fante," bore iu a late auction.* This book was sold for thirty pounds. As it was written by one Jordanus Brunus, a professed atheist, with a design to .depreciate religion, every one was apt to fancy, from the extravagant price it bore, that there must be something iu it very formidable. I must confess that, happening to get a sight of one of them myself, J could not forbear perusing it with this apprehension; hut found there was so very little danger in it, that I shall venture to give my readers a fair account of the whole plan upon which this wonderful treatise is built. The author pretends that Jupiter, once upon a time, resolved upon a reformation of the constellations: for which purpose, having summoued the stars together, he complains to them of the great decay of the worship of the gods, which he thought so much the harder, having called several of those celestial bodies by the names of the heathen deities, and by that means made the heavens as it were a book of the pagan theology. Momus tells him, that this is uot to be wondered at, since there were so many scandalous stories of the deities. Upon which the author takes occasion to cast reflections upon all other religions, concluding that Jupiter, after a full hearing, discarded the deities out of heaven, and called the stars by the names of the moral virtues. This short fable, which has no pretence in it to reason or argument, and but a very small share of wit, has however recommended itself, wholly by its impiety, to those weak men who would distinguish themselves by the singularity of their opinions. There are two considerations which have been often urged against atheists, and which they never yet could get over. The first is, that the greatest and most emiuent persons of all ages have been against them, and always complied with the public forms of worship established in their respective countries, when there was nothing in them either derogatory to the honour of the Supreme Being, or prejudicial to the good of mankind. The Platos and Ciceros among the ancients; the Bacons, the * Of the library of Charles Barnard, Esq. in 17)1, for £28. It is now fery icarce, and has fetched the exorbitant price of £50. The author of this book, Giordano Bruno, was a native of Nola, in the kingdom of Naples, and published his Spaccio, &c, at Sir Philip Sidney's request, at London, whither he came after being expelled Geneva. Morhoff, Polyhist. i. 1. 8. 22, speaking of atheists, says,—' Jordanum. tamen Brunurn kuic clasH non annumerarem,—Manifesto in ilto ath&'smi vtttiffia non deprekendo? Bruno published many other writings said to be atheistical. The book spoken of here, *as printed, not at Paris, as it is said in the title page, nor in 1514 ; but at London, and in 1584, limo, and dedicated to Sir Philip Sidney. There was *i edition of it in English, 1713.—Bruno at length fell into the hands of theInquisition at Venice; and, refusing to retravt, was burnt at the stake, Fob. 17,1600. Boyles, and the Lockcs, among our own countrymen, are all instances of what I have been saying; not to mention any of the divines, however celebrated, since our adversaries challenge all those, as men who have too much interest in this case to be impartial evidences. But what has been often urged as a consideration of much more weight, is not only the opinion of the better sort, but the general consent of mankind to this great truth ; which I think could not possibly have come to pass, but from one of the three following reasons.—Either that the idea of a God is innate and co-existent with the mind itself; or, that this truth is so very obvious, that it is discovered by the first exertion of reason in persons of the most ordinary capacities; or, lastly, that it has been delivered down to us through all ages by a tradition from the first man. The atheists are equally confounded, to whichever of these three causes we assign it; they have been so pressed by this last argument from the general consent of mankind, that after great search and pains, they pretend to have found out a nation of atheists, I mean that polite people the Hottentots. I dare not shock my readers with the description of the customs and manners of these barbarians, who are in every respect scarce one degree above brutes, having no language among them but a confused gabble, which is neither well understood by themselves nor others. • It is not however to be imagined how much the atheists have gloried in these their good friends and allies. Jf we boost of a Socrates or a Seneca, they may now confront them with these great philosophers the Hotteutots. Though even this .point has, not without reason, been several times controverted, I see no manner of harm it could do religiou, if we should entirely give them up this elegant part of mankind. Methinks nothing more shews the weakness of their cause, than that no division of their fellow creatures join with them, but those among whom they themselves own reason is almost defaced, and who have little else but their shape which can entitle them to any place in the species. Besides these poor creatures, there have now and then been instances of a few crazed people in several nations, who have denied the existence of a deity. The catalogue of these is however very short; even Vanini,* the most celebrated champion for the cause, professed before his judges that he believed the existence of a God; and, taking up a straw which lay before him on the ground, assured thein, that alone was • Lucilio Vanini, a Neapolitan, was a priest, it is said, of no very regular fife and of atheistical principles, which he industriously disseminated both by his writings and conversation. In the thirty-fourth year of his age be had his tongue cut out, and was burnt at Toulouse, Feb. 19,1619. sufficient to convince him of it; alleging several arguments to prove that it was impossible nature alone could create anything. I was the other day reading an account of Casimir Lyszynski, a gentleman of Poland, who was convicted and executed for this prime.* The manner of his punishment was very particular. As soon as his body was burnt, his ashes were put into a cannon, and shot into the air towards Tartary. I am apt to believe that if something like this method of punishment should prevail in England (such is the natural good sense of the British nation), thit whether we rammed an atheist whole into a great gun, or pulverized our infidels, as they do in Poland, we should not have many charges. I should however propose, while our ammunition lasted, that instead of Tartary, we should always keep two or thieti cannons ready pointed towards the Cape of Good Hope, in order to shoot our unbelievers into the country of the Hottentots. In my opinion, a solemn judicial death is too great an honour for an atheist, though I must allow the method of exploding him, as it is practised in this ludicrous kind of martyrdom, has something in it proper enough to the nature of his offence. There is indeed a great objection against this manner of treating them. Zeal for religion is of so active a nature, that it seldom knows where to rest; for which reason I am afraid, after having discharged our atheists, we might possibly think of shooting off our sectaries; and as one does not foresee the vicissitudes of human affairs, it might one time or other come to a man's own turn to fly out of the mouth of a demi-culverin. If any of my readers imagine that I have treated these gentlemen in too ludicrous a manner, I must confess, for my own part, I think reasoning against such unbelievers upon a point that shocks the common sense of mankind, is doing them too great an honour, giving them a figure in the eye of the world, and making people fancy that they have more in them than they really have. As for those persons who have any scheme of religious worship, I am for treating such with the utmost tenderness, and should endeavour to show them their errors with the greatest temper and humanity: but as these miscreants are for throwing down religion in general, for stripping mankind of what themselves own is of excellent use in all great societies, without once offering to establish anything in the room of it; I think the best way of dealing with them, is to retort their own weapons upon them, which are those of scorn and mockery. • Bltxjeli.. , X. * Caiimir Lyszynski, a Polish knight, suffered in the mnnncr described k*re at Warsaw in" 1680. See Moshcim's Ecclesiastical Histoiy. Non pudendo, sed non faciendo id quod non decet, impudcntize nomcn etTngere debemui. ’ TULL. The way to avoid the reputation of impudence, is not to be ashamed of what we do, but never to do what we ought to be ashxnncd of. LIANY are the epistles I receive from ladies extremely afliicted that they lie under the observation of scandalous people, who love to defame their neighbours, and make the nnjustest interpretation of innocent and indifferent actions. They describe their own behaviour so unhappily, that there indeed lies some cause of suspicion upon them. It is certain, that there is no authority for persons who have nothing else to do, to pass away hours of conversa~ tion upon the miscarriages of other people ; but since they will do so, they who value their reputation should be cautious of appearances to their disadvantage: but very often our young women, as well as the middle-aged, and the gay part of those growing old. without entering into a formal league for that purpose, to awoman agree upon a short way to preserve their characters, and go on in a way tlat at best is only not vicious. The method is, when an ill-natured or talkative girl has said anything that bears hard upon some part of another`s carriage, this creature, if not in any of their little cabals, is rundown lbr the most censorious dangerous body in the world. Thus they guard their reputation rather than their modesty; as if guilt lay in being under the imputation of a fault, and not in a. commission of it. Orbicilla is the kindest poor thing in town, but the most blushing creature living. It is true, she has not lost the sense of shame, but she has lost the sense of innocence. If she had more confidence, and never did anything which ought to stain her cheeks. would she not be much more modest without that ambiguous sntfusion, which is the livery both of guilt and innocence. Modesty consists in being conscious of no ill, and not in being ashamed of having done it. When eople go upon any other foundation than the truth of their own hearts for the conduct of their actions, it lies in the power of scandalous tongues to carry the world before them, and make the rest of mankind fall in with the ill for fear of reproach. On the other hand,to do what you ought, is the read way to make calumny either silent, or ineffectually malicious. gy euser, in his “Fairy Queen," says admirably to young ladies unmliar the distress of being defamed, "The best," said he, "that t can you advise Is to avoid the occasion of the ill; Removed is, th' effect surceaseth still. Subdue desire, and bridle loose delight; Shun secrecy, and talk in open sight; Instead of tbis care over their words and actions, recommended by a poet in old Queen Bess's days, the modern way is to do and say what you please, and yet be the prettiest sort of woman in the world. If fathers and brothers will defend a lady's honour, she is quite as safe as in her own innocence. Many of the distressed, who suffer under the malice of evil tongues, are so harmless that they are every day they live asleep till twelve at noon; concern themselves with nothing but their own persons till two; take their necessary food between that time and four; visit, go to the play, and sit up at cards till towards the ensuing morn; and the malicious world shall draw conclusions from innocent glances, short whispers, or pretty familiar railleries with fashionable men, that these fair ones are not as rigid as vestals. It is certain, say these " goodest" creatures very well, that virtue does not consist in constrained behaviour and wry faoes: that must be allowed; but there is a decency in the aspect and manner of Indies, contracted from a habit of virtue, and from general reflections that regard a modest conduct, all which may be understood, though they cannot be described. A young woman of this sort claims an esteem mixed with affection and honour, and meets with no defamation: or, if she does, the wild malice is overcome with an undisturbed perseverance in her innocence. To speak freely, there are such coveys of coquettes about this town, that if the peace were not kept by ")me impertinent tongues of their own sex, which keep them undi!T some restraint, we should have no manner of engagement upon them to keep them in any tolerable order. As I am a Spkctator, and behold how plainly one part of womankind balance the behaviour of the other, whatever I may think of tale-bearers or slandererers, I cannot wholly suppress them, no more than a general would discourage spies The enemy would easily surprise him whom they knew had no intelligence of their motions. It,is so far otherwise with me, that 1 acknowledge I permit a she-slanderer or two in every quarter of the town, to live in the characters of coquettes, and take all the innocent freedoms of the rest, in order to send me information of the behaviour of iheir respective sisterhoods. But as the matter of respect to the world which looks on, is ear |