S. I am much obliged to
you for giving me this present

G4

prospect of the Proofs of Christian
Religion, and shal not fail
to observ your Directions in
the further study of those Authors
that you recommend unto
me. Nothing is so important
as this; and therfore nothing
shal have so much of my
care. This is indeed so very
important, that, supposing a
Satisfaction therin, I scarse
know any thing else worth the
while to inquire after. And
if I could perfectly attain to
that freedom from al preoccupation
which you required
from me in the beginning of
this Entertainment, I should
certainly here cease from troubling
you with any further Difficultys.
For I must acknowledg
that I have now none left
but such as arise from those
confused Notions which I had
formerly perhaps too carelesly
heaped together. Nevertheless
I confess that som of them
yet stick with me: and the
little relation that I can finde
they have unto this even Path,
wherein you conduct me, leavs
yet som relicks of uneasiness
in my minde.

F. Fear not to propound
them, whatever they ar. We
shal perhaps finde som more
easy, and more general Way
to solv them than thou art
aware of.

S. If it be so indeed, That
the Way to Eternal Happiness
lys onely in the strict Performance
of those Dutys which
the Nature of Things, the Law
of God, requires from us; what
shal we then say to al that ceremonial
Outside of Religion
which bears so glorious an Appearance
in the Eys of the
World? How shal we esteem
al those notional Systems of
Theology, those numerous Articles
of Speculative Belief, that
have little or no Influence upon
our Practice? And lastly,
what shal we judg of the Condition
of those Persons who fal
short of that Perfection in
Practice, which these Rules
require? I know you see the ful
extent of these Questions, and
therfore I desire not to descend
into Particulars; but
chuse rather to leav them in
this general Form, that they
may be the more fit to receiv
that general Answer which
you make me expect.

F. Thou dost very wel. But
now, before I enter upon that
Answer, I think fitting to premise
one Word in further Confirmation
of thy Supposition,
That our Eternal Happiness dos
really depend upon the Performance
of our Duty. Tho that
Supposition be the plain Consequence
of the strictest Reasoning
we have been able to
make by our natural Light,
yet it wil be useful unto us to
observ also what Ground it has
in Scripture. For we must remember
that the View we ar
now taking of Religion is properly
to be confined unto that
Knowledg we have of it by
Divine Revelation. And in
this Method I think I shal
establish the same Conclusion
by as clear Testimony as it is
possible for Words to express.
If we examin it First by those
figurative Expressions, of
knowing Christ, of loving
Christ, of believing in
Christ, of being in Christ,
of being born of God,
and the like, which al import
a Title to future Happiness,
we shal finde no other Mark
wherby to know that we ar
in such a Condition, than by
our Obedience to God's Commandements.
Again: If we
look into the great End of Jesus-Christ's
coming into the
World, we shal finde indeed
that it was to save us. But
how? By sanctifying us.
It is said, That he became the
Author of Eternal Salvation.
But to whom? To them
that obey him. He offered himself
a Sacrifice, and bare our
Sins in his own Body on the
Tree. But why? That we might
be sanctifyed by his Offering,
and that being dead
unto Sin we should liv unto
Righteousness. He redeemed us,
also, it is tru. But from what?
From Iniquity: And onely
consequentially thereunto, from
Punishment. This we must
needs take to be the Sense of
those Expressions, and that
the great Design of his Appearance
was to destroy the
Works of the Devil. For it is
expresly said that nothing
Unclean shal in any Wise enter
into the new Jerusalem, and
that no Man without Holiness
shal see God. And hence
it is that Jesus-Christ himself
so plainly tels us that it is
not every one that saith unto
him Lord, Lord, which is to
say, that acknowledges him to
be the Messiah, or that believs
in him so far onely as to pray
unto him, and to expect Salvation
by him that shal enter
into the Kingdom of Heaven,
but he that doth the Wil
of the Father who is in Heaven.
And the Apostles also, therfore,
so carefully precaution us
against the Mistake of Thinking
that the hearing of the
Law could profit us any thing
without the doing of it. Let
no Man deceiv you says
one of them he that doth
Righteousness is Righteous, and
he that committeth Sin is of the
Devil And another, Be
not deceived, God is not mocked,
for whatsoever a Man soweth
that shal he also reap. There
lys the Stress of al: It is in
doing. Or if this be not yet
sufficient to prove it, we have
but to reflect, in the last place,
upon those Conditions by which
the Scripture declares we shal
be judged at the last Day. What
ar those Conditions that wil
be then demanded in us, so as
that with them we shal be received
into Happiness, and
without them condemned unto
Misery? In one Word, they
ar nothing else but Good
Works. Works of Piety, and
of Charity. Such Works as we
have already found to be required
from us, both by the
Natural and Written Law of
God. The Places that witness
this Truth ar ful and clear:
Wherfore I refer them with
al others that I hint at to
thy carefull Perusal. And I
think I may now conclude this
Point firmly established; That
the performance of our Duty is
the onely Means by which we
can expect Success in the working
out of our Happiness. Tho
I had hinted at this before, yet
thy last Questions have made
me think it needful to repeat
and fortify it.

S. And I can not but acknowledg
that tho I was also
in a great Measure perswaded
of it before, yet I have now
received a new Satisfaction in
this clearer Conviction. But
I see not yet the use you intend
to make of it, in order to
the solving my foresaid Difficultys:
Becaus those Difficultys
ar grounded even upon the
very Supposition that this
Doctrin is tru.

F. Thou wilst quickly perceiv
that Use. For this Principle,
being once firmly established,
will open us an easy
Passage through al manner of
Obstacles. Let us apply it to
thy first Inquiry. What shal
we say to al the ceremonial Outside
of Religion? I answer,
That it is just of so much tru
Valu as it contributes Help to
lead us in a Course of Obedience
to the Wil of God: And
no more. For that is the onely
thing of Consequence unto
us, and nothing is to be esteemed
further than as it has a
Tendency therunto.

S. Since you keep so strictly
to that Rule, I beg leav to
ask one Question, by the by,
before we proceed any further.
And it is this: Whether has
this Ceremonial Outside any such
real Influence upon that more
substantial part of Religion
which you place in Practice, or
no?

F. Yes, it has. The public
Assembling of People to
profess their Adoration of a
supreme Deity is an Honor absolutely
du unto that Deity, and
in that Respect is it self a part
of natural Religion. It is also
a proper Means of preserving
that awful Sense of Reverence
towards the Deity in the Mindes
of Men, which mightily curbs
their disorderly Inclinations,
and preservs Regularity and

H

Moderation in their very
Hearts. And further, it is a
great Help to the entertaining
of Brotherly Lov amongst
Neighbors, and therby to the
Setlement and Peace and Wel-Being
of Societys. These ar
al essential Parts of our Duty.
And therfore an external Profession
of Religion, having so
great an Influence therupon,
ought not to be slighted. But to
prevent Mistake, I wil ad this
Word: That, as several Circumstances,
of Persons, of Time,
and of Place, may require different
Methods of making
this outward Profession, becaus
one may be more successful
in som Occasions than in
others, therfore it is not to be
supposed that one and the same
exact Form therof is always
necessary: But that several
Alterations may be allowed in
this Ceremonial Part, according
to the Exigency of those Circumstances:
And that which
way soever contributes most at
any time to the main End of
Religion is then to be esteemed
and chosen as the most perfect.

S. I now conceiv this wel
enough. And therfore I intreat
you to proceed to my Second
Inquiry, which is about
the more Notional Part of Religion,
those Speculative Articles
of Belief which seem not
proper to have any great Influence
upon our Practice.

F. To that, I say, That if
those Speculations have really
no Influence at al upon our
Practice, then ar they to be
looked upon as meer Trifles, of
no real Valu. But if they
have any Influence that way,
then, as I said before, they ar
to be had in more or less Consideration,

H2

according as that
Influence is stronger or weaker.
The fundamental Point of al
Points, without which the
Apostle has observed there
can be no such thing as Religion,
is the Belief of the Existence
of a Deity, and of future
Rewards and Punishments. The
Influence of this is Universal,
it being adapted to the natural
Facultys of al Mankind; and
especially to work upon those
main Springs of Hope, and
Fear, which ar the chief Movers
unto Action: And therfore
it is called the Power
of God unto Salvation: and it
is in effect the powerfullest Engine
of al others to ingage
Men to their Dutys. There
ar other Points also, inferior
indeed to this in Strength and
general Usefulness, tho of a
more refined and nobler Nature;
yet of great Efficacy also,
where they ar on the one
side judiciously inculcated, and
on the other side received into
Mindes that ar fitly disposed;
Such Points or Articles I
mean of Belief, as Work by
a Principle of Love, and
whose particular Foundation
is in Christianity. But I judg
it not needful to branch out
these general Heads into so many
Subdivisions as som have
don. On the contrary, I rather
blame the too great Curiosity
of those Spirits, who by
such like Nicetys have rendred
our plain Duty an intricate Science;
and by laying too great
Stress upon Points of smal Moment,
have enervated the
Strength of the most substantial
ones. Nevertheless I condemn
not the Intention of any
Man, who, finding the Force

H3

of any such particular Topic
upon his own Minde, makes
use of it to incite himself to
his Duty. Let him in that
freely use his own Liberty.
Onely let him not offer to impose
his Fancys upon other People.
For, when al is don, the
tru Estimate of Opinions, as
wel as Ceremonys, is only to be
made by their Aptitude to influence
our Practice. Whatsoever
may be helpful to us in the
Performance of our Duty is to
be pursued: Whatsoever may be
a Hindrance in that Performance
ought to be avoided; and
whatsoever dos neither help nor
hinder may be looked upon as
indifferent. But, as all Men
ar not equally wrought upon
by the same Motives, so there
may and ought to be som Latitude
allowed in this kinde as
wel as in the other.

S. I intreat you, permit me
to interpose one Word more
before we quit this Subject.
The great Indifferency which
you teach me to have for Doctrins
that ar meerly speculative, and
the narrow Reduction of Things
absolutely necessary to few Heads,
which you seem to aim at, ar
so opposite both to the common
Opinion and Practice of
the most part of Christians,
that I would gladly learn either
how to comport my self
amongst them in those Respects
without Offence, or if
possible, how to oppose them
with yet more Strength.
Wherfore if you judg any
thing further may be conveniently
added upon that Subject,
I beseech you not to
refuse me that Satisfaction.

F. Truly if thou attendest
rightly to what I have said already,

H4

there is little need of adding
further. But however I
wil do it in a few words, that
may answer both those different
Ends which thou aimest
at. And, first, in opposition
to those Multiplyers of speculative
and abstruse Notions.
Let such Men consider that the
end of Religion is to help the
meanest and the ignorantest of
mankinde to Salvation, as wel
as the richest and the learnedest.
Any such Notions therfore as
pass the comprehension of the
meanest Capacitys ar not to be
reckoned as things whose knowledg
is of absolute and indispensable
necessity to every one. Becaus
those that fall short of
that comprehension would
therby be excluded from a
possibility of Salvation: And
I may ad that it is to be feared
even the subtilest of those
Doctors themselves would, in
som case, run great hazard. If
this simple Consideration wil
not make them more modest in
their speculations, and more reserved
in broaching them, it
may be justly doubted they ar
wedded therunto by som other
Ty than the bare lov of the
Truth. But if they wil hereupon
complain of an imaginary
Injury don to them, in confining
their lofty Fancys to
that low rank of contemplations
which occupy the vulgar,
thou mayst rectify their mistake
by looking back to what
I have already declared unto
thee, viz. that every man
may make use of such speculations
as he findes really to
have the most effectual power
upon himself to ingage him to
the performance of his Duty.
Let that onely be their end;
and in order therunto let them
freely exercise al the Facultys
of their own Soules: the more
the better. But I must stil
repeat, that in matters of such
abstracted Speculation as we
now speak of, no Man ought to
impose upon another. One man's
Opinions ought no more to be prescribed
for the entertainment of
another Man's minde, than one
man's Appetite ought to be the rule
of chusing food for another Man's
Stomack. Whatsoever is universally
found useful by every
one, either for Body or Minde,
may be determined to be universally
necessary: but nothing
else. At least I say at
least nothing can be determined
to be universally necessary
which the far greatest
part of Mankinde ar utterly
uncapable of receiving. Oh
that we could once see an expurgatory
Index of School-divinity
framed upon these Principles!
How would the Peace
of the World be restored and
secured, by rooting out the very
ground of al contention!
The work is not hard to comprehend.
These Rules ar easily
applied to particular Cases.
But I must leav those general
Reflections, to return to thee,
and tel thee that if thou appliest
what I have said to the [desi*]
*ou intimated'st of learning
how to comport thy self
amongst other Men of different
Opinions, thou wilst perceiv
therby that things indifferent
ar not worth the pains of contention,
nor can they compensate
the Evils that may attend
it: wherfore a prudent compliance
therin is for the most part
adviseable. But at the same
time, nay always, thou art
bound to preserve thy own
Thoughts inviolated in matters
essential; and neither to Act
nor declare any thing contrary
therunto; and also not in any
wise to be an Instrument of violating
that Priviledg in others
which thou claimest unto thy self.
The faithful observance of
these Rules, this gentle and
peaceable Disposition, wil I
assure thee help much to carry
thee smoothly through [*he]
roughest Passages that thou [illegible]
mayst happen to meet [illegible]
in thy Life. And this is now
ful enough for me to say upon
that Head. The further application
thereof I refer unto thy
own Sagacity.

S. What you have said, is
indeed abundantly sufficient.
And I wil be careful to make
use of it in my own Practice,
with al possible Modesty and
Inoffensiveness. Onely one
Difficulty more remains, which
I have already propounded,
about the Condition of those
Persons who fal short of that
Performance which your preceding
Rules seem to require.
But that Difficulty, I confess,
seems to me very considerable,
and withal something formidable.
For I am sensible of
the general Defectiveness of
Mankinde in that respect, and
therfore dread the Consequences
therof in my own Person.
If you can free me from that
Anxiety I acknowledg that my
Minde wil be at great Eas;
and I shal then cease from importuning
you any further
with such manner of Questions
as these have been.

F. Expect not that I should
eas thee by any Dispensation
from those Dutys which the
Law of God exacts. No:
With him Obedience is better

23

than Sacrifice. And I have already
sufficiently proved that
we can have no other certain
Mark, but our Obedience, of
our having any Interest in the
Sacrifice even of Christ himself.
That therfore is the thing that
lys upon us to look after; To
assure our Interest in him that
way; and then we need not
doubt of our participating of
those Benefits which he came
to procure unto Mankinde. I
say then, That our Obligation to
actual Obedience is indispensible.
But nevertheless I would not
have thee look upon it with so
uncomfortable a Prospect as
thou seemest to do. For tho
I wil acknowledg it to be hard,
yet I must assert that it is not
impossible to be performed. And
that being so, the Incouragements
propounded ar abundantly
sufficient to ingage any
reasonable Man in the Attempt.
This Argument is
Copious. But I wil indeavor,
as I have don hitherto, to bring
al to the shortest and directest
Issu that I can. Remember
then that in thy natural Researches,
thou hast established
one of the most essential Propertys
of the supreme Deity to
be Goodness. Now observ how
inconsistant it is with that
Idea, to suppose him to require
more from us than he has
capacitated us to perform. 'Tis
the unjust Charge of the slothful
Servant, that his Lord
expected to reap where he had
not sown; than which nothing
can be more injurious to the
Divine Perfections. The Obedience
therfore that he requires
must be such as is suitable to
the Capacity of Humane Nature
accompanyed with those
Assistances which he affords it.
He expects not from us the
Perfection of pure Intellectual
Spirits, but such things
as Men cloathed with Flesh
may attain unto. And from
every Man in particular he
expects Performances proportionable
to the particular Circumstances
of his Condition.
This is perfectly reasonable in
it self, and it is no less perfectly
established in Scripture.
Our Savior declares in many
places that the Measure of
Men's Transgressions should not
so much be taken by the Acts
themselvs, as by the measure of
Light and Conviction against
which they were committed. And
in one Place he dos it in
these express Words, That the
Servant who knew his Lord's
Wil, and prepared not himself,
neither did according to his

26

Wil, should be beaten with
many Stripes: But that he who
knew it not, and did commit
things worthy of Stripes, should
be beaten but with few. For he
ads unto whomsoever much is
given, of him shal be much required.
Thus therfore it is
evident that the Dutys required
from us bear a Proportion
to the Knowledg, and Strength,
and Opportunity, or in a word
to the Capacity given us. So
that they ar not absolute Impossibilitys,
and therfore neither
ought we to be dejected
with despair of their Atchievment.

S. I can not wel answer either
your Argument or your
Proof. But nevertheless I finde
in effect, by Experience, that
al Mankinde fal much short of
Perfection. And therfore this
seeming Appearance of it in

I

Theory dos not yet free me
from those Anxietys which
arise from its manifest and real
Defect.

F. Have Patience a little.
We shal quickly com to a better
understanding of the thing.
Thou allowest my Proof to be
good, that the Perfection required
from us is attainable;
but yet thou affirmest that in
effect it is never attained. These
things ar inconsistant one with
another. Let us inquire therfore
whether there be not som
Mistake in thy Notion of Perfection.
For probably it is in
this as in other Debates, that
the Knot lys onely in the right
Explication of som Term. Our
Wranglings ar ordinarily more
about Words than Things, and
most Men would be of the very
same Minde, if they did but once
rightly understand one another.
This Mistake of thine for
such I presume it to be I had
designed to obviate, by telling
thee already that the Obedience
required from us is such
as is suitable to the Capacity
of Humane Nature. Now I
desire thee to observ that if
thou lookest for such a Degree
of Perfection in that Obedience
as is absolutely abov that
Capacity, thou art in a manifest
Error: For that can not
be the Degree that is required
from us. Let us see then what
it is. The Expressions truly
ar very comprehensive and
strong: viz. That we must be
Holy, Pure, and Perfect, as our
Father who is in Heaven is Perfect.
Wel, what can this signify?
The absolute Perfection
of God is certainly not attainable
by such Creatures as we
ar. Wherfore the Sense of that,

I2

and al such like Commands,
must needs be, that as the Nature
and Essence of God is placed
in the highest Degree of
al Perfection, so We should
tend to the highest Degree of
that Perfection which our Natures
ar capable of; and that
we should faithfully improve
the Talents that ar put into
our Hands, the Opportunitys
and Advantages that ar offered
us, to that purpose. This, I
say, is possitively required of us,
and less than this wil not serv
the Turn.

S. I beg your excuse that I
cannot yet yield a ful assent
to what you drive at, until
you pleas to explain more particularly
to me what is that
very degree of perfection which
you say our Natures ar capable
of, that so I may examin
whether in effect it be ever attained
or no.

F. Thou dost wel: and I
wil endeavor to satisfy thee.
Remember then that it is not
the Perfection of God, nor of
Angels, but of Men: and that
neither is it the same Degree of
Perfection in each individual
Man, but different according to
Men's different capacitys. In a
word, it is not Impeccability,
but Sincerity. And
now I wil further shew thee
what this Sincerity means; and
that it is the very thing required
of us; as also that it is
attainable; and that it has been
attained. After which I advise
thee to dispute no longer
about it, but to apply thy self
to practice, and let the effects
therof shine forth in thy life.
Sincerity is nothing else but an
Honest, Upright, Hearty, and
constant application of Minde,
accompanied with the same faithful

I3

exertion of al possible endeavors,
to do the thing required.
Tis the doing of al that possibly
can be don, and not more. That
this is required appears from
God's demanding the whole
Heart, and declaring the
inconsistancy of his service
with that of the World: I say
this shows that he requires the
utmost exercise of al our Powers
in the obeying of his Commandements.
And where the
Heart is thus sincere and upright,
the Intention honest,
and the Minde willing, I do
not say that the wil is taken
for the deed, but I affirm that
the Deed is accepted according
to the Measure of the Capacity,
according to that a Man hath,
and not according to that he hath
not. And hence it is that in
Scripture a willing Heart is
frequently stiled a perfect Heart.
And the Apostle Paul in
the same place where he acknowledges
that he had not
really attained to Perfection, but
was onely pressing forwards towards
it, nevertheless accounts
himself amongst the number of
those that ar perfect: undoubtedly,
because his endeavors
were sincere and constant.
Now that this sort of Perfection
is attainable is evident in
it self, beyond any Proof that
can be made of it. For it is nothing
else but doing al that ever a
Man can do. And surely no Man
is so absurd as to deny the possibility
of his doing what he can do.
But here it wil be good to subjoin,
that this notion of doing
al a Man can do is not a palliation
for gross and frequent
miscarriages. On the contrary,
it is an absolute obligation
to overcom them. For there
is no Man but by a constant

I4

watchfulness may be so far
Master of his own actions as
not to fal frequently into the
same known fault. Let us
consider it in a familiar example.
What so common as
Swearing? Now can it be
doubted but any habitual
Swearer may, with a strong
Resolution and diligent Care,
retain himself one quarter of
an Hour from that Sin? Surely
it can not. But if a quarter
of an Hour, why not then
half an Hour, why not an
Hour, a Day, a Week, a Month,
a Year? The same Care wil
stil produce the same Effect.
And not only so, but the Work
wil be more easy in the End
than in the Beginning. For the
strength of the Habit, which
in the Beginning swayd powerfully
towards Vice, and made
the first Resistance difficult,
wil in the End help as effectually
towards the Work of
Reformation, and make the
Conquest easy. Then wil be
experienced the Truth of those
Sayings, That the Commandments
of Christ ar not grievous,
but that his Yoke is
easy and his Burden light. And
what I say on this particular
Instance of Swearing wil hold
in al other known Transgressions.
Resolution and Watchfulness
wil overcom them. He
that makes it as much his Business
to reform his Life as another
dos to learn some Trade,
or Art, wil succeed as effectually
in that Design as the
other in this. The one may
fail now and then: But in the
main he practises his Art exactly,
and is therfore reputed
a perfect Master.