439 



their tendency, and encouraged phyficial purfuits for tlie fole puipofc 

 of estradling conclufions contradicting the chronology of Mofes. 



Yet Mr. D'Alembert is juft as much hurt as Mr. Playfair himfelf, 

 when the intentions of his friends, and the tendency of their works 

 are deemed hoftile to revelation j and beftirs himfelf with equal zeal 

 to clear them of the imputation. 



" Divines," (fays he) have fought to conneft Chriftianity with fyf- 

 " tems purely philofophical ; in vain did religion, fo fimple in its 

 " tenets, conftantly throw off the alloy that disfigured it ; it is from that 

 " alloy that the notion has arifen, of its being attacked in works, 

 " where nothing was farther from the minds of the writers." (Abufc 

 of Criticifm.) 



Such is the language Mr. U Alemhert holds out to the public ; he talks 

 in a very different ftyle to Voltaire, his friend and ally in his attacks 

 upon revelation, to whom he writes thus : 



" This letter, my dear companion, will be delivered to you by Def- 

 " marets, a man of merit and of found philofophy, who wiflies to pay 

 " his refpefts to you, on his journey to Italy, where he purpofes 

 " making fuch obfer'vations on natural hijiory, as may very -well give 

 *' the lie to Mofes ; he will not fay a word of this to the mafter of 

 " the facred palace; but if, perchance, he fhould difcover that the 

 " world is more ancient than even the Septuagint pretend, he will 

 *' not keep it a fecret from you." (Vol. 68, Letter 137.) 



This unprejudiced naturalift, who has determmed upon his concluCon, 

 before he examines the fads, that is, the premifes from which he is 

 to deduce it •, this aflbciate of Voltaire and D'Jlembert, in their labours 

 to rid mankind of their religious prejudices, this fame M. Defmarets 

 is now ftiled the father of the volcanic theory, having, in the courfe 

 of the miflion upon which we have traced him, difcovered bafait to 

 he a volcanic production : nor did he negleft to apply his difcovery 

 to the main objeft of his mifHon, to wit, an impeachment of the cre- 

 dibiliiy of Mofes, for it appears, he induftrioufly diffeminated his doc- 

 trines 



