AN ENQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN OF HONOUR AND The Usefulness ofCHRISTIANITY IN WAR. By the Author of the FABLE of the BEES. [Bernard Mandeville] THE PREFACE. I take it for granted, that a Christian is not bound to believe anyThing to have been of Divine Institution, that has not been declaredto be such in Holy Writ. Yet great Offence has been taken at an Essay, in the First Part of the Fable of the _Bees_, call'd An Enquiry into theOrigin of Moral Virtue; notwithstanding the great Caution it is wrotewith. Since then, it is thought Criminal to surmise, that even HeathenVirtue was of Human Invention, and the Reader, in the followingDialogues, will find me to persist in the Opinion, that it was; I beghis Patience to peruse what I have to say for my self on this Head, which is all I shall trouble him with here. The Word Morality is either synonimous with Virtue, or signifies thatPart of Philosophy, which treats of it, and teaches the Regulation ofManners; and by the Words Moral Virtue, I mean the same Thing which Ibelieve Every body else does. I am likewise fully persuaded that togovern our selves according to the Dictates of Reason, is far betterthan to indulge the Passions without Stop or Controul, andconsequently that Virtue is more beneficial than Vice, not only forthe Peace and real Happiness of Society in general, but likewise forthe Temporal Felicity of every individual Member of it, abstract fromthee Consideration of a future State, I am moreover convinced, thatall wise Men ever were and ever will be of this Opinion; and I shallnever oppose Any body, who shall be pleased to call this an EternalTruth. Having allow'd and own'd thus much, I beg Leave to make a shortGrammatical Reflection on the Sounds or Letters we make use of toexpress this rational Management of ourselves: For tho' the Truth ofits Excellency is Eternal, the Words _Moral Virtue_ themselves are notso, any more than Speech or Man himself. Permit me therefore toenquire which Way it is most probably, they must have come into theWorld. The Word _Moral_, without Doubt, comes from _Mos_, and signifies everyThing that relates to Manners: The Word _Ethick_ is synonimous with_Moral_, and is derived from [Greek: ithik], which is exactly the samein _Greek_, that _Mos_ is in _Latin_. The _Greek_ for Virtu, is [Greek:arete], which is derived from [Greek: ares], the God of War andproperly signifies Martial Virtue. The same Word in _Latin_, if webelieve _Cicero_, comes from _Vir_; and the genuine Signification likewiseof the Word _Virtus_ is Fortitude. It is hardly to be conceived, butthat in the first Forming of all Societies, there must have beenStruggles for Superiority; and therefore it is reasonable to imagine, that in all the Beginnings of Civil Government, and the Infancy ofNations, Strength and Courage must have been the most valuableQualifications for some Time. This makes me think, that _Virtus_, in itsfirst Acceptation, might, with great Justice and Propriety, be in_English_ render'd _Manliness_; which fully expresses the Original Meaningof it, and shews the Etymology equally with the _Latin_; and whoever isacquainted with that Language must know, that it was some ages beforethe _Romans_ used it in any other Sense. Nay, to this Day, the Word_Virtus_ by it self, in any of their Historians, has the sameSignification, as if the Word _Bellica_ had been added. We have Reasonto think, that, as First, Nothing was meant by _Virtus_, but Daring andIntrepidity, right or wrong; or else if could never have been made tosignify Savageness, and brutish Courage; as _Tacitus_, in the FourthBook of his History, makes use of it manifestly in that Sense. EvenWild Beasts, says he, if you keep them shut up, will lose theirFierceness. _Etiam sera animalia, si clausa teneas, virtutisobliviseuntur_. What the Great Men of _Rome_ valued themselves upon was active andpassive Bravery, Warlike Virtue, which is so strongly express'd in theWords of Livy: _Et facere & pati fortia Romanum est. _ Butbesides the Consideration of the great Service, All Warriours receivedfrom this Virtue, there is a very good Reason in the Nature of theThing it self, why it should be in far higher Esteem than any other. The Passion it has to struggle with, is the most violent and stubborn, and consequently the hardest to be conquer'd, the Fear of Death: Theleast Conflict with it is harsh Work, and a difficult Task; and it isin Regard to this, that _Cicero_, in his _Offices_, calls Modesty, Justiceand Temperance, the softer and easier Virtues. _Qui virtutibusbis lenioribus erit ornatus, modestia, justitia temperantia, _ &c. Justice and Temperance require Professors as grave and solemnn, anddemand as much Strictness and Observance as any other Virtues. Why_lenioribus_ then; but that they are more mild and gentle in theRestrain they lay upon our Inclinations, and that the Self-denial theyrequire is more practicable and less mortifying than that of Virtueitself, as it is taken in it proper and genuine Sense? To be Just orTemperate, we have Temptations to encounter, and Difficulties tosurmount, that are troublesome: But the Efforts we are oblig'd to makeupon our selves to be truyly Valiant are infinitely greater; and, inorder to it, we are overcome the First, the strongest and most lastingPassion, that has been implanted in us; for tho' we may hate and haveAversion to many Things by Instinct, yet this is Nothing so generallyterrible, and so generally dreadful to all Creatures, rational or notrational, as the Dissolution of their Being. Upon due Consideration of what has been said, it will be easy toimagine how and why, soon after Fortitude had been honoured with theName of Virtue, all the other Branches of Conquest over our selveswere dignify'd with the same Title. We may see in it likewise theReason of what I have always so strenuously insisted upon, _viz. _ Thatno Practice, no Action or good Quality, how useful or beneficialsoever they may be in them selves, can ever deserve the Name ofVirtue, strictly speaking, where there is not a palpable Self-denialto be seen. In Tract of Time, the Sense of the Word _Virtus_ receivedstill a grated Latitude; and it signify'd Worth, Strength, Authority, and Goodness of all Kinds: _Plautus_ makes use of it, for Assistance. _Virtute Deūm_, by the Help of the Gods. By Degrees it was applied notonly to Brutes, _Est in juveneis, est in equis patrum Virtus_, but likewise to Things inanimate and was made Use of to express thePower, and peculiar Qualities of Vegetables and Minerals of all Sorts, as it continues to be to this Day. The Virtue of the Loadstone, theVirtue of Opium, &c. It is highly probable, that the Word _Moral_, either in _Greek_ or _Latin_, never was thought of before theSignification of the Word _Virtue_ had been extended so far beyond itsOriginal; and then in speaking of the Virtues of our Species, theAddition of that Epithet became necessary, to denote the Relation theyhad to our Manners, and distinguish them from the Properties andEfficacy of Plants, Stones, &c. Which were likewise call'd _Virtues_. If I am wrong, I shall be glad to see a better Account, how thisAdjective and Substantive came to be join'd together. In the meanTime, I am very sure, that this is Nothing strain'd or forc'd in mySupposition. That the Words, in Tract of Time, are be come of greaterImportance, I don't deny. The Words _Clown_ and _Villain_ have opprobriousMeanings annex'd to them, that were never implied in _Colonus_ and_Villanus_, from which they were undoubtedly derived. _Moral_, for ought Iknow, may now signify _Virtue_, in the same Manner and for the sameReason, that _Panic_ signifies _Fear_. That this Conjecture or Opinion of mine, should be detracting from theDignity of _Moral Virtue_, or have a Tendency to bring it intoDisrepute, I can not see. I have already own'd, that it ever was andever will be preferable to Vice, in the Opinion of all wise Men. Butto call Virtue it self Eternal, can not be done without a strangelyFigurative Way of Speaking. There is no Doubt, but all MathematicalTruths are Eternal, yet they are taught; and some of them are veryabstruse, and the Knowledge of them never was acquir'd without greatLabour and Depth of Thought. _Euclid_ had his Merit; and it does notappear that the Doctrine of the _Fluxions_ was known before Sir _IsaacNewton_ discover'd that concise Way of Computation; and it is notimpossible that there should be another Method, as yet unknown, stillmore compendious, that may not be found out these Thousand Years. All Propositions, not confin'd to Time or Place, that are once true, must be always so; even in the silliest and most abject Things in theWorld; as for Example, It is wrong to under-roast Mutton for Peoplewho love to have their Meat well done. The Truth of this, which is themost trifling Thing I can readily think on, is as much Eternal, asthat of the Sublimest Virtue. If you ask me, where this Truth was, before there was Mutton, or People to dress or eat it, I answer, inthe same Place where Chastity was, before there were any Creaturesthat had an Appetite to procreate their Species. This puts me in mindof the inconsiderate Zeal of some Men, who even in Metaphysicks, knownot how to think abstractly, and cannot forebear mixing their ownMeanness and Imbecillities, with the Idea's they form of the SupremeBeing. There is no Virtue that has a Name, but it curbs, regulates, orsubdues some Passion that is peculiar to Humane Nature; and thereforeto say, that God has all the Virtues in the highest Perfection, wantsas much the Apology, that it is an Expression accommodated to vulgarCapacities, as that he has Hands and Feet, and is angry. For as Godhas not a Body, nor any Thing that is Corporeal belonging to hisEssence, so he is entirely free from Passions and Fralities. With whatPropriety then can we attribute any Thing to him that was invented, orat least signifies a Strength or Ability to conquer or govern Passionsand Fralities? The Holiness of God, and all his Perfections, as wellas the Beatitude he exists in, belong to his Nature; and there is noVirtue but what is acquired. It signifies Nothing to add, that God hasthose Virtues in the highest Perfection; let them be what they will, as to Perfection, they must still be Virtues; which, for the aforesaidReasons, it is impertinent to ascribe to the Diety. Our Thoughts ofGod should be as worthy of him as we are able to frame them; and asthey can not be adequate to his Greatness, so they oughts at least tobe abstract from every Thing that does or can belong to silly, reptileMan: And it is sufficient, whenever we venture to speak of a Subjectso immensly far beyond our Reach, to say, that there is a perfect andcompleat Goodness in the Divine Nature, infinitely surpassing not onlythe highest Perfection, which the most virtuous Men can arrive at, butlikewise every Thing that Mortals can conceive about it. I recommend the fore-going Paragraph to the Consideration of theAdvocates for the Eternity and Divine Original of Virtue; assuringthem, that, if I am mistaken, it is not owing to any Perverseness ofmy Will, but Want of Understanding. The Opinion, that there can be no Virtue without Self-denial, is moreadvantagious to Society than the contrary Doctrine, which is a vastInlet to Hypocrisy, as I have shewn at large [1]: Yet I am willing toallow, that Men may contract a Habit of Virtue, so as to practise it, without being sensible of Self-denial, and even that they may takePleasure in Actions that would be impracticable to the Vicious: Butthen it is manifest, that this Habit is the Work of Art, Education andCustom; and it never was acquired, where the Conquest over thePassions had not be already made. There is no Virtuous Man of FortyYears, but he may remember the Conflict he had with some Appetitesbefore he was Twenty. How natural seem all Civilities to be aGentleman! Yet Time was, that he would not have made his Bow, if hehad not been bid. [Footnote 1: Fable of the _Bees_. P. Ii. P. 106. ] Whoever has read the Second Part of the Fable of the _Bees_, will see, that in these Dialogues I make Use of the same Persons, who are theInterlocutors there, and whose Characters have been already draw inthe Preface of that Book. The CONTENTS OF THE FIRST DIALOGUE. _Honour is built upon a Passion in Human Nature, for which there is noName_ _The Author's Reasons for Coining the Word Self-liking_ _How the Passion of Self-liking is discovered in Infants_ _A Definition of Honour, and what it is in Substance_ _The Author's Opinion illustrated by what we know of Dishonour or Shame_ _The different Symptoms of Pride and Shame in the Mechanism of Man_ _Are both the Result of the same Passion_ _The Word Honour, as it signifies a Principle of Courage and Virtue, isof Gothick Extraction_ _All Societies of Men are perpetually in Quest after Happiness_ _The true Reason, why no Nations can be govern'd without Religion, enquired into_ _Why no one Sort or Degree of Idolatry can be more or less absurd thananother_ _For what Purpose all Religions may be equally serviceable_ _All Men are born with the Fear of an invisible Cause_ _The Usefulness of that Fear, as to Religion_ _The Impossibility of making_ Atheism _universally received_ _Religion no Invention of Politicians_ _The Benefit expected from the Notions of Honour_ _The Reasonableness of Mens Actions examined_ _How the Strictness of the Gospel came to be first disapproved of, andthe Consequence_ _How Mens Actions may be inconsistent with their Belief_ _That many bad Christians were yet kept in Awe by the Fear of Shame, gave the first Handle to the Invention of Honour as a Principle_ _What it is we are afraid of in the Fear of Shame_ _Why the Principle of Honour has been of more Use to Society than thatof Virtue_ _The Principle of Honour, clashing with Christianity_ _Reasons why the Church of_ Rome _endeavour'd to reconcile them_ _The real Design of_ Legends _and_ Romances _The Stratagems of the Church of_ Rome _to enslave the Laity_ _What gave Rise to the Custom of Duelling_ The Contents of the Second Dialogue. _Of the Principle of Honour in the fair Sex_ _The Motives of Women who turn Nuns, seldom Religious_ _Which is most serviceable to the Preservation of Chastity in Women, Religion, or Self-liking_ _How the Notions concerning the Principle of Honour came to be commonlyreceived_ _The Qualifications thought Necessary in a Man of Honour_ _But Courage alone is sufficient to obtain the Title_ _When the Fashion of Duelling was at its greatest Height_ _Courts of Honour erected in_ France _Laws of Honour made by them to prevent Duelling_ _Why those Laws were the Reverse of all others_ _The Laws of Honour introduced as speaking_ _The Effect such Laws must have on Human Nature_ _The Arguments a true Christian would make use of to dissuade Men fromDuelling_ _The Reasons why Men are despised who take Affronts without resentingthem_ _No Scarcity of Believers in Christ_ _The Principle of Honour contrary to Christianity_ _Why the Principle of Honour is of greater Efficacy upon many thanReligion_ _How Men may adore themselves_ _Equivalents for Swearing_ _A ludicrous Proposal of_ Horatio _upon the Supposition, that Honor is anIdol_ _A Passage in the Fable of the Bees Defended_ _Satyr as little to be depended upon as Panegyrick_ _Whatever belongs to Honour or Shame, has its Foundation in the Passionof Self-liking_ _The Church of_ Rome's _cunning in consulting and humouring Human Nature_ _Heraldry of great influence on the Passion of Self-liking_ _Of Canonizations of Saint, and the different Purposes they serve_ _The want of Foresight in the first Reformers_ _The worldly Wisdom of the Church of Rome_ _Hor. Owning the Self-denial required in the Gospel in a literal Sense_ _The great Use she has made of it_ _The Analogy between the Popish Religion and a Manufacture_ _The Danger there is in explaining away the Self-denial of the Gospel_ _How the Self-denial of some may seem to be of use to others thatpractise none_ _Easy Casuists can only satisfy the_ Beau Monde _Jesuits don't, explain away Self-denial in General_ _What sort of Preachers will soonest gain Credit among the Multitude_ _Men may easily be taught to believe what is not Clashing with receivedOpinions_ _The force of Education as to Self-denial_ _The Advantage the Church of Rome has made from vulgar Nations_ _Divines, who appeal to Men's Reason, ought to behave differently fromthose, who teach implicite Faith. _ _Why the Luxury of a Popish Clergy gives less Offence to the Laity, than that of Protestants_ _What the Church of_ Rome _seems no to dispair of_ _The Politicks of_ Rome _more formidable than any other_ _What must always keep up the Popish Interest in_ Great-Britain _The most probable Maxims to hinder the Growth as well as Irreligionand Impiety as of Popery and Superstition_ _When the literal Sense of Words is to be prefer'd to the figurative_ _What the Reformers might have foreseen_ _What has been and ever will be the Fate of all Sects_ The Contents of the Third Dialog _The Beginning of all Earthly Things was mean_ _The Reason of the high Value Men have for things in which they havebut the least Share_ _Whether the best Christians make the best Soldiers_ _Remarks on the Word_ Difference _An excursion of_ Horatio _Why Religious Wars are the most Cruel_ _The Pretensions of the Huguenot Army in_ France, _and that of the_Roundheads _in England near the same_ _What was answered by their Adversaries_ _What would be the natural Consequeuce of such Differences_ _The Effect which such a Contrariety of Interests would always have onthe sober Party_ _Superstition and Enthusiasm may make Men fight, but the Doctrine ofChrist never can_ _What is required in a Soldier to be call'd virtuous and good_ _Instances where debauch'd Fellows and the greatest Rogues have foughtwell_ _What is connived at in Soldiers and what not_ _Divines in Armies seldom rigid Casuists_ _How Troops may aquire the Character of being good Christians_ _Why Divines are necessary in Armies_ _Why the worst Religion is more beneficial to Society than Atheism_ _Whether Preachers of the Gospel ever made Men Fight_ _The use that may be made of the Old Testament_ _An everlasting Maxim in Politicks_ _When the Gospel is preach'd to military Men, and when it is let aside_ _Whether_ Cromwel's _Views in promoting an outward Shew of Piety wereReligious or Political_ _The Foundation of the Quarrels that occasion'd the Civil War_ _How Men who are sincere in their Religion may be made to Act contraryto the Precept of it_ _When the Gospel ought no longer to be appeald to_ _A promise to prove what seems to be a Paradox_ _What all Priests have labour'd at in all Armies_ _The Sentiments that were instill'd into the Minds of the_ Roundheads _The Use which it is probable, a crafty wicked General would make of aConjucture, as here hinted at_ _How Men may be sincere and in many Respects morally good, and badChristians_ _How an obsure Man might raise himself to the highest Post in an Army, and be thought a Saint tho' he was an Atheist_ _How wicked men may be useful soldiers_ _How the most obdurate Wretch might receive benefit as a soldier froman outward Shew of Devotion in others_ _That Men may be sincere Believers and yet lead wicked Lives_ _Few Men are wicked from a desire to be so_ _How even bad Men may be chear'd up by Preaching_ _Hyopcrites to save an outward Appearance may be as useful as Men ofSincerity_ _There are two sorts of Hypocrites very different from one another_ The Contents of the Fourth Dialogue. _An Objection of_ Horatio, _concerning Fast-Days_ _What War they would be useful in, if duely kept_ _How Christianity may be made serviceable to Anti-Christian Purposes_ _What is understood in_ England _by keeping a Fast-Day_ _The real Doctrine of Christ can give no Encouragement for Fighting_ _Instances, where Divines seem not to think themselves strictly tied tothe Gospel_ _The Art of Preaching in Armies_ _The Use which Politicians may make of extraordinary Days of Devotion, abstract from all Thoughts of Religion_ _The miserable Nations, which many of the Vulgar have of Religion_ _How the Rememberance of a Fast-Day may affect a Wicked Soldier_ _The Power which Preaching may have upon ignorant Well-wishers toReligion_ _The Days of Supplication among the Ancients_ _A general Show of Religion cannot be procured at all Times_ _What Conjuncture it is only practicable in_ _A Character of_ Oliver Cromwell _A Spirit of Gentility introduced among Military Men_ _An improvement in the Art of Flattery_ _A Demonstration that what made the Men fight well in the late Wars wasnot their Religion_ _Why no Armies could subsist without Religion_ _A Recapitulation of what has been advanced in this and the formerDialogue_ _Horatio's Concurrence_ ERRATA Page 81. Line 6. _read_ Influence. P. 94. L. 12. R. _Proprętors_. P. 174. L. 3. R. Rites. The First Dialogue Between _Horatio_ and _Cleomenes_. _Horatio_. I Wonder you never attempted to guess at the Origin ofHonour, as you have done at that of Politeness, and your Friend in hisFable of the Bees has done at the Origin of Virtue. Cleo. I have often thought of it, and am satisfied within my self, that my Conjecture about it is Just; but there are Three substantialReasons, why I have hitherto kept it to my Self, and never yetmention'd to any One, what my Sentiments are concerning the Origin ofthat charming Sound. Hor. Let me hear your Reasons however. Cleo. The Word Honour, is used in such different Acceptations, is nowa Verb, then a Noun, sometimes taken for the Reward of Virtue, sometimes for a Principle that leads to Virtue, and, at others again, signifies Virtue it self; that it would be a very hard Task to take inevery Thing that belongs to it, and at the same Time avoid Confusionin Treating of it. This is my First Reason. The Second is: That to setforth and explain my Opinion on this Head to others with Perspicuity, would take up so much Time, that few People would have the Patience tohear it, or think it worth their while to bestow so much Attention, asit would require, on what the greatest Part of Mankind would thinkvery trifling. Hor. This Second whets my Curiosity: pray, what is your Third Reason? Cleo. That the very Thing, to which, in my Opinion, Honour owes itsBirth, is a Passion in our Nature, for which there is no Word coin'dyet, no Name that is commonly known and receiv'd in any Language. Hor. That is very strange. Cleo. Yet not less true. Do you remember what I said of Self-liking inour Third Conversation, when I spoke of the Origin of Politeness? Hor. I do; but you know, I hate Affectation and Singularity of allsorts. Some Men are fond of uncouth Words of their own making, whenthere are other Words already known, that sound better, and wouldequally explain their Meaning: What you call'd then Self-liking atlast prov'd to be Pride, you know. Cleo. Self-liking I have call'd that great Value, which allIndividuals set upon their own Persons; that high Esteem, which I takeall Men to be born with for themselves. I have proved from what isconstantly observ'd in Suicide, that there is such a Passion in HumanNature, and that it is plainly [2] distinct from Self-love. When thisSelf-liking is excessive, and so openly shewn as to give Offence toothers, I know very well it is counted a Vice and call'd Pride: Butwhen it is kept out of Sight, or is so well disguis'd as not to appearin its own Colours, it has no Name, tho' Men act from that and noother Principle. [Footnote 2: Fable of the Bees, part II. P. 141] Hor. When what you call Self-liking, that just Esteem which Men havenaturally for themselves, is moderate, and spurs them on to goodActions, it is very laudable, and is call'd the Love of Praise or aDesire of the Applause of others. Why can't you take up with either ofthese Names? Cleo. Because I would not confound the Effect with the Cause. That Menare desirous of Praise, and love to be applauded by others, is theResult, a palpable Consequence, of that Self-liking which reigns inHuman Nature, and is felt in every one's Breast before we have Time orCapacity to reflect and think of Any body else. What Moralists havetaught us concerning the Passions, is very superficial and defective. Their great Aim was the Publick Peace, and the Welfare of the CivilSociety; to make Men governable, and unite Multitudes in one commonInterest. Hor. And is it possible that Men can have a more noble Aim inTemporals? Cleo. I don't deny that; but as all their Labours were only tending tothose Purposes, they neglected all the rest; and if they could butmake Men useful to each other and easy to themselves, they had noScruple about the Means they did it by, nor any Regard to Truth or theReality of Things; as is evident from the gross Absurdities they havemade Men swallow concerning their own Nature, in spight of what Allfelt within. In the Culture of Gardens, whatever comes up in the Pathsis weeded out as offensive and flung upon the Dunghill; out among theVegetables that are all thus promiscously thrown away for Weeds, theremay be many curious Plants, on the Use and Beauty of which a Botanistwould read long Lectures. The Moralists have endeavour'd to rout Vice, and clear the Heart of all hurtful Appetites and Inclinations: We arebeholden to them for this in the same Manner as we are to Those whodestroy Vermin, and clear the Countries of all noxious Creatures. Butmay not a Naturalist dissect Moles, try Experiments upon them, andenquire into the Nature of their Handicraft, without Offence to theMole-catchers, whose Business it is only to kill them as fast as theycan? Hor. What Fault is it you find with the Moralists? I can't see whatyou drive at. Cleo. I would shew you, that the Want of Accuracy in them, when theyhave treated of Human Nature, makes it extremely difficult to speakintelligibly of the different Faculties of our intellectual Part. SomeThings are very essential, and yet have no Name, as I have given anInstance in that Esteem which Men have naturally for themselves, abstract from Self-love, and which I have been forced to coin the WordSelf-liking for: Others are miscall'd and said to be what they arenot. So most of the Passions are counted to be Weaknesses, andcommonly call'd Frailties; whereas they are the very Powers thatgovern the whole Machine; and, whether they are perceived or not, determine or rather create The Will that immediately precedes everydeliberate Action. Hor. I now understand perfectly well what you mean by Self-liking. Youare of Opinion, that we are all born with a Passion manifestlydistinct from Self-love; that, when it is moderate and well regulated, excites in us the Love of Praise, and a Desire to be applauded andthought well of by others, and stirs us up to good Actions: but thatthe same Passion, when it is excessive, or ill turn'd, whatever itexcites in our Selves, gives Offence to others, renders us odious, andis call'd Pride. As there is no Word or Expression that comprehendsall the different Effects of this same Cause, this Passion, you havemade one, _viz_. Self-liking, by which you mean the Passion in general, the whole Extent of it, whether it produces laudable Actions, andgains us Applause, or such as we are blamed for and draw upon us theill Will of others. Cleo. You are extremely right; this was my Design in coining the WordSelf-liking. Hor. But you said, that Honour owes its Birth to this Passion; which Idon't understand, and wish you would explain to me. Cleo. To comprehend this well, we ought to consider, that as all HumanCreatures are born with this Passion, so the Operations of it aremanifestly observed in Infants; as soon as they begin to be consciousand to reflect, often before they can speak or go. Hor. As how? Cleo. If they are praised, or commended, tho' they don't deserve it, and good Things are said of them, tho' they are not true, we see, thatJoy is raised in them, and they are pleased: On the Contrary, whenthey are reproved and blamed, tho' they know themselves to be inFault, and bad Things are said of them, tho' Nothing but Truth, we seeit excites Sorrow in them and often Anger. This Passion ofSelf-liking, then, manifesting it self so early in all Children thatare not Idiots, it is inconceivable that Men should not be sensible, and plainly feel, that they have it long before they are grown up: Andall Men feeling themselves to be affected with it, tho' they know noName for the Thing it self, it is impossible, that they should longconverse together in Society without finding out, not only that othersare influenced with it as well as themselves, but likewise which Wayto please or displease one another on Account of this Passion. Hor. But what is all this to Honour? Cleo. I'll shew you. When _A_ performs an Action which, in the Eyes of_B_, is laudable, _B_ wishes well to _A_; and, to shew him his Satisfaction, tells him, that such an Action is an Honour to Him, or that He oughtto be Honoured for it: By saying this, _B_, who knows that all Men areaffected with Self-liking, intends to acquaint _A_, that he thinks himin the Right to gratify and indulge himself in the Passion ofSelf-liking. In this Sense the Word Honour, whether it is used as aNoun or a Verb, is always a Compliment we make to Those who act, have, or are what we approve of; it is a Term of Art to express ourConcurrence with others, our Agreement with them in their Sentimentsconcerning the Esteem and Value they have for themselves. From what Ihave said, it must follow, that the greater the Multitudes are thatexpress this Concurrence, and the more expensive, the more operose, and the more humble the Demonstrations of it are, the more openlylikewise they are made, the longer they last, and the higher theQuality is of Those who join and assist in this Concurrence, thisCompliment; the greater, without all Dispute, is the Honour which isdone to the Person in whose Favour these Marks of Esteem aredisplayed: So that the highest Honour which Men can give to Mortals, whilst alive, is in Substance no more, than the most likely and mosteffectual Means that Human Wit can invent to gratify, stir up, andencrease in Him, to whom that Honour is paid, the Passion ofSelf-liking. Hor. I am afraid it is true. Cleo. To render what I have advanced more conspicuous, we need onlylook into the Reverse of Honour, which is Dishonour or Shame, and weshall find, that this could have had no Existence any more thanHonour, if there had not been such a Passion in our Nature asSelf-liking. When we see Others commit such Actions, as are vile andodious in our Opinion, we say, that such Actions are a Shame to them, or that they ought to be ashamed of them. By this we shew, that wediffer from them in their Sentiments concerning the Value which weknow, that they, as well as all Mankind, have for their own Persons;and are endeavouring to make them have an ill Opinion of themselves, and raise in them that sincere Sorrow, which always attends Man'sreflecting on his own Unworthiness. I desire, you would mind, that theActions which we thus condemn as vile and odious, need not to be sobut in our own Opinion; for what I have said happens among the worstof Rogues, as well as among the better Sort of People. If one Villainshould neglect picking a Pocket, when he might have done it with Ease, another of the same Gang, who was near him and saw this, would upbraidhim with it in good Earnest, and tell him, that he ought to be ashamedof having slipt so fair an Opportunity. Sometimes Shame signifies thevisible Disorders that are the Symptoms of this sorrowful Reflectionon our own Unworthiness; at others, we give that Name to thePunishments that are inflicted to raise those Disorders; but the moreyou will examine into the Nature of either, the more you will see theTruth of what I have asserted on this Head; and all the Marks ofIgnominy, that can be thought of; have a plain Tendency to mortifyPride; which, in other Words, is to disturb, take away and extirpateevery Thought of Self-liking. Hor. The Author of the Fable of the _Bees_, I think, pretends somewhereto set down the different Symptoms of Pride and Shame. Cleo. I believe they are faithfully copied from Nature. ---- Here isthe Passage; pray read it. Hor. [3] _When a Man is overwhelm'd with Shame, he observes a Sinkingof the Spirits; the Heart feels cold and condensed, and the Bloodflies from it to the Circumference of the Body; the Face glows; theNeck and part of the Breast partake of the Fire: He is heavy as Lead;the Head is hung down; and the Eyes through a Mist of Confusion arefix'd on the Ground: No Injuries can move him; he is weary of hisBeing, and heartily wishes he could make himself invisible: But when, gratifying his Vanity, he exults in his Pride, he discovers quitecontrary Symptoms; his Spirits swell and fan the Arterial Blood; amore than ordinary Warmth strengthens and dilates the Hear; theExtremities are cool; he feels Light to himself, and imagines he couldtread on Air; his Head is held up; his Eyes are roll'd about withSprightliness; he rejoices at his Being, is prone to Anger, and wouldbe glad that all the World could take Notice of him. _ [Footnote 3: Fable of the Bees, Page 57. ] Cleo. That's all. Hor. But you see, he took Pride and Shame to be two distinct Passions;nay, in another Place he has call'd them so. Cleo. He did; but it was an Errour, which I know he is willing to own. Hor. What he is willing to own I don't know; but I think he is in theRight in what he says of them in his Book. The Symptoms of Pride andShame are so vastly different, that to me it is inconceivable, theyshould proceed from the fame Passion. Cleo. Pray think again with Attention, and you'll be of my Opinion. MyFriend compares the Symptoms that are observed in Human Creatures whenthey exult in their Pride, with those of the Mortification they feelwhen they are overwhelm'd with Shame. The Symptoms, and if you willthe Sensations, that are felt in the Two Cases, are, as you say, vastly different from one another; but no Man could be affected witheither, if he had not such a Passion in his Nature, as I callSelf-liking. Therefore they are different Affections of one and thesame Passion, that are differently observed in us, according as weeither enjoy Pleasure, or are aggriev'd on Account of that Passion; inthe same Manner as the most happy and the most miserable Lovers arehappy and miserable on the Score of the same Passion. Do but comparethe Pleasure of a Man, who with an extraordinary Appetite is feastingon what is delicious to him, to the Torment of another, who isextremely hungry, and can get Nothing to eat. No Two Things in theWorld can be more different, than the Pleasure of the One is from theTorment of the other; yet Nothing is more evident, than that both arederived from and owing to the same craving principle in our nature, the Desire of Food; for when this is entirely lost, it is morevexatious to eat, than it is to let it alone, tho' the whole Bodylanguishes, and we are ready to expire for Want of Sustenance. Hitherto I have spoken of honour in its first literal Sense, in whichit is a Technic Word in the Art of Civility, and signifies a Meanswhich Men by Conversing together have found out to please and gratifyone another on Account of a palpable Passion in our Nature, that hasno Name, and which therefore I call Self-liking. In this Sense Ibelieve the Word Honour, both as a Verb and a Noun, to be as Ancientas the oldest Language. But there is another Meaning besides, belonging to the same Sound; and Honour signifies likewise a principleof Courage, Virtue, and Fidelity, which some men are said to act from, and to be aw'd by, as others are by Religion. In this latter Sense, itis much more modern, and I don't believe to be met with a ThousandYears ago in any Language. Hor. How! Is it but within these Thousand Years that there have beenmen of Bravery and Virtue? Have not the _Greeks_ and _Romans_ had greatNumbers of them? Were not the _Horatii_ and _Curiatii_ Men of Honour? Cleo. They never were call'd so. All Ages and most Countries haveproduced Men of Virtue and Bravery; but this I do not enquire intonow: What I assert to be modern is the Phrase, the Term of Art; it isthat which the Ancients knew Nothing of; nor can you with Ten Words, in either _Greek_ or _Latin_, express the entire Idea which is annex'd tothe Word Honour when it signifies a Principle. To be a Man of Honour, it is not sufficient, that he, who assumes that Title, is brave inWar, and dares to fight against the Enemies of his Country; but hemust likewise be ready to engage in private Quarrels, tho' the Laws ofGod and his Country forbid it. He must bear no Affront withoutresenting it, nor refuse a Challenge, if it be sent to him in a properManner by a Man of Honour. I make no Doubt, but this Signification ofthe Word Honour is entirely Gothick, and sprung up in some of the mostignorant Ages of Christianity. It seems to have been Invention toinfluence Men, whom Religion had no Power over. All Human Creatureshave a restless Desire of mending their Condition; and in all CivilSocieties and Communions of Men there seems to be a Spirit at Work, that, in Spight of the continual Opposition it receives from Vice andMisfortunes, is always labouring for, and seeking after what can neverbe obtain'd whilst the World stands. Hor. What is that pray? Cleo. To make Men compleatly Happy upon Earth. Thus Men make Laws toobviate every Inconveniency they meet with; and as Times discover tothem the Insufficiency of those Laws, they make others with an Intentto enforce, mend, explain or repeal the former; till the Body of Lawsgrows to such an enormous Bulk, that to understand it is a tediousprolix Study, and the Numbers that follow and belong to the Practiseof it, come to be a Grievance almost as great as could be fear'd fromInjustice and Oppression. Nothing is more necessary than that Propertyshould be secured; and it is impossible but on many Occasions Men musttrust one another in the Civil Society. Now Nothing has ever beenthought to be more obligatory or a greater Tie upon Man than Religion. Hor. This I have often wonder'd at: Considering the Absurdities on theReligion of the _Greeks_ and _Romans, _ the bad Examples and Immoralitiesof their Deities, the ridiculous Fables of a _Charon, _ a _Styx, _ a_Cerberus, _ &c, and the obscenity display'd in several of theirFestivals, I cannot conceive how Men could expect, that such Religionsshould make Men Honest, or do any good to their Morals; and yet, whichis amazing to me, most wise men in all Ages have agreed, that, withoutsome Religion or other, it would be impossible to govern anyconsiderable Nation. However, I believe it is Fact, that it never wasdone. Cleo. That no large Society of Men can be well govern'd withoutReligion, and that there never was a Nation that had not some Worship, and did not believe in some Deity or other, is most certain: But whatdo you think is the Reason of that? Hor. Because Multitudes must be aw'd by Something that is terrible, asFlames of Hell, and Fire everlasting; and it is evident, that if itwas not for the Fear of an After-Reckoning, some Men would be sowicked, that there would be no living with them. Cleo. Pray, how wicked would they be? What Crimes would they commit? Hor. Robbing, Murdering, Ravishing. Cleo. And are not often here, as well as in other Nations, Peopleconvicted of, and punished for those Crimes? Hor. I am satisfied, the Vulgar could not be managed without Religionof some Sort or other; for the Fear of Futurity keeps Thousands inAwe, who, without that Reflection, would all be guilty of those Crimeswhich are now committed only by a Few. Cleo. This is a Surmise without any Foundation. It has been said aThousand Times by Divines of all Sects; but No body has ever shewn theleast Probability of its being true; and daily Experience gives us allthe Reason in the World to think the Contrary; for there areThousands, who, throughout the Course of their Lives, seem not to havethe least Regard to a future State, tho' they are Believers, and yetthese very People are very cautious of committing any Thing which theLaw would punish. You'll give me Leave to observe by the By, that tobelieve what you say, a Man must have a worse Opinion of his Species, than ever the Author of the _Fable of the Bees_ appears to have had yet. Hor. Don't mistake me: I am far from believing, that Men of Sense andEducation are to be frighten'd with those Bugbears. Cleo. And what I say, I don't mean of Libertines or Deist; but Men, that to all outward Appearance are Believers, that go to Church, receive the Sacrament, and at the Approach of Death are observed to bereally afraid of Hell. And yet of these, many are Drunkards, Whoremasters, Adulterers, and not a Few of them betray their Trust, rob their Country, defraud Widows and Orphans, and make wronging theirNeighbours their daily Practice. Hor. What Temporal Benefit can Religion be of to the Civil Society, ifit don't keep People in Awe? Cleo. That's another Question. We both agree, that no Nation or largeSociety can be well govern'd without Religion. I ask'd you the Reasonof this: You tell me, because the Vulgar could not be kept in Awewithout it. In Reply to this, I point at a Thousand Instances, whereReligion is not of the Efficacy, and shew you withal that this End ofkeeping Men in Awe is much better obtain'd by the Laws and temporalPunishment; and that it is the Fear of them, which actually restrainsgreat Numbers of wicked People; I might say All, without Exception, ofwhom there is any Hope or Possibility, that they can be curb'd at all, or restrain'd by any Thing whatever: For such Reprobates as can make aJest of the Gallows, and are not afraid of Hanging, will laughlikewise at Hell and defy Damnation. Hor. If the Reason I alledge is insufficient, pray give me a better. Cleo. I'll endeavour it. The First Business of all Governments, I meanthe Task which all Rulers must begin with, is, to make Men tractableand obedient, which is not to be perform'd unless we can make thembelieve, that the Instructions and Commands we give them have a plainTendency to the Good of every Individual, and that we say Nothing tothem, but what we know to be true. To do this effectually, HumanNature ought to be humour'd as well as studied: Whoever thereforetakes upon him to govern a Multitude, ought to inform himself of thoseSentiments that are the natural Result of the Passions and Frailtieswhich every Human Creature is born with. Hor. I don't understand what Sentiments you speak of. Cleo. I'll explain my self. All Men are born with Fear; and as theyare likewise born with a Desire of Happiness and Self-Preservation, itis natural for them to avoid Pain and every Thing that makes themuneasy; and which, by a general Word, is call'd Evil. Fear being thatPassion which inspires us with a strong Aversion to Evil, it is verynatural to think that it will put us up on enquiring into the means toshun it. I have told you already, in our Fifth Conversation, how thisAversion to Evil, and Endeavour to shun it, this Principle of Fear, would always naturally dispose Human Creatures to suspect theExistence of an intelligent Cause that is invisible, whenever any Evilhappen'd to them, which came they knew not whence, and of which theAuthor was not to be seen. If you remember what I said then, theReasons why no Nations can be govern'd without Religion, will beobvious. Every Individual, whether he is a Savage, or is born in aCivil Society, is persuaded within, that there is such an invisibleCause; and should any Mortal contradict this, no Multitude wouldbelieve a Word of what he said. Whereas, on the other Hand, if a Rulerhumours this Fear, and puts it out of all Doubt, that there is such aninvisible Cause, he may say of it what he pleases; and no Multitude, that was never taught any Thing to the contrary, will ever dispute itwith him. He may say, that it is a Crocodile or a Monkey, an Ox, or aDog, an Onion, or a Wafer. And as to the Essence and the Qualities ofthe invisible Cause, he is at Liberty to call it very good or verybad. He many say of it, that it is an envious, malicious, and the mostcruel Being that can be imagin'd; that it loves Blood and delights inHuman Sacrifices: Or he may say that there are two invisible Causes;one the Author of Good, the other of Evil; or that there are Three; orthat there is really but One, tho' seemingly there are Three, or elsethat there are Fifty Thousand. The many Calamities we are liable to, from Thunder and Lightning, Hurricanes and Earthquakes, Plagues andInundations, will always make ignorant and untaught Men more prone tobelieve, that the invisible Cause is a bad mischievous Being, thanthat it is a good benign one; as I shew'd you then in that FifthConversation. Hor. On this Head I own I must give up Mankind, and cannot maintainthe Excellency of Human Nature; for the absurdities in IdolatrousWorship, that have been and are still committed by some of our ownSpecies, are such as no Creatures of any other could out-do them in. Cleo. The Protestant and the Mahometan are the only National Religionsnow, that are free from Idolatry; and therefore the Absurdities in theWorship of all the Rest are pretty much alike; at least, theDifference in the Degrees of Mens Folly, as Idolaters, is veryinconsiderable. For how unknown soever an invisible Cause, Power, orBeing may be, that is incomprehensible, this is certain of it, that noclear intelligible Idea can be form'd of it; and that no Figure candescribe it. All Attempts then, to represent the Deity, being equallyvain and frivolous, no One Shape or Form can be imagin'd of it, thatcan justly be said to be more or less absurd than another. As to thetemporal Benefit which Religion can be of to the Civil Society, or thePolitical View which Lawgivers and Governours may have in promotingit, the chief Use of it is in Promises of Allegiance and Loyalty, andall solemn Engagements and Asseverations, in which the invisiblePower, that, in every Country, is the Object of the Publick Worship, is involved or appeal'd to. For these Purposes all Religions areequally serrviceable; and the worst is better than none: For withoutthe belief of an invisible Cause, no Man's Word is to be relied upon, no Vows or Protestations can be depended upon; but as soon as a Manbelieves, that there is a Power somewhere, that will certainly punishhim, if he forswears himself; as soon, I say, as a Man believes this, we have Reason to trust to his Oath; at least, it is a better Testthan any other Verbal Assurance. But what this same Person believesfurther, concerning the Nature and the Essence of that Power he swearsby, the Worship it requires, or whether he conceives it in thesingular or plural Number, may be very material to himself, but theSocicty has Nothing to do with it: Because it can make no Alterationin the Security which his Swearing gives us. I don't deny theUsefulness which even the worst Religion that can be, may be of toPoliticians and the Civil Society: But what I insist upon, is, thatthe temporal Benefit of it, or the Contrivance of Oaths and Swearing, could never have enter'd into the the Heads of Politician, if the Fearof an invisible Cause had not pre-existed and been supposed to beuniversal, any more than they would have contrived matrimony, if theDesire of Procreation had not been planted in Human Nature and visiblein both Sexes. Passions don't affect us, but when they are provoked:The Fear of Death is a Reality in our Nature: But the greatest Cowardsmay, and often do, live Forty Years and longer, without beingdisturb'd by it. The Fear of an invisible Cause is as real in ourNature, as the Fear of Death; either of them may be conquer'd perhaps;but so may Lust; and Experience teaches us, that how violent soeverthe Desire of Propagating our Species may be whilst we are young, itgoes off, and is often entirely lost in old Age. When I hear a Mansay, that he never felt any Fear of an invisible Cause, that was notowing to Education, I believe him as much as I do a young marriedWoman in Health and Vigour, who tells me, that she never felt any Loveto a Man, that did not proceed from a Sense of her Duty. Hor. Does this Fear, this Acknowledgment of an invisible Cause, dispose or excite men any more to the true Religion, than it does tothe grossest and most abominable Idolatry? Cleo. I don't say it does. But there is no Passion in Human Nature sobeneficial, that, according as it is managed, may not do Mischief aswell as good. What do you think of Love? If this Fear had not beencommon to the whole Species, none could have been influenc'd by it;the Consequence of which must have been, that Men would have rejectedthe true Religion as well as the false. There is Nothing that Men maydiffer in, in which they will ever be all of the same Opinion: Andabstruse Truths do often seem to be less probable than well dress'dFables, when they are skilfully accommodated to our Understanding, andagreeable to our own Way of thinking. That there is but one God, theCreator of Heaven and Earth, that is an all-wise and perfectly goodBeing, without any Mixture of Evil, would have been a most rationalOpinion, tho' it had not been reveal'd. But Reasoning and Metaphysicksmust have been carried on to a great Height of Perfection, before thisTruth could be penetrated into by the Light of Nature. _Plutarch_, whowas a Man of great Learning, and has in many Things display'd goodSense and Capacity, thought it impossible, that one Being should havebeen the Cause of the Whole, and was therefore of Opinion, that theremust have been Two Principles; the one to produce all the Good; andthe other all the Evil that is in the World. And Some of the greatestmen have been of this Opinion, both before and since the Promulgationof the Gospel. But whatever Philosophers and men of Letters may haveadvanced, there never was an Age or a Country where the Vulgar wouldever come into an Opinion that contradicted that Fear, which all menare born with, of an invisible Cause, that meddles and interferes inHuman Affairs; and there is a greater Possibility, that the mostSenseless Enthusiast should make a knowing and polite Nation believethe most incredible Falsities, or that the most odious Tyrant shouldpersuade them to the grossest Idolatry, than that the most artfulPolitician, or the most popular Prince, should make Atheism to beuniversally received among the Vulgar of any considerable State orKingdom, tho' there were no Temples or Priests to be seen. From allwhich I would shew, that, on the one Hand, you can make no Multitudesbelieve contrary to what they feel, or what contradicts a Passioninherent in their Nature, and that, on the other, if you humour thatPassion, and allow it to be just, you may regulate it as you please. How unanimous soever, therefore, all Rulers and Magistrates haveseem'd to be in promoting some Religion or other, the Principle of itwas not of their Invention. They found it in Man; and the Fear of aninvisible Cause being universal, if Governours had said nothing of it, every Man in his own Breast would have found Fault with them, and hada Superstition of his own to himself. It has often been seen, that themost subtle Unbelievers among Politicians have been forced, for theirown Quiet, to counterfeit their Attachment to religion, when theywould a Thousand Times rather have done without it. Hor. It is not in the Power then, you think, of Politicians, tocontradict the Passions, or deny the Existence of them, but that, whenonce they have allow'd them to be just and natural, they may guide Menin the Indulgence of them, as they please. Cleo. I do so; and the Truth of this is evident likewise in anotherPassion, (_viz_) that of Love, which I hinted at before; and Marriagewas not invented to make Men procreate; they had that Desire before;but it was instituted to regulate a strong Passion, and prevent theinnumerable Mischiefs that would ensue, if Men and Women shouldconverse together promiscuosly, and love and leave one another asCaprice and their unruly Fancy led them. Thus we see, that everyLegislator has regulated Matrimony in that Way, which, to the best ofhis Skill, he imagin'd would be the most proper to promote the PeaceFelicity in general of Those he govern'd: And how great an Impostersoever _Mahomet_ was, I can never believe, that he would have allow'dhis _Mussulmen_ Three or Four Wives a piece, if he had thought itbetter, than one; Man should be contented with and confin'd to OneWoman; I mean better upon the Whole, more beneficial to the CivilSociety, as well in Consideration of the Climate he lived in--, as theNature and the Temperament of those _Arabians_ he gave his Laws to. Hor. But what is all this to the Origin of Honour? What Reason haveyou to think it to be of Gothick Extraction? Cleo. My Conjecture concerning Honour, as it signifies a Principlefrom which Men act, is, that it is an Invention of Politicians, tokeep Men close to their Promises and Engagements, when all other Tiesprov'd ineffectual; and the Christian Religion itself was often foundinsufficient for that Purpose. Hor. But the Belief of an over-ruling Power, that will certainlypunish Perjury and Injustice, being common to all Religions, whatpre-eminence has the Christian over the Rest, as to the Civil Societyin Temporals? Cleo. It shews and insists upon the Necessity of that Belief moreamply and more emphatically than any other. Besides, the Strictness ofits Morality, and the exemplary Lives of Those who preach'd it, gain'dvast Credit to the mysterious Part of it; and there never had been aDoctrine or Philosophy from which it was so likely to expect, that itwould produce Honesty, mutual Love and Faithfulness in the Dischargeof all Duties and Engagements as the Christian Religion. The wisestMoralists, before that Time, has laid the greatest Stress on theReasonableness of their precepts; and appeal'd to Human Understandingfor the Truth of their Opinions. But the Gospel, soaring beyond theReach of Reason, teaches us many Things, which no Mortal could everhave known, unless they had been reveal'd to him; and several thatmust always remain incomprehensible to finite Capacities; and this isthe Reason, that the Gospel presses and enjoins Nothing with moreEarnestness than Faith and Believing. Hor. But would Men be more sway'd by Things they believed only, thanthey would be by those they understood? Cleo. All Human Creatures are sway'd and wholly govern'd by theirPassions, whatever fine Notions we may flatter our Selves with; eventhose who act suitably to their Knowledge, and strictly follow theDictates of their Reason, are not less compell'd so to do by somePassion or other, that sets them to Work, than others, who bidDefiance and act contrary to Both, and whom we call Slaves to theirPassions. To love Virtue for the Beauty of it, and curb one'sAppetites because it is most reasonable so to do, are very good Thingsin Theory; but whoever understands our Nature, and consults thePractice of Human Creatures, would sooner expect from them, that theyshould abstain from Vice, for Fear of Punishment, and do good, inHopes of being rewarded for it. Hor. Would you prefer that Goodness, built upon Selfishness andMercenary Principles, to that which proceeds from a Rectitude ofThinking, and a real Love of Virtue and Reasonableness of MensActions? Cleo. We can give no better Proof of our Reasonableness, than byjudging rightly. When a Man wavers in his Choice, between presentEnjoyments of Ease and Pleasure, and the Discharge of Duties that aretroublesome, he weighs what Damage or benefit will accrue to him uponthe Whole, as well from the Neglect as the Observence of the Dutiesthat are prescrib'd to him; and the greater the Punishment is he fearsfrom the Neglect, and the more transcendent the Reward is which hehopes for from the Observance, the more reasonably he acts, when hesides with his Duty. To bear with Inconveniencies, Pain and Sorrow, inHopes of being eternally Happy, and refuse the Enjoyments of Pleasure, for Fear of being Miserable for ever, are more justifiable to Reason, and more consonant to good Sense, than it is to do it for Nothing. Hor. But our Divines will tell you, that this Slavish Fear isunacceptable, and that the Love of God ought to be the Motive of goodActions. Cleo. I have Nothing against the refin'd Notions of the Love of God, but this is not what I would now speak of. My Design was only toprove, that the more firmly Men believe Rewards and Punishments froman invisible Cause, and the more this Belief always influences them inall their Actions, the closer they'll keep to Justice and all Promisesand Engagements. It is this that was always most wanted in the CivilSociety; and, before the Coming of _Christ_, Nothing had appear'd uponEarth, from which this grand _Desideratum_, this Blessing, might soreasonably be expected as it might from his Doctrine. In the Beginningof Christianity, and whilst the Gospel was explain'd without anyRegard to Wordly Views, to be a Soldier was thought inconsistent withthe Profession of a Christian; but this Strictness of theGospel-Principles began to be disapproved of in the Second Century. The Divines of those Days were most of them become arrant Priests, andsaw plainly, that a Religion, which would not allow its Votaries toassist at Courts or Armies, and comply with the vain World, couldnever be made National; consequently, the Clergy of it could neveracquire any considerable Power upon Earth. In Spirituals they were theSuccessors of the Apostles, but in Temporals they wanted to succeedthe Pagan Priests, whose Possessions they look'd upon with wishfulEyes; and Worldly Strength and Authority being absolutely necessary toestablish Dominion, it was agreed, that Christians might be Soldiers, and in a just War fight with the Enemies of their Country. ButExperience soon taught them, that those Christians, whose Conscienceswould suffer them to be Soldiers, and to act contrary to the Doctrineof Peace, were not more strict Observers of other Duties; that Pride, Avarice and Revenge ranged among them as they did among the Heathens, and that many of them were guilty of Drunkenness and Incontinence, Fraud and Injustice, at the same Time that they pretended to greatZeal, and were great Sticklers for their Religion. This made itevident, that there could be no Religion so strict, no System ofMorality so refin'd, nor Theory so well meaning, but some People mightpretend to profess and follow it, and yet be loose Livers, and wickedin their Practice. Hor. Those who profess to be of a Theory, which they contradict bytheir Practice, are, without Doubt, hypocrites. Cleo. I have more Charity than to think so. There are real Believersthat lead Wicked Lives; and Many stick not at Crimes, which they neverwould have dared to commit, if the Terrors of the Divine Justice, andthe Flames of Hell, had struck their Imagination, and been before themin the same Manner as they really believe they shall be; or if at thatTime their Fears had made the same Impression upon them, which they doat others, when the Evil dreaded seems to be near. Things at aDistance, tho' we are sure that they are to come, make littleImpression upon us in Comparison with those that are present andimmediately before us. This is evident in the Affair of Death: Thereis No Body who does not believe, that he must die, Mr. _Asgil_ perhapsexcepted; yet it hardly ever employs People's Thoughts, even of Thosewho are most terribly afraid of it whilst they are in perfect Health, and have every Thing they like. Man is never better pleas'd than whenhe is employ'd in procuring Ease and Pleasure, in thinking on his ownWorth, and mending his Condition upon Earth. Whether This is laid onthe Devil or our Attachment to the World, it is plain to me, that itflows from Man's Nature, always to mind to Flatter, Love, and takeDelight in himself; and that he cares as little as possible ever to beinterupted in this grand Employment. As every organ, and every part ofMan, seems to be made and wisely contriv'd for the Functions of thisLife only, so his Nature prompts him, not to have any Sollicitude forThings beyond this World. The Care of Self-Preservation we are bornwith, does not extend it self beyond this Life; therefore everyCreature dreads Death as the Dissolution of its Being, the Term not tobe exceeded, the End of All. How various and unreasonable soever ourWishes may be, and how enormous the Multiplicity of our Desires, theyterminate in Life, and all the Objects of them are on this Side theGrave. Hor. Has not a Man Desires beyond the Grave, who buys an Estate, notto be enjoy'd but by his Heirs, and enters into Agreements that shallbe binding for a Thousand Years. Cleo. All the Pleasure and Satisfaction that can arise from theReflection on our Heirs, is enjoy'd in this Life: And the Benefits andAdvantages we wish to our Posterity are of the same Nature with thosewhich we would wish to our Selves if we were to live; and what we takeCare of is, that they shall be Rich, keep their Possessions, and thattheir Estates, Authority and Prerogatives shall never diminish, butrather encrease. We look upon Posterity as the Effect of which we arethe Cause, and we reckon our Selves as it were to continue in them. Hor. But the Ambitious that are in Pursuit of Glory, and sacrifisetheir Lives to Fame and a lasting Reputation, sure they have Wishesbeyond the Grave. Cleo. Tho' a Man should stretch and carry his Ambition to the End ofthe World, and desire not to be forgot as long as that stood, yet thePleasure that arises from the Reflection on what shall be said of himThousands and Thousand of Years after, can only be enjoy'd in thisLife. If a vain Coxcomb, whose Memory shall die with him, can be butfirmly persuaded, that he shall leave an eternal Name, the Reflectionmay give him as much Pleasure as the greatest Hero can receive fromreflecting on what shall really render him immortal. A Man, who is notregenerated, can have no Notion of another World, or future happiness;therefore his Longing after it cannot be very strong. Nothing canaffect us forcibly but what strikes the Senses, or such Things whichwe are conscious of within. By the Light of Nature only, we arecapable of demonstrating to our Selves the necessity of a First Cause, a Supreme Being; but the Existence of a Deity cannot be render'd moremanifest to our Reason, than his Essence is unknown andincomprehensible to our Understanding. Hor. I don't see what you drive at. Cleo. I am endeavouring to account for the small Effect and littleForce, which Religion, and the Belief of future Punishments, may be ofto mere Man, unassisted with the Divine Grace. The Practice of nominalChristians is perpetually clashing with the Theory they profess. Innumerable Sins are committed in private, which the Presence of aChild, or the most insignificant Person, might have hinder'd, by Menwho believe God to be omniscient, and never question'd his Ubiquity. Hor. But pray, come to the Point, the Origin of Honour. Cleo. If we consider, that men are always endeavouring to mend theirCondition and render Society more happy as to this World we may easilyconceive, when it was evident that Nothing could be a Check upon Manthat was absent, or at least appear'd not to be present, how Moralistsand Politicians came to look for Something in Man himself, to keep himin Awe. The more they examin'd into Human Nature, the more they musthave been convinced, that Man is so Selfish a Creature, that, whilsthe is at Liberty, the greatest Part of his Time will always bebestow'd upon himself; and that whatever Fear or Revenerence he mighthave for an invisible Cause, that Thought was often jostled out byothers, more nearly relating to himself. It is obvious likewise, thathe neither loves nor esteems any Thing so well as he does his ownIndividual; and that here is Nothing, which he has so constantlybefore his Eyes, as his own dear Self. It is highly probable, thatskilful Rulers, having made these observations for some Time, would betempted to try if Man could not be made an Object of Reverence tohimself. Hor. You have only named Love and Esteem; they alone cannot produceReverence by your own Maxim; how could they make a man afraid ofhimself? Cleo. By improving upon his Dread of Shame; and this, I am persuaded, was the Case: For as soon as it was found out, that many vicious, quarrelsome, and undaunted Men, that fear'd neither God nor Devil, were yet often curb'd and visibly with-held by the Fear of Shame; andlikewise that this Fear of Shame might be greatly encreas'd by anartful Education, and be made superiour even to that of Death, theyhad made a Discovery of a real Tie, that would serve many noblePurposes in the Society. This I take to have been the Origin ofHonour, the Principle of which has its Foundation in Self-liking; andno Art could ever have fix'd or rais'd it in any Breast, if thatPassion had not pre-existed and been predominant there. Hor. But, how are you sure, that this was the Work of Moralists andPoliticians, as you seem to insinuate? Cleo. I give those Names promiscuously to All that, having studiedHuman Nature, have endeavour'd to civilize Men, and render them moreand more tractable, either for the Ease of Governours and Magistrates, or else for the Temporal Happiness of Society in general. I think ofall Inventions of this Sort, the same which told [4] you ofPoliteness, that they are the joint Labour of Many, Human Wisdom isthe Child of Time. It was not the Contrivance of one Man, nor could ithave been the Business of a few Years, to establish a Notion, by whicha rational Creature is kept in Awe for Fear of it Self, and an Idol isset up, that shall be its own Worshiper. [Footnote 4: Fable of the Bees, Part. II. Page 132. ] Hor. But I deny, that in the Fear of Shame we are afraid of ourSelves. What we fear, is the judgment of others, and the ill Opinionthey will justly have of us. Cleo. Examine this thoroughly, and you'll find, that when we covetGlory, or dread Infamy, it is not the good or bad Opinion of othersthat affects us with Joy or Sorrow, Pleasure or Pain; but it is theNotion we form of that Opinion of theirs, and must proceed from theRegard and Value we have for it. If it was otherwise, the mostShameless Fellow would suffer as much in his Mind from publickDisgrace and Infamy, as a Man that values his Reputation. Therefore itis the Notion we have of Things, our own Thought and Something withinour Selves, that creates the Fear of Shame: For if I have a Reason, why I forbear to do a Thing to Day, which it is impossible should beknown before to Morrow, I must be with-held by Something that existsalready; for Nothing can act upon me the Day before it has its Being. Hor. The Upshot is I find, that Honour is of the same Origin withVirtue. Cleo. But the Invention of Honour, as a Principle, is of a much laterDate; and I look upon it as the greater Atchievement by far. It was anImprovement in the Art of Flattery, by which the Excellency of ourSpecies is raised to such a Height, that it becomes the Object of ourown Adoration, and Man is taught in good Earnest to worship himself. Hor. But granting you, that both Virtue and Honour are of HumanContrivance, why do you look upon the Invention of the One to be agreater Atchievement than that of the other? Cleo. Because the One is more skilfully adapted to our inward Make. Men are better paid for their Adherence to Honour, than they are fortheir Adherence to Virtue: The First requires less Self-denial; andthe Rewards they receive for that Little are not imaginary but realand palpable. But Experience confirms what I say: The Invention ofHonour has been far more beneficial to the Civil Society than that ofVirtue, and much better answer'd the End for which they were invented. For ever since the Notion of Honour has been receiv'd amongChristians, there have always been, in the same Number of People, Twenty Men of real Honour, to One of real Virtue. The Reason isobvious. The Persuasions to Virtue make no Allowances, nor have anyAllurements that are clashing with the Principle of it; whereas theMen of Pleasure, the Passionate and the Malicious, may all in theirTurns meet with Opportunities of indulging their darling Appetiteswithout trespassing against the Principle of Honour. A virtuous Manthinks himself obliged to obey the Laws of his Country; but a Man ofHonour acts from a Principle which he is bound to believe Superiour toall Laws. Do but consider the Instinct of Sovereignty that all Men areborn with, and you'll find, that in the closest Attachment to thePrinciple of Honour there are Enjoyments that are ravishing to HumanNature. A virtuous Man expects no Acknowledgments from others; and ifthey won't believe him to be virtuous, his Business is not to forcethem to it; but a Man of Honour has the Liberty openly to proclaimhimself to be such, and call to an Account Every body who dares todoubt of it: Nay, such is the inestimable Value he sets upon himself, that he often endeavours to punish with Death the most insignificantTrespass that's committed against him, the least Word, Look, orMotion, if he can find but any far-fetch'd reason to suspect a Designin it to under-value him; and of this No body is allow'd to be a Judgebut himself. The Enjoyments that arise from being virtuous are of thatNicety, that every ordinary Capacity cannot relish them: As, withoutDoubt, there is a noble Pleasure in forgiving of Injuries, toSpeculative Men that have refin'd Notions of Virtue; but it is moreNatural to resent them; and in revenging one's self, there is aPleasure which the meanest Understanding is capable of tasting. It ismanifest then, that there are Allurements in the Principle of Honour, to draw in Men of the lowest Capacity, and even the vicious, whichVirtue has not. Hor. I can't see, how a Man can be really virtuous, who is notlikewise a Man of Honour. A Person may desire to be Honest, and havean Aversion to Injustice, but unless he has Courage, he will notalways dare to be just, and may on many Occasions be afraid to do hisDuty. There is no Dependance to be had on a Coward, who may be bully'dinto vicious Actions, and every Moment be frighten'd from hisPrinciple. Cleo. It never was pretended, that a Man could be Virtuous and aCoward at the same Time, since Fortitude is the very First of the FourCardinal Virtues. As much Courage and Intrepidity as you please; but avirtuous Man will never display his Valour with Ostentation, where theLaws of God and Men forbid him to make Use of it. What I woulddemonstrate, is, that there are many Allowances, gross Indulgences toHuman Nature in the Principle of Honour, especially of modern Honour, that are always exclaim'd against by the Voice of Virtue, anddiametrically opposite to the Doctrine of _Christ. _ Hor. Yet the further we look back for these Seven or Eight Hundredyears, the more we shall find Honour and Religion blended together. Cleo. When Ignorance, for several Ages, had been successfullyencouraged and was designedly introduced to make Way for Credulity, the Simplicity of the Gospel and the Doctrine of _Christ_ were turn'dinto Gaudy Foppery and vile Superstition. It was then, that the Churchof _Rome_ began openly to execute her deep-laid Plot for enslaving theLaity. Knowing, that no Power or Authority can be established or longmaintain'd upon Earth without real Strength and Force of Arms, shevery early coax'd the Soldiery, and made all Men of Valour her Toolsby Three Maxims, that, if skilfully follow'd, will never fail ofengaging Mankind in our Favour. Hor. What are those, pray. Cleo. Indulging Some in their Vices, Humouring Others in their Folly, and Flattering the Pride of All. The various Orders of Knighthood wereso many Bulwarks to defend the Temporals of the Church, as wellagainst the Encroachments of her Friends, as the Invasions of herEnemies. It was in the Institutions of these Orders, that Pains weretaken by the grand Architects of the Church, to reconcile, in outwardShew, the Principle of Honour with that of the Christian Religion, andmake Men stupidly believe, that the Height of Pride is notinconsistent with the greatest Humility. In these Solemnities thejugling Priests resolved to be kept out no where; had commonly thegreatest Share; continually blending Rites seemingly Sacred with theEmblems of vain Glory, which made all of them an eternal Mixture ofPomp and Superstition. Hor. I don't believe, that ever Any body set those Things in such aLight besides your Self; but I see no Design, and the Priests gavethemselves a great Deal of Trouble for Nothing. Cleo. Yet it is certain, that, by this and other Arts, they madethemselves sure of the most dangerous Men; for by this Means theboldest and even the most wicked became Bigots. The less Religion theyhad, the more they stood in Need of the Church; and the farther theywent from God, the more closely they stuck to the Priests, whose Powerover the Laity was then the most absolute and uncontroul'd when theCrimes of These were most flagrant and enormous. Hor. I believe, that among the Men of Honour Many were tainted withPride and Superstition at the same Time; but there were others in whomsuperlative Bravery was united with the strictest Virtue. Cleo. All Ages have had Men of Courage, and all Ages have had Men ofVirtue; but the Examples of Those you speak of, in whom superlativeBravery was united with the strictest Virtue, were always extremelyscarce, and are rarely to be met with, but in Legends and Romances, the Writers of both which I take to have been the greatest Enemies toTruth and sober Sense the World ever produc'd. I don't deny, that byperusing them Some might have fallen in Love with Courage and Heroism, others with Chastity and Temperance, but the Design of both was toserve the Church of _Rome_, and with wonderful Stories to gain theAttention of the Readers, whilst they taught Bigotry, and inured themto believe Impossibilities. But what I intended was to point at thePeople that had the greatest Hand in reconciling, to outwardAppearance, the Principle of Honour with that of the ChristianReligion, the Ages This was done in, and the Reasons for which it wasattempted. For it is certain, that by the Maxims I named, the Churchmade her self sure of Those who were most to be fear'd. Do but castyour Eyes on the childish Farces, some Popes have made great Men thechief Actors in, and the apish Tricks they made them play, when theyfound them intoxicated with Pride, and that at the same Time they wereBelievers without Reserve. What Impertinence of tedious Ceremonieshave they made the greatest Princes submit to, even such as were notedfor being cholerick and impatient! What Absurdities in Dress have theymade them swallow for Ornaments and Marks of Dignity! If in all thesethe Passion of Self-liking had not been highly gratify'd as well asplay'd upon, Men of Sense could never have been fond of them, norcould they have been of that Duration; for many of them are stillremaining even in Protestant Countries, where all the Frauds of Poperyhave been detected long ago; and such Veneration is paid to some ofthem, that it would hardly be safe to ridicule them. It is amazing tothink, what immense Multitudes of Badges of Honour have been inventedby Popery, that are all distinct from the Rest, and yet have Somethingor other to shew, that they have a Relation to Christianity. What avast Variety of Shapes, not resembling the Original, has the poorCross Cross been tortur'd into! How differently has it been placed andrepresented on the Garments of Men and Women, from Head to Foot! Howinconsiderable are all other Frauds that Lay-Rogues now and then havebeen secretly guilty of, if you compare them to the bare-fac'd Cheatsand impudent Forgeries, with which the Church of _Rome_ has constantlyimposed upon Mankind in a triumphant Manner! What contemptible Baubleshas that Holy Toy-shop put off in the Face of the Sun for the richestMerchandize! She has bribed the most Selfish and penetratingStatesmen, with empty Sounds, and Titles without Meaning. The mostresolute Warriours She has forced to desist from their Purposes, anddo her dirty Work against their own Interest. I shall say Nothing ofthe Holy War; how often the Church has kindled and renew'd it, or whata Handle She made of it to raise and establish her own Power, and toweaken and undermine that of the Temporal Princes in Christendom. TheAuthority of the Church has made the greatest Princes and most haughtySovereigns fall prostrate before, and pay Adoration to the vilestTrumpery, and accept of, as Presents of inestimable Worth, despicableTrifles, that had no Value at all but what was set upon them by theGigantick Impudence of the donors, and the childish Credulity of theReceivers. The Church misled the Vulgar, and then made Money of theirErrors. There is not an Attribute of God, and hardly a Word in theBible, to which she gave not some Turn or other, to serve her WorldlyInterest. The Relief of Witch-craft was the Fore-runner of Exorcisms;and the Priests forged Apparitions to shew the Power they pretendedto, of laying Spirits, and casting out Devils. To make accusedPersons, sometimes by Ordeal, at others by single Combat, try theJustice of their Cause, were both Arrows out of her Quiver; and it isfrom the latter, that the Fashion of Duelling took its Rise. But thosesingle Combats at first were only fought by Persons of great Quality, and on some considerable Quarrel, when they ask'd Leave of theSovereign to decide the Difference between them by Feats of Arms;which being obtain'd, Judges of the Combat were appointed, and theChampions enter'd the List with great Pomp, and in a very solemnManner. But as the Principle of Honour came to be very useful, theNotions of it, by Degrees, were industriously spread among theMultitude, till at last all Swords-men took it in their Heads, thatthey had a right to decide their own Quarrels, without asking anyBody's Leave. Two Hundred Years ago---- Hor. Pardon my Rudeness, I cannot stay one Moment. An Affair ofImportance requires my Presence. It is an Appointment which I hadentirely forgot when I came hither. I am sure I have been staid forthis Half Hour. Cleo. Pray, _Horatio_, make no Apologies. There is no Company I lovebetter than I do yours when you are at Leisure; but---- Hor. You don't stir out I know; I shall be back again in Two HoursTime. Cleo. And I shall be at Home for No body but your Self. The Second Dialogue Between _Horatio_ and _Cleomenes_. Horatio. I Believe I am within my Time. Cleo. By above Ten Minutes. Hor. When I came back in the Chair, I was thinking how artfully, allthis Afternoon, you avoided saying any Thing of Honour, as it relatesto the Fair Sex. Their Honour, you know, consists in their Chastity, which is a real Virtue in your own Sense, not to be practis'd withoutpalpable Self-denial. To make a Vow of perpetual Virginity, and to beresolute enough, never to break it, is a Task not to be perform'dwithout the utmost Mortification to Flesh and Blood, especially inhandsome clever Women that seem to be made for Love, as you and I haveseen a great many in the Nunneries in _Flanders_. Self-liking or Pridehave Nothing to do there; for the more powerfully that Passionoperates in either Men or Women, the less Inclination they'll shew tobe mew'd up in a Cloyster, where they can have None but their own Sexto converse with. Cleo. The Reason why I said Nothing of Honour as it relates to thefair Sex, was because we had spoke of it already in a formerConversation; by the same Token, that I told you then, that [5] _theWord Honour, I mean, the Sence of it, was very whimsical, and theDifference in the Signification so prodigious, according as theAttribute was either applied to a Man, or to a Woman, that neithershall forfeit their Honour, tho' each should be guilty, and openlyboast of what would be the other's greatest Shame. _ [Footnote 5: Fable of the Bees, part II. Page 128. ] Hor. I remember it, and it is true. Gallantry with Women, is noDiscredit to the Men, any more than Want of Courage is a Reproach tothe Ladies. But do you think this is an Answer to what I said? Cleo. It is an Answer to your Charge against me of making Use of anArtifice, which, I declare to you, never enter'd into my Head. Thatthe Honour of Women in general, is allow'd to consist in theirChastity, is very true; the Words themselves have been made Use of asSynonimous even among the Ancients: But this, strictly speaking, oughtonly to be understood of Worldly Women, who act from Political Views, and at best from a Principle of Heathen Virtue. But the Women youspeak of among the Christians, who, having vow'd a perpetualVirginity, debar themselves from sensual Pleasures, must be set on, and animated by a higher Principle than that of Honour. Those who canvoluntarily make this Vow in good Humour and Prosperity, as well asHealth and Vigour, and keep it with Strictness, tho' it is in theirPower to break it, have, I own with you, a Task to perform, than whichNothing can be more mortifying to Flesh and Blood. Self-liking orPride, as you say, have Nothing to do there. But where are these Womento be found? Hor. I told you; in the Religious Houses. Cleo. I don't believe there is one in a Thousand that answers theCharacter you gave of them. Most Nuns are made whilst they are veryyoung, and under the Tuition of others; and oftner by Compulsion thantheir own Choice. Hor. But there are Women grown, who take the Veil voluntarily, whenthey are at their own Disposal. Cleo. Not many, who have not some substantial Reason or other for it, that has no Relation to Piety or Devotion; such as the Want of aPortion suitable to their Quality; Disappointments or otherMisfortunes in the World. But to come to the Point. There are but twoThings which, in Celibacy, can make Men or Women, in Youth and Health, strictly comply with the Rules of Chastity; and these are Religion, and the Fear of Shame. Good Christians, that are wholly sway'd by theSense of a Religious Duty, must be supernaturally assisted, and areProof against all Temptations. But These have always been very scarce, and there are no Numbers of them any where, that one can readily goto. It would perhaps be an odious Disquisition, whether, among all theyoung and middle-aged Women who lead a Monastick Life, and aresecluded from the World, there are Any that have, abstract from allother Motives, Religion enough to secure them from the Frailty of theFlesh, if they had an Opportunity to gratify it to their Liking withImpunity. This is certain, that their Superiors, and Those under whoseCare these Nuns are, seem not to entertain that Opinion of theGenerality of them. They always keep them lock'd up and barr'd; sufferno Men to converse with them even in Publick, but where there areGrates between them, and not even then within Reach of one another:And tho' hardly a Male Creature of any Kind is allow'd to come nearthem, yet they are ever suspicious of them, pry into their most SecretThoughts, and keep constantly a watchful Eye over them. Hor. Don't you think this must be a great Mortification to youngWomen? Cleo. Yes, a forc'd one; but there is no voluntary Self-denial, whichwas the Thing you spoke of. The Mortifitation which they feel is likethat of Vagabonds in a Work-House: There is no Virtue in theConfinement of either. Both are dissatisfied, without Doubt, but it isbecause they are not employ'd to their Liking; and what they grieveat, is, that they can't help themselves. But there are Thousands ofvain Women, whom no Thoughts of Futurity ever made any Impressionupon, that lead single Lives by Choice, and are at the same Timecareful of their Honour to the greatest Nicety, in the Midst ofTemptations, gay sprightly Women, of amorous Complexions, that candeny a passionate, deserving Lover, whose Person they approve of andadmire, when they are alone with him in the dark; and all this from nobetter Principle than the Fear of Shame, which has its Foundation inSelf-liking, and is so manifesty derived from that and no otherPassion. You and I are acquainted with Women, that have refusedHonourable Matches with the Men they loved, and with whom they mighthave been Happy, if they themselves had been less intoxicated withVanity. Hor. But when a Woman can marry, and be maintain'd suitably to herQuality, and she refuses a Man upon no other Score, than that hisFortune, or his Estate, are not equal to her unreasonable Desires, thePassion she acts from is Covetousness. Cleo. Would you call a Woman covetous, who visibly takes Delight inLavishness, and never shew'd any Value for Money when She had it: Onethat would not have a Shilling left at the Year's End, tho' she hadFifty Thousand Pounds coming in? All Women consult not what isbefitting their Quality: What many of them want is to be maintain'dsuitably to their Merit, their own Worth, which with great Sinceritythey think inestimable and which consequently no Price can be equalto. The Motive therefore of these Women is no other, than what I havecall'd it, their Vanity, the undoubted Offspring of Self-liking, apalpable Excess, an extravagant Degree of the Passion, that is able tostifle the loudest Calls of Nature, and with a high Hand triumphs overall other Appetites and Inclinations. What Sort of Education now doyou think the fittest to furnish and fill young Ladies with this highEsteem for themselves and their Reputation, which, whilst it subsistsand reigns in them, is an ever-watchful and incorruptible Guardian oftheir Honour? Would you mortify or flatter; lessen or increase in themthe Passion of Self-liking, in order to preserve their Chastity? Inshort, which of the Two is it, you would stir up and cultivate in themif you could, Humility or Pride? Hor. I should not try to make them Humble, I own: And now I remember, that in our Third Conversation, speaking of raising the PrincipleHonour in both Sexes, you gave some plausible Reasons why [6] Prideshould be more encourag'd in Women than in Men. So much for theLadies. I shall now be glad to hear what you have to add furtherconcerning Honour, as it relates to Men only, and requires Courage. When I took the Freedom to interupt you, you was saying Something ofTwo Hundred Years ago. [Footnote 6: Fable of the Bees part II. P. 126. ] Cleo. I was then going to put you in Mind, that Two Hundred Years agoand upward, as all Gentlemen were train'd up to Arms, the Notions ofHonour were of great Use to them; and it was manifest, that never anyThing had been invented before, that was half so effectual to createartificial Courage among Military Men. For which Reason it was theInterest of all politicians, among the Clergy, as well as the Laity, to cultivate these Notions of Honour with the utmost Care, and leaveno stone unturn'd to make Every body believe the Existence and Realityof such a Principle; not among Mechanicks, or any of the Vulgar, butin Persons of high Birth, Knights, and others of Heroick Spirit andexalted Nature. I can easily imagine, how, in a credulous, ignorantAge, this might be swallow'd and generally receiv'd for Truth; nor isit more difficult to conceive, how illiterate Men and rude Warriours, altogether unacquainted with Human Nature, should be so far imposedupon by such Assertions, as to be fully persuaded, that they werereally posses'd of; and actually animated by such a Principle, constantly ascribing to the Force and Influence of it every Effort andSuggestion they felt from the Passion of Self-liking. The Idol it selfwas finely dress'd up, made a beautiful Figure, and the Worship of itseem'd to require Nothing, that was not highly commendable and mostbeneficial to Society. Those who pretended to pay their Adoration toit, and to be true Votaries of Honour, had a hard Task to perform. They were to be Brave and yet Courteous, Just, Loyal, and theProtectors of Innocence against Malice and Oppression. They were to bethe profess'd Guardians of the Fair; and chaste, as well as profoundAdmirers of the Sex: But above all, they were to be Stanch to theChurch, implicite Believers, zealous Champions of the Christian Faith, and implacable Enemies to all Infidels and Hereticks. Hor. I believe, that between Two and Three Hundred Years ago, Bigotrywas at the greatest Height. Cleo. The Church of _Rome_ had, long before that Time, gain'd such anAscendant over the Laity, that Men of the highest Quality stood in Aweof the least Parish-Priest. This made Superstition fashionable; andthe most resolute Heroes were not ashamed to pay a blind Veneration toevery Thing which the Clergy was pleased to call Sacred. Men had anentire Confidence in the Pope's Power; his blessing of Swords, Armours, Colours and Standards; and No body doubted of the Influence, which Saints and Angels had upon Earth, the miraculous Virtue ofRelicks, the Reality of Witches and Enchantments, the Black Art, orthat Men might be made invulnerable. Hor. But the Ignorance of those Days notwithstanding, you believe, that there were Men of that strict Honour, you have been speaking of. Cleo. Men of Honour, I told you, were required and supposed to bepossess'd of those Qualities; and I believe, that several endeavour'dto be, and some actually were such, as far as Human Frailty would letthem; but I believe likewise, that there were others, who gain'd theTitle, by their Undauntedness only, and had but a small Stock of anyother Virtue besides; and that the Number of these was always far thegreatest. Courage and Intrepidity always were, and ever will be thegrand Characteristick of a Man of Honour: It is this Part of theCharacter only, which it is always in our Power to demonstrate. Thebest Friend a King has, may want an Opportunity to shew his Loyalty:So a Man may be just and chaste, and yet not be able to convince theWorld that he is so; but he may pick a Quarrel, and shew, that hedares to Fight when he pleases, especially if he converses with Men ofthe Sword. Where the Principle of Honour was in high Esteem, Vanityand Impatience must have always prompted the most proud and forward toseek after Opportunities of Signalizing themselves, in order to bestiled Men of Honour. This would naturally occasion Quarrelling andFighting, as it did and had frequently done before the Time I speakof. As Duelling was made a Fashion, the Point of Honour became, ofCourse, a common Topick of Discourse among the best bred Men: By thisMeans the Rules for Quarrelling and Ponctilio in Behaviour, which atfirst were very uncertain and precarious, came to be betterunderstood, and refin'd upon from Time to Time, till, in the Beginningof the last Century, the Sence of Honour was arrived to such a Degreeof Nicety all over _Europe_, especially in _France_, that barely lookingupon a Man was often taken for an Affront. The Custom of Duelling, bythis, was become to universal in that Kingdom, that the Judgesthemselves thought it dishonourable to refuse a Challenge. _Henry_ IVth. Seeing the best Blood of France so often sacrific'd to this Idol, endeavour'd to put a Stop to it, but was not able; and the severalEdicts made in 1602 and 1609 were fruitless. The Resolutions ofParliament likewise, made in the Reign of _Lewis_ XIIIth. Were asineffectual: the First Check that was given to Duelling, was in theMinority of _Lewis_ XIVth, and from the Method by which it was preventedat last, it is evident, that Honour is an Idol, by Human Contrivance, rais'd on the Basis of Human Pride. Hor. The Method by which a Stop was put to it, was strictly to punishand never to pardon Any that either sent or accepted of Challenges, whether they fought or not. Cleo. This was not trusted to only. An Edict was publish'd in the Year1651, by which Courts of Honour were erected throughout the Kingdom, with Gentlemen Commissioners in every Bailiwick, that were to haveAdvice of, and immediately to interpose in all Differences that mightarise between Gentlemen. The Difficulty they labour'd under was, thatthey would abolish the Custom of Duelling without parting with theNotions of Honour; destroying of which must have been certain Ruin toa warlike Nation, that once had received them; and therefore theynever design'd, that the Worship of the Idol should cease, but theyonly try'd, whether it was not to be satisfied with less valuableVictims, and other Sacrifices besides human Blood. In the Year 1653, _Lewis_ XIV. Set forth another Declaration against Duels; in whichhaving made some Additions to his former Edict, he commands theMarshals of _France_ to draw up a Regulation touching the Satisfactionsand Reparations of Honour, which they should think necessary for theseveral Sorts of Offences. This Order was immediately obey'd, andnineteen Articles were drawn up and publish'd accordingly. In these, calling a Man Fool, Coward, or the Like, was punish'd with a Month'sImprisonment; and after being released, the Offender was to declare tothe Party so offended, that he had wrongfully and impertinentlyinjur'd him by outragious Words, which he own'd to be false, and ask'dhim to forgive. Giving one the Lie, or threatning to beat him, was twoMonth's Imprisonment, and the Submission to be made afterwards yetmore humble than the foregoing. For Blows, as striking with the Hand, and other Injuries of the same Nature, the Offender was to lye inPrison Six Months, unless, at the Request of the offended, half ofthat Time was chang'd into a pecuniary Mulct, that might not be underFifteen Hundred Livres, to be paid before he was set at Liberty, forthe Use of the Nearest Hospital to the Abode of the offended; afterwhich, the Offender was to submit to the same Blows from the offended, and to declare by Word of Mouth, and in Writing, that he had struckhim in a Brutish Manner, and beg'd him to pardon and forget thatOffence. Hor. What Mortal could submit to such Condescensions? Cleo. For Caning, or Blows given with a Stick, the Punishment wasstill more severe; and the Offender was to beg pardon upon his Knees. Hor. I should have no great Opinion of a Man's Honour, who would notchuse to Die rather than comply with such Demands. Cleo. Several thought as you do, and were hang'd for their Pains. Butwhat Need a Man come to those Extremes, when he could haveSatisfaction for any real Offence that might provoke him? For theArticles took Notice of, and made ample Provisions against all Mannerof Injuries, from the most trifling Offences to the highest Outrages, and were very severe against all those that should refuse to submit tothe Penalties imposed. The Marshals of _France_ remain'd the SupremeJudges in all these Matters; and under them acted the Governours andLieutenants General of Provinces, in whose Absence the GentlemenCommissioners in every Bailiwick, having Power to call the Officers ofJustice to their Assistance, were to take all provisional Careimaginable; so that no Lawyers or Mechanicks had a Hand in composingany Differences concerning the Point of Honour. Hor. All these Things, we'll say, are wisely contriv'd; but incomplaining first there is a meanness which a Man of Honour cannotstoop to. Cleo. That the Instinct of Sovereignty will always bid Men revengetheir own Wrongs, and do Justice to themselves, is certain. But Iwanted, to shew you the Equivalent, that wise Men substituted in theRoom of Dueling, and which Men of unqueston'd Honour took up with. TheScheme was contrived by Men of tried Valour, whose Example is alwaysof great Weight: Besides, from the Nature of the Remedies that wereapplied to the Evil, it must always follow, that those who had giventhe greatest Proofs of their Courage, would be the most ready tosubscribe to those Articles. Hor. In our last Conversation but one you told me, that [7] all Lawspointed at, and tally'd with some Frailty or Passion in our Nature;pray, what is it that these Laws of Honour tally with? [Footnote 7: Fable of the Bees, part II. Page 318. ] Cleo. It is self-evident, that they point at Self-liking and theInstinct of Sovereignty. But what is singular in these Laws is, thatin their Operation they are the reverse of all others. Hor. I don't understand you. Cleo. All other Precepts and Commandments are visibly labouring torestrain the Passions, and cure the Imperfections of our Nature; butthese Regulations of Honour are endeavouring to prevent Mischief, bysoothing and flattering the Frailties they point at. In Offencesagainst a Man's Honour, Pardon is not ask'd of God or the King, but ofhim who receiv'd the Affront. It is he, therefore, whom all theAddress and Homage are paid to: He is the Idol that is kneel'd to, andthe only Sovereign that can forgive the Trespasses committed againsthimself. The Punishment of the first Aggressor, you see, is altogethera Compliment to the Person offended, whose Wrath the Law is so farfrom blaming, that it justifies it, and gives him an Opportunity ofindulging it by the Indignity it puts upon the Offender. The realMischief is not apprehended from the Offender, but the Personoffended; and therefore it is him, whom the Law coaxes and wheedlesinto good Humour, by offering him a Reparation that shall be equallyhonourable with what he would chuse, tho' less prejudicial to theSociety. What the Law promises is a Tribute to the same Passion whichhe wants to gratify, a Sacrifice to the Idol which he himself adores. Should Any one personate these Laws, and, representing the Sentimentson those who made them, speak to a Man of Honour, who had receiv'd anAffront, an Officer of the Guards, we'll say, who had been call'd Foolby his Equal, the Purport of the Discourse would be this: You are verymuch in the Right, Sir, to be highly incensed against the Man whodared to call you Fool, you that are a Man of Honour, to whom, assuch, the whole World ought to pay the highest Esteem. You have notonly an undoubted Right to do your Self justice, and revenge theAffront that has been given you; but there is likewise such aNecessity of your resenting it, that if you could tamely put up theInjury you have receiv'd, and neglect demanding Satisfaction, youwould deserve to be branded with Ignominy, and all Men of Honour wouldjustly refuse ever to converse with you for the future. But thePerson, whom you have this Affair with, being likewise a Man ofHonour, it is greatly to be fear'd, that upon your demandingSatisfaction of him, a Battle will ensue, which, between two Personswho value their Honours a Thousand Times more than their Lives, willprobably be fatal to one, if not to both; you are therefore earnestlydesired by the King himself, that for his Sake you would make someAlteration in the Manner of taking that Satisfaction which you oughtto receive; and the Marshals of _France_ have not only given it undertheir Hands, that the Equivalents, which they have proposed forFighting, will be as entire a Reparation to your Honour as can beobtain'd by Arms; but moreover they have promised and engaged theirHonours, that in Cases of Affronts they will take up and contentthemselves with the same Equivalents, and on all Occasions submit tothe same Regulations, which you are now desired to follow. And that itmay appear, how highly reasonable this Request is; you are likewisedesired to take the following Remonstrance into your Consideration:That the Valour and Steadiness of Men of Honour: are the grand Supportof all States and Kingdoms, is a Truth not to be denied; and that notonly the Peace and Tranquility, and all the Blessings we enjoy, butlikewise the King's Crown and Safety would be precarious without them, is as unquestionable. For this Reason all wise Princes, Magistratesand Governours, will ever take all imaginable Care, on the one Hand, to cultivate and encourage the most noble Principle of Honour, and, onthe other, to encrease the Numbers of the worthy Posessors of it, byfavouring and on all Occasions shewing them the most tender Affection, as well as highest Esteem. It is easy then to be imagin'd, that aMonarch, who loves his People, and has the Interest of his Nation atHeart, must be sensibly afflicted to see it become a common Practicefor such valuable Men to destroy one another, and behold that Braveryand Spirit, which should only be made Use of against the Enemies ofthe Country, hourly employ'd and lavish'd away in private Quarrels, that can have no other Tendency that the weakening of the Kingdom, andwhich, if suffer'd to go on, must compleat its Ruin. Hor. You make these Laws speak very notably. Cleo. I have said Nothing but what is certainly imply'd in them. EveryMan in _France_ knew, that the chief Motive of all those Edicts againstDuelling, was the Loss of the brave Men that was sustain'd by thatCustom. The Sinfulness of it was the least Consideration. Hor. There, I believe, you wrong them, for I have seen some of theseEdicts, where Duelling is call'd an Antichristian Practice, which Godwas highly offended at. Cleo. In wording of the Edicts, indeed, some such Thing was put in forForm's Sake; but the Regulations themselves, by which the Men ofHonour were to walk, were openly Antichristian; and in some Cases, instead of Teaching Men to forgive those that had trespas'd againstthem, they obliged and forced the Offended to shew their Resentment, tho' they would rather not, and desired to be excused. Hor. Where the Affront was very heinous, I know what you say is true. But you set these Things in a strange Light. I can make the sameGlosses upon our Laws, which oblige me to prosecute a Man that hasrobb'd me, if I can catch him, whether I will or not; and he shall behang'd, tho' I forgive him the Injury, and even would beg his Life. Cleo. There is a vast Difference between the two Cases, a Robbery, andan Affront: No body hinders you from forgiving a Man that robb'd you;but notwithstanding your pardoning him, he is punish'd for actingagainst the Laws; therefore his Offence is against the King, who isthe Guardian and Superintendant of them. And No body but the King canpardon the Trespasses that are committed against his Crown andDignity. Whoever robs you, must be hang'd, because he robb'd, notbecause he robb'd YOU in particular: Tho' you are bound to prosecutehim for Robbing you, yet the Injury is reckon'd as done to thePublick; and you become a Criminal your Self, if you connive at hisEscape, tho' he restor'd to you what he had robb'd you of. But in theCase of an Affront the Injury is reckon'd to be done to him only whoreceiv'd it. His Anger, as I said before, is thought to be just, andhis Resentment reasonable, till an ample Satisfaction be made him;therefore it is He who is to be appeas'd, and He only who is to beapplied to. The Laws that were compiled by the Marshals of _France_, don't pretend to mend the Heart, and lay no greater Restraint on theSpirit of Revenge, than Matrimony does on the Desire of Procreation;on the Contrary, they flatter the Frailty, and are administring to theHaughtiness of the offended: They are so far from denying him hisDemands, or refusing to give him Satisfaction for the Affront, thatthey appoint it by Authority; in the ordering of which they make suchample Provisions for the Gratification of his Pride, as no reasonableMan could ever think of without blushing. The only Thing they obligehim to is, that he shall take the Satisfaction in such a Manner, asshall be most safe to himself, and least detrimental to the Publick. Now if you will consider first, that those who made these Regulationswere Men of undoubted Honour, who hourly feeling the Force of itwithin themselves, were perfectly well acquainted with the Principlewhich it is built upon; and secondly, that the profound Humility ofthe Offender, and his asking Pardon of the offended, are two mainPoints in the repairing of Honour, necessary _postulata_, without whichthose knowing Judges thought it impossible, that an Affront could beforgiven: If, I say, you'll consider these two Things, you'll seeplainly, what Passion in Human Nature it is, which those Laws ofHonour tally'd with, and likewise that it is true, what I haveasserted of them, that instead of reproving, curbing, or diminishingthe Frailty that is offensive, which seems to be the Intention of allother Laws, their Aim is to prevent Mischief and do Service to theCivil Society, by approving of, cherishing, and indulging that veryPassion, from which the Evil they would prevent can only proceed. Hor. You think those Regulations were effectual, and yet you seem todislike them. Cleo. I dislike them because they are destructive to Religion; and ifa Minister of the Gospel was to dissuade and deter Men from Duellinghe would do it in quite another Manner. By a Minister of the Gospel Idon't mean a Philosophizing Divine, or a polite Preacher, but asincere Follower of the Apostles, a down-right Christian. He would, inthe First Place, insist upon it, that Forgiving of Injuries was aChristian Duty never to be dispens'd with; because it is made theCondition on which we are taught to beg Pardon for our own Offences. Inthe Second, he would demonstrate that no Man is ever to revengehimself, how highly and how atrociously soever he might have beeninjured. If ever he heard of a Man's sending a Challenge for havingbeen call'd Fool, or other verbal Injuries, he would reprove hisFrowardness and Want of Temper, for resenting such Trifles as the Lawof his Country thought it not worthy to take Notice of. He wouldappeal to his Reason, and ask him, whether he could think, that theAffront he complain'd of, was a sufficient Cause to take away a Man'sLife. He would represent to him the Heinousnesss of Murder, God'sexpress Command against it; his Justice, his Wrath, his Vengeance whenprovok'd. But if all these could not divert the Dueller from hisPurpose, he would attack his stubborn Heart in its inmost Recesses, and forget Nothing of what I told you on the Subject in our Second andThird Conversation. He would recommend to him the Fable of the _Bees_, and, like that, he'd dissect and lay open to him the Principle ofHonour, and shew him, how diametrically opposite the Worship of thatIdol was to the Christian Religion; the First consisting in openlycherishing and feeding that very Frailty in our Nature, which thelatter strictly commands us with all our Might to conquer and destroy. Having convinced him of the substantial Difference and Contrarietybetween these Two Principles, he would display to him, on the oneHand, the Vanity of Earthly Glory, and the Folly of Coveting theApplause of a Sinful World; and, on the other, the Certainty of aFuture State, and the Transcendency of everlasting Happiness overevery Thing that is perishable. From such Remonstrances as these thegood, pious Man would take an Opportunity of exhorting him to aChristian Self-denial, and the Practice of real Virtue, and he wouldearnestly endeavour to make him sensible of the Peace of Conscienceand solid Comforts that are to be found in Meekness and Humility, Patience, and an entire Resignation to the Will of God. Hor. How long, pray, do you intend to go on with this Cant? Cleo. If I am to personate a Christian Divine, who is a sincereBeliever, you must give me Leave to speak his Language. Hor. But if a Man had really such an Affair upon his Hands, and heknew the Person, he had to do with, to be a resolute Man thatunderstood the Sword, do you think he would have Patience or be atLeisure to hearken to all that puritanical Stuff, which you have beenheaping together? Do you think (for that is the Point) it would haveany Influence over his Actions? Cleo. If he believ'd the Gospel, and consequently future Rewards andPunishments, and he likewise acted consistently with what he believ'd, it would put an entire Stop to all, and it would certainly hinder himfrom fending or accepting of Challenges, or ever engaging in any Thingrelating to a Duel. Hor. Pray now, among all the Gentlemen of your Acquaintance, and suchas you your Self should care to converse with, how many are there, doyou think, on whom the Thoughts of Religion would have that Effect? Cleo. A great many, I hope. Hor. You can hardly forbear laughing, I see, when you say it; and I amsure, you your Self would have no Value for a Man whom you should seetamely put up a gross Affront: Nay, I have seen and heard Parsons andBishops themselves laugh at, and speak with Contempt of pretendedGentlemen, that had suffer'd themselves to be ill treated withoutresenting it. Cleo. What you say of my self, I own to be true; and I believe thesame of others, Clergymen as well as Laymen. But the Reason why Men, who bear Affronts with Patience, Are so generally despised is, becauseEvery body imagines, that their Forbearance does not proceed from aMotive of Religion, but a Principle of Cowardice. What chiefly inducesus to believe this, is the Knowledge we have of our selves: We areconscious within of the little Power which Christianity has over ourHearts, and the small Influence it has over our Actions. Finding ourown Incapacity of subduing strong Passions, but by the Help of othersthat are more violent, we judge of others in the same Manner: Andtherefore when we see a vain, worldly Man gain such a Conquest overhis known and well establish'd Pride, we presently suspect it to be aSacrifice which he makes to his Fear; not the Fear of God, orPunishment in another World, but the Fear of Death, the strongestPassion in our Nature, the Fear that his Adversary, the Man who hasaffronted him, will kill him, if he fights him. What confirms us inthis Opinion is, that Poltrons shew no greater Piety or Devotion thanother People, but live as voluptuously and indulge their Pleasures asmuch, at least, as any other of the _beau monde_. Whereas a goodChristian is all of a Piece; his Life is uniform; and whoever shouldscruple to send or to accept of a Challenge for the Love of God, orbut from a Fear of his Vengeance, depend upon it, he would have thatsame Fear before his Eyes on other Occasions likewise: And it isimpossible that a Religious Principle, which is once of that Force, that it can make a Man chuse to be despis'd by the World, rather thanhe would offend God, should not only not be conspicuous throughout hisBehaviour, but likewise never influences the Rest of his Actions atany other Time. Hor. From all this it is very plain, that there are very few sincereChristians. Cleo. I don't think so, as to Faith and Theory; and I am persuaded, that there are great Numbers in all Christian Countries, who sincerelybelieve the Bible to be the Word of God, and the old as well as newTestament to be a Revelation from Heaven: But as to Works and PracticeI am of your Opinion; and I not only believe, that there are very fewsincere and real Christians in their Lives and Conversation, for thatis a difficult Task, but I believe likewise, that there are very Fewwho are sincere in endeavouring to be so, or even in desiring to bereal Christians. But this is no Argument against Christianity, or theReasonableness of its Doctrine. Hor. I don't say it is. But as the Principle of Honour, whateverOrigin it had, teaches Men to be just in all their Dealings, and trueto their Engagements, and there are considerable Numbers in everyciviliz'd Nation, who really take Delight in this Principle, and inall their Actions are sway'd and govern'd by it, must you not allow, that such a Principle, let it be owing to Education, to Flattery, toPride, or what you please, is more useful to Society than the bestDoctrine in the World, which None can live up to, and but Fewendeavour to follow? Cleo. Tho' those who are deem'd to be Men of Honour, are far frombeing all really virtuous, yet I can't disprove, that the Principle ofHonour, such as it is, does not fully as much Good to Society asChristianity, as it is practised; I say, to Society, and only inrespect to Temporals; but it is altogether destructive as to anotherWorld: And as the greatest Happiness upon Earth to a good Christian, is a firm Belief, and well grounded Hope, that he shall be Happy inHeaven, so a Man who believes the Gospel, and pretends to valueeverlasting Happiness beyond any Thing of shorter Duration, must actinconsistently with himself unless he adheres to the Precepts ofChristianity, and at the same Time explodes the Principle of Honour, which is the very Reverse of it. Hor. I own, that in the Light you have put them, they seem to be, asyou say, diametrically opposite. Cleo. You see, that those who act from a Principle of Religion, fairlyattack the Heart, and would abolish Duelling and all other Mischief, by restraining, conquering, and destroying of Pride, Anger, and theSpirit of Revenge; but these Passions are so necessary to Society forthe Advancement of Dominion and worldly Glory, that the Great andAmbitious could not do without them in a Warlike Nation. Those whocompiled in _France_ the Regulations we have been speaking of, were wellaware of this: They judged from what they felt within, and knew fullwell, that take away Pride, and you spoil the Soldier; for it is asimpossible to strip a Man of that Passion, and preserve in him hisPrinciple of Honour, as you can leave him his Bed after you have takenaway the Feathers. A peaceful Disposition and Humility are notQualities more promising in the Day of Battle, than a contrite Heartan broken Spirit are Preparatives for Fighting. In these Regulations, so often mention'd, it is plainly to be seen, what Pains and Care weretaken, not to arraign, or lay the least Blame upon the Principle ofHonour, tho' the Kingdom groan'd under a Calamity which visibly arosefrom, and could be the Effect of no other Cause than that veryPrinciple. Hor. All the Fault, in my Opinion, ought to be laid on the Tyranny ofCustom; and therefore the Marshals of _France_ were in the Right not todepreciate or run the least Risque of destroying or lessening thePrinciple of Honour, which, I am confident, has been a greater Tieupon Men than any Religion whatever. Cleo. It is impossible that there should be a greater Tie, a strongerBarrier against Injustice, than the Christian Religion, where it issincerely believ'd, and Men live up to that Belief. But if you mean, that the Number of Men, who have stuck to the Principle of Honour, andstrictly follow'd the Dictates of it, has been greater than that ofChristians, who, with equal Strictness, have obey'd the Precepts of theGospel; if, I say, you mean this, I don't know how to contradict you. But I thought, that I had given you a very good Reason for that, whenI shew'd you, that in the Notions of Honour there are many Allurementsto draw-in vain worldly Men, which the Christian Religion has not; andthat the Severity of this is more mortifying and disagreable to HumanNature, than the Self-denial which is required in the other. There areother Reasons besides, which I have likewise hinted at more than once. A Man may believe the Torments of Hell, and stand in great Dread ofthem, whilst they are the Object of his serious Reflection; but hedoes not always think of them, nor will they always make the sameImpression upon him, when he does. But in worshiping Honour, a Manadores himself, which is ever dear to him, never absent, never out ofSight. A Man is easily induced to reverence what he loves so entirely. Hor. The Fear of Shame cannot restrain Men in Things that are done inSecret, and can never be known. Men of Honour are true to their Trust, where it is impossible they should be discover'd. Cleo. That is not universally true; tho', without doubt, there aremany such. The grand Characteristick of a Man of Honour, at least ofModern Honour, is, that he takes no Affront without resenting it, anddares fight Any body without Exception; and such there are that havenot common Honesty, and are noted Sharpers. Besides, by Education andconversing constantly with Men of Honour, and some of real Honour andProbity, Persons may contract a strong Aversion to every Thing that isdishonourable. The most effectual method to breed Men of Honour, is toinspire them with lofty and romantick Sentiments concerning theExcellency of their Nature, and the superlative Merit there is inbeing a Man of Honour. The higher you can raise a Man's Pride, themore refin'd you may render his Notions of Honour. Hon. The Substance of this you have said twenty Times; but I don'tunderstand your adoring of one's self. Cleo. I'll endeavour to explain it to you. I am acquainted with Men ofHonour, who seem to have a very slender Belief, if any, of futureRewards and Punishiments, and whom yet I believe to be very just Men. Of these there are several, whom I could entirely confide in, andwhose Words I would much rather take in Business of Moment than anyBishop's, whom I know Nothing of. What is it that keeps these Men inAwe? What keeps them true to their Word, and steady to theirEngagements, tho' they should be Losers by it? Hor. I don't know any Thing but the Principle of Honour, that isdeeply rooted in them. Cleo. Still the Thing, whatever it be, which a Man loves, fears, esteems, and consequently reverences, is not without, but withinhimself. The Object then of Reverence, and the Worshiper, who pays it, meeting and remaining in the same Person, maynot such a Person bejustly said to adore himself: Nay, it seems to be the common Opinion, that this is true; for unless some Sort of Divinity was supposed, toreside in Men of Honour, their affirming and denying Things upon thatPrinciple could never be thought an Equivalent for an Oath, as to Someit is allow'd to be. Pray, when a Man asserts a Thing upon his Honour, is it not a Kind of Swearing by himself, as others do by God? If itwas not so, and there was supposed to be the least Danger, that Men, endued with the Principle of Honour, could deceive or prevaricate, Iwould fain know, why it should be binding and acquiesc'd in. Hor. You may say the same of the Quakers; and that there must besupposed to be some Divinity in them, that their solemn Affirmationshould be thought equivalent to an Oath. Cleo. That's quite another Thing. The Quakers take all Oaths whatever, whether they are made before a Magistrate or otherwise, to be sinful, and for that Reason they refuse to Swear at all. But as it is theiravow'd Opinion, that a wilful notorious Lie is not less Criminal inthe Sight of Heaven than we take Perjury to be, it is evident, that ingiving their Testimony, they stake their Salvation equally with otherPeople that make Oath. Whereas those who, with us, are credited upontheir Honour, have no such Scruples, and make Oath themselves on otherOccasions: The Reason therefore why they don't try Criminals andpronounce their Judgment upon Oath, as other Judges and Juries do, isnot, that they think appealing to God or Swearing by his Name to beSinful, which is the Case of the Quakers; but because they aresupposed to be altogether as credible without it, as if they did. Andif there was not some Adoration, some Worship, which Men of Honour payto themselves, the Principle they act from could not have produced thevisible Effects it has in so many different Nations. Hor. You have said several Things which I cannot disprove, and some ofthem, I own, are probable enough; but you are like to leave me as youfound me. The Principle of Honour has lost no Ground in my Esteem; andI shall continue to act from it as I did before. But since you imagineto have so plainly proved, that we are Idols to our Selves, and thatHonour is diametrically opposite to Christianity, I wonder you don'tcall it the Beast in the _Apocalypse_, and say, that it is the Whore of_Babylon_. This would be a notable Conceit, and suit Papists as well asProtestants; nay, I fancy, that the Colour of the Whore, and herThirst after Blood, might be better accounted for from Duelling, thanany other Way that has been tried yet. Cleo. The Revelations of St. _John_ are above my Comprehension; and Ishall never laugh at Mysteries for not understanding them. Hor. What you say of Mysteries, I think, ought to be more justlyapplied to the Principle of Honour, which we do understand; forwhatever it may be derived from, the Advantages the Civil Societyreceives from it, both in Peace and War, are so many and so manifest, that the Usefulness of it ought to exempt and preserve it from beingridicul'd. I hate to hear a Man talk of its being more or lessportable, the melting of it over again, and reducing it to a newStandard. Cleo. I know, you dislike this in the Fable of the _Bees_; but if you'llexamine into what you have read there, you'll find, that my Friend hasridicul'd Nothing but what deserves it. There is certainly a greatDifference between the Men of Honour in former Ages and many of those, who now-a-days assume the Title. A Man in whom Justice, Integrity, Temperance and Chastity are join'd with Fortitude, is worthy of thehighest Esteem; but that a debauch'd Fellow, who runs in everyTradesman's Debt, and thinks himself not obliged to pay any Thing butwhat is borrow'd or lost at Play, should claim the same Regard fromus, for no other Reason than because he dares to Fight, is veryunreasonable. Hor. But is he serious, when he speaks of the Men of ancient Honour, of whom he thinks _Don Quixot_ to have been the last? Cleo. When the Romance-Writers had carried the Prowess andAtchievements of their heroes to an incredible Pitch, was it notridiculous to see Men in their Senses, not only believe thoseExtravagancies in good Earnest, but likewise endeavour to imitatethose fabulous Exploits, and set about copying after those imaginaryPatterns? For it was that which _Cervantes_ exposed in _Don Quixot_. Hor. In the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century, the _Spaniards_ were thebest Soldiers in the World; they shew'd themselves on many Emergenciesto be a grave and wise Nation, and had many real Patterns of strictHonour and great Virtue among them. Things are as often over-done inSatyrs as they are in Panegyricks; and the Likeness of a _Caricatura_ isno more to be trusted to than that of the most flattering Pencil. Cleo. I shall always bear the highest Esteem for Men of strict Honourand real Virtue, and will never ridicule what is approved of byCustom, and the Consent of several Ages has render'd valuable; but noTitle or Dignity, no Name or Distinction can be so honourable, or soeminent, that a serious Enquirer may not have Leave to trace it to theBottom. I have acknowledged, that the Word Honour, in its first andgenuine Sense, is as ancient as the oldest Language in the World. Asto my Conjecture concerning the same Word, as it signifies a Principlewhich Men act from, I leave it entirely to your Judgment: But whateverthe Origin may be of either, it is certain, that whatever the WordsHonour and Honourable are join'd with, added or applied to, there isplain Design in them of pleasing and gratifying those it concerns, onAccount of the Passion of Self-liking, and a palpable Tendency tohumour, approve of, or encrease the good Opinion Man has of himself:As you'll find, on the Contrary, that in the Words Dishonour Shame, Ignominy, and whatever is dishonourable, there is an Intention, orSomething imply'd, to displease and mortify those it concerns, onAccount of that same Passion of Self-liking, and an Endeavour tolessen, contradict or destroy Self-Esteem, which is that good Opinionwhich Man has of himself from Nature. Hor. That the Words Honour and Shame are either literally made Use of, as you say, or metaphorically applied to other Creatures or Thingsinanimate, I believe: I allow likewise, that the Principle of Honouris found in no Breast that is not possess'd of Self-liking to aneminent Degree; but I don't think that a Fault. Cleo. The only Fault I have found with the Principle of Honour, is, it's clashing with the Christian Religion. I have told you theReasons, why the Church of _Rome_ thought it her Interest to reconcilethem, and make People believe, that they did not interfere with oneanother. She has always consulted Human Nature, and ever join'd gayShew and Pomp, as I have hinted before, to Superstition; well knowing, that, as to keep Man under and in Subjection, you must work upon hisFear, so, to make him act with Alacrity, and obey with Pleasure, whereLucre is out of Question, you must flatter his Pride. It is from thisPolicy of hers, that all Names of Dignity and Distinction amongChristians, as Earl, Baron, Duke, Marquis, &c. Had originally theirRise as Hereditary Titles. To the same have been owing all the variousCeremonies of Institutions and Instalments; and Coronations, as wellas Inthronizations. Of the Orders of Knighthood, and the vastMultiplicity of them, I have spoke already. Hor. You give more to the Church of _Rome_ than her Due: Most Countriesin _Christendom_ have Orders of Knighthood peculiar to themselves, andof which it is evident, that they were instituted by their ownSovereigns. Cleo. But look into the Ceremonial of those Institutions, and thegreat Share the Clergy has in most of them, and you'll easily see, what Stock they sprung from. And tho' the Sovereign, in every Country, is deem'd to be the Fountain of Honour, yet the Sovereigns themselveshad their Titles, as well as Coats of arms, from the Popes; nor hadthey ever any Ensign of Honour, Power or Authority, which they coulddepend upon, unless it had first been granted, or confirm'd andratify'd, by the See of _Rome_. Hor. I take the _Insignia_, which the Proconsuls and Proprietors had inthe different Provinces of the _Roman_ Empire, and which _Pancirolus_ haswrote of so amply, to have been much after the Nature of Coats ofArms. Cleo. Those _Insignia_ belong'd to the Office; and a Governour couldonly make Use of them, whilst he was in it: But hereditary Coats ofarms, that were given to particular Men or Societies, by Way of Rewardfor Services perform'd, were never known; and Heraldry it Self had noExistence, before the Pope's Supremacy had been acknowledged by theChristian World. And if we consider the fine Opportunities, which themost idle and indolent, the most insignificant and unworthy of theSociety, often meet with from this Invention of valuing themselvesupon Actions that were perform'd several Ages before they were born, and bespeak a Merit which they know in their Consciences that they aredestitute of; if, I say, we consider what I have now mention'd, weshall be forc'd to confess, that, of all Arts and Sciences, Heraldryhas been the most effectual to stir up and excite in Men the Passionof Self-liking, on the finallest Foundation; and daily Experienceteaches us, that Persons of Education and Politeness can taste noPleasure in any Thing at Home or Abroad, at Church or the Play-House, where the Gratification of this Passion is entirely excluded. Of allthe Shews and Solemnities that are exhibited at _Rome_, the greatest andmost expensive, next to a Jubilee, is the Canonization of a Saint. Forone that has never seen it, the Pomp is incredible. The Stateliness ofthe Processions, the Richness of Vestments and sacred Utensils thatare display'd, the fine Painting and Sculpture that are expos'd atthat Time, the Variety of good Voices and Musical Instruments that areheard, the Profusion of Wax-Candles, the Magnificence which the Wholeis perform'd with, and the vast Concourse of People, that isoccasion'd by those Solemnities, are all such, that it is impossibleto describe them. Hor. It is astonishing, I own; but what would you infer from them? Cleo. I would desire you to observe, how vastly different some of theEnds and Purposes are, that Canonizations may be made to serve at thesame Time. It is pretended, in the First Place, that they areperform'd to do Justice and pay Veneration to the Memory of those HolyPersons: Secondly, that by Men's worshiping them, they may be induced, among the Rest of the Saints, to intercede with God for the the Sinsof their Votaries: And lastly, because it is to be hoped, that amongsuch Numbers as assist at those Solemnities, there are many who willbe affected by them, and endeavour to imitate, in their Lives, theholy Examples that are set before them: For there is no Time moreseasonable to stir Men up to Devotion and Sentiments of Piety, thanwhen Rapture and high Admiration have been rais'd in them first. Hor. Besides Canonizations keep up the Reputation of the _Roman_Catholick Faith; for the new Saints, that are made from Time to Time, are always fresh Witnesses, that Miracles are not ceas'd, andconsequently that the Church of _Rome_ continues to be the same Churchwhich Christ and his Apostles first establish'd. Cleo. You are in the Right; and whilst we consider and give Credit tothose Pretences, the Design must seem to be religious; and every _Roman_Catholick, who is firm in his Belief; is obliged to think, thatwhatever Cost is bestow'd upon Canonizations, no Money could be laidout better. But if we mind, on the other Side, the strongSollicitations of the great Men, that either are, or pretend to be theRelations of the venerable Person, whose Holiness they vouch for; thevast Pains that are taken, the Intrigues that are carried on for Yearstogether, to procure this high Favour of the Sacred College; and whenit is obtain'd, what an Honour it is to the whole Family; the Visitsthat are paid from all Parts to every Rich Man that belongs to it, andthe Compliments that are made on Account of it; besides the Privilegesthey receive from it ever after; If, I say, we mind these Things onthe other Side, we shall find, that in the Motives from which Men suefor this Honour, there is not a Grain of Religion to an Ounce ofPride, and that what seems to be a Solemnity to celebrate the Sanctityof the Dead, is in Reality a Stratagem of the Church to gratify theAmbition of the Living. The Church of _Rome_ has never made a Stepwithout Regard to her Temporal Interest, and an After-Thought on herSuccessors, _Luther_ and _Calvin_, and some Others of the chiefAdversaries of _Rome_, were Men of great Parts, that have gain'dthemselves Immortal Names; but it must be confess'd, that they rais'dthemselves altogether at the Expence of their Brethren. They gave upboth the Patrimony and Dominion of the Church, and made Presents ofthem to the Secular Powers, that would espouse their respectiveCauses, and establish their Doctrines; by which, and the destroying ofPurgatory, they not only stript the Clergy of their Wealth and Powerfor the present, but likewise took away the Means by which, one Day orother, it might have been possible for their Successors to retrievethem. It is well for the Protestant Cause, that the Multitude can'thear or know the Wishes, that are made in Secret by many of theClergy, nor the hearty Ejaculations, which the Men of Spirit amongthem are often sending after the Memory of the first Reformers, forhaving left their Order in that Pickle, and almost at the Mercy of theLaity, after they had been made dependent on the Clergy. If thosepious Leaders had understood, or at least consulted Human Nature, theywould have known, that strict Lives and Austerity of Manners don't goby Inheritance, and must have foreseen, that as soon as the Zeal ofthe Reformation should begin to cool both the Clergy and the Laitywould relax in their Morals; and consequently, that their Successors, after Two or Three Generations, would make wretched Figures, if theywere still to continue to preach Christianity without Deceit orEvasions, and pretend to live conformably to the Rules of it: If theyhad but reflected on what had happen'd in the Infancy of theirReligion, they must have easily foreseen what I say. Hor. What is it that happen'd then? Cleo. That Christ and his Apostles taught by Example as well asPrecepts the Practice of Humility and the Contempt of Riches; torenounce the Pomp and Vanity of the World, and mortify the Flesh, iscertain: And that this was striking at the very Fundamentals of HumanNature, is as certain. This could only be perform'd by Menpreternaturally affected; and therefore the Founders of Christianitybeing gone, it could not be expected, that the same Austerity of Lifeand Self-denial should be continued among the Successors of them, assoon as the Ministry of the Gospel became a Calling, that Men werebrought up to for a Livelihood; and considering how essential thosemortifying Principles are to Christianity, it is not easy to conceive, how the one could be made still to subsist, when the other shouldcease to be. But Nothing seems more impracticable than that theGospel, which those Principles are evidently taught, should ever beturn'd into an inexhaustible Fund of Worldly Comforts, Gain, Honour, and Authority; yet this has been perform'd by the Skill and Industryof the Architects, who have built that Master-Piece of Human Policy, the Church of _Rome_. They have treated Religion as if it was aManufacture, and the Church a Set of Workmen, Labourers andArtificers, of different Employments, that all contribute andcooperate to produce one entire Fabrick. In the great Variety of theirReligious Houses, you have all the Severity of Manners and Rigour ofDiscipline, which the Gospel requires, improved upon. There you haveperpetual Chastity, and Virgins wedded to Christ: There is Abstinence, and Fasting; there is Mortifying of the flesh, Watching, Praying, theContempt of Money and Worldly Honour; a literal Retirement from theWorld, and every Thing you can ask for, relating to Self-denial, as toCarnal Enjoyments and the renouncing of Pomp and Vanity, at least toall outward Appearance. When Men see that Strictness of Morals, andthat Christian Self-denial, which are so manifestly taught in theGospel, own'd by the Clergy, and some where or other actually comply'dwith, they will easily give Ear to any Thing that is said to thembesides. This grand Point concerning the Austerity of Life, andmortifying the Flesh, being literally understood, and acknowledged bythe Clergy to be such, as the Apostles have deliver'd them withoutPrevarication, it will not be difficult to make the Laity believe, notonly mysterious Contradictions, but likewise the most palpableAbsurdities, such as Transubstantiation; that the Pope is infallible, and has the Power of Thundering out _Anathema's_ and grantingAbsolutions; and consequently of damning and saving whom he pleases;that the Pomp and Magnificence of the Sacred College, and even theLuxury of a Court, are laudable Means, and absolutely necessary tokeep up the Dignity and outward Luster of the visible Church; and thatthe Spiritual Welfare of it depends upon Temporal Authority, andcannot be duely taken Care of without large Revenues, Princely Power, Politicks, and Military Force. No Set of Men have deserv'd better ofthe Church of _Rome_, than the Writers of Legends and the Forgers ofMiracles. In the Lives of the Saints, there is a plausibleRepresentation of the Church Militant; and considering how naural itis for Man to be superstitious, and to love the _Merveilleux_, Nothingcould be thought of more agreeable or edifying than to read of suchNumbers of Holy Men and Women, that did not flinch from Combatingthemselves, and to see the noble Victories that have been obtain'dover the World, the Flesh and the Devil, in a literal Sense, as are tobe met with in those judicious Relations. Hor. But what Analogy is there between the _Roman Catholick_ Religion, and a Manufacture, as you insinuated? Cleo. The Division of the whole into so many different Branches. Thegreat Prelates, of whom not many have any Religion at all, are yet forWorldly Ends continually watching over the Temporal Interest of it. The little Bishops and ordinary Priests take Care of the Mystical Partof it; whilst the Religious Orders contribute meritorious Works, andseem actually to comply with the harshest Precepts of Christianity, often in a more rigid Construction than the Words themselves willbear. Hor. Then have the Laity no Share in it? Cleo. Yes; but their Task is the easiest, and what they club towardsReligion chiefly consists in Faith and Money. But when Men pretend tobe Christians, and Nothing is to be met with in any Part of theirReligion, but what is easy and pleasant, and Nothing is requiredeither of the Laity or the Clergy, that is difficult to perform, ordisagreeable to Human Nature, there is Room to suspect, that such aSet of People lay claim to a Title, that does not belong to them. WhenMinisters of the Gospel take Pains to undermine it themselves, andflatly deny the Strictness of Behaviour, and Severity of Manners, thatare so manifestly inculcated in every Part of it, I don't wonder, thatMen of Sincerity, who can read, should refuse to give Credit to everyThing that is said by such Ministers. It is easier to speak withContempt of the recluse Lives of the _Carthusians_, and to laugh at theAusterities of _La Trappe_, than it is to refute what might be alledg'dfrom the Gospel to prove the Necessity there is, that to be acceptableto God, Men should fly from Lust, make War with themselves, andmortify the Flesh. When Ministers of _Christ_ assure their Hearers, thatto indulge themselves in all earthly Pleasures and Sensualities, thatare not clashing with the Laws of the Country, or the Fashion of theAge they live in, will be no Bar to their future Happiness, if theyenjoy them with Moderation; that Nothing ought to be deem'd Luxury, that is suitable to a Person's Rank and Quality, and which he canpurchase without hurting his Estate, or injuring his Neighbour; thatno Buildings or Gardens can be so profusely sumptuous, no Furniture socurious or magnificent, no Inventions for Ease so extravagant, noCookery so operose, no Diet so delicious, no Entertainments or Way ofLiving so expensive as to be Sinful in the Sight of God, if a man canafford them; and they are the same, as others of the same Birth orQuality either do or would make Use of, if they could: That a Man maystudy and be sollicitous about Modes and Fashions, assist at Courts, hunt after Worldly Honour, and partake of all the Diversions of the_beau monde_, and at the same Time be a very good Christian; whenMinisters of _Christ_, I say, assure their Hearers of this, theycertainly teach what they have no Warrant for from his Doctrine. Forit is in Effect the same as to assert, that the strictest Attachmentto the World is not inconsistent with a Man's Promise of renouncingthe Pomp and Vanity of it. Hor. But what signify the Austerity of Life and Forbearance of Nunsand Friars, if they were real, to all the Rest who don't practisethem? And what Service can their Self-denial and Mortification be ofto the Vain and Sensual, who gratify every Appetite that comesuppermost? Cleo. The Laity of the _Roman_ Communion are taught and assured, thatthey may be of great Service even to the Wicked; nay, it may be provedfrom Scripture, that the Intercession of the Righteous and Innocent, is sometimes capable of averting God's Vengence from the Guilty. Thisonly wants to be believed; and it is the easiest Thing in the World tomake the Multitude believe any Assertion, in which there is Nothingthat contradicts receiv'd Opinions, and the common notions which Menhave of Things. There is no Truth, that has hitherto been moreunanimously believed among all Sects and Opinions of Christians in allAges, than that the gospel warns Men against Carnal Pleasures, andrequires of them Humility, the Contempt of Earthly Glory, and such aStrictness of Manners and Morality, as is difficult for Human Natureto comply with. Now when a clergyman, who pretends to preach theGospel, puts such Constructions on the plainest texts, in which theDoctrine I spoke of is literally taught, as can only tend to extenuateand diminish the Force of them, and when moreover he leaves no Shiftsor Evasions untied, till he has destroy'd the Observance of thosePrecepts; when a Clergyman, I say, is thus employ'd, it is no Wonderthat his Doctrine should raise Doubts and Scruples in his hearers, when they compare it with the common Notions Men have of Christianity. Hor. I am no Admirer, you know, of Priests of any Sort; but of theTwo, I would prefer a Man of Learning and good Sense, who treats mewith good Manners, recommends Virtue, and a reasonable Way of Living, to an ill bred sour Pedant, that entertains me with fanatical Cant, and would make me believe, that it is a Sin to wear good Cloaths, andfill my Belly with what I like. Cleo. There is no Doubt, but the _beau monde_, and all well bred People, that desire to be judged of from outward Appearance, will always chusethe most easy _Casuists_; and the more ample the Allowances are, whichClergymen give them, of enjoying the World, the more they'll bepleas'd with them. But this can only be of Service among theFashionable and the Polite, whose Religion is commonly verySuperficial, and whose Virtue is seldom extended beyond good Manners. But what will it do to Men of greater Sincerity, that can and dareexamine themselves? What will it do to serious and able Enquirers, that refuse to trust to Outsides, and will not be barr'd fromsearching into the Bottom of Things? If this was only a Matter ofSpeculation, a disputable Point in a Ceremony, as whether Men are tosit or to stand at the Performance of it, the Thing might easily begiven up: but it plainly appears to be a Theory skilfully raised byClergymen, to build a Practice upon in their Favour. Those easieDivines don't make such large Allowances to others for Nothing: Theyspeak one Word for the Laity, and two for themselves, and seem to haveNothing more at Heart than to enjoy the Benefit of their own Doctrine. It is no Wonder therefore, that so many of the Clergy are alwaysdesirous to converse with the _beau monde_. Among the best bred Peoplethere is seldom any Difference to be seen between Believers andUnbelievers; neither of them give any Trouble to their Pastors, andthey are all equally cautious of offending. Polite People contradictNo body, but conform to all Ceremonies that are fashionable withRegard to the Time and the Places they are in; and a courtly Infidelwill observe Decency at Church, and a becoming Carriage there, for thesame Reason that he does it at a Ball, or in the Drawing-Room. Hor. As to Indulgences and large Allowances, the _Roman Catholicks_out-do us far, especially the _Jesuits_, who certainly are the most easy_Casuists_ in the World. Cleo. They are so; but it is only in the Management of those, whoseConsciences are under their Direction. A Jesuit may tell a Man such orsuch Things are allow'd to Him in particular, and give him Reasons forit from his Quality, or the Post he is in, from the State of hisHealth, his Temperament, his Age, or his Circumstances: But he'll notdeny or explain away the Self-denial and the Mortification in general, that are commanded in the Gospel. When you come to this Point, he'llnot lessen the Difficulty and Irksomeness of Christian Duties to HumanNature and the Flesh; but he'll refer you to the Founder of his Order, and the great Self-denial he practis'd: Perhaps he'll relate to you, how that Saint watch'd his Arms all Night, after he had dedicatedthem, together with his Life, to the _Virgin Mary_. But that the Gospelrequires a literal Mortification of the Flesh, and other hard Tasksfrom us, is the very Basis which the Pope's Exchequer is built upon. He could have no Colour for enjoining Fasting and Abstinence, if itwas not supposed, that he had a Warrant for it from the New Testament. It is this Supposition, that brings all the Grist to his Mill; andthus a Man may eat Flesh in Lent, without a Sin; but tho' he can getthe Meat perhaps for Nothing, he shall pay for the Liberty of Eatingit. Buying Absolutions implies the Consciousness of having committed aCrime; and No body would give Money for Indulgences, if he thought, that what he desires to be indulged in, was lawful without them. AllMultitudes will sooner believe a Man to come from God, who leads anAustere Life himself, and preaches Abstinence and Self-denial toothers tho' they themselves, I mean the Hearers, don't practice it, ortake any Pains to comply with his Precepts, than they will another, who takes greater Liberties himself, and whose Doctrine is lesssevere. This the wise Architects of the Church of _Rome_, who werethoroughly skill'd in Human Nature, were well aware of; andaccordingly they have improved upon the Scriptures, and added Lustreto all those Precepts, which is most difficult to comply with; and incommenting on the severest Duties of Christianity, they have been sofar from extenuating and explaining away our Obligations to performthem, that they have heighten'd and magnify'd them, not only by Wordsand in Theory, but the Practice and Example; as is so manifest fromthe hard and almost incredible Tasks, which many of them have actuallyimpos'd upon themselves, and gone through. They have flinch'd atNothing on this Head. Hor. A Man must be very stupid to believe, that his close Attachmentto the World, and the Loosness of his own Morals can be atton'd for bythe recluse and strict Lives that are led in some Religious Houses. Cleo. Not so stupid as you imagine: There is Nothing in it thatclashes with the common Notions of Mankind. Ceremonies are perform'dby Proxy; Men are Security for one another; and a Debt is not moreeffectually discharg'd, when we receive the Money from him whoborrow'd it, than when it is paid by his Bail, tho' the Principalhimself runs away. If there is but real Self-denial to be met with anywhere in a Religion, it is no difficult Matter to make Multitudesbelieve, that they have, or may buy, a Share in it: Besides, all _RomanCatholicks_ are brought up in the firm Belief of the Necessity there isof Self-denial. They are strictly forbid to eat Flesh on Fridays; andPains are taken to inspire them from their very Childhood with aHonour against the breaking of this Commandment. It is incredible, what Force such a Precept is of, and how closely the Influence of itsticks to men, when it has been earnestly inculcated to them fromtheir early Youth. There is no Difficulty in the Thing when they aregrown up; and I'll engage, that a _Roman_ Catholick, who always has beenaccustom'd to this Piece of Observance till he is Five and TwentyYears of Age, will find it more easy afterwards to continue than toleave it off, tho' he should turn Protestant, or even Turk. Hor. I have often admired at the great Force this senseless Piece ofSuperstition is of; for I have seen great Reprobates and very looseFellows among the _Roman_ Catholicks, who stuck at no Manner ofDebauchery, and would often talk prophanely, that yet refused to eatFlesh on a _Friday_, and could not be laugh'd out of their Folly; tho'at the same Time I could see, that they were actually ashamed of it. Cleo. No Set of People have so artfully play'd upon Mankind as theChurch of _Rome_. In the Use they have made of Scripture, they haveconsulted all our Frailties; and in their own Interpretations of it, most dextrously adapted themselves to the common Notions of allMultitudes. They knew perfectly well, not only, that all Men are bornwith the Fear of an invisible Cause, but likewise that it is morenatural, or, at least, that the rude and ignorant of our Species arealways more apt to suspect, that this invisible Cause is their Enemy, than they are to think it to be their Friend, and will sooner believeit to be an evil and malicious, than a good beneficent Being. To turnthis to their Advantage, they made Use of all their Skill and Cunningto magnify the Devil, and cry up his Force and Subtlety, hissupernatural Art, his implacable Hatred to Mankind, and greatInfluence over Human Affairs. All the strange Stories they havespread, the monstrous Fables they have invented, and the gross Liesthey have maintain'd, of Spirits, of Witchcraft, and Apparitions, never had any other Tendency than to manifest the Works of Satan, andmake Every body afraid of his Power and Stratagems at all Times, andin all Places; which has been a prodigious Gain to them. They nevertaught any Thing that contradicted Vulgar Opinions, and never gaveMen any Ideas of Heaven, that were not borrow'd from Something onEarth. That Courts of Princes are not deem'd to be compleat withoutWomen, has advanced the _Virgin Mary_ to be Queen of Heaven. From theInfluence of Mothers, and the Authority they are known to exercise oftheir Infants, they have drawn the most childish Conclusions to raiseSuperstition; for to that Notion, and the great Honour which is everywhere allow'd to be due to Parents, it has been owing, that the Motherof God in the _Roman_ Communion has been all along more address'd andpray'd to, than her Son; and of the Two She seems to be the morevenerable Person. All Patrons in ancient _Rome_ had their Clients, whomthe protected; and all Favourites of Princes have their Creatures, whose Interests they espouse upon Occasion: This has produced theInvocation of Saints and Angels; and that no Advocates might bewanting in the Celestial Court on any Emergency, the Church hasprovided, that there is no Town or Country, no Handicraft orProfession, no Pain or Disease, Danger or Distress, but there is akind Saint for that particular Affair, whose peculiar Province is topreside over and take Care of every Thing that relates to it; whichhas made the Number of them equal with, if not superiour to that ofthe Pagan Deities. She knew, that the Incredibility of Things is noObstacle to Faith among Multitudes; and that in believing ofMysteries, Propositions will not be the less swallow'd for beingcontradictory to Reason. Hor. But I thought you was not for keeping Men in Ignorance. Cleo. What I am for, is not the Question. Priests who would bear anabsolute Sway over the Laity, and live luxuriously at their Cost, ought First to make them believe Implicitly: Whereas an honest Clergy, that will teach Nothing concerning Religion, but what is consistentwith good Sense, and becoming a rational Creature to believe, ought todeal uprightly with Men throughout the Whole, and not impose upontheir Understandings in one Point more than they do in another. Fromthe real Incomprehensibility of God, just Arguments must be drawn forbelieving of Mysteries that surpass our Capacities. But when a Man hasgood Reason to suspect, that he who instructed him in these Mysteries, does not believe them himself, it must stagger and obstruct his Faith, tho' he had no Scruples before, and the Things he had been made tobelieve, are no Ways clashing with his Reason. It is not difficult fora Protestant Divine to make a Man of Sense see the many Absurditiesthat are taught by the Church of Rome, the little Claim which Popescan lay to Infallibility, and the Priestcraft there is in what theysay of purgatory and all that belongs to it. But to persuade himlikewise, that the Gospel requires no Self-denial, nor any Thing thatis irksome to Nature, and that the Generality of the Clergy of _England_are sincerely endeavouring, in their Lives and Doctrine, to imitatethe Apostles, as nearly as Human Frailty will let them, and isconsistent with the Difference of the Age and Manners between theirTime and ours; to persuade, I say, a Man of Sense, that these Thingsare likewise true, would not be so easy a Task. By a Man of Sense, Imean a Man likewise of some Knowledge, who, in the First Place, hasread the Bible, and believes the Scripture to be the sole Rule ofFaith; and, in the Second, is no Stranger to our Church, or any Thingthat is openly to be seen relating to her Clergy, especially the Headsof them, the Bishops; such as their Palaces and Manner of Living;their Translations, Revenues and Earthly Power, together with theWorldly Honours, Precedency and other Privileges, which our SpiritualLords insist upon to be their Due. Hor. I have often laugh'd my Self at Apostles in Coaches and Six; butwhat must at that Rate the Men of Sense and Sincerity among the _RomanCatholicks_ think of their Prelates, who live in much greater Splendourand Luxury than ours? What must they think of the Cardinals and thePope himself? Cleo. Think of them? What they please, so they dare not to open theirLips against them, or any Thing which the Clergy are pleas'd to callSacred. In all _Roman Catholick_ Countries, you know, no Books orPamphlets may be publish'd, but what are Licensed; and no Man isallow'd to divulge any Sentiments concerning Religion, that are notentirely Orthodox; which in all Countries, so regulated, is a vastEase and an unspeakable Comfort to the Clergy of the establish'dChurch. Hor. I never thought to hear you speak against the Liberty of thePress. Cleo. And you never will; for tho' Orthodoxy and the National Clergyare always the Gainers by these Curbs and Prohibitions, yet Truth andReligion are ever the Sufferers by them. But all prudent Men ought tobehave according to the Condition they are in, and the Principles aswell as Privileges they lay claim to. Reform'd Divines own themselvesto be fallible: They appeal to our Reason, and exhort us to peruse theScripture Ourselves. We live in a Country where the Press is open;where all Men are at full Liberty to expose Error and Falshood, wherethey can find them; and No body is debarr'd from Writing almost anyThing, but Blasphemy and Treason. A Protestant Clergy ought always toremember the Reasons, which their Predecessors alledg'd for separatingthemselves from the _Roman_ Communion, and never to forget, that theHaughtiness and Luxury of the Prelates, as well as the Covetousness, the Insolence, and barefac'd Encroachments of the Clergy, were aconsiderable Part of the Complaints against Popery. No equitableGuides, that have open'd our Eyes to see the Frailties of others, ought to expect from us, that in Regard to themselves we should keepthem shut close, and never look upon their Behaviour. The _Roman_Pastors, who keep their flocks in the Dark, teach them blindObedience, and never vouchsafe to argue with 'em any more than if theywere real Sheep. They don't advise Men to read the Bible, but suchBooks of Devotion as their Priests shall think proper for them; andare so far from appealing to their Judgment, that they conjure them, on Pain of Damnation, never to trust their Reason, but implicitly tobelieve whatever the Church shall require of them. Hor. You put me in Mind of Father _Canaye_, the Jesuit in St. _Evremond_. No Reason! No Reason at all! Cleo. Where the Clergy are possess'd of, and keep up this Authorityover the Laity, and the Secular Arm is at their Devotion, to punishwhom they condemn, they need not be nice or circumspect in theirManner of Living; and no Pomp or Luxury will easily lessen them in theEsteem of the Multitude. No Protestant Clergy have wrote better inDefence of the Reformation than ours; but others have certainly gonegreater Lengths in it, as to Worship and Discipline in outwardAppearance. The Difference between the _Roman Catholicks_ and us seemsto be less irreconcilable, than it is between them and the ReformedChurches of the united _Netherlands_ and _Switzerland_; and I am fullypersuaded, that the Mother Church despairs not of bringing back to herBosom this run-away Daughter of hers, and making this Island one Dayor other repay with Interest the Losses she has sustain'd by its longDisobedience. Arguments alone will never keep out Popery; and _GreatBritain_ being once reconciled to the Church of _Rome_, would add such aWeight to her Power, that it would not be difficult for her in alittle Time to reduce all the Rest of the Protestants by main Force, and entirely to Triumph over what She calls the Northern Heresy. Hor. We have very good Laws to secure us from the Usurpation of _Rome_;and the Abbey Lands, that are in the Possession of the Laity, Ibelieve, are a better, I mean, a stronger Argument against the Returnof Popery, than ever will be shewn in Print. Cleo. I believe so too; but it is not easy to determine, whatDifficulties and Discouragements true Politicks and never ceasingIndustry may not surmount in Time. The Church of _Rome_ is never withoutMen of great Parts and Application; she entertains Numbers of them;and there is no Government, without Exception, of which the trueInterest is so well understood, or so steadily pursued withoutInterruption, as hers. Hor. But why may not Protestants have Men of good Sense and Capacityamong them, as well as _Roman Catholicks_? Do not other Countriesproduce Men of Genius as well as _Italy_? Cleo. Perhaps they do; tho' none more. The _Italians_ are a subtlePeople; and I believe, that consummate Knowledge in State Affairs, andWorldly Wisdom are less precarious at _Rome_, than in any other Placeyou can name. Men of uncommon Genius are not born every Day, no morein _Italy_ than any where else; but when in other Countries a goodPolitician goes off the Stage, either of Life or Business, it is oftenseen that a Bungler succeeds him, who in a few Years does more Hurt tothe Nation, that the other had Time to do them good in a longAdministration. This never happens at _Rome_; and there is no Court inthe Universe so constantly supplied with able Managers and craftyStatemen as hers: For how short soever the Lives of most Popes may be, the Sacred College never dies. Tell me now pray, what unlikely Change, what Improbability can you imagine, of which we have not Reason tofear, that, if it be possible at all, it may be brought about by sucha Set of Men; when every one's private Interest, as well as that ofthe Common Cause, are highly concern'd in it, and they are not stintedin Time? Hor. Assiduity and Patience, I know, will do strange Things, andovercome great Obstacles. That the Church of _Rome_ is more diligent andsollicitous to make Proselytes, than the Protestants generally are, Ihave long observed. Cleo. There is no common Cause among the Reformed: The Princes andLaity of different Persuasions would have been firmly united long ago, if the Clergy would have suffer'd it; but Divines, who differ, areimplacable, and never known to treat any Adversary with Temper orModeration; and it has never been seen yet, that Two Sects ofChristians did agree, and join heartily in one Interest, unless theywere oppress'd, or in immediate Danger of suffering by a common Enemyto both. As soon as that is over, you always see their formerAnimosities revive. If the Church of _Rome_ had no Hopes left, and givenover all Thoughts of ever bringing this Kingdom back within her Pales, you would see the English Seminaries abroad neglected and dropt byDegrees; which she now cultivates with the utmost Care: For it is fromthem only, that She can be furnish'd with the proper Instruments tokeep Popery alive in _England_, and buoy up the drooping Spirits of thedistress'd _Catholicks_, among the many Hardships and Discouragements, they labour under beyond the Rest of their Fellow-Subjects. SuchOffices as these, are every where best perform'd by Natives: WhateverPersuasion People are of, if the National Church of their Country, benot of their Religion, it is natural the them to wish it was; and thatall imaginable Care is taken in the English Seminaries to encourage, and with the utmost Skill to heighten and encrease this Natural Desirein those under their Care, no Man can doubt who considers theAbilities of the Tutors that are employ'd in them, and the vastAdvantage the Reduction of _Great Britain_ would be to the See of _Rome_. Whilst those Colleges are constant supply'd with _English_ and _Irish_Youth, the Popish Interest can never die in this Realm, nor the Churchof _Rome_ want insinuating Priests, or hearty Zealots, that will act anypart, put on any Disguise, and run any Risque for their Cause, eitherin Strengthening the _Roman Catholicks_ that are among us in theirFaith, or seducing Protestants from theirs. No Foreigners could do ushalf the Mischief. People love their own Language from the sameMotives as they love their Country; and there are no Priests orClergy, whom Men will sooner hearken to and confide in, than such, astake great Pains and express an uncommon Zeal in their Function, atthe same Time that they exercise it at the Hazard of their Liberty ortheir Lives. The Church of _Rome_ has fit Tools for every Work and everyPurpose; and no other Power upon Earth has such a Number of Creaturesto serve it, nor such a Fund to reward them when they do. That theProtestant Interest lost Ground soon after it was well establish'd, and is still declining more and more every Day, is undeniable. To one_Roman Catholick_, that is converted to the Reform'd Religion, TenProtestants turn Papists, among the highest Quality as well as theVulgar. What can be the Reason of this Change? What is it that thisEvil ought to be imputed to? Hor. Either the Church of _Rome_ is grown more vigilant and mindful ofher Cause since the Reformation, than She was in _Luther's_ Days, or theProtestants are become more negligent and careless of theirs. Cleo. I believe both to be true, but especially the latter; for if theMaxims, that were most instrumental in bringing about the Reformation, had been continued, they certainly would have prevented, at least in agreat Measure, not only this Evil, but likewise another, which isworse, I mean the Growth of Irreligion and Impiety: Nay, I don'tquestion but the same Maxims, if they were to be tried again wouldhave that Effect still. Hor. This is a fine Secret, and what, I dare say, the Clergy would beglad to know. Pray, which are those Maxims. Cleo. The Sanctity of Manners and exemplary Lives of the Reformers, their Application and unwearied Diligence in their Calling; their Zealfor Religion, and Disregard of Wealth and Worldly Enjoyments, eitherreal or counterfeited, for that God only knows. Hor. I did not expect this. The Bench of Bishops won't thank you foryour Prescription: They would call it an Attempt to cure the Patientsby blistering the Physicians. Cleo. Those who would call it so, must be strange Protestant Divines. Hor. I am sure, that some, if not most of them, would think the Remedyworse than the Disease. Cleo. Yet there is none equal to it, no Remedy so effectual, either tocure us of those Evils, and put an entire Stop to, or to hinder andobstruct the Encrease as well of Atheism and Prophaneness, as ofPopery and Superstition. And I defy all the Powers of Priestcraft toname such another, a practicable Remedy, of which there is anyProbability, that it would go down or could be made use of in aclear-sighted Age, and among a knowing People, that have a Sense ofLiberty, and refuse to be Priest-rid. It is amazing, that so many fineWriters among the Clergy, so many Men of Parts and Erudition shouldseem very earnestly to enquire into the Causes of Libertinism andInfidelity, and never think on their own Conduct. Hor. But they'll tell you, that you make the Doctrine of the Gospelstricter than it really is; and I think so too; and that you takeseveral Things literally, that ought to be figuratively understood. Cleo. When Words are plain and intelligible, and what is meant by themin a literal sense is agreeable to the Tenour and the whole Scope ofthe Book in which we meet with those Words, it is reasonable to think, that they ought to be literally understood. But if, notwithstandingthis, there are others, who are of Opinion, that these Words are to betaken in a figurative Sense, and this figurative Sense is more forcedthan the literal, and likewise clashing with the Doctrine and theDesign of the Book, we have great Reason not to side with theirOpinion: But if it appears moreover, that those who contend for theforced, figurative Sense, should be Gainers by it, if their Opinionprevail'd, and it would bring them Profit, Honour, Pleasure, or Ease, then we ought to suspect them to be partial, and the figurative Senseis to be rejected. Hor. I don't know what to make of you to Day. You have shewn the _RomanCatholick_ Religion to be a bare-faced Imposture; and at the same Timeyou seem to blame the _Protestants_ for having left it. Cleo. I am very consistent with my Self. I have laid open to you thePoliticks, Penetration and Worldly Wisdom of the Church of _Rome_, andthe Want of them in the Reformers, who exposed the Frauds of theirAdversaries, without considering the Hardships and Difficulties, whichsuch a Discovery would entail upon their Successors. When they partedwith their Power, and gave up their Infallibility, they should haveforeseen the necessary Consequences of the Honesty and Candour. AReform'd Church, that will own she may err, must prepare for Heresiesand Schisms, look upon them as unavoidable, and never be angry withthose who dissent from her. They ought likewise to have known, that noDivines, who will preach the Gospel in its Purity, and teach Nothingbut Apostolick Truths without Craft or Deceit, will ever be believ'dlong, if they appeal to Men's Reason, unless they will likewise lead, or at least endeavour or seem to lead Apostolick Lives. In all Sectsand Schisms it has always been and will ever be observed, that theFounders of them either are, or pretend to be Men of Piety and goodLives; but as there never was a Principle of Morality that Men haveset out from, so strict yet, that in Tract of Time Human Nature hasnot got the better of it, so the Successors of those Founders alwaysbecome more remiss by Degrees, and look out for Ways and Means torender the Practice of their Doctrine, or the Exercise of theirFunction, more comfortable and commodious: And all Persuasions haveever lost Ground, and been sunk in their Reputation in proportion, asthe Teachers of them have relax'd their Manners. No Doctrine everprevail'd or got any Advantage over the establish'd Religion in anyCountry, that was not accompanied with a real Austerity of Life, or aPretence at least to a stricter Morality, and greater Forbearance, than was generally to be seen in the National Church, at the Time inwhich the Doctrine was advanced. These are eternal Truths, that mustflow from the Fabrick, the very Essence of Human Nature. Therefore theClergy may write and preach as they please: They may have all theSkill and Learning that Mortals can be possess'd of, and all theassistance into the Bargain, that the secular Power can give them in afree Nation, they will never be able long to keep up their Credit witha mixed Multitude, if no Show is made of Self-denial, and they willtotally neglect those Means, without which that Credit was neveracquired. The Third Dialogue Between _Horatio_ and _Cleomenes_. Horatio. Tho' it is but Two Days ago that I troubled you almost awhole Afternoon, I am come again to spend the Remainder of this, andsup with you, if you are at Leisure. Cleo. This is exceeding kind. I am no Ways engaged; and you give me avast Deal of Pleasure. Hor. The more I have thought and reflected on what you said of Honourlast _Tuesday_, the more I have perceiv'd and felt the Truth of it inSpight of my Teeth. But I shall never dare to speak of so wretched anOrigin. Cleo. The Beginning of all Things relating to Human Affairs was eversmall and mean: Man himself was made of a Lump of Earth. Why should webe ashamed of this? What could be meaner than the Origin of Ancient_Rome_? Yet her own Historians, proud as they were, scrupled not tomention it, after she was arrived at the Height of her Glory, andbecome a Goddess, _Dea Roma_, to whom Divine Honours were paidthroughout the Empire, and a stately Temple was erected within her ownWalls. Hor. I have often wonder'd at that _Dea Roma_, and her Statuesresembling those of _Pallas_. What could they pretend her Divinity toconsist in? Cleo. In her vast Power, which every Freeman had the Privilege toimagine, he had a Share in. Hor. What a _Bizar_, what a monstrous Humour must it have been, thatcould make a wife People suppose that to be a Goddess, which they knewto be a City! Cleo. Nothing in the Universe, but the Pride of the Citizens. But Idon't think, that the Humour, which you seem to be so much astonish'dat, is altogether worn off yet. In Poetry, Painting and Sculpture, yousee Rivers, Towns, and Countries continue to be represented under theImages of Men and Women as much as ever. Look upon the Marble Figuresabout the Pedestal of Queen _Anne's_ Statue at St. _Paul's_. Hor. But No body is so silly as to worship them. Cleo. Not in outward Shew, because it is out of Fashion; but theinward Veneration, which is paid by many to the Things represented bythose Images, is the very same as it was formerly, and owing to thesame Cause. Hor. In what Part of the World is it, that you have observed this? Cleo. In _Christendom_; Here. If you was to hear a vain Man, that is aconsiderable Inhabitant of any large Capital, when he is speaking onthe Part and in Behalf of his City, _London_ for example, _Paris_ or_Amsterdam_, you would find the Honour, the high Esteem, and theDeference, which in his Opinion are due to it, far superiour to any, that are now paid to Mortal Creatures. Hor. I believe there is a great Deal in what you say. Cleo. It is worth your Observation, what I am going to mention. Wherever you see great Power and Authority lodged in a considerableNumber of Men, mind the profound Respect and Submission, each Memberpays to the whole, and you'll find, that there is great Plenty, throughout the World, of what you said, two Days ago, wasinconceivable to you. Hor. What is that, pray? Cleo. Idols, that are their own Worshipers, and sincerely adorethemselves. Hor. I don't know but there may be, in your Way of construing Things:But I came with a Design to discourse with you on another Subject. When you said in our last Conversation, that _a peaceful Dispositionand Humility were not Qualities more promising in the Day of Battle, than a contrite Heart and a broken Spirit are Preparatives forFighting_, I could not help agreeing with your Sentiments; yet it is acommon Notion, even among Men of very good Sense, that the bestChristians make the best Soldiers. Cleo. I verily believe, that there are no better Soldiers, than thereare among the Christians; and I believe the same of Painters; but I amwell assured, that the best in either Calling are often far from beingthe best Christians. The Doctrine of _Christ_ does not teach Men toFight, any more than it does to Paint. That _Englishmen_ fight well isnot owing to their Christianity. The Fear of Shame is able to makemost Men brave. Soldiers are made by Discipline. To make them proud oftheir Profession, and inspire them with the Love of Glory, are thesurest Arts to make them valiant: Religion has Nothing to do with it. The _Alcoran_ bids its Followers fight and propagate their Faith by Armsand Violence; nay, it promises Paradise to All, who die in Battleagainst Infidels; yet, you see, how often the _Turks_ have turn'd Tailto the _Germans_, when the latter have been inferiour in Number. Hor. Yet Men never fight with greater Obstinacy than in ReligiousWars. If it had not been taken for granted, that Men were animated toBattle by Preaching, _Butler_ would never have call'd the Pulpit, _DrumEcclesiastick_. Cleo. That Clergymen may be made Use of as Incendiaries, and byperverting the Duties of their Function, set Men together by the Ears, is very true; but no Man was ever made to fight by having the Gospelpreach'd to him. From what I have said of Self-liking and HumanNature, the Reason is manifest, why among People, that are indifferentto one another, it is a difficult Task to make a Man sincerely lovehis Neighbour, at the same Time, that it is the easiest Thing in theWorld to make him hate his Neighbour with all his Heart. It isimpossible that Two distinct Persons or Things should be the same;therefore they must all differ in Something. Hor. Cannot Two Things be so exactly alike, that they shall differ inNothing? Cleo. No: For if they are Two, they must differ in Situation, East andWest, the Right and the Left; and there is Nothing so small, soinnocent, or so insignificant, that Individuals of our Species candiffer in, but Self-liking may make a Handle of it for Quarrelling. This close Attachment and Partiality of every Man to himself, the veryWord, Difference, points at, and upbraids us with: For tho' literallyit is only a Term, to express that Things are not the same; yet, inits figurative Sense, Difference between Men signifies Disagreement inOpinions, and Want of Concord. For not only different Nations, butdifferent Cities in the same Kingdom, different Wards, differentParishes, different Families, different Persons, tho' they are Twins, or the best Friends in the World, are all in a fair Way ofQuarrelling, whenever the Difference, that is between them, be thatwhat it will, comes to be look'd into and discuss'd; if both act withSincerity, and each Party will speak from the Bottom of their Hearts. Hor. Self is never forgot; and I believe, that many love their Countryvery sincerely for the Sake of One. Cleo. Nay, what is all the World to the meanest Beggar, if he is notto be consider'd as a Part of it? Hor. This is a little too openly inculcated at Church; and I haveoften wonder'd, how a Parson, preaching before a few Clowns in apitiful Village, should, after he has named all the great People inthe Nation, pray God to bless more _especially_ the Congregation thereassembled; and this at the same Time that the King and the RoyalFamily are at Prayers likewise; and the House of Lords at one Church, and the House of Commons at another. I think it is an impudent Thingfor a Parcel of Country Boobies to desire to be serv'd first, orbetter, than so many Hundred Congregations, that are superiour to themin Number and Knowledge, as well as Wealth and Quality. Cleo. Men always join most heartily in Petitions, in which theymanifestly have a Share; and that the _Especially_, you find Fault withwas put in from that Consideration, I believe No body denies. Hor. But there seems to be a low Artifice, a crafty Design, by whichthe Compilers of those Prayers, knowingly made People lay a Stressupon a Thing, in which there is no Reality. When I hear a Man pray forBlessings on All, especially the Congregation where I am present, itpleases me well enough, and the Word _Especially_, has its Effect uponme whilst I think no further; but when I consider, that the same Wordsare said to every audience of the same Church throughout the Kingdom, I plainly find that I was pleas'd with Nothing. Cleo. Suppose I should own, that it was a Contrivance of those, whocomposed the Prayers, to raise Devotion, and that this Contrivance hadbeen the Effect of a thorough Knowledge of Human Nature; where wouldbe the Harm, since No body can be injured by it? But to return to ourSubject. If Difference in the least Things is capable of raisingAnger, there is no Doubt, but it will do it most in Things that arevery material, and of the highest Concern: And that Religion in allCountries is an Affair of the greatest Concern, is taken for grantedby all good Men, and seldom denied by the bad. This is the Reason, that in Religious Wars Men are more inveterate, and commit moreCruelties, than when they fight upon other Account. Here the worst andmost vicious Men have fine Opportunities of gratifying their naturalMalice and Rancour of Heart, without being blamed for it; and placinga Merit in doing Mischief. Therefore we see, that those, who are mostneglectful of their Duty, and act most contrary to the Dictates oftheir Religion, are so often the most zealous in fighting for it. There are other Things that help, and all contribute, to makeReligious Wars the most bloody. Men are commonly sure of Nothing somuch, as they are of the Truth of the Religion they profess; so thatin all Religious Quarrels, Every body is satisfied that he has Justiceon his Side: This must make Man obstinate. The Multitude in allCountries ascribe to the Deities they worship the same Passions whichthey feel themselves; and knowing how well pleas'd they are with Everybody that is on their Side, and will take their Part, they expecttheir Reward from Heaven, which they seem to defend; and on that Scorethey think with Delight on the Losses and Calamities which they makeothers suffer; whether _Churchmen_ fight with _Presbyterians_, _Papists_with _Protestants_, or _Mahometans_ with _Christians_ of any Sort. Those whoare of Opinion, that the best _Christians_ make the best Soldiers, havecommonly their Eyes on the Civil Wars both in _France_ and in _England_. Hor. And if you compare the Prince of _Conde's_ Army with that of theLeague there, or _Cromwell's_ Troops with the King's Forces here, the_Whigs_ will tell you, that in either Nation you may meet withsufficient Proofs, to confirm the Opinion you speak of. Cleo. I have Nothing to do with _Whigs_ or _Tories_; but let us narrowlylook into this Affair, and examine it impartially. Religion wasbrought into the Quarrel, you know, in both Kingdoms, and the Casesbetween the Adversaries here and there were much the same. The_Huguenots_ and _Roundheads_ on the one Side said, that they had Nothingso much at Heart as Religion; that the National Worship was Idolatry;that Christianity required no outward Shew of Altars or Vestments, butthe Sacrifice of the Heart to be seen in Men's Lives; that God was tobe serv'd with greater Strictness, than was observed by the NationalClergy; that they fought his Cause, and did not question, but by hisHelp to obtain the Victory. The _Leaguers_ and _Cavaliers_ said on theother Side, that Lay-men, especially Soldiers, where improper Judgesin Matters of Religion; that themselves were honest Men, loyalSubjects, who fought for the establish'd Church, their King andCountry; and as to their Adversaries, that they were under a Parcel ofHypocritical Rascals, that under the Mask of Sanctity carried on anopen Rebellion, and had no other Design than to dethrone the King, andget the Government into their own Clutches. Let us see the Consequencethat would naturally follow from this Difference. The First, tosupport their Cause, would think it necessary not to be too glaringlyinconsistent with themselves; therefore they would display somewhatmore of Devotion, and by praying often, and perhaps singing of Psalms, make a greater Shew of Religion, than is commonly seen in Armies. Should the Chief of such Troops, and the great Men under him, who aremost likely to get by the Quarrel, be more circumspect in theirActions, and attend Divine Worship oftner than is usual for Persons ofQuality, their Example would influence the inferiour Officers, andthese would take Care, that the Soldiers should comply, whether theywould or not. If this was well perform'd on one Side, it is verynatural to suppose, that the other, knowing the first to be no betterMen than themselves, and believing them to be Hypocrites, would notonly be offended at their Behaviour, but likewise, in Opposition totheir Enemies, be more neglectful of Religious Duties, than welldisciplin'd Armies generally are, and the Soldiers allow'd to be moredissolute in their Lives than is usual. By this Means the Contrastbetween two such Armies, would be very conspicuous. A good Politicianmay add to, or take from the Principle of Honour, what Virtue orQualifications he pleases; and a skillful General, who can guard hisown Actions, and will be at some Trouble in Self-denial where he maybe observed, may model an Army as he thinks fit. All Superiors, inCamps as well as Courts, will ever serve for Patterns to theirInferiours; and should Officers unanimously resolve to render Swearingunfashionable, and in good Earnest set about this Task, by Example aswell as Precept and Discipline, it would not be difficult to manageSoldiers in such a Manner, that in less than Half a Year not an Oathshould be heard among them. If there were Two Armies in the SameCountry, and of the same Nation, in one of which the Soldiers shouldcurse and swear, as much as is commonly done among all loose, andill-bred People, and in the other the Men should have been cured ofthat bad Custom, it is incredible what Reputation of being Good andReligious, those, who would only forbear Swearing, would gain beyondtheir Adversaries, tho' they were equally guilty with them of Whoring, Drinking, Gaming, and every other Vice except that one. Therefore ifone General, to please and keep in with a Party, should think it hisInterest that his Troops should make a greater Appearance ofGodliness, than is commonly observed among Military Men; and another, to please a contrary Party, should take it to be his Interest to actas contrary as it was possible to what his Enemies did, and endeavourto be the Reverse of them, the Difference would be prodigious. Hor. Then if in one Army they were Valiant, the General of the otherwould endeavour to make his Men Cowards. Cleo. They would differ in every Thing that Soldiers can differ in:The Observance of the Point of Honour and Hatred to their Enemies areinseparable from their Calling; therefore resenting of Affronts amongthemselves, and cruel Usage to their Enemies, were not more banish'dfrom the Armies of the _Huguenots_ and _Roundheads, _ than they were fromthose of the _Leaguers_ and _Cavaliers. _ Hor. The true Reason of the Difference, in the Lives and Morals of theSoldiers, between the King's Forces and the Rebels, was the Differenceof their Circumstances, and the Care that was taken of them. TheParliament's Army was regularly provided for, and always able to payfor what they had. But the others, who were most commonly in Want, were forced to live upon the Country, and take their Provisions wherethey could get them; and this will make all Troops more dissolute anddisorderly, than is consistent with the Service, tho' they had thebest Officers in the World. Cleo. The Misfortune you speak of, and which the King's Army labour'dunder, must every where be a great Hinderance to Discipline; and Iverily believe, that his Soldiers suffer'd very much in their Moralson Account of it; but I am persuaded, that the Contrariety ofPrinciples, which I hinted at, was an Addition to that Misfortune, andmade it worse; for that the _Cavaliers_ laughed at the _Roundheads_ fortheir praying so long and so often, and the great Shew they made ofDevotion, is certain; and there is always a Pleasure in appearing tobe the Reverse of what we ridicule in our Enemies. But whatever wasthen, or might at any other Time, be the true Reason of the Differencein the Shew of Piety and Goodness between two such Armies, let us seethe Consequence of it, and the Effect it would naturally have on thesober Party. All Multitudes are superstitious; and among greatNumbers, there are always Men prone to Enthusiasm; and if thePretenders to Godliness had skilful Divines (as no doubt, they wouldhave) that knew, how to extol the Goodness and Piety of the Generaland the Soldiers, declaim against the Wickedness and reprobate Livesof the Enemies, and remonstrate to their Hearers, how God must lovethe first, and, from his known Attributes, hate the latter, it wouldin all Probability produce every Thing we read of in the Armies of thePrince of _Conde_ and the Parliament. Some Colonels would preach, andsome Soldiers would learn Prayers and Scraps of Psalms by Heart, andmany of them would grow more circumspect in indulging their Vices, than is common to Men of their Function. This latter would make theMen more governable, and consequently better Troops, and all togetherwould make a great Noise. Besides, Mankind are so given to flatterthemselves, that they'll believe any Thing, that is said in theirPraise; and should, in any Regiment of such an Army, the Chaplaindisplay his Eloquence before a Battle, exhort the Men to Bravery, speak in Commendation of the Zeal and Piety of the Officers and theTroops in general, and find out some particular Reason, why God shouldlove and have Regard for that Regiment beyond any other, it might havea very good Effect upon the most Wicked, as well as the better Sort. And if this Chaplain, from what he knew of them, should patheticallyencourage them, and promise them the Victory, Enthusiasm is socatching, that a Fellow, who lay with a Whore over Night, and wasdrunk the Day before, if he saw his Comrades moved, might betransported with Joy and Eagerness to fight, and be stupid enough tothink, that he had a Share in God's Favour. The _Greek_ and _Roman_Histories abound with Instances of the immense Use that may be made inWar of Superstition well turn'd: The grossest, if skilfully managed, may make the fearful, undaunted, and the loosest Livers exertthemselves to the utmost of their Power, from a firm Belief, thatHeaven is on their Side. That Superstition has had this Effect uponMen of almost every Persuasion, as well as Heathen Idolaters, iscertain; but he must be a notable Divine, that can expect the samefrom the Doctrine of _Christ_, faithfully deliver'd, and preach'd in itsPurity. It is possible therefore that any Number of Troops may, bycrafty Declamations and other Arts, be made Zealots and Enthusiasts, that shall fight and pray, sing Psalms one Hour, and demolish anHospital the next; but you'll as soon meet with an Army of Generals orof Emperours, as you will with, I won't say an Army, but a Regiment, or even a Company of good Christians among Military Men. There neverwere better Troops, or Men that behaved with greater Gallantry andChearfulness, than we had in the two last Wars; Officers as well ascommon Soldiers; but I would as soon believe, that it was Witchcraftthat made them brave, as that it was their Religion. Hor. Yet I have often heard it from experienc'd Officers, that themost virtuous, the soberest, and the most civiliz'd Fellows made thebest Soldiers, and were those whom they could most depend upon. Cleo. I heartily believe that to be true for the Generality; for Iknow, that by Virtuous, you don't mean much more than tolerablyHonest, such as are not given to wrong or decieve Any body; or elseamong the Officers themselves, you know, that very Few of them arepossess'd of many Christian Virtues, or would be fond of theCharacter. Do but consider what is required of a Soldier. There areThree Things which the officers are chiefly afraid of in their Men:The First is, that they may desert, which is so much Money lost: TheSecond, that they may rob or steal, and so come to be hang'd: TheThird is, that they may be sick, and consequently incapable of doingDuty. Any middling Honest secures them entirely as to the two First;and, without Doubt, the less vicious; that is, the more sober andtemperate the Men are, the more likely they are to preserve theirHealth. As for the Rest, Military Men are easy _Casuists_ for theGenerality, and are used to give, as well as take, large Grains ofAllowance. A Soldier, who minds his Business, is seldom reproved fortaking any Pleasure he can come at, without being complain'd of: Andif he be brave, and understands his Exercise, takes Care always to besober when he is upon Duty, pays a profound Respect to his Officers, as well as a strict Obedience to their Commands, watches their Eyes, and flies at a Nod, he can never fail of being beloved. And ifmoreover he keeps himself clean, and his Hair powder'd, is neat in hisCloaths, and takes Care not to be pox'd; let him do what he pleasesfor the Rest, he'll be counted a very valuable Fellow. A Man may doall this without Christianity, as well as he can do it without havingan Estate. There are Thousands that are less circumspect and not halfso well accomplish'd, who yet are well esteem'd in that Station. Andas I have allow'd on the one Hand, that the soberest and the civiliz'dFellows make the best Soldiers, and are, generally speaking, the mostto be depended upon in an Army, so it is undeniable on the other, that, if not the major, at least a very considerable Part of our bestTroops, that had the greatest Share in the Victories we obtain'd, wasmade up of loose and immoral, if not debauch'd and wicked Fellows. Nay, I insist upon it, that Jayl-birds, Rogues, who had been guilty ofthe worst of Crimes, and some that had been saved from the Gallows torecruit our Forces, did on many Occasions both in _Spain_, and _Flanders_, fight with as much Intrepidity, and were as indefatigable, as the mostVirtuous amongst them. Nor was this any Thing strange or unexpected;or else the recruiting Officers ought to have been punish'd, forlifting and giving the Money of the Publick to Men, of whom there wasno Probability that they could be made Soldiers. But to make itevident, how little the Religion and Morality of a Soldier are mindedby his Superiours, and what great Care is taken to keep up andcultivate his Pride ----. Hor. That latter I have seen enough of in the _Fable_ of the _Bees_. Youwould speak about the Cloaths and Accoutrements. Cleo. I wave them; tho' there it is likewise very conspicuous. I onlydesire you to compare the Things he is indulg'd in, and which, if hepleases, he may brag of, with what he is taught to be ashamed of, thegrand Offence, which, if once committed, is never to be pardon'd. Ifhe has but Courage, and knows how to please his Officers, he may getdrunk Two or Three Times a Week, have a fresh Whore every Day, andswear an Oath at every Word he speaks, little or no Notice shall betaken of him to his Dishonour; and, if he be good humour'd, andforbears stealing among his Comrades, he'll be counted a very honestFellow. But if, what _Christ_ and his Apostles would have justify'd himin and exhorted him to do, he takes a Slap in the Face, or any othergross Affront before Company, without resenting it, tho' from hisintimate Friend, it cannot be endured; and tho' he was the soberest, and the most chaste, the most discreet, tractable and best temper'dMan in the World, his Business is done. No body will serve with anoted Coward; nay, it would be an Affront to desire it of GentlemenSoldiers, who wear the King's Cloth; and the Officers are forc'd toturn him out of the Regiment. Those who are unacquainted with MilitaryAffairs and Chaplains of Regiments, would not imagine, what a smallPortion of Virtue and Forbearance a Soldier stands in Need of, to havethe Reputation of a good Religious Man among those he converses with. Clergymen, that are employ'd in Armies, are seldom rigid _Casuists_; andFew of them are Saints themselves. If a Soldier seems to be less fondof strong Liquors than others generally are; if he is seldom heard toswear; if he is cautious in Love-Affairs, and not openly vicious thatWay; if he is not known to Steal or Pilfer, he'll be stiled a veryhonest, sober Fellow. But if, moreover, such a one should behave withDecency at Devine Service, and seem now and then to be attentive towhat is spoken; if ever he had been seen with a Book in his Hand, either open or shut; if he was respectful to the Clergy, and zealousagainst those, who are not of the same Religion which he professes tobe of, he would be call'd a very Religious Man; and half a Dozen ofthem in a Regiment would, in a little Time, procure a mighty Characterto the whole, and great Honour to the Chaplain. Hor. I dare say, that on some Occasions he would take the Liberty fromit to brag, that there were no better Christians in the World, than agreat many were, whom he had under his Care. Cleo. Considering how Things are often magnify'd without Regard toTruth or Merit, and what Advantages some Men will take, right orwrong, to advance as well as maintain the Cause they get by; it is notimprobable, that three or four score thousand Men, that were kept ingood Discipline, tho' they were all taken at Random from the lowestand idlest of the Vulgar, might be stiled an Army of good Christians, if they had a Chaplain to every Regiment, and but Two or Three suchorderly Soldiers, as I have describ'd, in every Thousand: And I ampersuaded, that the sect or Religion, which they pretended to followand profess, would, by the Help of able and active Divines, acquiremore Credit and Reputation from those Few, than all the Loosness, Debauchery and gross Vices of the Rest would ever be able to take awayfrom them. Hor. But from what you have said, I should think, that the Gospel mustdo Hurt among fighting Men. As such they must be animated by anotherSpirit, and can receive no Benefit from the Doctrine of Peace. WhatOccasion is there for Divines in an Army? Cleo. I have hinted to you several Times, that in the Management ofHuman Creatures, the Fear of an invincible Cause, which they are allborn with, was always to be consulted; and that no Multitudes can everbe govern'd, so as to be made useful to any one Purpose, if those, whoattempt to rule over them, should neglect to take Notice of, or butany Ways seem to slight the Principle of that Fear. The worst of Menare often as much influenc'd by it as the best; or else Highwaymen andHouse-breakers would not swear Fidelity to one another. God is call'dupon as a Witness to the mutual Promises of the greatest Miscreants, that they will persevere in their Crimes and Villanies, and to thelast Drop of their Blood be unalterably Wicked. This, you know, hasbeen done in Massacres, the blackest Treasons, and the most horridConspiracies; tho' the Persons concern'd in them, perhaps, gave otherNames to their Undertakings. By this we may see, what absurd NotionsMen may have of the Deity, who undoubtedly believe his Existence: Forhow flagitious soever Men are, none can be deem'd _Atheists_ but those, who pretend to have absolutely conquer'd, or never been influenced bythe Fear of an invisible Cause, that over-rules Human Affairs; andwhat I say now has been and ever will be true in all Countries, and inall Ages, let the Religion or Worship of the People be what they will. Hor. It is better to have no Religion, than to worship the Devil. Cleo. In what Respect is it better? Hor. It is not so great an Affront to the Deity not to believe hisExistence, as it is to believe him to be the most Cruel and the mostMalicious Being that can be imagin'd. Cleo. That is a subtle Argument, seldom made Use of but byUnbelievers. Hor. Don't you think, that many Believers have been worse Men, thansome _Atheists_? Cleo. As to Morality, there have been good and bad Men of all Sectsand all Persuasions; but before we know any Thing of Men's Lives, Nothing can be worse in the Civil Society, than an Atheist, _caeterisparibus_. For it would be ridiculous to say, that it is less safe totrust to a Man's Principle, of whom we have some Reason to hope, thathe may be with-held by the Fear of Something, than it is to trust toone who absolutely denies, that he is withheld by the Fear of anyThing. The old _Mexicans_ worship'd _Vitzliputzli_, at the same Time thatthey own'd his Malice, and execrated his Cruelty; yet it is highlyprobable, that some of them were deterr'd from Perjury for Fear ofbeing punish'd by _Vitzliputzli;_ who would have been guilty of it, ifthey had not been afraid of any Thing at all. Hor. Then not to have believed the Existence of that chimericalMonster was Atheism in _Mexico_. Cleo. It certainly was among People that knew of no other invisibleCause. Hor. But why should I wonder at the _Mexicans_? There are Christiansenough, of whom, to judge from their Sentiments and Behaviour, it ishard to determine, which it is they are more afraid of, God or theDevil. Cleo. I don't question, but among the Vulgar, more Persons have beendeterr'd from doing Evil, by what they had heard of the Torments ofHell, than have been made virtuous by what had been told them of theJoys of Heaven, tho' both had been represented to them as equallyinfinite and unutterable. Hor. But to return to my Question. When I ask'd what Occasion therewas for Divines in an Army, I was not ignorant of the Necessity thereis of having Religion and Priests of some Sort or other, to humour aswell as awe the Multitude; but I wanted to know the Mystery, and belet into the Secret, by which the Doctrine of Peace is madeserviceable to the carrying on of War; for that Preachers of theGospel have not only exhorted Men to Battle, but likewise that theyhave done it effectually; and that Soldiers have been inspired withCourage, and made to fight with Obstinacy by their Sermons, theHistory of almost every Country can witness. Cleo. A little Accuracy will set us to Rights. That what you say hasbeen, and is often done by Sermons and Preachers, both Protestant andPopish, is certainly true. But I deny, that ever it was once done by aPreacher of the Gospel. Hor. I don't understand your Distinction. Are not all ChristianDivines call'd Preachers, as well as Ministers of the Gospel? Cleo. But many People are call'd, what, strictly speaking, they arenot. The Reason I have for what I say is, that there is Nothingcontain'd in the Gospel, that can have the least Tendency to promoteor justify War or Discord, Foreign or Domestic, Publick or Private;nor is there any the least Expression to be found in it, from which itis possible to excite or set People on to quarrel with, do Hurt to, orany ways offend one another, on any Account whatever. Hor. But this encreases the mystery, and makes the facts lessintelligible. Cleo. I will unfold it to you. As all Priests have ever maintain'd, that they were the Interpreters of the will of the deity theypretended to serve, and had an undoubted Right of construing andexplaining the Doctrine and the Meaning of the Religion they taughtand presided over: As, I say, all priests have ever maintain'd this, so the Christian Clergy, as soon as they took it in their Heads to bepriests likewise, claim'd the same Privilege; and finding severalthings, which they had a Mind to, denied them in the Gospel; and thatmany Conveniencies, which all other Priests had ever, not only beenfond of, but likewise enjoy'd, were in express words forbid, andabsolutely prohibited in the _New Testament_, they had recourse to the_Old_, and providently took Care from thence to supply the Deficiency ofthe _New_. Hor. So, when they had no settled Revenue or Pomp of Dress from theGospel, they took up with the Tithes and Sacerdotal Ornaments of the_Levites_, and borrow'd from the _Jewish_ Priests and Prophets every Thingthat was worth having. Cleo. This would open too large a Field, and therefore I would lookinto the Clergy's Behaviour no farther, than as it relates to Armiesand military Men, and take Notice, that whenever Pillage or sheddingof Blood are to be justified or encouraged by a Sermon, or Men are tobe exhorted to Battle, to the Sacking of a City or the Devastation ofa Country, by a pathetick Discourse, the Text is always taken from the_Old Testament_; which is an inexhaustible Fund for Declamation onalmost every Subject and every Occasion: And there is no worldly End, which the most ambitious Man, or the most cruel Tyrant can have toserve, but from some Part or other of that Book a Divine of middlingCapacity may find out a proper Text to harangue upon, that shallanswer the Purpose. But to make it evident, that Divines may be usefulto all Fighting Men, without preaching of the Gospel, we need but toconsider, that among all the Wars and Dissentions, which Christianshave had with one another on innumerable Accounts, there never was aCause yet, so unreasonable or absurd, so unjust or openly wicked, ifit had an army to back it, that has not found Christian Divines, or atleast such as stiled themselves so, who have espoused and call'd itRighteous. No rebellion was ever so unnatural, nor Tyranny so cruel, but if there were men who would fight for it, there were Priests whowould pray for it, and loudly maintain, that it was the Cause of God. Nothing is more necessary to an Army, than to have this latterstrenously insisted upon, and skilfully unculcated to the soldiers. Nobody fights heartily, who believes himself to be in the wrong, andthat God is against him, Whereas a firm persuasion of the Contrary, inspires Men with Courage and Intrepidity; it furnishes them witharguments to justify the Malice of their Hearts, and the implacableHatred they bear their Enemies; it confirms them in the ill opinionthey have of them, and makes them confident of victory; _siDeus pro nobis quis contra nos?_ In all wars it is an everlastingMaxim in Politicks, that whenever Religion can be brought into theQuarrel, it ought never to be neglected, and that how small soever theDifference may be between the contending Parties, the Divines on eachSide, ought to magnify and make the most of it; for Nothing is morecomfortable to Men, than the Thought, that their Enemies are likewisethe Enemies of God. Hor. But to make Soldiers laborious as well as governable, would itnot be useful to exhort them to Virtue, and a close Attachment to thePrinciple of Honour? Cleo. The principle of Honour is never forgot; and as to Virtue, whatis required of them is Fortitude, and to do as they are bid. And ifyou'll consider what Pains are taken to make them ashamed of Cowardiceabove all other Vices; and how prompt, as well as severe, thePunishment for Disobedience is in the least Trifles among Soldiers, beyond what it is any where else; if, I say, you'll consider theseThings on the one Hand, and on the other the great Latitude that isgiven them as to Morals, in what has no Regard to the Service, you'llfind, that for the First, Divines are not wanted, and that for theother they can do but little Good. However Morality is often preach'dto them, and even the Gospel at seasonable Times, when they are inWinter Quarters, or in an idle summer, when there is no Enemy near, and the Troops perhaps are encamped in a Country, where no Hostilitiesshould be committed. But when they are to enter upon Action, tobesiege a large Town, or ravage a rich Country, it would be veryimpertinent to talk to them of Christian Virtues; doing as they wouldbe done by; loving their enemies, and extending their Charity to allMankind. When the Foe is at Hand, the Men have Skirmishes with himevery Day, and perhaps a main battle is expected; then the mask isflung off; not a Word of the Gospel, nor of Meekness or Humility; andall Thoughts of Christianity are laid aside entirely. The men areprais'd and buoy'd up in the high value they have for themselves:their Officers call them Gentlemen and Fellow-Soldiers; Generals pulloff their Hats to them; and no Artifice is neglected that can flattertheir Pride, or inspire them with the Love of Glory. The Clergythemselves take Care at such Times, not to mention to them their Sins, or any Thing that is melancholy or disheartning: On the Contrary, theyspeak chearfully to them, encourage and assure them of God's Favour. They take Pains to justify, and endeavour to encrease the Animositiesand Aversion, which those under their Care have against their Enemies, whom to blacken and render odious, they leave no Art untried, no Stoneunturn'd; and no Calumny can be more malicious, no Story moreincredible, nor Falsity more notorious, than have been made Use ofknowingly for that Purpose by Christian Divines, both _Protestants_, and_Papists_. Hor. I don't use to be an Advocate for Bigots of any sort, much lessfor Fanaticks, whom I hate; but facts are stubborn things. It isimpossible to reflect on the sharp and bloody Engagements in theRebellion, and the Devotion of _Cromwell_'s army, without beingconvinced, that there must have been Men at that Time, that were bothValiant and Religious. It is certain, that the Rebels fought well, andthat they had more Days of Fasting and Humiliation, than ever wereknown among any other Soldiers. Cleo. That there was a greater Appearance of Religion among them, thanever was among any other regular Troops, I allow; but that none of itcould proceed from a Principle of Christianity is demonstrable. Hor. They had Men of unquestionable Honour among them; and some ofthem must have been sincere. Cleo. A great many, I verily believe, were sincere; but let us lookinto this Affair a little more narrowly. What do you think of theGeneral? Do you think, that _Cromwell_ was a good Christian and a piousMan, who had Nothing so much at Heart as Religion and Liberty, and, void of Selfishness, had devoted himself to procure Happiness Eternalas well as Temporal to the People of _England_? Or that he was a vilewicked Hypocrite, who, under the Cloak of Sanctity, broke through allHuman and Divine Laws to aggrandize himself, and sacrifis'd everyThing to his own Ambition, and the Interest of his Family? Hor. There is no Doubt, but all impartial Men must believe the latter. But then he understood Mankind very well; his very Enemies, that werehis Contemporaries, allow'd him to be a Man of great Parts. If he hadhad the the same Opinion of Christianity, which you have, and theUnfitness of it to make Men quarrel and fight with Obstinacy, he wouldnever have made Use of it among his Soldiers. Cleo. And it is clear as the sun, that he never did. Hor. That his pretences to religion were no more than Hypocrisy, Ihave allow'd; but it does not appear, that he desired others to beHypocrites too: On the Contrary, he took Pains, or at least made Useof all possible Means to promote Christianity among his Men, and makethem sincerely Religious. Cleo. You will never distinguish between Christianity, that is, theDoctrine of Christ, and the Interpretations, that are made of it byClergymen; tho' I have often shew'd you the great Difference there isbetween them. _Cromwell_ was a Man of admirable good Sense, andthoroughly well acquainted with Human Nature; he knew the mighty Forceof Enthusiasm, and made Use of it accordingly. As to Strictness ofReligion and the Love of Liberty, they had all along been the darlingPretences of the party he engaged in. The complaints of the _Puritans_against Episcopacy, and that the Church of _England_ was notsufficiently reformed, began in Queen _Elizabeth's_ Time, and were verynear as old as the Reformation itself. The people's Murmurings andStruggles for Liberty were of some Standing, when King _Charles_ theFirst came to the Throne: The Jealousies, which Parliaments had of theRegal Power and Prerogative, had been openly shewn in his Father'sReign, and, throughout the Course of it, been troublesome to hisMinisters. That the Clergy of the Church of _England_ had enjoin'dThings, and taught what they had no Warrant for from the Gospel, andthat King _James_ the First, as well as his Son, who succeeded him, laidClaim to a more absolute Power, than was consistent with theprivileges of Parliament and the Constitution, in undeniable. Religionthen and Liberty, being two topicks, that Abundance was to be saidupon in those Days, became the Subject and Foundation of the Quarrelsbetween the King and Parliament, that afterwards broke out into aCivil War. Hor. I was not born in _China_ or _Lapland_: there is not a Boy of TwelveYears old, that is ignorant of the Causes of that Civil War. Cleo. I don't question your Knowledge; but only mention these Things, that from the Nature of the Dissentions, and the mischiefs that ensuedupon them, we might see the Impossibility, that either Party shouldhave acted from a Principle of Christianity. I shall now endeavor todemonstrate to you Two Things; the First is, that Clergymen, by asmall Deviation from the Gospel, may so egregiously impose upon theirHearers, as to make even sincere Men act quite contrary to thePrecepts of it, at the same Time that those subtle Declaimers shallseem to be full of Zeal, and to have the highest Value forChristianity. The Other is, that in a well disciplin'd Army, Acts ofDevotion, and an outward Shew of Religion may do vast Service for theobtaining of Victory, tho' the General who appointed and order'd them, was an _Atheist_; the greatest part of the Clergy, who perform'd andassisted in them, were Hypocrites, and the Generality of the Men werewicked Livers. As to the First, I call a Man sincere in his Religion, who believes the Bible to be the Word of God, and acknowledging theDifficulty he finds in obeying the Dictates of the Gospel, wishes withall his heart, that he could practice the self-denial that is requiredin it; and is sorry, that he has not the Power to govern and subduehis stubborn Passions so well as he could wish. If to such a one, aClergyman should preach the Strictness of Morality, and the Necessityof Repentance, that are taught in the Gospel, and moreover inculcateto him, that as to Divine Worship the Ceremonial was abrogated; thatwhat was required of us, was the Sacrifice of the Heart and theConquest over our darling Lusts; and that in short the ReligiousDuties of a Christian were summ'd up in loving God as his Neighbour;this Doctrine being every Way agreeable to that of _Christ, _ a sincereman, who had read the _New Testament_, would easily give Ear to aDivine, who should preach it to him; and it is highly probable, thatin Matters of Conscience, and every Thing relating to his Deportment, he should be glad of his Counsel. Suppose now, that there was anotherClergyman in the same city, who likewise pretending to preach theGospel, should, on the one Hand, represent the Doctrine of it as veryindulging to Human Nature, and the Practice of it easily comply'dwith, and, on the other, lay a great Stress on the Honour to be paidto his own Person, and the Performances of a Set of Ceremonies, nowhere mention'd in the Gospel; it is not likely, that our sincere Manshould approve of his Sermons; but if this Second Divine shouldmoreover call them Enemies to God, who should refuse to comply withevery Part of these Ceremonies, and give the Name of Hypocrite toEvery body, who should assert, that the Gospel required stricterMorality than what he taught; if he should sollicite the Magistrate tohave all Persons punish'd, who were not of his Opinion; and if, byhis Instigation, our sincere Man should actually be persecuted andplagued by his Fellow-Subjects; to judge from what we know of HumanNature, such Usage would fill the sincere Man with Indignation, andraise his Anger against all those, who were the Occasion of hisSufferings. Let us suppose like-wise, that this Man, besides hisSincerity, had Temper and Goodness enough to consider, that, tho' hehad been unjustly dealt with, and was highly provok'd, yet hisReligion taught and commanded him not to resent Injuries, but toforgive his Enemies, and to Love them that hated him; it is reasonableto think, that this Clashing between Nature and Principle wouldperplex him, and himself stand in Need of good Advice, what to do inthis Dilemma. If in this Case, the Clergyman, who first preached tohim the Purity of the Christian Religion, and the Severity of itsMorals, and whom he often went to hear, should persist in the sameSentiments; and, continuing to recommend to him the Doctrine of Peace, make Use of all the Arguments, which the Gospel could furnish himwith, either to warn him against Anger and all sinful Passions, Maliceof Heart, Hatred and Resentment; or to exhort him to Fortitude inAfflictions, Heroick Patience in Sufferings, and on all Emergencies anentire Resignation to the Will of God; If, I say, the Clergyman Imention'd should do this, whatever might be the Success he did itwith, he would have acted the good Shepherd, and his Sermons couldnever be made a Handle of for War or Rebellion. But if instead of it, he should seem to approve of the other's Anger, and, to justify it, enter into the Merits of the Cause; if he should endeavour todemonstrate, that all Ceremonies of Human Invention weresuperstitious, and that Kneeling down, where there were Pictures andSculpture, was a manifest Token of Idolatry; if after this, by an easyTransition, he should go over to the _Old Testament_, expatiate on theSecond Commandment, and produce several Instances of God's Vengeanceon Idolaters, and the utter Destruction, that had often been broughtupon them by God's own People, fighting under his Banner, and actingby his special Commission; If a Preacher should do this, and haveMischief in his Heart, it would not be difficult for him insensibly tomislead his Hearers, extinguish their Charity, and, working upon thePassions, make a sincere Man, who had really been ill treated, mistakein his own Breast the Spirit of Revenge for Religious Zeal, and, tomaintain the Truth of the Gospel, act directly contrary to thePrecepts of it. And the more regular the Life was of such a Divine, and the greater the Austerity of his Manners, the fitter Instrumentwould he be to sow Sedition, enflame an Audience, and make Tools ofthem for the Ambitious. Hor. The First you have made out beyond my Expectations; but it hasbeen at the Expence of your Revolution-Principles; I hope you'll nevertake them up again. Cleo. I hope I shall have no Occasion for it: but what I have advancedhas Nothing to do with the Controversy you point at. The illegal Swayof Magistrates is not to be justified from the Gospel, any more thanthe Resistance of the People. Where Two Parties quarrel, and openAnimosities are to be seen on both Sides, it is ridiculous for eitherto appeal to the Gospel. The Right, which Princes have to enjoy theirPrerogative, is not more divine, than that which Subjects have toenjoy their Privileges; and if Tyrants will think themselves morejustifiable before God than Rebels, they ought first to be satisfied, that Oppression is less heinous in his Sight than Revenge. Hor. But No body owns himself to be a Tyrant. Cleo. Nor did ever any Malecontents own themselves to be Rebels. Hor. I can't give this up, and must talk with you about it anotherTime. But now I long to hear you demonstrate the Second of yourAssertions, and make that as evident to me, as you have done theFirst. Cleo. I'll endeavour it, if you'll give me Leave, and can have butPatience to hear me, for you'll stand in Need of it. Hor. You are to prove, that Acts of Devotion, and an outward Shew ofReligion, may make an Army Victorious, tho' the General was an_Atheist_, the Clergy were Hypocrites, and the Generality of the Menwicked Livers. Cleo. A little more Accuracy, if you please. I said, that they mightdo vast Service for the obtaining of Victory; the Service I mean, consists in rousing the Courage of the Men, and throwing them into anEnthusiasm, that shall dissipate their Fears, and make them despisethe greatest Dangers. There is no greater Art to make Men fight withObstinacy, than to make them trust to, and rely with Confidence on theAssistance of the invisible Cause, they Fear. Hor. But how can wicked Men be made to do this? What Reasons can theybe furnish'd with, to hope for the Assistance of Heaven? Cleo. If you can assure Men of the Justice of their Cause, and renderthat evident and unquestionable, the Business is done, and their ownWickedness will be no Obstacle to it. Therefore this, you see, is theGrand Point, which Priests have ever labour'd to gain among FightingMen in all Countries and in all Ages. How immensely soever they havediffer'd from one another in Religion and Worship, in this they haveall agreed. We were speaking, you know, of _Cromwell's_ Army; do butrecollect what you have heard and read of those Times, and you'llfind, that the Notions and Sentiments, that were industriouslyinstill'd into the minds of the soldiers, had a manifest tendency toobtain this end, and that all their preaching and praying were madeserviceable to the same purpose. The _Credenda_, which the whole army, and every individual were imbued with, even by the most moderate oftheir preachers, were generally these: that the King gave ear to hisevil counsellours; that he was govern'd by his Queen, who was a rankPapist, bigotted to her own superstition; that all his ministers werewicked men, who endeavour'd to subvert the constitution, and aim'd atnothing more than to render him absolute, that by his arbitrary powerthey might be skreen'd from justice, and the resentment of an injurednation: that the bishops were in the same interest; that, tho' theyhad abjured the Pope's supremacy, and found fault with the luxury ofthe court of _Rome_, they wanted as much to lord it over the laitythemselves, and were as fond of worldly honour, power, and authority, of pomp and splendour, and a distinguish'd manner of living, as anyPopish prelates: that the worship of the church of _England_ was abovehalf Popery; that most of the clergy were idle drones, who lived uponthe Fat of the Land, and perverted the End of their Function: That bythis Means Religion it self was neglected, and, instead of it, Rightsand Ceremonies were obstinately insisted upon, that were notoriousyborrow'd from the Heathen and Jewish Priests. That preachingNon-resistance was justifying Tyranny, and could have no other Meaningthan to encourage Princes to be wicked, and tie the Peoples Hands, whilst they should have their Throats cut: That in Pursuance of thisDoctrine, He, who should have been the Guardian of their Laws, hadalready trampled upon them and broken his Coronation-Oath, and, instead of being a Father to his People, had openly proclaim'd himselftheir Enemy, invited, a Foreign Force into the Land, and was nowactually making War against the Parliament, the undoubtedRepresentatives of the Nation. Whilst these Things were said of theAdverse Party, their own was extoll'd to the Skies; and loud Encomiumswere made on the Patriotism of their Superiours, the Sanctity andDisinterestedness as well as Wisdom and Capacity of those Asserters ofLiberty, who had rescued them from Bondage. Sometimes they spoke ofthe Care, that was taken of Religion, and a Pains-taking Ministry, that preach'd not themselves but _Christ_, and, by their Example as wellas Precept, taught the Purity of the Gospel, and the strict Moralitythat is contain'd in it, without Superstition or Allowances to pleaseSinners: At others, they represented to their Hearers the exemplaryLives of the Generals, the Sobriety of the Soldiers, and the Goodnessand Piety, as well as Zeal and Heroism of the whole Army. Hor. But what is all this to what you was to prove? I want to know thevast Service an outward Shew of Religion can be of to wicked Men, forthe obtaining of Victory: When shall I see that? Cleo. Presently; but you must give me Leave to prove it my own Way. Inwhat I have said hitherto, I have only laid before you the Artifice, which Every body knows was made Use of by the _Roundheads_ haranguingtheir own Troops, to render the _Cavaliers_ and the King's Cause odiousand detestable to them on the one Hand, and to make them, on theother, have an high Opinion of their own, and firmly believe, that Godcould not but favour it. Now let us call to Mind the Situation ofAffairs in the Times I speak of, and the Politicks of those, whoopposed the King, and then consider, what a crafty designing Generalought to have done to make the most of the Conjuncture he lived in, and the Zeal and Spirit that were then reigning among the Party he wasengaged in; if he had Nothing at Heart, but to advance, _per fas autnefas_, his own worldly Interest and his own Glory: In the First Place, it would never have been believed that the _Presbyters_ were in Earnest, who found Fault with and rail'd at the Luxury and loose Morals, aswell as Laziness of the National Clergy, if they had not been morediligent in their Calling, and led stricter Lives themselves. Thistherefore was complied with, and the dissenting Clergy took vast Painsin Praying and Preaching without Book for Hours together, andpractis'd much greater Self-denial, at least to outward Appearance, than their Adversaries. The Laity of the same Side, to compass theirEnd, were obliged to follow the Example of their Teachers in Severityof Manners, and Pretences to Religion: Accordingly they did, at leastwell enough, you see, to acquire the Name of the Sober Party. Hor. Then you must think, that they had none but Hypocrites amongthem. Cleo. Indeed I don't; but I believe, that most of the Ring-leaders whobegan the quarrel with the King had Temporal Advantages in View, orother private Ends to serve, that had no Relation either to theService of God or the Welfare of the People; and yet I believelikewise, that many sincere and well-meaning Men were drawn into theirMeasures. When a Reformation of Manners is once set on Foot, andstrict Morality is well spoken of, and countenanc'd by the better Sortof People, the very Fashion will make Proselytes to Virtue. Swearingand not Swearing in Conversation depend upon Mode and Custom. Nothingis more reasonable, than Temperance and Honesty to Men that consulttheir Health and their Interest; where Men are not debarr'd fromMarriage, Chastity is easily comply'd with, and prevents a ThousandMischiefs. There is Nothing more universal than the Love of Liberty;and there is Something engaging in the Sound of the Words. The Love ofone's Country is natural and very bad Men may feel it as warm aboutthem, as very good Men; and it is a Principle, which a Man may assincerely act from, who Fights against his King, as he who Fights forhim. But these sincere and well-meaning People, that can pray andfight, sing Psalms and do Mischief with a good Conscience, may in manyRespects be Morally good, and yet want most of the Virtues, that arepeculiar to Christianity, and, if the Gospel speaks Truth, necessaryto Salvation. A Man may be continent and likewise never drink toExcess, and yet be haughty and insupportable in his Carriage, alitigious Neighbour, an unnatural Father, and a barbarous Husband. Hemay be just in his Dealings, and wrong No body in his Property, yet hemay be full of Envy, take Delight in Slander, be revengeful in hisHeart, and never known to have forgiven an Injury. He may abstain fromCursing and all idle as well as prophane Swearing, and at the sameTime be uncharitable and wish Evil to all, that are not of hisOpinion; nay, he may mortally hate, and take Pleasure in persecutingand doing Mischief to, all those who differ from him in Religion. Hor. I see plainly now, how Men may be sincere in their Religion, andby Art be made to act quite contrary to the Precepts of it: And yourManner of accounting for this, does not only render the Sober Partyless odious, than the Orthodox have represented them; but there islikewise greater Probability in it, than there is in what theygenerally say of them: For that an Army of a great many Thousand Menshould consist of None but Hypocrites, who yet should fight well, isan inconceivable Thing. But what is it you would say of the General? Cleo. I would shew you, how an obscure Man, of an active Spirit andboundless Ambition, might raise himself among such a Set of People tothe higher Post; and having once got the Supreme Command of the Army, what Method, and what Arts it is most probable he would make Use of tomodel such Troops to his Purpose, and make them serviceable to theAdvancement of his own Greatness. Hor. But remember he must be an _Atheist_. Cleo. He shall be so, in the Vulgar Acceptation of the Word; that is, he shall have no Religion or Conscience; fear neither God nor Devil, and not believe either a Providence in this World, or any Thing thatis said of another: But he must be a great Genius, daring to thehighest Degree, indefatigable, supple to his Interest, and ready aswell as capable to act any Part, and put on any Disguise, that shallbe required to serve or promote it. Every brisk, forward Man, whopretends to an extraordinary Zeal for his Party, and the Cause he isengaged in, and who shews Eagerness for Action, and behaves withIntrepidity in Danger, cannot remain long unknown, where Men havefrequent Opportunities of signalizing themselves. But if he belikewise a Man of Sense, who understands his Business, and has Conductas well as Courage, he can't fail of Preferment in an Army, where theInterest of the common Cause is taken Care of. If he serves among_Puritans_, who pretend to a stricter Morality, and to be more religiousthan their Neighbours, and himself is an artful Man, as soon as he istaken Notice of, he'll fall in with the Cant in Fashion, talk of Graceand Regeneration, counterfeit Piety, and seem to be sincerely Devout. If he can do this well, put on a sanctify'd Face, and abstain frombeing openly vicious, it is incredible what Lustre it will add to theRest of his Qualifications, in such a Conjuncture: And if moreover heis a Man of Address, and can get the Reputation of being disinterestedand a Soldier's Friend, in a short Time he'll become the Darling ofthe Army; and it would hardly be safe long to deny him any Post, hecan reasonably pretend to. In all Wars, where the contending Partiesare in good Earnest, and the Animosities between them run high, Campaigns are always active, and many brave Men must fall on bothSides; and where there should be much Room for Advancement, it ishighly probable, that such a Man as I have describ'd, if at his firstsetting out he was Captain of Horse, and had raised an entire Troop athis own Charge, should in a few Years come to be a General Officer, and of great Weight in all Councils and Debates. Being thus farpreferr'd, if he would make the most of his Talents, he might be ofinfinite Service to his Party. An aspiring Man, whose grand Aim was tothrive by Hypocrisy, would study the Scripture, learn the Languages ofit, and occasionally mix it with his Discourse. He would cajole theClergy of his Party, and often do good Offices to those of them thatwere most popular. A Man of his Parts would preach _ex tempore_ himself, and get the Knack of Praying for as many Hours as there should beOccasion. Whoever is well skill'd in these Exercises may counterfeitEnthusiasm when he pleases, and pretend on some Emergencies to receiveDirections from God himself; and that he is manifestly influenc'd byhis Spirit. A General Officer, who has once got this Reputation, maycarry almost any Thing; for Few that are wise will venture to opposewhat such a Man, pretending to have sought the Lord, declares to behis Opinion. Whatever Victories might be obtain'd, and in allSuccesses under his Command, a skilful Hypocrite would make a Shew ofModesty, refuse to hear the Praises that are his due, and seem withgreat Humility to give all the Glory to God only; not forgetting, atthe same Time, to flatter the Pride of his Troops, highly to commendand magnify, first the Goodness and Bravery of the Soldiers, and thenthe Care and Vigilance of the Officers under him. To be well serv'd, he would reward Merit, punish and discountenance Vice, always speakwell and magnificently of Virtue, and seem to be just himself. But asto Christianity it self, he would not suffer any Thing to be taught ofit, that could interfere with the Principle of Honour, or any of theArtifices to keep up the Ill Will, and Hatred which military Men areto be inspired with against their Enemies. The Christian Duties, whichhe would chiefly take Care of and see perform'd, would be outward Actsof Devotion, and that Part of Religion which is easily comply'd with, and yet taken Notice of by all the World; such as frequent Prayers, long and pathetick Sermons, singing of Psalms, and the keeping of theSabbath with great Strictness; all which Men may assist at and employthemselves in, tho' their Hearts are otherwise engag'd. It is certain, that a Man of vast Parts and superlative Ambition might, by the DivinePermission, perform, take Care of, and compass all this, tho' he wasan _Atheist_; and that he might live and die with the Reputation of aSaint, if he was but circumspect and wise enough to conceal himself soentirely well, that no Penetration or Watchfulness of Mortals couldever discover his real Sentiments. There is no Atchievement to beexpected from Soldiers, which they would not perform for such aGeneral; and his Name would be sufficient to fill the greatestProfligate in an Army with a Religious Enthusiasm, if he disbelievednot an invisible Cause. Hor. There lies the Difficulty; it is that which I cannot comprehend. Cleo. Wickedness, I have hinted to you before, is no Bar toSuperstition; and a great Profligate may at the same Time be a sillyFellow, believe Absurdities, and rely on Trifles, which a Man of Senseand Virtue could not be influenc'd or affected by. It is easilyimagin'd, that in such an Army, under such a General as I have beenspeaking of, the Men would be kept under strict Discipline; and thatthey would not only be compell'd, whether they would or not, to assistat all their Exercises of outward Devotion and Publick Worship; butlikewise that the loosest Livers among them should be obliged to bemore cautious and circumspect in their Behaviour, than Soldiersgenerally are. Now suppose a Man so wicked, that, tho' he has no Doubtof Future State, the Belief of Rewards and Punishments in anotherWorld made no impression upon him; but that he indulged every viciousInclination as far as he dared, lay with every Woman that would lethim, and got drunk as often as he could get an Opportunity to do it;one that would stick at Nothing, rob or steal, kill a Man that shouldanger him, if he was not with-held by the Law, and the Fear ofTemporal Punishment: Suppose likewise, that this was one of the lowestMob, who being in Want, and too lazy to work, should lift himself insome Regiment or other of this Army. There is no Doubt, but this Manwould be forc'd immediately to have a greater Guard upon his Actions, and reform, at least outwardly, more than would suit with hisInclinations, and therefore it is not unlikely, that, what Dutiessoever he might comply with, and whatever Appearance he might makeamong the Rest, in his Heart he should remain the same he was before. Yet notwithstanding all this, in a little Time he might make a verygood Soldier. I can easily conceive, how the Wearing of a Sword andRegimental Cloaths, and always conversing with resolute and welldisciplin'd Men, among whom Arms and Gallantry are in the highestEsteem, might so far encrease a wicked Fellow's Pride, that he shouldwish to be brave, and in a few Months think Nothing more reallydreadful, than to be thought a Coward. The Fear of Shame may act aspowerfully upon bad Men, as it can upon good; and the Wickedness ofhis Heart would not hinder him from having a good Opinion of himself, and the Cause he served; nor yet from hating his Enemies or takingDelight in destroying, plundering, and doing all Manner of Mischief. Hor. But having no Regard to Godliness or Religion, it is impossible, that he should be influenc'd or affected by the Prayers or otherExercises of Devotion, which he might assist at and which, in allProbability, he would never come near, unless he was compell'd to it. Cleo. I don't suppose, that he would be influenced or affected by themat all himself; but he might easily believe, that others were. I takeit for granted, that in such an Army there might have been Abundanceof well-meaning Men, that were really honest, and sincere in theirReligion, tho' they had been misled in what concern'd the Duties ofit. From the Behaviour of these, and the Imitation of others, from theExemplary Lives, which our Reprobate should see among them, and theestablish'd Reputation of so many Men of Honour, he would have all theReason in the World to think, that at least the greatest Part of themwere in good Earnest; that they relied upon God; and that the ferventZeal, with which they seem'd to implore his assistance, was real andunfeign'd. All wicked Men are not inflexible; and there are greatSinners, whom this Consideration would move to the quick; and tho'perhaps it would not be of Force enough to reclaim them, there aremany, who, by means of it, would be made to relent, and wish that theywere better. But I don't want this help; and we'll suppose ourProfligate such a stubborn Wretch, and so obstinately vicious, thatthe most moving Discourses, and the most fervent Prayers, tho' he isforc'd to assist at them, have not the least Power to make him reflecteither on his Sins or his Duty; and that notwithstanding what he hearsand sees of others, his Heart remains as bad as ever, and himself asimmoral as he dares to be for Fear of his Officers. We'll suppose, Isay, all this; but as it is taken for granted, that he believes theWorld to be govern'd by Providence ----. Hor. But why should that be taken for granted, of a fellow sothoroughly wicked? Cleo. Because it is included in his Belief of a Future State, which, in his Character, I supposed him not to doubt of. Hor. I know it; but what Reason had you to suppose this at First, in aMan who never gave any Signs, nor ever did insinuate, for ought youknow, that he had such a Belief? Cleo. Because he never gave any Signs to the contrary; and in aChristian Country, I suppose all Men to believe the Existence of a Godand a Future State, who, by speaking or writing, never declared, thatthey did not. Wickedness consisting in an unreasonable Gratificationof every Passion that comes uppermost, it is so far from implyingUnbelief, or what is call'd Atheism, that it rather excludes it. Because the Fear of an invisible Cause is as much a Passion in ourNature, as the Fear of Death. I have hinted to you before, that greatCowards, whilst they are in Health and Safety, may live many Yearswithout discovering the least Symptom of the Fear of Death, so as tobe visibly affected by it; but that this is no Sign, that they have itnot, is evident when they are in Danger. It is the same with the Fearof an invisible Cause; the one is as much born with us as the other, and to conquer either, is more difficult than is easily imagin'd. TheFear of an invisible Cause is universal, how widely soever men maydiffer in the worship of it; and it was never observed among aMultitude, that the worst were more backward than the best inbelieving whatever from their Infancy they had heard concerning thisinvisible Cause; how absurd or shocking soever that might have been. The most Wicked are often the most Superstitious, and as ready as anyto believe Witchcraft, consult Fortune-tellers, and make Use ofCharms. And tho' among the most brutish Part of the Mob, we shouldmeet with Some, that neither pray nor pay Worship to any Thing, laughat Things sacred, and openly disclaim all Religion, we could have noReason to think, even from these, that they acted from Principles ofInfidelity, when from their Behaviour and many of their Actions, itshould be manifest, that they apprehended Something or other, thatcould do them Good or Hurt, and yet is invisible. But as to the vilestReprobates among the Vulgar, from their very Curses and the mostprophane of their Oaths and Imprecations, it is plain, that they areBelievers. Hor. That's far fetch'd. Cleo. I don't think so. Can a Man with himself damn'd, withoutsupposing, that there is such a Thing as Damnation. Believe me, _Horatio_, there are no _Atheists_ among the Common People: You never knewany of them entirely free from Superstition, which always impliesBelief: and whoever lays any Stress upon Predictions, upon good or badOmens; or does but think, that some Things are lucky and othersunlucky, must believe, that there is an over-ruling Power, whichmeddles with, and interferes in Human Affairs. Hor. I must yield this to you, I think. Cleo. If then our wicked, obdurate Soldier believes, that there is aGod, and that the World is govern'd by Providence, it is impossible, when Two Armies are to engage, but he must think, that it is verymaterial, and a Thing of the highest Importance, which of them Godwill be pleas'd to favour, and wish with all his Heart, that Heavenwould be of his Side. Now, if he knows that the Troops, he servesamong, have gain'd several Advantages over their Enemies, and that hehas been an Eye-witness of this himself, he must necessarily think, that God has a greater Regard to them, than he has to those that arebeaten by them. It is certain, that a Man, who is strongly persuadedof this, will be more undaunted, and with the Same Degree of Skill, Malice and Strength, fight better than he could do, if he believ'd theContrary. It is evident then, that the most abandon'd Rascal in aChristian Army may be made a valuable Man on the Score of Fighting, assoon as he can be persuaded, that God takes his Part, tho' he nevermade any further Reflection: But it is inconceivable, that a Manshould firmly believe what I have said without reflecting one Time orother on what might be the Cause of this particular Favour, thisvisible Assistance of Heaven; and if ever he did, could he helpthinking on the Preaching and Praying, which he was daily present at;and would he not be forced from all the Circumstances to believe, thatthose Things were acceptable to God; and conclude upon the whole, thatthose Religious Exercises were a proper Means to obtain God'sFriendship? Would he not be very much confirm'd in this Opinion, if hesaw or but heard of credible People, that, in the Enemy's Army, themen were more cold and remiss in their Worship, or at least, that theymade a less outward Shew of Devotion, which is all that he should beable to judge by? Hor. But why should you think, that such an abandon'd, obdurateFellow, as you have supposed him to be, should ever trouble his Headwith the Difference in Worship between one Army and another, or everthink at all on any Thing relating to Devotion? Cleo. Because it would be impossible for him to help it. I have notsupposed, that he was either Deaf or Blind: The Things I named, andwhich I imagin'd he would be forc'd to believe, would be run in hisEars, and repeated to him over and over from every Quarter: TheSoldiers would be full of them; the Officers would talk of them. Hewould be present at the solemn Thanksgivings, they paid to Heaven. ThePreachers would often be loud in commending the Godliness as well asBravery of the Army, and roar out the Praises of their General, thatsanctify'd Vessel, whom they would call a _Gideon_, a _Joshua_, a _Moses_, that glorious Instrument, which God had raised and made Use of torescue his Church from Idolatry and Superstition, and his Saints fromTyranny and Oppression. They would exclaim against the Wickedness andImmorality of their Enemies, inveigh against Lawn-Sleeves andSurplices, Altar-Pieces, and Common-Prayers; call the Orthodox Clergy, the Priests of _Baal_, and assure their Hearers, that the Lord hated the_Cavaliers_; that they were an Abomination to him, and that he wouldcertainly deliver them into the Hands of his chosen People. When a Manis obliged to hear all this, and sees moreover the Spirit and Alacritythat is raised in his Comrades after a moving extemporary Prayer, thereal Enthusiasm the Men are thrown into by the Singing of a Psalm, andthe Tears of Zeal and Joy run down the Cheeks of Men, whom he knows tobe Faithful and Sincere, as well as Resolute and Daring. When Man, Isay, such a one as I have describ'd, should be forc'd to hear and seeall this, it would hardly be possible for him, not to believe, in thefirst Place, that God actually assisted this Army; and in the Second, that the Means, by which that Assistance was procured, were theStrictness of the Discipline and the Religious Duties, that wereobserved in it; tho' he himself should never Join in the one, orSubmit to the other, but against his Will, and with the utmostReluctancy. I am persuaded, that such an Opinion, well rivetted in aMan, would, in such an Army as I am speaking of, be of vast Use to himin all Adventures and Expeditions of War; and that, if he was fit atall to be made a soldier, it would in the Day of Battle inspire himwith a Confidence and Undauntedness, which the same man could neverhave acquired, _Cęteris Paribus_, if he had served among other troops, where Divine Worship had been little insisted upon, or but slightlyperform'd. And if this be true, I have proved to you, that Acts ofDevotion, and an outward Shew of Religion, may be serviceable to thegreatest Profligate for the obtaining of Victory, tho' the Generalshould be an _Atheist_, most of the Clergy Hypocrites, and the greatestPart of the Army wicked Men. Hor. I can see very well the Possibility, that a few Profligates, among a great many others, that were not so, might be kept in Awe bystrict Discipline, and that Acts of Devotion might be serviceable evento those, who were present at them against their Wills. But thisPossibility is only built upon a Supposition, that the Rest of theArmy should be better disposed: For if the Generality of them were notin Earnest, you could have no outward Shew of Religion; and the Thingswhich you say the obdurate wretch should be forced to hear and see, could have no Existence. No Preaching or Praying can be moving tothose, that are harden'd and inattentive; and no Man can be throwninto an Enthusiasm upon the Singing of Psalms, and shed Tears of Zealand Joy in any Part of Divine Worship, unless they give Heed to it, and are really Devout. Cleo. I am glad you start this Objection; for it puts me in Mind ofSomething, that will serve to illustrate this whole Matter, and which, if you had not mention'd this, I should have had no Opportunity tospeak of. I took for granted, you know, that in the Quarrel betweenKing and the People, there had been many honest well meaning Men, among the Sober Party, that by Artifice were drawn into the Measuresof cunning Hypocrites, who, under specious Pretences, carried on theRebellion with no other View than their own Advantage. But if yourecollect what I said then, you'll find, that many of those honestwell-meaning Men might have been very bad Christians. A Man may be afair Dealer, and wish well to his Country, and yet be very wicked inmany other Respects. But whatever Vices he may be guilty of, if hebelieves the Scriptures without Reserve, is sorry for his Sins, andsometimes really afraid, that he shall be punish'd for them in anotherWorld, he is certainly sincere in his Religion, tho' he never mends. Some of the most wicked in the World have been great Believers. Consider all the Money, that has been given to pray Souls out ofPurgatory, and who they were, that left the greatest Legacies to theChurch. The Generality of Mankind believe what they were taught intheir Youth, let that be what it will, and there is no Superstition sogross or absurd, nor any Thing so improbable or contradictory in anyReligion, but Men may be sincere in the Belief of it. What I say allthis for is to shew you, that an honest well-meaning Man may believethe Bible and be Sincere in his Religion, when he is yet very remotefrom being a good Christian. What I understand then by Sincere isevident: Now give me Leave to tell you what I mean by Wicked, and toput you in Mind of what I have said of it already; _viz_ that I gavethat Name to those, _who indulge their Passions as they come uppermost, without Regard to the Good or Hurt, which the Gratification of theirAppetites may do to the Society_. But all wicked Men are not equallyneglectful of Religious Duties, nor equally inflexible; and you won'tmeet with one in a Hundred so stubborn and averse to all Sense ofDivine Worship, as I have supposed our Profligate to be. My Reason fordrawing so bad a Character, was to convince you, that, if an outwardShew of Religion could be made serviceable to the most stubbornReprobate, it could never fail of having a good Effect upon allothers, that should be more relenting, and assist at it with lessReluctancy. Few Men are wicked for Want of good Will to be better: Thegreatest Villains have Remorses; and hardly any of them are so bad, that the Fear of an invisible Cause and future Punishment should nevermake any Impression upon them; if not in Health, at least in Sickness. If we look narrowly into the Sentiments, as well as Actions even ofthose that persist in evil Courses for many Years, and spend theirwhole Lives in Debaucheries, we shall hardly ever find, that it isbecause they are obstinately bent to be Wicked; but because they wanteither the Power to govern their Passions, or else the Resolution toset about it; that they have often wish'd, that they could lead betterLives; that they hope, God will forgive them; and that Several Timesthey have fix'd a Time for their Repentance, but that always Somethingor other interven'd, that has hinder'd them, till at last they diedwithout having ever met with the Opportunity they wish'd for. Such Menas these perhaps would never go to Prayers, or to hear a Sermon aslong as they lived, if they could help it: But most of them, if theywere forc'd to it, would behave very well, and actually receiveBenefit from being there; especially in Armies, where Nothing beingless wanted than contrite Hearts and broken Spirits, Nothing ismention'd that is mortifying, or would depress the Mind; and if everany thing melancholy is slightly touch'd upon, it is done with greatArt, and only to make a Contrast with something reviving, that isimmediately to follow, which will flatter their Pride, and make themhighly delighted with themselves. All Exhortations to Battle should bechearful and pleasing. What is required of the Men, is, that theyshould Fight undauntedly and obstinately. Therefore all Arts are madeuse of to raise and keep up their Spirits on the one Hand, and theirHatred to their Enemies on the other. To dissipate their Fears, theyare assured of the Justice and Goodness of their Cause, that Godhimself is engaged, and his Honour concern'd in it; and thattherefore, if they can but shew Zeal enough for him, and are notwanting to themselves, they need not doubt of the Victory. Hor. It is amazing, that Believers, who are so conscious of their ownWickedness, should be so easily persuaded, that God would do any Thingin their Favour. Cleo. The great Propensity we have in our Nature to flatter ourselves, makes us easy Casuists in our own Concerns. Every body knows, that God is merciful, and that all Men are Sinners. The Thought ofthis has often been a great Comfort to very bad Livers, especially ifthey could remember, that ever they wish'd to be better; which, amongBelievers, there is not One in a Hundred, but can. This goodDisposition of Mind a wicked Man may make a notable Construction of, and magnify the Merit of it, till the Reflection of it is sufficientto make his Conscience easy, and he absolves himself without theTrouble of Repentance. I can easily conceive, how one of the Vulgar, no better qualify'd, may assist at Publick Worship with Satisfaction, and even Pleasure; if Preaching and Praying are managed in the MannerI have hinted at: And it is not difficult to imagine, how by a littlepaultry Eloquence, and Violence of Gestures, a Man in this Situationmay be hurried away from his Reason, and have his Passions so artfullyplay'd upon; that feeling himself thoroughly moved, he shall mistakethe Malice of his Heart, and perhaps the Resentment of a great Woundreceived, for the Love of God and Zeal for Religion. There is anotherClass of wicked Men, that I have not touch'd upon yet; and of whichthere would always be great Numbers among such Troops as we have beenspeaking of, _viz. _ Soldiers of the Sober Party, where Swearing, Prophaneness, and all open Immorality are actually punish'd; where agrave Deportment and strict Behaviour are encouraged, and whereScripture-Language and Pretences to Holiness are in Fashion; in anArmy of which the General is firmly believed to be a Saint, and actshis part to Admiration. Hor. It is reasonable to think, I own, that in such an Army, to onesincere Man, there would always be three or four Hypocrites; for theseI suppose are the Class you mean. Cleo. They are so. And considering, that, to save Appearances, Hypocrites are at least as good as the sincere Men I have spoken of, it is impossible, that there should not be a great Shew of Religionamong them, if there were but eight or ten of them sincere in everyHundred: And where such Pains should be taken to make the Men seem tobe Godly; and this Point of outward Worship should be labour'd with somuch Diligence and Assiduity, I am persuaded, that many even of those, who should be too wicked to be Hypocrites, and to counterfeit long, would sometimes, not only pray in good Earnest, but likewise, set onby the Examples before them, be transported with real Zeal for theGood of their Cause. Hor. There is no Doubt but Enthusiasm among a Multitude is as catchingas Yawning: But I don't understand very well what you mean by toowicked to be Hypocrites; for I look upon them to be the worst of allMen. Cleo. I am very glad you named this. There are two Sorts ofHypocrites, that differ very much from one another. To distinguishthem by Names, the One I would call the Malicious, and the Other theFashionable. By malicious Hypocrites, I mean Such as pretend to agreat Deal of Religion, when they know their Pretensions to be false;who take Pains to appear Pious and Devout, in order to be Villains, and in Hopes that they shall be trusted to get an Opportunity ofdeceiving those, who believe them to be sincere. FashionableHypocrites I call those, who, without any Motive of Religion, or Senseof Duty, go to Church, in Imitation of their Neighbours; counterfeitDevotion, and, without any Design upon others, comply occasionallywith all the Rites and Ceremonies of Publick Worship, from no otherPrinciple than an Aversion to Singularity, and a Desire of being inthe Fashion. The first are, as you say, the worst of Men: but theother are rather beneficial to Society, and can only be injurious tothemselves. Hor. Your Distinction is very just, if these latter deserve to becall'd Hypocrites at all. Cleo. To make a Shew outwardly of what is not felt within, andcounterfeit what is not real, is certainly Hypocrisy, whether it doesGood or Hurt. Hor. Then, strictly speaking, good Manners and Politeness must comeunder the same Denomination. Cleo. I remember the Time you would by no Means have allow'd this. Hor. Now, you see I do, and freely own, that you have given me greatSatisfaction this afternoon; only there is one Thing you said five orsix Minutes ago, that has raised a Difficulty which I don't know howto get over. Cleo. What is it, pray? Hor. I don't think we shall have Time ---- Cleo. Supper, I see, is going in. The Fourth Dialogue Between Horatio and Cleomenes. Horatio. I am glad my little Dinner pleased you. I don't love largePieces of Meat for a small Company; especially in warm Weather: Theyheat the Room, and are offensive even upon a Side-board. Cleo. It was very handsome indeed; and _Horatio_ is elegant in everyThing. Your Favours of Yesterday, your Coming without Form, was soengaging, that I was resolved to repay the Compliment without Delay. Hor. Assure your self, that your Payment is not more prompt, than itis welcome. Cleo. I know no higher Enjoyment, than that of your Friendship. Butpray, what was the Difficulty you hinted at last Night, when Supperbroke off our Discourse? Hor. When you spoke of Preaching and Praying in Armies, you said, thatNothing was ever mention'd to them, that was mortifying, or woulddepress the Mind. I had heard the same from you in Substance more thanonce before; and I own, that the Nature of the Thing seems to require, that Soldiers should be indulg'd in their Pride, and that allExhortations to Battle should be cheerful and pleasing. But the lastTime you was speaking of this, I recollected what I had read of theSolemn Fasts, that were so frequently observed in Oliver's Days; andpresently I was puzled, and no ways able to account for the Usefulnessof them in War, by the System which you had made appear to be veryrational. The Fact it self, that _Cromwell_ appointed many Days ofFasting and Humiliation, and made them be strictly kept, isundeniable; but it is impossible, they should promote Chearfulness;and what Purpose they could have been made to serve, that was notreligious, I can not conceive. The mechanical Effect, which Fastingcan have upon the Spirits, is to lower, flatten, and depress them; andthe very Essence of Humiliation is the Mortification of Pride. Youhave own'd, that _Cromwell_ understood Human Nature, and was a craftyPolitician; but you would never allow, that he had the least Intentionof promoting Piety, or rendring his Men good Christians. Cleo. The Objection you have started seems to be of great Weight atfirst View; but if we look more narrowly into it, and examine thisAffair, as we have done some other Things, the Difficulty you labourunder will soon disappear. From the Nature of Man and Society it mustfollow, that whatever particular Vices may be more or less predominantin different Climates and different Ages, Luxury and Pride will alwaysbe reigning Sins in all civiliz'd Nations: Against these two stubborn, and always epidemic Maladies, the great Physician of the Soul has, inhis Gospel Dispensation, left us two sovereign Remedies, Fasting andHumiliation; which, when rightly used, and duely assisted with the Exerciseof Prayer, never fail to cure the Diseases I named in the most desperateCases. No method likewise is more reasonable; for, tho' _Jesus Christ_had not recommended it himself, it is impossible to think on anyPrescription, more judiciously adapted to an Ailment, than Fasting andHumiliation, accompany'd with fervent Prayer, are to Luxury and Pride. This is the Reason, that in private as well as public Disasters, andall Adversities in which is was thought that the divine Anger wasvisible, all Believers in _Christ_ have, ever since the Promulgation ofthe Gospel, made use of the aforesaid Remedies, as the most properMeans to obtain Pardon for their Offences, and render heavenpropitious to them. All Magistrates likewise, where the ChristianReligion has been national, have in general Misfortunes and all greatCalamities (whenever they happen'd) appointed Days to be solemnlykept, and set aside for Prayer, for Fasting and Humiliation. If onthese Days Men should be sincere in their Devotion; if a pains-takingClergy, of Apostolic Lives, on the one Hand, should preach Repentanceto their Hearers, and shew them the Difference between the temporalEvils, which they complain'd of, tho' they were less afflicting thanthey had deserv'd, and the eternal Miseries, which impenitent Sinnerswould unavoidably meet with, tho' now they thought little of them; ifthe Hearers, on the other, searching their Consciences withoutReserve, should reflect upon their past Conduct; if both the Clergyand the Laity should thus join in religious Exercises, and, addingreal Fasting to ardent Prayer, humble themselves before the Throne ofMercy, with Sorrow and Contrition; if, I say, the Days you speak ofwere to be spent in this Manner, they would be of use in no War, butagainst the World, the Flesh, or the Devil, the only Enemies aChristian Hero is not oblig'd to love, and over which the Triumph isthe darling Object of his Ambition, and the glorious End of hisWarfare. On the Contrary, such Fast-days would be hurtful to aSoldier, in the literal Sense of the Word, and destructive to theIntentions of all Armies; and I would as soon expect from them, thatthey should turn Men into Trees or Stones, as that they should inspirethem with martial Courage, or make them eager to fight. But skilfulPoliticians make an Advantage of every Thing, and often turn intouseful Tools the seeming Obstacles to their Ambition. The mostresolute Unbeliever, if he is a good Hypocrite, may pretend to as muchSuperstition and hold Fear, as the most timorous Bigot can be reallypossess'd with; and the First often gains his Point by making use ofthe Religion of others, where the Latter is undone by being hamper'dwith his own. Hor. This was very evident in _Oliver Cromwel_ and King _James_ theSecond. But what would you infer from it in Relation to Fast-Days? Cleo. The most sacred Institutions of Christianity may, by theAssistance of pliable Divines, be made serviceable to the mostanti-christian Purposes of Tyrants and Usuerpers: Recollect, pray, what I have said concerning Sermons and Prayers, and what is done bysome Clergymen under Pretence of Preaching the Gospel. Hor. I do, and can easily see, how Preachers, by a small Deviationfrom the Doctrine of Peace, may insensibly seduce their Hearers, and, perverting the End of their Function, set them on to Enmity, Hatred, and all Manner of Mischief: But I can't understand how Fasting andHumiliation should further, or be made any ways instrumental to thatDesign. Cleo. You have allow'd, that the Grand Point in Armies, and what hasbeen ever most labour'd among military Men, was to make them believe, that Heaven, that is, the Deity they adore, was of their Side; and itis certain, (as I have hinted before) that how widely soever Men haddiffer'd in their Sentiments concerning the invisible Cause, or theWorship it requires, they have all agreed in this; and the Use thathas been made of Religion in War has ever had a palpable Tendency thisway. The Word Fasting, indefinitely spoken, sounds very harshly to aMan of a good Stomach; but, as practis'd religiously among_Protestants_, it is hardly an Emblem of the Thing it self, and rather aJoke than any grievous Penance: At least in _England_, by keeping aFast-Day, Men mean no more, than Eating their Dinners three or fourHours later than they used to do, and perhaps no Supper that Night:Which is a Piece of Abstinence, that is so far from being likely tohave an ill Effect upon the Strength or Spirits of Men in Health andVigour, that there is not One in Fifty, whom it will not render morebrisk and lively in the next Day. I speak of People that are not inWant, and who, of dainty or courser Fate, eat as much much every Dayas their Appetite requires. As for Humiliation, it is a Word ofCourse. Fast-Days, bar the Abstinence already mention'd, are kept nootherwise, than the _Sunday_ is. In the Army of the Rebels, theChaplains perhaps preach'd and pray'd somewhat longer on those Days, and read a few Chapters more in the Bible, than was usual for them todo on a Sabbath-Day. But that was all. Hor. But you have allow'd, that many of the _Roundheads_ were sincere intheir Religion, and that most of the Soldiers, tho' they were badChristians, were still Believers. It is unreasonable to think, thatthe Solemnity of those Days, and the continual Shew of Devotion theywere spent in, should have made no Impression upon a considerable Partof such a Multitude, as you your self suppose their Army to have been. Where a great Number of the Vulgar, who believe Hell-Torments andFire Everlasting, are forced to hear, first their Lives laid open, andtheir Iniquities display'd, and, after that, all the terrible Things, that the Parson can say of Eternal Misery, it is impossible, that manyof them should not be affected with Fear and Sorrow, at least for thatTime: However, this is beyond all Dispute, that the mildestRemonstrances that can be made on that Head, will sooner dispose Mento Melancholy, than they will to Chearfulness. Cleo. All this while you take that for granted, which I told you longago was notoriously false; _viz_. That in camps and Armies, the plainDoctrine of _Christ_ is delivered without Disguise or Dissimulation:Nay, I hinted to you just now, that if Repentance was preach'd amongMilitary Men, as might be expected from Christian Divines, Solderswould be in Danger of being spoil'd by it, and render'd unfit fortheir Business. All knowing Clergymen, at first Setting out, suitthemselves and their Doctrine to the Occupations, as well asCapacities of their Hearers: And as Court Preachers speak in Praise ofthe Government, and applaud the Measures of it, shade the Vices ofPrinces and their Favourites, and place their Merit in the handsomestLight it can be seen in so Divines in Armies speak up for the Justiceof the Cause they are engaged in, and extol the Generals to the Skies;cajole and curry Favour with the Troops, and flatter more particularlythe respective Regiments they belong to. There is not a Chaplain in anArmy, who is not perfectly well acquainted with the Duty of a Soldier, and what is required of him. Therefore they preach Christianity tothem, as far as it is consistent with that Duty, and no farther. Wherethey interfere, and are clashing with one another, the Gospel is setaside. The Politician must have his Business done: Necessity ispleaded, and Religion ever made to give Way to the Urgency of Affairs. There is a vast Latitude in Preaching; and Clergymen often take greatLiberties: Being as much subject to Errour and Passion as otherPeople, they can give bad Counsel as well as good. Those, who arepleas'd with a Government, we see, preach one way; and those who arenot, another. Above Half the Time of the last Reign, a considerablePart of the _English_ Clergy exhorted their Hearers to Sedition, and ina Contempt for the Royal Family, either openly or by sly Inuendo's, inever Sermon they preach'd: And every Thirtieth of _January_ The sameChurch furnishes us with two contrary Doctrines: For whilst the moreprudent and moderate of the Clergy are shifting and trimming betweentwo Parties, the hot ones of one side assert with Vehemence, that itis meritorious as well as lawful for the people, to put their King toDeath whenever he deserves it; and that of this Demerit, the Majorityof the same People are the only Judges. The Zealots on the other, areas positive, that Kings are not accountable for their Actions, but toGod only; and that, whatever Enormities they may commit, it is adamnable Sin for Subjects to resist them. And if an impartial Man, tho' he was the wisest in the World, was to judge of the Monarch, whose unfortunate End is the common Topick of the Discourses held onthat Day, and he had no other Light to guide him, but the Sermons ofboth Parties, it would be impossible for him to decide, whether thePrince in Question had been a spotless Saint, or the greatest Tyrant. I name these obvious Facts, because they are familiar Instances of ourown Time, to convince us, that the Gospel is no Clog which Divinesthink themselves strictly tied to. A skilful Preacher, whether it be aFast, or a Day of Rejoycing, always finds Ways to pursue his End, instills into his Hearers whatever he pleases, and never dismisses anAudience, before he has acquainted them with what he would have themknow; let the Subject, or the Occasion he preaches upon, be what theywill. Besides, an artful Orator may mention frightful Things withoutgiving Uneasiness to his Hearers. He may set forth the Enormity of anygreat Sin, and the Certainty of the Punishment, that is to follow it. He may display and dwell upon the Terrors of the Divine Vengeance fora considerable Time, and turn at last all the Weight of it upon theirAdversaries; and having demonstrated to his Audience, that those whomthey are to fight against, or else the great Grandfathers of them, have been notoriously guilty of that Wickedness, which is so heinousin the Sight of Heaven, he may easily convince Believers, that theirEnemies must of Necessity be likewise the Enemies of God. If anyDisgrace has happen'd to an Army, or some of the Men have misbehaved, a wary Preacher, instead of calling them Cowards, will lay all theFault on their little Faith, their trusting too much to the Arm of theFlesh, and assure them, that they would have conquer'd, if they hadput greater Confidence in God; and more entirely rely'd on hisAssistance. Hor. And so not have fought at all. Cleo. The Coherence of these Things is never examin'd into. It ispossible likewise for a crafty Divine, in order to rouse a listlessand dejected Audience, first to awaken them with lively Images of theTorments of Hell and the State of Damnation, and afterwards seemhappily to light on an Expedient, that shall create new Hopes, andrevive the drooping Spirits of a Multitude; and by this Means theCourage of Soldiers may often be wrought up to a higher Pitch than itcould have been rais'd, if they had not been terrify'd at all. I haveheard of an Instance, where this was perform'd with great Success. Provisions had been scarce for some Time; and the Enemy was just atHand; and Abundance of the Men seem'd to have little Mind to fight;when a Preacher, much esteem'd among the Soldiers, took the followingMethod: First, he set faithfully before them their Sins andWickedness, the many Warnings that they had received to repent, andGod's long Forbearance, as well as great Mercy, in not having totallydestroy'd them long ago. He represented their Wants, and Scarcity ofProvision, as a certain Token of the Divine Wrath, and shew'd themplainly, that labouring already under the Weight of his Displeasure, they had no Reason to think, that God would connive longer at theirmanifold Neglects and Transgressions. Having convinced them, thatHeaven was angry with them, he enumerated many Calamities, which, hesaid, would befal them; and several of them being such, as they hadactually to fear, he was hearken'd to as a Prophet. He then told them, that what they could suffer in this World, was of no great Moment, ifthey could but escape Eternal Punishment; but that of this (as theyhad lived) he saw not the least Probablity, they should. Having shewnan extraordinary Concern for their deplorable Condition, and seeingmany of them touch'd with Remorse, and overwhelm'd with Sorrow, hechang'd his Note on a Sudden, and with an Air of Certainty told them, that there was still one Way left, and but that one, to retrieve all, and avert the Miseries they were threaten'd with; which, in short, wasto Fight well, and beat their Enemies; and that they had Nothing elsefor it. Having thus disclosed his Mind to them, with all theAppearances of Sincerity, he assumed chearful Countenance, shew'd themthe many Advantages, that would attend the Victory; assured them ofit, if they would but exert themselves; named the Times and Places inwhich they had behaved well, not without Exaggeration, and work'd upontheir Pride so powerfully, that they took Courage, fought like Lions, and got the Day. Hor. A very good story; and whether this was preaching the Gospel ornot, it was of great Use to that Army. Cleo. It was so, politically speaking. But to act such a Part well, requires great Skill, and ought not to be attempted by an ordinaryOrator; nor is it to be tried but in desperate Cases. Hor. You have sufficiently shewn, and I am satisfied, that as Fastingis practiced, and Preaching and Praying may be managed by waryDivines, Care may be taken, that neither the Strictness of Behaviourobserved, nor the Religious Exercises perform'd on those Days, shallbe the least Hindrance to military Affairs, or any ways mortify ordispirit the Soldiers; but I cannot see, what Good they can do whereReligion is out of the Question. What Service would an _Atheist_, whoknew himself to be an Arch-Hypocrite and a Rebel (for such you allow_Cromwell_ to have been) expect from them for his Purpose? Cleo. I thought, that we had agreed, that to please the Party he wasengaged in, it was his Interest to make a great Shew of Piety amonghis Troops, and seem to be religious himself. Hor. I grant it; as I do likewise, that he throve by Hypocrisy, raisedEnthusiasm in others by Counterfeiting it himself, and that the Craftof his Clergy was many ways instrumental to his Successes: But askilful Hypocrite, and able Politician, would have made no more Routabout Religion, than there was Occasion for. They had Praying andSinging of Psalms every Day; and the Sabbath was kept with greatStrictness. The Clergy of that Army had Opportunities enough to talktheir Fill to the Soldiers, and harangue them on what Subject theypleased. They had such a Plenty of Religious Exercises, that it ishighly probable, the greatest Part of the Soldiers were glutted withthem: And if they were tired with what they had in Ordinary, what goodeffect could be expected from still more Devotion Extraordinary? Cleo. What you named last is a great Matter. What is done every Day issoon turn'd into a Habit; and the more Men are accustomed to Things, the less they mind them; but any Thing extraordinary rouses theirSpirits and raises their Attention. But to form a clear Idea of theUse and Advantage, a mere Politician, tho' he is an Unbeliever, mayreasonably expect from Fast-Days, let us take into Consideration thesetwo Things: First, the Grand _Desideratum_ in armies, that is aim'd atby Religion, and which all Generals labour to obtain by Means of theirClergy: Secondly, the common Notions among Christians, both ofReligion and of War. The First is to persuade the Soldiers, and makethem firmly believe, that their Cause is Just, and that Heaven willcertainly be on their Side; unless by their Offences they themselvesshould provoke it to be against them. All Prayers for Success, Thanksgivings for Victories obtain'd, and Humiliations after Lossesreceived, are so many different Means to strengthen the Truth of thatPersuasion, and confirm Men in the Belief of it. As to the second, Christians believe, that all Men are Sinners; that God is Just, andwill punish, here or hereafter, all Trespasses committed against him, unless they are atton'd for before we die; but that he is likewisevery merciful, and ever willing to forgive those, who sincerelyrepent. And as to War, that it is, as all human Affairs are, entirelyunder his Direction, and that the side whom he is pleased to favour, beats the other. This is the general Opinion, as well of those whohold a Free-agency, as of those who are for Predestination. A cursoryView of these two Things, the Notions Men have of Providence and theGrand Point to be obtain'd in Armies, will give us a clear Idea of aClergyman's Task among Military Men, and shew us both the Design ofFast-Days, and the Effect they are like to produce. Hor. The design of them is to gain the Divine Favour and Assistance;that's plain enough; but how you are sure, they will have that Effect, I can't see. Cleo. You mistake the thing. The Politician may have no Thoughts ofHeaven: The Effect I speak of relates to the Soldiers; and is theInfluence, which, in all Probablility, Fast-Days will have uponBelievers, that assist in the keeping of them. Hor. What Influence is that, pray, if it be not Religious? Cleo. That they will inspire, and fill the Men with fresh Hopes, thatGod will favour them and be of their Side. The Reputation of thoseDays, that they avert the Divine Wrath, and are acceptable to Heaven, is, in a great Measure, the Cause, that they have this Influence uponthe Men. The Heathens harbour'd the same Sentiments of their PublickSupplications; and it has been the Opinion of all Ages, that the moreSolemn and Respectful the Addresses are, which Men put up to theDeity, and the greater the Numbers are that join in them, the moreprobable it is, that their Petitions shall be granted. It is possibletherefore, that a Politician may appoint Extraordinary Days ofDevotion, with no other View than to chear up the Soldier, revive hisHopes, and make him confident of Success. Men are ready enough toflatter themselves, and willing to believe, that Heaven is on theirSide, whenever it is told them, tho' they have little Reason to thinkso. But then they are unsteady, and naturally prone to Superstition, which often raises new Doubts and Fears in them. Therefore CommonSoldiers are continually to be buoy'd up in the good Opinion they haveof themselves; and the Hopes they were made to conceive, ought oftento be stirr'd up in them afresh. The Benefit that accrues from thoseExtraordinary Days of Devotion, and the Advantages expected from them, are of longer Duration, than just the Time they are kept in. With alittle Help of the Clergy, they are made to do Good when they areover; and two or three Days or a Week after, the Usefulness of them ismore conspicuous than it was before. It is in the Power of theGeneral, or any Government whatever, to have those Days as strictlykept, to outward Appearance, as they please. All Shops may be order'dto be shut, and Exercises of Devotion to be continued from Morningtill Night; nothing suffer'd to be bought, or sold during the Time ofDivine Service; and all Labour as well as Diversion be strictlyprohibited. This having been well executed makes an admirable Topickfor a Preacher, when the Day is over, especially among Military Men;and Nothing can furnish a Divine with a finer Opportunity ofcommending, and highly praising his Audience, without Suspicion ofFlattery, than the Solemnity of such a Day. He may set forth theoutward Face of it in a lively Manner, expatiate on the variousDecorums, and Religious Beauties of it; and by faithfully representingwhat Every body remembers of it, gain Credit to every Thing he saysbesides. He may magnify and safely enlarge on the Self-denial, thatwas practised on that Day; and, ascribing to the Goodness and Piety ofthe Soldiers, what in his Heart he knows to have been altogether owingto Discipline, and the strict Commands of the General, he may easilymake them believe, that greater Godliness and a more generalHumiliation never had been seen in an Army. If he has Wit, and is aMan of Parts, he'll find out Quaint _Similes_, Happy Turns, andPlausible Arguments, to illustrate his Assertions, and give an Air ofTruth to every Thing he advances. If it suits with the Times, he'llwork himself up into Rapture and Enthusiasm, congratulate hisRegiment, if not the whole Army, on the undeniable Proofs they havegiven of being good Christians, and with Tears in his Eyes wish themJoy of their Conversion, and the infallible Tokens they have receivedof the Divine Mercy. If a grave Divine, of good Repute, acts this, ashe should do, with an artful Innocence and Chearfulness in hisCountenance, it is incredible what an Effect it may have upon thegreater part of a Multitude, amongst whom Christianity is not scoff'dat, and Pretences to Purity are in Fashion. Those who were any waysdevout on that Day, which he points at, or can but remember that theywish'd to be Godly, will swallow with Greediness whatever such aPreacher delivers to them; and applauding every Sentence before it isquite finish'd, imagine, that in their Hearts they feel the Truth ofevery Word he utters. We are naturally so prone to think well of ourSelves, that an artful Man, who is thought to be serious, andharangues a vulgar Audience, can hardly say any Thing in their Behalf, which they will not believe. One would imagine, that Men, who gave butlittle Heed to the Religious Exercises they assisted at, could receiveno great Comfort from their Reflection on that Day; such, I mean, aswere tired to Death with the Length of the Prayers, and almost sleptas they stood the greatest Part of the Sermon; yet many of these, hearing the Behaviour of the Army in General well spoken of, would bestupid enough to take Share in the Praise; and remembring theUneasiness they felt, make a Merit of the very Fatigue they then borewith Impatience. Most of the Vulgar, that are not averse to Religion, have a wild Notion of Debtor and Creditor betwen themselves andHeaven. Natural gratitude teaches them, that some returns must be duefor the good Things they receive; and they look upon Divine Service asthe only Payment they are able to make. Thousands have made thisAcknowledgment in their Hearts, that never after cared to think on thevast Debt they owed. But how careless and neglectful soever most ofthem may be in the Discharge of their Duty, yet they never forget toplace to their Accounts, and magnify in their Minds, what little Timethey spend, and the least Trouble they are at in performing what canbut seem to have any Relation to Religious Worship; and, what isastonishing, draw a Comfort from them by barely shutting their Eyesagainst the frightful Balance. Many of these are very well pleasedwith themselves after a sound Nap at Church, whole Consciences wouldbe less easy, if they had stay'd from it. Nay, so extensive is theUsefulness of those Extraordinary Devotions, appointed by Authority, in Politicks only, that the most inattentive Wretch, and the greatestReprobate, that can be in such an Army, may receive Benefit from them;and the Reflection on a Fast-Day, may be an Advantage to him as aSoldier. For tho' he cursed the Chaplain in his Heart, for preachingsuch a tedious while as he did, and wish'd the General damn'd, bywhose Order he was kept from Strong Liquor such an unreasonable Time;yet he recollects, the Nothing went forward but Acts of Devotion allthe Day long; that every Sutler's Tent was shut; and that it was Six aClock before he could get a Drop of Drink. Whilst these Things arefresh in his Memory, it is hardly possible, that he should ever thinkof the Enemy, of Battles, or of Sieges, without receiving real Comfortfrom what he remembers of that Day. It is incredible what a strongImpression the Face, the outward Appearance only of such a Day, maymake upon a loose wicked Fellow, who hardly ever had a ReligiousThought in his Life; and how powerfully the Remembrance of it mayinspire him with Courage and Confidence of Triumph, if he is not anUnbeliever. Hor. I have not forgot what you said Yesterday of the obdurateSoldier; and I believe heartily, that the greatest Rogue may buildHopes of Success on the Devotion of others, whom he thinks to beSincere, Cleo. And if the bare outward Shew of such a Day, can any ways affectthe worst of an Army, there is no Doubt, but the better Sort of themmay get infinitely more Benefit by keeping it, and giving Attention tothe greatest Part of the Preaching and Praying that are perform'd uponit. And tho' in Camps, there are not many Men of real Probity, anymore than in Courts; and Soldiers, who are sincere in their Religion, and only misled in the Duties of it, are very scarce; yet in mostMultitudes, especially of the sober Party, there are ignorantWell-wishers to Religion, that, by proper Means, may be raised toDevotion for a Time and of whom I have said, that tho' they were badLivers, they often desired to repent; and would sometimes actually setabout it, if their Passions would let them. All these an artfulPreacher may persuade to any Thing, and do with them almost what hepleases. A bold Assurance of Victory, emphatically pronounc'd by apopular Preacher, has often been as little doubted of among such, asif it had been a Voice from Heaven. Hor. I now plainly see the vast Use that may be made of Fast-Days, aswell afterwards when they are over, as during the Time they are kept. Cleo. The Days of Supplication among the Heathens, as I hinted before, were celebrated for the same Purpose; but their Arts to make Peoplebelieve, that the Deity was on their side, and Heaven espoused theirCause, were very trifling in Comparison to those of Christian Divines. When the _Pagan_ Priests had told the People, that the Chickens had eattheir Meat very well, and the Entrails of the Victim were found, andthat the Rest of the Omens were lucky, they had done, and were forcedto leave the Belief of those Things to the Soldiers. But-- Hor. You need not to say any more, for I am convinced, and have now soclear an Idea of the Usefulness of Extraordinary Devotions, and agreat Shew of Piety, among military Men; I mean the PoliticalUsefulness of them, abstract from all Thoughts of Religion; that Ibegin to think them necessary, and wonder, how great and wise Generalsever would or could do without them. For it is evident, that since thePrince of _Conde's_ and _Cromwel's_ Armies, such a Shew of Godliness hasnot been seen among any regular Troops, in any considerable Body ofMen. Why did not _Luxemburg_, King _William_, Prince _Eugene_, and the Dukeof _Marlborough_ follow those great Examples, in modelling their Armiesafter a Manner that had bred such good Soldiers? Cleo. We are to consider, that such a Shew of Piety and outwardDevotion, as we have been speaking of, is not to be created andstarted up at once, nor indeed to be made practicable but among suchTroops as the _Huguenots_ in _France_, and the _Roundheads_ in _England_were. Their Quarrels with their Adversaries were chiefly Religious; andthe greatest Complaints of the Malecontents in both Nations were madeagainst the Establish'd Church. They exclaim'd against the Ceremoniesand Superstition of it; the Lives of the Clergy, the Haughtiness ofthe Prelates, and the little Care that was taken of Christianity itself and good Morals. People, who advance these Things, must bethought very inconsistent with themselves, unless they are more upontheir Guard, and lead stricter Lives than those, whom they find Faultwith. All Ministers likewise, who pretend to dissent from a Communion, must make a sad Figure, unless they will reform, or at least seem toreform every Thing they blame in their Adversaries. If you'll duelyweigh what I have said, you will find it impossible to have an Army, in which outward Godliness shall be so conspicuous, as it was in thePrince of _Conde's_ or _Oliver Cromwel's_, unless that Godliness suitedwith the times. Hor. What peculiar Conjuncture, pray, does that require. Cleo. When a considerable Part of a Nation, for some End or other, seem to mend, and set up for Reformation; when Virtue and Sobriety arecountenanced by many of the better Sort; and to appear Religious ismade Fashionable. Such was the Time in which _Cromwell_ enter'd himselfinto the Parliament's Service. What he aim'd at first was Applause;and skilfully suiting himself in every Respect to the Spirit of hisparty, he studied Day and Night to gain the good Opinion of the Army. He would have done the same, if he had been on the other Side. TheChief Motive of all his Actions was Ambition, and what he wanted wasimmortal Fame. This End he steadily pursued: All his Faculties weremade subservient to it; and no Genius was ever more supple to hisInterest. He could take Delight in being Just, Humane and Munificent, and with equal Pleasure he could oppress, persecute and plunder, if itserved his Purpose. In the most Treacherous Contrivance to hasten theExecution of his blackest Design, he could counterfeit Enthusiasm, andseem to be a Saint. But the most enormous of his Crimes proceeded fromno worse Principle, than the best of his Atchievements. In the Midstof his Villanies he was a Slave to Business; and the mostdisinterested Patriot never watch'd over the Publick Welfare, both atHome and Abroad, with greater Care and Assiduity, or retriev'd thefallen Credit of a Nation in less Time than this Usurper: But all wasfor himself; and he never had a Thought on the Glory of _England_, before he had made it inseparable from his own. Hor. I don't wonder you dwell so long upon Cromwell, for Nothing canbe more serviceable to your System, than his Life and Actions. Cleo. You will pardon the Excursion, when I own, that you have hitupon the Reason. What I intended to shew, when I ran away from mySubject, was, that able Politicians consult the Humour of the Age, andthe Conjuncture they live in, and that _Cromwell_ made the most of his. I don't question, but he would have done the same, if he had been bornthree or four score Years later. And if he had been to command an_English_ Army abroad, when the Duke of _Marlborough_ did, I am persuaded, that he would sooner have endeavoured to make all his Soldiers dancingMasters, than he would have attempted to make them Bigots. There aremore ways than one, to make People brave and obstinate in Fighting. What in _Oliver'_s Days was intended by a Mask of Religion and a Shew ofSanctity, is now aim'd at by the Height of Politeness, and a perpetualAttachment to the Principle of modern Honour. There is a Spirit ofGentility introduced among military Men, both Officers and Soldiers, of which there was yet little to be seen in the last Century, in anyPart of _Europe, _ and which now shines through all their Vices andDebaucheries. Hor. This is a new Discovery; pray, what does it consist in? Cleo. Officers are less rough and boisterous in their Manners, and notonly more careful of themselves, and their own Behaviour, but theylikewise oblige and force their Men under severe Penalties to be Neat, and keep themselves Clean: And a much greater Stress is laid uponthis, than was Forty or Fifty Years ago. Hor. I believe there is, and approve of it very much; white Gaitersare a vast Addition to a clever Fellow in Regimental Cloaths; but whatmighty Matters can you expect from a Soldier's being obliged to beclean. Cleo. I look upon it as a great Improvement in the Art of Flattery, and a finer Stratagem to raise the Passion of Self-liking in Men, thanhad been invented yet; for by this Means the Gratification of theirVanity is made Part of the Discipline; and their Pride must encreasein Proportion to the Strictness, with which they observe this Duty. Hor. It may be of greater Weight than I can see at Present. But I haveanother Question to ask. The main Things, that in raising Troops, andmaking War, Politicians are solicitous about, and which they seemaltogether to rely upon, are Money, great Numbers, Art and Discipline. I want to know, why Generals, who can have no Hopes, from the Age theylive in, of thriving by Bigotry, should yet put themselves to such anExpence, on Account of Religion in their Armies, as they all do. Whyshould they pay for Preaching for Praying at all, if they laid noStress upon them? Cleo. I never said, that the great Generals, you nam'd, laid no Stresson Preaching or Praying. Hor. But Yesterday, speaking of the Gallantry of our Men in _Spain_ and_Flanders_, you said, that you _would as soon believe, that it wasWitchcraft that made them Brave, as that it was their Religion_. Youcould mean Nothing else by this, than that, whatever it was, you wasvery sure, it was not their Religion that made them Brave. How comeyou to be so very sure of that? Cleo. I judge from undeniable Facts, the loose and wicked Lives, theGenerality of them led, and the Courage and Intrepidity they were onmany Occasions. For of Thousands of them it was as evident as the Sun, that they were very Vicious, at the same Time that they were veryBrave. Hor. But they had Divine Service among them; every Regiment had aChaplain; and Religion was certainly taken care of. Cleo. It was, I know it; but not more than was absolutely necessary tohinder the Vulgar from suspecting, that Religion was neglected bytheir Superiours; which would be of dangerous Consequence to allGovernments. There are no great Numbers of Men without Superstition;and if it was to be tried, and the most skilful Unbelievers were tolabour at it, with all imaginable Cunning and Industry, it would bealtogether as impossible to get an Army of all _Atheists_, as it wouldbe to have an Army of good Christians. Therefore no Multitudes can beso universally wicked, that there should not be some among them, uponwhom the Suspicion, I hinted at, would have a bad Effect. It isinconceiveable, how Wickedness, Ignorance, and Folly are often blendedtogether. There are, among all Mobs, vicious Fellows, that boggle atno Sin; and whilst they know Nothing to the Contrary, but that DivineService is taken care of as it used to be, tho' they never come nearit, are perfectly easy in their Evil Courses, who yet would beextremely shock'd, should Any body tell them seriously, that there wasno Devil. Hor. I have known such my self; and I see plainly, that the Use, whichPoliticians may make of Christianity in Armies, is the same as everwas made of all other Religions on the same Occasion, _viz_. That thePreists, who preside over them, should humour and make the most of theNatural Superstition of all Multitudes, and take great Care, that onall Emergencies, the Fear of an invisible Cause, which Every body isborn with, should never be turn'd against the Interest those, whoemploy them. Cleo. It is certain, that Christianity being once stript of theSeverity of its Discipline, and its most essential Precepts, theDesign of it may be so skilfully perverted from its real and originalScope, as to be made subservient to any worldly End or Purpose, aPolitician can have Occasion for. Hor. I love to hear you; and to shew you, that I have not beenaltogether inattentive, I believe I can repeat to you most of theHeads of your Discourse, since you finish'd what you had to sayconcerning the Origin of Honour. You have proved to my Satisfaction, that no Preaching of the Gospel, or strict Adherence to the Preceptsof it, will make men good Soldiers, any more than they will make themgood Painters, or any thing else the most remote from the Design ofit. That good Christians, strictly speaking, can never presume orsubmit to be Soldiers. That Clergymen under Pretence of Preaching theGospel, by a small Deviation from it, may easily misguide theirHearers, and not only make them fight in a just Cause, and against theEnemies of their Country, but likewise incite them to civil Discordand all Manner of Mischief. That by the Artifices of such Divines, even honest and well-meaning Men have often been seduced from theirDuty, and, tho' they were sincere in their Religion, been made to actquite contrary to the Precepts of it. You have given me a full View ofthe Latitude, that may be taken in Preaching, by putting me in Mind ofan undeniable Truth; _viz_. That in all the Quarrels among Christians, there never yet was a Cause so bad, but, if it could find an Army toback it, there were always Clergymen ready to justify and maintain it. You have made it plain to me, that Divine Service and ReligiousExercises may be ordered and strictly enjoin'd with no other thanPolitical Views; that by Preaching and Praying, bad Christians may beinspired with Hatred to their Enemies, and Confidence in the DivineFavour; that in order to obtain the Victory, Godliness and an outwardShew of Piety among Soldiers may be made serviceble to the greatestProfligates, who never join in Prayer, have no Thoughts of Religion, or ever assist at any Publick Worship, but by Compulsion and withReluctancy; and that they may have this effect in an Army, of whichthe General is an _Atheist_, most of the Clergy are Hypocrites, and theGenerality of the Soldiers wicked Men. You have made it evident, thatneither the _Huguenots_ in _France_, nor the _Roundheads_ in _England_could have been animated by the Spirit of Christianity; and shewn methe true Reason, why Acts of Devotion were more frequent, and Religionseemingly more taken care of in both those Armies, than otherwise isusual among military Men. Cleo. You have a good Memory. Hor. I must have a very bad one, if I could not remember thus much. Inall the Things I nam'd, I am very clear. The solution likewise, whichyou have given of the Difficulty I proposed this Afternoon, I haveNothing to object to; and I believe, that skilful Preachers consultthe Occupations as well as the Capacities of their Hearers; thattherefore in Armies they always encourage and chear up theirAudiences; and that whatever the Day or the Occasion may be, uponwhich they harangue them, they seldom touch upon mortifying Truths, and take great Care never to leave them in a Melancholy Humour, orsuch an Opinion of themselves or their Affairs as might lower theirSpirits, or depress their Minds. I am likewise of your Opinion, as toartful Politicians; that they fall in with the Humour of their Party, and make the most of the Conjuncture they live in; and I believe, that, if _Cromwell_ had been to Command the Duke of _Marlborough_'s Army, he would have taken quite other Measures, than he did in his own Time. Upon the whole, you have given me a clear Idea, and laid open to methe real Principle of that great wicked Man. I can now reconcile theBravest and most Gallant of his Atchievements, with his vilest and themost treacherous of his Actions; and tracing every Thing, he did, fromone and the same Motive, I can solve several Difficulties concerninghis Character, that would be inexplicable, if that vast Genius hadbeen govern'd by any Thing but his Ambition; and, if following thecommon Opinion, we suppose him to have been a Compound of a daringVillain and an Enthusiastical Bigot. Cleo. I am not a little proud of your Concurrence with me. Hor. You have made out, with Perspicuity, every Thing you haveadvanced both Yesterday and to Day, concerning the Political Use, thatmay be made of Clergymen in War; but, after all, I can't see whatHonour you have done to the Christian Religion, which yet you everseem strenuously to contend for, whilst you are treating every Thingelse with the utmost Freedom. I am not prepared to reply to severalThings, which, I know, you might answer: Therefore I desire, that wemay break off our Discourse here. I will think on it, and wait on youin a few Days; for I shall long to be set to Rights in this Point. Cleo. Whenever you please; and I will shew you, that no Discovery ofthe Craft, or Insincerity of Men can ever bring any Dishonour upon theChristian Religion it self, I mean the Doctrine of _Christ_, which canonly be learn'd from the New Testament, where it will ever remain inits Purity and Lustre.