1THE former Discourse has, I hope, sufficiently manifested, That, of the several Virtues and Noble Qualities that make up true Greatness of Mind, there is not any that is not at least consistent with Christianity, and that most of them are eminently promoted by it. But I expect your […] will pretend, that there are some Qualities required by our Religion, that directly and powerfully tend to debase the Mind they possess; and hinder it from attaining, or even aspiring, to such great Things as it would reach to, if it were not detain’d or depress’d by Religion. Let us now therefore examin, Whether, notwithstanding, the Wings which we have shewn that Religion adds to the Mind, the Cloggs that it fastens to her, be heavy enough to disable her to raise her self above the pitch of Vulgar Souls; and force her, instead of soaring aloft, to flutter about the Earth.
The chief Things, that, as far as I can learn, are alleged, either by Philédonus, or more considering Adversaries than he; to shew Religion to be either quite Inconsistent with, or very Unfriendly to, Greatness of Mind, are these.—
But, in regard that I find not the Answers that were drawn up to the Objections; and ‘tis not so convenient to let the Later appear unaccompany’d by the Former, ‘tis thought the safest Way to leave them both at present unmentioned; and only take notice, that to the Last of the Six Objections, which, to deal candidly, were named and considered, these words were found subjoyned.
And now, if it appear, that neither any nor all of these, have such an unfriendly Aspect on Greatness of Mind, as is pretended; and that at least the Impediments, they can bring, are much more than countervail’d by the Assistances that Religion affords Heroick Virtue; I hope it will appear, that Greatness of Mind is not incompatible with Christianity, but rather promoted by it.
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Footnotes
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Sixth Fragment. ↩