64 NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 s. vra. JA N . 22, 1921 in our moral Capacity towards the Happiness o Ms Creatures ; and in so doing, to the Embellish ing of his Works, & the Encrease of his Glor> "This, I think, all Religions are agreed hi. An< as to Speculative Matters, or to the diiteren Manner in which our particular Homage is to b ^paid him, it was as easy for the Supreme Beinf to have made as great a Conformity in thei Sentiments in this Respect, unless he had though it more proper to let it go as it is. Being pos sess'd therefore with these principles, it wa /with a much more sublime Pleasure, than ano would have had, more bigotted to his own Opinions, that I had all y 6 vast Superstructure of the Roman Religion display'd unto Me, in th several Conversations I have had with y Pro lessors of it. And as my Discourse for the mos Part tended more towards informing my Self o their Sentiments, with the Reasons of them, thai to Oppose Them, I had at once the Pleasure o the Information, and procur'd their Good Wil by the Easiness and Openness of my Conversa tion. Sometimes indeed, according as either the opportunity of the Time, Place, or humour o the Person would permit, I have enter'd the Lists with them, And it is not easily conceiv'c {as I never had studied their Religion thoro'ly how far a few generous well grounded principles of Natural Religion will carry one to put to Silence or at least to shifts worse than Silence the Contenders for some of these absurdities that are grafted on Revealed Religion. Was the Orthodox Doctrine of the Trinity but once exploded, The most absurd Part of Popery to a Protestant must fall with it. I mean their famous doctrine of Transubstantiation. For where would be the Bon Dieu, & all the Train of Whimsical Appendices of him, were he but found to have been but a meer Man, or at y 6 most a finite Being, of a degree somewhat Superior to Us? But let the absurdity of the concluded Doc- trine appear ever so great, it must be the principle on which it is founded, that must be considered, & removed out of the Way, before ever the Conclusion is medled with. I have great Reason to make this Observation, from a Reflexion that ame into nay Mind on my first going into y great Church of Antwerp (the most famous for its paintings, & the most truly superstitious Roman Church that T have yet seen, or as I am told, can see) Which was, That notwithstanding these Religious Appearances were so grosse, & unaccountable to M.e, yet that there were men of Conscience, Integrity* and good Sense that beleived them. This (so far as I could be a judge) I have found in many a Person I have had the honour to converse with ; and it was with great Pleasure I have heard their several Justifications on y 6 respective heads of their Religion. And truly I can't say I have not found much more Reason for many Arcles [sic] of their Faith than I expected, or than y 6 Inconsiderate World govern'd by Appearances, think they can alledge in their Behalf. And were it not that the last Article of their Beleif is so great a Degree of Un charitableness, as as [sic] an Exclusion of all that differ from Them from y e Favour of God, I could almost deliver my Self with respect to y 6 Roman Sect in particular, as Agrippa did of y e Christian in general that I am almost become .a^Catholick. But this Doctrine of Un charitable- ness which is of the Essence of their Religion, and y* of Persecution which many if not most of the Ecclesiasticks hold with it is So unchristian, So contrary to the genuine Spirit of Christianity, Humanity, and of all Religion, and even of the 'Beleif of a God it Self, that were I not able to answer one argument for their Particular Opinions this One Thing alone wou'd absomtely alienate my Mind from it. But a propos to this variety of Opinion in Religious matters whereof I have been now writing, and with which it is Time to have done, I cant avoid laying before your Lord- ship a Reflection I made this Week as I was crossing the barren Heaths of Westphalia, after I had seen the fertile Plains of y Low Countrys : Why might not the Almighty have expresly intended Something in the Intellectual World that should differ one from Another, as these Countrys do, from the Beauty of Brabant Flanders ? And yet contribute to y 6 Beauty of the Whole, as the different Faces csf the Earth, most manifestly does ? With this Reflection I take leave of this Subject, & of your Lordship ; asking your Pardon for Detaining You so long with my imperfect Reasonings if they have proved tedious ; or if your goodness has pardon 'd them, referring My Self to y 6 renewing of them, when I shall have the honour of conversing with Your Lordship face to face. Hitherto I have entertain'd Your Lordship out of the Ten Provinces ; And I have entertain'd You so long on y m or what arose out of them that I have no Time, nor Yr Lp patience to have any Thing said of the other Seven. Nor of West- phalia, from whence I write You this Letter. All this, and a great deal more I have to say of y e same Countrys, I shall refer to another Occa- sion. And proceed for acquaint You, That my Seing so fully the Low-Countries was so far from Extinguishing or any manner Satisfying my Curiosity of encreasing my acquaintance with e Works of my Creator (for what else is y e ravelling out of once Country into another, but
- he going out of One Room, & that a very small
one, of his Vast Palace, into another, of a different furniture) That I could not deny my Self the Resolution of Spending this Winter in Germany. VLy long stay hi y e Way, made Me lay Aside all lopes of seing y e King long at Hanover. How- ever as I expect to be there in a day or two I expect to have that honour for a few days. '. write Your Lordship this Letter from Osnabrug, where I have thought fit to make some short stay a,s well to ease my Self after a land Voyage of ' days & 3 nights incessant Continuance, as to wait on y e Duke of York, & to see his Court. On whom I waited yesterday and was received very >ratiously, & honoured for sometime with his Conversation. I propose to spend this Winter t Hanover, Berlin, Leipsick, &c & at Brunswick i Case the Congress will be held. For most of rhich Citys I have recommendations to some of e Principle Persons in them So that I hope I shall ot only travel with i'leasure but Profit also. Nevertheless it will be an additional Advantage ould I have a Line from one of your Lordship's )istinction to M r Whitworth ; and I should count i
- as a very great honour to have him know from
our Self that I was known to your Lordship, or this I should think a particular acquaintance 1th M r Whitworth on your Part is not absolutely ecessary. I write this not knowing whetner
