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the Supreme God. These fubaltern Deities were fuppofed to act as his inftruments, and under his direction. Some of the wifer heathens however were ashamed of this latitudinarian fyftem; and pretended to refolve their theology into allegory, &c, as Zeno, Chryfippus, and other Stoics; and philofophers of later date found it neceffary to have. recourse to the fame expedient to elude the charge brought against the multitude of the heathen Gods by Chriftians. With refpect to the Pagan notion of a fubordination of Deities, we may affirm in the words of Dr. Heylin, that God is not only unus, but unicus, or in the phrafe of Mr. Hooker, that "our God is one, or rather very oneness, in which "effential unity, fays he, a Trinity personal sub"fifteth."

It will be well worth remarking, that the doctrine of the Trinity has often been reprefented as having no little colour or countenance both from Jewish and Pagan principles. A. Rofs,* in his View of all religions, &c. undertakes to fhew, that "the "doctrine of the Trinity was not unknown even

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by the light of nature to the Gentile philofo"phers, poets, &c. Zoroaftres, fays he, fpeaks "of the Father, who, having perfected all things, "hath delivered them to the fecond Mind, which "Mind hath received from the Father knowlege

* See Note at No. 38.

"and

"and power. Here is a plain teftimony of the first " and second Perfon. Concerning the third, Zoroaf

tres faith, that the Divine Love proceeded from "the Mind or Intellect; and what elfe is this Di"vine Love but the Holy Ghost?" He then proceeds to lay before the reader the principles of the Chaldean Magi, who " acknowleged three begin"nings, to wit, Ormafes, Mitris, and Ariminis, "i. e. God, the Mind, and Soul." He obferves that

Pythagoras was not ignorant of this mystery, "when he placed all perfection in the number "THREE, and made Love the original of all "things." He gives us the fentiments of Zeno, Socrates, Numenius, Plotinus, and many others, "who write very plainly of the Hypoftafes, &c, fo "that no Chriftian can write more fully."

Let us hear now what a much better known, and an univerfally admired author has to offer upon the fame argument. From the three divine attributes of infinite Goodness, Wisdom, and Power, the Pythagoreans and Platonists seem to have framed their Trinity of what Dr. Cudworth calls Archichal Hypoftafes to which he fuppofes Ariftotle may be thought to allude in the following paffage in his book de cælo, 1. 1. c. I. nadaжεg yag pası (the Pythagoreans) το παν και τα παντα τοις τρισι διωριαι.

In another place, this learned author gives us to understand, that Zoroastres, and the ancient Magi acknowleged the Supreme Deity under the different

names

Το

names of Mithras and Oromafius; which Mithras was commonly called λios or three-fold. This, it feems, J. Voffius would refer to the three hypoftafes in the Deity, agreeably to the Christian theory: but Cudworth thinks it to be more conformable to the Pythagoric or Platonic hypothefis of three diftinct fubftances fubordinate to each other. This writer obferves elsewhere, that Pagan theology in general maintained a Trinity of universal principles, or Divine bypoftafes fubordinate; the ro αγαθον, or το EN called ο προτοσε ος ; and ΝΟΥΣ or intellect, o deutεgos, the fecond God; and the mundane Soul, or animated world, TITOS 980s, the third God. According to the fame author, the Crocodile was a symbol of the first God of the Ægyptians ; "an animal which when in the water fees "without being feen" and among the fame people a winged globe with a ferpent fpringing out of it, was the Hieroglyphic of a triform Deity, or Trinity of Divine Hypoftafes. By the globe was fignified the first incomprehensible Deity, without beginning or end, felf-exiftent, &c; by the Serpent, the Divine wisdom and creative virtue; and by the wings, that active Spirit which quickens, enlivens, and cherishes all things.

Let us fee now what was the theology of Julian, and the latter Platonifts. This famous Apoftate maintained, that the inferior Gods were minifters of a fupreme God. He afferted, that this Supreme God, or first Deity, and fountain of all things, produced

from

from himself, an eternal mind, and a corporeal, or "fenfible animated Sun," as a great God in the vifible world. The latter Platonists, in oppofition to Christianity, held, that before the Trinity there was another fupreme and highest Hypoftafis, exift-` ing and remaining in the folitude of his own unity, as Dr. Cudworth literally tranflates the words of Jamblicus. This muft at least be allowed to be language fomewhat more intelligible than that of thofe old Platonists who taught, that there is a substance, a principle" in the order of nature fuperior to intellect." They fuppofe this firft and highest principle of all, to be, by reafon of its abfolute and tranfcendent perfection, not only above understanding, knowlege, and reason, but above effence itfelf; which, by the way, was the herefy of A. Joachim, condemned by the fourth Lateran Council. Our Author very juftly calls this vifionary doctrine myfterious Atheism; and it seems to have been adopted by that fantastic heretic Valentinus, whofe thirty Gods, or Eons, were the production or offspring of a felf-originated Deity, whom he calls Bythus, or Budos, i. e. unfathomable profundity; or, according to fome, of profundity and filence. Even the theory of Hefiod, whether literally, or phyfiologically understood, is much more agreeable to truth, and the Mofaic hiftory. This old bard makes Chaos, and Earth, and Tartarus, and Love, the principles of all things. (Theo.

gon

gon. v. 116. and feq.) In fhort, the philofophy we have been just speaking of absolutely refines away all religion, and the very belief of a God; because Divinity in the abstract can no more be faid to produce, to act, or to govern, &c. than wisdom can be faid to be wife, or motion to move.

At beft, little folid or confiftent can be extracted from this medley of principles; and if we underftand by a Trinity, what in reason we ought to understand by it, viz. a Trinity of three efficient, living, intelligent Perfons, the fovereign causes and rulers of all things, (to use the words of a learned writer,) we shall look in vain for fuch a doctrine properly and precisely taught before the epoch of Chriftianity. It is certain, the antient Pagan Theology derived partly from tradition, and partly from Judaism. In the doctrines of the latter we are to look for the rife and foundation of the principal tenets of the Philofophers whofe names have been men tioned; of whom fome are known to have had communications with the Jews. What then were the fentiments of thefe defcendants of Abraham heretofore with respect to the great doctrine before us? The question is a material one; and, unless I greatly mistake, the solution of it will terminate in a very fatisfactory conclufion.

Christian writers differ but little in what they

See Extract from an anonymous Author quoted by Dr. RANDOLPH in his Vindica. p. 51. &c.

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