A T H 



10 



A T H 



Atheism, irrational savages, have existed, it is said, who had 

 never heard the name of a Deity, or even formed the 

 idea in their minds ; and the creeds of many ancient 

 nations present few traces of an enlightened belief. 

 But this deplorable ignorance in which they were fan* 

 1, this negative atheism, could never be ex- 

 pected to operate as a principle of action, till it grew 

 up into that monstrous complication of errors which 

 obtains the name of superstition, and which is related 

 in the same degree to atheism as mania is to melan- 

 choly. 



Bayle has been censured for saying, that there 

 have been atheists and Epicureans, who excelled 

 most of their idolatrous contemporaries in good mo- 

 rals. He vindicates his assertion not only by appeal- 

 ing to the testimony of credible writers, but by ac- 

 counting for the fact. He shews that other princi- 

 ples, besides regard to the will of God, may restrain 

 men from gross vices, the love of praise, the fear of 

 infamy, gentleness of natural disposition, and the re- 

 straint of human laws. The first which he mentions 

 is unquestionably the strongest. The love of repu- 

 tation is so powerful, as often to preponderate over 

 every other impulse ; and it is generally associated, in 

 minds of a particular construction, with a romantic 

 sense of honour, and a pride of appearing superior to 

 the fear of punishment, or the hope of reward. The 

 love of virtue, for its own sake, is much insisted on' 

 by a certain class of writers, as a principle of the 

 highest efficacy ; but we cannot ascribe to it any- 

 very powerful influence over those who have so far 

 overcome the native feelings of their minds, as to re- 

 fuse to recognise the signatures of wise and benevo- 

 lent design, imprinted on every department of nature. 



We shall conclude by observing, that atheism has 

 often been punished by the civil power as a crime of 

 the most atrocious malignity. Justice and expediency 

 equally demand, that penal laws relating to religion 

 should be very sparingly enacted. It is certain, that 

 no crime can be more malignant than the attempt to 

 propagate a belief which is so unfavourable to the 

 well-being of human society, the happiness of life, 

 and the hopes of futurity. Yet we cannot subscribe 

 to the opinion, that none write so well against atheists 

 as those who sign the warrant for their execution. It" 

 is always dangerous to punish men for sentiments 

 which may be construed by others into a tendency to 

 atheism. Whoever reflects on the condemnation of 

 Anaxagoras, and the martyrdom of Socrates, will 

 tremble at the prospect of having such a power lod- 

 ged in the hands either of magistrates or churchmen, 

 except when the impiety has been so audacious and 

 unreserved, that there can be no room for hesitating 

 concerning its reality. In such a case as this, when 

 the denial of a God is openly avowed, we believe the 

 most suitable punishment would be to devote the of- 

 fender, as a dangerous maniac, to solitary confine- 

 ment. Nothing but insanity of understanding, or 

 still greater insanity of heart, can prompt any man 

 to the atrocity of saying deliberately, there is no 

 God ; thus endeavouring to dissolve the firmest ties of 

 morality, to abolish the strongest bonds of social 

 order, and to rob the pious mind of its sweetest solace 

 under the vexations of life, and of the animating pro- 

 spect into the world to come. 



We have purposely omitted taking notice of the Atheliug 

 objections which have been urged by some late seep- II 



tical writers against the argum. nt for a Deity. They , 

 will come under our review with greater propriety, 

 when we give an account of the lives and opinions of 

 these authors. We have also passed over a number 

 of particulars which we intended to adduce in sup- 

 port of the opinion we have advanced with regard to 

 the doctrines of the persons whom we have named as 

 atheists. We have even shortened the list consider- 

 ably, that the article might not swell beyond the 

 bounds we had prescribed to it. 



We subjoin a short list of authors, whose writing* 

 are calculated to act as an antidote to the poison of 

 atheism. 



Galen de Usu Parlium. Derham Physico-Theo- 

 logy. Ray, Wisdom of God. Clarke's Demonstra- 

 tion. Boyle of Final Causes. Bentley and others 

 Sermons at Boyle's Lectures. Foster on Ac//. Reli- 

 gion. Abernethy on the Attributes. Paley's Na- 

 tural Theology, (a) 



ATHEL1NG, from the Saxon cethel, noble, 

 was the title given by the Saxons to the presumptive 

 heir of the crown, (j) 



ATHEL or ./Ethelingay Isle, or the Lsle or 

 Nobles, a piece of rising ground in Somersetshire, 

 formed into an island by the junction of the Thonc 

 with the Parrot, a little below Staunton. It is ce- 

 lebrated as the asylum of King Alfred for nearly 

 twelve months, when the kingdom was overrun by 

 the Danes. From this place, defended by marshes 

 and inaccessible roads, Alfred made frequent sallies 

 upon the Danes, and subsisted himself and his fol- 

 lowers by plunder, till better prospects called him 

 from thio impregnable retreat. In this island Alfred 

 afterwards founded a monastery of Benedictine monks, 

 and conferred upon it very extensive privileges. 

 Many antiquities were dug up here in 1674. See 

 Hume's History, chap. ii. p. 83. ; Collinson's His- 

 tory of Somersetshire ; and Alfred, (t) 



ATHEL STAN, one of the kings of England, 

 and natural son of Edward the Elder, succeeded his 

 father in 925. See Hume's History, chap. ii. p. 

 106. ; Henry's History, vol. iii. p. 94. vol. iv. p. 225. ; 

 and England, (re) 



ATHENiEA, the name of festivals celebrated at 

 Athens in honour of Minerva. SeePANATHEN.*A. (J) 



ATHENiEA, a genus of plants of the class Oc- 

 tandria, and order Monogynia. See Botany, (to) 



ATHENAEUM, a place of public resort at A- 

 thens dedicated to Minerva, and frequented by the 

 poets, philosophers, and orators, who recited their 

 compositions. The Athensa were built in the form 

 of an amphitheatre. The most celebrated buildings 

 of this kind were at Athens, Rome, and Lyons, (j ) 



ATHENiEUS, a celebrated Greek grammarian. 

 He was born at Naucratis in Egypt, and flourished, 

 according to the most probable computation, in the 

 beginning of the third century. Very little further 

 s known concerning him. It has been erroneously 

 inferred, from some passages in his writings, that he 

 must have lived to an extreme old age, having been 

 acquainted witli the poet Pancrates, and lived after 

 the time of Oppian. Now, though the former re- 

 ceived some present from the Emperor Hadrian, who 



