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

Chap. II. Ath'ijls difpute from Interefl againft a Ddty, 83out faftening upon any thing -, but if corporeal, then the fame thino- wasboth materials and architect, both timber and carpenter, and the ftonefmufthew themlelves, and bring themfelves together, with difcretion, into aftrucfture.XX. In the lafl: place, the Atheifts argue from interefl (which provesmany times the molt effedual of all arguments) againft a Deity; er)-.deavouring to perfuade, that it is, firft, the intereit or private perfons', andof all mankind in general, and fecondly, the particular intereft of civil fovereigns,and commonwealths, that there Ihould neither be a God, nor thebelief of any fuch thing entertained by the minds of men ; that is, no religion.Firft, they fay therefore, that it is the intereft of mankind in general;becaufe fo long as men are perfuaded, that there is an underftandinobeinginfinitely powerful, having no law but his own will, (becaufe he has nofuperiour) that may do whatever he pJeafes at any time to them, they cannever fecurely enjoy themfelves or any thing, nor be ever free from dilquietingfear and folicitude. What the poets fable of Tantalus in hell, being alwaysinfcar, of a huge ftone hanging over his head, and ready every momentto tumble down upon him, is nothing to that true fear, which menhave of a Deity, and religion, here in this Jife, which indeed was the verything mythologized in it.' Nee mifer impendens magnum timet aerefaxumTantalus, {utfama eft') cafsd fcrmidine terpensBed magh in vita, divtlm metus urget inanisMartales, casihnque timent, quemcumque ferat fors.For befides mens infecurity from all manner of prefent evils, upon the fuppofitionof a God, the immortality of fouls can hardly be kept out, but itwill croud in after it ;and then the fear of eternal punifhments afte'r deathwill unavoidably follow thereupon, perpetually embittering all the folaces oflife, and never fuffering men to have the leaft fincere enjoyment.*y? certum finem ejfe viderent^rumnartim homines, aliqud ratione valerentRelligionibus, atqiie minis obfiftere vatttm.Nunc ratio nulla eft reftandi, nulla facultas zjEternas quoniam pccnas in mcrte timendum.Igncratur enim, qu.c/tt natura anima'i,Nata fit, an contra nnfcentibus infmuetur jEt fi'iHul intereat nohifcum morte dirempta^An tenehras Orci vifat vaftdfque lacunas.Wherefore it is plain, that they, who firft introduced the belief of a Deityand religion, whatever they might aim at in it, deferved very ill of all mankind,becaufethey did thereby infinitely debafe and deprefs mens fpirits undera fervile fear;'Ffficiunt animos hiimiles, fcrmidine divum^Deprefsofque premunt ad terram :M 2« Lucre:. Lib. IIL vcr. 993. = Id. Lib. I. ver. loS, &c. 1 Id. Lib. VI. ver. ji.As