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

Atheijrs Exceptions agatnji Book I.fignilications of his wrath and difpleafure : whereas it is plain, that thefe areHung at random, and that the fury of them often lights upon the innocent,whilil the notoriouQy guilty fcape untouched ; and therefore we underflandnot, how this can be anfwered by any Theiils.'Car, quibus iiirautuni fceliis averfahile amqiie efiyNon faciunt^ iSliflammas ut fulguris halent,Pe£iore perfxo ; documen morlalibus acre ?Et potiiis 7tuUce fibi turpis confciiis reii,Volvitur inflammis innoxhis^ inqiie peditur.Turbine ccelefti fubito correptus, i^ igni ?Now the force of this argument appears to be very powerful, becaufe ithath not only ftaggered and confounded Theifts in all ages, but alfo hath effectuallytransformed many of them into Atheifts. For Diagcras Melius *himfcif was once a fuperflitious religionift, in fo much that being a Dithyrambickpoet, he began one of his poems with thefe words, hxtx Sactfj-ovx vi, tu-•)(j.ri-:ziv^x TiXincit, all things are dotie by God and fortune. But being injuredafterwards by a perjured perfon, that fuffl-red no evil nor difafter thereupon,he therefore took up this contrary perfuafion, that there was no Deity. Andthere have been innumerable others, who have been fo far wrought upon bythis confideration, as if not abfolutely to difclaim and difcard a Deity, yetutterly to deny providence, and all care of human affairs by any invifiblepowers. Amongft whom the poet was one, who thus exprefled his fenfe :* Sed ciitn res hominum tantd caligine volviAfpicerem, latofque diu florere nocenteSyVexarique pios, rurfus labefaMa cadebatRelligio, cauficqueviamnon fponte fequebarAlterius, vacuo qua; currere femina viotiiAffirmat, magniimque novas per inane figuras.Fortuna, 7ion arte regi ;qu