A. There's fcarce any one that does not take in this meaning, Garments, for the Righteoufnels of Chrift, without which we are naked indeed; and watching has relation to a Chriftian Warfare, which requires us always to ftand upon our Guard, but the occafion of the Expreffion perhaps is borrowed from a Cuftom among the Jews; there was a certain Of ficer that look'd after the Watchmen at Nights, and if he found any of them afleep, he beat 'em and tripp'd'em ftark naked, for their Punishment. QWhy is the first of August call'd Lammas day, above all days of the Year? 4. At that time the Popish Priests began to make Maifes, that the Lambs and Sheep might not die all that Seafon by the Cold after Sheering therefore it was called Lamb mafs day. Q Whether a Child be in Du ty bound to be of the fame Religion with the Parent, till he's by found Arguments convinc'd of the falfhood of the fame ? A. A mutable Temper is fo great a Difgrace to any Man, that none ought to change any Opinion they have once embrac'd, without feeing good reafon for't: And if Perfons would argue fairly of another Relision, they ought firft to underitand their own: Now if this holds in general, much more we think it does fo, where there's the Reverence of a Parent fuperadded to the Obligations of Reafon. Q. who they were that helpt Cam ro build the City Enoch? And whom did he build it for, feeing we read of no more Per. fons then in the World but Adam and Eve, Cain and his Wife, and his Son Enoch, immediately after the Birth of whom the building of this City is Recorded? A. This has been alfo largely reply'd to in fome of our first Pa pers. All we shall fay to it at present is, that the whole feeming force of the difficulty lies here, in what they call a Negative Argument, which indeed can conclude nothing:- 'Dis strange, it may be faid, that no more Perfons were recorded by Name, or at leaft in grofs, if there were at that time fo many in the World as to People Countries, and build Cities. But it easily appears to one who confults the manner of Writing ufed by the Sacred Authors, that this is nothing ftrange at all; for they only give a fummary account of things, Mofes especially, who in a few Chapters was to deliver the Hiftory and Chronology of feveral thousand YearsBut this he could not have done in that compafs, had be inferted the Names of all Living, nay, must have prefented us with a Muster-Roll instead of a Hiftory, without which he accomplishes what he aims at, to give us (by the Theorists leave) a true account of the Genefis of the World, and the Line of Man from Adam to Noah, and fo down to his own Time and Hiftory. Q. How thefe following Precepts of Christianity are reconcilable with right Reason, viz. Mat. 5. 44. Love your Enemies, do good to them that hate you. Mark 11. 25. Forgive, if ye have ought against any. Rom. 12. 10. Be kindly affectionate one to another, 17. Recompence to no Man evil for evil. 19 Dearly beloved, beloved, avenge not your felves; and fuch like. If thefe,and the like Scriptures be taken in their utmost extent and Latitude, and as they may be improv'd by a Logi cal Head, without any limita tion or restriction, do they not utterly forbid all Refiftance, and Self-defence, all going to Law for Defence, and recovery of Right; all Infliction of Punishment upon Offenders, all going to War up. or any account whatsoever; and if fo, what then would become of the World in a fhort time Would not the whole Face of it be foon overspread with Violence, the wicked, Strong, Rapacious, and Covetous, invade the better part of Mankind, and deprive em of their Riches, Properties and Lives? If you fay the lawfulness of Self-defence, of inflicting Punifh ment on Malefactors, of going to Law, and making War, may be evinc'd from other Scriptures, and from Reafon, pray reconcile the Scriptures above quoted, with thofe Scriptures and Reafon? A. For the first Difficulty, Love your Enemies; that its agreeable to right Reason, appears not only from fome Precepts, even in the Old Law, of obliging and affifting our Enemy, and from many more in the Prophets, but even from right Reafon, which the Heathens themselves were not ignorant of, as we doubt not but the Querift Querift very well knows, in the Inftances of Epictetus, Plutarch, Seneca, Maximus, Tyrius, and others, as has been abundantly prov'd by the mott Learned Grotius on this Subject: Tho' the fame Reason, and Scripture too, will tell us, we are to gainst any. Paraphrafes it : make a difference in the degrees of our Love to Friends and Enemies; the latter of which, tho' we are bid, Love, we are no where commanded to truft or believe 'em. For the fecond place, Forgive, if you have ought aDr. Hammond thus "Put all Malice "from you, and be filled with all Charity, even to your Enemies. In the next, Be kindly affectio ned one to another, there's no difficulty, it coming fhort of forgiving one another. For the next, Recompence to no Man evil for evil, there's more of difficulty in it: But we'll for once chufe to explain this by a yet harder Text, that in Mat. 5.39.Refift not Evil; concerning which Dr. Hammond has a particular Differtation, p. 53. of his Paraphrafe; for after having thus given the meaning on't in fhort, his way is, "That you op pose not Violence to the inju rious Man; but on the contrary, "whofoever shall ufe thee contu 66 melioufly, bear it patiently, as to turn the Cheek fignifies Pro"verbially; yea though this were "likely to bring the fame upon thee another time; in matters of this light Nature, venture that, rather than think "of oppofing Violence to it. "After this, in his Note on the word avnsavou, here ufed, he fays its much of the same sense with the Phrafe in the Romans, vaxov avtí κακά αποδιδόντες, Repaying evil for evil, or avenging themfelves. We are here, he fays, forbid to "ule Violence against any, by "which Precept, as fet in oppofi"tion to the Lex Talionis of the Jews, he adds, 'twill appear that in Cafes of that Nature, a M m 3 Light 66 "Light contumely, &c. Not only Private Revenge is Interdicted Christianity, but also exacting legal Revenge before the MagiAtrate. Now to take these, or the like Scriptures without any reftriction or limitation, is not the part of a Logical, but Sophistical Head, or at least of one that thinks at all Adventures. For the reconciling the Scriptures above quoted, with felf-defence, lawful War, and other Scriptures, we think there's no great difficulty. In most, if not all the Cafes mentioned, a Chriftian is confider'd as a private Perfon, fuch as all our Saviours Followers were to be, while that of the Father was true of 'em Cadebantur non cedebant- whereas inflict ing Punishment on Malefactors, and making lawful war, are Publick Acts and that A&s of Charity too to the rest of the World. For not going to Law, the difficulty vavanishes if we take Dr. Hammond's Sense of the words, A. 'Tis much eafier to reconcile the Dictates of the Holy Spirit with each other, and with right Reason, than the Practices of those who are call'd Chriftians, with eitherWe with we could do it, but muft defpair on't The Event fhows that even Almighty Power and Wildom either will not or cannot do this, without putting a Violence on the Nature of Man, and destroying the most to make a few happy: Though neither we think are these Precepts violated by a neceffary Lawful War, not profecuted to Barbarous Extremities, the Magiftrate being intrufted by God with the Lives and Estates of the Subjects, for Prefervation whereof Government was first inftituted; nor furely did Chrift come to turn the World upside down, in that fenfe in which his Apoftles were accus'd for doing it. Thus we have endeavour'd to fatisfie the Gentleman's Objections. That--Scruples we can't call 'em for we doubt not but he's fufficiently clear in these matters in his own Mind, and better Judgment If he pleases to object any thing against our Reply, we'll endeavour to answer it. in cafe of any inconfiderable Injury done us, as taking a "Shirt, or fome fuch Garment "from us by a Suit of Law, "(which he calls Civil Violence) "we should not meditate Revenge, "or fly to Force, though by that "Pacific means we incur the danger of a greater Lofs. ડ tr Q Was there ever such a Man as Mofes ? If there was, which of the Ancient Greeks and Heathens mention him? Q How may the Practice of the generality, nay, I think all A. Numenius Apamenfis a PyChriftians, be reconciled to thefe thagorian Philofopher, Cited by Precepts? If wounding or killing Ariftobulus in a Book dedicated to our Neighbour, or deftroying his Ptolomy: Philometer the PhiloCountry, be an Argument of our fopher delivers, that Jannes and loving him? Or if they concern Jambres came not far behind the only private Men and not Socie-great Mofes in the matter of the ties, are not Societies and Magi-Plagues. The Arabian Geogra Strates as much oblig'd by the pher, Geograph. Nubrenj. p. s. Laws of Chriftian Religion as Climat. 2. p. 5. Climat, 3. menany other? tions Mofes. We fhall only add one other Moral Argument, to wit, That if the whole Hiftory of the Law and Mofes had not been a certain truth, the Jews themselves would have difown'd it, fince his Precepts and Injunctions were fo very fevere, the Laws that he gave 'em punishing very small Crimes with Death, continually upbraid ing 'em with their Difobedience, the fcandalous Crimes of theirForefathers, &c.which they could never have born and fubmitted to, were they Men of the fame Paffions and Affections as the rest of the World, which we need not go far to be perfuaded of. I Gentlemen, tions these Magi as contending, verfaries that ever Chriftianity had, with Mofes; and Agatharchides never made themselves fo ridicu of Gnidus, who wrote the Hi-lous against all Hiftory, as to deny ftory of Alexander's Succeffors, objects Prolomy's inglorions tak ing Jerufalem upon the Sabbathday, he condemning the Jews for fuffering themselves to be made Vaffals, rather than defend themfelves on that day, which was one of Mofes's Commands in the Law. Orpheus, and many more, men. tion him. But fome will object, there is nothing remaining of the true Orpheus, it he is brought against their Opinion. Apion fays he was a Heathen Prieft, and Philo in Vita Mofi, that he was a Lawgiver. 'Tis evident as History can make it, that there was fuch a Man as Cyrus, King of Perfia, whofe Life Xenophon wrote, Diodorus and the Apocrypha mention; this Cyrus publish'd his Decree for the Jews to rebuild their Temple to Worship at Ferufalem; it follows then that they had a Temple before Cyrus's time, and a Worship which was no other than the Law of Mofes their Law-giver. To fuch that object that this only proves that there was one call'd Mofes, which was fuppos'd to be this Perfon; we anfwer, that fince all Hiftories that mentions bim, grants it, and none denies it, it would be hard for the Objector to affign the time when fuch a fignal Deliverance was firft impos'd upon the Credulous part of Man-did the first moment I faw him. kind, for 'tis this that will lie at Now, Gentillmen, I beg your their Door to prove. That there Answer what I must do in this was fuch a Man, the Egyptians, Ceafe, leave him I never can; all Arabians, Perfians, &c. have I defire is, that he will never recorded, from whom the Greeks marry unless it is to me, or elfe had their hints, Was fo well never forfake me; for if he do known, that Porphyrie and Celfus, I jhall certainly murder my self. the two learnedit and fubtilelt Ad: I bags your Advife in your next M m 4 Have been in Love this three Years, almoft to Distraction -I have had one Child by him I love fo dear: He is very fevil to me, but vifits me very feldom, unless I fend to him, and then be is angerry; then am I one ten thousand Racks, and could murder my felf. I have been advised by all my Friends never to see him more, I have (trived to do it, but can't; for if he's from me but a Week, I think it an Age; So that I find it altogether impoffable Ever for me to allter my Refolu fhon, or love him less now than I Mercury Mercury thus bagging your Pardons, I hope you will give a charitable answer to a difconten ted Womans Question? come to; or if they are taken in the Snare, how they may difentangle themselves, if it ben't yet too late. She fays he has been advis'd and refolv'd never to fee the perjur'd Man more, but fan A. If the Querift had not fpe cify'd her Character and Quality, it might have been guefs'd at with-cies 'tis impoffible ever to do it, out much difficulty, by her way of Spelling and Writing. Whoe'er the be, he's miferable enough, being infected at once with the two greateft Plagues of her Sex, Proftitution and Love. How civil her Spark has been to her, appears by the Effects; and how conflant, by her being forc'd to dun him for his Company, and his refentments for her doing it and would fain have him either marry her, or never leave her, that is, continue in a certain Course of Sin,to the end of one or both their Lives. For his marrying her, tho' he's, we think, indifpenfibly oblig'd to't by Confcience and Honour, if he has been faithful to him, and he first ruin'd her; yet to be plain, the ought not in this Age to flatter her felf with expectation of fuch a Piece of Heroick Honefty; and tho' perhaps he mayn't mend the Matter if he gets another Wife, yet the World's fo perverfe, that they generally had rather marry another body's whore than their own: For her defire he fhou'd ftill live as he does with her, 'tis yet infinitely worfe; it argues Impenitence in her Crime, and that the still defires to continue in it: And is befides, to fpeak Truth, but a little lefs unreajonable expectation than the other; for if he begins to be fo weary of her already, how can the expect his Fancy thou'd grow more keen, when 'tis already pall'd and fated with all the Trifles the can give him; when the might full as rea Why fhou'd the poor cheated Creature expet Impoffibilities, that a Man fhou'd continue to be true, when he has more than all he defires? Or how can fhe wonder that any is false to her, when fhe has been already fo to Vertue? She can't think Confcience thou'd be any tye to his Faith in fo wicked, or Honour in fo difkonou rable a Love. Nor is't any wonder, if a wretch who has loft whatever the bad valuable upon Earth, and whofe obfiinate Guilt won't fuffer her to look to Hea ven; or if he did, cou'd in her prefent Impenitence find nothing there for her Comfort, that the fhou'd fly to Hell for Eafe, and have no other Thoughts but thofe black and horrid ones of Defparfonably hope a Man hou'd fall to and Murder. In this miferable Condition he asks our Advice, and we the more willingly give it, because it may reach much farther than this fingle Inftance, and this fid Story either deter others from alling into the fame Circumitancer, fhowing 'em what almost all thofe fort of People muft at laft ag en upon the fame Difb,on which he is already furfeited. 'Tis then a clear Cafe, that there remains but one way for her to fave her Soul, and the broken Remains of her Shipwreckt Reputation, and that is immediately to leave him, unless he'll immediately marry her, not truiting his Promifer, |