grading man to a spider; and reafon LET.

is either exalted to the ftars, or de-
preffed to the earth, as best serves
the cause of infidelity. In this par-
ticular, however, you are at least as
bad as the parfons.*-But let us pro-
ceed. What have you more to fay
against the argument of the house?

Том. I fay, that arguments con-
cerning facts are founded on experience.
I have seen one house planned and
erected by an architect, and therefore
I conclude the fame with regard to
others. But "will any man tell me,
"with a serious countenance, that an
"orderly universe must arife from
"fome thought and art like the hu-
"man, because we have experience
"if it? To ascertain this reasoning,
"it were requifite that we had ex-
perience of the origin of worlds."†

* See Dialogues, P. 37.

E 3

† P. 66.

TIM.

IV.

LET.

IV.

TIM. Truly I know not how that can well be; for worlds are not made every day. I have heard of the production of none fince our own, and man could not fee that made, because he himself was made after it; and he could not exift, before he was made. The contrary fuppofition was indeed once ventured on, by the master of a Dutch puppet-fhewWhether he were a metaphysician, I never heard. In the beginning of this ingenious drama, Mr. PUNCH posting over the stage in a very large pair of jack-boots, and being afked, whither he was going at fo early an hour, replies, I am going to be created. His evidence, if you can procure it, is very much at the fervice of fcepticifm, and may go near to determine the matter. In the mean time, I fhall prefume my argument to be ftill good,

that

IV.

that if a house must be built by LET. thought and defign, a world cannot have been built without; though I have feen the one, and never was fo fortunate as to fee the other. Let me add farther, that if in the general contriI vance, and conftruction of the world there be evident demonftration of confummate wisdom, that demonstration cannot be set aside by seeming or real inconveniences in fome parts, which, for good reasons, were either origi-. nally defigned, or may have been fince introduced, for the trial or punishment of its inhabitants, or for other purposes, unknown to us-This is the plain conclufion formed by common fenfe, and furely ten times. more rational than to talk of eggs, and feeds, and Spiders, and the neceffity of seeing the world made, in order to know that it had a maker.

LET.

V.

I

LETTER V.

shall not purfue any farther, at prefent, the wild ramblings of the spirit of scepticism in the Dialogues on Natural Religion. If your diforder should return hereafter, Dear Sir, we may take another handful or two of the hafty-pudding. Let us advert in the mean time to fomething more mischievous than the Dialogues, because more intelligible to the generality of readers, I mean an Effay on Suicide, in which that practice is vindicated, and recommended to his Majefty's liege fubjects, not only as lawful and innocent, but as containing

and

and comprehending, in many cafes, LET.
almost the whole duty of man.

The Effay opens with a panegyric
on philosophy, as the only remedy for
fuperftition. But may not the remedy
prove worse than the disease? A
young gentleman, fome years ago, fuf-
fered himself to be feduced to Popery.
His friends fent him to the fage of Fer-
ney,
for a cure: and a most effectual one
indeed was wrought. He came home
a confirmed infidel, and has employed
himself ever fince in writing against
Christianity. Popery may be bad;
but irreligion is not better.

P. 1. Mr. H. laments that "men
"endowed with the ftrongest capa-
city for business and affairs crouch
"all their lives under flavery to the
groffeft fuperftition."

"

Superftition furely is not the failing of the prefent age, in Great Britain.

We

V.