among a great many others, that were not so, might be kept in Awe by
strict Discipline, and that Acts of Devotion might be serviceable even
to those, who were present at them against their Wills. But this
Possibility is only built upon a Supposition, that the Rest of the
Army should be better disposed: For if the Generality of them were not
in Earnest, you could have no outward Shew of Religion; and the Things
which you say the obdurate wretch should be forced to hear and see,
could have no Existence. No Preaching or Praying can be moving to
those, that are harden'd and inattentive; and no Man can be thrown
into an Enthusiasm upon the Singing of Psalms, and shed Tears of Zeal
and Joy in any Part of Divine Worship, unless they give Heed to it,
and are really Devout.
Cleo. I am glad you start this Objection; for it puts me in Mind of
Something, that will serve to illustrate this whole Matter, and which,
if you had not mention'd this, I should have had no Opportunity to
speak of. I took for granted, you know, that in the Quarrel between
King and the People, there had been many honest well meaning Men,
among the Sober Party, that by Artifice were drawn into the Measures
of cunning Hypocrites, who, under specious Pretences, carried on the
Rebellion with no other View than their own Advantage. But if you
recollect what I said then, you'll find, that many of those honest
well-meaning Men might have been very bad Christians. A Man may be a
fair Dealer, and wish well to his Country, and yet be very wicked in
many other Respects. But whatever Vices he may be guilty of, if he
believes the Scriptures without Reserve, is sorry for his Sins, and
sometimes really afraid, that he shall be punish'd for them in another
World, he is certainly sincere in his Religion, tho' he never mends.
Some of the most wicked in the World have been great Believers.
Consider all the Money, that has been given to pray Souls out of
Purgatory, and who they were, that left the greatest Legacies to the
Church. The Generality of Mankind believe what they were taught in
their Youth, let that be what it will, and there is no Superstition so
gross or absurd, nor any Thing so improbable or contradictory in any
Religion, but Men may be sincere in the Belief of it. What I say all
this for is to shew you, that an honest well-meaning Man may believe
the Bible and be Sincere in his Religion, when he is yet very remote
from being a good Christian. What I understand then by Sincere is
evident: Now give me Leave to tell you what I mean by Wicked, and to
put you in Mind of what I have said of it already; _viz_ that I gave
that Name to those, _who indulge their Passions as they come uppermost,
without Regard to the Good or Hurt, which the Gratification of their
Appetites may do to the Society_. But all wicked Men are not equally
neglectful of Religious Duties, nor equally inflexible; and you won't
meet with one in a Hundred so stubborn and averse to all Sense of
Divine Worship, as I have supposed our Profligate to be. My Reason for
drawing so bad a Character, was to convince you, that, if an outward
Shew of Religion could be made serviceable to the most stubborn
Reprobate, it could never fail of having a good Effect upon all
others, that should be more relenting, and assist at it with less
Reluctancy. Few Men are wicked for Want of good Will to be better: The
greatest Villains have Remorses; and hardly any of them are so bad,
that the Fear of an invisible Cause and future Punishment should never
make any Impression upon them; if not in Health, at least in Sickness.
If we look narrowly into the Sentiments, as well as Actions even of
those that persist in evil Courses for many Years, and spend their
whole Lives in Debaucheries, we shall hardly ever find, that it is
because they are obstinately bent to be Wicked; but because they want
either the Power to govern their Passions, or else the Resolution to
set about it; that they have often wish'd, that they could lead better
Lives; that they hope, God will forgive them; and that Several Times
they have fix'd a Time for their Repentance, but that always Something
or other interven'd, that has hinder'd them, till at last they died
without having ever met with the Opportunity they wish'd for. Such Men
as these perhaps would never go to Prayers, or to hear a Sermon as
long as they lived, if they could help it: But most of them, if they
were forc'd to it, would behave very well, and actually receive
Benefit from being there; especially in Armies, where Nothing being
less wanted than contrite Hearts and broken Spirits, Nothing is
mention'd that is mortifying, or would depress the Mind; and if ever
any thing melancholy is slightly touch'd upon, it is done with great
Art, and only to make a Contrast with something reviving, that is
immediately to follow, which will flatter their Pride, and make them
highly delighted with themselves. All Exhortations to Battle should be
chearful and pleasing. What is required of the Men, is, that they
should Fight undauntedly and obstinately. Therefore all Arts are made
use of to raise and keep up their Spirits on the one Hand, and their
Hatred to their Enemies on the other. To dissipate their Fears, they
are assured of the Justice and Goodness of their Cause, that God
himself is engaged, and his Honour concern'd in it; and that
therefore, if they can but shew Zeal enough for him, and are not
wanting to themselves, they need not doubt of the Victory.
Hor. It is amazing, that Believers, who are so conscious of their own
Wickedness, should be so easily persuaded, that God would do any Thing
in their Favour.
Cleo. The great Propensity we have in our Nature to flatter our
selves, makes us easy Casuists in our own Concerns. Every body knows,
that God is merciful, and that all Men are Sinners. The Thought of
this has often been a great Comfort to very bad Livers, especially if
they could remember, that ever they wish'd to be better; which, among
Believers, there is not One in a Hundred, but can. This good
Disposition of Mind a wicked Man may make a notable Construction of,
and magnify the Merit of it, till the Reflection of it is sufficient
to make his Conscience easy, and he absolves himself without the
Trouble of Repentance. I can easily conceive, how one of the Vulgar,
no better qualify'd, may assist at Publick Worship with Satisfaction,
and even Pleasure; if Preaching and Praying are managed in the Manner
I have hinted at: And it is not difficult to imagine, how by a little
paultry Eloquence, and Violence of Gestures, a Man in this Situation
may be hurried away from his Reason, and have his Passions so artfully
play'd upon; that feeling himself thoroughly moved, he shall mistake
the Malice of his Heart, and perhaps the Resentment of a great Wound
received, for the Love of God and Zeal for Religion. There is another
Class of wicked Men, that I have not touch'd upon yet; and of which
there would always be great Numbers among such Troops as we have been
speaking of, _viz._ Soldiers of the Sober Party, where Swearing,
Prophaneness, and all open Immorality are actually punish'd; where a
grave Deportment and strict Behaviour are encouraged, and where
Scripture-Language and Pretences to Holiness are in Fashion; in an
Army of which the General is firmly believed to be a Saint, and acts
his part to Admiration.
Hor. It is reasonable to think, I own, that in such an Army, to one
sincere Man, there would always be three or four Hypocrites; for these
I suppose are the Class you mean.
Cleo. They are so. And considering, that, to save Appearances,
Hypocrites are at least as good as the sincere Men I have spoken of,
it is impossible, that there should not be a great Shew of Religion
among them, if there were but eight or ten of them sincere in every
Hundred: And where such Pains should be taken to make the Men seem to
be Godly; and this Point of outward Worship should be labour'd with so
much Diligence and Assiduity, I am persuaded, that many even of those,
who should be too wicked to be Hypocrites, and to counterfeit long,
would sometimes, not only pray in good Earnest, but likewise, set on
by the Examples before them, be transported with real Zeal for the
Good of their Cause.
Hor. There is no Doubt but Enthusiasm among a Multitude is as catching
as Yawning: But I don't understand very well what you mean by too
wicked to be Hypocrites; for I look upon them to be the worst of all
Men.
Cleo. I am very glad you named this. There are two Sorts of
Hypocrites, that differ very much from one another. To distinguish
them by Names, the One I would call the Malicious, and the Other the
Fashionable. By malicious Hypocrites, I mean Such as pretend to a
great Deal of Religion, when they know their Pretensions to be false;
who take Pains to appear Pious and Devout, in order to be Villains,
and in Hopes that they shall be trusted to get an Opportunity of
deceiving those, who believe them to be sincere. Fashionable
Hypocrites I call those, who, without any Motive of Religion, or Sense
of Duty, go to Church, in Imitation of their Neighbours; counterfeit
Devotion, and, without any Design upon others, comply occasionally
with all the Rites and Ceremonies of Publick Worship, from no other
Principle than an Aversion to Singularity, and a Desire of being in
the Fashion. The first are, as you say, the worst of Men: but the
other are rather beneficial to Society, and can only be injurious to
themselves.
Hor. Your Distinction is very just, if these latter deserve to be
call'd Hypocrites at all.
Cleo. To make a Shew outwardly of what is not felt within, and
counterfeit what is not real, is certainly Hypocrisy, whether it does
Good or Hurt.
Hor. Then, strictly speaking, good Manners and Politeness must come
under the same Denomination.
Cleo. I remember the Time you would by no Means have allow'd this.
Hor. Now, you see I do, and freely own, that you have given me great
Satisfaction this afternoon; only there is one Thing you said five or
six Minutes ago, that has raised a Difficulty which I don't know how
to get over.
Cleo. What is it, pray?
Hor. I don't think we shall have Time ----
Cleo. Supper, I see, is going in.
The Fourth Dialogue Between Horatio and Cleomenes.
Horatio. I am glad my little Dinner pleased you. I don't love large
Pieces of Meat for a small Company; especially in warm Weather: They
heat the Room, and are offensive even upon a Side-board.
Cleo. It was very handsome indeed; and _Horatio_ is elegant in every
Thing. Your Favours of Yesterday, your Coming without Form, was so
engaging, that I was resolved to repay the Compliment without Delay.
Hor. Assure your self, that your Payment is not more prompt, than it
is welcome.
Cleo. I know no higher Enjoyment, than that of your Friendship. But
pray, what was the Difficulty you hinted at last Night, when Supper
broke off our Discourse?
Hor. When you spoke of Preaching and Praying in Armies, you said, that
Nothing was ever mention'd to them, that was mortifying, or would
depress the Mind. I had heard the same from you in Substance more than
once before; and I own, that the Nature of the Thing seems to require,
that Soldiers should be indulg'd in their Pride, and that all
Exhortations to Battle should be cheerful and pleasing. But the last
Time you was speaking of this, I recollected what I had read of the
Solemn Fasts, that were so frequently observed in Oliver's Days; and
presently I was puzled, and no ways able to account for the Usefulness
of them in War, by the System which you had made appear to be very
rational. The Fact it self, that _Cromwell_ appointed many Days of
Fasting and Humiliation, and made them be strictly kept, is
undeniable; but it is impossible, they should promote Chearfulness;
and what Purpose they could have been made to serve, that was not
religious, I can not conceive. The mechanical Effect, which Fasting
can have upon the Spirits, is to lower, flatten, and depress them; and
the very Essence of Humiliation is the Mortification of Pride. You
have own'd, that _Cromwell_ understood Human Nature, and was a crafty
Politician; but you would never allow, that he had the least Intention
of promoting Piety, or rendring his Men good Christians.
Cleo. The Objection you have started seems to be of great Weight at
first View; but if we look more narrowly into it, and examine this
Affair, as we have done some other Things, the Difficulty you labour
under will soon disappear. From the Nature of Man and Society it must
follow, that whatever particular Vices may be more or less predominant
in different Climates and different Ages, Luxury and Pride will always
be reigning Sins in all civiliz'd Nations: Against these two stubborn,
and always epidemic Maladies, the great Physician of the Soul has, in
his Gospel Dispensation, left us two sovereign Remedies, Fasting and
Humiliation; which, when rightly used, and duely assisted with the Exercise
of Prayer, never fail to cure the Diseases I named in the most desperate
Cases. No method likewise is more reasonable; for, tho' _Jesus Christ_
had not recommended it himself, it is impossible to think on any
Prescription, more judiciously adapted to an Ailment, than Fasting and
Humiliation, accompany'd with fervent Prayer, are to Luxury and Pride.
This is the Reason, that in private as well as public Disasters, and
all Adversities in which is was thought that the divine Anger was
visible, all Believers in _Christ_ have, ever since the Promulgation of
the Gospel, made use of the aforesaid Remedies, as the most proper
Means to obtain Pardon for their Offences, and render heaven
propitious to them. All Magistrates likewise, where the Christian
Religion has been national, have in general Misfortunes and all great
Calamities (whenever they happen'd) appointed Days to be solemnly
kept, and set aside for Prayer, for Fasting and Humiliation. If on
these Days Men should be sincere in their Devotion; if a pains-taking
Clergy, of Apostolic Lives, on the one Hand, should preach Repentance
to their Hearers, and shew them the Difference between the temporal
Evils, which they complain'd of, tho' they were less afflicting than
they had deserv'd, and the eternal Miseries, which impenitent Sinners
would unavoidably meet with, tho' now they thought little of them; if
the Hearers, on the other, searching their Consciences without
Reserve, should reflect upon their past Conduct; if both the Clergy
and the Laity should thus join in religious Exercises, and, adding
real Fasting to ardent Prayer, humble themselves before the Throne of
Mercy, with Sorrow and Contrition; if, I say, the Days you speak of
were to be spent in this Manner, they would be of use in no War, but
against the World, the Flesh, or the Devil, the only Enemies a
Christian Hero is not oblig'd to love, and over which the Triumph is
the darling Object of his Ambition, and the glorious End of his
Warfare. On the Contrary, such Fast-days would be hurtful to a
Soldier, in the literal Sense of the Word, and destructive to the
Intentions of all Armies; and I would as soon expect from them, that
they should turn Men into Trees or Stones, as that they should inspire
them with martial Courage, or make them eager to fight. But skilful
Politicians make an Advantage of every Thing, and often turn into
useful Tools the seeming Obstacles to their Ambition. The most
resolute Unbeliever, if he is a good Hypocrite, may pretend to as much
Superstition and hold Fear, as the most timorous Bigot can be really
possess'd with; and the First often gains his Point by making use of
the Religion of others, where the Latter is undone by being hamper'd
with his own.
Hor. This was very evident in _Oliver Cromwel_ and King _James_ the
Second. But what would you infer from it in Relation to Fast-Days?
Cleo. The most sacred Institutions of Christianity may, by the
Assistance of pliable Divines, be made serviceable to the most
anti-christian Purposes of Tyrants and Usuerpers: Recollect, pray,
what I have said concerning Sermons and Prayers, and what is done by
some Clergymen under Pretence of Preaching the Gospel.
Hor. I do, and can easily see, how Preachers, by a small Deviation
from the Doctrine of Peace, may insensibly seduce their Hearers, and,
perverting the End of their Function, set them on to Enmity, Hatred,
and all Manner of Mischief: But I can't understand how Fasting and
Humiliation should further, or be made any ways instrumental to that
Design.
Cleo. You have allow'd, that the Grand Point in Armies, and what has
been ever most labour'd among military Men, was to make them believe,
that Heaven, that is, the Deity they adore, was of their Side; and it
is certain, (as I have hinted before) that how widely soever Men had
differ'd in their Sentiments concerning the invisible Cause, or the
Worship it requires, they have all agreed in this; and the Use that
has been made of Religion in War has ever had a palpable Tendency this
way. The Word Fasting, indefinitely spoken, sounds very harshly to a
Man of a good Stomach; but, as practis'd religiously among
_Protestants_, it is hardly an Emblem of the Thing it self, and rather a
Joke than any grievous Penance: At least in _England_, by keeping a
Fast-Day, Men mean no more, than Eating their Dinners three or four
Hours later than they used to do, and perhaps no Supper that Night:
Which is a Piece of Abstinence, that is so far from being likely to
have an ill Effect upon the Strength or Spirits of Men in Health and
Vigour, that there is not One in Fifty, whom it will not render more
brisk and lively in the next Day. I speak of People that are not in
Want, and who, of dainty or courser Fate, eat as much much every Day
as their Appetite requires. As for Humiliation, it is a Word of
Course. Fast-Days, bar the Abstinence already mention'd, are kept no
otherwise, than the _Sunday_ is. In the Army of the Rebels, the
Chaplains perhaps preach'd and pray'd somewhat longer on those Days,
and read a few Chapters more in the Bible, than was usual for them to
do on a Sabbath-Day. But that was all.
Hor. But you have allow'd, that many of the _Roundheads_ were sincere in
their Religion, and that most of the Soldiers, tho' they were bad
Christians, were still Believers. It is unreasonable to think, that
the Solemnity of those Days, and the continual Shew of Devotion they
were spent in, should have made no Impression upon a considerable Part
of such a Multitude, as you your self suppose their Army to have been.
Where a great Number of the Vulgar, who believe Hell-Torments and
Fire Everlasting, are forced to hear, first their Lives laid open, and
their Iniquities display'd, and, after that, all the terrible Things,
that the Parson can say of Eternal Misery, it is impossible, that many
of them should not be affected with Fear and Sorrow, at least for that
Time: However, this is beyond all Dispute, that the mildest
Remonstrances that can be made on that Head, will sooner dispose Men
to Melancholy, than they will to Chearfulness.
Cleo. All this while you take that for granted, which I told you long
ago was notoriously false; _viz_. That in camps and Armies, the plain
Doctrine of _Christ_ is delivered without Disguise or Dissimulation:
Nay, I hinted to you just now, that if Repentance was preach'd among
Military Men, as might be expected from Christian Divines, Solders
would be in Danger of being spoil'd by it, and render'd unfit for
their Business. All knowing Clergymen, at first Setting out, suit
themselves and their Doctrine to the Occupations, as well as
Capacities of their Hearers: And as Court Preachers speak in Praise of
the Government, and applaud the Measures of it, shade the Vices of
Princes and their Favourites, and place their Merit in the handsomest
Light it can be seen in so Divines in Armies speak up for the Justice
of the Cause they are engaged in, and extol the Generals to the Skies;
cajole and curry Favour with the Troops, and flatter more particularly
the respective Regiments they belong to. There is not a Chaplain in an
Army, who is not perfectly well acquainted with the Duty of a Soldier,
and what is required of him. Therefore they preach Christianity to
them, as far as it is consistent with that Duty, and no farther. Where
they interfere, and are clashing with one another, the Gospel is set
aside. The Politician must have his Business done: Necessity is
pleaded, and Religion ever made to give Way to the Urgency of Affairs.
There is a vast Latitude in Preaching; and Clergymen often take great
Liberties: Being as much subject to Errour and Passion as other
People, they can give bad Counsel as well as good. Those, who are
pleas'd with a Government, we see, preach one way; and those who are
not, another. Above Half the Time of the last Reign, a considerable
Part of the _English_ Clergy exhorted their Hearers to Sedition, and in
a Contempt for the Royal Family, either openly or by sly Inuendo's, in
ever Sermon they preach'd: And every Thirtieth of _January_ The same
Church furnishes us with two contrary Doctrines: For whilst the more
prudent and moderate of the Clergy are shifting and trimming between
two Parties, the hot ones of one side assert with Vehemence, that it
is meritorious as well as lawful for the people, to put their King to
Death whenever he deserves it; and that of this Demerit, the Majority
of the same People are the only Judges. The Zealots on the other, are
as positive, that Kings are not accountable for their Actions, but to
God only; and that, whatever Enormities they may commit, it is a
damnable Sin for Subjects to resist them. And if an impartial Man,
tho' he was the wisest in the World, was to judge of the Monarch,
whose unfortunate End is the common Topick of the Discourses held on
that Day, and he had no other Light to guide him, but the Sermons of
both Parties, it would be impossible for him to decide, whether the
Prince in Question had been a spotless Saint, or the greatest Tyrant.
I name these obvious Facts, because they are familiar Instances of our
own Time, to convince us, that the Gospel is no Clog which Divines
think themselves strictly tied to. A skilful Preacher, whether it be a
Fast, or a Day of Rejoycing, always finds Ways to pursue his End,
instills into his Hearers whatever he pleases, and never dismisses an
Audience, before he has acquainted them with what he would have them
know; let the Subject, or the Occasion he preaches upon, be what they
will. Besides, an artful Orator may mention frightful Things without
giving Uneasiness to his Hearers. He may set forth the Enormity of any
great Sin, and the Certainty of the Punishment, that is to follow it.
He may display and dwell upon the Terrors of the Divine Vengeance for
a considerable Time, and turn at last all the Weight of it upon their
Adversaries; and having demonstrated to his Audience, that those whom
they are to fight against, or else the great Grandfathers of them,
have been notoriously guilty of that Wickedness, which is so heinous
in the Sight of Heaven, he may easily convince Believers, that their
Enemies must of Necessity be likewise the Enemies of God. If any
Disgrace has happen'd to an Army, or some of the Men have misbehaved,
a wary Preacher, instead of calling them Cowards, will lay all the
Fault on their little Faith, their trusting too much to the Arm of the
Flesh, and assure them, that they would have conquer'd, if they had
put greater Confidence in God; and more entirely rely'd on his
Assistance.
Hor. And so not have fought at all.