Now , I say , as there is no One Quality , that sticks more closely to a Scorner , than That of Pride , so is there none that is a greater Enemy to just Thinking , and to an impartial Search after Truths of all kinds ; especially after those , which relate to Religion and Piety . And no wonder therefore , if , on This Account , the Scorner , thô he seek Wisdom , yet findeth it not . Pride makes a man seem sufficient in his own Eyes for all manner of Speculations and Inquiries , and therefore puts him indifferently upon the pursuit of all Knowledge , and the determination of all Doubts , without giving him Leave to distrust himself in the least , or once to consider , which way his Genius and Abilities lie . Hence it comes , that the Man , not being duly Qualified for Every Search , or , if he were , yet not having leisure and opportunity enough to go through with it , is fain to take up with slight and superficial accounts of things ; and then , what he wants in true Knowledge , to make up in down right Assurance . As soon as he has touch'd on any Study , he immediately seems to himself to have master'd it ; is as Positive in his Opinions , and as hardy in his Assertions , as if the Thoughts of his whole Life had been directed That way only : Which is , as if a Coaster , who has gone from Port to Port only , should pretend to give a better description of the Inland Parts of a Country , than Those who have travelled it all over . But this , I say , is the mischievous Nature of Pride ; it makes a Man Grasp at every thing ; and , by Consequence , comprehend nothing effectually and throughly ; and yet ( which is worst of all ) incline , him to despise and contradict those that do . It gives him just enough understanding to raise an Objection , or a Doubt , but not enough to lay it ; which , as it is the meanest and most despicable , so it is also the most dangerous State of mind , a man can be in ; and by so much the more dangerous , as the Subject he is upon is more important , and the Errors more fatal which he runs into in managing it . He that is but Half a Philosopher is in danger of being an Atheist ; an Half Physician is apt to turn Empiric ; an Half Bred man is conceited in his Address , and troublesome in his Conversation . Thus it is in all matters of Speculation or Practise ; He that knows but a little of 'em , and is very confident of his own strength , is more out of the way of True Knowledge than if he knew nothing at all . Now there is , I say , a Natural Tendency in Pride , to put a man into this State , and therefore it must needs be a Quality very opposite to the Search and Attainment of True Wisdom .

And then , supposing a Proud man to be once in the Wrong , it is almost impossible , that he should ever be set Right again ; He is plac'd above the reach of that great means of amendment , Reproof ; A Scorner heareth not rebuke , says Solomon : and therefore as his Pride led him into a mistake at first , so will it be sure to keep him there ; and to harden him in his way , against whatever wise men can think , or say of him .

Thus , I say , is Pride an Enemy to the Knowledge of Truth in general , but most of all does it hinder men form discerning Sacred Truths , and the Doctrines of Reveal'd Religion . A Proud man is very hardly brought to digest the Humble Duties of the Cross , or to receive the Mysteries of Christianity : the One are too low for him , and he cannot stoop to the Practise of 'em ; the other are too high for his Understanding , and he cannot tell how to entertain any thing as true , that he does not perfectly comprehend . If he cannot give himself a certain plain account in what Manner , and to what End God did a thing , he wisely resolves , that therefore he did it not all . If he has not as clear an Idea of every Term in an Article of Faith , as he has of Those in a Mathematical Proposition , 't is presently Unphilosophical absurd , and foolish ; invented by Those whose Interest it is , to puzzle mens understandings , that they may have their Wills and Affections at Their Service .

And This puts Us in mind also of that Second Great Ingredient in the Character of a Scorner which we propos'd to consider , a strange and unreasonable Suspicion , by which he doubts of every thing be hears , and distrusts every man he converses with ; Imagines the World to be all Cheat and Imposture ; that there is no Sincerity , no Honesty any where ; but that every man is continually Studying how to put a Trick upon his Neighbour . Without This Temper it might be Easily prov'd , that a man cannot bring himself to run down Religion and the Professors of it ; and , with it , it is impossible , I think , to arrive at True Wisdom . Indeed to be Cautious and upon our Guard in receiving Doctrines , and not easily to give up our assent to every Tale that is told us , is a piece of great Prudence and very requisite in such a multiplicity of Opinions as there is in the world , to preserve us from Error : But then we may carry this point too farr ; we may be so scrupulous and circumspect in admitting the Testimonies of men , as to reject some Good Witnesses among several Bad ones ; and to deceive our Selves often times for very fear of being deceiv'd by Others . A General undistinguishing suspicion is as apt every whit to mislead a man , as a too Easie and Unwary Credulity . And This is remarkably the Case of the Scorner . He is so possess'd with the Notion of Priest-Craft , and Pious Frauds , as to apply it indifferently to all Religions , and to Every thing in Religion . He is so afraid of having his Understanding impos'd on in Matters of Faith that he stands equally aloof from all Propositions of that kind , whether True or False . Which is , as if a Man should refuse to receive any Mony at all , because there is a great deal goes about that is False and Counterfeit ; or resolve not to make a Friendship or Acquaintance with any man ; because many men are not to be trusted . Certainly this is a very great Instance of Folly , and in what Breast soever it is , cannot possibly be consistent with True Prudence and Wisdom . An extremity of Suspicion in an Inquirer after Truth , is like a Raging Jealousie in an Husband , or a Friend ; It leads a man to turn all his thoughts toward the ill-natur'd side , and to put the worst construction upon every thing , and ( in Consequence of that ) for once that he is really in the Right , in his Guesses and Censures , to be very often and very much in the Wrong .

A Third part of the Character of that Man we are discoursing of , is False Wit ; or a Way of exposing Things Sacred and Serious by passing a Bold Jest upon 'em , and Ridiculing arguments instead of Confuting ' em . The very name of a Scorner will tell us , that This is One of his most belov'd Accomplishments : And I am sure it is such an One , as can never conduce to his Getting right Impressions of Things , and can hardly ever be made consistent with his Having ' em . Wit indeed , as it implies a certain uncommon Reach and Vivacity of Thought , is a very Useful Talent ; very fit to be employ'd in the Search of Truth , and very capable of assisting us to discern and find it : but in the Way , in which the Scorner exerts it , the Way of Satyr and Prophane Drollery , it betrays a man into a Thousand Errors , for One that it discovers to him . Men of Quick and Lively parts are apt to give themselves a loose beyond Plain Reason and Common Sense ; and to say many things not exactly Right and True in order to say something New and Surprizing . Their Great Aim is , in general , to please ; and , in order to that , they must bend all their Wit that way , to which the Corrupt Nature of man is inclin'd , and be sure always to speak against that which is uppermost . This gives 'em a Light and Trifling , instead of a Serious and Manly Spirit ; and makes 'em think , they have answer'd all the Wisest Reasons that can be brought for any thing , if they have but clap'd a Nickname upon it , and dress'd up a Grave and Venerable Truth in so Odd a disguise , as to raise Mirth and Laughter from it . Thus a late Person , Eminent for Wit and Wickedness , till a Death-bed made him more Serious , and gave him truer apprehensions of Things , us'd to please himself mightily with that Thought , that the doing of a Miracle was onely shewing of a Trick : and when he had once represented the Thing to himself under that Light Image , he could hardly be brought to think reverently of it ever afterwards ; or to allow the strongest Arguments that could be brought for the Truth of Miracles , a due and impartial Consideration . And thus also the great Leader of the Libertines of This Age ( whom we have already had occassion to mention ) thought he had said something very prejudicial to the Divinity of Christ , when he had Translated , after an Absurd Manner , the Greek Word {αβγδ} ( which by S. John is apply'd to Him ) and blasphemously told us , that That was as much as to say , in Our Tongue , the Verb of God : And again , he pretended to give a mighty Blow to the Doctrine of Grace , by strictly enquiring into the meaning of those Two Expressions , generally us'd by Divines concerning it , To wit Infusion , and Inspiration ; and by informing us , that they signified , in plain English , Inpowring and Inblowing . I bring These Instances , to shew , how far a Scorner may be led out of the Way of Truth , by a little Knack of playing upon Things and Words , which he miscals Wit ; and upon which he shall value himself more , and be wiser in his own Conceipt than Seven Men that can render a Reason .

The Fourth and Last Thing , from whence we propos'd to give an account of His Deceptions , was Sensuality : and that This too does , for the most part , accompany a Contempt of Religion , I appeal to the Observation and Experience of every One that Hears me . Look round the World , and You shall seldom find a man Loose in his Principles , that is not so in his Manners too . There may possibly be , now and then , in an Age , an Instance of some Cold Phlegmatic man , that shall set up for overturning Religion and Morality , merely for the sake of Contradiction , or to get himself a Name by it , without the design of Indulging his Own Appetites , in so doing : But This is a very Rare Case ; generally the Scorners are , as S. Peter and S. James have Unanimously describ'd 'em , in their several Epistles ; Men who walk after their Own Lusts . Accordingly , we may observe , that This Scorning Humor has been most prevalent in Those Ages of the World , in which the Love of Pleasure , and the Arts of Ease and Luxury did most abound ; and is commonly Incident to Men , at that Time of their Lives , when their Lusts are most ungovern'd , and their Blood boils hottest . 't is chiefly the Young Robust Sinner that indulges himself in it , whilst he is in the midst of his Enjoyments : for thô a Man may continue on this Temper in the Latest Years of his Life , yet he generally takes it up much Earlier .

Now the Sensual Man , is , of all men living , the most Improper for inquiries after Truth , and the least at Leisure for it . He is never Sedate and Cool , and therefore not able to fix his attention to a Point , and go through with it . He is never Disinterested and Impartial ; and therefore not capable of deliberating Freely . He is already under the Dominion and Power of his Lust ; and perhaps likes to be so , and is very unwilling to shake off his Chains . Now such a Man , so qualified , is , no doubt , a very incompetent Judge of Divine Truth , and very unfit to consider the Pleas that are brought for it . His Search into These things is like to be with no great Evenness and Fairness ; How can it ? When he comes with strong Wishes that he may find it all a mistake . Indeed , when a Man allows himself in all sorts of Impurities , and is determin'd to go on in 'em ; and yet finds himself under the Troublesome Restraint of Principles , and the Dread of Religion , that hangs continually over him , the onely way for him to pursue his Enjoyments , and yet be easie , is to set his Face directly against the Doctrines of Religion , that give him any check or disturbance , and resolve to get rid of 'em as soon as he can . And he may put the Thoughts , which arise in him upon This occasion , together ; and make a Book of 'em , if He pleases ; and then tell us , that This is a sober Enquiry after Truth ; and a free discussion of the Point in debate : but there is nothing of that in it . He thinks of Truth just as a man does of his Enemy , with Spite and Anger , and a Design only of finding out whatever may blast and expose it . This is a strange contumelious way of treating Divine things , and would tempt a Good man to return the affronts done to Vertue and Piety , by opening the Characters of Those who do 'em ; in which we should always find , that Sensuality and Loosness of Life had a very great and particular share . But Some Men , who Write pretended Histories of Religion , are beholding to the Real Religion of Others , that Their Histories are not written .

Thus have I run through those four several Properties which remarkably belong to the Character of a Scorner ; and shewn You , how Each of 'em contributes to misinform and mislead Him in his pursuit of Wisdom ; so that , supposing him really and in good Earnest to seek it , yet thus setting out and thus Qualified , it is not at all probable that he should find it .

And now the Plain and Obvious Use we are to make of This Discourse , is , to satisfie our selves from hence how it has come to pass , that the True Religion , all along , in the several Ages of the World , have not been entertain'd , by many of the seemingly Wittiest and Wisest amongst the Children of Men .

To This startling Question , We can now give a Short and Easie Answer , from the Observation of the Text ; They were Scorners . They were either Proud and Opinionative Men , that could not endure to learn the plain humble Lessons of Piety and Goodness ; especially from Such as They had no Esteem of , no value for . Or their Minds were tainted with an ill natur'd , and unreasonable Supicion , which , from finding out Some Cheats in Religion , led 'em to pronounce All Religion a Cheat . They had a Talent perhaps at Ridiculing Honest Rules and Maxims , and making Sport with Things Sacred and Serious ; and therefore to have own'd any fix'd Scheme of Religious Principles , would have been a mighty Damp to their Imaginations , and have taken away from 'em the Subject of above half their Wit and Pleasantness . Or , Lastly , They were Men of Sensual and Impure Lives , who were resolv'd to make their Opinions and their Pleasures as consistent as they could ; and who therefore were oblig'd , in point of Interest , to disbelieve every thing that made against ' em .

This is the Short and True Account of the Matter ; and will appear to be so , if we cast our Eyes backward on the Story of the World , and consider , Who they have been , that have rejected the True Religion all along from the Creation down to this Time .

In the Old World , Noah , Who was the onely man that preserv'd the Worship of the True God in his Family , seems to have been an honest plain hearted man ; just and perfect in his Generation , ( as he is described in Scripture ) and walking with God . The Rest of the World are said to have Eaten and Drunken , to have Married and been given in Marriage , i.e. They were men who liv'd in all the Enjoyments of Sense , who revell'd , and took their fill of all the Good Things of this World ; and , to be sure , were very Merry , and very Bitter upon Those who did not . How did they deride that Grave Preacher of Righteousness , and his Precise Family , when He and his Sons talk'd to 'em of Righteousness , Temperance and Judgment ! especially , when he told 'em that there was Such a Flood coming , and that he was building That Ark to preserve himself and his Household , what a Jest was he to the Men of Parts and Pleasure ! How many Scornful and Gay things were said upon this Occasion , while the Work went forward , by Those , who thought themselves very wise , and Him very Foolish ! But the Fountains of the great Deep were broken up , and the Windows of Heaven open'd , and then they began to change their Opinions when ( alas ! ) it was too late to learn .

In the next great Period after the Flood , the true Religion was confin'd to the single Nation of the Jews : and one may think it strange at first sight that ( if it were the True Religion ) it should be so ; that the wise and knowing part of mankind should not discern the strength of the Evidence that was brought for the Divinity of That way of Worship , nor receive the God of Israel for Their God ; that All Nations did not fall down before him , all Kingdoms did not do him service . But , if We consider a little further , we shall be satisfied , that the true reason of Mens Incredulity throughout this long Period of time , was , a Mean and Contemtible Notion they had entertain'd , of the Jewish People , of their Rites and Ceremonies . The Wise Men of the East in the Earliest Ages , and the Philosophers of the West in Later Times , had too high an Opinion of themselves , and too low an one of that Little , Narrow-soul'd , Superstitious Nation , to submit themselves to be taught by ' em . The Jews were a Proverb and a By-word to the rest of the World , the perpetual Subject of their Contempt and Reproach : And who would have thought ( may we suppose one of those Wise Heathens to have said ) that Truth should have lain hid among such an Odd sort of People in such a little Spot of the World .

And Thus , Again , when Christianity first appear'd , it made no great Progress among the Disputers of this World , among the Men of Wit and Sublety ; for this very Reason , because they were Scorners . The Gospel was to the Jews , to the most Learned and Proud Sect among the Jews , ( the Pharisees ) a Stumbling-block , and to those of highest Repute among the Greeks , foolishness . The Great pretenders to knowledge Every Where unanimously contemn'd and derided it , as a poor and low Systeme of Principles , and could never once think of humbling their minds to entertain the simplicity of the Gospel .

And no wonder therefore , if , in some Ages after Christianity , We find not much said to the advantage of it , in the Writings of Those Eminent Greeks and Romans , who are allow'd to have been the best Masters of Polite Thought and Expression . Alas ! Porphyry must have vail'd his great name for Philosophy , and Lucian in great measure have forgone his Skill in Satyr ; The Witty Libertines of those Times must have parted with much of the Esteem they had , and with most of their Pleasures , if they had once admitted the Truth of Christianity : and therefore they agreed in running down the Reputation of That , that they might not lose their Own .

And as it was immediately after our Saviours coming , so has it been ever since to this very day . The Doctrines of the Cross have never in any Age met , nor will they ever in any future Age meet with a kind and hearty reception , among Those , who sit in the Seat of the Scorners .

But let it not therefore deject us , That there are Many whom the World Esteems , who yet esteem not Us , and Our Holy and Undefiled Religion ! and let us not suspect our selves upon that Account , as being out of the way and imposed upon , because Men of greater Reach , and perhaps a more improv'd Understanding than We , are not of Our Mind . Solomon , who was certainly a Man of Understanding , and who was of our Mind , does , in a very few Words ( which I cannot repeat too often ) afford us a thorough Solution of the Case , A Scorner ( saith he ) seeketh Wisdom and findeth it not .