wherein all the reason and philosophy of atheism is confuted, and

Chap. II.Atheijls except againji Providence.of the world was either willing to abolilh all evils, but not able; or he was ablebut not willing ; or thirdly, he was neither willing nor able ; or elfe laftly, he wasboth able and willing. This latter is the only thing that anfwers tully to thenotion of a God. Now that the fuppoied creator of all things was not thusboth able and willing to abolilh all evils, is plain, bccaufe then there wouldhave been no evils at all left. Wherefore fince there is fuch a deluge ofevils overflowing all, it muft needs be, that either he was willing and notable to remove them, and then he was impotent; or elfe he was able and notwilling, and then he was envious; or laftly, he was neither able nor willing,and then he was both impotent and envious.ygXVII. In the twelfth place, the Atheifts further difpute in this manner.If the world were made by any Deity, then it would be governed by a providence; and if there were any providence, it muft appear in human affairs.But here it is plain, that all is Tohu and Bohu^ chaos and confufion ; thingshappening alike to all, to the wife and foolifh, religious and impious, virtuousand vicious. (For thefe names the Atheift cannot chufe but make ufe of,though by taking away natural morality, they really deftroy the things.)From whence it is concluded, that all things float up and down, as they areagitated and driven by the tumbling billows of carelefs fortune and chance.The impieties of Dionyfms ', his fcoffing abufes of religion, and whatfoeverwas then facred, or worlhip'd under the notion of a God, were moft notorious jand yet it is obferved, that he fared never ajot the worfe for it. Hum neeOlympius Jupiterfulmine percuffit, nee u^fculapius mifero ditdurnoque morbo tabefcenteminteremit ; veritm in fuo leiJulo nwrtuus, in TympaniJis rcgimi Hiatus eji,edmque potejlatem-, quam ipfe per fcehis na5lus erat, quafijujtam is kgiiimam.,hiereditatis loco tradidit : Neither did ]\.\p'ncr Olympius Jinke him v:it& a thunderbolt,nor j^ifculapius infliii any langiuflDing difeafe upon him ; but he died inhis bed, and was honourably interred, and that poxner, which he had wickedly acquired,he tranfmitted, as a juji and lawful inheritance, to his pojlerity. AndDiogenes the Cynick, though much a Theift, could not but acknowledge,that Harpalus a famous robber or pirate in thofe time?, who committing manyvillanous aftion?, notvvithftanding lived profperoufly, did thereby Tejlimoniunidicere contra deos, bear tejlimony againft the Gods '. I'hough it hasbeen objefted by the Theifts, and thought to be a ftrong argument for providence,that there were fo many tables hung up in temples, the monumentsof fuch as having prayed to the gods in ftorms and tcmpclfs, had efcaped fliipwreck;yet as Diagaras obferved, Nufqtcam pi£li funf, qui nd:-ifrag!um fecerunt,there are no tables extant of thofe of them, who were pipwreck'd '. Whereforeit was not confidered by thefe Theifts, how many of them that prayed aswell to the gods, did notwithftanding fufler fliipwreck ; as alfo how manyof thofe, which never made any devotional addrelfes at all to any deity, efcapedequal dangers of ftorms and tempefts.Moreover, it is confentaneous to the opinion of a God, to think, thatthunder rattling in the clouds with thunder-bolts fhould be the immediate' Cicer. d: Nat. Deor. Lib. III. cap. * Id. ibid. cap. XXXtV. p. 3099.XXXV. p. 3101. - 3 Ib.d. cap. XXXVIII. p. 3104.fignifications