48 STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS OF HUMAN REASON. up in the heathen world, they have employed their own reason to much better purposes than the rest of mankind ; they have drawn out several of the laws of nature into view ; they have communicated these to their country; and the manners of the nationhave been hereby more polished, and several more virtues practised. Yet let it be observed, that Cicero in some parts of his writings, particularly in these Tusculan Questions, book iii. does not make the light of nature practicully self-sufficient for the bulk of mankind, even in learned nations. He grants indeed, that " If nature had so framed us that we could behold herself, and takea complete view of her, and that we were able to form our livesby her guidance, there would be no need of our learn- ing philosophy : But now she has given us only very little sparks which we soon extinguish by our evil customs and de'. prayed opinions, that the true light of nature does no where ap- pear.?' And again " As soon as we see the light we are im- mediately in the midst ofall perverse sentiments and wickedness; so that we seem- to have sucked in error almost with the milk of our nurse." This he says even of the Romans.. Bitt as for the' barbarous and unthinking, herds of mankind in other countries, alas ? how little do some of them actually know even of this ' universal and eternal law? Theydo not awaken their thoughts at all, to enquire and search it out : It lies culpably and ever- lastingly dormant in the seeds of it in their hearts, andproduces neither knowledge, virtue, nor piety. There is need of some better interpreter or explainer of this eternal law in these brutal and stupid creatures, than the mere working of their own reason ; and there is need of some further powerful hints to be given their reason, in order to awaken and excite them to take any cognizance of it for the purposes of true virtue or religion. And even these very polite nations of Rome, and Athens, and the schools of the philosophers themselves, have been greatly assisted from some traditions of divine revelation, and, perhaps, had their best hints of religion derived from thence. Some of them have confessed, they wanted such help. Some have acknowledged, they borrowed it front those who lived' nearer to the gods : And others stole their notions without con- fessing it. This 'has been traced out with great learning by some writers, such as Stillingfleet, Gale, Edwards, &c. And after all, the rules of religion and virtue, which were drawn up by these philosophers, have been very imperfect and defective in many instances, as Sophronius has shewn before : And at Athens and Rome they had very different opinions about the most im- portant subjects, of God, virtue, the chief good, &c. and they ' had grievous quarrels and - contests about many parts of their moral philosophy. Nor hath -Cicero, nor Logisto yet proved,
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