fenfeless of animals than a reasonable mind tortured with an extreme innate defire of that perfection which it defpairs to obtain.

It is with great pleasure that I behold inftinct, reason, and faith concurring to atteft this comfortable truth. It is revealed from heaven, it is dif covered by philofophers, and the ignorant, unenlightened part of mankind have a natural propenfity to believe it. It is an agreeable entertainment to reflect on the various fhapes under which this doctrine has appeared in the world. The Pythagorean tranfmigration, the fenfual habitations of the Mahometan, and the fhady realms of Pluto, do all agree in the main points, the continuation of our exiftence and the diftribution of rewards and punishments, proportioned to the merits or demerits of men in this life.

But in all these fchemes there is fomething grofs and improbable, that fhocks a reafonable and fpeculative mind. Whereas nothing can be more rational and fublime than the chriftian idea of a future ftate. "Eye hath not feen, nor ear heard neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive the things which God hath prepared for those that love him." The above mentioned fehemes are narrow tranfcripts of our prefent ftate: but in this indefinite defcription there is fomething ineffably great and noble. The mind of man must be raised to a higher pitch, not only to partake the enjoyments of the Chriftian paradife, but even to be able to frame any notion of them.

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Nevertheless, in order to gratify our imagination, and by way of condescension to our low way of thinking, the ideas of light, glory, a crown, &c. are made use of to adumbrate that which we cannot directly understand. The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne fhall feed them, and fhall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God fhall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there fhall be no more death, neither forrow nor crying, neither fhall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away, and behold all things are new. There fhall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the fun: for the Lord God giveth them light, and fhall make them drink of the river of his pleafures: and they fhall reign for ever and ever. They fhall receive a crown of glory which fadeth not away.

These are cheering reflections: and I have often wondered that men could be found fo dull and phlegmatic, as to prefer the thought of annihilation before them; or fo ill-natured, as to endeavour to perfuade mankind to the difbelief of what is fo pleafing and profitable even in the profpect; or fo blind, as not to fee that there is a Deity, and if there be, that this scheme of things flows from his attributes, and evidently corresponds with the other parts of his creation.

I know not how to account for this abfurd turn of thought, except it proceed from a want of other employment, joined with an affectation of fingularity. I fhall, therefore, inform our modern Freethinkers of two points, whereof they seem to be

ignorant. The firft is, that it is not the being fingular, but being fingular for fomething that argues either extraordinary enduements of nature, or benevolent intentions to mankind, which draws the admiration and esteem of the world. A mistake in this point naturally arises from that confufion of thought which I do not remember to have seen so great instances of in any writers, as in certain modern Free-thinkers.

The other point is, that there are innumerable objects within the reach of a human mind, and each of these objects may be viewed in innumerable lights and positions, and the relations arifing between them are innumerable. There is, therefore, an infinity of things whereon to employ their thoughts, if not with advantage to the world, at least with amusement to themselves, and without offence or prejudice to other people. If they proceed to exert their talent of Free-thinking in this way, they may be innocently dull, and no one take any notice of it. But to fee men without either wit or argument pretend to run down divine and human laws, and treat their fellow-fubjects with contempt for profeffing a belief of thofe points on which the prefent as well as future intereft of mankind depends, is not to be endured. For my own part, I fhall omit no endeavours to render their perfons as defpicable and their practices as odious, in the eye of the world, as they deferve.

I have already taken a particular pleasure in examining the opinions which men of different religions, different ages, and different countries have

entertained concerning the immortality of the foul, and the state of happiness which they promise themfelves in another world. For whatever prejudices and errors human nature lies under, we find that either reafon or tradition from our firft parents, has discovered to all people fomething in these great points which bears analogy to truth, and to the doctrines opened to us by divine revelation. I was lately difcourfing on this fubject with a learned perfon, who has been very much converfant among the inhabitants of the more weftern parts of Afric. Upon his converfing with feveral in that country, he tells me that their notion of heaven, or of a future ftate of happiness is this, that every thing we there with for will immediately present itself to us. We find, fay they, our fouls are of fuch a nature that they require variety, and are not capable of being always delighted with the fame objects. The fupreme Being, therefore, in compliance with this taste of happiness which he has planted in the foul of man, will raise up, from time to time, fay they, every gratification which it is in the humor to be pleased with. If we wish to be in groves or bowers, among running ftreams or falls of water, we fhall immediately find ourselves in the midft of fuch a scene as we defire. If we would be entertained with mufic and the melody of founds, the concert arifes upon our wifh, and the whole region about us is filled with harmony. In fhort, every defire will be followed by fruition, and whatever a man's inclination directs him to, will be prefent with

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him. Nor is it material, whether the fupreme Power creates in conformity to our wifhes, or whether he only produces fuch a change in our imagination, as makes us believe ourselves converfant among thofe fcenes which delight us. Our happiness will be the fame, whether it proceed from external objects, or from the impreffions of the Deity upon our own private fancies. This is the account which I have received from my learned friend. Notwithstanding this fyftem of belief be in general very chimerical and vifionary, there is fomething fublime in its manner of confidering the influence of a divine Being on a human foul. It has also, like most other opinions of the heathen world upon these important points; it has, I say, its foundation in truth, as it fuppofes the fouls of good men after this life to be in a state of perfect happiness; that in this ftate there will he no barren hopes, nor fruitlefs wifhes, and that we fhall enjoy every thing we can defire. But the particular circumftance which I am moft pleafed with in this scheme, and which arifes from a juft reflection upon human nature, is that variety of pleasures which it supposes the fouls of good men will be poffeffed of in another world. This I think highly probable, from the dictates both of reafon and revelation. The foul confifts of many faculties, as the understanding and the will, with all the fenfes both outward and inward; or, to speak more philofophically, the foul can exert herself in many different ways of action. She can understand, will, imagine, fee, and hear, love and dif