N° 37 Friday, April 27. -quòd fi Frigida curarum fomenta relinquere poffes; Hoc opus, hoc ftudium parvi properemus, & ampli, Hor. Ep. 3. 1. 1. v. 25. If you cou'd leave thofe Cares that 'numb the Mind, This Rich and Poor fhou'd make their greatest Care, CREECH. T is a melancholy Reflexion, that our Country, which in times of Popery was called the Nation of Saints, fhould now have lefs appearance of Religion in it, than any other neighbouring State or Kingdom; whether they be fuch as continue ftill immerfed in the Errors of the Church of Rome, or fuch as are recovered out of them. This is a Truth, that is obvious to every one, who has been converfant in Foreign Parts. It was formerly thought dangerous for a young Man to Travel, left he should return an Atheist to his native Country: But at prefent it is certain, that an Englishman, who has any tolerable Degree of Reflexion, cannot be better awakened to a Sense of Religion in general, than by obferving how the L Minds Minds of all Mankind are fet upon this important Point; how every Nation is ferious and attentive to the great Bufinefs of their Being; and that in other Countries a Man is not out of the Fashion, who is bold and open in the Profeffion and Practice of all Chriftian Duties. This Decay of Piety is by no means to be imputed to the Reformation, which in its first Eftablishment produced its proper Fruits, and diftinguifhed the whole Age with fhining Inftances of Virtue and Morality. If we would trace out the Original of that flagrant and avowed Impiety, which has prevailed among us for fome Years, we fhould find that it owes its Rife to that oppofite Extreme of Cant and Hypocrify, which had taken poffeffion of the People's Minds in the times of the great Rebellion, and of the Ufurpation that fucceeded it. The Practices of thefe Men, under the Covert of a feigned Zeal made even the Appearances of fincere Devotion ridiculous and unpopular. The Rallery of the Wits and Courtiers, in King Charles the Second's Reign, upon every thing which they called Precife, was carried to fo great an Extravagance, that it almoft put Chriftianity out of Countenance. The Ridicule grew fo ftrong and licen tious, that from this time we may date that remarkable Turn in the Behaviour of our fashionable Englishman, that makes them Shame-faced in the Exercife of thofe Duties which they were fent into the World to perform. The late Cry of the Church has been an Artifice of the fame kind with that made use of by the Hypocrites of the laft Age, and has had as fatal an Influence upon Religion. If a Man would but seriously confider how much greater Comfort he would receive in the laft Moments of his Life from a Reflexion that he has made one virtuous Man, than that he has made a thousand Tories, we fhould not fee the Zeal of fo many good Men turned off from its proper End, and employed in making fuch a kind of Converts. What Satisfaction will it be to an Immoral Man, at fuch a time, to think he is a good Whig! Or to one that is confcious of Sedition, Perjury, or Rebellion, that he dies with the Reputation of a High-Churchman! But to confider how this Cry of the Church has corrupted the Morals of both Parties: Thofe who are the loudest in it regard themselves rather as a political, than a religious Community; and are held together rather by State-Notions, than by Articles of Faith. This fills the Minds of weak Men, who fall into the Snare, with groundless Fears and Apprehenfions, unfpeakable Rage towards their Fellow-Subjects, wrong Ideas of Perfons whom they are not acquainted with, and uncharitable Interpretations of those Actions of which they are not competent Judges. It inftils into their Minds the utmost Virulence and Bitternefs, inftead of that Charity, which is the Perfection and Ornament of Religion, and the most indifpenfable and neceffary Means for attaining the end of it. In a word, among these mistaken Zealots, it fanctifies Cruelty and Injustice, Riots and Treason. The Effects, which this Cry of the Church has had on the other Party, are no less manifest and deplorable. They fee themfelves unjustly af perfed by it, and vindicate themfelves in Terms no lefs opprobrious, than thofe by which they are attacked. Their Indignation and Resentment rifes in Proportion to the Malice of their Adver faries. The unthinking Part of them are apt L 2 to contract an unreasonable Aversion even to that Ecclefiaftical Conftitution to which they are represented as Enemies; and not only to particular Perfons, but to that order of Men in general, which will be always held Sacred and Honourable, fo long as there is Reafon and Religion in the World. I might mention many other Corruptions common to both Parties, which naturally flow from this Source, and might eafily fhew, upon a full Difplay of them, that this Clamour, which pretends to be raised for the Safety of Religion, has almost worn out the very Appearance of it; and rendered us not only the most divided, but the most immoral People upon the Face of the Earth. When our Nation is overflowed with such a Deluge of Impiety, it must be a great Pleasure to find any Expedient take place, that has a Tendency to recover it out of fo difmal a Condition. This is one great Reason why an honest Man may rejoice to fee an Act fo near taking effect, for making Elections of Members to ferve in Parliament lefs frequent. I find myself prevented by other Writings (which have confidered the Act, now depending, in this particular Light) from expatiating upon this Subject. I fhall only mention two fhort Pieces which I have been just now reading, under the following Titles, Arguments about the Alteration of the Triennial Elections of Parliament: And, The Alteration in the Triennial Act confidered. The Reasons for this Law, as it is neceffary for fettling His Majefty in his Throne; for extinguishing the Spirit of Rebellion; for procuring Foreign Alliances; and other Advantages of the like Nature; carry a great Weight with them. them. But I am particularly pleased with it, as it may compofe our unnatural Feuds and Animofities, revive an honeft Spirit of Industry in the Nation, and cut off frequent Occafions of brutal Rage and Intemperance; in fhort, as it will make us not only a more fafe, a more flourishing, and a more happy, but also a more virtuous People. N° 38 I Monday, April 30. Longum, formofa, Vale Virg. Ecl. 3. v. 79. T is the Ambition of the Male-part of the World to make themselves Efteemed, and of the Female to make themselves Beloved. As this is the last Paper which I fhall addrefs to my Fair Readers, I cannot perhaps oblige them more than by leaving them as a kind of Legacy a certain Secret, which feldom fails of procuring this Affection, which they are naturally formed both to Defire and to Obtain. This Noftrum is comprized in the following Sentence of Seneca, which I fhall tranflate for the Service of my Countrywomen. Ego tibi monftrabo Amatorium fine medicamento, fine herba, fine ullius Venefice carmine: Si vis Amari, Ama. I will discover to you a • Philter that has neither Drug nor Simple, nor • Enchantment in it. Love, if you would raise Love.' If there be any Truth in this Difco L3 very, |