DICTIONARY FOR THE POCKET. Written in FRENCH by A SOCIETY OF MEN OF LETTERS, And Tranflated into ENGLISH from The laft GENEVA Edition, corrected by the AUTHORS. WITH NOTE S, CONTAINING À REFUTATION of fuch Paffages as are any way * LONDON: Printed for TH HOMAS BROWN, M.DCC.LXV. THE great noife which the following work has made in foreign parts, on account of the author's freedom in regard to matters of religion, may probably occafion fome people to be offended with the publication of it in English. But an exception of this kind muft furely be the effect of prejudice, and is impoffible to be defended upon the principles of reafon and philofophy. True religion is not afraid of bearing the strictest examination; the attacks of infidels, instead of weakening her authority, rather contribute to her triumphs. She is ever ready to hear what her adverfaries have to oppofe; and calmly endeavours to refute their errors. This is a maxim agreeable to found fenfe, and the contrary doctrine is calculated only for the meridian of the inquifition. It must be acknowledged, however, that in writings of this fort, fome regard ought to be fhewn to the illiterate and the vulgar; neither is it fit that their minds fhould be unhinged in their affent to the true religion. This indulgence to the public is fhewn in the following translation, which has been undertaken chiefly to prevent the work from being rendered into English by fome other hand, who would perhaps have been glad of the opportunity of Spreading its errors. Care bas therefore been taken to make proper frictures on fuch fuch paffages as are most exceptionable, and even to refute at large fome articles which may be fufpected to have a dangerous tendency. Thefe are blemishes, which, as a judicious critic obferves*, are capable of disfiguring, but not of intirely deftroying the merit of this work. Tho' our author is no divine, he is a poet, an hiftorian; philofopher, and in many respects a moft agreeable writer. In fuch a multiplicity of articles he has an opportunity of displaying not only his wit and humour, but likewife a great fund of erudition. Where he does not intermeddle with religion, he is very entertaining, and oftentimes inftructive. Even when writing on religious matters, he is not always deferving of cenfure; for inftance, his article of toleration contains excellent doctrine, and fhews him to be endowed with good-nature and humanity. This appears even in the fingularity of many of his notions, which were owing to the favourable opinion be entertains of mankind. He thinks that we are not naturally prone to vice; that virtue confifts only in doing good to our neighbour; that neither the Greeks nor Romans were idolaters; opinions, which, however erroneous, are an indication of bis benevolent difpofition. See Critical Review, December 1764. |