of Crimes, and some that had been saved from the Gallows to\nrecruit our Forces, did on many Occasions both in _Spain_, and _Flanders_,\nfight with as much Intrepidity, and were as indefatigable, as the most\nVirtuous amongst them. Nor was this any Thing strange or unexpected;\nor else the recruiting Officers ought to have been punish'd, for\nlifting and giving the Money of the Publick to Men, of whom there was\nno Probability that they could be made Soldiers. But to make it\nevident, how little the Religion and Morality of a Soldier are minded\nby his Superiours, and what great Care is taken to keep up and\ncultivate his Pride ----.\n\nHor. That latter I have seen enough of in the _Fable_ of the _Bees_. You\nwould speak about the Cloaths and Accoutrements.\n\nCleo. I wave them; tho' there it is likewise very conspicuous. I only\ndesire you to compare the Things he is indulg'd in, and which, if he\npleases, he may brag of, with what he is taught to be ashamed of, the\ngrand Offence, which, if once committed, is never to be pardon'd. If\nhe has but Courage, and knows how to please his Officers, he may get\ndrunk Two or Three Times a Week, have a fresh Whore every Day, and\nswear an Oath at every Word he speaks, little or no Notice shall be\ntaken of him to his Dishonour; and, if he be good humour'd, and\nforbears stealing among his Comrades, he'll be counted a very honest\nFellow. But if, what _Christ_ and his Apostles would have justify'd him\nin and exhorted him to do, he takes a Slap in the Face, or any other\ngross Affront before Company, without resenting it, tho' from his\nintimate Friend, it cannot be endured; and tho' he was the soberest,\nand the most chaste, the most discreet, tractable and best temper'd\nMan in the World, his Business is done. No body will serve with a\nnoted Coward; nay, it would be an Affront to desire it of Gentlemen\nSoldiers, who wear the King's Cloth; and the Officers are forc'd to\nturn him out of the Regiment. Those who are unacquainted with Military\nAffairs and Chaplains of Regiments, would not imagine, what a small\nPortion of Virtue and Forbearance a Soldier stands in Need of, to have\nthe Reputation of a good Religious Man among those he converses with.\nClergymen, that are employ'd in Armies, are seldom rigid _Casuists_; and\nFew of them are Saints themselves. If a Soldier seems to be less fond\nof strong Liquors than others generally are; if he is seldom heard to\nswear; if he is cautious in Love-Affairs, and not openly vicious that\nWay; if he is not known to Steal or Pilfer, he'll be stiled a very\nhonest, sober Fellow. But if, moreover, such a one should behave with\nDecency at Devine Service, and seem now and then to be attentive to\nwhat is spoken; if ever he had been seen with a Book in his Hand,\neither open or shut; if he was respectful to the Clergy, and zealous\nagainst those, who are not of the same Religion which he professes to\nbe of, he would be call'd a very Religious Man; and half a Dozen of\nthem in a Regiment would, in a little Time, procure a mighty Character\nto the whole, and great Honour to the Chaplain.\n\nHor. I dare say, that on some Occasions he would take the Liberty from\nit to brag, that there were no better Christians in the World, than a\ngreat many were, whom he had under his Care.\n\nCleo. Considering how Things are often magnify'd without Regard to\nTruth or Merit, and what Advantages some Men will take, right or\nwrong, to advance as well as maintain the Cause they get by; it is not\nimprobable, that three or four score thousand Men, that were kept in\ngood Discipline, tho' they were all taken at Random from the lowest\nand idlest of the Vulgar, might be stiled an Army of good Christians,\nif they had a Chaplain to every Regiment, and but Two or Three such\norderly Soldiers, as I have describ'd, in every Thousand: And I am\npersuaded, that the sect or Religion, which they pretended to follow\nand profess, would, by the Help of able and active Divines, acquire\nmore Credit and Reputation from those Few, than all the Loosness,\nDebauchery and gross Vices of the Rest would ever be able to take away\nfrom them.\n\nHor. But from what you have said, I should think, that the Gospel must\ndo Hurt among fighting Men. As such they must be animated by another\nSpirit, and can receive no Benefit from the Doctrine of Peace. What\nOccasion is there for Divines in an Army?\n\nCleo. I have hinted to you several Times, that in the Management of\nHuman Creatures, the Fear of an invincible Cause, which they are all\nborn with, was always to be consulted; and that no Multitudes can ever\nbe govern'd, so as to be made useful to any one Purpose, if those, who\nattempt to rule over them, should neglect to take Notice of, or but\nany Ways seem to slight the Principle of that Fear. The worst of Men\nare often as much influenc'd by it as the best; or else Highwaymen and\nHouse-breakers would not swear Fidelity to one another. God is call'd\nupon as a Witness to the mutual Promises of the greatest Miscreants,\nthat they will persevere in their Crimes and Villanies, and to the\nlast Drop of their Blood be unalterably Wicked. This, you know, has\nbeen done in Massacres, the blackest Treasons, and the most horrid\nConspiracies; tho' the Persons concern'd in them, perhaps, gave other\nNames to their Undertakings. By this we may see, what absurd Notions\nMen may have of the Deity, who undoubtedly believe his Existence: For\nhow flagitious soever Men are, none can be deem'd _Atheists_ but those,\nwho pretend to have absolutely conquer'd, or never been influenced by\nthe Fear of an invisible Cause, that over-rules Human Affairs; and\nwhat I say now has been and ever will be true in all Countries, and in\nall Ages, let the Religion or Worship of the People be what they will.\n\nHor. It is better to have no Religion, than to worship the Devil.\n\nCleo. In what Respect is it better?\n\nHor. It is not so great an Affront to the Deity not to believe his\nExistence, as it is to believe him to be the most Cruel and the most\nMalicious Being that can be imagin'd.\n\nCleo. That is a subtle Argument, seldom made Use of but by\nUnbelievers.\n\nHor. Don't you think, that many Believers have been worse Men, than\nsome _Atheists_?\n\nCleo. As to Morality, there have been good and bad Men of all Sects\nand all Persuasions; but before we know any Thing of Men's Lives,\nNothing can be worse in the Civil Society, than an Atheist, _caeteris\nparibus_. For it would be ridiculous to say, that it is less safe to\ntrust to a Man's Principle, of whom we have some Reason to hope, that\nhe may be with-held by the Fear of Something, than it is to trust to\none who absolutely denies, that he is withheld by the Fear of any\nThing. The old _Mexicans_ worship'd _Vitzliputzli_, at the same Time that\nthey own'd his Malice, and execrated his Cruelty; yet it is highly\nprobable, that some of them were deterr'd from Perjury for Fear of\nbeing punish'd by _Vitzliputzli;_ who would have been guilty of it, if\nthey had not been afraid of any Thing at all.\n\nHor. Then not to have believed the Existence of that chimerical\nMonster was Atheism in _Mexico_.\n\nCleo. It certainly was among People that knew of no other invisible\nCause.\n\nHor. But why should I wonder at the _Mexicans_? There are Christians\nenough, of whom, to judge from their Sentiments and Behaviour, it is\nhard to determine, which it is they are more afraid of, God or the\nDevil.\n\nCleo. I don't question, but among the Vulgar, more Persons have been\ndeterr'd from doing Evil, by what they had heard of the Torments of\nHell, than have been made virtuous by what had been told them of the\nJoys of Heaven, tho' both had been represented to them as equally\ninfinite and unutterable.\n\nHor. But to return to my Question. When I ask'd what Occasion there\nwas for Divines in an Army, I was not ignorant of the Necessity there\nis of having Religion and Priests of some Sort or other, to humour as\nwell as awe the Multitude; but I wanted to know the Mystery, and be\nlet into the Secret, by which the Doctrine of Peace is made\nserviceable to the carrying on of War; for that Preachers of the\nGospel have not only exhorted Men to Battle, but likewise that they\nhave done it effectually; and that Soldiers have been inspired with\nCourage, and made to fight with Obstinacy by their Sermons, the\nHistory of almost every Country can witness.\n\nCleo. A little Accuracy will set us to Rights. That what you say has\nbeen, and is often done by Sermons and Preachers, both Protestant and\nPopish, is certainly true. But I deny, that ever it was once done by a\nPreacher of the Gospel.\n\nHor. I don't understand your Distinction. Are not all Christian\nDivines call'd Preachers, as well as Ministers of the Gospel?\n\nCleo. But many People are call'd, what, strictly speaking, they are\nnot. The Reason I have for what I say is, that there is Nothing\ncontain'd in the Gospel, that can have the least Tendency to promote\nor justify War or Discord, Foreign or Domestic, Publick or Private;\nnor is there any the least Expression to be found in it, from which it\nis possible to excite or set People on to quarrel with, do Hurt to, or\nany ways offend one another, on any Account whatever.\n\nHor. But this encreases the mystery, and makes the facts less\nintelligible.\n\nCleo. I will unfold it to you. As all Priests have ever maintain'd,\nthat they were the Interpreters of the will of the deity they\npretended to serve, and had an undoubted Right of construing and\nexplaining the Doctrine and the Meaning of the Religion they taught\nand presided over: As, I say, all priests have ever maintain'd this,\nso the Christian Clergy, as soon as they took it in their Heads to be\npriests likewise, claim'd the same Privilege; and finding several\nthings, which they had a Mind to, denied them in the Gospel; and that\nmany Conveniencies, which all other Priests had ever, not only been\nfond of, but likewise enjoy'd, were in express words forbid, and\nabsolutely prohibited in the _New Testament_, they had recourse to the\n_Old_, and providently took Care from thence to supply the Deficiency of\nthe _New_.\n\nHor. So, when they had no settled Revenue or Pomp of Dress from the\nGospel, they took up with the Tithes and Sacerdotal Ornaments of the\n_Levites_, and borrow'd from the _Jewish_ Priests and Prophets every Thing\nthat was worth having.\n\nCleo. This would open too large a Field, and therefore I would look\ninto the Clergy's Behaviour no farther, than as it relates to Armies\nand military Men, and take Notice, that whenever Pillage or shedding\nof Blood are to be justified or encouraged by a Sermon, or Men are to\nbe exhorted to Battle, to the Sacking of a City or the Devastation of\na Country, by a pathetick Discourse, the Text is always taken from the\n_Old Testament_; which is an inexhaustible Fund for Declamation on\nalmost every Subject and every Occasion: And there is no worldly End,\nwhich the most ambitious Man, or the most cruel Tyrant can have to\nserve, but from some Part or other of that Book a Divine of middling\nCapacity may find out a proper Text to harangue upon, that shall\nanswer the Purpose. But to make it evident, that Divines may be useful\nto all Fighting Men, without preaching of the Gospel, we need but to\nconsider, that among all the Wars and Dissentions, which Christians\nhave had with one another on innumerable Accounts, there never was a\nCause yet, so unreasonable or absurd, so unjust or openly wicked, if\nit had an army to back it, that has not found Christian Divines, or at\nleast such as stiled themselves so, who have espoused and call'd it\nRighteous. No rebellion was ever so unnatural, nor Tyranny so cruel,\nbut if there were men who would fight for it, there were Priests who\nwould pray for it, and loudly maintain, that it was the Cause of God.\nNothing is more necessary to an Army, than to have this latter\nstrenously insisted upon, and skilfully unculcated to the soldiers. No\nbody fights heartily, who believes himself to be in the wrong, and\nthat God is against him, Whereas a firm persuasion of the Contrary,\ninspires Men with Courage and Intrepidity; it furnishes them with\narguments to justify the Malice of their Hearts, and the implacable\nHatred they bear their Enemies; it confirms them in the ill opinion\nthey have of them, and makes them confident of victory; _si\nDeus pro nobis quis contra nos?_ In all wars it is an everlasting\nMaxim in Politicks, that whenever Religion can be brought into the\nQuarrel, it ought never to be neglected, and that how small soever the\nDifference may be between the contending Parties, the Divines on each\nSide, ought to magnify and make the most of it; for Nothing is more\ncomfortable to Men, than the Thought, that their Enemies are likewise\nthe Enemies of God.\n\nHor. But to make Soldiers laborious as well as governable, would it\nnot be useful to exhort them to Virtue, and a close Attachment to the\nPrinciple of Honour?\n\nCleo. The principle of Honour is never forgot; and as to Virtue, what\nis required of them is Fortitude, and to do as they are bid. And if\nyou'll consider what Pains are taken to make them ashamed of Cowardice\nabove all other Vices; and how prompt, as well as severe, the\nPunishment for Disobedience is in the least Trifles among Soldiers,\nbeyond what it is any where else; if, I say, you'll consider these\nThings on the one Hand, and on the other the great Latitude that is\ngiven them as to Morals, in what has no Regard to the Service, you'll\nfind, that for the First, Divines are not wanted, and that for the\nother they can do but little Good. However Morality is often preach'd\nto them, and even the Gospel at seasonable Times, when they are in\nWinter Quarters, or in an idle summer, when there is no Enemy near,\nand the Troops perhaps are encamped in a Country, where no Hostilities\nshould be committed. But when they are to enter upon Action, to\nbesiege a large Town, or ravage a rich Country, it would be very\nimpertinent to talk to them of Christian Virtues; doing as they would\nbe done by; loving their enemies, and extending their Charity to all\nMankind. When the Foe is at Hand, the Men have Skirmishes with him\nevery Day, and perhaps a main battle is expected; then the mask is\nflung off; not a Word of the Gospel, nor of Meekness or Humility; and\nall Thoughts of Christianity are laid aside entirely. The men are\nprais'd and buoy'd up in the high value they have for themselves:\ntheir Officers call them Gentlemen and Fellow-Soldiers; Generals pull\noff their Hats to them; and no Artifice is neglected that can flatter\ntheir Pride, or inspire them with the Love of Glory. The Clergy\nthemselves take Care at such Times, not to mention to them their Sins,\nor any Thing that is melancholy or disheartning: On the Contrary, they\nspeak chearfully to them, encourage and assure them of God's Favour.\nThey take Pains to justify, and endeavour to encrease the Animosities\nand Aversion, which those under their Care have against their Enemies,\nwhom to blacken and render odious, they leave no Art untried, no Stone\nunturn'd; and no Calumny can be more malicious, no Story more\nincredible, nor Falsity more notorious, than have been made Use of\nknowingly for that Purpose by Christian Divines, both _Protestants_, and\n_Papists_.\n\nHor. I don't use to be an Advocate for Bigots of any sort, much less\nfor Fanaticks, whom I hate; but facts are stubborn things. It is\nimpossible to reflect on the sharp and bloody Engagements in the\nRebellion, and the Devotion of _Cromwell_'s army, without being\nconvinced, that there must have been Men at that Time, that were both\nValiant and Religious. It is certain, that the Rebels fought well, and\nthat they had more Days of Fasting and Humiliation, than ever were\nknown among any other Soldiers.\n\nCleo. That there was a greater Appearance of Religion among them, than\never was among any other regular Troops, I allow; but that none of it\ncould proceed from a Principle of Christianity is demonstrable.\n\nHor. They had Men of unquestionable Honour among them; and some of\nthem must have been sincere.\n\nCleo. A great many, I verily believe, were sincere; but let us look\ninto this Affair a little more narrowly. What do you think of the\nGeneral? Do you think, that _Cromwell_ was a good Christian and a pious\nMan, who had Nothing so much at Heart as Religion and Liberty, and,\nvoid of Selfishness, had devoted himself to procure Happiness Eternal\nas well as Temporal to the People of _England_? Or that he was a vile\nwicked Hypocrite, who, under the Cloak of Sanctity, broke through all\nHuman and Divine Laws to aggrandize himself, and sacrifis'd every\nThing to his own Ambition, and the Interest of his Family?\n\nHor. There is no Doubt, but all impartial Men must believe the latter.\nBut then he understood Mankind very well; his very Enemies, that were\nhis Contemporaries, allow'd him to be a Man of great Parts. If he had\nhad the the same Opinion of Christianity, which you have, and the\nUnfitness of it to make Men quarrel and fight with Obstinacy, he would\nnever have made Use of it among his Soldiers.\n\nCleo. And it is clear as the sun, that he never did.\n\nHor. That his pretences to religion were no more than Hypocrisy, I\nhave allow'd; but it does not appear, that he desired others to be\nHypocrites too: On the Contrary, he took Pains, or at least made Use\nof all possible Means to promote Christianity among his Men, and make\nthem sincerely Religious.\n\nCleo. You will never distinguish between Christianity, that is, the\nDoctrine of Christ, and the Interpretations, that are made of it by\nClergymen; tho' I have often shew'd you the great Difference there is\nbetween them. _Cromwell_ was a Man of admirable good Sense, and\nthoroughly well acquainted with Human Nature; he knew the mighty Force\nof Enthusiasm, and made Use of it accordingly. As to Strictness of\nReligion and the Love of Liberty, they had all along been the darling\nPretences of the party he engaged in. The complaints of the _Puritans_\nagainst Episcopacy, and that the Church of _England_ was not\nsufficiently reformed, began in Queen _Elizabeth's_ Time, and were very\nnear as old as the Reformation itself. The people's Murmurings and\nStruggles for Liberty were of some Standing, when King _Charles_ the\nFirst came to the Throne: The Jealousies, which Parliaments had of the\nRegal Power and Prerogative, had been openly shewn in his Father's\nReign, and, throughout the Course of it, been troublesome to his\nMinisters. That the Clergy of the Church of _England_ had enjoin'd\nThings, and taught what they had no Warrant for from the Gospel, and\nthat King _James_ the First, as well as his Son, who succeeded him, laid\nClaim to a more absolute Power, than was consistent with the\nprivileges of Parliament and the Constitution, in undeniable. Religion\nthen and Liberty, being two topicks, that Abundance was to be said\nupon in those Days, became the Subject and Foundation of the Quarrels\nbetween the King and Parliament, that afterwards broke out into a\nCivil War.\n\nHor. I was not born in _China_ or _Lapland_: there is not a Boy of Twelve\nYears old, that is ignorant of the Causes of that Civil War.\n\nCleo. I don't question your Knowledge; but only mention these Things,\nthat from the Nature of the Dissentions, and the mischiefs that ensued\nupon them, we might see the Impossibility, that either Party should\nhave acted from a Principle of Christianity. I shall now endeavor to\ndemonstrate to you Two Things; the First is, that Clergymen, by a\nsmall Deviation from the Gospel, may so egregiously impose upon their\nHearers, as to make even sincere Men act quite contrary to the\nPrecepts of it, at the same Time that those subtle Declaimers shall\nseem to be full of Zeal, and to have the highest Value for\nChristianity. The Other is, that in a well disciplin'd Army, Acts of\nDevotion, and an outward Shew of Religion may do vast Service for the\nobtaining of Victory, tho' the General who appointed and order'd them,\nwas an _Atheist_; the greatest part of the Clergy, who perform'd and\nassisted in them, were Hypocrites, and the Generality of the Men were\nwicked Livers. As to the First, I call a Man sincere in his Religion,\nwho believes the Bible to be the Word of God, and acknowledging the\nDifficulty he finds in obeying the Dictates of the Gospel, wishes with\nall his heart, that he could practice the self-denial that is required\nin it; and is sorry, that he has not the Power to govern and subdue\nhis stubborn Passions so well as he could wish. If to such a one, a\nClergyman should preach the Strictness of Morality, and the Necessity\nof Repentance, that are taught in the Gospel, and moreover inculcate\nto him, that as to Divine Worship the Ceremonial was abrogated; that\nwhat was required of us, was the Sacrifice of the Heart and the\nConquest over our darling Lusts; and that in short the Religious\nDuties of a Christian were summ'd up in loving God as his Neighbour;\nthis Doctrine being every Way agreeable to that of _Christ,_ a sincere\nman, who had read the _New Testament_, would easily give Ear to a\nDivine, who should preach it to him; and it is highly probable, that\nin Matters of Conscience, and every Thing relating to his Deportment,\nhe should be glad of his Counsel. Suppose now, that there was another\nClergyman in the same city, who likewise pretending to preach the\nGospel, should, on the one Hand, represent the Doctrine of it as very\nindulging to Human Nature, and the Practice of it easily comply'd\nwith, and, on the other, lay a great Stress on the Honour to be paid\nto his own Person, and the Performances of a Set of Ceremonies, no\nwhere mention'd in the Gospel; it is not likely, that our sincere Man\nshould approve of his Sermons; but if this Second Divine should\nmoreover call them Enemies to God, who should refuse to comply with\nevery Part of these Ceremonies, and give the Name of Hypocrite to\nEvery body, who should assert, that the Gospel required stricter\nMorality than what he taught; if he should sollicite the Magistrate to\nhave all Persons punish'd, who were not of his Opinion; and if, by\nhis Instigation, our sincere Man should actually be persecuted and\nplagued by his Fellow-Subjects; to judge from what we know of Human\nNature, such Usage would fill the sincere Man with Indignation, and\nraise his Anger against all those, who were the Occasion of his\nSufferings. Let us suppose like-wise, that this Man, besides his\nSincerity, had Temper and Goodness enough to consider, that, tho' he\nhad been unjustly dealt with, and was highly provok'd, yet his\nReligion taught and commanded him not to resent Injuries, but to\nforgive his Enemies, and to Love them that hated him; it is reasonable\nto think, that this Clashing between Nature and Principle would\nperplex him, and himself stand in Need of good Advice, what to do in\nthis Dilemma. If in this Case, the Clergyman, who first preached to\nhim the Purity of the Christian Religion, and the Severity of its\nMorals, and whom he often went to hear, should persist in the same\nSentiments; and, continuing to recommend to him the Doctrine of Peace,\nmake Use of all the Arguments, which the Gospel could furnish him\nwith, either to warn him against Anger and all sinful Passions, Malice\nof Heart, Hatred and Resentment; or to exhort him to Fortitude in\nAfflictions, Heroick Patience in Sufferings, and on all Emergencies an\nentire Resignation to the Will of God; If, I say, the Clergyman I\nmention'd should do this, whatever might be the Success he did it\nwith, he would have acted the good Shepherd, and his Sermons could\nnever be made a Handle of for War or Rebellion. But if instead of it,\nhe should seem to approve of the other's Anger, and, to justify it,\nenter into the Merits of the Cause; if he should endeavour to\ndemonstrate, that all Ceremonies of Human Invention were\nsuperstitious, and that Kneeling down, where there were Pictures and\nSculpture, was a manifest Token of Idolatry; if after this, by an easy\nTransition, he should go over to the _Old Testament_, expatiate on the\nSecond Commandment, and produce several Instances of God's Vengeance\non Idolaters, and the utter Destruction, that had often been brought\nupon them by God's own People, fighting under his Banner, and acting\nby his special Commission; If a Preacher should do this, and have\nMischief in his Heart, it would not be difficult for him insensibly to\nmislead his Hearers, extinguish their Charity, and, working upon the\nPassions, make a sincere Man, who had really been ill treated, mistake\nin his own Breast the Spirit of Revenge for Religious Zeal, and, to\nmaintain the Truth of the Gospel, act directly contrary to the\nPrecepts of it. And the more regular the Life was of such a Divine,\nand the greater the Austerity of his Manners, the fitter Instrument\nwould he be to sow Sedition, enflame an Audience, and make Tools of\nthem for the Ambitious.\n\nHor. The First you have made out beyond my Expectations; but it has\nbeen at the Expence of your Revolution-Principles; I hope you'll never\ntake them up again.\n\nCleo. I hope I shall have no Occasion for it: but what I have advanced\nhas Nothing to do with the Controversy you point at. The illegal Sway\nof Magistrates is not to be justified from the Gospel, any more than\nthe Resistance of the People. Where Two Parties quarrel, and open\nAnimosities are to be seen on both Sides, it is ridiculous for either\nto appeal to the Gospel. The Right, which Princes have to enjoy their\nPrerogative, is not more divine, than that which Subjects have to\nenjoy their Privileges; and if Tyrants will think themselves more\njustifiable before God than Rebels, they ought first to be satisfied,\nthat Oppression is less heinous in his Sight than Revenge.\n\nHor. But No body owns himself to be a Tyrant.\n\nCleo. Nor did ever any Malecontents own themselves to be Rebels.\n\nHor. I can't give this up, and must talk with you about it another\nTime. But now I long to hear you demonstrate the Second of your\nAssertions, and make that as evident to me, as you have done the\nFirst.\n\nCleo. I'll endeavour it, if you'll give me Leave, and can have but\nPatience to hear me, for you'll stand in Need of it.\n\nHor. You are to prove, that Acts of Devotion, and an outward Shew of\nReligion, may make an Army Victorious, tho' the General was an\n_Atheist_, the Clergy were Hypocrites, and the Generality of the Men\nwicked Livers.\n\nCleo. A little more Accuracy, if you please. I said, that they might\ndo vast Service for the obtaining of Victory; the Service I mean,\nconsists in rousing the Courage of the Men, and throwing them into an\nEnthusiasm, that shall dissipate their Fears, and make them despise\nthe greatest Dangers. There is no greater Art to make Men fight with\nObstinacy, than to make them trust to, and rely with Confidence on the\nAssistance of the invisible Cause, they Fear.\n\nHor. But how can wicked Men be made to do this? What Reasons can they\nbe furnish'd with, to hope for the Assistance of Heaven?\n\nCleo. If you can assure Men of the Justice of their Cause, and render\nthat evident and unquestionable, the Business is done, and their own\nWickedness will be no Obstacle to it. Therefore this, you see, is the\nGrand Point, which Priests have ever labour'd to gain among Fighting\nMen in all Countries and in all Ages. How immensely soever they have\ndiffer'd from one another in Religion and Worship, in this they have\nall agreed. We were speaking, you know, of _Cromwell's_ Army; do but\nrecollect what you have heard and read of those Times, and you'll\nfind, that the Notions and Sentiments, that were industriously\ninstill'd into the minds of the soldiers, had a manifest tendency to\nobtain this end, and that all their preaching and praying were made\nserviceable to the same purpose. The _Credenda_, which the whole army,\nand every individual were imbued with, even by the most moderate of\ntheir preachers, were generally these: that the King gave ear to his\nevil counsellours; that he was govern'd by his Queen, who was a rank\nPapist, bigotted to her own superstition; that all his ministers were\nwicked men, who endeavour'd to subvert the constitution, and aim'd at\nnothing more than to render him absolute, that by his arbitrary power\nthey might be skreen'd from justice, and the resentment of an injured\nnation: that the bishops were in the same interest; that, tho' they\nhad abjured the Pope's supremacy, and found fault with the luxury of\nthe court of _Rome_, they wanted as much to lord it over the laity\nthemselves, and were as fond of worldly honour, power, and authority,\nof pomp and splendour, and a distinguish'd manner of living, as any\nPopish prelates: that the worship of the church of _England_ was above\nhalf Popery; that most of the clergy were idle drones, who lived upon\nthe Fat of the Land, and perverted the End of their Function: That by\nthis Means Religion it self was neglected, and, instead of it, Rights\nand Ceremonies were obstinately insisted upon, that were notoriousy\nborrow'd from the Heathen and Jewish Priests. That preaching\nNon-resistance was justifying Tyranny, and could have no other Meaning\nthan to encourage Princes to be wicked, and tie the Peoples Hands,\nwhilst they should have their Throats cut: That in Pursuance of this\nDoctrine, He, who should have been the Guardian of their Laws, had\nalready trampled upon them and broken his Coronation-Oath, and,\ninstead of being a Father to his People, had openly proclaim'd himself\ntheir Enemy, invited, a Foreign Force into the Land, and was now\nactually making War against the Parliament, the undoubted\nRepresentatives of the Nation. Whilst these Things were said of the\nAdverse Party, their own was extoll'd to the Skies; and loud Encomiums\nwere made on the Patriotism of their Superiours, the Sanctity and\nDisinterestedness as well as Wisdom and Capacity of those Asserters of\nLiberty, who had rescued them from Bondage. Sometimes they spoke of\nthe Care, that was taken of Religion, and a Pains-taking Ministry,\nthat preach'd not themselves but _Christ_, and, by their Example as well\nas Precept, taught the Purity of the Gospel, and the strict Morality\nthat is contain'd in it, without Superstition or Allowances to please\nSinners: At others, they represented to their Hearers the exemplary\nLives of the Generals, the Sobriety of the Soldiers, and the Goodness\nand Piety, as well as Zeal and Heroism of the whole Army.\n\nHor. But what is all this to what you was to prove? I want to know the\nvast Service an outward Shew of Religion can be of to wicked Men, for\nthe obtaining of Victory: When shall I see that?\n\nCleo. Presently; but you must give me Leave to prove it my own Way. In\nwhat I have said hitherto, I have only laid before you the Artifice,\nwhich Every body knows was made Use of by the _Roundheads_ haranguing\ntheir own Troops, to render the _Cavaliers_ and the King's Cause odious\nand detestable to them on the one Hand, and to make them, on the\nother, have an high Opinion of their own, and firmly believe, that God\ncould not but favour it. Now let us call to Mind the Situation of\nAffairs in the Times I speak of, and the Politicks of those, who\nopposed the King, and then consider, what a crafty designing General\nought to have done to make the most of the Conjuncture he lived in,\nand the Zeal and Spirit that were then reigning among the Party he was\nengaged in; if he had Nothing at Heart, but to advance, _per fas aut\nnefas_, his own worldly Interest and his own Glory: In the First Place,\nit would never have been believed that the _Presbyters_ were in Earnest,\nwho found Fault with and rail'd at the Luxury and loose Morals, as\nwell as Laziness of the National Clergy, if they had not been more\ndiligent in their Calling, and led stricter Lives themselves. This\ntherefore was complied with, and the dissenting Clergy took vast Pains\nin Praying and Preaching without Book for Hours together, and\npractis'd much greater Self-denial, at least to outward Appearance,\nthan their Adversaries. The Laity of the same Side, to compass their\nEnd, were obliged to follow the Example of their Teachers in Severity\nof Manners, and Pretences to Religion: Accordingly they did, at least\nwell enough, you see, to acquire the Name of the Sober Party.\n\nHor. Then you must think, that they had none but Hypocrites among\nthem.\n\nCleo. Indeed I don't; but I believe, that most of the Ring-leaders who\nbegan the quarrel with the King had Temporal Advantages in View, or\nother private Ends to serve, that had no Relation either to the\nService of God or the Welfare of the People; and yet I believe\nlikewise, that many sincere and well-meaning Men were drawn into their\nMeasures. When a Reformation of Manners is once set on Foot, and\nstrict Morality is well spoken of, and countenanc'd by the better Sort\nof People, the very Fashion will make Proselytes to Virtue. Swearing\nand not Swearing in Conversation depend upon Mode and Custom. Nothing\nis more reasonable, than Temperance and Honesty to Men that consult\ntheir Health and their Interest; where Men are not debarr'd from\nMarriage, Chastity is easily comply'd with, and prevents a Thousand\nMischiefs. There is Nothing more universal than the Love of Liberty;\nand there is Something engaging in the Sound of the Words. The Love of\none's Country is natural and very bad Men may feel it as warm about\nthem, as very good Men; and it is a Principle, which a Man may as\nsincerely act from, who Fights against his King, as he who Fights for\nhim. But these sincere and well-meaning People, that can pray and\nfight, sing Psalms and do Mischief with a good Conscience, may in many\nRespects be Morally good, and yet want most of the Virtues, that are\npeculiar to Christianity, and, if the Gospel speaks Truth, necessary\nto Salvation. A Man may be continent and likewise never drink to\nExcess, and yet be haughty and insupportable in his Carriage, a\nlitigious Neighbour, an unnatural Father, and a barbarous Husband. He\nmay be just in his Dealings, and wrong No body in his Property, yet he\nmay be full of Envy, take Delight in Slander, be revengeful in his\nHeart, and never known to have forgiven an Injury. He may abstain from\nCursing and all idle as well as prophane Swearing, and at the same\nTime be uncharitable and wish Evil to all, that are not of his\nOpinion; nay, he may mortally hate, and take Pleasure in persecuting\nand doing Mischief to, all those who differ from him in Religion.\n\nHor. I see plainly now, how Men may be sincere in their Religion, and\nby Art be made to act quite contrary to the Precepts of it: And your\nManner of accounting for this, does not only render the Sober Party\nless odious, than the Orthodox have represented them; but there is\nlikewise greater Probability in it, than there is in what they\ngenerally say of them: For that an Army of a great many Thousand Men\nshould consist of None but Hypocrites, who yet should fight well, is\nan inconceivable Thing. But what is it you would say of the General?\n\nCleo. I would shew you, how an obscure Man, of an active Spirit and\nboundless Ambition, might raise himself among such a Set of People to\nthe higher Post; and having once got the Supreme Command of the Army,\nwhat Method, and what Arts it is most probable he would make Use of to\nmodel such Troops to his Purpose, and make them serviceable to the\nAdvancement of his own Greatness.\n\nHor. But remember he must be an _Atheist_.\n\nCleo. He shall be so, in the Vulgar Acceptation of the Word; that is,\nhe shall have no Religion or Conscience; fear neither God nor Devil,\nand not believe either a Providence in this World, or any Thing that\nis said of another: But he must be a great Genius, daring to the\nhighest Degree, indefatigable, supple to his Interest, and ready as\nwell as capable to act any Part, and put on any Disguise, that shall\nbe required to serve or promote it. Every brisk, forward Man, who\npretends to an extraordinary Zeal for his Party, and the Cause he is\nengaged in, and who shews Eagerness for Action, and behaves with\nIntrepidity in Danger, cannot remain long unknown, where Men have\nfrequent Opportunities of signalizing themselves. But if he be\nlikewise a Man of Sense, who understands his Business, and has Conduct\nas well as Courage, he can't fail of Preferment in an Army, where the\nInterest of the common Cause is taken Care of. If he serves among\n_Puritans_, who pretend to a stricter Morality, and to be more religious\nthan their Neighbours, and himself is an artful Man, as soon as he is\ntaken Notice of, he'll fall in with the Cant in Fashion, talk of Grace\nand Regeneration, counterfeit Piety, and seem to be sincerely Devout.\nIf he can do this well, put on a sanctify'd Face, and abstain from\nbeing openly vicious, it is incredible what Lustre it will add to the\nRest of his Qualifications, in such a Conjuncture: And if moreover he\nis a Man of Address, and can get the Reputation of being disinterested\nand a Soldier's Friend, in a short Time he'll become the Darling of\nthe Army; and it would hardly be safe long to deny him any Post, he\ncan reasonably pretend to. In all Wars, where the contending Parties\nare in good Earnest, and the Animosities between them run high,\nCampaigns are always active, and many brave Men must fall on both\nSides; and where there should be much Room for Advancement, it is\nhighly probable, that such a Man as I have describ'd, if at his first\nsetting out he was Captain of Horse, and had raised an entire Troop at\nhis own Charge, should in a few Years come to be a General Officer,\nand of great Weight in all Councils and Debates. Being thus far\npreferr'd, if he would make the most of his Talents, he might be of\ninfinite Service to his Party. An aspiring Man, whose grand Aim was to\nthrive by Hypocrisy, would study the Scripture, learn the Languages of\nit, and occasionally mix it with his Discourse. He would cajole the\nClergy of his Party, and often do good Offices to those of them that\nwere most popular. A Man of his Parts would preach _ex tempore_ himself,\nand get the Knack of Praying for as many Hours as there should be\nOccasion. Whoever is well skill'd in these Exercises may counterfeit\nEnthusiasm when he pleases, and pretend on some Emergencies to receive\nDirections from God himself; and that he is manifestly influenc'd by\nhis Spirit. A General Officer, who has once got this Reputation, may\ncarry almost any Thing; for Few that are wise will venture to oppose\nwhat such a Man, pretending to have sought the Lord, declares to be\nhis Opinion. Whatever Victories might be obtain'd, and in all\nSuccesses under his Command, a skilful Hypocrite would make a Shew of\nModesty, refuse to hear the Praises that are his due, and seem with\ngreat Humility to give all the Glory to God only; not forgetting, at\nthe same Time, to flatter the Pride of his Troops, highly to commend\nand magnify, first the Goodness and Bravery of the Soldiers, and then\nthe Care and Vigilance of the Officers under him. To be well serv'd,\nhe would reward Merit, punish and discountenance Vice, always speak\nwell and magnificently of Virtue, and seem to be just himself. But as\nto Christianity it self, he would not suffer any Thing to be taught of\nit, that could interfere with the Principle of Honour, or any of the\nArtifices to keep up the Ill Will, and Hatred which military Men are\nto be inspired with against their Enemies. The Christian Duties, which\nhe would chiefly take Care of and see perform'd, would be outward Acts\nof Devotion, and that Part of Religion which is easily comply'd with,\nand yet taken Notice of by all the World; such as frequent Prayers,\nlong and pathetick Sermons, singing of Psalms, and the keeping of the\nSabbath with great Strictness; all which Men may assist at and employ\nthemselves in, tho' their Hearts are otherwise engag'd. It is certain,\nthat a Man of vast Parts and superlative Ambition might, by the Divine\nPermission, perform, take Care of, and compass all this, tho' he was\nan _Atheist_; and that he might live and die with the Reputation of a\nSaint, if he was but circumspect and wise enough to conceal himself so\nentirely well, that no Penetration or Watchfulness of Mortals could\never discover his real Sentiments. There is no Atchievement to be\nexpected from Soldiers, which they would not perform for such a\nGeneral; and his Name would be sufficient to fill the greatest\nProfligate in an Army with a Religious Enthusiasm, if he disbelieved\nnot an invisible Cause.\n\nHor. There lies the Difficulty; it is that which I cannot comprehend.\n\nCleo. Wickedness, I have hinted to you before, is no Bar to\nSuperstition; and a great Profligate may at the same Time be a silly\nFellow, believe Absurdities, and rely on Trifles, which a Man of Sense\nand Virtue could not be influenc'd or affected by. It is easily\nimagin'd, that in such an Army, under such a General as I have been\nspeaking of, the Men would be kept under strict Discipline; and that\nthey would not only be compell'd, whether they would or not, to assist\nat all their Exercises of outward Devotion and Publick Worship; but\nlikewise that the loosest Livers among them should be obliged to be\nmore cautious and circumspect in their Behaviour, than Soldiers\ngenerally are. Now suppose a Man so wicked, that, tho' he has no Doubt\nof Future State, the Belief of Rewards and Punishments in another\nWorld made no impression upon him; but that he indulged every vicious\nInclination as far as he dared, lay with every Woman that would let\nhim, and got drunk as often as he could get an Opportunity to do it;\none that would stick at Nothing, rob or steal, kill a Man that should\nanger him, if he was not with-held by the Law, and the Fear of\nTemporal Punishment: Suppose likewise, that this was one of the lowest\nMob, who being in Want, and too lazy to work, should lift himself in\nsome Regiment or other of this Army. There is no Doubt, but this Man\nwould be forc'd immediately to have a greater Guard upon his Actions,\nand reform, at least outwardly, more than would suit with his\nInclinations, and therefore it is not unlikely, that, what Duties\nsoever he might comply with, and whatever Appearance he might make\namong the Rest, in his Heart he should remain the same he was before.\nYet notwithstanding all this, in a little Time he might make a very\ngood Soldier. I can easily conceive, how the Wearing of a Sword and\nRegimental Cloaths, and always conversing with resolute and well\ndisciplin'd Men, among whom Arms and Gallantry are in the highest\nEsteem, might so far encrease a wicked Fellow's Pride, that he should\nwish to be brave, and in a few Months think Nothing more really\ndreadful, than to be thought a Coward. The Fear of Shame may act as\npowerfully upon bad Men, as it can upon good; and the Wickedness of\nhis Heart would not hinder him from having a good Opinion of himself,\nand the Cause he served; nor yet from hating his Enemies or taking\nDelight in destroying, plundering, and doing all Manner of Mischief.\n\nHor. But having no Regard to Godliness or Religion, it is impossible,\nthat he should be influenc'd or affected by the Prayers or other\nExercises of Devotion, which he might assist at and which, in all\nProbability, he would never come near, unless he was compell'd to it.\n\nCleo. I don't suppose, that he would be influenced or affected by them\nat all himself; but he might easily believe, that others were. I take\nit for granted, that in such an Army there might have been Abundance\nof well-meaning Men, that were really honest, and sincere in their\nReligion, tho' they had been misled in what concern'd the Duties of\nit. From the Behaviour of these, and the Imitation of others, from the\nExemplary Lives, which our Reprobate should see among them, and the\nestablish'd Reputation of so many Men of Honour, he would have all the\nReason in the World to think, that at least the greatest Part of them\nwere in good Earnest; that they relied upon God; and that the fervent\nZeal, with which they seem'd to implore his assistance, was real and\nunfeign'd. All wicked Men are not inflexible; and there are great\nSinners, whom this Consideration would move to the quick; and tho'\nperhaps it would not be of Force enough to reclaim them, there are\nmany, who, by means of it, would be made to relent, and wish that they\nwere better. But I don't want this help; and we'll suppose our\nProfligate such a stubborn Wretch, and so obstinately vicious, that\nthe most moving Discourses, and the most fervent Prayers, tho' he is\nforc'd to assist at them, have not the least Power to make him reflect\neither on his Sins or his Duty; and that notwithstanding what he hears\nand sees of others, his Heart remains as bad as ever, and himself as\nimmoral as he dares to be for Fear of his Officers. We'll suppose, I\nsay, all this; but as it is taken for granted, that he believes the\nWorld to be govern'd by Providence ----.\n\nHor. But why should that be taken for granted, of a fellow so\nthoroughly wicked?\n\nCleo. Because it is included in his Belief of a Future State, which,\nin his Character, I supposed him not to doubt of.\n\nHor. I know it; but what Reason had you to suppose this at First, in a\nMan who never gave any Signs, nor ever did insinuate, for ought you\nknow, that he had such a Belief?\n\nCleo. Because he never gave any Signs to the contrary; and in a\nChristian Country, I suppose all Men to believe the Existence of a God\nand a Future State, who, by speaking or writing, never declared, that\nthey did not. Wickedness consisting in an unreasonable Gratification\nof every Passion that comes uppermost, it is so far from implying\nUnbelief, or what is call'd Atheism, that it rather excludes it.\nBecause the Fear of an invisible Cause is as much a Passion in our\nNature, as the Fear of Death. I have hinted to you before, that great\nCowards, whilst they are in Health and Safety, may live many Years\nwithout discovering the least Symptom of the Fear of Death, so as to\nbe visibly affected by it; but that this is no Sign, that they have it\nnot, is evident when they are in Danger. It is the same with the Fear\nof an invisible Cause; the one is as much born with us as the other,\nand to conquer either, is more difficult than is easily imagin'd. The\nFear of an invisible Cause is universal, how widely soever men may\ndiffer in the worship of it; and it was never observed among a\nMultitude, that the worst were more backward than the best in\nbelieving whatever from their Infancy they had heard concerning this\ninvisible Cause; how absurd or shocking soever that might have been.\nThe most Wicked are often the most Superstitious, and as ready as any\nto believe Witchcraft, consult Fortune-tellers, and make Use of\nCharms. And tho' among the most brutish Part of the Mob, we should\nmeet with Some, that neither pray nor pay Worship to any Thing, laugh\nat Things sacred, and openly disclaim all Religion, we could have no\nReason to think, even from these, that they acted from Principles of\nInfidelity, when from their Behaviour and many of their Actions, it\nshould be manifest, that they apprehended Something or other, that\ncould do them Good or Hurt, and yet is invisible. But as to the vilest\nReprobates among the Vulgar, from their very Curses and the most\nprophane of their Oaths and Imprecations, it is plain, that they are\nBelievers.\n\nHor. That's far fetch'd.\n\nCleo. I don't think so. Can a Man with himself damn'd, without\nsupposing, that there is such a Thing as Damnation. Believe me,\n_Horatio_, there are no _Atheists_ among the Common People: You never knew\nany of them entirely free from Superstition, which always implies\nBelief: and whoever lays any Stress upon Predictions, upon good or bad\nOmens; or does but think, that some Things are lucky and others\nunlucky, must believe, that there is an over-ruling Power, which\nmeddles with, and interferes in Human Affairs.\n\nHor. I must yield this to you, I think.\n\nCleo. If then our wicked, obdurate Soldier believes, that there is a\nGod, and that the World is govern'd by Providence, it is impossible,\nwhen Two Armies are to engage, but he must think, that it is very\nmaterial, and a Thing of the highest Importance, which of them God\nwill be pleas'd to favour, and wish with all his Heart, that Heaven\nwould be of his Side. Now, if he knows that the Troops, he serves\namong, have gain'd several Advantages over their Enemies, and that he\nhas been an Eye-witness of this himself, he must necessarily think,\nthat God has a greater Regard to them, than he has to those that are\nbeaten by them. It is certain, that a Man, who is strongly persuaded\nof this, will be more undaunted, and with the Same Degree of Skill,\nMalice and Strength, fight better than he could do, if he believ'd the\nContrary. It is evident then, that the most abandon'd Rascal in a\nChristian Army may be made a valuable Man on the Score of Fighting, as\nsoon as he can be persuaded, that God takes his Part, tho' he never\nmade any further Reflection: But it is inconceivable, that a Man\nshould firmly believe what I have said without reflecting one Time or\nother on what might be the Cause of this particular Favour, this\nvisible Assistance of Heaven; and if ever he did, could he help\nthinking on the Preaching and Praying, which he was daily present at;\nand would he not be forced from all the Circumstances to believe, that\nthose Things were acceptable to God; and conclude upon the whole, that\nthose Religious Exercises were a proper Means to obtain God's\nFriendship? Would he not be very much confirm'd in this Opinion, if he\nsaw or but heard of credible People, that, in the Enemy's Army, the\nmen were more cold and remiss in their Worship, or at least, that they\nmade a less outward Shew of Devotion, which is all that he should be\nable to judge by?\n\nHor. But why should you think, that such an abandon'd, obdurate\nFellow, as you have supposed him to be, should ever trouble his Head\nwith the Difference in Worship between one Army and another, or ever\nthink at all on any Thing relating to Devotion?\n\nCleo. Because it would be impossible for him to help it. I have not\nsupposed, that he was either Deaf or Blind: The Things I named, and\nwhich I imagin'd he would be forc'd to believe, would be run in his\nEars, and repeated to him over and over from every Quarter: The\nSoldiers would be full of them; the Officers would talk of them. He\nwould be present at the solemn Thanksgivings, they paid to Heaven. The\nPreachers would often be loud in commending the Godliness as well as\nBravery of the Army, and roar out the Praises of their General, that\nsanctify'd Vessel, whom they would call a _Gideon_, a _Joshua_, a _Moses_,\nthat glorious Instrument, which God had raised and made Use of to\nrescue his Church from Idolatry and Superstition, and his Saints from\nTyranny and Oppression. They would exclaim against the Wickedness and\nImmorality of their Enemies, inveigh against Lawn-Sleeves and\nSurplices, Altar-Pieces, and Common-Prayers; call the Orthodox Clergy,\nthe Priests of _Baal_, and assure their Hearers, that the Lord hated the\n_Cavaliers_; that they were an Abomination to him, and that he would\ncertainly deliver them into the Hands of his chosen People. When a Man\nis obliged to hear all this, and sees moreover the Spirit and Alacrity\nthat is raised in his Comrades after a moving extemporary Prayer, the\nreal Enthusiasm the Men are thrown into by the Singing of a Psalm, and\nthe Tears of Zeal and Joy run down the Cheeks of Men, whom he knows to\nbe Faithful and Sincere, as well as Resolute and Daring. When Man, I\nsay, such a one as I have describ'd, should be forc'd to hear and see\nall this, it would hardly be possible for him, not to believe, in the\nfirst Place, that God actually assisted this Army; and in the Second,\nthat the Means, by which that Assistance was procured, were the\nStrictness of the Discipline and the Religious Duties, that were\nobserved in it; tho' he himself should never Join in the one, or\nSubmit to the other, but against his Will, and with the utmost\nReluctancy. I am persuaded, that such an Opinion, well rivetted in a\nMan, would, in such an Army as I am speaking of, be of vast Use to him\nin all Adventures and Expeditions of War; and that, if he was fit at\nall to be made a soldier, it would in the Day of Battle inspire him\nwith a Confidence and Undauntedness, which the same man could never\nhave acquired, _C\u00e6teris Paribus_, if he had served among other troops,\nwhere Divine Worship had been little insisted upon, or but slightly\nperform'd. And if this be true, I have proved to you, that Acts of\nDevotion, and an outward Shew of Religion, may be serviceable to the\ngreatest Profligate for the obtaining of Victory, tho' the General\nshould be an _Atheist_, most of the Clergy Hypocrites, and the greatest\nPart of the Army wicked Men.\n\nHor. I can see very well the Possibility, that a few Profligates,\namong a great many others, that were not so, might be kept in Awe by\nstrict Discipline, and that Acts of Devotion might be serviceable even\nto those, who were present at them against their Wills. But this\nPossibility is only built upon a Supposition, that the Rest of the\nArmy should be better disposed: For if the Generality of them were not\nin Earnest, you could have no outward Shew of Religion; and the Things\nwhich you say the obdurate wretch should be forced to hear and see,\ncould have no Existence. No Preaching or Praying can be moving to\nthose, that are harden'd and inattentive; and no Man can be thrown\ninto an Enthusiasm upon the Singing of Psalms, and shed Tears of Zeal\nand Joy in any Part of Divine Worship, unless they give Heed to it,\nand are really Devout.\n\nCleo. I am glad you start this Objection; for it puts me in Mind of\nSomething, that will serve to illustrate this whole Matter, and which,\nif you had not mention'd this, I should have had no Opportunity to\nspeak of. I took for granted, you know, that in the Quarrel between\nKing and the People, there had been many honest well meaning Men,\namong the Sober Party, that by Artifice were drawn into the Measures\nof cunning Hypocrites, who, under specious Pretences, carried on the\nRebellion with no other View than their own Advantage. But if you\nrecollect what I said then, you'll find, that many of those honest\nwell-meaning Men might have been very bad Christians. A Man may be a\nfair Dealer, and wish well to his Country, and yet be very wicked in\nmany other Respects. But whatever Vices he may be guilty of, if he\nbelieves the Scriptures without Reserve, is sorry for his Sins, and\nsometimes really afraid, that he shall be punish'd for them in another\nWorld, he is certainly sincere in his Religion, tho' he never mends.\nSome of the most wicked in the World have been great Believers.\nConsider all the Money, that has been given to pray Souls out of\nPurgatory, and who they were, that left the greatest Legacies to the\nChurch. The Generality of Mankind believe what they were taught in\ntheir Youth, let that be what it will, and there is no Superstition so\ngross or absurd, nor any Thing so improbable or contradictory in any\nReligion, but Men may be sincere in the Belief of it. What I say all\nthis for is to shew you, that an honest well-meaning Man may believe\nthe Bible and be Sincere in his Religion, when he is yet very remote\nfrom being a good Christian. What I understand then by Sincere is\nevident: Now give me Leave to tell you what I mean by Wicked, and to\nput you in Mind of what I have said of it already; _viz_ that I gave\nthat Name to those, _who indulge their Passions as they come uppermost,\nwithout Regard to the Good or Hurt, which the Gratification of their\nAppetites may do to the Society_. But all wicked Men are not equally\nneglectful of Religious Duties, nor equally inflexible; and you won't\nmeet with one in a Hundred so stubborn and averse to all Sense of\nDivine Worship, as I have supposed our Profligate to be. My Reason for\ndrawing so bad a Character, was to convince you, that, if an outward\nShew of Religion could be made serviceable to the most stubborn\nReprobate, it could never fail of having a good Effect upon all\nothers, that should be more relenting, and assist at it with less\nReluctancy. Few Men are wicked for Want of good Will to be better: The\ngreatest Villains have Remorses; and hardly any of them are so bad,\nthat the Fear of an invisible Cause and future Punishment should never\nmake any Impression upon them; if not in Health, at least in Sickness.\nIf we look narrowly into the Sentiments, as well as Actions even of\nthose that persist in evil Courses for many Years, and spend their\nwhole Lives in Debaucheries, we shall hardly ever find, that it is\nbecause they are obstinately bent to be Wicked; but because they want\neither the Power to govern their Passions, or else the Resolution to\nset about it; that they have often wish'd, that they could lead better\nLives; that they hope, God will forgive them; and that Several Times\nthey have fix'd a Time for their Repentance, but that always Something\nor other interven'd, that has hinder'd them, till at last they died\nwithout having ever met with the Opportunity they wish'd for. Such Men\nas these perhaps would never go to Prayers, or to hear a Sermon as\nlong as they lived, if they could help it: But most of them, if they\nwere forc'd to it, would behave very well, and actually receive\nBenefit from being there; especially in Armies, where Nothing being\nless wanted than contrite Hearts and broken Spirits, Nothing is\nmention'd that is mortifying, or would depress the Mind; and if ever\nany thing melancholy is slightly touch'd upon, it is done with great\nArt, and only to make a Contrast with something reviving, that is\nimmediately to follow, which will flatter their Pride, and make them\nhighly delighted with themselves. All Exhortations to Battle should be\nchearful and pleasing. What is required of the Men, is, that they\nshould Fight undauntedly and obstinately. Therefore all Arts are made\nuse of to raise and keep up their Spirits on the one Hand, and their\nHatred to their Enemies on the other. To dissipate their Fears, they\nare assured of the Justice and Goodness of their Cause, that God\nhimself is engaged, and his Honour concern'd in it; and that\ntherefore, if they can but shew Zeal enough for him, and are not\nwanting to themselves, they need not doubt of the Victory.\n\nHor. It is amazing, that Believers, who are so conscious of their own\nWickedness, should be so easily persuaded, that God would do any Thing\nin their Favour.\n\nCleo. The great Propensity we have in our Nature to flatter our\nselves, makes us easy Casuists in our own Concerns. Every body knows,\nthat God is merciful, and that all Men are Sinners. The Thought of\nthis has often been a great Comfort to very bad Livers, especially if\nthey could remember, that ever they wish'd to be better; which, among\nBelievers, there is not One in a Hundred, but can. This good\nDisposition of Mind a wicked Man may make a notable Construction of,\nand magnify the Merit of it, till the Reflection of it is sufficient\nto make his Conscience easy, and he absolves himself without the\nTrouble of Repentance. I can easily conceive, how one of the Vulgar,\nno better qualify'd, may assist at Publick Worship with Satisfaction,\nand even Pleasure; if Preaching and Praying are managed in the Manner\nI have hinted at: And it is not difficult to imagine, how by a little\npaultry Eloquence, and Violence of Gestures, a Man in this Situation\nmay be hurried away from his Reason, and have his Passions so artfully\nplay'd upon; that feeling himself thoroughly moved, he shall mistake\nthe Malice of his Heart, and perhaps the Resentment of a great Wound\nreceived, for the Love of God and Zeal for Religion. There is another\nClass of wicked Men, that I have not touch'd upon yet; and of which\nthere would always be great Numbers among such Troops as we have been\nspeaking of, _viz._ Soldiers of the Sober Party, where Swearing,\nProphaneness, and all open Immorality are actually punish'd; where a\ngrave Deportment and strict Behaviour are encouraged, and where\nScripture-Language and Pretences to Holiness are in Fashion; in an\nArmy of which the General is firmly believed to be a Saint, and acts\nhis part to Admiration.\n\nHor. It is reasonable to think, I own, that in such an Army, to one\nsincere Man, there would always be three or four Hypocrites; for these\nI suppose are the Class you mean.\n\nCleo. They are so. And considering, that, to save Appearances,\nHypocrites are at least as good as the sincere Men I have spoken of,\nit is impossible, that there should not be a great Shew of Religion\namong them, if there were but eight or ten of them sincere in every\nHundred: And where such Pains should be taken to make the Men seem to\nbe Godly; and this Point of outward Worship should be labour'd with so\nmuch Diligence and Assiduity, I am persuaded, that many even of those,\nwho should be too wicked to be Hypocrites, and to counterfeit long,\nwould sometimes, not only pray in good Earnest, but likewise, set on\nby the Examples before them, be transported with real Zeal for the\nGood of their Cause.\n\nHor. There is no Doubt but Enthusiasm among a Multitude is as catching\nas Yawning: But I don't understand very well what you mean by too\nwicked to be Hypocrites; for I look upon them to be the worst of all\nMen.\n\nCleo. I am very glad you named this. There are two Sorts of\nHypocrites, that differ very much from one another. To distinguish\nthem by Names, the One I would call the Malicious, and the Other the\nFashionable. By malicious Hypocrites, I mean Such as pretend to a\ngreat Deal of Religion, when they know their Pretensions to be false;\nwho take Pains to appear Pious and Devout, in order to be Villains,\nand in Hopes that they shall be trusted to get an Opportunity of\ndeceiving those, who believe them to be sincere. Fashionable\nHypocrites I call those, who, without any Motive of Religion, or Sense\nof Duty, go to Church, in Imitation of their Neighbours; counterfeit\nDevotion, and, without any Design upon others, comply occasionally\nwith all the Rites and Ceremonies of Publick Worship, from no other\nPrinciple than an Aversion to Singularity, and a Desire of being in\nthe Fashion. The first are, as you say, the worst of Men: but the\nother are rather beneficial to Society, and can only be injurious to\nthemselves.\n\nHor. Your Distinction is very just, if these latter deserve to be\ncall'd Hypocrites at all.\n\nCleo. To make a Shew outwardly of what is not felt within, and\ncounterfeit what is not real, is certainly Hypocrisy, whether it does\nGood or Hurt.\n\nHor. Then, strictly speaking, good Manners and Politeness must come\nunder the same Denomination.\n\nCleo. I remember the Time you would by no Means have allow'd this.\n\nHor. Now, you see I do, and freely own, that you have given me great\nSatisfaction this afternoon; only there is one Thing you said five or\nsix Minutes ago, that has raised a Difficulty which I don't know how\nto get over.\n\nCleo. What is it, pray?\n\nHor. I don't think we shall have Time ----\n\nCleo. Supper, I see, is going in.\n\n\n\n\nThe Fourth Dialogue Between Horatio and Cleomenes.\n\n\nHoratio. I am glad my little Dinner pleased you. I don't love large\nPieces of Meat for a small Company; especially in warm Weather: They\nheat the Room, and are offensive even upon a Side-board.\n\nCleo. It was very handsome indeed; and _Horatio_ is elegant in every\nThing. Your Favours of Yesterday, your Coming without Form, was so\nengaging, that I was resolved to repay the Compliment without Delay.\n\nHor. Assure your self, that your Payment is not more prompt, than it\nis welcome.\n\nCleo. I know no higher Enjoyment, than that of your Friendship. But\npray, what was the Difficulty you hinted at last Night, when Supper\nbroke off our Discourse?\n\nHor. When you spoke of Preaching and Praying in Armies, you said, that\nNothing was ever mention'd to them, that was mortifying, or would\ndepress the Mind. I had heard the same from you in Substance more than\nonce before; and I own, that the Nature of the Thing seems to require,\nthat Soldiers should be indulg'd in their Pride, and that all\nExhortations to Battle should be cheerful and pleasing. But the last\nTime you was speaking of this, I recollected what I had read of the\nSolemn Fasts, that were so frequently observed in Oliver's Days; and\npresently I was puzled, and no ways able to account for the Usefulness\nof them in War, by the System which you had made appear to be very\nrational. The Fact it self, that _Cromwell_ appointed many Days of\nFasting and Humiliation, and made them be strictly kept, is\nundeniable; but it is impossible, they should promote Chearfulness;\nand what Purpose they could have been made to serve, that was not\nreligious, I can not conceive. The mechanical Effect, which Fasting\ncan have upon the Spirits, is to lower, flatten, and depress them; and\nthe very Essence of Humiliation is the Mortification of Pride. You\nhave own'd, that _Cromwell_ understood Human Nature, and was a crafty\nPolitician; but you would never allow, that he had the least Intention\nof promoting Piety, or rendring his Men good Christians.\n\nCleo. The Objection you have started seems to be of great Weight at\nfirst View; but if we look more narrowly into it, and examine this\nAffair, as we have done some other Things, the Difficulty you labour\nunder will soon disappear. From the Nature of Man and Society it must\nfollow, that whatever particular Vices may be more or less predominant\nin different Climates and different Ages, Luxury and Pride will always\nbe reigning Sins in all civiliz'd Nations: Against these two stubborn,\nand always epidemic Maladies, the great Physician of the Soul has, in\nhis Gospel Dispensation, left us two sovereign Remedies, Fasting and\nHumiliation; which, when rightly used, and duely assisted with the Exercise\nof Prayer, never fail to cure the Diseases I named in the most desperate\nCases. No method likewise is more reasonable; for, tho' _Jesus Christ_\nhad not recommended it himself, it is impossible to think on any\nPrescription, more judiciously adapted to an Ailment, than Fasting and\nHumiliation, accompany'd with fervent Prayer, are to Luxury and Pride.\nThis is the Reason, that in private as well as public Disasters, and\nall Adversities in which is was thought that the divine Anger was\nvisible, all Believers in _Christ_ have, ever since the Promulgation of\nthe Gospel, made use of the aforesaid Remedies, as the most proper\nMeans to obtain Pardon for their Offences, and render heaven\npropitious to them. All Magistrates likewise, where the Christian\nReligion has been national, have in general Misfortunes and all great\nCalamities (whenever they happen'd) appointed Days to be solemnly\nkept, and set aside for Prayer, for Fasting and Humiliation. If on\nthese Days Men should be sincere in their Devotion; if a pains-taking\nClergy, of Apostolic Lives, on the one Hand, should preach Repentance\nto their Hearers, and shew them the Difference between the temporal\nEvils, which they complain'd of, tho' they were less afflicting than\nthey had deserv'd, and the eternal Miseries, which impenitent Sinners\nwould unavoidably meet with, tho' now they thought little of them; if\nthe Hearers, on the other, searching their Consciences without\nReserve, should reflect upon their past Conduct; if both the Clergy\nand the Laity should thus join in religious Exercises, and, adding\nreal Fasting to ardent Prayer, humble themselves before the Throne of\nMercy, with Sorrow and Contrition; if, I say, the Days you speak of\nwere to be spent in this Manner, they would be of use in no War, but\nagainst the World, the Flesh, or the Devil, the only Enemies a\nChristian Hero is not oblig'd to love, and over which the Triumph is\nthe darling Object of his Ambition, and the glorious End of his\nWarfare. On the Contrary, such Fast-days would be hurtful to a\nSoldier, in the literal Sense of the Word, and destructive to the\nIntentions of all Armies; and I would as soon expect from them, that\nthey should turn Men into Trees or Stones, as that they should inspire\nthem with martial Courage, or make them eager to fight. But skilful\nPoliticians make an Advantage of every Thing, and often turn into\nuseful Tools the seeming Obstacles to their Ambition. The most\nresolute Unbeliever, if he is a good Hypocrite, may pretend to as much\nSuperstition and hold Fear, as the most timorous Bigot can be really\npossess'd with; and the First often gains his Point by making use of\nthe Religion of others, where the Latter is undone by being hamper'd\nwith his own.\n\nHor. This was very evident in _Oliver Cromwel_ and King _James_ the\nSecond. But what would you infer from it in Relation to Fast-Days?\n\nCleo. The most sacred Institutions of Christianity may, by the\nAssistance of pliable Divines, be made serviceable to the most\nanti-christian Purposes of Tyrants and Usuerpers: Recollect, pray,\nwhat I have said concerning Sermons and Prayers, and what is done by\nsome Clergymen under Pretence of Preaching the Gospel.\n\nHor. I do, and can easily see, how Preachers, by a small Deviation\nfrom the Doctrine of Peace, may insensibly seduce their Hearers, and,\nperverting the End of their Function, set them on to Enmity, Hatred,\nand all Manner of Mischief: But I can't understand how Fasting and\nHumiliation should further, or be made any ways instrumental to that\nDesign.\n\nCleo. You have allow'd, that the Grand Point in Armies, and what has\nbeen ever most labour'd among military Men, was to make them believe,\nthat Heaven, that is, the Deity they adore, was of their Side; and it\nis certain, (as I have hinted before) that how widely soever Men had\ndiffer'd in their Sentiments concerning the invisible Cause, or the\nWorship it requires, they have all agreed in this; and the Use that\nhas been made of Religion in War has ever had a palpable Tendency this\nway. The Word Fasting, indefinitely spoken, sounds very harshly to a\nMan of a good Stomach; but, as practis'd religiously among\n_Protestants_, it is hardly an Emblem of the Thing it self, and rather a\nJoke than any grievous Penance: At least in _England_, by keeping a\nFast-Day, Men mean no more, than Eating their Dinners three or four\nHours later than they used to do, and perhaps no Supper that Night:\nWhich is a Piece of Abstinence, that is so far from being likely to\nhave an ill Effect upon the Strength or Spirits of Men in Health and\nVigour, that there is not One in Fifty, whom it will not render more\nbrisk and lively in the next Day. I speak of People that are not in\nWant, and who, of dainty or courser Fate, eat as much much every Day\nas their Appetite requires. As for Humiliation, it is a Word of\nCourse. Fast-Days, bar the Abstinence already mention'd, are kept no\notherwise, than the _Sunday_ is. In the Army of the Rebels, the\nChaplains perhaps preach'd and pray'd somewhat longer on those Days,\nand read a few Chapters more in the Bible, than was usual for them to\ndo on a Sabbath-Day. But that was all.\n\nHor. But you have allow'd, that many of the _Roundheads_ were sincere in\ntheir Religion, and that most of the Soldiers, tho' they were bad\nChristians, were still Believers. It is unreasonable to think, that\nthe Solemnity of those Days, and the continual Shew of Devotion they\nwere spent in, should have made no Impression upon a considerable Part\nof such a Multitude, as you your self suppose their Army to have been.\nWhere a great Number of the Vulgar, who believe Hell-Torments and\nFire Everlasting, are forced to hear, first their Lives laid open, and\ntheir Iniquities display'd, and, after that, all the terrible Things,\nthat the Parson can say of Eternal Misery, it is impossible, that many\nof them should not be affected with Fear and Sorrow, at least for that\nTime: However, this is beyond all Dispute, that the mildest\nRemonstrances that can be made on that Head, will sooner dispose Men\nto Melancholy, than they will to Chearfulness.\n\nCleo. All this while you take that for granted, which I told you long\nago was notoriously false; _viz_. That in camps and Armies, the plain\nDoctrine of _Christ_ is delivered without Disguise or Dissimulation:\nNay, I hinted to you just now, that if Repentance was preach'd among\nMilitary Men, as might be expected from Christian Divines, Solders\nwould be in Danger of being spoil'd by it, and render'd unfit for\ntheir Business. All knowing Clergymen, at first Setting out, suit\nthemselves and their Doctrine to the Occupations, as well as\nCapacities of their Hearers: And as Court Preachers speak in Praise of\nthe Government, and applaud the Measures of it, shade the Vices of\nPrinces and their Favourites, and place their Merit in the handsomest\nLight it can be seen in so Divines in Armies speak up for the Justice\nof the Cause they are engaged in, and extol the Generals to the Skies;\ncajole and curry Favour with the Troops, and flatter more particularly\nthe respective Regiments they belong to. There is not a Chaplain in an\nArmy, who is not perfectly well acquainted with the Duty of a Soldier,\nand what is required of him. Therefore they preach Christianity to\nthem, as far as it is consistent with that Duty, and no farther. Where\nthey interfere, and are clashing with one another, the Gospel is set\naside. The Politician must have his Business done: Necessity is\npleaded, and Religion ever made to give Way to the Urgency of Affairs.\nThere is a vast Latitude in Preaching; and Clergymen often take great\nLiberties: Being as much subject to Errour and Passion as other\nPeople, they can give bad Counsel as well as good. Those, who are\npleas'd with a Government, we see, preach one way; and those who are\nnot, another. Above Half the Time of the last Reign, a considerable\nPart of the _English_ Clergy exhorted their Hearers to Sedition, and in\na Contempt for the Royal Family, either openly or by sly Inuendo's, in\never Sermon they preach'd: And every Thirtieth of _January_ The same\nChurch furnishes us with two contrary Doctrines: For whilst the more\nprudent and moderate of the Clergy are shifting and trimming between\ntwo Parties, the hot ones of one side assert with Vehemence, that it\nis meritorious as well as lawful for the people, to put their King to\nDeath whenever he deserves it; and that of this Demerit, the Majority\nof the same People are the only Judges. The Zealots on the other, are\nas positive, that Kings are not accountable for their Actions, but to\nGod only; and that, whatever Enormities they may commit, it is a\ndamnable Sin for Subjects to resist them. And if an impartial Man,\ntho' he was the wisest in the World, was to judge of the Monarch,\nwhose unfortunate End is the common Topick of the Discourses held on\nthat Day, and he had no other Light to guide him, but the Sermons of\nboth Parties, it would be impossible for him to decide, whether the\nPrince in Question had been a spotless Saint, or the greatest Tyrant.\nI name these obvious Facts, because they are familiar Instances of our\nown Time, to convince us, that the Gospel is no Clog which Divines\nthink themselves strictly tied to. A skilful Preacher, whether it be a\nFast, or a Day of Rejoycing, always finds Ways to pursue his End,\ninstills into his Hearers whatever he pleases, and never dismisses an\nAudience, before he has acquainted them with what he would have them\nknow; let the Subject, or the Occasion he preaches upon, be what they\nwill. Besides, an artful Orator may mention frightful Things without\ngiving Uneasiness to his Hearers. He may set forth the Enormity of any\ngreat Sin, and the Certainty of the Punishment, that is to follow it.\nHe may display and dwell upon the Terrors of the Divine Vengeance for\na considerable Time, and turn at last all the Weight of it upon their\nAdversaries; and having demonstrated to his Audience, that those whom\nthey are to fight against, or else the great Grandfathers of them,\nhave been notoriously guilty of that Wickedness, which is so heinous\nin the Sight of Heaven, he may easily convince Believers, that their\nEnemies must of Necessity be likewise the Enemies of God. If any\nDisgrace has happen'd to an Army, or some of the Men have misbehaved,\na wary Preacher, instead of calling them Cowards, will lay all the\nFault on their little Faith, their trusting too much to the Arm of the\nFlesh, and assure them, that they would have conquer'd, if they had\nput greater Confidence in God; and more entirely rely'd on his\nAssistance.\n\nHor. And so not have fought at all.\n\nCleo. The Coherence of these Things is never examin'd into. It is\npossible likewise for a crafty Divine, in order to rouse a listless\nand dejected Audience, first to awaken them with lively Images of the\nTorments of Hell and the State of Damnation, and afterwards seem\nhappily to light on an Expedient, that shall create new Hopes, and\nrevive the drooping Spirits of a Multitude; and by this Means the\nCourage of Soldiers may often be wrought up to a higher Pitch than it\ncould have been rais'd, if they had not been terrify'd at all. I have\nheard of an Instance, where this was perform'd with great Success.\nProvisions had been scarce for some Time; and the Enemy was just at\nHand; and Abundance of the Men seem'd to have little Mind to fight;\nwhen a Preacher, much esteem'd among the Soldiers, took the following\nMethod: First, he set faithfully before them their Sins and\nWickedness, the many Warnings that they had received to repent, and\nGod's long Forbearance, as well as great Mercy, in not having totally\ndestroy'd them long ago. He represented their Wants, and Scarcity of\nProvision, as a certain Token of the Divine Wrath, and shew'd them\nplainly, that labouring already under the Weight of his Displeasure,\nthey had no Reason to think, that God would connive longer at their\nmanifold Neglects and Transgressions. Having convinced them, that\nHeaven was angry with them, he enumerated many Calamities, which, he\nsaid, would befal them; and several of them being such, as they had\nactually to fear, he was hearken'd to as a Prophet. He then told them,\nthat what they could suffer in this World, was of no great Moment, if\nthey could but escape Eternal Punishment; but that of this (as they\nhad lived) he saw not the least Probablity, they should. Having shewn\nan extraordinary Concern for their deplorable Condition, and seeing\nmany of them touch'd with Remorse, and overwhelm'd with Sorrow, he\nchang'd his Note on a Sudden, and with an Air of Certainty told them,\nthat there was still one Way left, and but that one, to retrieve all,\nand avert the Miseries they were threaten'd with; which, in short, was\nto Fight well, and beat their Enemies; and that they had Nothing else\nfor it. Having thus disclosed his Mind to them, with all the\nAppearances of Sincerity, he assumed chearful Countenance, shew'd them\nthe many Advantages, that would attend the Victory; assured them of\nit, if they would but exert themselves; named the Times and Places in\nwhich they had behaved well, not without Exaggeration, and work'd upon\ntheir Pride so powerfully, that they took Courage, fought like Lions,\nand got the Day.\n\nHor. A very good story; and whether this was preaching the Gospel or\nnot, it was of great Use to that Army.\n\nCleo. It was so, politically speaking. But to act such a Part well,\nrequires great Skill, and ought not to be attempted by an ordinary\nOrator; nor is it to be tried but in desperate Cases.\n\nHor. You have sufficiently shewn, and I am satisfied, that as Fasting\nis practiced, and Preaching and Praying may be managed by wary\nDivines, Care may be taken, that neither the Strictness of Behaviour\nobserved, nor the Religious Exercises perform'd on those Days, shall\nbe the least Hindrance to military Affairs, or any ways mortify or\ndispirit the Soldiers; but I cannot see, what Good they can do where\nReligion is out of the Question. What Service would an _Atheist_, who\nknew himself to be an Arch-Hypocrite and a Rebel (for such you allow\n_Cromwell_ to have been) expect from them for his Purpose?\n\nCleo. I thought, that we had agreed, that to please the Party he was\nengaged in, it was his Interest to make a great Shew of Piety among\nhis Troops, and seem to be religious himself.\n\nHor. I grant it; as I do likewise, that he throve by Hypocrisy, raised\nEnthusiasm in others by Counterfeiting it himself, and that the Craft\nof his Clergy was many ways instrumental to his Successes: But a\nskilful Hypocrite, and able Politician, would have made no more Rout\nabout Religion, than there was Occasion for. They had Praying and\nSinging of Psalms every Day; and the Sabbath was kept with great\nStrictness. The Clergy of that Army had Opportunities enough to talk\ntheir Fill to the Soldiers, and harangue them on what Subject they\npleased. They had such a Plenty of Religious Exercises, that it is\nhighly probable, the greatest Part of the Soldiers were glutted with\nthem: And if they were tired with what they had in Ordinary, what good\neffect could be expected from still more Devotion Extraordinary?\n\nCleo. What you named last is a great Matter. What is done every Day is\nsoon turn'd into a Habit; and the more Men are accustomed to Things,\nthe less they mind them; but any Thing extraordinary rouses their\nSpirits and raises their Attention. But to form a clear Idea of the\nUse and Advantage, a mere Politician, tho' he is an Unbeliever, may\nreasonably expect from Fast-Days, let us take into Consideration these\ntwo Things: First, the Grand _Desideratum_ in armies, that is aim'd at\nby Religion, and which all Generals labour to obtain by Means of their\nClergy: Secondly, the common Notions among Christians, both of\nReligion and of War. The First is to persuade the Soldiers, and make\nthem firmly believe, that their Cause is Just, and that Heaven will\ncertainly be on their Side; unless by their Offences they themselves\nshould provoke it to be against them. All Prayers for Success,\nThanksgivings for Victories obtain'd, and Humiliations after Losses\nreceived, are so many different Means to strengthen the Truth of that\nPersuasion, and confirm Men in the Belief of it. As to the second,\nChristians believe, that all Men are Sinners; that God is Just, and\nwill punish, here or hereafter, all Trespasses committed against him,\nunless they are atton'd for before we die; but that he is likewise\nvery merciful, and ever willing to forgive those, who sincerely\nrepent. And as to War, that it is, as all human Affairs are, entirely\nunder his Direction, and that the side whom he is pleased to favour,\nbeats the other. This is the general Opinion, as well of those who\nhold a Free-agency, as of those who are for Predestination. A cursory\nView of these two Things, the Notions Men have of Providence and the\nGrand Point to be obtain'd in Armies, will give us a clear Idea of a\nClergyman's Task among Military Men, and shew us both the Design of\nFast-Days, and the Effect they are like to produce.\n\nHor. The design of them is to gain the Divine Favour and Assistance;\nthat's plain enough; but how you are sure, they will have that Effect,\nI can't see.\n\nCleo. You mistake the thing. The Politician may have no Thoughts of\nHeaven: The Effect I speak of relates to the Soldiers; and is the\nInfluence, which, in all Probablility, Fast-Days will have upon\nBelievers, that assist in the keeping of them.\n\nHor. What Influence is that, pray, if it be not Religious?\n\nCleo. That they will inspire, and fill the Men with fresh Hopes, that\nGod will favour them and be of their Side. The Reputation of those\nDays, that they avert the Divine Wrath, and are acceptable to Heaven,\nis, in a great Measure, the Cause, that they have this Influence upon\nthe Men. The Heathens harbour'd the same Sentiments of their Publick\nSupplications; and it has been the Opinion of all Ages, that the more\nSolemn and Respectful the Addresses are, which Men put up to the\nDeity, and the greater the Numbers are that join in them, the more\nprobable it is, that their Petitions shall be granted. It is possible\ntherefore, that a Politician may appoint Extraordinary Days of\nDevotion, with no other View than to chear up the Soldier, revive his\nHopes, and make him confident of Success. Men are ready enough to\nflatter themselves, and willing to believe, that Heaven is on their\nSide, whenever it is told them, tho' they have little Reason to think\nso. But then they are unsteady, and naturally prone to Superstition,\nwhich often raises new Doubts and Fears in them. Therefore Common\nSoldiers are continually to be buoy'd up in the good Opinion they have\nof themselves; and the Hopes they were made to conceive, ought often\nto be stirr'd up in them afresh. The Benefit that accrues from those\nExtraordinary Days of Devotion, and the Advantages expected from them,\nare of longer Duration, than just the Time they are kept in. With a\nlittle Help of the Clergy, they are made to do Good when they are\nover; and two or three Days or a Week after, the Usefulness of them is\nmore conspicuous than it was before. It is in the Power of the\nGeneral, or any Government whatever, to have those Days as strictly\nkept, to outward Appearance, as they please. All Shops may be order'd\nto be shut, and Exercises of Devotion to be continued from Morning\ntill Night; nothing suffer'd to be bought, or sold during the Time of\nDivine Service; and all Labour as well as Diversion be strictly\nprohibited. This having been well executed makes an admirable Topick\nfor a Preacher, when the Day is over, especially among Military Men;\nand Nothing can furnish a Divine with a finer Opportunity of\ncommending, and highly praising his Audience, without Suspicion of\nFlattery, than the Solemnity of such a Day. He may set forth the\noutward Face of it in a lively Manner, expatiate on the various\nDecorums, and Religious Beauties of it; and by faithfully representing\nwhat Every body remembers of it, gain Credit to every Thing he says\nbesides. He may magnify and safely enlarge on the Self-denial, that\nwas practised on that Day; and, ascribing to the Goodness and Piety of\nthe Soldiers, what in his Heart he knows to have been altogether owing\nto Discipline, and the strict Commands of the General, he may easily\nmake them believe, that greater Godliness and a more general\nHumiliation never had been seen in an Army. If he has Wit, and is a\nMan of Parts, he'll find out Quaint _Similes_, Happy Turns, and\nPlausible Arguments, to illustrate his Assertions, and give an Air of\nTruth to every Thing he advances. If it suits with the Times, he'll\nwork himself up into Rapture and Enthusiasm, congratulate his\nRegiment, if not the whole Army, on the undeniable Proofs they have\ngiven of being good Christians, and with Tears in his Eyes wish them\nJoy of their Conversion, and the infallible Tokens they have received\nof the Divine Mercy. If a grave Divine, of good Repute, acts this, as\nhe should do, with an artful Innocence and Chearfulness in his\nCountenance, it is incredible what an Effect it may have upon the\ngreater part of a Multitude, amongst whom Christianity is not scoff'd\nat, and Pretences to Purity are in Fashion. Those who were any ways\ndevout on that Day, which he points at, or can but remember that they\nwish'd to be Godly, will swallow with Greediness whatever such a\nPreacher delivers to them; and applauding every Sentence before it is\nquite finish'd, imagine, that in their Hearts they feel the Truth of\nevery Word he utters. We are naturally so prone to think well of our\nSelves, that an artful Man, who is thought to be serious, and\nharangues a vulgar Audience, can hardly say any Thing in their Behalf,\nwhich they will not believe. One would imagine, that Men, who gave but\nlittle Heed to the Religious Exercises they assisted at, could receive\nno great Comfort from their Reflection on that Day; such, I mean, as\nwere tired to Death with the Length of the Prayers, and almost slept\nas they stood the greatest Part of the Sermon; yet many of these,\nhearing the Behaviour of the Army in General well spoken of, would be\nstupid enough to take Share in the Praise; and remembring the\nUneasiness they felt, make a Merit of the very Fatigue they then bore\nwith Impatience. Most of the Vulgar, that are not averse to Religion,\nhave a wild Notion of Debtor and Creditor betwen themselves and\nHeaven. Natural gratitude teaches them, that some returns must be due\nfor the good Things they receive; and they look upon Divine Service as\nthe only Payment they are able to make. Thousands have made this\nAcknowledgment in their Hearts, that never after cared to think on the\nvast Debt they owed. But how careless and neglectful soever most of\nthem may be in the Discharge of their Duty, yet they never forget to\nplace to their Accounts, and magnify in their Minds, what little Time\nthey spend, and the least Trouble they are at in performing what can\nbut seem to have any Relation to Religious Worship; and, what is\nastonishing, draw a Comfort from them by barely shutting their Eyes\nagainst the frightful Balance. Many of these are very well pleased\nwith themselves after a sound Nap at Church, whole Consciences would\nbe less easy, if they had stay'd from it. Nay, so extensive is the\nUsefulness of those Extraordinary Devotions, appointed by Authority,\nin Politicks only, that the most inattentive Wretch, and the greatest\nReprobate, that can be in such an Army, may receive Benefit from them;\nand the Reflection on a Fast-Day, may be an Advantage to him as a\nSoldier. For tho' he cursed the Chaplain in his Heart, for preaching\nsuch a tedious while as he did, and wish'd the General damn'd, by\nwhose Order he was kept from Strong Liquor such an unreasonable Time;\nyet he recollects, the Nothing went forward but Acts of Devotion all\nthe Day long; that every Sutler's Tent was shut; and that it was Six a\nClock before he could get a Drop of Drink. Whilst these Things are\nfresh in his Memory, it is hardly possible, that he should ever think\nof the Enemy, of Battles, or of Sieges, without receiving real Comfort\nfrom what he remembers of that Day. It is incredible what a strong\nImpression the Face, the outward Appearance only of such a Day, may\nmake upon a loose wicked Fellow, who hardly ever had a Religious\nThought in his Life; and how powerfully the Remembrance of it may\ninspire him with Courage and Confidence of Triumph, if he is not an\nUnbeliever.\n\nHor. I have not forgot what you said Yesterday of the obdurate\nSoldier; and I believe heartily, that the greatest Rogue may build\nHopes of Success on the Devotion of others, whom he thinks to be\nSincere,\n\nCleo. And if the bare outward Shew of such a Day, can any ways affect\nthe worst of an Army, there is no Doubt, but the better Sort of them\nmay get infinitely more Benefit by keeping it, and giving Attention to\nthe greatest Part of the Preaching and Praying that are perform'd upon\nit. And tho' in Camps, there are not many Men of real Probity, any\nmore than in Courts; and Soldiers, who are sincere in their Religion,\nand only misled in the Duties of it, are very scarce; yet in most\nMultitudes, especially of the sober Party, there are ignorant\nWell-wishers to Religion, that, by proper Means, may be raised to\nDevotion for a Time and of whom I have said, that tho' they were bad\nLivers, they often desired to repent; and would sometimes actually set\nabout it, if their Passions would let them. All these an artful\nPreacher may persuade to any Thing, and do with them almost what he\npleases. A bold Assurance of Victory, emphatically pronounc'd by a\npopular Preacher, has often been as little doubted of among such, as\nif it had been a Voice from Heaven.\n\nHor. I now plainly see the vast Use that may be made of Fast-Days, as\nwell afterwards when they are over, as during the Time they are kept.\n\nCleo. The Days of Supplication among the Heathens, as I hinted before,\nwere celebrated for the same Purpose; but their Arts to make People\nbelieve, that the Deity was on their side, and Heaven espoused their\nCause, were very trifling in Comparison to those of Christian Divines.\nWhen the _Pagan_ Priests had told the People, that the Chickens had eat\ntheir Meat very well, and the Entrails of the Victim were found, and\nthat the Rest of the Omens were lucky, they had done, and were forced\nto leave the Belief of those Things to the Soldiers. But--\n\nHor. You need not to say any more, for I am convinced, and have now so\nclear an Idea of the Usefulness of Extraordinary Devotions, and a\ngreat Shew of Piety, among military Men; I mean the Political\nUsefulness of them, abstract from all Thoughts of Religion; that I\nbegin to think them necessary, and wonder, how great and wise Generals\never would or could do without them. For it is evident, that since the\nPrince of _Conde's_ and _Cromwel's_ Armies, such a Shew of Godliness has\nnot been seen among any regular Troops, in any considerable Body of\nMen. Why did not _Luxemburg_, King _William_, Prince _Eugene_, and the Duke\nof _Marlborough_ follow those great Examples, in modelling their Armies\nafter a Manner that had bred such good Soldiers?\n\nCleo. We are to consider, that such a Shew of Piety and outward\nDevotion, as we have been speaking of, is not to be created and\nstarted up at once, nor indeed to be made practicable but among such\nTroops as the _Huguenots_ in _France_, and the _Roundheads_ in _England_\nwere. Their Quarrels with their Adversaries were chiefly Religious; and\nthe greatest Complaints of the Malecontents in both Nations were made\nagainst the Establish'd Church. They exclaim'd against the Ceremonies\nand Superstition of it; the Lives of the Clergy, the Haughtiness of\nthe Prelates, and the little Care that was taken of Christianity it\nself and good Morals. People, who advance these Things, must be\nthought very inconsistent with themselves, unless they are more upon\ntheir Guard, and lead stricter Lives than those, whom they find Fault\nwith. All Ministers likewise, who pretend to dissent from a Communion,\nmust make a sad Figure, unless they will reform, or at least seem to\nreform every Thing they blame in their Adversaries. If you'll duely\nweigh what I have said, you will find it impossible to have an Army,\nin which outward Godliness shall be so conspicuous, as it was in the\nPrince of _Conde's_ or _Oliver Cromwel's_, unless that Godliness suited\nwith the times.\n\nHor. What peculiar Conjuncture, pray, does that require.\n\nCleo. When a considerable Part of a Nation, for some End or other,\nseem to mend, and set up for Reformation; when Virtue and Sobriety are\ncountenanced by many of the better Sort; and to appear Religious is\nmade Fashionable. Such was the Time in which _Cromwell_ enter'd himself\ninto the Parliament's Service. What he aim'd at first was Applause;\nand skilfully suiting himself in every Respect to the Spirit of his\nparty, he studied Day and Night to gain the good Opinion of the Army.\nHe would have done the same, if he had been on the other Side. The\nChief Motive of all his Actions was Ambition, and what he wanted was\nimmortal Fame. This End he steadily pursued: All his Faculties were\nmade subservient to it; and no Genius was ever more supple to his\nInterest. He could take Delight in being Just, Humane and Munificent,\nand with equal Pleasure he could oppress, persecute and plunder, if it\nserved his Purpose. In the most Treacherous Contrivance to hasten the\nExecution of his blackest Design, he could counterfeit Enthusiasm, and\nseem to be a Saint. But the most enormous of his Crimes proceeded from\nno worse Principle, than the best of his Atchievements. In the Midst\nof his Villanies he was a Slave to Business; and the most\ndisinterested Patriot never watch'd over the Publick Welfare, both at\nHome and Abroad, with greater Care and Assiduity, or retriev'd the\nfallen Credit of a Nation in less Time than this Usurper: But all was\nfor himself; and he never had a Thought on the Glory of _England_,\nbefore he had made it inseparable from his own.\n\nHor. I don't wonder you dwell so long upon Cromwell, for Nothing can\nbe more serviceable to your System, than his Life and Actions.\n\nCleo. You will pardon the Excursion, when I own, that you have hit\nupon the Reason. What I intended to shew, when I ran away from my\nSubject, was, that able Politicians consult the Humour of the Age, and\nthe Conjuncture they live in, and that _Cromwell_ made the most of his.\nI don't question, but he would have done the same, if he had been born\nthree or four score Years later. And if he had been to command an\n_English_ Army abroad, when the Duke of _Marlborough_ did, I am persuaded,\nthat he would sooner have endeavoured to make all his Soldiers dancing\nMasters, than he would have attempted to make them Bigots. There are\nmore ways than one, to make People brave and obstinate in Fighting.\nWhat in _Oliver'_s Days was intended by a Mask of Religion and a Shew of\nSanctity, is now aim'd at by the Height of Politeness, and a perpetual\nAttachment to the Principle of modern Honour. There is a Spirit of\nGentility introduced among military Men, both Officers and Soldiers,\nof which there was yet little to be seen in the last Century, in any\nPart of _Europe,_ and which now shines through all their Vices and\nDebaucheries.\n\nHor. This is a new Discovery; pray, what does it consist in?\n\nCleo. Officers are less rough and boisterous in their Manners, and not\nonly more careful of themselves, and their own Behaviour, but they\nlikewise oblige and force their Men under severe Penalties to be Neat,\nand keep themselves Clean: And a much greater Stress is laid upon\nthis, than was Forty or Fifty Years ago.\n\nHor. I believe there is, and approve of it very much; white Gaiters\nare a vast Addition to a clever Fellow in Regimental Cloaths; but what\nmighty Matters can you expect from a Soldier's being obliged to be\nclean.\n\nCleo. I look upon it as a great Improvement in the Art of Flattery,\nand a finer Stratagem to raise the Passion of Self-liking in Men, than\nhad been invented yet; for by this Means the Gratification of their\nVanity is made Part of the Discipline; and their Pride must encrease\nin Proportion to the Strictness, with which they observe this Duty.\n\nHor. It may be of greater Weight than I can see at Present. But I have\nanother Question to ask. The main Things, that in raising Troops, and\nmaking War, Politicians are solicitous about, and which they seem\naltogether to rely upon, are Money, great Numbers, Art and Discipline.\nI want to know, why Generals, who can have no Hopes, from the Age they\nlive in, of thriving by Bigotry, should yet put themselves to such an\nExpence, on Account of Religion in their Armies, as they all do. Why\nshould they pay for Preaching for Praying at all, if they laid no\nStress upon them?\n\nCleo. I never said, that the great Generals, you nam'd, laid no Stress\non Preaching or Praying.\n\nHor. But Yesterday, speaking of the Gallantry of our Men in _Spain_ and\n_Flanders_, you said, that you _would as soon believe, that it was\nWitchcraft that made them Brave, as that it was their Religion_. You\ncould mean Nothing else by this, than that, whatever it was, you was\nvery sure, it was not their Religion that made them Brave. How come\nyou to be so very sure of that?\n\nCleo. I judge from undeniable Facts, the loose and wicked Lives, the\nGenerality of them led, and the Courage and Intrepidity they were on\nmany Occasions. For of Thousands of them it was as evident as the Sun,\nthat they were very Vicious, at the same Time that they were very\nBrave.\n\nHor. But they had Divine Service among them; every Regiment had a\nChaplain; and Religion was certainly taken care of.\n\nCleo. It was, I know it; but not more than was absolutely necessary to\nhinder the Vulgar from suspecting, that Religion was neglected by\ntheir Superiours; which would be of dangerous Consequence to all\nGovernments. There are no great Numbers of Men without Superstition;\nand if it was to be tried, and the most skilful Unbelievers were to\nlabour at it, with all imaginable Cunning and Industry, it would be\naltogether as impossible to get an Army of all _Atheists_, as it would\nbe to have an Army of good Christians. Therefore no Multitudes can be\nso universally wicked, that there should not be some among them, upon\nwhom the Suspicion, I hinted at, would have a bad Effect. It is\ninconceiveable, how Wickedness, Ignorance, and Folly are often blended\ntogether. There are, among all Mobs, vicious Fellows, that boggle at\nno Sin; and whilst they know Nothing to the Contrary, but that Divine\nService is taken care of as it used to be, tho' they never come near\nit, are perfectly easy in their Evil Courses, who yet would be\nextremely shock'd, should Any body tell them seriously, that there was\nno Devil.\n\nHor. I have known such my self; and I see plainly, that the Use, which\nPoliticians may make of Christianity in Armies, is the same as ever\nwas made of all other Religions on the same Occasion, _viz_. That the\nPreists, who preside over them, should humour and make the most of the\nNatural Superstition of all Multitudes, and take great Care, that on\nall Emergencies, the Fear of an invisible Cause, which Every body is\nborn with, should never be turn'd against the Interest those, who\nemploy them.\n\nCleo. It is certain, that Christianity being once stript of the\nSeverity of its Discipline, and its most essential Precepts, the\nDesign of it may be so skilfully perverted from its real and original\nScope, as to be made subservient to any worldly End or Purpose, a\nPolitician can have Occasion for.\n\nHor. I love to hear you; and to shew you, that I have not been\naltogether inattentive, I believe I can repeat to you most of the\nHeads of your Discourse, since you finish'd what you had to say\nconcerning the Origin of Honour. You have proved to my Satisfaction,\nthat no Preaching of the Gospel, or strict Adherence to the Precepts\nof it, will make men good Soldiers, any more than they will make them\ngood Painters, or any thing else the most remote from the Design of\nit. That good Christians, strictly speaking, can never presume or\nsubmit to be Soldiers. That Clergymen under Pretence of Preaching the\nGospel, by a small Deviation from it, may easily misguide their\nHearers, and not only make them fight in a just Cause, and against the\nEnemies of their Country, but likewise incite them to civil Discord\nand all Manner of Mischief. That by the Artifices of such Divines,\neven honest and well-meaning Men have often been seduced from their\nDuty, and, tho' they were sincere in their Religion, been made to act\nquite contrary to the Precepts of it. You have given me a full View of\nthe Latitude, that may be taken in Preaching, by putting me in Mind of\nan undeniable Truth; _viz_. That in all the Quarrels among Christians,\nthere never yet was a Cause so bad, but, if it could find an Army to\nback it, there were always Clergymen ready to justify and maintain it.\nYou have made it plain to me, that Divine Service and Religious\nExercises may be ordered and strictly enjoin'd with no other than\nPolitical Views; that by Preaching and Praying, bad Christians may be\ninspired with Hatred to their Enemies, and Confidence in the Divine\nFavour; that in order to obtain the Victory, Godliness and an outward\nShew of Piety among Soldiers may be made serviceble to the greatest\nProfligates, who never join in Prayer, have no Thoughts of Religion,\nor ever assist at any Publick Worship, but by Compulsion and with\nReluctancy; and that they may have this effect in an Army, of which\nthe General is an _Atheist_, most of the Clergy are Hypocrites, and the\nGenerality of the Soldiers wicked Men. You have made it evident, that\nneither the _Huguenots_ in _France_, nor the _Roundheads_ in _England_\ncould have been animated by the Spirit of Christianity; and shewn me\nthe true Reason, why Acts of Devotion were more frequent, and Religion\nseemingly more taken care of in both those Armies, than otherwise is\nusual among military Men.\n\nCleo. You have a good Memory.\n\nHor. I must have a very bad one, if I could not remember thus much. In\nall the Things I nam'd, I am very clear. The solution likewise, which\nyou have given of the Difficulty I proposed this Afternoon, I have\nNothing to object to; and I believe, that skilful Preachers consult\nthe Occupations as well as the Capacities of their Hearers; that\ntherefore in Armies they always encourage and chear up their\nAudiences; and that whatever the Day or the Occasion may be, upon\nwhich they harangue them, they seldom touch upon mortifying Truths,\nand take great Care never to leave them in a Melancholy Humour, or\nsuch an Opinion of themselves or their Affairs as might lower their\nSpirits, or depress their Minds. I am likewise of your Opinion, as to\nartful Politicians; that they fall in with the Humour of their Party,\nand make the most of the Conjuncture they live in; and I believe,\nthat, if _Cromwell_ had been to Command the Duke of _Marlborough_'s Army,\nhe would have taken quite other Measures, than he did in his own Time.\nUpon the whole, you have given me a clear Idea, and laid open to me\nthe real Principle of that great wicked Man. I can now reconcile the\nBravest and most Gallant of his Atchievements, with his vilest and the\nmost treacherous of his Actions; and tracing every Thing, he did, from\none and the same Motive, I can solve several Difficulties concerning\nhis Character, that would be inexplicable, if that vast Genius had\nbeen govern'd by any Thing but his Ambition; and, if following the\ncommon Opinion, we suppose him to have been a Compound of a daring\nVillain and an Enthusiastical Bigot.\n\nCleo. I am not a little proud of your Concurrence with me.\n\nHor. You have made out, with Perspicuity, every Thing you have\nadvanced both Yesterday and to Day, concerning the Political Use, that\nmay be made of Clergymen in War; but, after all, I can't see what\nHonour you have done to the Christian Religion, which yet you ever\nseem strenuously to contend for, whilst you are treating every Thing\nelse with the utmost Freedom. I am not prepared to reply to several\nThings, which, I know, you might answer: Therefore I desire, that we\nmay break off our Discourse here. I will think on it, and wait on you\nin a few Days; for I shall long to be set to Rights in this Point.\n\nCleo. Whenever you please; and I will shew you, that no Discovery of\nthe Craft, or Insincerity of Men can ever bring any Dishonour upon the\nChristian Religion it self, I mean the Doctrine of _Christ_, which can\nonly be learn'd from the New Testament, where it will ever remain in\nits Purity and Lustre.","title":"An Enquiry into an Origin of Honour; and the Usefulness of Christianity in War","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":52915}