other is, the great wickedness of so many men, who live fo directly contrary to all sense of God, that they cannot be conceived to have any natural perfuafion of his Being. But now I think neither of these objections, if fairly confidered, are of any great moment. For, 1. If we should grant that there are some clans of men, as the Hottentots for inftance, or some such like people, who are so far funk into brutality, that there appears little or no fign of any notion of a God or Religion among them, how will this prove, that the notion of God is not natural to a reasonable mind? fince it is evident, that they are as void of all other reasonable notions, which men feldom fcruple to call natural in this fense; and it would be hard to make fuch creatures the standard of human nature, who have so very little of it, befides fomething of the outward form. But as little fervice as the granting or fuppofing this want of all figns of Religion, in fome people, will do, towards proving the notion of a God not to be natural to mankind; yet there is no occafion to grant even this; because, by the most exact accounts taken from those who lived upon the spot with these Hottentots, and had best opportunity of knowing their customs, they do fometimes fometimes pray to a Being that dwells above, and offer facrifice of milk, and the best things they have, with eyes lifted up to heaven. And even those Travellers, who had not fo long opportunity of obferving thus much among them, yet allow, that they have some fhew of religious rejoycing at the New and Full Moon. Now thefe people are by all allow'd to be the most degenerate of the human fpecies, and to have furvived the common instincts of Humanity: [See Ovington's Voyage to Surat, p. 498.] And therefore, as to what some have affirmed of feveral other people in different corners of America, that have been without any notion or belief of å God, we have ftill lefs reafon to give any credit to it. Those who make fuch relations concerning them, having either been their mortal enemies, who have faid the very worst things they could think of, to excuse their own inhuman cruelty towards them; or else mere strangers among them, utterly ignorant both of their language and cuftoms, and not very inquifitive into any thing befides their Gold, or other treasure, but what appeared at firft: and fuch persons not finding any figns of fuch Religion or Superftition, as themselves had been used to, prefenty concluded they had had none. And should fuch fort, either of prejudiced or incurious travellers, come into fome parts, of even the best Countries of Europe, where they understood as little, and did not happen to see any of their Religious worship, they might, perhaps, be apt to make the very fame relation of them. But it is certain, that both the first discoverers of those places, who went with less prejudice, and the most understanding perfons fince, who have been converfant among them, and examined them moft narrowly, do agree, that they all own a God, or fupreme good Being, though they have very different notions of his perfections, and of the manner of worshipping him; and that most of them alfo believe a Future State, in which the conditions of good and bad men will be very different*. 2. As to the wickedness of fuch numbers of men in all countries, who live in contradiction to any firm and certain belief of a God, which is urged as an argument, that the notion of him is not fo natural as is pretended, I think * See this matter made out from good authority by Bishop Stillingfleet, in the new part of his Orig. Sacr. book 1. chap. I. pag; 73. I think it may be truly replied, that mens thus holding the Truth in unrighteousness, is rather an evidence, that fome notion of that Truth is natural. For if they, whofe practice makes it their interest, that there should be no God; and who are forced to labour hard, to fhut their eyes against all the confequences of believing, can yet seldom be able to bring themfelves to hold out in denying him; 'tis a fign the light strikes ftrong upon them, even while they seek to shut it out: The notion is fo natural that they cannot get rid of it, but that it will be returning upon them, let them do what they can to prevent it; in fo much, that they find out the most abfurd ways of corrupting the natural notion of God by fuperftition, because they cannot quite difcard it; and yet are unwilling to part with the pleasures of fin, as they ought, if they would purfue the just confequences of it. I cannot, indeed, call these men properly Believers in a religious fenfe, but they are certainly in the number of those, who profefs to know God, though in works they deny him: And they shew how difficult it is to oppofe, and how extravagant and unreasonable to deny, a truth, which our own nature will every day remind us of. It is like going against a natural instinct, |