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

Chap. II.inconjijlent with Civil Sovereignty,civil reprefentative, the whole ftrudliire and machine of this great colofs miiftneeds tall a-pieces, and tumble down. The civil fovereign reigns only infear i wherefore unlcis his fear be the king and fovereign of all fears, his empireand dominion ceafes. But as the rod of Mofes devoured the rods ofthe magicians, fo certainly will the fear of an omnipotent Deity, that can punifhwith eternal torments after death, quite fwallow up and devour thatcomparatively petty fear of civil fovereigns, and confequently deftroy thebeing of common wealths, which have no foundation in nature, but are mereartificial things, made by the enchantment and magical art of policy. Whereforeit is well obferved by a modern writer. That men ought not to fuffer themfelvesto be abufed by the doSirine of feparated ejfences and incorporeal fiibfiances,(fuch as God and the foul) hv.ilt upon the vain philofophy 0/ Ariftotle,that would fright menfrom obeying the laivs of their country, with empty names,(as of he'll, damnation, fire and brhnflone) as men fright birds from thecorn with an empty hat, doublet, and a crookedflick. And again. If the fearoffpirits (the chief of which is the Deity) were taken away, men would bimuch more fitted than they arefor civil obedience.[851 97Moreover, the power of civil fovereigns is perfectly indivifible ; 'tis eitherall or nothing •, it mull: be abfolute and infinite, or elfe 'tis none at all. Now"it cannot be fo, if there be any other power equal to it, to (hare with it, muchlefs if there be any fuperiour fas that of the Deity) to check it and controulit. WTiercfore the Deity muft of nccellity be removed anddifplaced, to makeroom for the Leviathan tofpread himfelfin;Laftly, 'tis perfectly inconfiftent with the nature of a body politick, thatthere fhould be any private judgment of good or evil, lawful or unlawful,juftor unjuft allowed. But confcience (which theifm and religion introduces)is private judgment concerning good and evil ; and therefore the allowanceof it, is contradiiftious to civil fovereignty and a commonwealth. Thereought to be no other confcience (in a kingdom or commonwealth) befides thelaw of the country ; the allowance of private confcience being, ipfo fa5lo, adiflblution of the body politick, and a return to the flate of nature. Uponall thefe accounts it muft needs be acknowledged, that thofe philofophers,who undermine and weaken theifm and religion, do highly deferve of all civilfovereigns and commonwealths.XXII. Now from all the premifed confiderations, the Democriticks confidentlyconclude againft a Deity > that the fyftem and compages of the univcrfehad not its original from any iinderftanding nature ; but that mind andunderftanding it felf, as well as all things elfe in the world, fprung up fromfenflefs nature and chance, or from the unguided and undiredled motion ofmatter. Which is therefore called by the name of nature, becaufe whatfoevermoves is moved by nature and neceffity ; and the mutual occurfions and rencountersof atoms, ^€\x plague, their ftrokes and dafhings againft one another,their reflexions and repercuffions, their cohefions, implexions and entanglements,as alfo their fcattered difperfions and divuliions, are all naturaland