Get this book in print
About this book
My library
Books on Google Play
OR
A RATIONAL ACCOUNT
OF THE GROUNDS OF
NATURAL AND REVEALED RELIGION.
TO WHICH IS ADDED
PART OF ANOTHER BOOK UPON THE SAME SUBJECT,
LEFT UNFINISHED BY THE AUTHOR.
TOGETHER WITH
A LETTER TO A DEIST.
BY
THE RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD
EDWARD STILLINGFLEET, D. D.
LATE LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER.
A NEW EDITION, IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
OXFORD,
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
MDCCCXXXVI,
BIBLIOTHECA
REGIA
MONACENSIS.
CONTENTS
OF
BOOK III.
CHAP. II.
OF THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE.
I. The necessity of the belief of the creation of the world, in order
to the truth of religion. Of the several hypotheses of the philoso-
phers who contradict Moses: with a particular examination of
them. II. The ancient tradition of the world consonant to Moses;
proved from the Ionic philosophy of Thales, and the Italic of
Pythagoras. III. The Pythagoric cabala rather Egyptian than
Mosaic. Of the fluid matter, which was the material principle of
the universe. IV. Of the hypothesis of the eternity of the world,
asserted by Ocellus Lucanus and Aristotle. V. The weakness of
the foundations on which that opinion is built. Of the manner of
forming principles of philosophy. VI. The possibility of creation
proved. [No arguing from the present state of the world against
its beginning, shewed from Maimonides.] VII. The Platonists'
arguments, from the goodness of God for the eternity of the world,
answered. VIII. Of the stoical hypothesis of the eternity of mat-
ter; whether reconcilable with the text of Moses. IX. Of the
opinions of Plato and Pythagoras concerning the preexistence of
matter to the formation of the world. X. The contradiction of
the eternity of matter to the nature and attributes of God. XI,
XII, XIII. Of the atomical hypothesis of the origin of the universe.
XIV, XV, XVI, XVII. The world could not be produced by a
casual concourse of atoms, proved from the nature and motion of
Epicurus's atoms, and the phænomena of the universe; especially
the production and nature of animals. XVIII. Of the Cartesian
hypothesis, that it cannot salve the origin of the universe without
a Deity giving motion to matter
Page 1.
OF THE ORIGIN OF EVIL.
I. Of the being of Providence. II. Epicurus's arguments against it
refuted. The necessity of the belief of Providence in order to re-
ligion. III. Providence proved from a consideration of the nature
of God and the things of the world. Of the spirit of nature.
IV. The great objections against Providence propounded. The
V. God cannot be the author of
first concerns the origin of evil.
sin, if the Scriptures be true. The account, which the Scriptures
give of the fall of man, doth not charge God with man's fault.
God's power to govern man by laws, though he gives no particular
reason of every positive precept. VI. The reason of God's creating
man with freedom of will, largely shewed from Simplicius; and
the true account of the origin of evil. VII. God's permitting the
VIII. The account which
fall, makes him not the author of it.
the Scriptures give of the origin of evil, compared with that of
heathen philosophers. IX. The antiquity of the opinion of ascrib-
ing the origin of evil to an evil principle. Of the judgment of the
Persians, Egyptians, and others about it. X. Of Manichæism.
XI, XII, XIII, XIV. The opinion of the ancient Greek philoso-
phers; of Pythagoras, Plato, the Stoics; the origin of evil not from
XV, XVI. The remainders of the history
the necessity of matter.
of the fall among the heathens. XVII, XVIII, XIX. Of the ma-
lignity of demons. XX, XXI, XXII. Providence vindicated as to
An account
the sufferings of good, and the impunity of bad men.
of both from natural light, manifested by Seneca, Plutarch, and
others
63.
CHAP. IV.
OF THE ORIGIN OF NATIONS.
I. All mankind derived from Adam, if the Scriptures be true.
II. The contrary supposition an introduction to Atheism. III. The
truth of the history of the flood. The possibility of an universal
deluge proved. IV. The flood universal as to mankind, whether
universal as to the earth and animals; no necessity of asserting
either. V. Yet supposing the possibility of it demonstrated with-
VI. Of the fountains of the deep.
out creation of new waters.
The proportion which the height of mountains bears to the di-
ameter of the earth. No mountains much above three miles per-
pendicular. Of the origin of fountains. The opinion of Aristotle
and others concerning it discussed. The true account of them
from the vapours arising from the mass of subterraneous waters.
VII. Of the capacity of the ark for receiving the animals, from
Buteo and others. VIII. The truth of the deluge from the testi-
mony of heathen nations. Of the propagation of nations from
Noah's posterity. IX. Of the beginning of the Assyrian empire.
The multiplication of mankind after the flood. Of the Chronology
of the LXX. Of the time between the flood and Abraham, and
the advantages of it. X. Of the pretence of such nations, who
called themselves Aborigines. XI. A discourse concerning the
first planters of Greece: the common opinion propounded and re-
jected. The Hellens were not the first inhabitants of Greece, but
the Pelasgi. The large spread of them over the parts of Greece.
XII. Of their language different from the Greeks. XIII. Whence
these Pelasgi came; that Phaleg was the Pelasgus of Greece, and
the leader of that colony, proved from Epiphanius. XIV. The
language of the Pelasgi in Greece oriental: thence an account
given of the many Hebrew words in the Greek language, and the
remainders of the eastern languages in the islands of Greece;
both which not from the Phoenicians, as Bochartus thinks, but from
the old Pelasgi. XV. Of the ground of the affinity between the
Jews and Lacedæmonians. Of the peopling of America. . . . 136.
CHAP. V.
OF THE ORIGIN OF THE HEATHEN MYTHOLOGY.
I. That there were some remainders of the ancient history of the
world preserved in the several nations after the dispersion.
II. How it came to be corrupted: by decay of knowledge, increase
of idolatry, confusion of languages. III. An inquiry into the cause
of that. Difficulties against the common opinion that languages
were confounded at Babel. IV. Those difficulties cleared. V. Of
the fabulousness of poets. The particular ways whereby the hea-
then mythology arose. Attributing the general history of the
world to their own nation. The corruption of Hebraisms. Al-
teration of names. Ambiguity of sense in the Oriental languages.
VI. Attributing the actions of many to one person; as in Jupiter,
Bacchus, &c. VII. The remainders of Scripture-history among
the heathens. The name of God, Chaos: formation of man
STILLINGFLEET, VOL. II. b