ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING 143 



of a Grod, that he governs the world, that he is all-power 

 ful, wise, prescient, good, a just re warder and punisher, 

 and to be adored, may be shown and enforced from his 

 works; and many other wonderful secrets, with regard to 

 his attributes, and much more as to his dispensation and 

 government over the universe, may also be solidly deduced, 

 and made appear from the same. And this subject has been 

 usefully treated by several. 3 



But from the contemplation of nature, and the prin 

 ciples of human reason, to dispute or urge anything with 

 vehemence, as to the mysteries of faith, or over-curiously 

 to examine and sift them, by prying into the manner of the 

 mystery, is no safe thing: &quot;Give unto faith the things that 

 are faith s.&quot; And the heathens grant as much in that ex 

 cellent and divine fable of the golden chain, where &quot;men 

 and gods are represented as unable to draw Jupiter to earth, 

 but Jupiter able to draw them up to heaven.&quot; 4 So that it 

 is a vain attempt to draw down the sublime mysteries of 

 religion to our reason, but we should rather raise our minds 

 to the adorable throne of heavenly truth. And in this part 

 of natural theology, we find rather an excess than any de 

 fect; which we have however turned a little aside to note, 

 on account of the extreme prejudice and danger whiph both 

 religion and philosophy hence incur, because a mixture of 

 these makes both a heretical religion and a fantastic and 

 superstitious philosophy. 6 



It is otherwise, as to the nature of spirits and angels; 

 this being neither unsearchable nor forbid, but in a great 



3 And more particularly since, by Cudworth, in his &quot;Intellectual System of 

 the Universe&quot;; Mr. Boyle, in his &quot;Christian Virtuoso&quot;; Mr. Bay, in his 

 &quot;Wisdom of the Creation&quot;; Dr. Bentley in his &quot;Discourse of the Folly and 

 Unreasonableness of Atheism&quot;; Dr. Clarke, in his &quot;Demonstration of the 

 Being and Attributes of God&quot;; and by Derham, in his &quot;Physico Theology.&quot; 

 See also Raphson s &quot;De Deo&quot;; Dr. Nieuwentyt s &quot;Religious Philosopher&quot;; 

 Mr. Whiston s &quot;Astronomical Principles of Religion&quot;; Commenius s &quot;Physic* 

 ad lumen divinum reformat* Synopsis&quot;; Paley s &quot;Natural Religion&quot;; the 

 Bridgewater Treatises, and Cardinal Wiseman s &quot;Connection of Science with 

 Revealed Religion. &quot;Ed. 



4 Iliad, ix. 



6 See above, Prelim, sec. iii. 8, and hereafter of Theology, sec. ult. 



