Occasional Thoughts in Reference to a Vertuous or Christian lifeMasham, Damaris, Lady
Religion
Occasional Thoughts in Reference to a Vertuous or Christian life
Masham, Damaris, Lady
Christian life -- Anglican authors
The first of these is, That those Notions, or Ideas of Vertue, and
consequent Rules of Action, which are usually given to such young
Persons, do rarely carry along with them an entire conviction of their
Truth and Reasonableness: Whence if these Instructions at any time
happen strongly to cross the Inclinations of those to whom they are
given, it will appear rational to question their Solidity: And when
Principles that thwart People's passions or interests, come once to be
doubted of by them, it is great odds, that they will sooner be
slighted, than better examin'd.
Now, this want of apparent Truth and Reasonableness, is not only
where the _Notions_ and _Precepts_ giv'n, are in themselves such as
either in Whole, or in Part, are not True or Rational; but also
(oftentimes) where they are altogether conformable to right Reason: In
which cases, the want of apparent Reasonableness, proceeds from a
defect of such Antecedent Knowledge in those who are design'd to be
instructed, as is necessary to the seeing their Reasonableness of the
Instructions giv'n them; that is to say, To their discerning the
conformity with, or evident deduction of such Instructions from some
Truths which are unquestion'd by them: the which should be the
Principles of True Religion, so clearly made out to them, as to be by
them acknowledg'd for Verities. Religion being (as I shall take it at
present for granted) the only sufficient ground or solid support of
Vertue; For the belief of a Superior, Omnipotent Being, inspecting
our Actions, and who will Reward or Punish us accordingly, is in all
Men's Apprehensions the strangest, and in truth the only stable and
irresistible Argument for submitting our Desires to a constant
Regulation, wherein it is that Vertue does consist.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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