Notion of a

the World

over.

you teach that there is a Devil, a certain great * ma-
licious wicked Power which is the Adverfary of God. Now
'tis not only very grofs and irrational, but it is very impious
to affert, that Almighty God being willing to do good to
Men, is hindred from it by an Adversary. What! hall the
Son of God be worsted by the Devil? These are strange con-
tradictious Tales. If there were any Power, tho' never
fo great, that should stand in the Way of Omnipotence,
the Almighty Power would crush it into Nothing; for
what created Power can be compared to an infinite one?
The whole united Power of Hell, and all your fancied
Legions of Devils, would not be fo confiderable, if com-
pared with that, as a fwarm of Flies to Xerxes's Army.

Cred. You cannot pretend to expofe the Chriftian NoDevil all tion of a Devil, without taxing the Opinion of perhaps the whole World befides. The Ancients Cacodemons, Furies, Mali Genij, &c. were but the fame Thing in other Words; and Pluto, the God of Hell, and Governour of infernal Spirits, is much the fame with the fcriptural Satan, the Prince of Darkness. The fame Notion of a great powerful evil Spirit, was got among the old Perfians, under the Name of Arimanius, and is ftill among the Americans, under the Name of Codovangi; the like is to be found in the Theology of the Chinese. From whence I conclude, that this is a Part of ancient traditionary Religion, kept up among the diverfe Nations of the World, and derived from the firft Progenitors of Mankind; who, by the Unhappinefs of their Fall, had efpecial Occafion very often to re-mind their Pofterity of the wicked Cause of it.

Spirits.

Reasonable But why is the Character of a Devil fo difficult to be there should believed? I can fee no Reafon, but why there may not be wicked be depraved or fallen Angels, as well as Men. If they have Free-will, as Men have, then they may abuse it, and that to the most wicked and pernicious Purpofes, becaufe of their extraordinary Knowledge. Because they know fo much, fince they want Goodness, they will be but the more arrogantly Proud; and that Pride, when they fee * Celf. apud Orig. p. 303.

them

themselves defpifed by God and good Angels, will render
them fpightful and malicious, and put them upon mifchief-
ing every thing which God has a liking to. Thefe Ef-
fects are natural, and obvious to be feen in wicked Men
of great Parts, who are flighted by their Superiors; but
in fallen Angels fuch Malice will be much more refined,
and truly devilish.

But you mistake, when you think that Chriftians Devil does own, that the Devil is fuch an Adverfary of God, that not hinder God cannot eafily defend himself from him. God might, God. if he pleased, annihilate the Prince of Darkness, with all his Adherents, or fink them a thousand Times deeper into Damnation than they are; neither do we think that his Wiles are fo great, that he circumvents, or over-reaches God Almighty.

But though he cannot be too cunning for God, he may
be fo for Men; and God is not obliged to over-power
Man's Will, when he does incline to the Suggestions of
the Tempter; it is fufficient that God gives him Warn-
ing of the Danger from his Adverfary, and affords him
fufficient Portions of his Grace, but it is inconfiftent with
the Frame of Human Nature, that God fhould forcibly bend
his Will to Good, to rescue him from the Temptation.

But further, there is no Doubt to be made, but that
God does often make use of these little Artifices of the
Devil, to the Ruin of his own wicked Purposes, to
further his own all-wife Defigns, which he is carrying
on for the Punishment of Sin, and for the Government of
the World. He fuffers fome Men to be tempted into great
Sins, that fometimes they may be roufed, by the Shame
or Guilt of them, into Repentance; he makes one Man's
Wickedness chastife that of another, and Occafions fome
to take Warning by the heinous Crimes which he per-
mits others to fall into. And I doubt not, but in the
laft Winding up of Providence, it will be made appear,
that the Devil's own mifchievous Wickedness shall fall
upon his own Pate; and thofe Wiles, by which he
thought to defeat the Defigns of God, shall only tend
but to make himself the more miferable.
Phil. The

God over

rules his

Wiles by his
Providence.

Phil. The Notions you Chriftians generally have of Hell, and everlasting Punishments, do likewife very much difguft me. For my Part, I look upon those idle Stories of Lakes of Fire and Brimftone, of a Worm that dies not, and Mens rolling about for ever in Rivers of Flame; to be only Bug-bear Tales of defigning Men, and which ferve to fcare filly ones. Of thefe Stories, Lucretius has handfomely paffed his Judgment formerly,

Cerberus &Furia, tum vero & Lucis egenus,
Tartarus, horrificos eructans faucibus aftus;
Qui neque funt ufquam nec poffunt effe profecto.
Cerberus, Furies, and the gloomy Vault,
Of Tartarus, belching out thofe horrid Heats;
Things which are not, nor poffibly can be.

Thefe are only the Result of Men's idle Fears, and fuperftitious Education.

Hinc Acherufia fit ftultorum denique Vita,

Uncafy Guilt does make Men's Confcience groan,
And thus Fools come to dream of Acheron.

But to fpeak my Mind freely, I must needs own, that there is fome Probability that the Soul fhould be in a Degree of Happiness, according to its virtuous Behaviour in this World; but thofe endless Punishments in mercilefs Flames, feem to impute fuch an uncompaffionate Nature, and bowellefs Cruelty to God Almighty, the best of Beings, as a charitable Man can hardly fuppofe of the worst. And therefore, methinks, the Reafoning of Lucretius, applied to this Purpose, is very juft.

Apparet Divum numen fedefque Quieta,
Quas neque concutiunt Venti, neque nubila nimbis
Alpergunt, neque nix acri concreta pruina
Cana cadens violat: femperque innubilus Æther
Integit, & large diffuso lumine ridet:

Sed contri nufquam apparent Acherufia Templa.

The

2

The Gods we fee, and Heavens peaceful Towers,
Vext by no ruffling Winds, or ftormy Showers:
No Froft, no Snow, difturbs the happy Soil,
No lowring Clouds the glorious Day defile,
But the pure Sky around with Light does fmile:
Thefe Things we fee, but then no mortal Eye,
The Acherufian Temples can defcry.

}

God is too good to create any Creature, which he will let be eternally miferable; and he is too juft, to punish a flight temporary Sin with an eternal Punishment. All his Penalties are graciously defign'd to make Men better; but no Man can be better'd, by being infinitely tormented.

Hell came

Cred. It is none of my Defign to vindicate the old My- Heathens thological Stories about Tartarus, or Hell, where wicked Notion of Souls were fuppofed to be punished; though, I doubt not, rather from but there was fome Truth in the Bottom of them, and that Tradition they were grounded upon fome old Revelation, handed than Fear. down from the Time of the firft Patriarchs, and not owing to Mens Fears or groundless Superftitions. For I look upon Confcience, or Fear of future Punishments, to be a good Argument, that there are fuch future Punishments, which all Men do fear; but I don't fee any Reafon why Fear alone fhould give them a Being,

For what all Men fear, they have Reafon to fear; for though a great many Men are led by Humour and Fancy, yet what all Men do, must have a Foundation in Nature, or found Reafon.

Neither have you any Reason to find Fault with the Chri- Some of the Stian Defcription of Hell by Fire and Brimstone, &c. For Scripture Defcriptions thefe Expreffions may, for ought we know, be only me- of Hell metaphorical; and Hell being a moft dreadful Place, the taphorical, Torments whereof being unknown, and wanting a Name, they could not be better illuftrated than by the most horrid Pains, which we are acquainted with. Though there is nothing unreasonable, if we take these Expreffions in their literal Senfe. For fince the Bodies of wicked Men are to be punished in Hell, as well as their Souls, there is nothing more fuitable to produce a moft raging Pain in

them,

them, than Fire and Brimstone. And the Diffolution of the Earth being to attend the future Judgment, it is not improbable that the burning of the Naro-fulphureaus Earth may be a local Hell.

Eternity of But as you object against an eternal Punishment, That Hell Tor it would be unmerciful and unjust; when you confider ments vin- thefe Matters aright, you will own, that the Justice and i

dicated.

Mercy of God may be fufficiently vindicated in this Par-
ticular. For tho' Mercy be one of the Attributes of God,
yet his Wifdom and Justice are fo too; and his Mercy
cannot in Reafon fpare, when his Wisdom and Fuftice
direct him to punith. So that the whole Question de-
pends upon
this, Whether it be reasonable for God to entail
an Eternity of Torments for the Punishment of temporary
Sin? And I anfwer that he may, for thefe Reafons:

1. Because it is not requifite that the Punishment which is forewarned, fhould always be proportioned to the Guilt. For it is very juft in a Legislator oftentimes to make very fevere Laws against flight Crimes, especially when the Offenders grow numerous and infolent. Now when we fee that Sinners are fo bold and daring, that they will venture upon Sin, when an Infinity of Punifbment is denounced againft it can you think it reasonable that God fhould have been obliged to have made the Punishment lefs fevere, thereby to have given wicked Men the Opportunity to be more impudent. Indeed the Cafe had not been the fame, if God had not given Warning of the Grievousness of the Punishment; but when Men know beforehand what they must truft to upon their Difobed ence, it is no Injuftice in God to inflict the Severity of his Laws, when it lay in Mens Power to have avoided it. And befides, that which makes fuch a fevere Legiflation the more reasonable, is, that God has annexed an Eternity of Reward to the Obedience of his Laws, as he has an Eternity of Mifery to the Disobedience; fo that the Infinity on one Side, does as much exceed all Pretence of Proportion, as on the other; and Man has a Free-wil to take either Choice: So that upon the whole, 'tis his

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