ON MATTERS OF BELIEF. IO9 



the moft beneficent purpofes, active love towards man- 

 kind and a lively hope of a better sftate for thofe who 

 have made themfelves capable of it in the prefent, — • 

 mull be the true point of union among chriftians, and 

 to excite thofe fentiments in them muft be the aim of 

 thofe who would be worthy of the honourable title of a 

 teacher of the unadulterated religion of ChrifL 



How much foever all thefe truths may have loft by 

 my manner of delivering them, they are, nevertheless, 

 in themfelves too luminous, not to enlighten every one 

 who has eyes to fee. I know very well the fophillry 

 and falfe conclufions that are employed partly to wea- 

 ken them, and partly to reprefent them as dangerous 

 to the government : they have been often enough irre- 

 futably anfwered ; and it is a real difgrace to the human 

 underftanding, that it mould be ftill neceffary to be 

 perpetually contending for principles which are the 

 palladium of humanity, and are at the fame time fo 

 evident, that to deny them is jull as abfiird as to deny 

 the reality of motion or the exiftence of the things 

 about us. 



As it is very eafy to make the application of what I 

 have been hitherto faying, to the prefent times, I 

 leave it entirely to my reader's own reflections ; and 

 Hi all only add what follows for preventing all poflible 

 mifunderflanding. It is by no means my intention to 

 advife any protefiant prince to invite into his domini- 

 ons, by a public proclamation, all kinds and fubdivi- 

 fipns of Arians, half and whole Pelagians, Eutychians, 

 Neilorians, Manichees, Gnoftics, with all other ans* 

 ees, ics, and ifts, which have ever appeared in dear 

 chriftexvdom, from anno dom. 34. to the prefent year 



of 



