Pag. 280.

to get through his Loop-hole, pafs it by until the Apocrypha be proved Canonical; for I infift upon it no otherwise than as he himself had done before, upon a Quotation that makes nothing at all to his purpose. But I must not expect he will fubmit to the plainest Sense of the Apocrypha, who is not afham'd to contradict facred and prophane History in one Breath; The generality of the Jews, nay I may Say univerfally were of Opinion that Man wou'd die and never live again; what is this, but to affert a Matter of Fact, either against, or without his Knowledge? and either is bad enough. We fee then, if his own History be true, the probable Ground of this Doctrine, which in fhort is this; the Church of England had it from the Church of Rome, that Church from the Primitive Fathers, they from the Philofophers, those from the Egyptians, and the Egyptians from Mofes.

pag. 359.

The next thing we are to confider, is the Reafon upon which the Philofophers afferted and maintain'd this Doctrine ; which Eftibius calls precarious. And that they did affert it upon many precarious Reasons, I must not deny; for they affectedly differ'd from each other in their Reasoning about most things; and Tully

confeffes

Tufc. qu.

Pag. 367.

Pag. 370

confeffes upon this Occafion, Rationem illi fententiæ fuæ non fere redde- lib. 1. bant, nifi quid erat numeris aut defcriptionibus explicandum. But tho' they differ'd in their Discriptions, which made the greatest part of their Difcourfes; yet it is very remarkable they all affign'd one Reason, which as I take it is the Reason from the confideration of the Nature of the Soul; It is the auTonívelov or felf-moving Power in the Soul. This Eftibins relates was the chief Tenent of Thales, who first gave that Attribute of a felf-movent Principle and Immortality to the Soul; and after him Pythagoras call'd it a felf-moving Number, which is Mind: Next he reckons this amongst the Opinions of Socrates, That the Soul of Man is immortal for what is always moveable is immortal; and Plato, the laft he mentions, fays, The Soul of Man is immortal, a Subftance having, within it self, a power to move it felf, and other things. Thus far Mr. Stanly has inform'd him right, and I know not what need be added, unless that Cicero himself, who had fo well digefted all the Opinions of the Ancients, lays down this as his grand Proof from Plato. Quod femper movetur æternum eft: Quod autem motum affert alicui, quodque Tufc. qu. ipfum agatur aliunde, quando finem li. 1.

Cca

Pag. 381.

Pag. 391.

habet

habet motus, vivendi habeat neceffe eft. Solum igitur quod feipfum movet, quia nunquam deferitur a fe, nunquam fe moveri quidem definit; quinetiam cæteris quæ moventur, hic fons, hoc principium eft movendi, &c. Now whence cou'd proceed this uninterrupted Chain of Reasoning? And how came the fame Argument to be in all their Mouths, who differ'd fo much in most Arguments, but from the fame true obfervation of the paffive Nature of corruptible Matter? And this is the very Argument which I have profecuted at large in the first part; and thither

I must refer Eftibius who cannot conPag.368. ceive why a Thing being felf-movent, must therefore be immortal; there feems (he means only to himself) no natural Inference or Connexion between the one and the other.

The Reader muft now be left to judge what Estibius has gain'd, by detaining us thus long from what fhou'd have been the Subject of this Chapter, which is the Introduction of this Doctrine into the Chriftian Church, and the Reason of it's continuance there. All the account he has given of the first is, that the Primitive Fathers were generally Platonists, infomuch that St. Auguftine confeffes, That the Books Pag.386. of the Philofophers were very useful to him, to facilitate his Understanding of

Some

fome Orthodox Truths; and upon this fingle Reafon he doubts not to make it a pure Principle of Platonism. Platonism was un-doubtedly the receiv'd Philosophy of those Times; and even St. Paul himfelf is not asham'd, as we have seen, to make use of the Platonic Notion of the Soul: And what then? Did he learn it at Tarfus, and corrupt Christianity with it? No, he had the Spirit of God, but the Primitive Fathers were poor ignorant, illiterate Creatures; and indeed confidering how heartily they renounc'd their Heathenish Principles, thofe of them that were born Heathens; and how unlikely it is those who were born Chriftians fhou'd take their Religious Principles from thence; and withall that their chief Business was to dispute against the Heathen Religion, and how zealoufly and fuccefsfully they appear'd in that Caufe, nothing but an Ignorance next to Infatuation, cou'd have fuffer'd them univerfally to efpoufe an Heathenish Doctrine, purely as fuch. And yet it is plain not only the Fathers efpous'd it, but the Vulgar alfo, and indeed the whole Body of Chriftians must be Platoniz'd to account for Eftibius's Notion, It is reasonable to fuppofe, Athanafius wou'd not have explain'd the Doctrine of the Trinity by this, had it not been a known and receiv'd Doctrine among Christians CC 3

for

for to introduce it by fuch a Method, wou'd have been only to explain one obfcure Thing by another. And thus Method.apud Phot. Cod.224. Methodius speaks to it, not as a Question in difpute, but by way of Explanation of a receiv'd Doctrine. Ανθρωπα λέγει) και φύσιν ἀληθέςαλα, ἔτε ψυχή χωρίς ώματα, έτε αν πάλιν @μα χωρίς ψυχής ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐκ τάσεως ψυχής και σώμα C, εἰς μίαν

Hift.L.6.

Ch. 30.

xdys μogolu (TEGEV. Man, according to his Nature, can properly be call'd neither a Soul without a Body, nor a Body without a Soul; but the Refult of a Compofition of Soul and Body in one Form. And which is farther remarkable, when fcarce any Fundamental of Christianity stood unfhaken, through the Three first Centuries we read but of one defpicable Number of Arabian Chriftians, who, as Eufibins tells us, were infected with this Herefy, but confuted by Origen. They affirm'd, as Dr. Cave fays, that at Death both Body and Soul did expire together, and were refolv'd into the fame State of Corruption; and that at the Refurrection they should revive and rife together to eternal Life. For this purpose a general Synod of thofe parts was called, and Origen defired to be prefent at it; who manag'd the Caufe with fuch weighty Arguments, fuch unanswerable and clear Con

Life of Origin.

viction,