lofophers, I have fomwhere read of the famous Rabbi HILLE L, that to one inquiring of him with great curiofity, What was the nature of GOD? if I knew it, my son (answered he) yet Į fhou'd be farr from telling you my thoughts about it. Letters to To illuftrate this point yet further, by what I SERENA, obferv'd on another occafion; the true reason P. 114. why at a certain time the theory of the Starrs and Planets was fo little, or at least not fo generally known in Greece, was: that the common people wou'd not endure to hear those things made fubject to a Philofophical examination, nor explain'd by the ordinary laws of nature, by involuntary causes, and blind faculties; which they were taught to be intelligent, eternal, and immortal GODS. And therfore when ANAXAGORAS discover'd that the moon had but a borrow'd light from the fun, and fo gave the reasons of its wax Invita NI- and wane, fuch a doctrine (as Plutarch affures us) durft not be made public; but was fecretly committed to very few, and even to them under a promife of fidelity. What examples cou'd I not produce to the fame purpose! СІЛЕ. ΙΠΤΙΜΑΕΟ, W XI. HERFORE, things ftanding on this foot, no wife man will deny but PLATO fpoke divinely, when he said, that to discover the creator and parent of the Universe, was difficult: but to vol. 3. p. explain his nature to the Vulgar, impoffible; which is not the lefs true, were this Vulgar ever fo willing to understand. Confonant to PLATO spoke DEMOPHILUS the Pythagorean, faying, that RAN. 28. In Sentent. te to begin any difcourfe about GOD among men of prejudic'd opinions, is by no means fafe: for whether truth be told to fuch or falfhood, tis equally dangerous. From this difficulty therfore, or rather diffidence and caution, fprung VARRO's threefold Theology, the Mythical, Phyfical, and Political; or the Fabulous, Philofophical, and Civil: wherof the firft and the last fort are certain Apud Aumasks of Truth, or rather ingenious fubterfuges Civitate from telling it. They call that the mythical Theology Dei, lib. 6. (fays VARRO) which is chiefly us'd by the Poets, the cap.5. phyfical by the Philofophers, and the political by particular nations. The firft and the laft he abfo GUSTIN de lutely rejects; but approves the fecond, which Ibid. men's ears can more eafily indure within the walls of a School, than abroad in the open Market-place: because, as he there fays, natural Theology related to the UNIVERSE, than which thofe Philofophers, fays AUGUSTIN very rightly, judge no- Ibid. thing more excellent to exift. Among the rest this is most notoriously true of the Stoics, who reduc'd all the fabulous and popular Theology to the natural; or fo explain'd all the fables of the Poets and the Vulgar, as to have been originally meant of natural caufes and effects. They were too fagacious to admit the truth of fuch things in the literal fenfe, and too prudent to reject them all as nonsense: which led them of courfe, by the principle of felf-prefervation, to impofe upon them a tolerable fenfe of their own; that they might not be deem'd wholly to deny the Religion in vogue, but to differ onely from others about the defign and interpretation of it. This artifice, which I fancy has not perifh'd with the Stoics, cou'd not escape the penetration of CICERO, who yet had fomtimes recourfe to it himself. First ZENO (fays COTTA) after him CLEAN- De Nat. THES, and then CHRYSIPPUs, were at great Deor.lib 3. pains to no purpose, to give a reasonable explica- cap. 24. tion Ibid. ib. 2. cap. 24. tion of commentitious Fables, and to account for the etymology of the very names of every GoD: which when you do, adds he, you plainly intimate, that the matter is quite otherwise than the bulk of mankind believes; you pretending that fuch as are held for GODS, do rather denote the natures of particular things, than the hiftory of divine perfons. The fame CICERO does often elfwhere exprefs his a verfion to Fables; as being, if not the parents, yet certainly the fofterers of Superftition. From another reason, fays he, and indeed a phyfical one, bas proceded a great multitude of GODS: which, being introduc'd under human shape, have Supply'd the Poets with Fables, but at the fame time bave fill'd the life of men with all forts of Superftition. He that wou'd not be at the pains of turning over many volumes, and yet is defirous to learn the Phyfical explications, which the Stoic and other Philofophers gave of the Heathen Mythology, of the very names as well as of the hiftories of each Boupvoulou God and Goddess; I recommend to him the Joela - [mall treatife written by CORNUTUS, vulgarly call'd PHURNUTUS, of the nature of the GODS, ews: or, as not onely the moft ingenious, but likewife in as in fome all respects the best. ει της των θεων φυτ Manufcripts, Κουρνου του επι δρομή των HATA IND xnv Jesel αν παρά διδομέ T XII. HATI may now return to VArro, his account of the antient triple Theology is wholly approv'd by PLUTARCH; who even tranfcribes his words, tho inverting the order a De Pacit. little, as the following paffage makes as clear as Philofoph. the fun. They, who have deliver'd unto us the lib. 1. cap.6. WORSHIP GUSTIN. de WORSHIP OF THE GODS, made ufe of three kinds of forms; the natural, the fabulous, and the legal: the Philofophers teach the natural, the Poets the fabulous, and the feveral Governments appoint their own laws; that is, by inferting into the Calenders the Heros of their own country, the Inventors of ufeful arts, and fuch as became any way Benefactors to mankind. Such as these, having been firft confecrated to immortal memory in the Fafti by the Magiftrates, were next advanc'd by the Populace into the fame immortal nature of the Gods, whofe anniversary feftivals were mark'd there and the more knowing or learned expos'd their folly, at the fame time that, by their Allegories, they pretended to vindicate thofe Gods from contemt; thus no lefs dextrously, than prudently, concealing their own opinions. Not onely before PLUTARCH, but likewife before Apud A uVARRO, the Pontif SCEVOLA diftinguish'd C.D. lib.4. these three kinds of Gods: the first owing their being to the Poets, the fecond to the Philofophers, and the third to the Legiflators or Magiftrates. The firft fort he efteem'd idle and ridiculous, nor cou'd he help judging the last to be moft falfe, or in other words an impofture; tho nevertheless he wou'd not have it much disturb'd, much less to be totally abrogated. For he was of the fame opinion, which was afterwards openly defended by MARCUS VARRO: that many things were true, Ibid. cap. which it was not onely useful the People fhou'd not 35. know; but that, tho abfolutely falfe, it was expedient the People fhou'd believe otherwife. This is at present the favorite maxim, not of two or three perfons onely in a country, who juggle with the public, and imagine that deceiving the people is the higheft Reafon of State; but tis likewife the common cant of many others, elevated indeed above the vulgar rank, but naturally timorous, or cap. 27. : or prostitute, time-fervers. We ought in the mean while moft carefully to obferve, that the Priefts were every where the cause, why the Philofophers invented thofe occult ways of fpeaking and writing. For while the Priefts induftriously conceal'd their Myfteries, left, being clearly understood, they might by the Philofophers be expos'd to the laughter of the people, as fabulous, falfe, and useless: the Philofophers, on the other hand, conceal'd their sentiments of the Nature of things, under the veil of divine allegories; left being accus'd of impiety by the Priests (which often happen'd) they might be expos'd in their turn to the hatred, if not to the fury of the Vulgar. Now the Philo fophers holding this cautious conduct to be lawful, and even neceffary, as I faid, on the account of felfprefervation; I eafily conceive the threefold paffion of a true Philofopher at facrifice to have been, defpifing the MOB, detefting the PRIEST, and delighting in his own LIBERTY. I XIII. HAVE more than once hinted, that the External and Internal Doctrine, are as much now in ufe as ever; tho the diftinction is not fo openly and profeffedly approv'd, as among the AntiThis puts me in mind of what I was told by a near relation to the old Lord SHAFTESBURY. The latter conferring one day with Major WILDMAN about the many fects of Religion in the world, they came to this conclufion at laft; that, ents. notwith |