the Notion of a Deity, cou'd not believe themfelves conducted hither, as into Plato's Den, only to be amuz'd a while, with the Shew of meer fantaftical and imaginary Happinefs; but they believ'd every Faculty had its true End and Defign, and every Appetite its proper Gratification; and accordingly they all aim'd, tho' by different Methods, at a fummum bonum of Human Nature, which I can look upon no otherwife, thro' all their various Opinions concerning it, than as the rude Delineation, and imperfect Remainders of eternal Life in their Minds. Now I believe it will never be made consistent with the Notion of a wife and beneficent Creator, to fuppofe, while the natural Appetites of all other Animals have their proper Gratification, that Man fhou'd be utterly dif appointed in the fupreme Appetite of his Nature; and be caft, immediately upon finishing his Span of Life, into that dark State, for which he has the strongest, and for ever and unconquerable Dread and Aversion: And laftly, that this Profpect fhou'd be the more fevere Lot, of the wifeft and best of Mankind; who have the greatest Defire, and the greatest Reafon to defire Immortality.

Now this I take to be one good Reason for the Propagation of fuch a Belief, that it is perfectly fuitable to the natural Notions of God and our felves; and I think it is no

infignificant Reason for the Truth and Reality of what was thus propagated and believ'd; for otherwife God, from whom they had the Law, of natural Religion, written on their Hearts, must be fuppos'd to permit the general Obedience of Mankind to that Law, to proceed upon a falfe Principle; and not only fo, but to give them a Law without any Motive that cou'd ever stand the Teft of their Reason, for nothing befides Immortality can; and therefore he who made this neceffary and effential to the Obedience he requir'd of them, did not make Man wholly mortal.

From which Confideration it is clear to me, that the Doctrine which Eftibins wou'd propagate, utterly deftroys the very Foundation of natural Religion. I must confess he seems to intimate a Conceffion of this, when he calls all the Heathen Notions of future Rewards and Punishment a pure Invention: But fo long as I believe there was really fuch a thing as natural Religion; I must look upon this new-vampt Notion of Human Soul, to be a meer Chymera.

2dly, Another Reafon for the Propagation of this Belief, may very probably be grounded on the Adminiftration of Providence in the World. This is the only Rea fon Eftibius gives for the Invention; and he often confeffes, that without the Suppofition Dd 4

of

of another State, they cou'd not folve the Appearances of Providence in this. But can he really believe this to be a Reason for his fide of the Question? To prove it an Invention, he has given a Reason which proves it to be none, unless by Invention here, he means a Dictate of right Reason; then we are agreed, but then he confutes his own Thefis. And indeed, to fuppofe Mankind endu'd with a Notion of God, but left perplex'd in the Maze of his Providence, without any Profpect or Poffibility of extricating themselves, by any Succours of Reason, is to fuppofe that they have done better by themselves, than God intended to do by them; for the general Expectation of Immortality, is undoubtedly preferable to Mortality, and we plainly find that the Principle gave them Tranquillity and Security, and gave Rife to their best and greatest Actions. But if God did make this Provifion for them, and defign'd it fhou'd be their Principle of Action, it is highly reasonable to suppose it a true Principle; for tho' Immortality is more fully reveal'd fince, yet it is not credible that God fhou'd lay a Neceffity upon Mankind to recur to a Solution, which in Fact was false; or otherwife leave them to a rational Disbelief of his Providence.

It may be objected, that this proves their Suppofition of a future State to be well

grounded;

grounded; but the separate Existence of the Soul may still be a Fiction of their own, and their Expectation of a future State be made good by the Resurrection. In Anfwer to which, I own that the future State in general, is first and immediately prov❜d by this Argument; but then I fay, by Confequence, the feparate Existence of the Soul is prov'd alfo; for fince it had not pleas'd God to reveal to them the Refurrection of the Body, they cou'd no poffible way understand, how their Expectation cou'd be anfwer'd, but by the furviving of the Soul: for Reason cou'd never lead them fo much as to conjecture the Refurrection or Revivification of the Body; but feveral Reasons might, and did fuggeft to them that the Soul, being the Principle of Life, with a felf-active Power inherent in it, might not become liable to Corruption, or be extinct upon its Departure from the Body. And this, according to their Notion, fufficiently preferv'd the Perfonality in both States; for as they lodg'd the Consciousness of Guilt or Innocence entirely in the Soul, fo the Soul became, in their Account, the proper Objec of Retribution.

And as this is a plain Account of the Propogation of fuch a Belief over the Heathen World, fo I doubt not it will appear that Christianity builds upon it, and that the

Refur

Resurrection of the fame Body, cannot an¬ fwer the Design of the Gofpel without it. This must be granted, if, after all that has been urg'd from Scripture, Chap. 6. the Refurrection, according to Eftibius, cannot be in order to the reviving of the fame Person, but the Creation of another diftin&t Perfon...

And this will appear very plain, when we have once a right Notion of Perfon, of Creation, and Revivification of Man. 1ft, Perfon may be defin'd, the individual Subfiftency of a rational Nature. Thus it is distinguish'd from Hypoftafis, which is the individual Subfiftency of every thing in general; and thus it is plain it must be my intellectual and rational Nature, whether from a Principle of Life or Soul, and not my Body (which lies under a perpetual Flux, of Accretion and Diminution) that makes me the fame Perfon I was twenty Years ago, viz. I am the fame felf-confcious Being I was then, tho' I have undergone many Alterations, not only in my Body, but in my rational Faculty too, as to the manner of exerting it. This I apprehend to be the true Notion of the Perfon of Man in general; tho' there is something more meant by it, when we confider him as being in this State: Here the Perfonality may be faid to refult from the Union of his Soul or Life, with his Body; and