Maxims, to the end that they may pray for you; and fay to them as Efchines faid to Micion his Father (b), Go rather your felf, Father, to pray to the Gods; for I am fure that as you are a • much better Man than I am, they will grant your Request fooner?'

Learn alfo from Seneca, that, to make an Ac tion good, 'tis not enough that it be fo externally, but that it proceed from a good Heart. For an Action, as this Pagan very well remarks, cannot be right unlefs the Will is fo too (c), because the Act proceeds from the Will; and ⚫ the Will cannot be right unless the Mind is ⚫ right at bottom, for thence fprings the Will. • Now the Habitude of the Mind cannot be very good unless it knows the Rules on which the whole Life fhou'd be form'd, unless it judges truly of every thing, and has juft Ideas of it, whereby a Man fhou'd conduct himself, and unlefs it reduces every thing to the Standard of • Truth.'

Learn of that fame Pagan, that there's no Good in doing Evil,' I mean that a facrilegious Communion or Baptifm is not fatisfying any Com→ mand ; because, as that Philofopher faid very well (d), As what is Honourable cannot arife out of what is Bafe, fo nothing Good can come out of Evil.'

(6) Tu potius Deos comprecare, nam tibi eos certè fcio, quo vir melior multò es, quam ego fum, obtemperaturos magis. Ter. Adelph. Act. 4. Sc. 5.

(c) Actio recta non erit, nifi recta fuerit voluntas; ab hac enim eft Actio. Rurfus, Voluntas non erit recta, nifi habitus animi rectus fuerit; ab hoc enim voluntas. Habitus porro animi non erit in optimo, nifi totius vitæ leges perceperit, & quid de quoque judicandum fit exegerit, nifi res ad verum re degerit. Senec. Ep. 95. p. 471, 472. Tom. 2.

(d) Quemadmodum ex turpi honeftum non nascitur, ita ne ex malo quidem bonum. Senec. Epift. 87. p. 378. Tom. 2. Learn

Learn alfo from Plato, that Father of the Philofophers (e), That the juft Man only, and be that defires to be fo, can find Favour with the Gods, and bend them by his Prayers and Offerings.'

• But that, as for the Wicked, as he fays elfe• where (f), whofe Hearts are unclean, it becomes neither God nor a good Man to receive • their Gifts. Therefore, fays this Pagan, in vain 'do the wicked fatigue themselves in offering up Prayers and Vows to the Gods, while all Holy Men pray with Succefs.' And, to inculcate this Truth the better, he fays again, 'That it becomes a good Man to facrifice to the Gods, and to affift in the facred Mysteries; that 'tis ' he who is fitteft to please the Deity, to pay him Homage, to offer him Prayers and Prefents; and that 'tis he alone who can from thence expect for his Reward a Life of uninterrupted Happiness (g). But that as for the Wicked, all his Prayers, all his Prefents, all his Homage ' fhall only bring down Misfortunes upon him.' Learn in fhort, from this fame Plato, That to think (b) that the Gods can be appeas❜d by

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(e) Deos nec precibus ullis muneribufque præter justum placari. Plat. Ep. p. 700. (f) Impurus enim mali eft animus ab impuro autem capere munera, neque bonum Virum neque Deum decet. Fruftrà itaque Deos profani laborant, quod opportunè faciunt omnes fancti. Plat. de Leg. 1. iv. p. 601.

(g) Bonum virum decet facrificare Diis, & intereffe Divinis. Nempe illos profequi orationibus, muneribus alioque cultu divino, pulcherrimum, optimum, commodiffimum ad beatam vitam Malo autem contra contingunt omnia. Plat. ibid.

(5) Neceffe eft igitur eum qui credit Deos veniam homi nibus in juftis præbere, fi quis ipfis rapinæ partem tribuerit, dicere eos veluti effe canes, quibus lupi particulam rapine concedant, & illi muneribus his placati, greges diripi patiantur. Plat. de Leg. 1. xi. p. 673.

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the unjuft, who offer them a part of their Rapine, is to fay that the Gods are like Dogs to whom the Wolves give a fhare of the Booty, that they may abandon the Flock. But God, fays he, in another place (i), is not of fuch a Nature as to be gain'd by Prefents like a covetous Ufurer. And we fhou'd be out of our Senfes if at any ⚫ time we thought to render our felves a jot the more acceptable to God by reafon of our Prefents. And really it wou'd be doing him an Injury to think that God wou'd have more refpect to our Gifts and Sacrifices, than to the Mind, whether it be Juft and Holy. Surely 'tis to this he has much more regard, than to the Sacrifices and fumptuous Pageantry which private Men or whole Republicks offer up to him every Year with a guilty Confcience. For God, who is not to be corrupted by Prefents, rejects all this Worship. This is almoft the very words of Ifaiah (k), To what Purpose is the multitude of your Sacrifices, unto me, faith the Lord? They are a trouble to me Put away the Evil of your doings from before mine Eyes, ceafe to do Evil, learn to do well' And af ter this come before me, and you will be agreeable in my fight.

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Thus, Fathers, you have had an Antidote for the Poison of all your Errors about the Worship of

(i) Neque enim ejufmodi eft Dei natura, ut ducatur muneribus, quemadmodum improbus fœnerator. Sed nos nimiùm deliramus, fiquando nos-propter munera acceptiores Deo effe ducimus. Etenim grave effet, fi Deus ad donaria & facrificia noftra refpiceret potiùs quàm ad animum, utrum juftus fan&tufque fit. Ad quem equidem Deum arbitror multo magis attendere, quàm ad multi fumptus pompas atque facra, quæ nihil prohibet eum qui multa in Deum hominefque peccaverit, feu privatus fit, five refpublica fingulis annis perficere. Deus autem utpote a muneribus incorruptus, fpernit hæc omnia, ut ipfe, ejufque Propheta prædixit. Pl. Alcib. ii. p. 43.

(k) Ifa.i. 11, 16, 17.

God

God. Thus have you feen all the Truths which you got Clement XI. to brand with the moft odious Characters, own'd and acknowledg'd by the Wife among the Pagans. There, in a word, is your Condemnation, and at the same time a Vindication of Father Quefnel; a fcandalous Condemnation, but a glorious Juftification, because Reafon comes behind Religion to be her Second in the Defence of that illustrious Defender, and Confessor of Truth.

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CHAP. VII.

Of precipitant Abfolutions.

God whofe Laws are obferv'd and fulfill'd

by Actions barely external, even by Sacrilege and Profanation; a God who is honour'd by coming before him with a Heart altogether corrupted and full of unclean Paffions, provided that the outward Man be modeft and referv'd; a God who may be pray'd to after the manner of Idols, that is to fay, without any Intention to pay him any Honour or Adoration; a God of this Nature is certainly not severe towards Sinners, and it can be no difficult Task for one that has offended him to make his Peace, and be reconcil'd to him.

Heretofore indeed Sins were expiated by Tears and Grief, which flow'd from a contrite and afflicted Heart. Penance, that painful Baptism, was the only Resource of Sinners, who employ'd all their Strength to appeafe the Wrath of a juítly incens'd God; and the Body, the Soul, the Mind, and the Heart, all form'd but one Victim which was inceffantly offer'd up to him in Sacrifice. F 2

How

How plain and honeft were those Primitive Penitents! They imagin'd that all this mournful Preparation, I mean these Tears, thefe Labours, thefe Heart-breakings were really neceffary. They took every thing that was faid to them about the Difcipline establish'd by the facred Canons, in a literal Senfe, and did not perceive that the Cyprians, the Auguftins and the other Fathers, talk'd oratorically, as the Jefuit Francolin (a) has fo judiciously remark'd, when they exhorted to Virtue, and urg'd the neceffity of a tedious painful Penance, animated, and try'd by the Touch• ftone of Charity or Love.'

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Oh! what a happy and ever bleffed Minute was that, moft fubtle Francolin, when you made this wonderful Remark! All Sinners will here fay, may your Name, incomparable Jefuit, be for ever celebrated, for having taught us that all those old Canons, that antient Difcipline, in a word, all those old Notions of Penance were only human Inventions, Figures of Rhetorick, and they who propagated them antiquated Rhetoricians, whose Maxims were harfh, mortifying and severe : Yours indeed, as you, admirable Francolin, fay very well, are gentle, agreeable, and (b) we agree with you, that 'tis altogether owing to the Divine Wisdom that your way of dealing with < Sinners is fubftituted in the room of that antient Severity which only ferv'd to increafe Licenti

(a) Igitur ORATORIE locutus eft aliquandò Auguftinus, ORATORIE reliqui Patres- dum populum fuumad virtutem impellunt, dum neceffariam effe dicunt longam, afperam, probatam, & charitate plenam pœnitentiam, dumCanones laudant. Franc. Tom. ii. Difp. 11. p. 321.

(b) Hæc fatis oftendunt fuaviorem hanc adminiftrandi Sacramenti Pœnitentiæ rationem- non hominum vitio inventam fuiffe, fed potiùs divino Confilio. Disp. 2. p. 20.

⚫oufnefs