But there are others, who have contended for the fame thing.

You have quoted Lord Bacon as faying something very like it". And "there have "been others, as well as divines, perfons of "excellent judgment, and great friends to "free inquiry; and who were never suspected "of a defign to impofe upon, and confound, "men's understandings; that yet have "thought it just to admit the notion of things above reafon. I fhall mention only "two more, both of them lay-men, of emi"nent note for their attempts to inform and

improve men's understandings, and pro"mote useful knowlege, Mr. Boyle and Mr. "Locke..

"That excellent philofopher, the great and good Mr. Boyle, has writen a treatise, "which he calls a difcourfe of things above reafon; inquiring whether a philofopher Should admit there are any fuch. To which are annexed fome advices about judging of things faid to transcend reason.

In that discourse, he ranks things above reafon, under three heads. The firft is, of things "whofe nature is fuch, that we are not able diftinctly and adæquately to comprehend

« it. Such is the almighty God; whose perfections are fo boundleffe, and his nature fo fingular, that it is presumption to imagine,

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• See The reasonablenesse of the Chriftian religion, &c.

P. 132.

(

imagine, that fuch finite beings, as our "fouls, can frame full and adæquate ideas " of them. The fecond fort confifts of things; which have properties and ways of operation, which we cannot intelligibly account for, or explane, by any thing we already know. The third fort is, of fuch "things that involve fome notion, or propofi

fition; that we fee not how to reconcile "with fome other thing, that we are perfua"ded to be truth; and which are incum"bred with difficulties and objections, that

cannot directly and fatisfactorily be re"folved. All thefe he calls privileged things; "because they furpaffe our reafon; at least "fo far that they are not to be judged of, by the fame measures and rules, by which men are wont to judge of ordinary things. Accordingly, he puts it among the advices " he gives, in judging of things that tranfcend "our reason, that a matter of fact, or other "truth, about privileged things, being proved "by arguments, competent in their kind, we "ought not to deny it; merely because we

cannot explane, or perhaps fo much as "conceive, the modus of it; or because we "know not how to reconcile it to fome"thing that is true; or because it is liable "to ill confequences, and is incumbred with "great inconveniences. All these things he "admirably illuftrates and supports, by a variety of inftances, well urged, from Phi

lofopby

lofophy and natural Theology.

And con

"cludes, with obferving, that we must not expect, as to privileged things; and the propofitions, that may be formed about them; to refolve all difficulties, and an"fwer all objections; fince we can never directly answer those, which require, for "for their folution, a perfect comprehenfion "of what is infinite."

Here Pyrrho made a paufe; but Theophilus defired him to procede with what he had to allege from Mr. Locke; and then he would make remarks upon all his examples

at once.

Well then (faid Pyrrho) "The other perfon I refer to, is the acute and fagacious "Mr. Locke; whom I fuppofe The author of Chriftianity as old as the Creation would "not reckon among thofe defigning men, whofe intereft it is to confound men's underftandings. He divides things into those "which are according to reafon; those things, " which are contrary to reafon; and those things, which are above reafon. And these things, when reveled, he makes to be the proper matter of faith. [See Elay on buman Understanding, Book IV. Chap. XVII. §. 23, and Chap. XVIII. §. 7; 9.] He "frequently fets himself to point out the "fhortneffe of human understanding; and "how unable we are to comprehend or explane things; of which yet we have an " undoubted

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" undoubted certainty. Of thefe, he gives "various instances. Among other things, ❝he inftances in the very notion of body; " which is incumbred with fome difficulties, very hard, and perhaps impoffible, to be explaned, or understood, by us. divifibility in infinitum. of any finite extenfion, involving us, whether we grant, "or deny it, in confequences impoffible to "be explicated; or made, in our apprehen"fion, confiftent. And he would fain "know, what fubftance exists, that has not fomething, which manifeftly baffles our "understandings. [See Efay on Human Understanding, Book II. Chap. 23, and "Book IV. Chap. 3. See also his works, "Vol. I. Page 557; 559, 560, 561; 572.] "He allows, therefore, that it cannot be a rea"fonable foundation, for rejecting a doc

trine, proposed to us, as of divine revela"tion, that we cannot comprehend the "manner of it; efpecially, when it relates "to the divine effence: and declares, concerning himself, I gratefully receive, and rejoice in, the light of divine revelation; which fets me at reft, in many things, "the manner of which my poor reafon can by no means make out to me. - I readily believe whatever God has declared, "though my reason find difficulties in it, "which it cannot mafter." [Ibid. p. 361; 573."] Pyrrho

Pyrrho faid, he had now done; and declared, that he would not have dwelt fo much the fentiments of fuch great men, upon if fome learned and ingenious perfons had not laid fo much streffe upon them.

Theophilus anfwered, when an argument is fetched from the fentiments of fome wife, great and good man, whofe authority we reverence, and hardly dare oppose, the Logicians call it Argumentum ad verecundiam, An addreffe to our modefty. And one would not be very forward, in directly contradicting, or oppofing, men eminent for wisdom and piety. But yet, this argument may be carried too far; and prevent all farther inquiries and improvements whatever. We juftly reverence the names of men of piety and learning, in former ages. But (you know) I have already declared that" their notions "are nothing to us, any further than they are fupported by reafon and fcripture. We "call no man mafter upon earth. We "allow no man to have dominion over our "faith. Churches and councils, fathers and "moderns, learned men and celebrated di"vines have erred, and their determinations are not to be implicitely received."

The church of Rome fais, "what! are you "wifer than all your fathers?" And they quote great names and many authorities. But Proteftants do not much regard fuch arguments against Scripture and common fenfe, And even Papifts themselves are not much

moved