to coincide and act together to the fame ends of promo ting virtue, happiness, and the public tranquillity.

But it is faid, no power can prevent mankind from thinking and determining for themfelves, according to the decifions of their own confciences, refpecting religious truth. This holds as equally true with refpect to civil as to religious inftitutes. But the number of mankind, who are inclined to think on fuch fubjects, is fo fmall, and the capability of thinking rightly is fo much less, as it is evinced by the approbation of Dr. Price's pamphlet, and by other inftances innumerable, that, did not thofe, who pretend to think and decide for themfelves promulge their opinions, religion would be uniform, and its influence more effective. Certainly, as every publication, that tends to fubvert the ends of moral and civil obligation, would be deemed to be deftructive of human happiness, and, therefore, to be interdicted; fo, in like manner, as every thing that is publifhed to the degradation of religion muft enfeeble the efficiency of the former obligations, for what reafon ought it not to receive a like inhibition? For to indulge the fubjects. with a permiffion of publishing, under the notion of religious truths, fuch opinions as oppofe the inftitutes of the law; and then to punish them, for tranfgreffions committed in confequence of fuch indulgence, would be a contradiction approximating to injuftice.

But truth, it feems, is a thing fo hallowed, that its progrefs, on no occafion, ought to be obftructed. I readily coincide in that fentiment; and yet, I verily believe that the words, truth, liberty, and reafon, have proved to be more pernicious to the happiness of individuals and to national fociety, than all the exertions of arbitrary power that ever have exifted. They carry with them fomething facred in the found, which captivates the unthinking, whilft the things themfelves have been totally mifunderstood, and the true objects of them never intended to be acquired, by thofe leaders of the people, who have been most clamorous and exertive in their cause. As the natural effect of this proceeding, innumerable calamities have been maliciously fpread among the nations of the earth. But, what is truth? It certainly cannot confift in fuch conclufions, from the fame premifes, as every

man

man may form, in confequence of his own peculiar mode of thinking. For, as men will, neceffarily, think differently on the fame fubjects, all of their conclufions cannot be true, or truth can confist in a multitude of difcordant and contradictory opinions, which fubvert cach other this is impoffible.

In order to ascertain the idea of truth, in those objects which appertain to the faculty of faith, of which faculty I have already spoken, in p. 11. A propenfity to believe what is marvellous, and furpaffing the common efficiency of nature, is fo obvious, that it will hardly be denied. It is evinced by experience, drawn from the conduct of all paft and prefent ages. The ideas, alfo, which are imparted to the faith, by its peculiar objects, are intuitively perceived; and attended with the fenfations of pleasure and of pain, like those which are appropriated to the fenfes. They, therefore, ftand on the like foundation of truth, without the agency of reafon. The eye difcerns all colours, the ear all founds, and every fenfe its proper objects, and acquiefces in the truth of their exiftence, although the man be totally ignorant of all the caufes which produce either colour or found. They have, therefore, no evidence of truth, but that of being perfectly adapted to the intuitive perception of the fenfes. Reason, nevertheless, confiders them as realities, and applies them to the purposes of life. The water from the earth afcends the ftem and branches of the vine: by the operations of nature, it is converted into the juice of grapes, and then into wine. The caufes, which operate in this tranfmutation of water into wine, are as abfolutely inexplicable by reafon, as are those of turning water into wine by an inftantaneous mandate. Is it not, therefore, as eafily to be conceived, that the deity can delegate that power to a being exprefly appointed to that purpose, as to nature? To believe the latter is, therefore, as natural as to fee the former. Their objects alike impart conviction, by being intuitively conceived, and not by logical induction. On this account, they ftand on an equal ground of truth: and it would be no lefs ridiculous for a man to deny that another believes a thing, because he does not believe it, than to deny that another fees what he cannot fee. Each of them will, confequently, act as certainly in conformity with the convictions

E 2

convictions arifing from his faith, as with those from his eye-fight.

But, although the true caufes which turn water into wine, by the intermediate operation of the vine, which affects the fenfe of tafting; into blue, green, yellow, and all other colours in the flower, which affect the eye; into odours, which affect the fmell, and thofe which produce the changes that are made in things by what is called a miraculous power, and affect the faith, are indiscoverable by reafon; there, nevertheless, exift the means of coming to that truth of them, in which alone mankind is interested: and that confifts in the objects of them being adapted to the utility of man. By this test alone, the inftitutes of morality and civil government can be fairly tried, and the truth of them determined. If, therefore, the truth of fenfible, moral, and legislative objects depend on the utility and the rectitude of them, and on their adaptation to the benefit of civil fociety; thofe of faith, being adapted in an equally ufeful and beneficial manner, are equally true; and the application of them must be equally right. And, as it is juftly inferred, from that adaptation and utility to man, that the former are right or true; by the faculty of reafon, the latter are equally intitled to the like approbation. Whatever, then, is useful, in all these objects, is equally true. The law, which prohibits murder and other crimes, has no evidence of its truth, beyond that of its fitness to promote and preferve the right that all men have to live, and to be fecure from injury; and in this light it is faid to be true or right to reafon. Even geometrical truths, than which none can be more indifputable, and which are always received as the result of reason, are founded on objects of the most extenfive faith. The point without parts; the line without breadth; the furface without depth; are objects of faith. They never had, nor ever can have existence and yet, on thefe impoffibilities the demonftrations of geometry are founded. It is, therefore, from their fitness to produce the ends which are useful, that they are received, and proceeded on, as truths. Is it not evident, therefore, that the utility, which may be derived from all the preceding objects, is the only proper teft of their truth, and the differvice they may bring, the

teft

teft of their falfehood? In this view, the objects of fenfe and faith become thofe of reafon, in the application of them; and the fuperior faculty in the human intellect, preferves its office of fuperintending and controuling all the others. To deny a truth, to the objects of faith, is, confequently, to deny that truth to the objects of all the other faculties.

The nature of legiflation neceffarily implying a right of inftituting all things that can conduce to the benefit of fociety; it, of confequence, includes an authority to adopt and apply thofe objects of the faith, which can be inftrumental in the promotion of social happiness and the public welfare; and to abolifh the influence of all fuch as are of a contrary difpofition. It, therefore, becomes the indifpenfible duty of the legiflature to conduct itself in. that manner. For, if this were unattended to, the most prevalent faculty of the mind, by which men are generally actuated, would be left to felect its own objects full of contradiction and absurdity. Unless those which are proper were applied by the legislature, men would be employed in extravagant vagaries, or in things offenfive and noxious to one another and to fociety. The eyes may, indeed, be extirpated, and the objects of vision be thereby precluded. But, whilft man has life, no power can eradicate his faith, and all that can be effected is to affign its proper objects. In this view of things, although the objects perceived by faith, be not the objects perceived by reafon; yet, in the application of them, the former become the objects of the latter, and the inftruments of producing univerfal benefit. On this account, it is neceffary that they be equally applied and directed by the legislature, as thofe of fenfe, fenfation, and reafon.

Should any one poifon the fource of the New River, which flows to London, and ferves the inhabitants; is there a man exifting, who would not execrate the executive power of the laws which is to punish that crime, were they not carried to their utmost exertion against so nefarious a being? But it feems that opinions, which poison the fources of moral and civil obligation, and alike deftroy the felicity of individuals and of the whole community, are not to be reftrained by legislative authority; because

E 3

that

that every man has, in religion, a right to judge for himfelf, and to follow the decifions of his own confcience. Abominable contradiction i

There is an error extremely prevalent amongft those who affume the name of philofophers. They would meafure things by an inapplicable standard. The truth of marvellous events must be measured by the common SA courfe of nature, and that courfe confined to a fhort duration. But nature is confined to no fuch course. By her laws, the aloe bloffoms not until it be near an hundred years old. Comets are as natural as the fun, notwithstanding the length of time, between their difappearing and return may be centuries, and the latter is within twelve hours. The epoch, in which the planets are exactly in the fame fituation, refpecting each other and the whole, can arrive but once in many thousand years; and yet, these are as much in the courfe of nature, as the life, perfection, and death of an ephemeron, which begins and ends its exiftence in the fame day. Marvellous events are not fupernatural, therefore, because they are produced but once in a hundred or a thoufand years. Whenever they are productive of vaft and beneficial alterations in the manners of nations, the prefumption from their effect is, that they arrive according to the courfe of nature; like all other things which are deftined to the use of man, and, therefore, true and right. Whoever has read and remarked the propitious ends which religion has produced, by a proper application of its power to the government of men in all ages, will be convinced, that its influence can never be difregarded by a wife legiflature. Numberlefs are the inftances of this truth to be feen in Livy. And Machiavel, who, I fancy has never been accused of bigotry, pronounces that, "among all men, who have been applauded for their "fuperior excellence, thofe are the most deferving << praife, who have been the heads or inftitutors of "religion" and, in proof of this opinion, he adduces a variety of facts, and adds, that a multiplici

ty

*Tutti gli uomini laudati, feno i laudatiffimi quelli che fone ftati capi è ordinatori delle religioni. Machiavel Difcorfi, L. C. 10.