criterion of truth; involving felf-evident axioms in obscurity and confufion; and entangling our understandings in the gloomy intricacies of fcholaftic fubtilty and metaphysical abstraction: when we see another * exhausting all the powers of a most fertile genius in ridiculing the difpenfations of the God that gave it; making the most awful fubjects of religion the conftant sport of his licentious wit; and continuing to fit with unabated levity in "the feat of the scorner," till he drops from it into the grave: when we see a third †, with the strongest profeffions of fincerity and good faith, propofing most humbly what he calls his doubts and fcruples, and thereby creating them in the minds of others; extolling one part of Christianity in order to fubvert the reft; retaining its moral precepts, but rejecting its miracles and all its characteristic doctrines; giving an air of speciousness to the wildeft fingularities by the most exquifite graces of compofition, and infidioufly undermining the foundations of the Gospel, while he pretends

* VOLTAIRE.

+ ROUSSEAU,

to

It is

to defend it: when, I fay, our adversaries affume fuch different fhapes, and set so many engines at work against us; what else can this mean but to take from us all the fources of religious information, and bring us back again to the darkness and ignorance of our Pagan ancestors? It is to no purpose to tell us here of the light of nature. an affront to our senses, to offer us that dim taper, in the room of the "fun of righte"oufnefs *." Whatever may be faid (and a great deal has been faid) of the modern improvements of fcience, the discoveries of philosophy, and the fagacity of human reafon, it is to revelation only we are indebted for the fuperior light we now boast of in relion. If nature could ever have pointed out to us right principles of belief, and rules of conduct, fhe might have done it long ago; she had four thousand years to do it in before the coming of Chrift. But what little progress was made in this vaft space of

* Mal. iv. 2.

+ Mr. Rouffeau himfelf confeffes, that all the fine morality displayed in some of our modern publications, is derived not from philofophy, but from the Gofpel. Vol. ix. p. 71.

time;

time; what egregious mistakes were committed, not only in the fpeculative doctrines of religion, but in fome of the most effential points of practical morality, I need not remind you. How comes it then to pass, that this blind guide is at laft become fo quick-fighted? How comes her eye on a fudden fo strong and clear, as to fee into the perfections and will of God, to penetrate into the dark regions of futurity, to take in at one view the whole compafs of our duty,

It

and the whole extent of our exiftence? is plain fome friendly hand must have removed the film from her eyes; and what other hand could this be than that gracious and beneficent one, which gave eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame; which helped the impotence, and healed the infirmity, of nature, in every instance, in none more than in this? It is in short from the facred sources of the Gospel, that reafon drew that light she now enjoys. Let then men walk, if they will be so perverse," BY THIS LESSER LIGHT*,” which was only intended " to rule the night+" of heathenifm; but let them be

* Gen. i. 16.

+ Ib.

fo

fo honest as to confefs that it is only a borrowed, a reflected light; that it owes much the greatest part of its present luftre to

THAT GREATER, THAT BETTER LIGHT

66

of the Gofpel, whofe province it is "to govern the day *," and "to lighten every man that cometh into the world †.”

66

Let us however suppose for a moment (what can never be proved) that mankind are now much better able to investigate truth, and to find out their duty by themselves than they were in former ages; and that reason can give us (the utmost it ever did or can pretend to give) a perfect system of morality. But what will this avail us, unless it could be shown that man is also perfect and uncorrupt? A religion that contained nothing more than a perfect fyftem of morality might perhaps fuit an angel: but it is only one part, it is only a fubordinate part, of the religion of a man and a finner. It would be but very poor confolation to a criminal going to execution, to put into his hands a compleat collection of the laws of his country, when the poor wretch perhaps ex

* Gen. 16.

↑ John i. 9.

pected

pected a reprieve. It could ferve no other purpose than to embitter his agonies, and make him see more clearly the justice of his condemnation. If you chofe to do the unhappy man a real fervice, and to give him. any fubftantial comfort, you must affure him that the offence for which he was going to die was forgiven him; that his fentence was reversed; that he would not only be restored to his prince's favour, but put into a way of preferving it for the future; and that if his conduct afterwards was honeft and upright, he should be deemed capable of enjoying the highest honours in his master's kingdom. But no one could tell him this, or at leaft he would credit no one that did; except he was commiffioned and authorized by the prince himself, to tell him fo. He might study the laws in his hands till the very moment of his execution, without ever finding out from them that he should obtain a pardon.

Such, the fcriptures inform us, was the state of man before Chrift came into the world. He had fallen from his original inHe was a rebel against God, and obnoxious

nocence.