That the World is nothing but Corruption, that we ought to fly from it, to join our selves to God, who alone is our Health and Life, and that while we live in this World we are surrounded by Enemies, and have a continual Combate to endure, which requires on our part a resistance without intermission; and that we cannot conquer, unless God or his Angels come to our help.
That the WORD fram'd the World, and render'd (
Greek characters)
it visible; that the knowledg of the WORD makes
us live very happily here below, and that thereby we
obtain Felicity after Death.
That the Soul is immortal, that the Dead shall rife again, that there shall be a final Judgment both of the Righteous and of the Wicked, when Men shall appear only with their Vertues or Vices, which shall be the occasion of their eternal Happiness or Misery.
But I forbear to proceed, that I may not repeat that here, which will be found in its full extent elsewhere. Yet I cannot chuse but add, that Plato had so great and true an Idea of perfect Righteousness, and was so throughly acquainted with the corruption of Mankind, that he makes it appear,[1] that if a Man perfectly righteous should come upon Earth, he would find so much opposition in the World, that he would be imprison'd, reviled, scourg'd, and in fine crucified by such who, tho they were extremely wicked, would yet pass for righteous Men. Socrartes was the first proof of this Demonstration. For as St. Justin says, the Devils seeing this Philosopher made their Nullity appear by the discovery of the Truth, and that he endeavour'd to reclaim Men from giving them religious Worship; these malicious Spirits so order'd the matter by means of Men who were corrupt and took pleasure in Vice, that this righteous Man was put to Death as if he had been an impious Person, that liv'd without God in World, and introduc'd new Gods.
- ↑ In the II. Book of his Commonweath. Tom. 2.
