Iffome great genius would but give an account of the actions of these men (who may be properly call'd Sainterrants) in the Life and Adventures of fome renown'd perfecuting Prince or Ecclefiaftick,who has spent his time in promoting and establishing unity and uniformity in whimfies, drefs, and forms; as the great CERVANTES has done of Knight-errantry, in the Life and Actions of DON QUIXOT, who spent his time in adventures to free the world of monsters, and to tame giants, and all in honor of DuLCINEA DEL TOBOSO, whom, tho' homely and agreeable only to his deprav'd tafte, all the world fhould be obliged to bow down before and to admire, as a confumate beauty: he might give us a more useful and entertaining work than CREVANTES has done. Saint-errantry is a more common and natural enthusiasm than Knight-errantry, which was an enthusiasm, but of yesterday and of small duration and extent; and therefore Saint-er rantry Fantry has furnish'd materials in almost all ages, and infinite materials in particular ages, which are recorded in history, but especially in ecclefiaftical history. But till a new CERVANTES arifes and performs this work, I would recommend the Hiftory of DON QUIXOT, as in some measure fuited and appplicable to Saint-errantry, tobe read in conjunction with ecclefiaftick hiftorians. For the principle of enthusiasm being the fame in the Saint, as in the Knight, and producing like effects; the reader may, by comparing things, and by an eafy application in many cases, take DON QUIXOT for a Termagant Saint, and a Termagant Saint for a DON QUIXOT. 14. It may be objected to Mr. WHISTON, that he has advanc'd a multitude of paradoxes about very important matters, many of which are founded on very flight appearances of probability; and, in particular, that he calls in queftion the integrity of t... Our our present copies of the Old Teftament, which he supposes corrupted to that degree by the Jews in refpect to fome of the quotations made from thence by the apoftles, as to make their reasonings from, and use of, those quotations, seem weak and entbufiaftical. To which I answer, That Mr. WHISTON acts the part of an honeft man and lover of truth, by thus propofing his conjectures and fentiments, and putting points of confequence in the way of examination, and is fo much better than all other fuch learned divines as himself, as he exceeds them in the liberty he takes of propofing his conjectures and fentiments that the method, whereof he fets us an example, tends to the information of all men of fenfe, and both encreases the number of capable judges, and renders the learned themfelves better judges than they were before: that, in particular, the Old Teftament will appear fo undoubted ly ly genuine and uncorrupt in the refpect abovemention'd, when the queftion is debated, that it muft unavoidably gain ground as a genuine and uncorrupt book, in that respect, in the minds of all intelligent men, who are not wedded to an hypothefis: and that it ought to be confider'd; that Mr. WHISTON proposes his Scheme (0) of a corrupted Old Teftament,as the best and only method of defending chriftianity, which, according to him, had a rational dependance on the OldTeftament before it was corrupted; and that he apprehends, that the fcheme or fuppofition of an uncorrupted Old Teftament really deftroys the truth of chriftianity, and gives the Deifts, Jews, and Infidels, a juft fubject of triumph over it, which, according to him, is now in an (p) irreconcileable state with, and depends not on, the pre fent (") See alfo his Advertisement before his Supplement to his Effay, &c. (P) Whitton's, Effay, &c. p. 263. fent Old Teftament: whereby this matter amounts to no more than a question between chriftians contending for the truth of christianity againft unbelievers, viz. which is the best method of defending chriftianity, whether by fuppofing the Old Teftament corrupted, or uncorrupted, But Mr. WHISTON himself, in few words, makes a just and true defence for liberty, and also a noble proposal in behalf of truth and chriftianity, when he fays, (q) I wish that all unbelievers were openly allow'd and invited to produce their real arguments, fubftantial objections, and confiderable doubts, without moleftation; as being perfwaded, fays he, they are capable of fatisfactory answers and folu tions. For it is fufficient, that all the unbelievers arguments can be anfwer'd. The answers and folutions mention'd by Mr. W. which are now want (q) Whilton's Reflections on the Dife. of Free-thinking, p. 6. |