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History of
conversion from
religious rancour
to toleration
Nothing could be more edifying, nothing more
efficacious towards the reclaiming of men
from the common system of self-deceit,
than an accurate an ingenuous history of
the workings of his own mind by a convert
by a proselyte from orthodoxy to common
sense.
I mean not of a mind + which moderate
+ tho' even this,
as we have seen
in some shining
examples, has had been
of no inconsiderable
use service,
from the beginning had suffer'd itself to be
of a gentle mold
overawed into quietism, but of a mind which
pushed by a consistent order, had gone all lengths
in the .... of intolerance — I mean
not a ...... but a St Paul.
In each sophism some one or other of the sophisms, thus brought to light, thus depicted, each demo
might + behold recognize the image a faithful portraiture
+ be made to
of the [particular] unclean spirit that possessed
him.
For my own part I began pretty early
I should scarcely find it practicable to gather up
the broken clew and
Yet can I remember the time when through the
thus much
influence of those superstitions my head was
filled with that malice and unchangeableness
to which I thank God it has of a long time
been a stranger.
...... ......
when I could not clasp to my heart with the
sincerest affection, the instant I beheld his
conversion to the cause of tolerance, the only conversion
in matters of religion I would ever
wish to make.
Not one of the most inveterate of opposers
should by my choice suffer the smallest portion
of uneasiness, any otherwise than as a
means of
If I wage war upon the wolf, it is in this for this
take the wolf
for the object of my
purpose and for this purpose only, that he
may quit his hold & let the sheep go free.
the first To bind up & pour oil into the wounds I had
given.
SUBSCRIPTION
---page break---
Subscriptions
&c useless
to morality
By which of them is patience goodliness, long suffering
meekness charity, temperance, prudency
fortitude [& so on] recommended promoted, more than
by it's contrary?
By which of them are men renderd more obedient
to the Laws, more willing to contribute
to the necessities of the state, more disposed
to live at peace with their neighbours,
more ....
By which of them are men render'd more
averse to Murders, spoil, rapine, Robbings
Theft Frauds Forgeries, Perjuries, & all or any of
the deeds of darkness.
Believef on
merit
In all other cases, where men see no room
for the operation of the Will, they seem no
room for merit or demerit.
If I believe that a punishment will overtake
me for doing a certain act, which act if I do
punishment will certainly really overtake me, it may
on that account
be the better for me that I have believed.
In this sense, faith bestowed on an event fact the
expectation of which is calculated to govern conduct
may be beneficial:
In this sense it
may be proper for
men charged with
the interests of
society to cultivate
I should feel nothing but regret for my successes,
if after all I were to know that I had
heaped distress upon the former without effecting
the releasement of the latter.
If there can be merit + of which I must confess myself to have no notion in belief, it can only
+ in the popular
sense of merit
be in belief thus free & uncompelled.
I strike not at the Laws because they are supported
by these men, but I strike at these
men because they are supporters of such
Laws.
Those who framed them [+] had common general persuasion,
[+] had many excuses
had self-defence + had inexperience
+ perhaps
to plead — those who now uphold them have
nothing. Nothing but those weaknesses and
....... which howsoever they apt they are to govern
men, [+] men take care how they avow.
[+] men seldom recognize,
& even if they
then recognize,
Identifier: | JB/005/008/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 5.
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