LETTER XXV. ON THE SAME. I SHALL trouble you no farther with Mr. Voltaire, when I have added an example or two of those frequent contradictions which occur in his writings, that you may have an idea of his peculiar genius for falsification. "It is rather wonderful (says our learned Abbé) that with such lively parts, and such a powerful memory, Mr. Voltaire should have fallen into such manifest contradictions. "In his General History* he tells us, it never was the principle of the Roman senate or the emperors to persecute any body for the sake of their religion : that the Christian Church had its freedom from the beginning; that it was permitted to extend itself, and was even protected publicly by several of the emperors. "But in his History of the Age of Lewis XIV †. he says, this same Christian Church resisted the authority of the emperors from the beginning, and in defiance of all their edicts, held its private assemblies in grottos and caves of the earth, till Constantine drew it up from its habitation under ground to place it by the side of his throne. "In one place he observes ‡, that human nature is every where the same at the bottom, and that nature * Chap. v. + Connec. du Calvinisme. Hist. Gen. tom. iii. p. 194. has established a general resemblance amongst mankind. But in another place *, that there are nations who have no common resemblance even to their next neighbours, and that probably there are different species of men as of other animals. "He affirms that Michael Servetus †, who was burned alive by order of Calvin at Geneva, denied the eternal Godhead of Jesus Christ: and in the following page he assures us that Servetus did not deny that doctrine. Cromwell, according to Mr. Voltaire, bathed himself in blood after he had usurped the royal authority; that he lived under continual apprehensions; never slept two nights together in the same chamber, for fear of being assassinated; and at length died of a fever occasioned by his anxiety. "And this same Cromwell, as Mr. Voltaire says again §, was an observer of the laws, kept the people at quiet, and died with that firmness which he had shewed all his life, leaving behind him the reputation of a great king, which covered the crimes of his usurpation." These specimens are sufficient to shew you how Mr. Voltaire has reported things one way or the other, as it served the present argument. When he is to apologise for the cruelties of his heathen friends, Nero is transformed into a nursing-father of the Church: but when the primitive Christians are to be blackened, then his heathens are restored to their proper character of persecutors, that the Christians may be represented as rebels against the imperial authority. To exculpate the heathens, he sets the Church at liberty, + Ibid. tom. iii. Siecle de Louis XIV. chap. 5. Hist. Gen. tom. iii. p. 6. and leaves it to spread itself abroad over the world: but to make the Church insignificant, he sends it under ground; as if Constantine had been obliged to look for Christianity, where men look for rabbits, in a hole of the earth. What I have here given may perhaps raise your curiosity to see more of the learned Abbé's work, and follow that candid writer through the several heads of his undertaking; which in general is judiciously executed, and very entertaining, I hear it is procured with difficulty; and I must own I think it rather a reproach to us, that I am obliged to send you to French writers for satisfaction in this argument. I wish some original work of the kind had appeared in our own language, in which Mr. Voltaire has been made to speak so largely by his English translators. There is another celebrated work of the same sort with that of the Abbé Nonnette, called L'Oracle des Nouveaux Philosophes, of which he speaks with great approbation, but as pursuing a different line from his own. The Lettres des Juifs, I think, have been put into English: but the chief design of them is to shew how grossly Mr. Voltaire has erred in many points of learning. Many curious anecdotes relating to the errors of Mr. Voltaire's life, were sent to the Abbé Nonnette, but he excused himself from making any use of them; saying, that his temper was not turned to satire; and that so long as he could confute Mr. Voltaire, he had no occasion to defame him. - The portrait I gave you in my last letter will carry you beyond the person of Mr. Voltaire, and enable you to judge of some others by his example. This arch-deceiver has his followers, who deserve to be exposed to the world nearly as much as he does, having a tincture of his gall, and being well versed in his ar tifices. The logic of error has its forms, like the logic of the schools, and its rhetoric has its figures, which are adopted in common by inferior practitioners. But if you see through this master of arts, you will be in less danger from the under-graduates of the same profession. This As men are by nature greedy of novelty, and listen with attention to those who have a story to tell them, provided they have a pen that can furnish out an entertaining narrative, Mr. Voltaire had his reasons for preferring history, as the most popular and convenient vehicle of his errors: and he found it answer. should teach you to be upon your guard against modern writers of history; who, if they have bad principles, will sophisticate the events and characters of history, and turn them to the same purposes as he did, to poison the minds of youth, and inflame them with notions, not more adverse to truth and piety than to the peace and prosperity of the kingdom. If you study history, either for improvement or amusement, let it be your endeavour to select those writers who were good men as well as good historians; but be cautious how you trust yourself to a libertine; he has some ill design upon you, whether he writes from the Lake of Geneva, or from the other side of the Tweed: and it will make no difference to you whether he is called Hume or Voltaire. History of late times, has been craftily used as a commodious vehicle to infidelity and sedition, I would therefore recommend to every young reader, who is capable of relishing and improving by it, what Strada, a very pleasing author, has written upon history, in his Prolusiones Academica, particularly his Second Discourse, which contains a just censure of Tacitus the historian. To this let him take as a sup plement, Hunter's Observations on Tacitus. Finding this book spoken of with extreme contempt in a virulent publication, entitled The Confessional, a factious libel upon the Church of England, I presumed there must be something very good in it, and determined to inform myself. Accordingly I found it a very excellent and pleasant work, full of learning, spirit, good principles, and sound criticism; so necessary to the present times, that no young person, who reads, or intends to read, history, should be without it; and if it is become scarce, I wish it were reprinted for this good purpose. LETTER XXVI. ON PRIVATE JUDGMENT. As you are intended for the Church, it will be prudent to arm yourself with such considerations as may serve to keep your judgment clear and undisturbed: that you may be easy in your mind, as well as active and serviceable in your profession. In the course of your reading, some things will probably be thrown in your way to perplex you: and I can assure you, there is nothing more likely to corrupt and weaken your judgment, than some notions which have been circulated concerning judgment itself. The case would be thought very strange, if a man were to see the worse for studying optics: but you |