Reason fhews itfelf in all occurrences of life; whereas the brute makes no discovery of fuch a talent, but in what immediately regards his own prefervation, or the continuance of his fpecies. Animals in their -generation are wiser than the fons of men; but their wisdom is confined to a few particulars, and lies in a very narrow compafs. Take a brute out of his inftinct, and you find him wholly deprived of underftanding. To ufe an inftance that comes often under obfervation.

In

With what caution does the hen provide herself a neft in places unfrequented, and free from noife and disturbance? When he has laid her eggs in such a manner that fhe can cover them, what care does the take in turning them frequently, that all parts may partake of the vital warmth? When fhe leaves them, to provide for her neceffary fuftenance, how punctually does he return before they have time to cool, and become incapable of producing an animal? the fummer you fee her giving herself greater freedoms, and quitting her care for above two hours together; but in winter, when the rigour of the seafon would chill the principles of life, and deftroy the young one, the grows more affiduous in her attendance, and ftays away but half the time. When the birth approaches, with how much nicety and attention does the help the chick to break its prifon? Not to take notice of her covering it from the injuries of the weather, providing it proper nourishment, and teaching it to help itself; nor to mention her forfaking the neft, if after the ufual time of reckoning the young one does not make its appearance. A chymical operation could not be followed with greater art or diligence, than is seen in the hatching of a chick; tho' there are many other birds that show an infinitely greater fagacity in all the forementioned particulars,

But at the fame time the hen, that has all this feeming ingenuity (which is indeed abfolutely neceffary for the propagation of the fpecies) confidered in other refpects, is without the leaft glimmerings of thought

thought or common fenfe. She mistakes a piece of chalk for an egg, and fits upon it in the fame manner: fhe is infenfible of any increase or diminution in the number of thofe fhe lays: fhe does not diftinguish between her own and those of another fpecies; and when the birth appears of never so different a bird, will cherish it for her own. In all these circumstances, which do not carry an immediate regard to the fubfiftence of herself or her fpecies, fhe is a very idiot.

There is not, in my opinion, any thing more myfterious in nature than this inftinct in animals, which thus rifes above reason, and falls infinitely fhort of it. I cannot be accounted for by any properties in matter, and at the same time works after fo odd a manner, that one cannot think it the faculty of an intellectual being. For my own part, I look upon it as upon the principle of gravitation in bodies, which is not to be explained by any known qualities inherent in the bodies themselves, nor from any laws of mechanifm, but, according to the beft notions of the greatest philofophers, is an immediate impreffion from the first mover, and the divine energy a&ting in the

creatures.

The Atheist inexcufable in endeavouring to make Conte

[Spect. No 186.j

A Believer may be excufed by the most har

dened atheist for endeavouring to make him a convert, because he does it with an eye to both 'their interests. The atheift is inexcufable who tries to gain over a believer, because he does not propose the doing himself or the believer any good by fuch

4

a converfion.

The profpect of a future ftate is the fecret com→ 'fort and refreshment of my foul; it is that which 'makes nature look gay about me; it doubles all my pleasures, and fupports me under all my afflictions.

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• I can

I can look at difappointments and misfortunes, pain and fickness, death itself, and what is worse than death, the lofs of thofe who are dearest to me, with indifference, fo long as I keep in view the pleasures of eternity, and the ftate of being in which there will be no fears nor apprehenfions, pains nor forrows, fickness nor feparation. Why will any man ⚫ be fo impertinently officious as to tell me all this is only fancy and delufion? Is there any merit in being the meffenger of ill news? if it is a dream, let me enjoy it, fince it makes me both the happier and better man.

I must confefs I do not know how to truft a man who believes neither heaven nor hell, or, in other words, a future ftate of rewards and punish'ments. Not only natural felf-love, but reafon directs us to promote our own intereft above all things. It can never be for the intereft of a believer to do me a mifchief, because he is fure, upon the balance of accounts, to find himself a lofer by it. On the contrary, if he confiders his own welfare in his behaviour towards me, it will lead him to do me all the good he can, and at the fame time reftrain him from doing me any injury. An unbeliever does not act like a reafonable creature, if he favours me contrary to his present intereft, or does not diftrefs me when it turns to his prefent advantage. Honour and good-nature may indeed tie up his hands; but as thefe would be very much frengthened by reason and principle, fo without them they are only inftincts, or wavering unfettled notions, which reft on no foundation.

Infidelity has been attacked with fo good fuccefs of late years, that it is driven out of all its outworks. The atheift has not found his poft tenable, and is therefore retired into deism, and a disbelief of revealed religion only. But the truth of it is, the greatest number of this fet of inen, are those who, for want of a virtuous education, or examining the grounds of religion, know fo very little of the mat

• ter

31

'ter in queftion, that their infidelity is but another ' term for their ignorance.

As folly and inconfideratenefs are the foundations of infidelity, the great pillars and fupports of it are ' either a vanity of appearing wifer than the rest of 'mankind, or an oftentation of courage in defpifing 'the terrors of another world, which have fo great an 'influence on what they call weaker minds; or an averfion to a belief that must cut them off from many of thofe pleasures they propofe to themselves, and fill them with remorfe for many of those they have already tafted.

The great received articles of the Chriftian religion have been fo clearly proved, from the authority of that divine revelation in which they are de• livered, that is is impoffible for those who have ears to hear, and eyes to fee, not to be convinced of ' them. But were it poffible for any thing in the • Chriftian faith to be erroneous, I can find no ill confequences in adhering to it. The great points of ⚫ the incarnation and fufferings of our Saviour, pro• duce naturally fuch habits of virtue in the mind of man, that, I fay, fuppofing it were poffible for us to be mistaken in them, the infidel himself must at leaft allow that .no other fyftem of religion could fo ⚫ effectually contribute to the heightning of morality. They give us great ideas of the dignity of human nature, and of the love which the fupreme Being bears to his creatures, and confequently engage us in the highest acts of duty towards our Creator, our neighbour, and ourfelves. How many noble arguments has St. Paul raised from the chief articles of our religion, for the advancing of morality in its three great branches? To give a fingle example in ' each kind: what can be a ftronger motive to a firm 'truft and reliance on the mercies of our Maker, than 'the giving us his Son to fuffer for us? What can 'make us love and esteem even the most inconfiderable of mankind, more than the thought that Chrift ' died for him? Or what difpofe us to fet a ftricter ' guard

C 4

guard upon the purity of our own hearts, than our being members of Chrift, and a part of the fociety of which that immaculate perfon is the head? But ⚫ these are only a fpecimen of those admirable enforcements of morality, which the apostle has drawn from the hiftory of our bleffed Saviour.

<

all ages

If our modern infidels confidered these matters with that candour and seriousness which they de• ferve, we should not fee them act with such a spirit of bitterness, arrogance, and malice; they would not be raifing fuch infignificant cavils, doubts, and fcruples, as may be ftarted against every thing that is not capable of mathematical demonftration; in ⚫ order to unfettle the minds of the ignorant, difturb the public peace, fubvert morality, and throw all things into confufion and disorder. If none of these ⚫ reflexions can have any influence on them, there is one that perhaps may, because it is adapted to their vanity, by which they feem to be guided much more than by their reafon. I would therefore have ⚫ them confider, that the wifeft and beft of men in of the world, have been those who lived up to the religion of their country, when they faw nothing in it oppofite to morality, and to the best lights they had of the divine nature. Pythagoras's firft rule directs us to worship the gods as it is ordained by law, for that is the most natural interpretation of the precept. Socrates, who was the most ⚫ renowned among the heathens both for wifdom and virtue, in his laft moments defires his friends to offer a cock to Æfculapius; doubtless out of a fubmiffive deference to the established worship of his country. Xenophon tells us, that his Prince (whom he fets forth as a pattern of perfection) when he ⚫ found his death approaching, offered facrifices on ⚫ the mountains to the Perfian Jupiter, and the Sun, according to the custom of the Perfians; for these are the words of the hiftorian. Nay, the Epicureans and atomical philofophers fhewed a very remarkable modefty in this particular; for though the being of a

.

God