Let.. Lord HERBEERT f Cherbury. 3

But I am ſorry that I am obliged to ſay, that notwithſtanding theſe fair profeſſions, his Lordſhip on all occaſions inſinuateth prejudices againſt all revealed religion, as abſolutely uncertain, and of little or no uſe. He inveigheth promiſcuouſly, as many others have done ſince, againſt all prerences to revelation, with- out making a diſtinction between the falſe and the true. He often ſpeaks to the diſadvantage of Harticular religion, which is a name he beſtoweth upon the Chriſtian religion, and any reve- lation that is not actually known and promulgated to the whole world. And he repreſenteth it as containing doctrines, which diſguſt ſome men againſt all religion, and therefore is for recom- mending what he calls the univerſal religion, as the beſt way to prevent men's having no religion at all. And particularly he inſinuates, that the Chriſtian religion granteth pardon on too

eaſy terms, and derogateth from the obligations to virtues. A reflection which is manifeſtly owi ing toa miſapprehenſion or miſ- repreſentation of the doctrine of Chriſtianity on this head. So he elſewhere ſuppoſeth, that the faith there required is no more than a bare aſſent to the doctrines there taught, though nothing is capable of a clearer proof, than that the faith on which fo great a ſtreſs is laid in the goſpel covenant, is to be underſtood of a vital operative principle, which purifieth the heart, and is productive of good works; and that the neceſſity of true holi- neſs and virtue is there ſtrongly inculcated. The charge he ad- vanceth againſt Chriſtianity might be more juſtly retorted upon himſelf, who though he mentions it to the praiſe of his univer- ſal religion, that it giveth no licence to ſin, but bindeth men ſtrictly to the ſeverity of virtue; yet to ſhew what reaſon ſinners have to hope for pardon, offereth ſeveral pleas and excuſes that tend to extenuate the guilt of ſin. Particularly he urgeth, that men's ſins are not for the moſt part committed out of enmity againſt God, or to caſt diſnonour upon him, but with a view to their own particular advantage or pleaſure, and are choſen by them under the appearance of ſome good h. And in his book de Veritate he declares, that thoſe are not lightly to be con- demned, who are carried to ſin by their particular bodily con- ſtitution; and he inſtances particularly in the rage of luſt and anger; no more than a dropſical perſon is to be blamed for his immoderate thirſt, or a lethargic perſon for his lazineſs and inactivity. He adds indeed, that he does not ſet up as an apo-

⁵ See the appendix to his Relig. Laici, Qu. 6 à De KRelig. Gentil. p. 268. Dr. Tindal talks in the ſame ſtrain. Chriſt. as old as the Ecte p. 32. ed. 8vo.

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