This I think will excufe me from following him through his elaborate Confutation of thefe Romish Doctrines; for unless he cou'd have prov'd them to be natural and just Confequences from the fpiritual Nature of Human Soul, he might as easily have confuted the Divinity of our Saviour, from the Idolatry of that Church. But this Confequence was much more eafily fuppos'd than prov'd; and therefore Eftibius is content only with hinting, and pointing at it here and there for indeed it was unreafonable ; to expect any juft proof from him; the Nature of the Thing wou'd not bear it, Purgatory and Prayers for the Dead turn upon this Question, whether the state of our Probation ends with our prefent Life: But what's this to the Question, whether our Soul furvives the Body? What is it, I fay, as to the one being any probable Ground of the other? For thus far I fee they are connected, that whenever the State of our Existence ends, the State of our Probation must end with it; and on the other hand, fo ong as we are in Being, we may alfo be under Probation, fuppofing no Revelation to the contrary; but this Connexion on our part, amounts no higher, than to a bare poffibility; and therefore can do the Romanist no manner of Service, fo long as we confine him to Topics of Probability Bb 2

and

and Certainty. But fee how far Eftibius can improve a Notion a Notion; this bare Poffibility is with him a probable Ground, and that probable Ground is, I fuppofe, one of his Demonftrations.

Invocation of Saints, is juft fuch an other Superftructure on the Immortality of the Soul; as if the Question were not whether the departed Saints have a mediatory Power, but whether they are exiftent-Beings. I muft joyn with him where he says, If this Pag. 328. my Doctrine of Human Soul can ob

tain Belief amongst the wifeft fort of them, the Romanifts] it must be a demonftrative Conviction of their Error; and if fome do, tho' but few, I will not repent of my pains, that I have endeavour'd to convert a Sinner from the Error of his Ways, &c. Here's the pious Motive that brought forth thefe Jecond Thoughts; and 'tis pity they came not fooner out: They wou'd have done Knights-Service to the Quaker, that went to Rome to convert the Pope; and I am apt to think he wou'd not have refus'd the affiftance of thefe Thoughts, for this Reafon in the first place, that they make a dead Letter of the Scripture; and next that he's beft qualify'd to comprehend the Author's Notion, and to explain the Parallel between Human Soul and the Sun Beams, by his own Light within. 'Tis very poffible I muft

con

confess, that some of the wiser soft of the Romanists may incline to Eftibius's fide of the Question; but these I fear, of all the rest, are farthest from being converted from the Error of their Ways; or if they fhou'd leave that corrupt Church, wou'd still, I doubt, have their Religion to feek.

Pag. 332,

But as the Papists on the one hand use, fays Eftibius, and abuse, fay I, the Immortality of the Soul, to maintain Purgatory, and unlawful Prayers and Invocations; fo it feems there are some others that from thence conclude, The Souls of Men dying pass immediately to Heaven or Hell. If by Heaven and Hell here is meant the confum mate, and unalterable State of Mankind in another World, I know not whofe Opini on this is, nor to what purpose he confutes it. All this is making himself a perfect Don Quixot in Difpute; 'tis encountring a Windmill, and that only one in his own head; and yet this feems to be his Senfe in that expreffion, the Soul immediately enjoys Salvation or Damnation. But if by Heaven and Hell he means the fame place in the Universe, where they shall after the Resurrection enjoy their last recompence, this may be the Opinion of some of the reform'd Writers, but then this does not render useless the Day of Judgement for still even this may be a place wherein the Bb 3

Ibid.

Souls

Souls of the juft and wicked enjoy an imperfect ftate of Bliss or initial Happiness or Torment, as he expreffes it; but this is a distinct Opinion he proposes to confute; and therefore the other Romantic Notion of the intermediate State, is what in this Place he does most heroically fubdue.

But let us confider what he objects to the Opinion of initial Happiness or Misery in the intermediate State; he tells us this Opinion feems to be more confonant to the Principles of the Chriftian Religion, than Pag. 329. that of the Roman Catholicks; and the Reform'd are beholden for fuch a Character to a stander-by; but this he cannot yet admit of, because we must feign a third

place of Torments, as well as Joy; and Pag. 330. what will this differ from a Purgatory? As much, I answer, as Purgation and Torment differ, which, to borrow your own Words, differ in their fole, primary, and genuine fignifications both in Hebrew, Greek and Latine. And is there no difference, think you, in the Things, as well as the Words; in a state of Mifery which shall end in Heaven, and that which fhall end in Hell? But it seems we have not found out a Place for the Torment of the Wicked, tho' we have Paradife for the Reception of Good Souls. This may be call'd an halfObjection, which grants one part of the Question

Ibid.

Ibid.

Question to confute another, but unluckily grants that part, which neceffarily fuppofes the whole; for if the furviving Souls of good Men are happy in Paradife, the Wic ked are undoubtedly miferable fome where; and this is all I defire Eftibins to grant me. But he farther urges, this Paradife cannot be a place of initial Happiness only; for where our Saviour was after Death, Sure must be a perfect, and compleat State of Happiness; fo that, if the Thief were with him, he must also be in the fame State too. So that the Thief must be equally happy with our Saviour, because in Para dife as well as he; and indeed all Men, in the fame Meridian, must according to this Notion, be equally happy or miferable; or however the Thief must be as happy as Heaven cou'd make him, if he was with our Saviour; but this is an Argument truly fitted to cozen a Ruftic Understanding, which may perhaps conceive Happinefs appendant to a Place; and as fuch, I fay as he did, I like it well; but then I must not believe that Eftibins ever entertain'd, for his own ufe, fuch a grofs Notion of Happiness, as to fuppofe it relative to any thing External ; he knows it confifts in the Conformity of the Object to the Faculty; and I hope he is not infenfible that the more immediate Prefence of God himself may become, to fome Bb4

Fa=