Ler 23. Lord Bor INGBROKE. 4⁰7

of what he hath obſerved concerning eternal ideas in God, and ncer rning the eternal realons and fitneſſes of things. He f dnds great fault with Dr. Cudwort’, Dr. CGlarke, and

others, for talking of ideas in God, as if they ſuppoſed his manner of knowing to be exactly the ſame with ours; which certainly was far from their intention. He pronounces, that the doctrine of rernal ideas in the divine mind has been much abuſed by thoſe who are in the delirium of metaphyſical t oy. It cannot be u underſlood in a literal ſenſe. And „c he thinks ſuch a Way of talking is profane as well as pre ſumptuous; an d that it is filly too, and mere cant ²2.“ He has ſeveral obf ſervations, which are for the moſt part very juſt, to ſhew that God's manner of knowing is very different from ours, and that he does not know by the help or intervention of ideas as we do a. I need not take particular notice of thoſe eb. ſervations, which contain little in them, that will not be ac knowleged by thoſe whom he has thought to oppo oſe. The raſſ and improper uſe of the word ideas, as applied to God, hath no doubt led to miſtakes, and to wrong and unwarrant- able ways of expreſſion: as a ny one muſt be convinced that knows what contentions there have been in the ſchools abont the divine ideas, which have given riſe to arrogant and fooliſh queſtions, ſcarce conſiltent with the veneration that is due to the ſupreme incomprehenſible Being. Yet the modeſt uſe of that expreſſion is not to be too rigidly cenſured. Our Knth himſelf, who blames it ſo much in others, hath on ſeveral occaſions fallen into the ſame manner of expreſſion murfelf. Thus he obſerves, that%it might be determined in the divine ideaé, *«that there ſhould be a gradation of life and intelleët throu Sb. **out the univerſe b.“ And he repeats it again, that“ this peared neceſſary or fit in the divine Iuas, that is, to fhal *« more rationally, to the ſupreme divine reaſon or intention c.“ Where he uſeth the term divine ideag as equivalent to the divine reaſon and intention, though he thinks the latter more proper. He elſewhere declares, that ¹the ideas of God, if we may *¹ aſcribe ideas to him, no more than his ways, are thoſe of c man d.“ And in one of his moſt celebrated pieces publiſhed in his own life-time, he ſaith, that“ God in his eter nal ideas, «for we are able to conceive no other manner of knowing, has preſcribed to himſelf that rule by which he governs the uni-

2 Vol. iii. p. 356. a Ibid. p. 35 5, 356, 357. Vol. v. P. 35, 35, 37, 38. b Ibid. p. 337. c Ibid. p. 365. Ibid. p. 344.

D d 4**verſe