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plain, having a large valley before, which was called the wai ley of Vain-opinions, Now, as they were going through thir valley, they faw a company of men before them, and as thy drew nearer they could hear them talk very eagerly one to another, as though it were about fome weighty matter; fo when they came up to them they perceived that the men were talking about the King of the country, which made them dispute very paffiomati and with a deal of heat; one afferting, That the King wa his opinion; another, That he was of his judgment; athirk Jaid, That he only had the right understanding of the Royal mind, will, and pleasure, and each man quoted fome article Sentence of the King's statute-book in confirmation of what it bad Jaid; fo that there was a great noife and burly-burly`aming them, infomuch that they were ready to go together by the eart while every one thought himself in the right, and all the in the wrong: Thus contended they, till Spiritual-man Spoke them and faid, Good people, what is all this clamour for? Then they all ceafed their loud talking, and gave attention to what he would jay, who thus proceeded:

Spiritual-man. I hear you very vehement and earneft in con troversy about the King's pleafure, one faying, He knows bi; and another, That be is best acquainted with it: Thus putine in mind of the words of brift, where he fays, "If anyo Shell fay unto you, Lo here is Chrift, or lo, be is there, bele it not; for there Jhall arife falfe Chrifts amd false prophets, & fall fhew great figns and wonders, infomuch that (if it wert poffible) they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before, wherefore, if they say unto you, Behold he is in the nefart, go not forth; behold he is in the fecret chambers, believe it not. For as the lightening cometh out of the eaft, and fhineth even unto the west, so shall the coming the Son of man be," Matth xxiv. 23, 24, &c. Therefore! have reajon to judge you all deceivers and falfe prophets, finct you fo exactly make good the character which our Lord has given them: For whereas one boafteth that he knows the King's mind; another, that he is the best interpreter of his will; ye are all out of the way of truth; the King's mind is none with you; Chrift is not amongst you; it is the shepherds who are privy counsellors, who know the fecrets of the kingdom; ga je "therefore and feed with the flocks, and frequent the places where they lie down at noon; jo fhall ye learn knowledge, and preServe grur feet from ftumbling into error. And having fpe

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refe words, be turned from them with all his company, and · Kept on their way over the plain.

w they had not gone far before a man bolted out upon from a little cave on the file of the highway, which called the Cave of Natural Speculation, and the name ie man was Human-reafon. So he asked them whence came, and whither they were going? To whom Spiri-man made anfw.r, We come from the valley of Detion, and are going toward the heavenly Jerufalem, and I be glad of thy company, if thou wilt go along with

Human-reafon. I am defigned for the fame place myself, I would gladly accept of any good company; but I fupe you intend to go the fame way as yonder fhepherds wed you, who know no more of it than the man in the son, but only 'tis their livelihood to tell a parcel of strange ries to strangers and trelles, making them believe they e the fervants of the King, and that it is their of to tertain pilgrims, and give them directions for the way: hey pretend alfo to give them a profpect of the heavenly rufalem, through a perfpective-glafs, and to fhew them ne of the mouths of hell; whereas they are a pack of juglers and religious cheats, amufing the credulous and unvary traveller with fetion and romantic ftories of heaven and hell, and using inchantments to delude them in their way thither, cafting a mitt before their eyes, when they pretend to give them a glimpfe of the glories of that place; for that is a deceitful glass through which ye looked, and prefents not with the appearance of things, as I can prove at-large, if you will be pleased to hear me out: Nay, I can demonftrate, before your eyes, without the help of any glass, the fituation and beauty of the celeftial city, and shew you the nearest road thither, as plain as that two & three make five.

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Spiritual-man. Thou art as blind as a beetle thy felf, and wilt thou pretend to direct us in the way to a place which thou never faweft or kneweft ? Go, get thee into thy den again, and go not about to feduce poor harmlefs pilgrims; for we will not hearken to any infinuating difcourfe, but keep on our way, as the shepherds fo kindly directed us. Tender.com. Nay, pray let me hear what the man can fay

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for himfelf, for he feems to be a smart man, and no fool, and therefore I would fain hear his reasons

Spiritual man. Your curiofty is dangerous, and may co you dear; therefore pray be perfuaded to turn away you: ears from hearing of vanity and delufions; you have run well hitherto, do not halt so near your journey's end.

Tender con I cannot be fatisfied in my mind, unless I hear this man's arguments, for he feems to have fomething ex traordinary in his very face, and more in his words.

Zealous mind. To the empty are empty things; if thất man be to obftinate that he will tarry and hear this fellow prate, let hum tarry alone, why fhould we lofe time for his folly? Let us haften-forward to run the race that is fet be fore us.

Spiritual man. No, brother, let us rather bear one ano ther's burdens, and fo fulfil the royal law of Chrift our King. Let us pity his infirmity, as Paulxhorts us in the like cafe: Brethren, fays he, if a man be overtaken in a fault, je which are fpiritual, reftore fuch an one in the fpirit of meeknefs, confidering thyself, left thou alfo be tempted, Gal. vi. 1, 2. And another apoftle faith, Brethren, if any of you err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know, that he who converteth a finner from the error of his way, fhall fave a foul from death, and fhall hide a multitude of fias. Now, therefore, fince this our brother is tempted with a vain curiofity to hear the arguments of Human reafon, let us ftay a while, and I will undertake to confute him, which will be more to our brother's profit--than-if he had never heard him speak..

Then Human-reason, being much chagrined at these fay ings, putting on a grave countenance, spoke as follows: Human-reafon. Gentlemen, it is not manly to fall into a paffion, & abuse a franger before you have a juft caufe gi ven you, especially when you are ignorant of, or may mif. take his quality. I am fprung of a right noble and illustri ous family, and as antient as any in the world by my father's fide. Understanding is my father, who is a prince and courtier, and of near kin to the royal family of heaven; therefore as you are gentlemen, I hope you will use me with that refpect which is due to my birth and extraction, & not run me down with reproachful names & fcornful language, Spiritual man. I cry you mercy, Sir: I know your father

ery well, and honour his noble birth and illuftrious quali y; but, give me leave to tell you, your mother is but of lean and obfcure quality, and a notorious ftrumpet, and herefore you muft excufe us if we esteem no. better of you han a bastard, or, at best, a very degenerate fon, a mon❤ rel-breed, partaking more of your mother's vices than your ather's virtues, who furely was much overfeen when he faf ered himself to be debauched by fuch a common drab as he. Her name was Senfe, the daughter of Animal-life, and old doting for, that minded nothing else but eating, Irinking, and fleeping, his birth-place being nothing bet er than a dunghill; this was your goodly grandfather by your mother's fide. Now he used to proflitate your mo ber, when he was young, to all comers and goers, and, mong the reft, the prince your father fell in love with her Once upon a time, and lay with her, and begat you: So that you have no fuch reafon to glory in your high birth, but rather to be ashamed of your father's infirmity, in committing folly with fuch an adultrefs as your mother. Besides, what fignifies your being his fon, unless you were alfo ea dured with his princely virtues? And he himself loft those virtues after he had defiled himself by copulation with your mother. For he was. once quick-fighted as an eagle, but now his eyes are dim; in this you refemblehim to the life, for you are pur-blind. He was active and fincere, but now dull and treacherous; in this you are alfo like him, for you are heavy and flow in all your operations, and as uncertain and wavering as the weather-cock. I could take notice of a great many more ill features and qualities in you, but that it would be too tedious and irksome to the company. Zealous mind. Ay, ay,, 'tis not worth while to lose so much time in talking to this impotor when we are on our r journey.

Weary-o'-the-world. No, indeed, brother Spiritual-man, no more it is; and were you but half fo tired as I, you would not ftand reckoning up this fellow's genealogy, nor making comparisons between him and his father, I long to be at my journey's end; come, let us be jogging.

Spiritual-man. Have patience, my brethren, whilft this man and I difcourfe the point farther, for the fake of Tender-confcience, who feems to be staggered at his first words, and has an itching defire to hear what he can fay for hime

felf:

felf; perhaps he will have a better opinien of the man if we fhould refufe to converse with him; he might think that we were ashamed or afraid to ftand the brunt of his boasted demonftrations, and fo would conclude the truth is on his fide Therefore, for his fake, have patience a while, and I doubt not but I fhall convince this man of his error, and make him hold his peace; or elfe recant his ill-grounded Opinions, to the glory of God and the edification of us all, efpecially of our brother poor wavering Tender-confcience,

Then they all agreed to tarry and hear out the dispute between them; fo Spiritual-man bid Human-reason wave all further preambles about his birth and family, and fall" upon the point in hand, making as quick a dispatch as he could of this matter.

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Human reafon. Well then, I tell you in fhort you are out of the way, and if you will follow my directions I will fhew you a far nearer and more fecure road to the heavenly counrty. I believe and know there is a God as well as you, worship him day and night; but I take not up this belief, nor practife this worship, en other men's credits. I do not blindly pin my faith to other men's fleeves, nor worship God according to the traditions of men as you do; but I lay a fure foundation of my faith behold and contem plate this wonderful and glorious fabric of the world, and by a regular deduction, I trace the footsteps of an eterna! divinity; whilft climbing up the chain of inferior and fecond causes, I at length fallen on the uppermost înk, and clearly fee the firit and fupreme cause, fource, and fpring of all things vifible and invifible. Thus as common bodily objects are the first and lowermost of this chain of caules, fo my fenfes are the firft and lowest step to my faith, whil by a chain of rational inferences, I join the first and laft things together, and make my fenfes, reafon, and faith, to be all proportionally fubfervient to the adoration I the pay eternal Godhead. Thus I obferve a due order in leving that which is natural first take place, and then afterwards that which is fpiritual; whereas you take a quite contary courfe, and fo do all that hearken to thofe blind guides, the fhepherds on the mountain. For they teach you to begin at the wrong end, and lay, afide the fervice of our fense and reafon, which are the effential properties of our nature, to believe, by an implicit blind faith, the doctrines and opi

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