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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i{,4.8 Vulgar Pagans acknowledg-d B o o k I.rentamongrt the generality of the Greek and Latin Pagans at leaft, whetherlearned or unlearned. For we cannot make a better judgment concerningthe vulgar and generality of the ancient Pagans, than from thePoets and Mythologiib, who were the chief inftruclors of them. ThusAriJiotU in his Politicks, writing of mufick, judgeth of mens opinionsconcerning the gods from the poets, o-KOTren; J's^sri tvJu i-ni\n\i^y, Jjv 'ixp t^s^'L. 8. c.• Tan Sfuv, a yxo o Z.=uf o-x-toz acu xj y.i9af.'^£i tok TroiYiTyAq' JVe may kam what[P. 607. opinion jneii have concerning the gods, from hence, becaufe the poets never bringToir. III.ifj Jupiter ftnging or playing upon an injlrument. Now we have already^^'^'•'proved from furidry teftimonies of the poets, that (however they were depraversof the Pagan religion, yet) they kept up this traditionof one fupremeDeity, one king and father of gods : to which teftimonies many moremight have been added, liS o{ Seneca i\\e. tragedian, Statins, Lucan, SiliusItalicus, Perfms, and Martial, but that we then declined them, to avoidledioufnefs. Wherefore we ftiall here content ourfelves only to fet downthis affirmation of Dio Chryfojlomus, concerning the theology of the poets/-, ,- KTOj S" Sj 7r«vTE? cl TTOinTai y.xrx ra.-JTa, ri'j ttcutcj x, uiyirov ^i^-j 7ra;;ei xseABffi*. 447. (TuAAwSoJiv airaui©^ t» AoJ^ixs ytw^, Xj or, >c, [ix'f(2a^:(^ AJj/t;, xjii e"JiTfj^wTvj; xal 0' ^xXxrlil^, v.x\ (ro(po\, xx) x

Chap. IV. both om Gody and many. 449neither^ nor the Greek, nor the Hyperborean. In other things 'Joe find men/peaking very difcordantly to one another^ oilmen as it were differing from all.The feme thivg is not good to all nor evil., hcnejl nor difhoneji . For law andjufliceitfelf are different every where ; and net only one nation doth not agree withanother therein, but alfo not one city with another city., nor one houfe withanother houfe., nor one man with another man, nor lafity any one man with himfef.Neverthelefs, in this fo great war, contention, and difcord, you may findevery where throughout the whole world, one agreeing law and opinion, "That7HERE IS ONE GOD THE KING AND FATHER OF ALL, andmany gods, the fans of God, co-reigners together with God. Thefe things boththe Greek and the Barbarian alike affirm, both the inhabitants of the continent,and of the fea-coaft, both the wife and the umvife. Nothing can be more fullthan this teflimony of Maximus Tyrius, that the generality of the Paganworld, as well vulgar and illiterate, as wife and learned, did agree in this,that there was one fupreme God, the creator and governor of all. And tothe fame purpofe was that other teftimony before cited out of Dio ChryfoftofJiUS,sTifll il SfMU TUf T£ y.xBo\v (pda-tu;, y.xl fj.d,\it~x TiU Trivrm riytfj-ov^, Si^xOrat. Xily.xi ETTiuoia v.om reu ^U|U.7r«vl(^ dv^puTrm "yivn;, o'^uoiwj E\Xr,vuv, Ojcaoim; (Te BxoSx-f- 201.(?£fMv, &c. That concerning the nature of the gods in general, but efpeciallyconcerning that prince of all things, there was one agreeing perfuafion in theminds of all mankind, as well Barbarians as Greeks. Where Dio plainlyintimates alfo, that there was a more univerfal confent of nations in thebelief of one God, than of many gods.It hath been already obferved, that the feveral Pagan nations had vulgarlytheir peculiar proper names for the one fupreme God. For as theGreeks called him Zeus or Zen, the Latins Jupiter or Jevis, fo did theEgyptians, Africans, and Arabians, Ha7nmon, Which Hammon thereforewas called by the Greeks the Zeus of the Africans, and by the Latins theirJupiter. Whence is that in Cicero^s De natura Deorum ', Jovis Capitolini nobisalia fpecies, alia Afris Ammonis Jovis, the form of the Capitoline Jupiterwith us Romans is different from that of Jupiter Ammon with the Africans.The name of the Scythian Jupiter alfo, as Herodotus tells us, was Pappausor father. The Perjians likewife had their ZsuV irccl^uoc, as Xaiophon ftyleshim, their country-Z«/j or 7«/>7/fr {rtim^ly Mithras or Oromafdes) who inthe fame Xenophon is diftinguifhed from the fun, and called in Cyrus hisproclamation in the Scripture, The Lord^God of heave?!, who had given himail the kingdoms cf the earth. Thus the Babylonian Bel is declared by Berofus(a prieft of his) to have been that God, who was the maker of heavenand earth. And learned men conceive, that Baal (which is the fame withBel, and fignifies LordJ was firfl: amongft the Phenicians alfo a name forthe fupreme God, the Creator of heaven and earth, fometimes called Bee!Jamen, The Lord of heaven. As likewife that Molech, which fignifies king,was, amongll the Ammonites, the king of their gods ; and that Mamas (thechief God of the Gazites, who were Philiftints) and fignifies the Lord cfmen, was that from whence the Cretians derived their Jupiter, called theFather of gods and tnen.OrigenM m m 2» Lib, I. Cap. XXIX. p. 2923. Tom. IX. Oper.

i{,4.8 Vulgar Pagans acknowledg-d B o o k I.rentamongrt <strong>the</strong> generality <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Greek <strong>and</strong> Latin Pagans at leaft, whe<strong>the</strong>rlearned or unlearned. For we cannot make a better judgment concerning<strong>the</strong> vulgar <strong>and</strong> generality <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ancient Pagans, than from <strong>the</strong>Poets <strong>and</strong> Mythologiib, who were <strong>the</strong> chief inftruclors <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m. ThusAriJiotU in h<strong>is</strong> Politicks, writing <strong>of</strong> mufick, judgeth <strong>of</strong> mens opinionsconcerning <strong>the</strong> gods from <strong>the</strong> poets, o-KOTren; J's^sri tvJu i-ni\n\i^y, Jjv 'ixp t^s^'L. 8. c.• Tan Sfuv, a yxo o Z.=uf o-x-toz acu xj y.i9af.'^£i tok TroiYiTyAq' JVe may kam what[P. 607. opinion jneii have concerning <strong>the</strong> gods, from hence, becaufe <strong>the</strong> poets never bringToir. III.ifj Jupiter ftnging or playing upon an injlrument. Now we have already^^'^'•'proved from furidry teftimonies <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> poets, that (however <strong>the</strong>y were depravers<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Pagan religion, yet) <strong>the</strong>y kept up th<strong>is</strong> tradition<strong>of</strong> one fupremeDeity, one king <strong>and</strong> fa<strong>the</strong>r <strong>of</strong> gods : to which teftimonies many moremight have been added, liS o{ Seneca i\\e. tragedian, Statins, Lucan, SiliusItalicus, Perfms, <strong>and</strong> Martial, but that we <strong>the</strong>n declined <strong>the</strong>m, to avoidledioufnefs. Wherefore we fti<strong>all</strong> here content ourfelves only to fet downth<strong>is</strong> affirmation <strong>of</strong> Dio Chryfojlomus, concerning <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>ology <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> poets/-, ,- KTOj S" Sj 7r«vTE? cl TTOinTai y.xrx ra.-JTa, ri'j ttcutcj x, uiyirov ^i^-j 7ra;;ei xseABffi*. 447. (TuAAwSoJiv airaui©^ t» AoJ^ixs ytw^, Xj or, >c, [ix'f(2a^:(^ AJj/t;, xjii e"JiTfj^wTvj; xal 0' ^xXxrlil^, v.x\ (ro(po\, xx) x

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