The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 16Dryden, John
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The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 16
Dryden, John
English literature
The saint replied, "That he gave not to idols the name of gods, because
they were unworthy of it; and that so sacred a title was only proper to
the Sovereign Lord, who had created heaven and earth. Then he proceeded
to discourse of the Divine Being, and described those properties which
are known to us by the light of nature; that is to say, his independence,
his eternity, his omnipotence, his wisdom, goodness, and justice, without
circumscription. He made out, that those infinite perfections could not
be comprehended by any created understanding, how refined soever. And
thus having filled his auditors with a vast idea of the Deity, he
demonstrated, that the idols of Japan, who, according to the Japonians
themselves, had been men, subject to the common laws of time and nature,
were not to be accounted gods; and, at the most, were only to be
reverenced as philosophers, lawgivers, and princes, but not in the least
as immortal powers, since the date both of their birth and death was
registered in the public monuments: That, if their works were duly
considered, they were yet less to be accounted for omnipotent: That
having not been able, after their decease, to preserve their stately
palaces and magnificent sepulchres from decay, there was no appearance
that they had built the fabric of the universe, or could maintain it in
its present state. Lastly, that this appertained alone to the true God,
who is worshipped by the Christians; and that, considering the beauty of
the heavens, the fruitfulness of the earth, and the order of the seasons,
we might conclude, that he only, who is a spirit, eternal, all-powerful,
and all-wise, could be the creator and absolute commander of the world."
As soon as Xavier had concluded, the whole assembly cried out, that he
spoke reason; and the judges immediately pronounced, as a manifest truth,
that the pagods were not gods. Fucarandono would have replied, but the
general cry gave it for a cause decided; and the king imposed silence on
the Bonza, according to the articles of agreement.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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