vored, for being in this life members of Chrift's vifible church, but will be more feverely punifhed for finning under the advantages and benefits of reveled religion; fince the virtuous who have been brought into the chriftian church, and the virtuous who are out of the church, and have not heared of Christ, are both to obtain the divine favor at present, and everlasting happyness hereafter, by the grace of God in Chrift: In fhort, fince revelation is no more than a great bleffing to us; and does no injury to the heathen world, because where-ever rational' nature is, there true religion may in fact be, and the errors and impietys of all heathens are as much contrary to reafon, and owing to an undue use of it; as the errors and impietys of christians are contrary to fcripture, and owing to an undue ufe of it; then we cannot impeach the common parent for the want of univerfality in the propagation of chriftianity. He bestows the glorious bleffing, where his wisdom fees it proper; that wifdom which comprehends the eternal relations or fitneffes of all things, whilst human knowledge is confined to fome inftances; and by the bleffing we are inlightened and directed; are planely taught to worship one univerfal Lord, and enabled to purge our minds from anger, wrath, malice, envy, and every felfish, turbulent, unfocial paflion; and to cultivat in our breasts, T 4

few

٠١٢:

and

and exercise in our converfation, the kind, courteous, humble, inoffenfive, benevolent spirit of the gospel: We are raised by the heavenly doctrine above the best and worst of this world: We are engaged to all chearful obedience to the divine will, and with a christian dignity, and elevation of foul, can fix our affections and regards upon an everlafting inheritance, a crown of glory, that is layed up for us in heaven. But still, the heathen is not deftitute and forfaken. By nature alone, that reafon and understanding, which is the gift of God to all men, and the infpiration of the Almighty, he is enabled to fulfil the law that providence has placed him under. He may, like you, noble Abdalla, be a fincerely virtuous, honeft, fober, kind, good and benevolent man.

But ftill I want to know, (the royal Moor replyed) why the common Father of his creatures should make fome happyer by revelation than it is poffible for others to be by nature. Tell me, Mrs. Benlow, does not the fame reasons which fhew it to be neceffary for the people of Europe, fhew it to be neceffary for the people of Africa.-Why fhould the Europeans be bleffed with an aid fo extraordinary, that none of them can mifs the realms of glory, unless they wilfully wink hard against the light of the gospel,

and

and are determined to fink to hell, rather than renounce the tumultuous pleasures of this world; and the poor Africans have reafon only to trust to, which is but very weak in many of them? Should not the common parent let all his children know what was for their common good?

To this I answered, that there may be reasons of providence unknown to us, which make a different method more fit and proper, and we must refolve the reveled favor, as well as many others, into the determination of infinite wisdom. We have no knowledge of the whole scheme, order, and state of things; and, befide, though the happyness of man is one end of all the difpenfations of divine providence, yet we must not suppose, that mere happyness is this end; but happynefs under fome certain pofture, order, and fituation of being. I think for myself, that this is evident from the different order of beings that are in the world, and the different degrees of happynefs allotted to creatures of the fame fpecies. We fee even in respect of the law of nature, that fome understand much more of it than others (confidering the circumstances in which they are placed) can know. The goodness of the Deity, as I imagine, inclines him to communicat fome degree of happyness to all his children, and

pre

prevents him from making any of them miferable without their own fault. But the divine goodness may give being to a variety of creatures, and make fome more, others lefs perfect in knowledge; and that according to the different degrees of their understandings, they fhall be more or lefs perfect in their wills. I fee no inconfiftency in this. Supreme wisdom best knows what measure of natural capacity for happyness, or what number of additional advantages every particular creature fhould enjoy. In creating, God dealt out happynefs gradually and unequally to his creatures. In restoring we must allow him, if he pleases, to pursue the fame measures. He is the undoubted master of his own favors; yet he cannot act in an arbitrary manner. In his own infinite mind he has most certainly reafons for this different conduct.

But nevertheless, there is no cause to complain. A heathen, in any part of the world, may be an accepted believer in the fight of God. He may by his reafon, rightly and duly used, believe that God is, and that he is the rewarder of them that diligently feek him. The whole difference between us is what the apostle Paul tells us. The living God is the Savior of all men, fpecially of

those that believe. 1 Tim. iv. 10.

3

Here

ended

ended the converfation between Abdalla the Moor, and Mrs. Benlow (a).

1741,

Inlands,

As the fun was fetting, we failed with a Aug. 24, fine wind from the Cape Verd lands, and failed froma fteered for the Azores. We had a fight of Cape Verd the top of El Pico the 5th of September, Sept. 5. and from the island of Tenerife, we paffed clofe by the ifles, or rather the rocks, called the Salvages; which lie in the latitude of 29 deg. 25 min. north, and longitude of 16 deg. 36 min. from London. Thefe Salvages are comprehended in the Canary Islands. We had fine weather, and fresh gales all this time, and lived in a very happy manner. Mufic, fishing, and telling ftorys, gave us

(a) In my opinion, Jewks, Mrs. Benlow has here given a good answer to the Moor's queftion-a question, by the way, that is the only objection against the chriftian religion that deferves any notice, and is infifted on by all the enemys of revelation as unanfwerable. The authors of Deifm fairly stated, of God's univerfal goodness displayed, and of the letter to the Deifts, prefs moft in this article: And the celebrated John Dryden, that great and various poet, who turned papift for bread, in the reign of James the Second, was in reality no chriftian by this very argument; as appears by an effay on Natural Religion, which was moft certainly written by him, as I have been informed, by one who knew him intimately well. Compare what this lady fays upon the fubject with what hath been written upon the article by the late Dr. Fofter, in his book against Tindal, p. 62-86. And in Mr. Browne's book against the Tame author, p. 296-340.

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