wanting, would, if produc'd, greatly weaken the cause of unbelievers; who can now pretend to have real arguments, and substantial objections unanfwer'd, and confiderable doubts unfolv'd; and clamor, because they have not liberty to speak for themfelves; and who have a pretence to fay, that their adverfaries, conscious of the weakness of their own cause, dare not let them fpeak or write against it. And Mr. W. is very far from being fingular in thinking, that it would be a benefit to allow infidels to publish their objections against christianity.

GROTIUS, in a letter to PEIRESKI, fays, (r) I fend you, most noble Sir, Some paffages taken out of the writings of PORPHYRY, by the defenders of the chriftian religion, from whence you may eafily fee, how many things might have been produc'd out of his books for the purpose of chriftanity, if we had them

(r) Grotii Epift. p. 197, Ep. 509.

them entire ; those books especially, which he wrote against the chriftians,wherein he put many weapons into our hands that might be employ'd against himself and the pagans. As to the poifon contain'd in those books, fufficient antidotes were to be had out of many apologetick writings of the ancient chrifians, and especially out of the books of ORIGEN against CELSUS, and of CYRIL against JULIAN. Wherefore I fhould esteem it a publick benefit to have those books in the hands of fuch men who are willing and able to use them.

(s) It were MUCH TO BE DESIR'D, fays the great JOSEPH SCALIGER, that we had the books which PORPHYRY wrote against the chriftian religion. LE CLERC (t) fays, that the thirty books of EUSEBIUS against PORPHYRY, are the greatest lofs that could be in

re

(s) Seal gerana Art. Porphyrius.

Le Clerc Bib. Univ. Tom. 10. p. 494.

respect to the works of EUSEBIUS; for by them we might have learn'd the objections of the ableft philofopher of his time against the chriftian religion, and the answer of the most learned bifhop of his age.

The late Bifhop (u) LOYD fays; Tho' fome of our deifts complain of the lofs of PORPHYRY's books against the christian religion, yet they may be affur'd for their comfort, they will not want the help of our learned men to bring them to light. We want them indeed on many accounts; but efpecially, to shew them, that as they have PORPHYRY'S malice, fo if they had his great learning too, both thefe joyn'd to gether would not hurt the christian religion. As for his arguments, it cannot be imagin'd, that there was any thing of Strength in them, more than what JULIAN the apoftate took into the work, that he writ afterwards on that

Subject.

(u) Loyd's Chron. Account of Pythagoras, &c. p. 21. (*) lb. p. 23.

Jubject. And to our comfort,as well as the deifts, that work is not loft. The church of Rome, fays, (y) Dr. SHERLOCK, will not suffer her people to difpute their religion, or to read heretical books, nay not fo much as to look into the bible itself. But we allow all this to our people, as that which God not only allows, but requires, and which all confidering men will allow themselves, whoever forbids

it.

Dr. NICHOLS and other learned divines have writ many elaborate works, in behalf of chriftianity, by way of dialogue: wherein they introduce deifts and Scepticks, who must be fuppos'd to argue for their feveral hypothefes with the fame ftrength real deifts and scepticks do; for it is not to be imagin'd, that the authors of thofe dialogues, (who could not but know that the nature of dialogue requires a true representation of characters,

P. 3.

(y) Sherlock's Prefervative against Popery, Part

racters, and that juftice is due to all men) should be fo illiterate and unfair, as to make their Dialogift-Deifts and Scepticks talk booty, and in concert with the Orthodox Dialogift, in order to establish the author's own opinions.

In fine, the reverend Dr. JENKIN should seem to be of the fame fentiment with the great men before mention'd, when he fays, (2) that all the argument's brought against christianity are fo weak and infignificant, that they rather make for it. For I cannot fuppofe him willing to have chriftianity depriv'd of any ar guments that make for it, and efpecially of argument's brought by the adverfaries of christianity against it, that make for it.

15. The greatest enemies to liberty of debate in matters of religion do allow certain religious questions to be publickly debated and pur

C

fuant

(2) Jenkin's Pref. to Reaf. of Chrift. Rel. Vol. 1. p. 36r