2 Cor. ii. 11, We are not ignorant of his devices;

I.VOLTAIRE fcoffs at religion, from the abufes and corruptions of it among the Heathens. It fhould be fhewn, by a true ftaté of the cafe, how things were from the beginning, that it may be feen which was the original, and which the copy; how it happened that there was fuch a fimilitude between the true and the false; a fimilitude extending to all the nations of the earth; by which it is demonftrated, that as there was once one original language, of which all other languages were dialectical, fo one and the fame religion was once univerfal to all mankind. The Heathens carried off, what they afterwards corrupted by tras dition more early than the written law. Voltaire turns all the errors of the copy to the reproach of the original; gives priority to the copy; and fneers at Jewish and Chriftian inftitutions under the cover of terms belonging to the Heathen. He finds circumcifion among the Egyptians before Abraham; and derives baptifm from the Indians, practifing religious ablutions in the river Ganges, His object is to be rid of truth under the name of error; and to this all his artifices are directed,

II. With this view, the abuses among the profeffors of Chrif tianity, fuch as bitter controversies, wars, perfecutions, maffacres, fuperftitions, and legendary miracles of Rome, are all laid to the fcore of their religion, (though they arofe in fact only from the corruption of it) as if religion produced nothing but bad fruits. If truth is difgraced by vice and hypocrify, as it ever was and will be, he reports it to be in itself good for nothing. Falle logic confounds things; true logic diftinguishes properly: the former is the logic of the dishoneft; the latter of the wife and learned.

III. Works done at the command of God, are confidered as done without his command, and then exclaimed against as severe and cruel. The executioner is guilty of no crime, when felons

are lawfully condemned by their judge: much lefs when the fentence is from the Judge of all the earth. Earthquakes and peftilences flay indifcriminately, men, women, and children: but who accufes God of injustice on that account? All the mistakes and stretches of authority are magnified and fwelled out with all his rhetoric, to make authority itself odious, [or transfer it by degrees to the hands of his friends; and all the world now fees how they use it.] What a ftrange appearance things will take, when we tell fome circumstances of a story, and conceal the reft! If we tell of David's fin, as Voltaire delights to do, and fupprefs the fentence and the punishment paffed upon it: for thus the Bible, which forbids murder and adultery, is made to encourage them.

IV. He ridicules the customs and manners of old times, because they do not agree with those of the present age. The fame faults may be found with Homer, whofe wifdom is yet very juftly admired. Emblematical actions of the prophets, without their fenfe and meaning, may be made to appear ftrange and unreafonable; but are of great force and propriety when the reason is added. Tell the story of Jonah and the whale, independent of all other things; or throw it into the heap, among the wonders of Zoroafter and Lomonocodom, and it will be rejected, together with them. But when it is confidered that our Savour himself confirmed the truth of it, and made his use of it; that life, death, the refurrection, and the eternal falvation of mankind, are the most interesting fubjects we know of, and merit every poffible wonder of nature to explain to us the nature of them, the cafe is altered. What would be incredible, without the sequel of Chrift's refurrection added to it, and confidered with it, becomes just and reasonable; and thus every fair critic will confider it.

V. He collects induftriously all the flips, blunders, and abfur dities of commentators and defenders, and fo endeavours to depreciate their labours, and render them contemptible, and religion through them while all the excellent things a man hath faid are overlooked, because he hath faid fome things that are weak.

:

VI. Difference of opinión, divifions, &c. do not prove that. there is no fuch thing as truth; but rather that fome men do not rightly understand it, and that others do not like it. When a man hates the wisdom of the Scripture, we hold it impoffible

that he can understand it. Truth will never enter, where there is not the love of truth. 2 Theff. H. 10. "They received not the "love of the truth, that they might be faved." Rom. iii. 3. "What if fome did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the "faith of God without effect?"

why God chose such a They are cenfured for

VII. The stiff-neckedness of the Jews is used as a handle against their law. The reafon fhould be given people why he gave them fuch a law. their hatred of other nations: but they were taught to hate and avoid their idolatry; and with idolaters that hatred was unpardonable. He is always railing at the Jews, always vindicating the Heathens: he abfolutely denies it to be poffible, that Trajan, Titus, and Antoninus, each good men, could ever be guilty of perfecution: but when a man's principles obliges him to deny facts, it is a fign he is on very bad ground. The supposed ignorance of the Jews has been much aggravated, by men who appear to have been more ignorant than they. A true and fair account of them should be given.

VIII. To answer what is faid against mysteries, the true nature of a mystery should be fhewn. So far as mysteries fignify doctrines above the reafon of man, they are unavoidable, if God is pleafed to tell us any thing about himself, and the things of an invifible world. So far as myfteries fignify parables, where truth is both hidden and explained (hidden from fome, and explained to others) under the veil of material things, they are vehicles of inftruction worthy of all admiration,

IX. Ridicule, and scorning, and reading with a view to fneer, are symptoms of a very bad difpofition. Prov. xiv. 6. "A "fcorner feeketh wifdom and findeth it not." All fcorn is from contempt; all contempt is from pride; and pride prevents improvement; fo the scorner findeth no wisdom: the proud mind is fo full of itself, that there is no room for any thing else. He that hateth another, is never fo well pleased as when he can make him and his actions appear ridiculous: this is the never-failing effect of hatred and malice: and however incredible it may found, we are certain it is a poffible thing for man to hate God; to hate his ways and his word; and in that cafe he will proceed as aforefaid. In Rom. i. 31. the Heathens are faid to have been Eos uyes

"haters of God:" and ver. 25. to have "changed the truth of "God into a lye:" and Pfal. lxxxi. 15. speaks of the "haters “of the Lord.” If there be any fuch perfons now, as there undoubtedly have been formerly, Mr. Voltaire might be one of them; and all good men who read his bitter farcafins against the people of God, the church of God, the providence of God, the word of God, and in short of every thing that belongs to him, may be left to judge for themselves. Every truth, however high and facred, may be reprefented under fome low and ridiculous idea; but this is no test,

X. When an author writes to the paffions of mankind, instead of addressing himself to their reason, weak proofs will have great weight: the work may be sometimes done without any proofs: he wants none, who follows the worfe while he fees the better; a weakness to which all men are subject, when paffion has the dominion over them. Would a man use the meretricious arts of telling tales and novels, to inflame and corrupt, if he could use reafon to convince? Why does he act thus, but because he is appealing to that corrupt judge, which every man carries about in his own breast; who is fo eafily cheated and bribed to favour the adverse party?

XI. The foundation of the New Teftament being laid in the Old Testament, it is impoffible to vilify the Old without striking at the New. Chrift and his Apoftles vouch for the Old Teftament as the word of God: they appeal to it and build upon it. When therefore we see men at this work, we may be assured their defign is to overturn Christianity.

XII. The objects of infidels and unfaithful critics against the inspiration of the language of the Scripture, fhould be obviated— See what Middleton and Warburton have thrown out.-The Scripture is not offered to us as the fenfe or fentiment of God, but as the word of God; communicated to us through perfons, 2 Pet. iv. 21. "who fpake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." It is not only against the express declarations of the Scripture, but it is falfe philofophy to suppose that an inspired man speaks his own words. Luke xxi. 15. "I will give you a mouth and wisdom." That the divine spirit does actually inspire words, is demon

ftrated by the gift of languages to the Apostles, which consist of words only.

The best way to confute and expofe unbelievers, would be, not to anfwer their cavils, (which are without end) but to carry the war into the enemy's quarters; to fhew plainly what infidelity is, whence it comes, how it maintains itfelf, &c. See Maffillon Carême III. 277. The Hiftory of Infidelity would be a valuable work [beginning with the Heathens, and coming down to apofta tifing Chriftians.]

NOTE.

Ir Bishop Horne had drawn out these reflections, he would have given us a compleat character of Voltaire, as an enemy to Christianity; which, from fuch a hand, would have been a choice work, both edifying and entertaining. But as no fuch thing is found among his manufcripts, the Editor of these Extracts has attempted a sketch, from his own knowledge of that author's writings.

a man.

The reafon of Voltaire was to right reafon what a monkey is to The gefticulations of that animal provoke even a wife man to laughter; while his head at the fame time is filled with mischief, and his heart is incapable of any one good affection. He had an imagination which inclined him to the writing of plays: his mind is therefore always upon a stage, and his object is to catch the attention of an audience rather by mimickry than by fenfe and argument. With a ftrong difpofition to evil, he was no friend to restraint of any kind: fo he abhorred all law but the law of liberty, which is no law; and all, government but the government of equality, which is no government and as religion is the fupport both of law and government, he hated that worst of all. He affected a great abhorrence of perfecution, and recommended univerfal toleration; only with defign to let evil loose among mankind; of which it required not half his wit to fee the confequence, Give equal liberty to a tyger and twenty sheep: the fheep will all perish by degrees, and the tyger will thrive and fatten upon their blood. But he had a farther end in his affected clemency. He trained his readers to a paffion for toleration, that they might take the fame diflike with himself to the justice of God in the holy Scripture; which juftice he has frequently ar