J S t t m b . 3 0 . The Athenian Mercury. Qneft. 1. w\ 51 J Hether it be lawful to do ' evil that good may come on't ? Anfw. Not, if St. Paul be in the right, who tells us, thofe who do fo, their damnation is jufi-: But the fear is left People ihou'd miftake, as fome do now as well as formerly, call evil good, and good evil. Qu. 2. If the Soul be immediately infufed, How did Levi pay Tithes in Abraham ? And does not that Text imply that Levi was produced out of Abraham both Soul and Body ? Anfw. Thofe words of Levi's paying Tithes in Abraham, are not to be taken in a ftridt literal fenfe, but more lax and accommodate, as appears by the foftning expreffion the Apoftle ufes juft before at hm well enough render'd in our own Tranflation Q as I may fo fay ~] Levi, that is, his Body was originally, or potentially in Abraham •, tho' the fenfe wou'd be yet more mollified if, we lhoud, as we may well enough, interpret j> « , which we tranflate [_ In~] by CPer, II by or thorough Abraham. It's further plain, that tis in this figurative fenfe only the Apoltle fpeaks, from the next expreflion — Levi who rcceiveth Tithes, that is, his SuccelTors and Family, call'd after his name, than a& ually did it. Quell. 3. All men finning in Adam, How ( Ottd that be, unlefs all were in him ? Anfw. This Queftion's of the fame nature with the other, fent, iflamnot miftaken, by the fame perfon, and admits much the fame Anfwer. If he means their Souls, they mull: be, if at all, in Adam, either actually or potentially. If actually, he muft be a Monfter indeed to have fo many Souls to one Body ; nor can it be fuppofed their actions could be uniform. If potentially , I'd fain know what the Potentiality of a Soul i s , and how ' tis educed out of that power; or how tis polfible to find Generation in Spirits, the Accident of Bodies only, which can never be without Corruption, which a Spirit admits not of. But if they fay, the Soul is only matter, we mull refer ' em to that defcription thereof formerly given. — Well, but how then did all Men fin in Adam — ? They finn'd in him as he was their Parent, Reprefentative and Head ; and accordingly they dye as proceeding from a dyjng Parent, every like producing its like. Nor was he only their Parent, but conftituted their Head and Reprefentative by his Maker, as our Saviour was of refiored mankind — So the Apoftle, As in Adam all die, fo in Chrifi ( hall all be made alive. Queft. 4. What was the Quefiion on which Chrifi difputed in the Temple ? Anfw. Probable GuetFes muft fuffice ( and I hope are not unlawful ) where neither Realon nor Revelation help us. We are then to remark, that he Heard, as' well as Ask^ d, — Both hearing them and asking them Qutfiions. John And that ' twas more Queftions than one, the old way of Difputation ( even in Greece it felf, before Arifiotle reduced it to Mode and Figure ) being by fhort Queftions and Interrogations. For the fubftance thereof, we may lawfully and probably enough guefs it to be concerning the Impletwn of the Prophefies of the Mejjia, in their Books, the Law, Prophets, Pfalms, & C. The Weeks of Daniel, or other things of that nature. Que ft. 5. What was it which our Saviour wrote on the Ground •, and who that Woman was who was taken in Adultery ? Whether it might not be Mary Magdalen.? Anfw. This Queftion is much of the fame Nature with the former, and can only be guefled at. It feems not probable this perfon was not Mary Magdalen, becaufe this Woman was taken in Adultery •, but Mary Magdalen, was not, that we read of, ever marry d, and has the Character of Meretrix, not Adulter a-, taking her very Cognomen, fome learned Men think, from a Hebrew word, which lignifies fuch a Plaiting or Folding of the Hair ^ as was then ufual among common Women. Befides, if it had been Mary Magdalen, here we had been moft likely to have had the re-, markable ftory of Christ cafiing out feverr Devils from her, whereof in this place not a word. For his writing on the ground, fome think ' twas only to divert theirQneftion:, feem- , ing as if he did not hear them. If he wrote aify thing determinately, I fee no incongruity< n fuppofing it might be the fame he afterwards fpoke, He that is without Sin of Tou, let him firfi cafi a Stone at her. Queft. 6. Why thofe words, Thefe three are one, 1 Epift. of St John, 5. 7. are generally left out in the Old MSs. or when found, only marginally inferted 1 Anfw. TheQueftion might have been as well of alFtheVerfe, which we find omitted by feveral of the antient MSs. though inferted in as many. Tis found in 9 out of 16, which H. Stephens made ufe of, and in all the Greeks Copies in St. Jeromes Time, as he himfelf wit- • nefles. It agrees excellently well both with the preceding and confequent words, and is for two perfons the fame in fenfe with what our Saviour himlelf inferted, I and my Faare one. They are not then generally, tho* often left out, and how that may be we may eafily conceive, lince it muft be added or taken away by the miftake of the Copier, the Fraud of the Arians, or the Pious Fraud of the Chriftians. Tis very unlikely it would be added by the firft way, fince Tranfcribers feldom or never make fuch Miftakes ; though omitted it might me, the words of the enfuing V. beginning as this does, whence they might might eafily flip it over. The Orthodox had no need of adding it, iiuce they had other Teftimonies enough without it; nor did they, lince we find it quoted before the Arian Controverfy, or Arm himfelf was born particularly by St. Cyprian about the middle of the third Century, who quotes thofe very word?, lib. De Vmtate Eccltfta, And thefe three are one. So Ttrtullian, St. Athat& JuZs and others, of which fee the Great Dr. Hammorfd. It'only remains then that they were Taken away by the Arians, which they both might do, haying fo many Emperors, fome Councils, nay at one time , all the World of their fide j and ' twould concern ' em to do it, fince fo plain a place for the Trinity: And laftly , we have from Hiftory an exprefs account that they or fome other Hereticks did actually corrupt fome places in the firft Epiftlc of St. John, particularly fome Text relating to the Deity gf Chrift, which none fo pofitively aflert as this. See Socrates his Ecclef. Hiftory and Tripart. Queft. 7. How we m* y know the Scriptures to be the word of God ? Anfw. We have moral Demonftration, or Human Infallibility , and more too, that they are fo. And that from thefe Topics, Firft from Divine Teftimony, in thofe legible Signatures and ImpreiTes of Divinity inftampt upon ' cm. Some Directions for mankind are neceffary, and that, fuch as fhall remain a Handing Rule: None can compare with this for Antiquity, Utility, Gravity, Majefty. Nor is that ftrange effeft thefe k Writings have on the minds of Men in the perufing ' em, both Heathens and Chriftians, , an Argument to be flighted. As for Humane Teftimony, we have that which is to us Infallible, namely the concurrent Tradition of all Places and Ages f which have delivered down thefe Books to us as the Wcrks of inspired Men ; And I defy all the Enemies and llafphemers of thofe Sacred Books, to produce me' one Inftance of jnatter of Fad, atteftedin this manner, that is not true. If theie have been fome Men who have either deny'd or lefien'd the Authority of thefe Books, or added others to ' em which they'd pretend of equal Authority , even this is a ftrong Argument of the Truth of thofe Sacred Writings, fince fuch Accidents as thefe are clearly prophefied of5 and provided againft therein. But we have, befides all this, the Progrefs of the Gofpel, and the Flames of the Martyrs, to witnefs the fame undeniable Truth: For how Ihould the Do& rins contain'd in thefe Books make fuch a Progrefs through the World, without Force, nay iq, fpite of it, and in contradi& ion to all the proud affe& ed Learning of Greece and Rome j and why fhorld the wifeft, and beft •, and braveft of Men, many thoufands of millions of'em , endure the fevereft Torments for what was contained therein, had there not been fomething extraordinary, and confefling a Divine Power which firft di& ated it; which has ftill preferved ir, and which will do fo to the end of the World, in fpite of all the Blafphemies of Papifts , Atheifts , Turks, Jews and Heathens. Queft. 8 . When we differ about the fenfe of the words; b) r whom muft we be tryed, fince our Letter can't explain it felf ? Arfw. We deny that the Letter, can t explain it felf ; for nothing can be dthver'd, viva voce, but what may • lfo be co nmitted to Letters , nor is there anything ncceffary to be believed, as a Fundamental Article of our Creed , but what is there clearly enough exprefs'd That there are fo many Interpretations of thefe words, and fo much difference concerning their fenfe, is no Argument they are not clear in themfelves; Since if Men are perverfe, they may nodum in fcirpo inenire, find or make a ' difficulty where they pleafe. After all, great heed is to be given to the Sentiments of the Primitive Church; and conld I know what the Univerfal Church, that is, the Majority in all places and ages have taught, I think it ought very near to conclude my Judgment. But fiuce that cannot eafily be decided, there's no Remedy, but every particular Church muft judg for it felf, and every particular Member of that Church have his own Judgment of Difcretion, which all the World pradife themfelves, though they deny ic others j and to bind that up would perfectly Unman Humanity. Queft. 9. What wns tbe Language fpoke before tbe cotfufion of Babe] I Anfw. Hiftory informs us that Heter and his Family amongft all the reft joyn'd not with N'mrod in building the Tower of Babel: So that the Old Language remain'd unchanged in his Family, and from him borrow'd the Name of Hebrew, which Language was ac that time fpoken throughout the World. Queft. 10. A Friend of mine is like to have a, Child Fathered on him; the Mother Confejjes he never lay with ber but once, and then fhe was a Maid, Gyery, Whether tispojjiile to lofe a Maidenhead and conceive a Child at the fame time ? Anfw. Naturalifts tell us ( and bring fome InftancesJ That great falls and Extreme Coughs are fometimes fa violent as to break the Hymen and fpoil the Virgin Tokens; but fuch Accidents are fo rare, that I fhould b* very loath to truft Virginity with that Excufe. ' Tis true, that an impregnation is Common in Bruits or Anis mals, upon a fingle AQ of CoSion, But we never meet with a parallel Inftance amongft Women. I have known a night to produce an Efttr& ive A& ion, but it wa » amongft feveral Tryals: A Maid the firft time undergoei too much of the rack and Torture to be capable of a£ t « ing her part Effectually ; and a Ycung Mans Eagerneft puflies him on to do what is natural for him to do before the Critical time ... There's no Phifitian that will be fo uncharitable as not to ailow a poflibility of an Ad of this Nature; but yet none's fo great a Fool as not to place it amongft thofe things that are next to Impoffibilities, efpecially in an Age which produces a Sen more delicate and tender than ordinarily— If her de. cifive Oath is taken in this, ' twill be the wonder of every Ear , and the Magiftrate that ads purfuant co this Oath, will be believed rather to aft according co the ftrittnefs of his Office , chan the Juftice of Nature. Wemayfhortly be perfwaded ouc ofourSenfes when che plain order of Nature is thus Legerdemain'd in Curcains, and every body abus'd with chis Myfterious fleight of Conveyance, •— The next Age after a few more fuch Prefidents, may put in for a Charter, and fee up a Society of Maiden Juglers. I would almoft as foon believe the relation of Averrces, concerning the Woman that conceived in a Bath by attracting the Seminal Effluxion of a Man admitted to Bath near her. Queft. 11. What is Time? An ftp. A Continued flux or Chain of Norvs. Queft. 12. What is the beft remedy againj} Fear ? Anfw. The refult of vertuous actions ; for thofe that do no ill, fear none. Queft. 13. What fort of People are thofe that moft often meet with infamous Deaths ? Anfw. 14. Thofe that fooliftily fquander away their Eftates, andas fhamefully repair ' em. F I N I S . L O N D O N , Printed for P . Smart. 1691.