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.

BIBLIOTICA

REGLA JVIONACENSIS.

CONTENTS

OF

VOL. II.

BOOK III.

CHAP. II.

OF THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE.

1. 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.

amete
pendid

CHAP. III.

and

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

first concerns the origin of evil. V. God cannot be the author of

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

fall, makes him not the author of it. VIII. The account which

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

the necessity of matter. XV, XVI. The remainders of the history

of the fall among the heathens. XVII, XVIII, XIX. Of the ma-

lignity of demons. XX, XXI, XXII. Providence vindicated as to

the sufferings of good, and the impunity of bad men. An account

of both from natural light, manifested by Seneca, Plutarch, and

others ............................................ 63.

rena

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 food 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-

out creation of new waters. VI. Of the fountains of the deep.

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 food. 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 Phænicians, 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.