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OCCASIONE DBy the enorinous Licence, and Irreligion of the Τimes. VOL. II.
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H E pretensions and discourse of men, throughout these Lingdoms, would, at first view, lead one to thinii the inhabitants were ali politicians ; and yet, perhaps, political Wisdom hath, in no age or Country, been more tallied os and tesse understood. Licence is talien for the end of govern ment, and popular humour sor iis origin. No reverence for thelaws, no attachment to the constitution, litile attention to matters of consequence, and great altercation upon tristes, fuch idie projecis about religion and govern ment, as is the public had both to chuse, a generalcontempt os ali authority, divine and human, an indisserence abolit tho prevalling opinions, whether they tend to produce order or diser ter, topromote the empire of God or the devit: these are the symptoms that Brongly mark the present age; and this, could ne ver have been the case, is a neglect of religion had not made way for it. When the I s accused Paul Dpon religious matters and potnts of theirlaw, besore Gallio, the Roman magistrato 1 it is seid, that Gallio cared fornone of thos things. And, it is to be seared, there are not a se magistrates in this christian country who think with the fame indisserence onthe subjeci os religion. Herein, nevertheless, they judge amisi, and aremuch wanting to their duty. For, although it be admitted, that the magistrate's peculiar objec , is the temporat wellare of the state; yet, ibis
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Will by no means exclude a proper care about the prevalling notions and opinions os religion, whicli influence the lives and actions of men, and have there re a mighty effect on the public. Men's helia viour is the conseque tace of their principies. Hence it follows, that in order to maliea state thrive and flourish, care must be taken, that good principies bepropagated in the n nds of those who compose it. It would be vain, to depend on the out ard form, the constitutionand structu re os a state ; while the majori ty are ever governed by theirinward ways of thinking, whicli at times will breali out and shew them-selves para mount to ali laws and institutions What ever. It must be great solly there re to overtook notions, as matters of smali moment to thestate; while experience me s there is nothing more important; and thata prevalling di sorder in the principies and opinions of iis members, is everdangerous to society, and capable of producing the greatest public eviis.
Man is an animal, formidabie hoth froni his passions and his reason; his passions osten urging him to great eviis, and his reason furnishingmeans to atchieVe them. To tame this animal, and mahe him amen ableto order, to inure him to a sense of justice and virtve, to with-hold him
mori, to famion and modet him for society, hath been the aim of civiland religious institutions; and in ali times, the cndeavour of good and wise men. The aptest method sor attaining this end, hath been alwaysjudged a proper education. Is men's actions are an esse ' of their principies, that is, of their notioras, their belles, their persuasions; it must be admitted, that principies early sown in the mind, are the seeds whicli produce fruit and harvest in the ripe state of manhood. How lightly see ver me men may speali os notions, yet se long as the Bul governs the body, men's notions must in-
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ssuence their actions, more or test, as they are stronger or wealier; and togood or evit, as they are betier or Worse. Our notions and opinions are a constant check on Our appetites, and
balance to our passions ; and, although they may not in every instanco controi and rule, yet they wili neverbiail, strongly to affect both the oneand the other. What is it that bridies the impetuous desii res of men tThat restrains them when they are dri ven by the most violent passons tIn a word, what is it that renders this worid habitabie, but the prevall-ing notions of order, viriue, duty and providence t Some, perhaps, may imagine, that me eye of the magistrate alone, is sufficient to keep man-kind in awe. But, is every mari's heart was set to do ali the mischies his appetite smould prompt him to do, as osten as opportunity and secrecypresented themselves, there could be no living in the worid.
And although too many of those intrusted with civit power, in theseour days, may be seid with Gallio, to care for none of thos things; and
many more Who would pasi for men of judgment and lino ledge, maylook on notions early imbibed, besore their ground s and reasons a re apprehended Or underctood, to be but mere prejudices; yet this will detractnothing Dom their truth and use iness. To place this matter in a duellit, I propost to mew, that a system os salutary notions, is absolutelynecesiary to the suppori os every civit constitution. I shali en force thispoini, by the testimony of those who are esteemed the wisest men; and , I shali mal e some remarlis on the modern prevalling spirit, and the tendency of the maximS of Our times. Order is necessary, not only to the well-being, but to the very beingos a state. Now, order and regulari ty in the actions of men, is not an effect of appetite or passion, but of judgment: and the judgment is go-verned by notions or opinions. There must there re, of necessity, in
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291 A Discourse, Uc. e very state, be a certa in system os salutary notions, a prevalling set ofopinions, acquired ei ther by private reason and reflection, or taught and instilled by the generat rea n of the public ; that is, by the law of theland. True it is, that where men ei thera cannot, or will not, use theirown reason, thin k and examine for them ives , in such case, the notions taught or instilled in to their mirads are embraced rather by the memory, than the judgment. Nor will it be any objection to say, that these areprejudices ; in asinuch as they are there re ne i ther lese usesul, nor lese true, although their proose may not be under stood by ali men. Licentio us habits of youth give a cast or turn to age: the young rahemahes an old infidei: libertine practices beget libertine opinions: and a vici ous life generalty ends in an old age of prejudice not to be conquered by reas ning. of this we se e instances even i ' persons celebrated forparis, and who re ason admirably on other potnts where they are notbi assed, but on the subject of religion obtrude their guesses, surmises, and brohen hinis sor arguments. Against such there is no rea ning. Pre iudices a re notions, or opinions, whicli the mind enteria in s without lino ing the gro undS and rea fons of them, and whicli are assented towithout examination. The first notions which take possession of them inds of men, With regard to duties sociat, moral, and civit, may theresere he justly styled prejudices. The mind of a young Creature cannot re- main empty; is you do not put into it that whicli is good, it will be lareto receive that whicli is bad. Do what you can, there wili stili he a bias froni education; and is se, is it not bet ter this bias si, ould lie towards things laudabie and useful tofociety t This bias stili operates, although it may not always prevail. The notions sirst instilled, have the earli est influence, talie the deepest root, and generalty are seund to give a colour and complexion to the subsequent liveS
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tives of men, inasmuch as they are in truth, the great se urce of humanactions. It is not gold, or honOur, or po er, that move men to asst, butthe opinions they entertain of those things. Hence it follows, that is a magistrate smould say, no matter What notions men embrace, Ι will takeheed to their actions; therein he shews his wealinest; sor, such as aremen's notions, lach will be their deeds. For a man to do, as he would be done by ; to love his neighbour ashimself, to honour his superiors; to belleve that God stans ali his adti-ons, and will reward or punista them , and to thinli, that he who is guillyof falshood, or injustice, huris himself more than any one else: are notthese lacti notions, and principies, as every wise goVernor, or legislator, Would covet above ali things, to have firmiy rooted in the mind of e very individual under his care t This is allowed, even by the enem ies of religion, who would fain have it thought the offspring of state poticy, honou ing iis usefulnest at the same time that they disparage iis truth. What,
there re, cannot be acquired by e very man's rea ning, must be intro
of the state. But, is you strip men of these their notioras, or, is youwili, prejudices, with regard to modesty, decency, justice, chari ty, and th like ; you will seon find them se many monsters, ulterly unfit sor humani desire it may bc considered, that most men want leisure, opportu nity, or faculties, to derive conclusions stom their principies, and est amblim morality on a foundation os human science. True it is, as St.
Paul observes that the inti bis things of God from the creation of the talores,
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quirers, Very se ho malae it their busin est to analyge opinions and pursu e them to their rational urce, to examine whence trullis spring,
and horu they a re inferred. In short, you fhail find ali men fuit of opinions, but lino ledge only in a se . It is impossibie froni the nature and circumstances of human kind, that the multitude smould be philosophers, or that they should know things in
their causes. Wς see e very day, that the rules, or conclusionS alone, a re sufficient for the smop-keeper to state his account, the fallor to navigate his mi p, or the carpenter to mea re his timber; none of Whicli undeo fland the theory; that is to say, the ground s and rea fons ei ther of arithmetic or geometry. Even Q in morat, political and religious matters, itis manifest, that the rules and opinions early imbibed at the first dawnos undemanding, and without the least glimpse of science, may yet produce excellent effect s, and be very useful to the world : and that in factthey a re se, Will be very visibie to every one who mali observe what passeth round abo ut hi m. It may not be amisi to inculcate, that the disserenoe between prejudices and other opinions doth not consist in this; that the former arefalse, and the lalter true; but in this, that the former are talien upontrusi, and the lalter acquired by rea ning. He, who hath heen taughtto belle ve the immortali ty of the foui, may be as right in his notion, ashe who hath rea ned himself into that opinion. It will then by nomeans solio , that because this or that notion is a prejudice, it must be
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a prevalling oversi glit among our modern Dee-thinhers. There may be, indeed, certain mere preiudices or opinions, which hav-ing no reasons either assignes or assignabie, to support them, are never-thelest entertained by the mind, hecause they intruded betimes into it. Such may be supposed false, not because they Were early learned, orlearned without their reasons; hut because there are in truth no reasonsto be gi ven for them. Certainly, is a notion may be concluded false, because it was early imbibed, or hecause it is with most men an os est os belles rather than ofknowledge, one may by the fame rea ning, conclude severat propositions of Euclid to he false. A simple apprehension os conclusions as talien in them lues, without the deductions of science, is what fatis to the mare of mankind in generat. Religious awe, the precepis of parenis and mas- ters, the wisdom os legislators, and the accumulated experience of ages, supply the place of proose and rea nings with the vulgar of ali ranks: I would say, that discipline, national constitutiora, and laws human or divine, a re so many plain land marks, which guide them into the pathswherein it is presumed they ought to trea d.
From What hath been premised, it pia in ly appears, that in the bulli osmankind, there are, and must be prejudices; that is, opinions talien upontrust; or, in other Words, that there are potnts of faith among ali menwhatsoever, as weli as among christians. And, as it is evident, that the unthinking part of every age, sex, and condition among us, must necesiarily receive notions with the submissionos faith; so it is very rea nable, that thcy should submit their Dilli tothe greatest authorities human and divine, the law and the gospei. But,
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is orace ali reverende sor these be destroyed, our pretenders to morallinowledge will have no authori ty to imbue the multitude with lach notions as may controi their appetites. From ali whicli it sollows, that themo dem schemes of our Dee-thinhers, who pretend to separate morali tyfrona religion, how rational see ver they may stem to their admirers, are, in truth and essest, most irrational and pernicio us to civit society. Let any one, who thiniis at ali, consider the sev age state os undisciplined men, whose minds are nurtured to no doctrine, brohe by no instruction, governed by no principie. I et him at the fame time refleet ona society of persons educat ed in the principies of OUr Church, formed be- times to sear God, to reverence their superiors, to be gratesul to their benefactors, sorgiving to their enem ies, just and charitable to ali men , and hewill then be able to judge of the meriis of those Who are so adiive to weedout the prejudices of education.
Among the many wild notions broached in these giddy times, it must
vices praeti sed in civili ged nations. NON, it is Very true, among se vages there a re instances to be soland of tu Xury, avarice, or ambition ; notthat the contrary virtves ta ke place, but because the opportunities and faculties for such vices, are Wanting. For the fame rea n you do notsee them in brutes. What they esteem and admire in those creatures, is not innocence, butignorance ; it is not viriue, but necessi ty. Give them but the means of transgressing, and they lino no bound s. For example : supply the wa