THE character of Mr. Addison and his writings, for juftnefs of thought, ftrength of reasoning, and purity of style, is too well established to need a recommendation; but their greateft ornament, and that which gives a luftre to all the reft, is his appearing, throughout, a zealous advocate for virtue and religion, against profaneness and infidelity. And because his excellent difcourfes upon thofe fubjects lie difperfed among his other writings, and are by that means not fo generally known and read as they deferve, as was judged to be no unfeafonable fervice to religion, to publish them in a distinct volume; in hopes, that the elegance and beauty peculiar to Mr. Addifon's writings, would recommend them to perfons of superior character and liberal education; and, as they are the productions of a layman, they may be the more readily receiyed, and confidered as a proper manual of religion.

Sceptics and infidels are great pretenders to reason and philofophy, and are willing to infinuate, that none who are really poffeffed of thofe talents, can easily affent to the truth of chriftianity. But unfortunately for them and their caufe, many perfons, who were doubtlefs the most perfect reafoners and philofophers of their time, are also known to have been firm believers; we mean Mr. Boyle, Mr. Locke, Sir Ifaac Newton, and Mr. Addifon: who were as perfect reafoners as any of the fceptics and infidels of this day. Some of them might have been fingular in their opinions about particular points in christianity, which will ever be the cafe as long as men are prone to error; but what we here infift on, is, that they were accurate reafoners, and at the fame time, firm believers.

Mr. Boyle, the most exact fearcher into the works of na ture that any age has known, and who faw atheism and infi- delity beginning to prevail in the loose and voluptuous reign of king Charles the fecond, purfued his philofophical inquiries with religious views, to establish the minds of men in a firm belief, and thorough fenfe of the infinite power and wisdom of the great Creator.

This account we have from Dr. Burnet, who was intimately acquainted with him, and preached his funeral fermon: "It appeared to those who converfed with him in his inquiries into nature, that his main design in that (on which as he had his own eye moft conftantly, fo he took care to put others often in mind of it) was to raise in himself and others, fublimer thoughts of the greatnefs and glory, and of the wisdom

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and goodness of God. This was fo deep in his thoughts, that he concludes the article of his will which relates to that illuftrious body, the royal fociety, in these words:"' wishing them a happy fuccefs in their laudable attempts to discover the true nature of the works of God; and praying that they, and all other fearchers into phyfical truths, may cordially refer their attainments to the glory of the great Author of nature and to the comfort of mankind.' The fame perfon also fpeaks thus of him: "He had the profoundest veneration for the great God of heaven and earth that ever I obferved in any perfon. The very name of God was never mentioned by him without a perceptible paufe in his discourse."

And of the ftrict and exemplary courfe of his whole life, he fays, "I might here challenge the whole tribe of libertines to come and view the usefulness, as well as the excellence of the christian religion, in a life that was entirely dedicated to it."

Against the atheifts, he wrote his Free enquiry into the received notion of nature,' (to confute the pernicious principle of afcribing effects to nature, which are only produced by the infinite power and wisdom and God;) and alfo his 'Effay about final causes of things natural,' to fhew that all things in nature were made and contrived with great order, and every thing for its proper end and ufe, by an all-wife Creator.

Against the deifts, he wrote a treatife of things above reafon;' in which he makes it appear, that feveral things which we judge to be contrary to reafon, being above the reach of our understanding, are not therefore to be thought unreasonable, because we cannot comprehend them, fince they may be apparently reasonable to a greater and more comprehenfive understanding. He wrote another treatise, to fhew the poffibility of the refurrection of the fame body.'

The veneration he had for the Holy Scriptures, appears not only from his ftudying them with great exactness, and exhorting others to do the fame; but more particularly from a diftinct treatise which he wrote on purpofe to defend the fcripture ftyle, and to answer all the objections which profane and irreligious perfons have made against it. And fpeaking of morality confidered as a rule of life, he fays, "I have formerly taken pains to perufe books of morality; yet, fince they have only a power to perfuade, but not to command, and fin and death do not neceffarily attend the difobedience of them, they have the less influence; for fince we may take the li

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berty to question human writers, I find that the methods they take to impofe their writings upon us, may serve to countenance either truth or falfhood.

His zeal to propagate chriftianity in the world, appears by many and large benefactions to that end; which are enumerated in his funeral fermon. "He was at the charge of the tranflation and impreffion of the New Teftament into the Malayan language, which he sent over all the East Indies. He gave an ample reward to the tranflator of Grotius's incomparable book of the truth of the chriftian religion into Arabic, and was at the charge of a whole impreffion, which he ordered to be diftributed in all the countries where that language is understood. He defigned to have carried on the impreffion of the New Teftament in the Turkish language; but the Eaft India company thought it became their duty, and accordingly undertook it; but he contributed liberally towards the completion of the tranflation. He was at feven hundred pounds expence in the edition of the Irish Bible, which he ordered to be diftributed in Ireland, and he contributed largely both to the impreffions of the Welsh Bible, and of the Irish Bible, in Scotland. He gave, during his life, three hundred pounds to advance the defign of propagating the christian religion in America; and as foon as he heard that the East India company entertained the like defign in the eaft, he fent an hundred pounds as an example, to induce others to contribute, but intended to increase his donation, when there fhould be a probability of accomplishing the undertaking. Tho' accident prevented him from fettling it during his life, he ordered in his will, that a liberal provifion fhould be made for a clergyman, who fhould, in a course of well digefted fermons, every year ef tablish the truth of the chriftian religion in general, without defcending to the fubdivifions amongst chriftians; and who fhould be changed every third year, that fo this laudable study might be pursued by many divines, by which means many might become masters of the arguments advanced on the subject.

In his younger years he had thoughts of entering into holy orders, but one reafon that determined him against it, was, that he conceived he might, in fome refpects, be more ferviceable to religion by continuing a layman: "His having no interefts with refpect to religion, befides thofe which concerned his own happiness, would add a weight to the arguaments he adduced in its vindication. He knew the free

thinkers fortified themselves against all that was said by men of the clerical profeffion, by alledging, that it was their trade, and that they were paid for it; he hoped, therefore, that he might have the more influence, the less he shared in the patrimony of the church.”

Mr. Locke, whofe accurate talent in reasoning is so much celebrated even by the fceptics and infidels, fhewed his zeal for Christianity in the early part of his life, by publishing a difcourfe to demonftrate the reasonableness of believing Jefus to be the promised Meffiah; and, in the last years of his life, by a very judicious commentary upon feveral of the epiftles of St. Paul.

He speaks of the miracles wrought by our Saviour and his apostles, in the most convincing manner, both as facs demonftrably true, and as the cleareft evidences of a divine miffion. His words are thefe: "The evidence of our Saviour's mission from heaven is fo great, in the multitude of miracles he did before all forts of people (which the divine providence and wisdom has fo ordered, that they never were, nor could be denied, by any of the enemies and oppofers of christianity) that what he delivered cannot but be received as the oracles of God, and unquestionable verity." And again; "After his refurrection, he fent his apofties among the nations, accompanied with miracles which were done in all parts, fo frequently, and before fo many witneffes, that the enemies of christianity have never dared to deny them; no, not Julian himself, who neither wanted kill nor power to inquire into the truth; nor would have failed to have proclaimed and expofed it, if he could have detected any falfhood in the history of the gospel, or found the least ground to question the matter of fact published by Chrift and his apostles. The number and evidence of the miracles done by our Saviour and his followers, by the power and force of truth, bore down this mighty and accomplished Emperor, and all his parts, in his own domini

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He durft not deny fo plain a matter of fact; which being granted, the truth of our Saviour's doctrine and miffion unavoidably follows, notwithstanding whatever artful fuggef tions wit could invent, or malice offer to the contrary."

To thofe who afk, 'What need was there of a Saviour? What advantage have we by Jefus Christ?' Mr. Locke replies, "It is enough to juftify the fitnefs of any thing to be done, by refolving it into the wisdom of God who has done it; whereof