230 RATIONAL DEFENCE OF THE ÛOSPEL. the old Romans, long before the days of Julius Czesar, shone muchbrighter than anyof the virtues of the baptized nations : There was more truth andhonesty, more devotion to theheavenly powers, more of apublic spirit and zeal for their country's good, than wecan find in anychristian kingdoms or states nòw-a-days.' x To this I would give these three answers : 1. The account which wehave ofthe shining virtues of these best ales of heathenism, is given us only by their own posterity, who lived in succeeding ages. Now it is the well-known temper andcustom of mankind to magnify the virtue of their ancestors, and to say,that the former times are better than these ; But you have scarce any heathen writers, who do not describe their own ages as vicious enough, if they have occasion to talk upon that subject. And therefore there is just reason to suspect the strict truth of these encomiums of their fore-fathers. 2. Although some social virtuesin a heathen countrymight really flourish morefor an age or two, springing from the princi- ples of ambition, and honour, and love to their own country ; yet therewere such vices also practised among many of the gentile nations, which areseldomheardor known among christians : The apostle describes them in Rom. i. 26. and that in such a manner, as leads us to believe, that they were practised by those Who pro- fessed wisdom among them. It must be acknowledgedalso, that these nations were gross idolaters, and worshipped many gods, and that even in the times when their social virtues were most conspicuous. Now this is most highly criminal in the sight of the great and sovereign God, the Creator of all things : And the warmer and the more zealous were their devotions which theypaid to these idols, with the neg- lect or contempt of the true God, the greater was their guilt and, abomination. But, 3. The chief answer I give is this, that when whole kingdoms are made christians merely by birth, education, and 'custom, it is not tobe supposed that a twentieth part of thembe- lieve the gospel upon anyjust and reasonable principles of know- ledge and'choice. When whole cities and nations are worship- pers of Christ, no otherwise than the Ephesians were worshippers of Diana, or the 'Turks of Mahomet, it is not reasonable to ex- pect that there shouldbe much difference in the virtues of such a national sort of Christians, Mahometans, or Heathens; for the principle fromwhich all their religion springs is the same, namely, their education, custom, and fashion of their country ;' and there- fore their vices are much the same as they would be according to the present reigning humour, disposition, or political temper of the nation, whatsoever were their form of religion and their es- tablished worship,
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=