Junius, near the close of his last letter but one, boldly affirms Jesus a _man_. He says: "The holy author of our religion was seen in the company of sinners, but it was his gracious purpose to convert them from their sins. _Another man_ [the king], who, in the _ceremonies_ of our faith, might give lessons to the great enemy of it [the devil] upon different principles, keeps much the same company." * * * * * Neither Mr. Paine nor Junius were superstitious. And first of Paine. In Crisis, i, he says: "I have as little _superstition_ in me as any man living, but my secret opinion has ever been, and still is, that God Almighty will not give up, to military destruction, a people," etc. Junius says, in Letter 36, note: "Every coward pretends to be planet-struck." And in Letter 49, satirizing Lord Bute, he says: "When that noxious planet approaches England, he never fails to bring plague and pestilence along with him." In Letter 67 he says: "Superstition is certainly not the characteristic of this age; yet some men are bigoted in politics who are _infidels_ in religion. I do not despair of making them ashamed of their credulity." * * * * * Above, Junius also casts an aspersion upon the term _infidel_. Mr. Paine was very tender upon this point, and could not bear to be taunted with _infidelity_. He says: "Infidelity is believing falsely. If what Christians believe is not true, it is the Christians that are the infidels."--Remarks on R. Hall's sermon. In the Examination of the Prophecies, he concludes with this sentence, emphasized as follows: "HE THAT BELIEVES IN THE STORY OF CHRIST, IS AN INFIDEL TO GOD." He also defines infidelity as being unfaithful to one's own convictions. In the Age of Reason, part i, he says: "Infidelity consists in _professing_ to believe what he does not believe." He also uses the word as synonymous with atheist, in his Discourse to the Theophilanthropists, as will be seen by reference to page 163 of this book. * * * * * I have heretofore given the views of Junius on _Prayer_. See page 172. It now remains to give Mr. Paine's views. In his Letter to Samuel Adams he says: "A man does not serve God when he prays, for it is himself he is trying to serve; and as to hiring or paying men to pray, as if the Deity needed instruction, it is, in my opinion, an abomination." * * * * * They both believe in the divine justice of retribution and future punishment. Junius says: "The divine justice of retribution seems now to have begun its progress. Deliberate treachery entails punishment upon the traitor. There is no possibility of escaping it."--Let. 66. "A death-bed repentance seldom reaches to restitution."--Dedication.