nate principles, I defire these men to fay, whether they can or cannot, by education and cuftom, be blurred and blotted out? If they cannot, we must find them in all mankind alike, and they must be clear in every body; and if they may fuffer variation from adventitious notions, we muft then find them clearest and most perfpicuous nearest the fountain, in children and illiterate people, who have received leaft impreffion from foreign opinions. Let them take which fide they please, they will certainly find it inconfiftent with visible matter of fact and daily obfervation.

§ 21. Contrary Principles in the World.

I EASILY grant that there are great numbers of opinions, which, by men of different countries, educations, and tempers, are received and embraced as first and unqueftionable principles, many whereof, both for their abfurdity, as well as oppofitions one to another, it is impoffible fhould be true; but yet all thofe propofitions, how remote foever from reafon, are fo facred fomewhere or other, that men, even of good understanding in other matters, will fooner part with their lives, and whatever is dearest to them, than fuffer themselves to doubt, or others to question the truth of them.

§ 22. How men commonly come by their Principles. This, however strange it may feem, is that which every day's experience confirms, and will not, perhaps, appear fo wonderful, if we confider the ways and steps by which it is brought about, and how really it may come to pass, that doctrines, that have been derived from no better original than the superstition of a nurse, or the authority of an old woman, may, by length of time, and confent of neighbours, grow up to the dignity of principles in religion or morality; for fuch who are careful (as they call it) to principle children well (and few there be who have not a fet of those principles for them which they believe in), inftil into the unwary, and as yet unprejudifed understanding (for white paper receives any characters), thofe doctrines they would have them retain and profefs. These being taught them as soon as they have any apprehenfion, and still,

as they grow up, confirmed to them, either by the open profeffion, or tacit confent of all they have to do with; or, at leaft, by thofe of whose wisdom, knowledge, and piety, they have an opinion, who never fuffer those propofitions to be otherwise mentioned, but as the basis and foundation on which they build their religion or manners, come by these means to have the reputation of unquestionable, felf-evident, and innate truths.

$23.

To which we may add, That when men, fo inftructed, are grown up, and reflect on their own minds, they cannot find any thing more ancient there, than those opinions which were taught them before their memory began to keep a regifter of their actions, or date the time when any new thing appeared to them; and therefore make no fcruple to conclude, That those propofitions, of whofe knowledge they can find in themselves no original, were certainly the imprefs of God and nature upon their minds, and not taught them by any one else. These they entertain, and submit to, as many do to their parents, with veneration; not because it is natural; nor do children do it, where they are not fo taught, but because, having been always fo educated, and having no remembrance of the beginning of this refpect, they think it is natural.

$24.

THIS will appear very likely, and almost unavoidably to come to pass, if we confider the nature of mankind, and the conftitution of human affairs; wherein moft men cannot live without employing their time in the daily labours of their callings, nor be at quiet in their minds, without fome foundation or principles to reft their thoughts on. There is fcarce any one fo floating, and superficial in his understanding, who hath not fome reverenced propofitions, which are to him the principles on which he bottoms his reafonings, and by which he judgeth of truth and falsehood, right and wrong; which, fome wanting skill and leifure, and others the inclination, and fome being taught, that they ought not to examine, there are few to be found who are not expofed

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by their ignorance, laziness, education, or precipitancy to take them upon truft.

$25.

THIS is evidently the cafe of all children and young folk; and custom, a greater power than nature, feldom failing to make them worship for divine, what the hath inured them to bow their minds, and submit their understandings to, it is no wonder that grown men, either perplexed in the neceffary affairs of life, or hot in the purfuit of pleasures, fhould not seriously fit down to examine their own tenets, especially when one of their principles is, that principles ought not to be questioncd. And had men leisure, parts, and will, who is there almost that dare fhake the foundations of all his paft thoughts and actions, and endure to bring upon himself the fhame of having been a long time wholly in mistake and error? Who is there hardy enough to contend with the reproach which is every where prepared for those who dare venture to diffent from the ceived opinions of their country or party? And where is the man to be found, that can patiently prepare himfelf to bear the name of Whimfical, Sceptical, or Atheist, which he is fure to meet with, who does in the leaft fcruple any of the common opinions? And he will be much more afraid to queflion thofe principles, when he fhall think them, as most men do, the ftandards fet up by God in his mind, to be the rule and touchstone of all other opinions. And what can hinder him from thinking them facred, when he finds them the earliest of all his own thoughts, and the most reverenced by others?

$26.

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Ir is easy to imagine how by these means it comes to pafs, that men worship the idols that have been fet up in their minds; grow fond of the notions they have been long acquainted with there; and flamp the characters of divinity upon abfurdities and errors; become zealous votaries to bulls and monkeys; and contend too, fight, and die in defence of their opinion. Dum folos credit habendos effe Deos, quos ipfe colit. For fince the

reasoning faculties of the foul, which are almoft conftantly, though not always warily nor wifely employed, would not know how to move for want of a foundation and footing in moft men, who through laziness or avocation do not, or for want of time, or true helps, or for other caufes, cannot penetrate into the principles of knowledge, and trace truth to its fountain and original; it is natural for them, and almost unavoidable, to take up with fome borrowed principles, which being reputed and prefumed to be the evident proofs of other things, are thought not to need any other proof themselves. Whoever fhall receive any of these into his mind, and entertain them there with the reverence ufually paid to principles, never venturing to examine them, but accuftoming himself to believe them, because they are to be believed, may take up from his education, and the fashions of his country, any abfurdity for innate principles; and by long poring on the fame objects, fo dim his fight, as to take monsters lodged in his own brain, for the images of the Deity, and the workmanfhip of his hands.

$27. Principles must be examined.

By this progrefs, how many there are who arrive at principles, which they believe innate, may be eafily obferved, in the variety of oppofite principles held and contended for by all forts and degrees of men. And he that shall deny this to be the method, wherein moît men proceed to the affurance they have of the truth and evidence of their principles, will perhaps find it a hard matter any other way to account for the contrary tenets, which are firmly believed, confidently afferted, and which great numbers are ready at any time to feal with their blood. And, indeed, if it be the privilege of innate principles to be received upon their own authority without examination, I know not what may not be believed, or how any one's principles can be questioned. If they may, and ought to be examined and tried, I defire to know how first and innate principles can be tried; or, at leaft, it is reasonable to demand the marks and characters, whereby the genuine innate principles may be

49 diftinguished from others, that fo, amidst the great variety of pretenders, I may be kept from mistakes in fo material a point as this. When this is done, I fhall be ready to embrace fuch welcome and useful propofitions; and till then I may with modesty doubt, fince I fear univerfal confent, which is the only one produced, will scarce prove a fufficient mark to direct my choice, and affure me of any innate principles. From what has been faid, I think it paft doubt, that there are no practical principles wherein all men agree, and therefore none innate.

CHAP. IV.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS CONCERNING INNATE PRINCIPLES, BOTH SPECULATE AND PRACTICAL.

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1. Principles not Innate, unless their Ideas be Innate. AD thofe who would perfuade us that there are innate principles, not taken them together in grofs, but confidered separately the parts out of which those propofitions are made, they would not perhaps have been fo forward to believe they were innate, fince, if the ideas which made up thofe truths were not, it was impoffible that the propofitions made up of them fhould be innate, or our knowledge of them be born with us; for if the ideas be not innate, there was a time when the mind was without thofe principles; and then they will not be innate, but be derived from fome other original; for, where the ideas themselves are not, there can be no knowledge, no affent, no mental or verbal propofitions about them.

§ 2. Ideas, especially thofe belonging to Principles, not born with Children.

If we will attentively confider new-born children, we fhall have little reafon to think that they bring many ideas into the world with them; for, bating perhaps fome faint ideas of hunger, and thirit, and warmth, and fome pains which they may have felt in the womb, there is not the least appearance of any fettled ideas at