no mixture of any other motive or confideration. And if for its "fake he facrifices much of his eafe and quiet, his claim of merit

appears still to rise upon him, in proportion to the zeal and devotion "which he difcovers. In reftoring a loan, or paying a debt, his "divinity is no wife beholden to him; because these acts of juftice

are what he was bound to perform, and what many would "have performed, were there no God in the universe. But if he "fast a day, or give himself a found whipping, this has a direct "reference, in his opinion, to the fervice of God. No other mo“tive could engage him to fuch aufterities. By these distinguish❝ed marks of devotion, he has now acquired the divine favour; and may expect in recompenfe, protection and fafety in this world, and eternal happiness in the next (a)." My yoke is eafy, faith our Saviour, and my burden is light. So they really are. Every effential of religion is founded on our nature, and to a pure heart is pleasant in the performance: what can be more pleafant, than gratitude to our Maker, and obedience to his will in comforting our fellow-creatures? But enthusiasts are not eafily perfuaded, that to make ourselves happy in the exercises of piety and benevolence, is the most acceptable fervice to God that we can perform. In loading religion with unneceffary articles of faith and practice, they contradict our Saviour, by making his yoke fevere, and his burden heavy *. Law, upon Chriftian perfection, enjoins fuch unnatural aufterity of manners, as to be subverfive both of religion and morality: loose education is not more fo. Our paffions, when denied their proper exercife, are apt to break their fetters, and to plunge us into every extrava

• An old woman walking with others to a facrament, was obferved to pick out the worst bits of the road: "I never can do enough," faid fhe," for fweet Jefus." (a) Natural Hiftory of Religion.

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gance like the body, which squeezed in one part, fwells the more in another. In the fame way of thinking, the pious Jeremy Taylor, treating of mortification, prescribes it as the indispensable duty of a Christian, to give no indulgence even to the most innocent emotions; because, says he, the most indifferent action becomes finful, when there is no other motive for the performance but barely its being pleasant. Could a malevolent deity contrive any thing more fevere against his votaries?

In the same spirit of fupererogation, holidays have been multiplied without end, depriving the working poor of time, that would be more usefully employ'd in providing bread for themselves and families. Such a number of holidays, befide contradicting Providence, which framed us more for action than contemplation, have several poisonous effects with respect to morality. The moral sense has great influence on the industrious, who have no time for indulging their irregular appetites: the idle, on the contrary, are obvious to every temptation. Men likewife are apt to affume great merit from a rigid observance of holidays and other ceremonies; and having thus acquired, in their opinion, the favour of God, they rely on his indulgence in other matters which they think too fweet for finners.

Monaftic inftitutions are an improvement upon holidays: the whole life of a monk is intended to be a holiday, dedicated entirely to the service of God. The idleness of the monastic state among Christians, opens a wide door to immorality.

In the third fection, penances are handled as a mode of worfhip, for obtaining pardon of fin. But they are fometimes fubmitted to by the innocent, in order to procure from the Almighty ftill more favour than innocence alone is entitled to; in which view they are evidently a work of fupererogation. They seem to have no bad effect with refpect to religion, as diftinguished from morality: the body is indeed cruciated unneceffarily; but if en

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thusiasts voluntarily fubmit to bodily diftreffes, they have themfelves only to blame. With respect to morality, their bad tendency is not flight. Those who perform extraordinary acts of devotion, conceive themselves peculiarly entitled to the favour of God. Proud of his favour, they attach themselves to him alone, and turn indifferent about every other duty. The favourite of a terrestrial potentate, affumes authority; and takes liberties that private perfons dare not venture upon: fhall a favourite of Heaven be less indulged? The Faquirs in Hindoftan submit to dreadful penances; and, holding themselves fecure of God's favour, they are altogether indifferent about the duty they owe to their neighbour. So much are they above common decency, as to go about naked, not even concealing what modefty forbids us to expofe. The penances enjoined in the Romish church, fuch as fasting and flagellation, have evidently the fame bad tendency *. With refpect to fafting in particular, to what good purpose it can ferve, except to gluttons, is not readily conceived. Temperance in eating and drinking is effential to health: too much or too little are equally noxious, tho' their effects are different. Fafting therefore ought never to be enjoined to the temperate as a religious duty, because it cannot be acceptable to a benevolent Deity. Listen to a great prophet on that subject. “Behold, ye fast for "strife and debate, and to fmite with the fift of wickedness; ye "shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it fuch a faft that I have chofen? a day for a man to afflict his foul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrufh, and to fpread fackcloth and afhes under him? Wilt thou call

A fect of Chriftians, ftyled Flagellantes, held, that flagellation is of equal virtue with baptifm and the other facraments; that it will procure forgiveness of fin; that the old law of Chrift is to be abolished, and a new law fubftituted; enjoining the baptifm of blood to be adminiftered by whipping. 3 M 2

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"this a faft, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not this the "faft that I have chofen? to loofe the bands of wickedness, to "undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppreffed go free, and "that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the "hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are caft out, to thy "houfe? when thou feeft the naked, that thou cover him, and "that thou hide not thyfelf from thine own flesh (a)?

The most extraordinary penance of all, is celibacy confidered as a religious duty. Many fathers of the church declare against matrimony. St Jerom in particular fays, That the end of matrimony is eternal death; that the earth indeed is filled by it, but heaven by virginity. The intemperate zeal of many primitive Christians led them to abstain from matrimony, and even from conjugal careffes, if they had the misfortune to be married; believing that the carnal appetite is inconsistent with pure religion. Edward the Confeffor was fainted, for no better reason than the abstaining from matrimonial duties. Jovinian, in the fourth century, taught, that all who obferve the laws of piety and virtue laid down in the gofpel, have an equal title to happiness in another life: confequently, that thofe who pass their days in celibacy and mortifi cation, are in no respect more acceptable to God than those who live virtuously in marriage without mortification. He published his opinions in a book, against which Jerom wrote a bitter and abufive treatise, still extant. Thefe opinions were condemned by the church, and by St Ambrofe, in a council at Milan; and Jovinian was banished by the Emperor Honorius. Such ridiculous felf-denial was not confined to Chriftians. Strabo mentions a fect among the Thracians, who made a vow of perpetual virginity; and were much refpected on that account. Garcilaffo mentions virgins in Peru confecrated to the fun: a vestal guilty of

frailty was buried alive, her lover hanged, and the inhabitants of the town where she lived put to the fword. Among all the abfurd acts of mortification, the present affords the strongest instance of fuperftition triumphing over common fenfe; for what can be more inconfiftent with common fenfe, not to talk of religion, than an endeavour to put an end to the human fpecies? Some glimpses of reafon have abated the zeal of enthufiafts for celibacy; but have not totally extirpated it, for celibacy of the clergy remains to this day a law in the Romish church. It cannot however feriously be thought the will of our benevolent God, that his priests fhould be denied the exercife of natural powers, bestowed on all for a most valuable purpose. This impious restraint, which contradicts the great law of Increase and multiply, has opened the door to grofs debauchery in the paftors of the Romish church, tho' ecclefiaftics ought of all men to be the most circumfpect in their conduct. Men reftrained from what is neceffary and proper, are more prone than others to break out into grofs irregularities*. Marriage is warmly recommended in the laws of Zoroafter. Children are faid to be a bridge that conducts men to heaven; and a man who has no children, is held to be under the power of Ahriman. The prayer of a priest who has no children, is held difagreeable to Ormufd.

The celibacy of the clergy was countenanced by the Pope; and enforced from a political confideration, That it united the whole

An ingenious writer, mentioned above, makes the following obfervation. "The celibacy of ecclefiaftics was originally introduced by fome fuperftitious re"finements on the law of God and nature. Could men have been kept alive "without eating or drinking, as well as without marriage, the fame refinements "would have prohibited ecclefiaftics from eating and drinking, and thereby have "elevated them fo much nearer to the ftate of angels. In procefs of time, this fa"natical interdiction became an inftrument of worldly wifdom: and thus, as fre"quently happens, what weak men began, politicians completed." Sir David Dalrymple.

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