Subject, has not diftinguished the different Kinds of it, but confounded Truth and Error, Light and Darkness in one promifcuous Huddle, that he might with a fuller Hand fling the Dirt of his Reproach upon experimental Religion, at the fame Time ridiculing the Infirmities and aggravating the Blemishes of many pious Chriftians of different Communions, both among the Living and the Dead, in Order to form diftorted Comparisons for the Sport of Buffoons and Infidels. To inftance in what he fays of thofe two different States of Mind, which chriftian People, who attend to what paffes within them, make frequent Mention of, viz. As being at certain Times exercised with Doubts and Fears about the Condition of their Souls, and under a total Abfence of fpiritual Comfort, at others, highly transported with greatful Refentments of the divine Love and Favour, and filled with great Joy and Peace in believing. Now he can fee nothing more in thefe than the common Effects refulting from the Mechanifm of the animal Oeconomy: "The Force of Diftemper and bodily Disorder, fays he,

will account for fuch dark and difconfolate Thoughts," (in the former Cafe) and as to the latter, he refolves it into Enthusiasm, "A Kind of Drunkenness (these are "his Words) filling and intoxicating the Brain with the "heated Fumes of fpirituous Particles." And in Order to compleat his Parallel betwixt thofe two States of the Mind and a common Debauch, he adds: “No fooner ❝ do the Inebriation and Incalefcence go off, but a Sink"ing of the Spirits, a Coldnefs and Dullness take Place, and the lower is the Depreffion in Proportion to the "preceding Elevation!”

How fhall we anfwer fuch Treatment of fpiritual Things without Rebuke? What shall we fay, when one, who owns himfelf a Minifter, is not afhamed to reflect fo difgracefully on religious Matters? Let us fuppofe then, if fuch be his Character) that one under his

Charge,

Charge should apply to him for Direction and Comfort under great Diftrefs of Mind, complaining of uncommon Abatements of the Love of God in his Soul, and of great Deadness in Prayer; that he took no Satisfaction in the Way of Ordinances and Duties as ufual, but on the Contrary found in himself a Backwardness to all religi ous Exercises, and a total Infenfibility of Comfort from them: Would he tell fuch a one, that he ought to make no Account of thefe Things; that it was all owing to the Sinking of the animal Spirits, and that he might find his Relief from riding out, or cheerful Company, only taking in the Paroxifm of the Fit, (as he is pleafed to exprefs it) q. f. of Spirit of Harts-horn? Suppofe again, thar fome fuch difconfolate Perfon were fo happy as to receive Benefit of fome of his Difcourfes, (if we may fuppofe him to have any fuitable to fuch a Cafe) and should come to thank him as the Inftrument of his Confolation, telling him withal, that the Cloud which before intercepted his Light and Comfort was removed, and that he no longer doubted his State of Acceptance, being strong in Faith and Hope, and his Soul invigorat ed with a refreshing Senfe of the divine Love and Goodness. Now what would be his Reply upon this Occafion? Nay, what other Reply can we fuppofe him to make, upon his own Principles, than as follows? "Neighbour ! Do not deceive your felf, by laying any "Strefs upon this Change of Mind that you talk of; for "between you and me (if I deal plainly with you) "it is nothing but a Fit of Enthusiasm, a Kind of Drun«kenness, filling and intoxicating your Brain with the "heated Fumes of fpirituous Particles, and when the “Inebriation and Incalefcence are gone off, the follow❝ing Depreffion will be in Proportion to your prefent "Elevation."

Thus the Affections and States of the Soul, with regard to its fpiritual Concerns, are refolved by him into (D) 4

the

the Effects of Matter and Motion, and one great Part of Christianity fubjected to the Laws of a mechanic Philofophy, and therefore no wonder that he treats the Belief of all fupernatural Influences upon Man, whether Divine or Diabolical, with fuch an Air of Ridicule, as particularly where he banters the Belief of being poffeffed by evil Spirits, recommending a Dofe of Phyfic to the Patient as the beft Dæmonifuge. The Fathers of the Church held thefe Cafes in more awful Confideration: They appealed to the Roman Court for the Truth of the Matter, and challenged a Trial of their Power to caft evil Spirits out of the Poffeffed, nor by Manna or Senna, but by the all powerful Name of Chrift: And fhould this Authon be ever fo unhappy as to be troubled with fo foul a Gueft, he will know of a Truth, that his cleansing must be effected by a very different kind of Cathartic from that which he fo ludicroufly prefcribes.

*

But he has found out the Secret whereby to account, as from a Principle, for all thefe Enthufiaftic Irregularities and Variations in the Temper, and that is, from a complexional Melancholy; and he refers the Reader to Dr. Henry More's Tretatife on Enthufiafm. Now the Doctor in that Work profeffedly treats of the falfe Enthufiafin, or that ranked here under the Distinction of Malignant, and diftinguishes in the very fame Work betwixt that Species of it, and what he there calls the approved and pious Enthufiafm of holy Souls, as obferved before. He allows a complexional Melancholy at the Bottom of both, fruitful of much Evil in the former, as of much Good in the latter Cafe, nay he paffes a great Encomium on this particular Temperament, as being greatly helpful to "roufe the Soul from

«< its

* See Tertullian, Lactantius, and other Apologifts. * See Sect. Lxiv, as alfo his large Note on that Section in Schoha, at the End of the Differtation, Latin Edition.

1

"its fpiritual Lethargy, to put it upon fufpecting its "State of falfe Peace, to ftir it up to Self-examination "and Circumfpection, to guard against Levity and "foolish Festing, and to prepare faithful and obedient "Souls for the Work of true Regeneration and the In"fluxes of the Holy Spirit." It is very plain,from the Quotations before given from the Doctor, that he was no Enemy to Enthufiafm, properly fo called, nay, he freely confeffes, that he had a Tincture of it himself: his Works fhew it; and it was this divine Fire that gave. Wings to his Soul, and Sublimity to his Sentiments, carrying him at times far above thofe little Exactnefles and Rules of Language, which fuit much better those minute Critics who fit trimming their Phrafes and turning their Periods, than Perfons of his Elevation and Genius: And yet when we fay, that this great Man at times fell fhort of himself, and that the Freedom of his Spirit in fome Inftances was contracted into fome thing of a narrow Partiality, we only fay, that he was a Man. I here take my Leave of this Author at presene with referring the Reader to the Ixiiid and Ixivth Secti ons of his Scholia in Enthufiafmum Triumphatum, for the Commendations which he there gives to a true Enthu fiafm, and for Usefulness which he afcribes to a right Melancholy in the divine Life.

Melancholy is generally confidered as a Diftemper of the Mind, whereas it only becomes fuch through an Excefs of it in the animal Oeconomy, it being one of thofe four Complexions which diftinguifh the human Conftitution. The animal Body of Man is compounded of the four Elements anfwering to the four Com plexions, and the animal Spirit may be called a Quinteffence or fifth Effence. Now according as one or other of these four Elements predominates in Man, fo is he denominated Choleric, Melancholy, Phlegmatic, er Sanguine;" and from the particular Crafis or Mixture (D) s

of

buɛ

of these Ingredient Principles arifes his natural Difpofition, Genius, &c. Thus he that has most of Fire in his Compofition, which is the choleric Complexion, is more prone to Anger and Pride than others, impatient of Contradiction, &c. and if mistaken Apprehenfions concerning Religion mix with this Temperament, it is apt to flame out in a furious perfecuting Zeal, for, if it be not well qualified with the Water of Life, the Devil has great Power over it, and it is easily set on Fire of Hell, as the Words and Actions of People under the Dominion of paffionate Anger too fully demonftrate, The phlegmatic Complexion is more inert and lefs fufceptible of Impreffions- The Melancholy is fixt, retentive, and circumfpect-- The Sanguin, active and cheerful, but inconftant. Hence proceed the different Tempers obfervable in Men, as alfo what we commonly call conftitutional Virtues and Vices, (the Sin that fo eafily befets us) and where the Power of the Complexion is naturally ftrong, it ftamps its Signatures oftentimes in the Lines and Configuration of the Features, fo as to make them an Index to the Complexion, and herein is the true Ground of the Art of Phyfiognomy. Now Religion, tho' it lies deeper than the Complexion even in the Soul or immortal Spirit (which communicates with the fpiritual World from whence it has its Birth) yet its Operations are tinctured by the Complexion, as Light is tinged by the Colour of the Glafs that tranfmits it: And this will account for that Variety of Appearances and Difpofitions in which Religion manifefts itself in the best of Men under a great Diverfity of Talents, Inclinations and Tempers, as in the active and retired Cbriftian, the meek and the courageous, the referved and the communicative; for the religious Principle doth not so much alter and change the Complexion, (tho' it goes a great way towards it in fome, by giving to it Confiftency and Fixedness) as it qualifies, corrects, and

purifies