LETTER VII.

THEOPHILUS to CRITO.

SI fuppofe I have said enough to your A firft Objection, I now go on to that from the Philippians, where St. Paul profeffes his Defire to depart and be with Chrift: but which as it is much of the fame Nature, and import with that from Corinthians, the fame Answer in general which ferves for one may likewife ferve as Answer to the other, Yet as it is thought, I prefume, to contain some additional Weight in it, from that apparent Preference given here to Death, before that of a Life, tho' so useful as that of St. Pauls, that I may not be thought to conceal any Part of the Force of it, as feeing any Thing in it too weighty to make a Reply to, I fhall here give you on this the Remarks of the fame Annotator, that I prefented you with on the other. He begins with obferving that Crellius fays upon this Place, that because the Time between Death and the Refurrection is reckon'd as nothing, therefore the Apofile might speak thus, tho' the Soul has no Senfe of any Thing after Death. And then goes on to enquire, as by Way of Anfwer; but could St. Paul think a State

of

of Infenfibility fo much better than a Life tending so much as his to the Glory of God, the Propagation of the Gofpel, and the Furtherance of the Joy of Chriftians? could he call fuch an infenfate State, a being with Chrift, and a walking by Sight in Oppofition to walking by Faith? [ii. Cor, 5, 7, 8.] He then goes on to obferve, that others account for this by fuppofing the Apoftles believ'd the Refurrection was then at Hand; and that fome think he refers to fome peculiar Priviledge of being with Chrift as an Apoftle or Martyr. But as we have only to do with his Remarks, on Crellius, let us accordingly fet ourselves to fee the Force of them.

St. Paul owns very freely his Life was of Ufe to the Church, and was for this Reafon perfwaded it would be continued, and yet owns that his Death would be Gain to him notwithstanding; that is, according to fome, because he fhould go to Chrift, or according to others, converfe with him by Way of Vifion : But as the primitive Chriftians did not believe the former, any more than many modern ones do the latter, and the Tenour of Scripture feems neither for one, nor the other, we must either at laft take up with the Note of Crellius, or wait till fome Author can give us a better in Lieu of it. And if an infenfate State is better than one of

Suffering,

fuffering, and St. Paul owns that fuch was the Apostles Cafe, that if in this Life only they had Hope in Chrift they should be of all Men the moft miferable, I cannot fee it fo abfurd, for my Part, that he should give the Preference to a quiet Sleep before a more active State of fo much Hardships; and efpecially if it is further confider'd, that the Time of this Sleep, is as nothing, and befides its releafing him from all his Labours, would convey him to Chrift in Effect, as it were, the next Inftant.

It is moreover very remarkable, that in this Epiftle, he not only reprefents the Refurrection as the Object of his utmost Defires; [Chap. iii. 11.] but that taking Occafion to mention foon after, our Conversation, or Citizenship, as being in Heaven; instead of giving us the leaft Item of our going thither, or of any fuch Thing as our being with Chrift till his fecond appearing, he immediately adds, From whence alfo we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jefus Chrift, who shall change our vile Body, that it may be fashion'd like unto his glorious Body, according to the working, whereby he is able even to fubdue all Things unto himself. Now, why fhould he look fo much for our Lords Return, if he either expected to be with him in Heaven fo long before then? Or however to see M

and

and converfe with him in fome happy Paradife, and into which his Soul fhould immediately enter after Death? Had he forgot the Defire he before exprefs'd? Or that being with Chrift, he had fo lately mentioned? Or are we to look on him here as explaining himself more at large? I must freely confefs, that the more I confider thefe Things, it affords me ftill new Matter of Surprize, that this Apoftle fhould fo long be quoted as favouring a Doctrine, which on fo many Occafions he never makes any Account of, only because it seems to agree with what he says in fome two or three Paffages, but for which, on fairly comparing the whole of his Writings together, there does not appear to be the least Foudation.

As to the Objection brought from St. Paul to the Theffalonians, [i. Theff. v, 10.] it appears to me to be fo very trifling, as scarce to merit or deferve an Answer. It was if you please to remember, from even this very Epiftle, [Chap. iv. 13, &c.] that Philander produced to us one of the strongest Arguments against a separate State in all this Apoftles Writings. For here the Apostle fets himself profeffedly to remove all fuch Doubts with regard to the State of the Dead, as might lead us to look on them as loft or perif'd, and to adminifter all the

Apoftolical

Apoftolical Comfort he could to put an End to immoderate Grief on that Occafion. Here therefore the common Doctrine of Immorta

lity muft, if true, have answer'd a most useful Purpose: nor is it even conceivable he fhould here omit it, would his Faith as a Chriftian have given him Leave to make Ufe of it. Had a Philofopher undertook to manage this Point, we fhould have been entertain'd perhaps with the Romantick Rhetorick of the Godlike Power of Souls when freed from Bodies! How the Soul exults in its recover'd Liberty! And flies from World to World with as much Facility, as the Birds of the Air do from one neighbouring Tree to another! Some of the Antients here indeed were very modeft, and would not fo much as allow that a Soul could get over a River, without paying a Penny to Charon for Ufe of his Boat. But these were mere Philofophical Bunglers, compar'd with fome Others, that because living Wights they knew had need of fuch Things, muft needs foolishly fancy the Dead muft have need of them too, and that dead Souls could not fly over Rivers for no other Reafon than because they faw it could not be done by Living ones.

But to leave thefe wild Dreams and return to the holy Apoftle. He would not M 2

have