due Bounds: But Bigotry is a difproportionate Concern to the Weight of the Matter, and to the Prejudice of fome other Truth. Zeal is a ftaid and regular Warmth, like the natural Heat of the Body; Bigotry is preternatural and intemperate, like a faint and feaverish Heat.

'Tis often conftitutional, and arifes from an unhappy Temper and Make of Mind; a Narrownefs and Littlenefs of Soul, confin'd and limited in its Views: Or from a natural Fury and fiery Zeal, which transports Men with Paffion, and carries them beyond Bounds in whatever they espose: Or from Pride and Conceit of our Selves, over-rating our Understandings, and making them the Measure of Truth, and Standard to other Men: Or from Selfishness of Mind, an Over-folicitude to our own Inte refts, and Unconcern and Difregard to another's Welfare.

Sometimes it proceeds from the Prejudices of Education, or the Tincture and Turn we receive from the earliest Impreffions: A School or University, the Reverence of our Teachers, or the firft Set of Principles we happen to be acquainted with, fhall determine our Belief and our Party all our Lives after. Sometimes from the Converfation of Others, efpecially of One Sort of Men. The Wit and Address of those we admire and esteem, easily infinuate and prevail; poflefs like Witchcraft, and delight like a Charm: Men naturally run into the Sentiments of those with whom they frequently. converfe; without any Opportunity of hear ing the other Side, or ever feeing the Thing in another Light. Perhaps fometimes 'tis owing to wicked and fecret Designs, which such a

Set

Set of Principles, or Set of Men, as they have espoused, may make neceffary, or may

be convenient to serve.

This will be beft understood and illuftrated by proper Inftances in Matters of Opinion and Practice, both in Religion and Civil Life.

Thus in Matters of mere Opinion; We often fee Men fo tenacious of their own Apprehenfions, as to be impatient of Contradiction, or of hearing any thing that varies from them. You blow up their Paffion by the gentlest Breath of Oppofition, and put them into a Pofture of Defiance at firft Appearance of an Attack. If You once attempt to fhock their Principles, or pretend to convince them of a Mistake, they'll break in upon all the Rules of Decency and all the Ties of Friendship. They take it for an unpardonable Rudeness or Prefumption, to offer to fhew them they are in the Wrong, or endeavour to set them Right. It fometimes fets Men a raving and talking their own Talk, like mad Men in the dark, without allowing Others to speak in their Turn, or confidering what they have to fay for themselves.

Or They give a higher Affent to the Truth of a Thing than they have proper Evidence to fupport: And often reckon a Thing certain upon doubtful Proof, and Arguments which impartially weighed, appear at most but prabable. Some Men have made first Principles and capital Points of Religion without exprefs Teftimony of facred Scripture, and upon no better Authority than the dark Diftinctions and Decifions of the Schools.

Sometimes They lay a greater Strefs upon a certain Truth than it deferves, either confider'd

in it felf, or laid in the Ballance with other Truths. A Bigot will commend and carefs a Man who agrees with Him in a Noftrum, tho' He has scarce one valuable Quality belongs to Him; and over-look or depreciate the most fhining Excellence, in thofe who happen to differ from Him in a darling Sentiment. Tho a Man believes all the Articles of the Chrifti an Faith, is a conftant and devout Worshipper of God, and lives agreeable to the Gofpel; He fhall be reckon'd out of the Pale of the Chriftian Church, if He like not the Ceremoniale of a Party: While another shall pafs for a good Church-Man, upon the fingle Merit of being a Zealot for it; tho he can't give a tolerable Account of his Creed, feldom appears in the Houfe of God, and lives in Defiance of the plaineft Rules of Christianity. He fhall be damn'd for an Herewick, who believes and reverences his Bible, and takes all the Pains He can to understand it; if He will not confent to the Shibboleth of a School-Term, which he thinks unintelligible or improper. He must be a falfe Brother in the Church, and a Presbyterian, who is not abfolutely for condemning, thofe who differ from Him, to Mifery in both Worlds; tho He is as ftaunch for the Hierarchy, and cautious of Conceffions as his Neighbours. He is the only true Friend of the Church, who by ill Ufage, and ill Humour to Diffenters, heightens their Averfion to the publick Establishment, and fets them at a greater Distance from it.

There is often an Inconsistency of Sentiments: Truth fometimes breaks forth in generous and Catholick Principles; but when a favourite

No

Notion comes to be touch'd by it, they are ready to abandon the Principle, or distinguish it away into Nothing. We fee Men often laying down fuch Principles in contending with One Party, which they hardly care to own when they are attack'd by Another. Crying up a Set of Principles at one Time, and in one Circumftance of Things, which they are ready to diffemble and difown in Another. They grow fhy and filent, who were before open and earnest; and are either afraid to own a Truth, or afhamed' to confefs a Miftake.

This will farther appear, if you confider the Matter in what relates to Practice: Men obftinately adhere to their own Way, without fufficient Reason, and against reasonable Evidence. They are fettled and fixed in their prefent Opinion, and Proof against the cleareft Light and faireft Methods of dealing with them. We fee how commonly Men retain the Principles of their Forefathers, and tread the beaten Road, notwithstanding strong Prefumptions of being in the wrong, or the kindeft Help to fet them right: Men are Papifts or Proteftants, and of the feveral Sects and Divifions of Each, according to this Measure. And we rarely find fo free and generous a Soul, who lies always open to Conviction, and dares embrace a New Truth, or rectify and discard an old Mistake..

So Men value Themfelves upon their own Peculiarities, and leffer Marks of Diftinction, more than the great Things of the Divine Law, or their common Chriftianity; and lay greater Stress upon Circumftance and Accident, than upon the Life and Subftance of Religion. The Pharifees,

B

Pharifees, the Jewish Bigots, were more careful of the leffer Tithes, than the greatest moral Duties. Among the Papifts, who of all that wear the Chriftian Name, are the moft diftinguished Bigots, I fhall only relate the strange Inftance of the Shepherd on the Mountains of Naples; who in Lent came to his Confeffor, and earnestly defir'd Abfolution: He asked, What was his Crime? The Shepherd told him, That he had by chance swallowed a little Whey, which fpurted from the Cheese-Prefs into his Mouth. The Father asked him, whether he knew himfelf guilty of no other Sins? He answered; No, He did not know of any. He again asked Him, whether he was not Acceffary to any of the Robberies and Murders committed on their Mountains? To which he replied, Yes indeed, that I am, but this we never efteem a Crime: 'Tis a thing prastis'd by all of Us, and there needs no Confeffion for fuch things.

Another Instance is, Zeal for their own Party, to the Prejudice of the publick Intereft, and Wrong of other Perfons. We fee Men often more folicitous to make a Profelyte, and enlarge their own Inclosure, than to ferve the Interefts of the greatest Truth, or promote the common Good. Many innocent and precious Lives, have fallen Victims to Party Rage. The Zeal of God which should eat them up, has devoured all about them; as in the Hundred Thousand Proteftants, who without Pretence of Injury or Shadow of Offence, were deftroyed in cold Blood in the Parifian and Irish Maffacres. We have feen Men willing to facrifice the publick Intereft to their private Sentiments, and put All in Hazard to raise their Party: We have feen

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