THE RURAL SOCRATES- lo^ 



^vHeat harveft ; when the other, who was always talk- 

 ing of the importance of going to church, interrupted 

 him by faying, '' and this without prayino much to Gud'^ / 

 ' — "• This is more than you can know, replied Khyogg ; 

 '• but on my fide I know, that God blefles all honed and 

 *' diligent labor, and loves thofe who eat no bread which 

 ^^ their own hands have not provided.*^— -^'^ Woik, re- 

 '*• plied the critic, is without doubt proper ; but read- 

 *' iiig and praying mull, be added, or of what ufe would 

 *' be ali our good books of devotion r'* — ^^ And I, faid 

 ^' Kllyogg, know more than one of thefe books witii 

 *' which it would be better to warm the body, than the 

 '' imagination ; for ali thefe pious readings render men 

 " prejkming; and they think to difpenfe themfelvesfrom 

 "" paying any attention, when duty and good works arc 

 '' called for/' — ^^ Heavens ! what fcandal can exceed 

 "^ this, (anfwcred the other ; with a fury like that whicli 

 '' belongs to the orthodox theologian, when pronoun- 

 '^ cing upon the writings ofaphilofophical theologian :) 

 ^' It is plain that you have no religion, iince you make 

 ^' To little account of divine v/orfliip, and of prayer !" — - 

 '' I love religion (laid Kiiyogg) from the bottom of my 

 ^'' heart ; ?^nd I go very willingly to church, to edify 

 '• myfelf ; but unlefs there are good v/orks, 1 maintaia 

 '^' that all public worfliip, prayer, and pious books arc 

 •^^ v/holly ufelefs. If any one meditates an ur.jufl adr, 

 ^' or i'eeks to cheat his neighbor, his prayers are io ma- 

 " ny falilioods ; for ho v/ can he in effecl lenoufly ^d« 

 *' drefs himfelf to God and afl^ his bleffing, when he de- 

 '' figns a^n unjufl a<Sl, and ufes fraud and artifice to pro- 

 ^' cure his living ? If this is religion, is it not better to 

 ^^ be without it ?'" — '*' What horrors, (returned his an- 

 ^' tagonili- !) | now believe what I have heard, to be 

 ^•^ true ; that yt>u have worked on the afternoon of holy 

 ^'Thuriday, after having taken the facrament in the 

 " morning; and that on a Sunday you have carried 

 ^'your plough from one field to another, to be ready 

 ^^ for your v;ork on the Monday morning/'' 



