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The Pharifees held fatality or predestination †,

and

The above remarks are not at all foreign to the principal point in queftion, which is to know whether men are bound to tolerate each other; inafmuch, as by proving that in all times those of different opinions have been alike mistaken, it appears to have been the duty of all mankind in every age, to treat each other with kindnefs and forbearance.

The doctrine of predeftination is both of long. ftanding and univerfal; we find it in Homer. Jupiter was defirous to fave the life of his fon Sarpedon; but Defliny had marked him for death, and Jupiter was obliged to fubmit. Deftiny was with the philofophers, either the necef fary concatenation of caufes and effects neceffarily produced by nature, or that fame concatenation ordained by Providence; the latter of which is moft reafonable. We find the whole fyftem of fatality, or predeftination comprized in this line of Annæus Seneca : "Ducunt volentem fata, nolentem tra"hunt." It has been always acknowleged, that God governs the univerfe by eternal, univerfal, and immutable laws: this truth gave rife to the many I 6 unin

and believed in the Metempfichofis §, the Effenians thought that the fouls of the juft went

unintelligible difputes concerning free-will, which had never been defined before the great philofopher Lock arofe, who has proved it to be the power of acting. God beftows this power, and man, acting freely according to the eternal decrces of Providence, is one of the wheels of the great machine of the univerfe. Free-will has been a fubje&t of difputation from all antiquity; but no one 'till of late times, was ever perfecuted on this fubject. How horrible, how abfurd is it to have imprifoned and banished on account of this difpute, a Pompone d'Andilly, an Arnaud, a Nicole, a Sacy, and fo many others who were the shining lights of France !

The Theological Romance of the Metemp chofis came from India, a part of the world to which we are indebted for many more fables than is generally believed. We find this doctrine explained by that beautiful poet Ovid, in the twelfthbook of his Metamorphofes. It has been received in almost every part of the world, and has every where met with its oppofers: nevertheless, we do not find that any priest among the antients ever procured a difciple of Pythagoras to be fent to prifon.

into.

into fome happy islands ‡, and those of the

Neither the antient Jews, the Egyptians, nor the Greeks, their cotemporaries, believed that the foul of man went to heaven after death. The Jews thought, that the fun and moon were placed fome leagues above us in the fame circle, and that the firmament was a thick and folid vault, which fupported the weight of the waters, that however fometimes ran out through the crevices in this vault. The antient Greeks placed the palace of their gods upon mount Olympus. And the abode of heroes after death, was in Homer's time, thought to be in an ifland beyond the ocean. This likewife was the opinion of the Effenians.

After Homer, planets were affigned to the gods; but there was no more reason for men to place a god in the moon, than for the inhabitants of the moon to place a god in our planet of the earth. Juno and Iris had no other palaces affigned them but the clouds, where there was no place to rest the fole of their feet. Among the Sabeans, every deity had its flar. But as the ftars are little funs, it would be impoffible to live there, without par

taking of the nature of fire.

Upon the whole, then,

it is very needless to enquire what the antients thought of heaven; fince the best answer that can be given is, they thought nothing about it.

wicked into a kind of Tartarus or Hell. They offered no facrifices; and affembled together in particular fynagogues of their own. In a word, if we examine nicely into the Jewish economy, we fhall be furprized to find the noft extenfive toleration prevailing amidst the most fhocking barbarities., This is indeed a contradiction, but almost all people have been govern ed by contradictions. Happy are those whofe manners are mild, while their laws are bloody!

СНАР.

CHAP. XIV.

If NON-TOLERATION was taught by CHRIST.

L

1

ET us now fee whether Chrift establish

ed fanguinary laws, whether he enjoined non-toleration, inftituted the horrors of the inquifition, or the butchery of an Auto-da-fé.

There are, unless I am much mistaken, very few paffages in the New-Teftament from which the fpirit of perfecution can have inferred that tyranny and constraint in religious matters are permitted one is the parable, wherein the kingdom of heaven is likened unto a certain king who made a marriage for his fon, and fent forth his fervants to invite guefts to the wedding, faying, " tell them which were bidden, "my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all “things are ready, come unto the marriage." Bet thofe who were bidden, made light of the invitation, one going to his farm, and another to his bufinels; and the rest of them took the king's fervants and flew them. Upon which

|| Matth. ch. xxii. v. 1—13.

he

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