414 STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS OF HUMAN REASON. him for his goodness, or to pray to him and depend on him for his further blessing, when their whole nation has continued in this, constant course of impiety from age to age, without remorse ? when none of them have been ever led so far by their own reason, as to know these duties, and hind them upon their own consciences? And suppose they should be made sensible, that they have now and then cheated their neighbours by lying and falsehood, that they have plundered or stole their goods from them, or that they have been sometimes shamefully drunk, or guilty of fornication ; yet their consciences will bring but a very feeble charge against them for these thing as criminal, if they have not been evidently convinced, that truth andjustice, chastity and temperance were necessary duties. And yet further Logisto, he pleased to consider, that if they should be never so much convinced that they have done amiss in drinking to excess, because it injures themselves, or in doing any kind of injury to theirneighbour ; yet they would notreadi- ly conclude that they did any injury to God hereby ; since their reason has not yet led them to the thought, that God is the great Inspector and Governer of the world, and that he has in any way and manner forbid these sins, or required the contrary du- ties. Nor is it any wonder that a rude American should justify himself and hisconduct from any dishonours done to God, though he has forgot and neglected him all his life, and has wallowed in lewd and drunken debaucheries, unless he has also been guilty of some most flagrant acts of impiety, injustice, and villainy. Such very flagrant and notorious crimes, perhaps might recoil upon his conscience, and smite him with conviction. But as for the multitudes of common sins, a wild savage in the African or American regions would take no notice of them, butthink him- self and his, neighbours good and innocent enough. NO is this at all strange, since the rude herd of mankind, even amongst christians, are ready to say when a neighbour dies ; " Alas, poor man ! he is gone : but surely he is gone to heaven for though he did not mind much of religion indeed, yet he was an honest creature, be would not wrong a man of a farthing; and the 'was ever ready to do his neighbour a kindness : It is true, he would drink now and then a little too much, nor was he al- ways so careful to speak truth, and perhaps he would swear when he was in a passion, but never when the was sober; he was no man's enemy but his own, and did no injury but to him- self." Now if this gross ignorance, and senselessnessof sin, be found even in the lands of christian knowledge, we may easily suppose the poor savages will hardly think themselves sinners against God at all. LOG: I ownwhat you say Pithander, has some weight in it ; though you must acknowledge too, that there are certainly some secret workings of conscience in all men, which give them some
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