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

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

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22a The true Account of the Bx^ok I.But bccaufe-It may probably be here demanded, wliat account it wasthen pofTible for Plato to give of the original of evils, fo as nor to imputethem to God himU-If, if he neither derived them from uX*! a.7:or.:,ii;iqnalrJicdmattery (which Plutarch has plainly proved to be nbfurd) nor yet from aT]/i/>^ti a-,»f , an irrational and inaleficcnt foul of the

Chap. IV. Platonick Origine of Evil's> 22worlJ, as alio for the reprefllng,chaftifing and punifhing of thx)lc KSa* jV-Jo-.k,thofj voluntary evils of vice and a£fion. Upon which ieveral accounts, probably,Plato concluded, that evils could not be utterly deltroyed, at leadin this lower worlJ, which, according to him, is the region of lapl'cd fouls:«AA' oJt a.Tri>x'ii}xi roi v.x,x.x Aivoelov, u &c0^u)(i^ (•jTnix'jT.'ov yscp t» tj uyx^uj ail uvxi InThe/tIf \UvxyY.ri) o'Jt' ij S'SJif aOTCS itffiK&j;*, rrrjit SvnTW (p^Qiv, xj tov^e to\ tottcv moiTroXin 176. Stepi.i^ dvzfiiti;' oto w£i^-«c&ai x,?n Ev-J/vJf sV-siVf, (pvjyeiv o'ti ri.yj.Tv.' (p-jy-^ cr ijxciiaQii; ^i^xxToc TO MccTov, oij.oiu(^t; Si (J'waicn .'t, oii'jv fjiiTx (piovviTEuj yiJiSxi. But it is tieitberpnjfwle (0 Theodorus) that evils fljould be quite deftroyed (for theremuji be fomething ahvays contrary to good) nor yet that they fhould be fatedamongfi the gods, but they ijuill of neceffity infeft this lower mortal region andnature. Wherefore ive cught to endeavour to flee from hence with all pojfiblefpeed i and our flight from hence is this, to o.ffmilate ourfelves to God as muchas may be ; -which affimilation to God ccrjifteth in being jufi and holy ivith wifdom.Thus, according to the fcnie of Plato, though God be the original ofall things, yet he is not to be uncounted properiy the caufe of evils, wt leafl:moral ones (they being only dcfedts) but they are to be imputed to theneceffity of imperfcd: beings, which is that d-jxh-/i uj-oAAk tm ^f>7 S-^a-yixx^ovo-oixii,] a,pr,vix^v(Tx, that necejftty, vchich doth often reft/i God, and as it were Jhakeoff his bridle. Rational creatures being, by means thereof, in a capabilityot afting contra;ry to God's will and law, as well as their own true natureand good ; and other tilings hindred of that pcrfedion, which the divinegoodnefs would elfe have imparted to them. Notwithftanding which, mind,that is, God, is iaid alio by Plato to rule over neceffity, becaufe thofe evil?,occafioned by the neceffity of impcrfeA beings, are over-ruled by the divineart, wifdom and providence, for good ; Typhon and Arimanius (if we mayufe that language) being as it were outwitted by Oftris and Oromafdes, andthe woriT; of all evils made, in fpight of their own nature, to contributeftibferviently to the good and perfection of the whole ; xail tojto fj-tyir-ni; rixymA.yxjoTSTCi!?j Tx Kxy.x, and this mufi needs be acknowledged to be the greateji artof all, to be able to bonify evils, or tmiiure them with good.And now we have made it to appear (as we conceive) that Plutarch hadno fufHcienc grounds to impute this opinion, of two adive perceptive principlesin the v/orld, (one the caufe of good, and the other of evil) to Plato.And as for the other Greek philofophers,. his pretences to make them af-Icrtors of the fame dodrine feem to be yet more flight and frivolous. Forhe concludes the* Pythagoreans to have held two fuch fubftantial prin- * o/ nuSaj;.ciples of good and evil, merely becaufe they fometimes talk'd of the e^^'-tio- J'^^'^",'^-^.f'^^rr.-;c and i-j-oiyfx\, the contrarieties and conjugations of things, fuch as finitenfxaK -^^fiandinfinite, dextrous and finiltrous, even and odd, and the like. As al- 'rtt^pfiL^ore.fo, that //fr/2f/;'/KJ entertained the fauie opinion, becaufe he fpake of Ta- ai'^owiwa./-^ De Ifjde & Ouride, p. 370.T'.aicoTTo; d^y-cvU y.O'TfAn, a verfatilc harmony of the world, whereby things reci- Z'J^^tZ'pril'-procate forwards and backwards, as when a bow is f:icreffively intended f'>^ ^y""'^nd remitted; as likewife becaufe he aflirmed all things to flow, and warJaphjf Ms'^plto be the fither and lord of all. Moreover, herefolvcs', that Empedocles^'^his

22a The true Account <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Bx^ok I.But bccaufe-It may probably be here dem<strong>and</strong>ed, wliat account it was<strong>the</strong>n p<strong>of</strong>Tible for Plato to give <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> original <strong>of</strong> evils, fo as nor to impute<strong>the</strong>m to God himU-If, if he nei<strong>the</strong>r derived <strong>the</strong>m from uX*! a.7:or.:,ii;iqnalrJicdmattery (which Plutarch has plainly proved to be nbfurd) nor yet from aT]/i/>^ti a-,»f , an irrational <strong>and</strong> inaleficcnt foul <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>

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