"Lucian. The defaming either particular perfons or communities, by fuch groundlefs and ridiculous ftories as those juft now mentioned, is, you fay, one of the blackeft and moft complicated crimes that can be thought of. "Mellinius. True. "Lucian. And yet, of all parties of men, none have been more guilty of this crime than the Chriftians. "Mellinius. What is that to me? "Lucian. Something; because you are of that fect. But more; because of all Chriftians, none have been more guilty of it than Mellinius.-You remember your famous work de Obtrectatoribus Paganis, &c. "Mellinius. I fhould hardly forget a thing which I hope does honour to my memory, and is the principal action of my life. "Lucian. You will recollect then, that I have there the honour to be diftinguifhed as the capital object of your spleen, and am fingled out from much more illuftrious Heathens with this remarkable teftimony in my favour: (viz.) "God, the revenger of wickednefs, punifhed the blafphemy of Lucian by a moft cruel and fhameful death; for he caufed him to be torn in pieces by dogs: wherefore let us leave him in this mangled condition here, not at all doubting, but he will be eternally mangled hereafter." But becaufe no words can be fo expreffive as your own, I have always reckoned them in the number of thofe few things that are more particularly worthy to be remembered; take them as follows: Deus vindex fcelerum Luciani rabiem mortis feritate & turpitudine compenfavit. Fecit enim ut vivus a canibus dilaceratetur : Quare illum fic dilaceratum, atque in æternum aliter dilacerandum, eniciandumque relinquamus. Pro «Mellinius. You are very fair and punctual in the citation; I wish you prove fo in your comment upon it. ceed. "Lucian. My comment I think is not fevere, when I fay, that there feems to be no poffible aggravation of the crime you mentioned which does not belong to this. For, in the firft place, you have propagated an idle and ridiculous story, and for which there is not the leaft foundation in all antiquity. Then you have rafhly made God the author of an imaginary punifhment, which required not his agency, if it had been real. real. And to finish all, you have moft charitably configned me to eternal torments, and that too with a certain grace and manner, which one can never fufficiently admire. "Mellinius. I must own there seems to be fomething of warmth and indifcretion in this charge, but which may be perhaps owing rather to my temper, than defign. "Lucian. Indeed, from the fpecimen now given of your temper, there is fcarce any thing of this nature but may be imputed to it. Yet your own charge against the heathens might have taught you to folve it better: as amongst them, fo amongst you, it was a common and prevalent fashion to blacken an enemy; and not only Mellinius, but his whole fraternity, had encouraged it, as a thing expedient and useful to the common caufe. You see yonder, at a small distance, in as deep difpute as ourselves, and not improbably on the fame fubject, the emperor Julian, and a zealous father of the church. That father has aflured pofterity, that Julian, in his last moments, took the blood from his wound, and threw it up against heaven, with this impious defiance, (viz.) "Galilean, thou haft conquered." And yet we know, from one who attended that emperor in his laft unfortunate expedition, and who has freely recorded his faults, that he died in the moft calm and philofophic manner, without any marks of refentment, cither against God or man.—-Go now, and boast for what crime nature formed the choler! and confider whether it be yet time to receive fuccours from infidelity! "Mellinius. So, I perceive you are refolved to let me see that you are fenfible of your fuperiority, and that the mercy once mentioned, is not now to be expected. "Lucian. No; for that is due not to the proud, but to the humble, of which number Mellinius certainly never was one. I must now therefore infift, that the excufe which might be urged in favour of fome other men, can never be granted to you. "Mellinius. And fo, becaufe I am not a proper object of this indulgence, you will now change its nature, and, in the true fpirit of Lucian, endeavour to convert it into gall. "Lucian. You will not accufe me of that, though I can you, when you hear farther what I am going to fay: for it comes from your own fcripture and your own comments. "Mellinius. Mellinius. Yet this would not have been the first time that both our own fcripture and our own comments have been polluted, in paffing through fuch hands as yours. "Lucian. You will judge from what follows, whether it be fo again. The poor Heathens, left to the dim twilight of reafon, thought it right to hate their enemies; and in confequence of that, did them frequently as much mischief as they could. "Mellinius. True. "Lucian. But ye Chriftians, ennobled by a fublimer principle, think it right to love your enemies, and return good for evil. Mellinius. Certainly no two truths can be more unqueftionable than thefe. "Lucian. If we therefore abused and calumniated your fect, it was in fome measure excufable upon our principles, when we thought your doctrines fubverfive of our religion, and deftructive to the community. But when you, on the contrary, abused and calumniated us, it was a fort of apoftacy from your faith, and a defertion of that great principle for which your mafter died. And yet how in all ages you have contended with us in the vile arts of detraction, I fuppofe I need not any longer infift on." The author of thefe dialogues acquaints us, that they have lain by him in manuscript several years; a circumftance which, though it speaks favourably as to the writer's modefty, we cannot help thinking unfavourable to the reception of his work. Performances, that are so long in making their appearance, are expected to be particularly important, elegant, and correct. The motive alfo which he affigns for publishing them now*, is fuch a one as, we should naturally think, fhould have inclined him to fupprefs them; as it cannot be doubted but they lie under very great difadvantages, by having been fo recently preceded by the ingenious and elegant dialogues of Lord Lyttelton and Mr. Hurd t. * This motive is the favourable reception of Lord Lyttelton's Dialogues; for our account of which, fee Review, Vol. XXII. p. 409. t See Review, Vol. XXVI. p. 35. 6 Chriflianity Christianity true Deifm. Addreffed to the younger Clergy of the 8vo. Is. 6d. HAT the difbelief of a religious fyftem, in a country Twhere it is publicly profeffed, fhould expofe a man to popular odium, is not at all to be wondered at. To call in queftion the public religion has, in all ages and nations, been attended with the fame, often with a feverer fate; even where the most corrupt and barbarous fuperftitions have happened to be eftablished by law. The wifdom and excellency of the Christian inftitution, its happy influence upon the best interefts of fociety and human nature, the able and judicious apologies which have been wrote in its defence, and the many great names in the learned and philofophical world, who have not been ashamed to profefs, nor refused to become advocates for it; are circumftances which greatly, and may we not fay juftly, increase the general odium which has been thrown upon infidelity. Wherever the marks of unfairness and difingenuity of mind appear, they will not fail to excite the difapprobation of all good men; and the enemies of our holy religion must not pronounce the world uncharitable, in cenfuring every thing of this kind. But whatever kind or degree of crime the disbelief of Christianity may involve in it; and however it may be an evidence of defect in the moral difpofitions of the mind, (as in too many inftances it certainly is) we cannot help thinking it a strange abufe of words, not to fay an extremely dangerous and pernicious one, to diftinguish an invidious character by the name of DEIST; an appellation, in its primary and original meaning, of moft honourable import; and which ought never to be connected with any thing which may justly be efteemed impious or immoral. And though it may be truly faid, that the ufe of words is arbitrary; and that where a word has obtained a general acceptation, and is univerfally understood in the fame fenfe, no ill confequences can arife from it; we are nevertheless of opinion, that this abufe of the term DEIST is particularly calculated to mislead unwary minds; to confound their judgments in things of the higheft importance; and to lead them into conclufions which may be of the worst confequence. To ufe the words which a noble writer and philofopher has introduced into one of his converfation-pieces; Averse as as we are to the caufe of Theifm, or name of DEIST, when taken in a sense exclufive of Revelation; we confider ftill, that in ftrictnefs, the root of all is THEISM; and that to be a fettled Chriftian, it is neceffary to be firft of all a good THEIST for Theifm can only be oppofed to Polytheism or Atheism. Nor have we patience to hear the name of DEIST (the higheft of all names) decried, and fet in opposition to Christianity as if our religion was a kind of Magic, which depended not on the belief of a fingle Supreme Being: or as if the firm and rational belief of fuch a Being, on philofophical grounds, was an improper qualification for believing any thing further. Excellent prefumption for those who naturally incline to the difbelief of Revelation; or who, thro' vanity, affect a freedom of this kind." The judicious author of the little treatife now before us, which he has very properly called CHRISTIANITY TRUE DEISM, feems to be fenfible of the great abufe and impropriety, of which the above celebrated writer complains; and has very well contributed his part to the recovery of the word Deift, from its unnatural and perverted, to its original, juft, and honourable fignification. His plan is, Firf, to fate the true notion of Deifin; and, Secondly, to give a general view of Chriftianity, as contained in the Scriptures; from the difcuffion of which two points he hopes it will appear, that the Deift, however he may be vilified and afperfed, is not far from the kingdom of Heaven; that he is not, nor can be, a bad man, or an enemy to Chrif tianity and moreover, that no man can be a true Chriftian, unlefs he be well-grounded in the principles of Deifm. "The Deift, fays our Author, firmly believes that a Being, all-wife, powerful, and good, must have first made the world; and that the fame power, wifdom, and goodness still preferve and govern it." Deifm is here directly oppofed to Atheifm only, which fuppofes that the world was made by chance, and that it is left to chance to preferve and govern it. It is evident, upon the first view of this fubject, that upon the principle of Atheism, there can be no fuch thing as religion at all; and that it is a fcheme of philofophy, which, if it does not totally deftroy, muft of neceffity have an extremely bad influence upon the interefts of virtue and morality; as it takes away the moft powerful motives to virtue; and fets afide all idea of obligation, duty, and law. Shaftesbury's Moralifts, part 1, fect. 2. REV. July 1762. Atheism |