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III.

The Progrefs of

Natural Religion and Science,

OR,

The continual Improvement of the World in general.

Antiquitas Seculi, Juventus Mundi.

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Beards

BACON de Aug. Scient. L.1. c.5. Antiquity I unfeignedly honour and reverence; but why I fhould be bound to reverence the Ruft and Refufe, the Drofs and Dregs, the Warts and Wens thereof, I am yet to feek.— As in the little, fo in the great World, reafon will tell that Old Age or Antiquity is to be accounted by the farther diftance from the Beginning, and the nearer approach to the End: and as grey are for Wisdom and Judgement to be preferred before young green Heads, because they have more Experience in Affairs: fo likewife for the fame Caufe, the prefent Times are to be preferred before the Infancy or Youth of the World, having the Hiftory and Practife of former Ages to inform us, which they wanted.-In difgracing the prefent Times therefore, you difgrace Antiquity properly fo call'd.

HAKEWILL, Apol. B. V. p. 133.

1

ECCLES. vii. 10.

Say not thou, What is the Caufe that the former Days were better than these? for thou doft not enquire wifely concerning this.

TH

HE badness of the Times has been a common Topic of Complaint in every Age, and that they are growing worfe and worse continu ally, is what fome Perfons think themselves obliged to infift upon, with no less vehemence; how hard foever they find it to account for this in any refpect. The former of these arguments, if urged only to expose and give a check to fome particular predominant Vices, (for which indeed all Ages have afforded too much room) may be of conftant ufe, and often neceffary. But when the latter is added to it, and both carried fo far as to make us discontented, and uneafy with ourselves, and troublesome to one another; to fet us a quarrelling with the Station, and Society in which we are placed; a murmuring at, and fpeaking evil of the Government we live under; defpifing every human Dominion, and even repining at the Conduct of Divine Providence, and mistaking the Iffue of its Difpenfations to fuch a degree as muft confound our Judgment, and unhinge our Faith in the unlimited Goodness, Power, and Wisdom of their Author; then, 'tis high time to correct an Error of this kind, and enquire into the true

State,

State, and History of the World, in the abovemention'd particular..

In order to which, fo far as the compafs of fuch a Difcourfe will allow, I purpofe in the first place,

I. To hew the Falfity of this Complaint in feveral refpects.

II. Secondly, to point out fome of its ill Confequences; which may be fufficient to justify the Preacher's obfervation in the Text, viz. that this way of judging is no very wife one.

The Defign of the Book from which thefe words are taken, is to examine into the Courfe of this World in general; to confider the Nature of its Enjoyments, and the Ends propofed in our purfuit of them. No one faw farther into thefe things, or better understood their real value; none perhaps had a mind more elevated, and refined above them, or could, in a more lively manner, difplay the Vanity and Emptiness thereof on fome occafions, than King Solomon; yet, where he meets with thofe who treat the Subject fo very injudicioufly, as both to difparage the Works of God, by reprefenting them to be ever going backward and on the decline; and to distract the Minds of Men, by teaching them to undervalue, and grow weary of the prefent Benefits, through an invidious retrofpect to former Days: when things are placed in fuch a light as this, we find him abfolutely difapproving of the view, and all thofe QueAtions which arife from thence; intimating that the very Foundation of them is not true in fact, To make this appear more fully, let us confider fome of the Advantages of Life, both na

tural

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