nanna had fallen for their food, on every day except the Sabbath, that the walls of cities had fallen down before them, and that the sun and moon had stood still at their command.

But a religion, which taught that men were rewarded for their piety, and punished for their wickedness, in this life alone, could not long have the effect which the priests, and those rulers who made religion an instrument of government, desired. When the people saw that the infidel, who disbelieved the existence of God, and openly reviled religion, prospered as well, and enjoyed the favor of heaven as highly,* as those who were given to prayer and adoration, they could not place great confidence in the tales which were retated by their spiritual teachers. To remedy this defect, the doctrine of a future life, where men might be rewarded for their virtues, and punished for their vices, was contrived and promulgated. By this doctrine an advantage over the infidel, was given to the pious, of which they could never be robbed by experience. They indeed found some difficulty, when asked to prove the truth of their hypothesis, but they passed it over, by demanding that their enemies should prove it false, if it was not true. With this the votaries of their opinion were satisfied. They communicated their doctrines to the people, who required no proof, the rulers accepted it, as favorable to their purposes, and death and hell, soon became the penalty of doubt.

When this opinion had been promulgated through, and received by most of the nations of the earth, the Almighty God, being pleased with it, for some reason, with which we are unacquainted, saw fit to confirm it, by a special mission of his son. That son at the same time taught us the means of obtaining happiness in the

Those rulers, who supposed that religion was favorable to their political designs, took care that this should be the case with few of their infidel subjects.

future life, and the conduct that would be puni therein. The old religions of the earth were dest ed by this mission, and a new one established, wh as it possesses the genius of adapting its tenets t times and places, bids fair to triumph over all opp tion, to run through all nations, to crush its foes course, and to be gathered to its fathers in a good age. The votaries of this religion have already g

ed
many victories over paganism and infidelity, w
the superiority, both of reason and numbers, was
the side of its foes; they have raised themselves f
weakness to power, and inflicted on their enemie
tenfold vengeance, for the evils which they were for
to endure in the infancy of their sect.

Candor and justice, however, oblige me to ackno ledge, that the Polytheism of the Greeks and Roma was much more beneficial, or rather less injurious, morals, than the religion of the christians. It is t doctrine of the latter, that a regeneration is necessa to salvation, without which morality can be of no ava This religion, therefore, affords no motive for virt to the unregenerated. That the punishment of th guilty is not in proportion to their guilt, but that a who are punished, are punished equally; hence thos who fear that their sins cannot be forgiven, do not fea to add to their crimes. The religion of the Greek and Romans, on the contrary, taught that to obtai happiness in a future life, nothing was necessary bu good morals, and a respect for the Gods; it also taugh that the greater the guilt, the greater the punishment and the greater the virtue, the greater the happines of departed souls; hence the motives for virtue, which men derived from this religion, extended to all.

It will perhaps be inferred from these remarks, that the world profited not, by the change of its religion. But this is an error; its gain was infinite. Christiani ty was given us, not for this life, but for that of the

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