Make Nature ftill incroach upon his plan ; REMARK S. 475 Godhead of the First Caufe, tho' they cannot attain to an adequate idea of the Deity, yet difcover fo much of him, as enables them to fee the End of their Creation, and the Means of their Happiness: whereas they who take this high Priori Road (fuch as Hobbs, Spinoza, Des Cartes, and fome better Reafoners) for one that goes right, ten lose themselves in Mists, or ramble after Vifions, which deprive them of all fight of their End, and miflead them in the choice of wrong means, Ver. 472. And reason downward, till we doubt of God:] This was in fact the cafe of thofe who, instead of reasoning from a vifible World to an invisible God, took the other road; and from an invisible God (to whom they had given attributes agreeable to certain metaphyfical principles formed out of their own imaginations) reafoned downwards, to a visible world in theory, of Man's Creation; which not agreeing, as might be expected, to that of God's, they began, from their inability to account for evil which they saw in his world, to doubt of that God, whofe Being they had admitted, and whofe attributes they had deduced a priori, on weak and miftaken principles. VER. 473. Make Nature ftill] This relates to fuch as, being afhamed to affert a mere Mechanic Caufe, and yet unwilling to forfake it intirely, have had recourfe to a certain Plaftic Nature, Elaftic Fluid, Subtile Matter, etc. VER. 475. Thruft fome Mechanic Caufe into his flace, The first of thefe Follies is that of Des Cartes; the fecond of Hobbs; the third of fome fucceeding Philofophers. 5 Find Virtue local, all Relation fcorn, See all in Self, and but for self be born: 480 Of nought fo certain as our Reafon still, Of nought fo doubtful as of Soul and Will. REMARK S. VER. 477. Or, at one bound, etc.] These words are very fignificant: In their Physical and Metaphyfical reasonings it was a Chain of pretended Demonftrations that drew them into all thefe abfurd conclufions. But their errors in Morals rest only on bold and impudent Affertions, without the leaft fhadow of proof, in which they over-leap all the laws of Argument as well as Truth. VER. 478, etc. Make God Man's Image, Man the final Cause, Find Virtue local, all Relation scorn, See all in Self---] Here the Poet from the errors relating to a Deity in Natural Philofophy, defcends to thofe in Moral. Man was made according to God's Image; this falfe Theology, measuring his Attributes by ours, makes God after Man's Image. This proceeds from the imperfection of his Reafon. The next, of imagining himself the final Caufe, is the effect of his Pride: as the making Virtue and Vice arbitrary, and Morality the impofition of the Magiftrate, is of the Corruption of his heart. Hence he centers every thing in himself. The Progress of Dulnefs herein differing from that of Madness; one ends in Seeing all in God, the other in feeing all in Self. VER. 481. Of nought fo certain as our Reason ftill.] Of which we have most caufe to be diffident. Of nought fo doubtful as of Soul and Will: two things the moft felf-evident, the Existence of our Soul, and the Freedom of our Will. VER. 484. Such as Lucretius drew,] Lib. i. ver. 57. Wapt up in Self, a God without a Thought, 485 Regardless of our merit or default. Or that bright Image to our fancy draw, REMARKS. Semota ab nofiris rebus, summotaque longe--- From whence the two verfes following are tranflated, and wonderfully agree with the character of our Goddess. SCRIB. VER.487. Or that bright Image] Bright Image was the Title given by the later Platonifts to that Vifion of Nature, which they had formed out of their own fancy, fo bright that they called it Arlo "faμ, or the Self-feen Image, i. e. seen by its own light. This Ignis fatuus has in these our times appeared again in the North; and the writings of Geddes, and other followers of Hutchefon, are full of its wonders. For in this lux borealis, this Self-feen Image, these fecond-fighted philofophers fee every thing else. SCRIBL. VER. 487. Or that bright Image] i. e. Let it be either the Chance God of Epicurus, or the FATE, of this Goddess. VER. 488. Which Theocles in raptur'd Vision saw,] Thus this Philofopher calls upon his Friend, to partake with him in these Visions: "To-morrow, when the Eastern Sun With his firft beams adorns the front "By favour of the Sylvan Nymphs : and invoking first the Genius of the Place, we'll try to ob "tain at least feme faint and distant view of the Sovereign "Genius and firft Beauty." Charact. Vol. ii, pag. 245. This Genius is thus apoftrophized (pag. 345.) by the fame Philofopher. While thro' Poetic fcenes the GENIUS roves, Or wanders wild in Academic Groves; That NATURE our Society adores, 490 Where Tindal dictates and Silenus fnores. REMARKS. << - -O glorious Nature! "Supremely fair, and fovereignly good! Supreme Creator! "Thee I invoke, and thee alone adore. Sir Ifaac Newton diftinguishes between these two in a very different manner. [Princ. Schol. gen. fub. fin.]---Hunc cognofcimus folummodo per proprietates fuas et attributa, et per fapien tiffimas et optimas rerum ftructuras, et caufas finales; veneramur autem et colimus ob dominium. Deus etenim fine dominio, providentia, et caufis finalibus, nibil aliud eft quam Fatum & Natura. VER. 489. roves,---Or wanders wild in Academic Groves.] "Above all things I loved Eafe, and of al! Philofophers those "who reasoned moft at their Eafe, and were never angry or "disturbed, as thofe called Sceptics never were. I looked upon "this kind of Philofophy as the prettieft, agreeableft, roving Exercife of the mind, poffible to be imagined."Vol. ii. p. 206. VER. 491. That Nature our Society adores,] See the Pantheifticon, with its liturgy and rubrics, compofed by Toland, which very lately, for the Edification of the Society, has been translated into English, and fold by the Bookfellers of London and Westminster. VER. 492. Where Tindal dictates and Silenus fnores.] It cannot be denied but that this fine ftroke of fatire against Atheism was well intended. But how muft the Reader fmile at our Author's officious zeal, when he is told, that at the time this was written, you might as foon have found a Wolf in England as an Atbeift? The truth is, the whole fpecies was exterminated. Rous'd at his name, up rose the bowzy Sire, And fhook from out his Pipe the feeds of fire; 494 Then fnapt his box, and strok'd his belly down, Rofy and rev'rend, tho' without a Gown. Bland and familiar to the throne he came, Led up REMARK S. 500 There is a trifling difference indeed concerning the Author of the Atchievement. Some, as Dr. Afhenhurst, gave it to Bentley's Boylean Lectures. And he fo well convinced that great Man of the truth, that wherever afterwards he found Atheist, he always read it A Theist. But, in spite of a claim fo well made out, others gave the honour of this exploit to a later Boylean Lecturer. A judicious Apologift for Dr. Clarke, against Mr. Whifton, says, with no less elegance, than pofitivenefs of Expreffion, It is a most certain truth that the Demonftration of the being and attributes of God, bas extirpated and banifhed Atheism out of the Chriftian world, p. 18. It is much to be lamented, that the clearest truths have ftill their dark fide, Here we see it becomes a doubt which of the two Hercules's was the Monster-queller. But what of that? Since the thing is done, and the proof of it fo certain, there is no occafion for fo nice a canvaffing of circumstances. SCRIBL Ibid. Silenus] Silenus was an Epicurean Philofopher, as appears from Virgil, Eclog. vi. where he fings the principles of that Philofophy in his drink. VER. 494. feeds of Fire;] The Epicurean language, Semina rerum, or Atoms. Virg. Eclog. vi. Semina ignis---femina flamma. VER. 499, 500. From Priest-craft bappily set free, Lo! ev'ry finif'd Son returns to thee: The learned Scriblerus is here very whimsical. It would feem, fays he, by this, as if the PRIESTS (who are always plotting mischief against the Law of Nature) had inveigled these harm |