under that Cenfure here; none of thofe, which I fhall have Occafion to meddle with, had the Education which the Times afford. They had not fo much as read, as others have done, to understand a little of the Writings of the ignorant Hea thens; none of them did, or could, or would, fo much as know the Letters in that Language, where, and where only, the Knowledge of the Things treated of are to be found, fo as to be able to look for the Meaning of a Word, on to compare the Ufage of it in the feveral Places where it is writ, without which the New Teftament cannot be understood, but is liable to be conftrued as the Heathen Greeks ufed the Words, And whenever I fhall have Occafion to meddle. with others, I fhall treat every Man as I fhould treat his Mafters, were they prefent; thofe, who give us the firft: and unalterable Senfe of the Prophets, as the Disciples of the Prophets; those, who give us the Senfe of the apoftate: Jews, as Difciples of Apoftates; thofe, who knew nothing of the Hebrew, and only give us the Senfe, or their Senfe,. of the Books of the lateft, and confequently, of the most ignorant, of the Hea thens, as their Difciples, with the Aggravation

1

gravation of the Vanity and Impudence of ridiculing the most facred Books which they could not fo much as look into; and of meddling with Subjects, which they, fo qualified, could know nothing of. I muft diftinguish Divines into two Claffes; those who have not made themselves a Syftem of Divinity, but at- ́ tempted to conftrue the Scriptures truly, notwithstanding the Veil the Jews have caft over them, may have done fome Things right: But one, who has made or taken a human Scheme or Schemes, will conftrue every Text concerning it or them, to ferve them, and nothing but Villany is to be expected from fuch, and I must treat them accordingly. And I must divide experimental Men into two Claffes. Thofe, who have not made themselves a Syftem, nor follow any of the Gueffes of others, may poflibly make and report fome Experiments truly. But one, who has made or followed an human System, will of Course bend every Thing to support it; and I must be forced to treat them as the most treacherous Men alive. Those, who give us Reasons without Evidence, that is, out of their own Heads, I fhall treat as En thufiafts or Madmen.

When

When one pretends to teach, and another to learn a Language, who is to fet up for a Philofopher or a Divine, (and he cannot be the one without the other,) 'tis not to only translate Words into those of his own Language, but to know what the Natives meaned by all the important Words in that Language. If there were Men at the fame, or at different Times, who fpake that Language, and were of different Religions, what each of them meaned by fuch Words as Eds, or Deus, or &c. what was their Effence, what Numbers there were of them, what Attributes they gave each, or what they worshipped them for. Nay, fo of philofophical Terms. If there were different Sects of Philofophers at the fame Time, or at different Times, what each of them meaned by fuch Terms or Words. If any of fuch Words were borrowed from other elder Languages, what they, if there were Men of different Religions or different Sects, in those, or each of those Languages, meaned by thofe Words, and at least, what each Word, fet against each of those means in their own Language; fo which used or applied them to proper Objects, which to false VOL. V. K Objects,

Objects, &c. without this the Mafter is a Cheat or a Fool, and he only makes the Scholar a Parrot. Nay, if those Languages had nothing in the Books he teaches of any Benefit for Man, in either of those Stations to know, and he teach him the true Meaning of every Word in them, which never was done, nor pretended to be done, and teach him not the original Language, by which those and the true Objects and Causes are diftinguished and understood, as well as the Descriptions in the Books in thofe Languages which are neceffary to be known, or of Ufe; fo teach him nothing but what is in ufelefs Books; the Mafter has spent the Scholar's Time, and the Man may be a Scholar, and know nothing worth learning or knowing, much less any Thing of the Subject before

us.

I must firft enquire into the general Scheme now on Foot, and afterwards descend to Particulars. One would fuppose that a Man, born in a Chriftian Country, and who had heard and feen that there were Books writ, which were supposed to have been directed and publifhed by the Author of this System, which offer us an Account of the first

Agents

Agents and their Powers, of the Creation and Formation of the Parts and the Powers inanimate and animate, fhould, when he found any Inclination in himfelf to understand the Manner of the Existence, Powers, and Perfections in them, and the Powers, Motions, Operation, or Actions of this System, and a Refolution to take upon him to explain them to others, have first qualified himfelf to understand the original Language, wherein those Books were writ; to have feen the Descriptions and Attributes of the first Agents, and Accounts of the Powers, and various Effects of the Operations in this System, and fhould first have begun to learn to know what Powers were peculiar to the fupreme Agents, before he in the Dark had affumed the Impudence to fet afide Jehovah Aleim, and in exchange to give us an imperfect, falfe, ftupid, Definition of the Deus, even of the most ignorant Heathens, and have learned to know what Powers were peculiar to created Agents, and by what Laws or Rules they acted, and after that, what Effects thofe Agents had upon o ther Parts, Inanimate, Vegetable, Animal, &c. before he had prefumed to eject and deny the Existence, and confequently the K 2

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