ATHEISM. 



Atheism, consumed, his ashes were collected and shot from 

 ' v ' the mouth of a cannon. Cosmo Ruggeri, a Floren- 

 tine, one of the most audacious infidels of any age, 

 died at Paris in 1615, uttering the most horrible im- 

 pieties. We might have mentioned also, that among^ 

 the ancients, Protagoras and Diagoras, followers of 

 Democritus, and Theodorus o:ic of the Cyrenaic 

 sect, were accounted martyrs for atheism. The first 

 was banished, the second condemned and obliged to 

 flee from his country, and the last underwent the 

 punishment d death. 



It has been common to reduce this variety of profes- 

 sed atheists to a few general classes. In the first volume 

 efObservatiot'.es Select, ad Rem. lit. Spectant. it is said 

 that there were three degrees of atheism among the 

 ancients. 1. The denial of the existence of God : 

 2. Denying that the world is the work of the God 

 or Gods who are acknowledged : and, 3. Asserting 

 that God, in creating the world, was moved, not by 

 his own free will, but by the invincible necessity of 

 nature. Under the last head, Aristotle ami the 

 Stoics are comprehended. 



We may in general terms refer all atheists to two 

 principal divisions, those who accounted for the pre- 

 sent system of things on the supposition of chance, 

 and those who ascribed all things to fate. Cud worth 

 subdivides these classes into four ; two of whom be- 

 lieved matter to be animated, and the two others in- 

 animate. The first class were the Hylozoi&ts, or Stra- 

 tonici, (so named from Strato of Lampsacus,) who 

 believed all the particles of matter to have life essen- 

 tially, though without sense or knowledge. Hobbes 

 is supposed to have borrowed some oi his notions 

 from this school. A second scheme, called the 

 Psettdo-Zenonian, or Stoical, supposes the universe 

 to be disposed and ordered by one regular and me- 

 thodical, but senseless plastic nature. Seneca, and 

 the younger Pliny, appear to have adopted this opi- 

 nion. The third form, denominated the Hylopathian, 

 or Anaximandrian, resolves every thing into u M*, mat- 

 ter, and its -&>*, affections, forms, and qualities. 

 This was the unintelligible language of the Ionic phi- 

 losophers. The last form, the Democritic system of 

 atoms, is by far the most considerable, and the best 

 known, chiefly in consequence of its having been 

 adopted by Epicurus, and illustrated by Lucretius 

 in one of the most beautiful productions of the Ro- 

 man muse, the poem De lierum Natura. The An- 

 aximandrian and Democritic atheists derive all things 

 from a fortuitous nature, and assert the eternity of 

 matter, but not of the world. The Stratonical and 

 Stoical atheists suppose some life to be fundamental 

 and original, ingenerable and incorruptible; but they 

 do not admit that it possesses consciousness or per- 

 ception. 



All these sects, it will be observed, undertook to 

 solve the phenomena of nature by means of hypothe- 

 ses, which excluded the operation of mind ; but 

 winch, it must at once be perceived, were altogether 

 unsusceptible of proof. Modern atheists have in 

 general been more cautious. They have contented 

 themselves with endeavouring to refute the argu- 

 ments on which the belief in a Deity is founded ; 

 and some of them have thought it prudent, like the 

 ancient Pyrrhonists, to entrench themselves in unli- 

 3 



mited scepticism. By the aid of metaphysical sub- Atheism. 

 tleties, they have sometimes confounded the ignorant, </"' 



and perplexed even the rational believer. But wc 

 are confident, that the wonderful ceconomy of the 

 material world, the evident adaptation of means to 

 ends, the mutual subserviency of different parts of na- 

 ture, the symmetry, the harmony, the manifest uni- 

 ty of design, and the numerous beneficial provisions 

 for the accommodation and enjoyment of sentient 

 beings, which every moment burst on our notice, 

 cannot be contemplated by a sound and reflecting 

 mind, without irresistibly impressing a conviction, in- 

 comparably more powerful than any of the transient 

 doubts, resulting from objections which insinuate that 

 all our knowledge is delusive. 



If the indications of design be so abundant, and if 

 the idea of Deity be so natural and obvious, whence 

 is it, that a multiplicity of systems have been coatti. 

 ved by speculative men, to account for the creation 

 of the world without *}? aid of intelligent power ? 

 and what have been the causes which have led num- 

 bers to embrace these unsatisfactory tenets, or at 

 least to reject the belief in a God ? Lord Bacon 

 says, in one part of his writings, that the principal 

 causes of atheism are curious controversies, and pro- 

 fane scoffing. In another place he adds to these, the 

 unworthiness of priests, and. what he calls learned 

 times, especially when attended with peace and pros- 

 perity. He says also, that atheism proceeds from 

 tolly and ignorance ; because, though in the thresh- 

 hold of philosophy, the mind, dwelling on second 

 causes, may be apt to overlook the first cause, yetj 

 by proceeding farther, and marking the dependence 

 and concatenation of the great series of causes, we 

 are brought to believe that the highest link is fixed 

 to the throne of God. These,. and similar expres- 

 sions which occur often in the works of this distin- 

 guished man, arc singular in one respect : For in his 

 Essays, he seems to doubt if there were ever any con- 

 templative atheists, except perhaps Bias, Diagoras, 

 and Lucian ; and yet he is not struck with the in- 

 consistency of assigning causes for a phenomenon, the 

 occurrence of which appeared to be so questionable. 

 He maintains another position, which Boost people 

 will think paradoxical : He insists, that the atomical 

 school of Democritus and Leucippus, " which is 

 most accused of atheism, doth most demonstrate re- 

 ligion ;" because (as is no doubt true) it is incon- 

 ceivable that an army of minute particles should have 

 produced this orderly and beautiful universe, without 

 a divine marshall to allot them their several stations. 

 He defends Epicurus against the charge of atheism 

 and of dissimulation ; and yet, amidst all his incredu- 

 lity with regard to the existence of atheists, he says, 

 that no heretics arc more anxious to gain proselytes 

 than they, and that they will even suffer in the cause, 

 and not recant. We advert to these inconsistences, 

 because we have seen the authority of Bacon quoted 

 in favour of the opinion, that there can scarcely be a 

 contemplative atheist ; whereas it is evident that his 

 lordship's opinion was very fluctuating ; and we may 

 have occasion to shew hereafter, that some of his 

 other expressions on the subject are still more apt to 

 mislead the inattentive reader. 



We are convinced that atheism nwst, in all case*, 



