gion at first lay under from Perfecution and Calumny, and how hard it was for Flesh and Blood to enter into the Kingdom of God, or embrace the Gofpel. Had the fame Difcouragements continu'd on, and Christianity been ftill on the fuffering fide, perpetual mifery had been too mighty a Temptation to infidelity, but the Doctrine of the Crofs being fo worthy of God in it felf, and put into the Hands of fuch weak Inftruments, who fuffer'd fo long and fo much, and thereby gave greater and more publick proofs of their fincerity, and for fome Ages Triumphing over the Heathen Gods, the Devils then worship'd as fuch, till they had quite routed the Kingdom of Darkness, and then at length bringing over the Civil Powers to the Religion of the Crucify'd Je Jus, and all this only by Meeknefs, Miracle, and NonRefiftance, thefe, I fay, are Demonftrations of that Almighty Wisdom, that bath made every thing beautiful in his time, and which put it almoft out of the Power of After-Ages to fufpect Chriftianity for a Cheat; it never being the way of an Impoftor to deal fo much or fo long in the Light, and upon fuch Politicks, as humanly speaking, are never likely to fucceed. And therefore, after fo much Expence and Plenty of Evidence, after all this miraculous Suffering and Succefs, to dif-believe on ftill, makes the Cafe of Modern Infidels more intolerable than that of Heathens, who had fuch terrible Arguments to Flesh and Blood, as Poverty and Perfecution, Racks and Tortures, to plead for their not being Chriftians.

One thing here indeed is too remarkable to be paft over in filence, and it is this, that Cecilius, after all his raking into Dirt to make up his load of Calumny, fhould forget to put in Rebel into that foul-mouth'd Catalogue of ill Names he throws at Chriftians. Adultery, Incest, Murder, and eating of Children, he charges roundly upon the Faithful, but this new Sect was fo fcandaloufly Paffive at the firft, fuch notorious Non-Refiftance-Men, fuch ftrict Followers of that Just

One,

One, whom St. James fo emphatically fays, ye have condemned and killed, and he doth not refift you, that this Heathen thought it more advisable to blacken 'em with any thing than Rebellion. Hence alfo we may learn Patience under the most provoking Accufations, and to get the better of Calumny by the Primitive Art of living our felves into Reputation; and that if NonRefiftance be an Error, we are encompass'd with a cloud of Witneffes for the fame Doctrine, and may be fure we err in good Company, and that it is but a beautiful frailty at the worft, and fuch a one as God will gracioufly interpret to our exceeding Reward, it being an Error fo very like Truth, that the noble Army of Martyrs made the fame mistake; and it being certain alfo that the miftake is not wilful, because no Man wou'd wilfully chufe to fuffer, did he think he might go to Heaven as furely upon much eafier Terms.

When Cecilius had finish'd his Harangue, he Plumes himself upon his Performance, as unanswerable, and with an Air of Triumph, what (fays he) can this beggerly Baker of a Philofopher, this Gentleman of Plautu's Tribe, reply to my Arguments? And thus he begins and ends with great uniformity in giving ill words for Reasons.

Here our Minucius the Moderator interpofes; gently, fair and foftly, good Cecilius, ftay and hear what Odavius has to fay, before you infult him at this rate. After a Complement or two pafs'd upon Cecilius for his mighty Command of Words, and a friendly infinuation of his Dexterity at Shuffling and Evafion, he makes this juft Remark upon the way of Difputants in general, that they make it their bufinefs to perplex and puzzle a Caufe, and fhew much more concern for Victory, than Truth. But not to spend more time in Reflecti ons of this kind, Olavius the Chriftian ftands ready with an Answer, and pray without more ado let's hear wha he has to fay in defence of his Religion.

Olavius

Odavius at his first setting out, takes notice of the rambling inconfiftency throughout this whole Difcourse, and of the strange Union of extremes, of Atheism and Superstition in one and the fame Perfon. But this, (fays he) I will not charge upon my Cecilius as Artifice and Cunning, fuch flippery dealing being no ways agreeable to the franknefs and ingenuity of his Temper; but it fares with him, as with a bewilder'd Traveller, who when he comes to feveral Paths, ftands in fufpenfe, not daring to chufe any, nor yet able to follow all. Afterwards he takes to pieces, and examins all his Reafonings in particular, he lets him know firft, how weak and unbecoming a Man of Senfe it is, to be in fuch a terrible Paffion with Chriftians, meerly for the want of Riches and Literature, that in all difquifitions about Truth, 'tis not the Authority or Weight of the Difputant, but of his Arguments, that is the Point to be minded, for the more plain and unadorn'd a Difcourse, the greater Air it hath of Truth. He readily grants to Cecilius, that 'tis every Man's duty to keep his Thoughts more at home upon the study of himself, and to be fenfible of his own Mediocrity, but then he argues that we cannot come to a right knowledge of our felves, without knowing our Maker; for abftra&ting Man from his Relation to God, and another World, he is one of the oddest and most unhappy Animals in Nature; either prey'd upon continually with vain Fears, or flatter'd with vain hopes about a Life to come, when there is no fuch thing. He then proves a God and a Providence from that admirable Beauty and Contexture which comes out and meets our Eye in every part of the Universe, from the harmony of the Seafons, from the make of every Creature, and of Man efpecially. He goes on to prove that there can be but one God, and that he must be invifible to our Eyes of Flesh, as being a pure Spirit, and that being Infinite, he cannot be comprehenfible by any thing but his infinite Self only. That Mankind naturally know him, and when

the

the Vulgar lift up their Hands to Heaven, and cry out, the Great God, the true God, and if it shall please God, 'tis pure Inftinct, and the Voice of Nature declaring for the Unity of that God which is the God of Chriftians. He then runs over the Opinions of the Philofophers, and fhews, that the most celebrated of them all concur in the notion of one Supreme Deity, tho' under different Denominations. After this, he demonftrates the Antiquity of the Heathen Fables to be no Ground for their Credibility, and that they have not the leaft fhadow of Truth, either from Reafon or Teftimony, but are in themselves wickedly impertinent and ridiculous, and that a Man must be void of common Sense, as well as Shame, to entertain and credit 'em. Then he taxes the Poets for giving Life and Reputation to fuch horrid Abfurdities, by inftilling 'em into the Minds of unwary Youth, by inflaming their Lufts with the intrigues and ftories of luftful Deities, and by taking poffeflion of their Hearts with the Melody and Magick of inchanting Verfe. He proves likewife, that the Foundations of the Roman Empire were not laid in Religion, but in Parricide, Rapes, and Perfidioufnefs, and grew up to its prefent Bulk by the fame Arts of Injuftice, Violence, and Sacrilege. That their Generals frequently made a Jeft of Auguries, Omens, and other Sacred Ceremonies, and yet were victorious in fpite of their Irreligion. That their Oracles were moft often falfe, and always ambiguous, and the Demons had bad luck indeed, fhou'd they never chance to hit right once after fo many random Conjectures. That thefe Demons are unclean Spirits, and being alienated from God, make it their whole employment by fuch Superftitions to eftrange Mankind alfo from him. That thefe likewife are the wicked Spirits that lie fculking about in your Statues, and in the Entrails of Beafts, and difpofe the Lots and the Flight of Birds, and play fuch mad pranks in the Bodies they poffefs, but by us adjur'd in the Name of our God, they quit

their Poffeffions with howling Agonies; they cannot ftand our bare words, but fly away in fuch horrid confufion, as if it were Hell to them to hear us speak.

After this, he lays open their Injuftice and Barbarity for accufing Chriftians of Inceft, Murder, and every Abomination, and yet never concerning themselves about the Truth of thefe Articles, but Tormenting and Racking the accufed only to renounce their Religion. He lets them know likewife, that the Chriftians are Men of more Senfe than to Worship the Head of an Afs; and of much purer Morals, than to commit the leaft uncleannefs in their Feafts and Sacred Myfteries, and that fuch Accufations were too monftrous to find any Credit in the World, did not the Accufers, by their own Actions, prove 'em practicable. That for Chriftians, they neither worship'd a Malefactor, nor a Man; well knowing, that a Criminal cannot deferve Divine Honour, nor a meer Man be poffibly a God. And for Croffes, they neither worship'd nor wifh'd for 'em. That they were fo far from eating an Infant, that they religiously abftain'd from every thing where there was Blood. But for the Heathens, 'twas evident fuch Murders went glibly down with them, from their frequent expofing their own Children to be devoured by wild Beafts, or ftarv'd by hunger, &c. and from their Potions to procure Abortions, and from their Human Sacrifices, and their continually dealing with Blood in all their holy Things. Moreover, he adds, that the Chriftian Sect difcover'd all the Charms and Graces of Modefty, not only in their Looks and Behaviour, but the Virtue was rooted in their Hearts, and from thence fhot forth into the Face, and beautify'd all their Actions; and therefore they commonly married but once, and for no other end, but for the fake of Children. Their Feafts were frugal, and always feafon'd with Gravity and Chearfulness. Their numbers continually encreas'd from all parts of the World, and from all Degrees and

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