A mals, vegetables, and brute matter, is felf-existent and eternal; and that all events happen by a neceffary chain of caufes and effects. It will occur even at firft view, that this theory is at leaft improbable: can any fuppofition be more improbable than that the great work of planning and executing this univerfe, beautiful in all its parts, and bound together by the most perfect laws, fhould be a blind work, performed, without intelligence or contrivance? It would therefore be a fufficient anfwer to obferve, that this doctrine, though highly improbable, is however given to the public, like a foundling, without cover or fupport. But af firmatively I urge, that it is fundamentally overturned by the knowledge we derive of Deity from our own nature: if a Deity exift, felf-existence must be his peculiar attribute; and we cannot heftate in rejecting the fuppofition of a felf-exiftent world, when it is fo natural to fuppofe that the whole is the operation of a self-existent Being, whofe power and wifdom are adequate to that great work. I add, that this rational doctrine ist eminently supported from contemplating the endlefs number of wife and benevolent effects, difplayed every where on the face of this globe; which afford complete evidence of a wife and benevolent caufe. As thefe effects are far above the power of man, we neceffarily afcribe them to a fuperior Being, or in other words to the Deity (a). Many grofs and abfurd conceptions of Deity that have prevailed among rude nations, are urged by fome writers as an objection against a sense of Deity. That objection fhall not be overlooked; but it will be anfwered to better purpofe, after thofe grofs and abfurd conceptions are examined in the chapter immediately following. (a) Firft fketch of this third book, Sect. 1. The The proof of a Deity from the innate sense here explained, differs materially from what is contained in effays on morality and natural religion (a). The proof there given is founded on a chain of reafoning, altogether independent on the innate fenfe of Deity. Both equally produce conviction; but as fenfe operates intuitively without reafoning, the sense of Deity is made a branch of human nature, in order to enlighten those who are incapable of a long chain of reafoning; and to fuch, who make the bulk of mankind, it is more convincing, than the most perfpicuous reafoning to a philofopher. CHA P. II. Progress of Opinions with respect to Deity. THE fenfe of Deity, like many other delicate fenfes, is in favages fo faint and obfcure as eafily to be biaffed from truth. Among them, the belief of many fuperior beings, is univerfal. And two causes join to produce that belief. The first is, that being accustomed to a plurality of vifible objects, men, mountains, trees, cattle and fuch like, they are naturally led to imagine a like plurality in things not visible; and from that flight bias, flight indeed but natural, is partly derived the fyftem of Polytheifm, univerfal among favages. The other is, that favages know little of the connection between caufes and effects, and still lefs of the order and government of the world: every event that is not familiar, appears to them fingular (a) Part 2. Sect 7. 1 fingular and extraordinary; and if fuch event exceed human power, it is without hefitation ascribed to a fuperior being. But as it occurs not to a favage, nor to any perfon who is not a philofopher, that the many various events exceeding human power and feemingly unconnected, may all proceed from the fame caufe; they are readily afcribed to different beings. Pliny afcribes Polytheism to the confcioufnefs men have of their imbecillity: "Our powers are confined within << narrow bounds : we do not readily conceive powers in the Deity much more extenfive; and "we fupply by number what is wanting in power Polytheism, thus founded, is the firft ftage in the progrefs of theology; for it is embraced by the rudeft favages, who have neither capacity nor inclination to pierce deeper into the nature of things. This ftage is distinguishable from others, by a belief that all fuperior beings are malevolent. Man, by nature weak and helpless, is prone to fear, dreading every new object and every unusual event. Savages, having no protection against storms, tempests, nor other external accidents, and having no pleasures but in gratifying hunger, thirft, and animal love; have much to fear, and little to hope. In that difconfolate condition, they attribute the bulk of their diftreffes to invifible beings, who in their opinion must be malevolent. This feems to have been the opinion of the Greeks in the days of Solon; as appears in a converfation between him and Crofus King of Lydia, mentioned by Herodotus in the first book of his hiftory. "Cræfus, faid Solon, you ask me about human affairs; and I anfwer as one who thinks, "that all the gods are envious and disturbers of "mankind." *Plurality of heads or hands in one idol, is fometimes made to fupply plurality of different idols. Hence among favages the grotesque fi gure of fome of their idols. "mankind." The negroes on the coaft of Guinea, dread their deities as tyrants and oppreffors: having no conception of a good deity, they attribute the few bleffings they receive, to the foil, to the rivers, to the trees, and to the plants. The Lithuanians continued Pagans down to the fourteenth century; and worshipped in gloomy woods, where their deities were held to refide. Their worship probably was prompted by fear, which is allied to gloominefs. The people of Kamfkatka acknowledge to this day many malevolent deities, having little or no notion of a good deity. They believe the air, the water, the mountains, and the woods, to be inhabited by malevolent spirits, whom they fear and worship. The favages of Guiana afcribe to the devil even their most common difeases; nor do they ever think of another remedy, but to apply to a forcerer to drive him away. Such negroes as believe in the devil, paint his images white. Befide the Efquimaux, there are many tribes in the extenfive country of Labrador, who believe the Deity to be malevolent, and worfhip him out of fear. When they eat, they throw a piece of flesh into the fire as an offering to him; and when they go to fea in a canoe, they throw fomething on the fhore to render him propitious. Sometimes, in a capricious fit, they go out with guns and hatchets to kill him; and on their return boaft that they have done fo. Conviction of fuperior beings, who, like men, are of a mixed nature, fometimes doing good, fometimes mischief, conftitutes the second stage. This came to be the fyftem of theology in Greece. The introduction of writing among the Greeks while they were little better than favages, produced a compound of character and manners, that has not a parallel in any other nation. They were acute in fcience, fkilful in fine arts, extremely deficient in morals, grofs beyond conception in 2 theology, theology, and fuperftitious to a degree of folly; a strange jumble of exquifite fenfe and abfurd nonfenfe. They held their gods to resemble men in their external figure, and to be corporeal.— In the 21ft book of the Iliad, Minerva with a huge ftone beats Mars to the ground, whofe monftrous body covered feven broad acres. As cor poreal beings, they were fuppofed to require the nourishment of meat, drink, and fleep. Homer mentions more than once the inviting of gods to a feaft: and Paufanias reports, that in the temple of Bacchus at Athens, there were figures of clay, representing a feaft given by Amphyction to Bacchus and other deities. The inhabitants of the island Java are not fo grofs in their conceptions, as to think that the gods eat the offerings prefented to them but it is their opinion, that a deity brings his mouth near the offering, fucks out all its favour, and leaves it taftelefs like water *. The Grecian gods, as defcribed by Homer, drefs, bathe, and anoint like mortals. Venus, after being detected by her husband in the embraces of Mars, retires to Paphos, Where to the pow'r an hundred altars rife, Juno's dress is moft poetically defcribed, Iliad book 14. It was alfo univerfally believed, that the gods were fond of women, and had many children by them. * All Greek writers, and thofe in their neighbourhood, form the world out of a chaos. They had no fuch exalted notion of a deity as to believe, that he could make the world, out of nothing. |