Whoever sincerely acknowledges any law to be the law of God, cannot fail to acknowledge also, that it hath all that reason and ground that a just and wise law can or ought to have; and will easily persuade himself to forbear raising such questions and scruples about it.

A man that insinuates, as he does, as if I held, that the distinction of virtue and vice was to be picked up by our eyes, or ears, or our nostrils;" shows so much ignorance, or so much malice, that he deserves no other answer but pity.

"The immortality of the soul is another thing," he says, " he cannot clear to himself, upon my principles." It may be so. The right reverend the lord bishop of Worcester, in the letter he has lately honoured me with in print, has undertaken to prove, upon my principles, the soul's immateriality; which, I suppose, this author will not question to be a proof of its immortality. And to his lordship's letter I refer him for it. But if that will not serve his turn, I will tell him a principle of mine that will clear it to him; and that is, the revelation of life and immortality of Jesus Christ, through the Gospel.

He mentions other doubts he has, unresolved by my principles. If my principles do not teach them, the world, I think will, I am sure I shall, be obliged to him to direct me to such as will supply that defect in mine. For I never had the vanity to hope to outdo all other men. Nor did I propose to myself, in publishing my Essay, to be an answerer of questions; or expect that all doubts should go out of the world, as soon as my book came into it.

The world has now my book, such as it is: if any one finds, that there be many questions that my principles will not resolve, he will do the world more service to lay down such principles as will resolve them, than to quarrel with my ignorance (which I readily acknowledge) and possibly for that which cannot be done. I shall never think the worse of mine, because they will not resolve every one's doubts, till I see those principles, laid down by any one, that will; and then I will quit mine.

If any one finds any thing in my Essay to be corrected, he may, when he pleases, write against it; and when I think fit I will answer him. For I do not intend my time shall be wasted at the pleasure of every one, who may have a mind to pick holes in my book, and show his skill in the art of confutation.

To conclude; were there nothing else in it, I should not think it fit to trouble myself about the questions of a man, which he himself does not think worth the owning.

MR. LOCKE'S REPLY

то

THE RIGHT REVEREND THE

LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER'S ANSWER

TO HIS

SECOND LETTER.

Wherein, besides other incident Matters, what his Lordship has said concerning Certainty by Reason, Certainty by Ideas, and Certainty by Faith; the Resurrection of the Body; the Immateriality of the Soul; the Inconsistency of Mr. Locke's Notions with the Articles of the Christian Faith, and their Tendency to Scepticism; is examined.