growing continually more established, strengthened, and fettled, in the habit and practice of all the vir. tues which become us as men and as chriftians; that we may secure a happy meeting, and mutual congratulation in the future kingdom of our Lord and Saviour.

I am,

My young friends,

with affection and esteem,

your brother and fervant,

in the gospel of Jesus Christ,

Lads, Mimb, 1774.

JOSEPH PRIESTLEY.

** I hope that the younger part of my congregation at Birmingham will confider what I originally addreffed to my pupils at Leeds as addreffed to themselves; and I flatter myself that the extenfion of my plan of lecturing in my prefent fituation, will be attended with proportionable pleasure to myself, and advantage to them.

BIRMINGHAM, Jan. 1, 1782,

THE

PREFACE.

NO branch of knowledge can be taught to ad

vantage except in a regular, or fyftematical

method. It is alfo very convenient, both for the teacher and the learner, to have the elements of any fcience drawn up in a fuccinct manner; by the help of which the one may be directed in what order to explain the feveral branches of it, and the other may fee at one view all its conftituent parts, in their natural connection, and thereby gain the most comprehenfive and distinct idea of the whole, which is also a great advantage for retaining it in memory.

It was with a view to the inftruction of youth that the following Infitutes were compofed, and nothing more was meant, originally, than to furnish myself with an eafy method of difcourfing upon the subjects of natural and revealed religion to the young men of my own congregation, whom I formed into a clafs for that purpose. But when 1 was

a 4

I was induced to publifh them, for the benefit of others, I made them a little fuller, that those young perfons who can have little or no affiftance in their inquiries, might be able to read them with tolerable advantage. I fhall think myself happy if this manual be the means of establishing any of the youth of the prefent age in the found knowledge of those most important fubjects to which it is appropriated. I am fatisfied that no man can write, or live, to better purpose.

As my fole view in this fhort fyftem was to teach the elements of religious knowledge to perfons intended for common and civil life, and not for any of the learned profeffions, I have avoided, as much as I poffibly could, thofe metaphyfical and abftrufe fpeculations, which have been raised from every branch of my fubject, and have chiefly confined myself to fuch confiderations as are most adapted to produce conviction in the minds of thofe who are not much ufed to clofe reflection; and I have endeavoured through the whole to exprefs myfelf with the greatest clearnefs and precision. For this purpose, I have been obliged to depart confiderably from the plan of any treatise that I have yet feen upon these subjects.

I am far, however, from being able to promise that I fhall leave these fubjects free from all obfcurity. The mind of man will never be able to contemplate the being, perfections, and providence of God

God without meeting with inexplicable difficulties. We may find fufficient reafon for acquiefcing in the darkness which involves these great fubjects, but we must never expect to fee them fet in a perfectly clear light. But notwithstanding this, we may know enough of the divine being, and of his moral government, to make us much better and happier beings than we could be without fuch knowledge; and even the confideration of the infuperable difficulties referred to above is not without its ufe, as it tends to imprefs the mind with fentiments of reverence, humility, and fubmiffion.

I have also had another view in not chufing to conceal fome of the great difficulties which attend the demonftration, if not of the being, yet of the moft effential attributes, and moral government of God. It was, that the confideration of them might make us more fenfible of the value of revela tion, by which many of them are, in a great meafure, cleared up, and by which great light has been thrown upon every important branch of natural religion.

Many unbelievers avail themfelves very much of the diverfity of opinions which prevails among the profeffors of revealed religion, and boast of the great clearness, as well as fufficiency of the light of nature. But the cafe is much otherwife; and there have been, in fact, among men of the greatest learning and acuteness of thought, believers and

unbelievers in revelation, as great a diversity of opinion with refpect to the principles of natural, as of revealed religion. And notwithstanding the various fentiments of chriftians, they are all perfectly agreed, and unanimous, with refpect to all the most important doctrines of natural religion, concerning which unbelievers in revelation have never been able to arrive at any certainty, or uniformity of opinion; fo that men who think at all are very far from getting rid of any real difficulty by abandoning revelation. Nay, the difficulties which we fhall find upon this fubject among chriftians, though I fhall not fail to ftate them with the greatest fairness, fuppreffing nothing that can contribute to their ftrength, are by no means fo embarraffing to the mind of man, as thofe which occur in the contemplation of nature.

If any perfon, difcouraged by thefe difficulties, fhould think to relieve himself by rejecting all religion, natural and revealed, he will find, if he refect at all, that he has miferably deceived himself, and that he is involved in greater perplexity than ever; the scheme he has adopted not only filling his mind with great darkness and diftrefs, but being contrary to fome of the plaineft appearances in nature, and therefore manifeftly inational and abfurd. In this cafe, therefore, true philofophy will lead a man to acquiefce in that scheme of principles which is attended with the feweft difficulties,