A new Catechism, with Dr. Hicks's 39 Articles. Recommended by Mr. A Prayer. By Dr. Grofvenor, Dif- ઃઃ &c. I HAVE fometimes confider"ed the ready affent which "the common and illiterate "people give to the Doc"trine of the Trinity, as "delivered by the ancient gentry of Nice: And for which they have orthodoxly contended, at times, with all the world. "It feems diffi"cult to place it to any account, fave this, "that it is planted in human nature," by the B 2 pre prejudice of education, and maintained by hu man engines. But here I caution my readers, not to make too hafty or too natural a tranfition from hence to the abfurdities of the Turkifb alcoran, or the religion of the Brachmans in the Eaft-Indies. This gives me an occafion to examine your late notable enquiry, whether this mystery is not manifefted by the light of nature; and if fo, whether it is neceffary, at great expence, to maintain crafts-masters to teach and inculcate this natural difcovery, any more than eating, drinking, fleeping, walking, talking, &c. The light of nature, I confefs, manifefts, to all men, a firft caufe, or caufa caufans, (as the school-men fay) by arguing from the effects to the caufe; but whether this firft caufe, by an unavoidable neceffity, was obliged to beget a fecond caufe, as a caufa fine quâ non, from whence a third caufe was neceffarily to proceed; and whether the BEGOTTEN and PROCEEDING first and fecond, do not imply a priority, are the queftions. You, fir, very rightly obferve "in human. "nature one great perfection is, that it fubfifts "in more persons than one;" from whence I obferve also two things. 1. That one of the greatest pleasures of human nature fubfifts in, and betwixt, more fexes than one. And 2. That 2. That the perfection of human power confifts, fubfifts I would fay, in more perfons than one. To prove my fecond obfervation, I have three old faws used in our family for many years. I. Vis unita fortior. 2. Multorum manibus, &c. 3. Two (you perhaps read it three) heads are better than one. But here I proteft, with both hands, against all nice diftinctions, as fearing you will not admit the force of them, and fay these THREE are but ONE; and tho' they are distinct in found yet they are not divided in sense: But I aver they are THREE, the product of two foils at vastly different times. "Now as it is the perfection of human pow66 er to fubfift in more perfons than one," because it multiplies the Number, Strength, Wind, Noife and Brass," befides many other preroga❝tives of the multiplied fubfiftance," do as the old woman did, take your dog to market, and call in to your affiftance S NAP E, TRAP, SHERLOCK; and above all, because before all, the great mafter of cups and balls, Mr. Lawes Ranfack water and land, and fee if your united force of number, ftrength, wind, noife and brafs, &c. can anfwer the foregoing queftions; but let me enter my caveat against B 3 all all authoritative or traditional fubtilties and diftinctions; for as your enquiry is whether they can be proved by the light of nature, I fhall infift that they are proved by the light of na ture. "And fince the human nature has this per "fection, and fince there can be no perfection. "in the thing caufed which was not first in the caufe, we (but how rightly) fay the divine "nature has this perfection, and does fubfift "in more perfons than one." quod erat demonfrandum. From hence give me leave to infer, that to make this perfection ftill greater, we may multiply the number of PERSONS. And this fhews what excellent modern divines the old Romans would have made, who raised the perfection of their divine nature 13,333 times higher than the great St. ATHANASIUS, or his followers. For my part, I am afhamed of your stinginess, when a man is in the humour of multiplying, let him go on. You are very right where you fay, "That "which diftinguishes one perfon from another is "the perfonal propriety, or fomething peculiar "to each perfon, and not common to any o"ther," fuch e. g. as a fquint eye, crooked back, &c. to which I will add priority and pofteriority in the course of appearance, with ma◄ ny |