Free Thoughts on Religion, the Church, and National Happiness |
Contents
| i | |
Mandevilles Preface | 1 |
Mandevilles Errata page | 11 |
Mandevilles Titles of the Chapters originally printed without page numbers | 13 |
On Religion | 15 |
Of Outward Signs of Devotion | 23 |
Of Rites and Ceremonies in Divine Worship | 33 |
Of Mysteries | 47 |
Of Schism | 109 |
Of Tolleration and Persecution | 127 |
Of the Reciprocal Behaviour between the Clergy and Laity | 145 |
Of Government | 167 |
Of National Happiness | 185 |
The Index to the first edition | 203 |
Notes to Mandevilles Text | 213 |
Bibliography | 223 |
Of Freewill and Predestination | 61 |
Of the Church | 77 |
Of the Politicks of the Church | 93 |
Editors Supplementary Index | 231 |
Other editions - View all
Free Thoughts on Religion, the Church, and National Happiness Bernard Mandeville Limited preview - 2018 |
Common terms and phrases
Anabaptists Apostles Argument Arius atheists Authority Bayle Bayle's Bees believe Bernard Mandeville better Bishop Body call'd Calvin Cato's Letters Ceremonies Chap Chapter CHRIST Christian Church of England Church of Rome Clergy Clergy-man Clergy-men convinc'd Country Court Deism Deist Disputes Dissenters Divine Doctrine edition Emperor endeavour Epicurus establish'd Evil Fable Faith Fathers forc'd Free Thoughts Free-will Gospel Government greatest Happiness Heathen Hereticks Holy Honour human ibid Jacobite judge King Lactantius Laity Laws least Liberty likewise look'd Lord Magistrate Mandeville Mandeville's Manicheans manner Marcionites ment Ministers Mischief Mysteries National Church never Obedience Opinion Pagan Passion Peace Persecution Persons Pierre Bayle Piety Pope Power Predestination pretend Priests Princes Profession Protestants Publick Reason Reformation Religion religious Roman Catholicks Schism Schismaticks Scripture Scruples Sect shew Society Socinians soever Soveraignity speak suffer'd Temporal thing tion Tolleration true Vices Virtue Whigs whilst Words World worldly Worship
Popular passages
Page xxi - And a further reason for caution, in this respect, might be drawn from the reflection that we are not always sure that those who advocate the truth are influenced by purer principles than their antagonists.
Page xx - Protestant Subjects dissenting from the Church of England from the Penalties of certain Laws...
Page 54 - ... sometimes unintelligible ; and lastly, since those ordinary means of expounding scripture, as searching the originals, conference of places, parity of reason, and analogy of faith, are all dubious, uncertain, and very fallible ; he that is the wisest, and by consequence the likeliest to expound truest in all probability of reason, will be very far from confidence...
Page xxi - So numerous, indeed, and so powerful are the causes, which serve to give a false bias to the judgment, that we, upon many occasions, see wise and good men on the wrong as well as on the right side of questions of the first magnitude to society.
Page 54 - ... since there are so many copies with infinite varieties of reading ; since a various interpunction, a parenthesis, a letter, an accent, may much alter the sense ; since some places have divers literal senses, many have spiritual, mystical, and allegorical meanings ; since there are so many tropes, metonymies, ironies, hyperboles, proprieties and improprieties of language, whose understanding depends upon such circumstances that it is almost impossible to know the proper interpretation...
Page xxi - Ambition, avarice, personal animosity, party opposition, and many other motives not more laudable than these, are apt to operate as well upon those who support as those who oppose the right side of a question. Were there not even these inducements to moderation, nothing could be more ill-judged than that intolerant spirit which has, at all times, characterized political parties. For in politics, as in religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes by fire and sword. Heresies in either...
Page 55 - Scripture, tradition, councils, and fathers, are the evidence in a question, but reason is the judge, that is, we being the persons that are to be persuaded, we must see that we be persuaded reasonably, and it is unreasonable to assent to a lesser evidence, when a greater and clearer is propounded...
Page 55 - We being the persons that are to be persuaded, we must see that we be persuaded reasonably. And it is unreasonable to assent to a lesser evidence when a greater and clearer is propounded: but of that every man for himself is to take cognisance, if he be able to judge; if he be not, he is not bound under the tie of necessity to know anything of it.
Page 139 - From these considerations, we cannot but of course conclude that there is nothing so ridiculous in respect of policy, or so wrong and odious in respect of common humanity, as a moderate and half-way persecution.
Page 54 - ... lost ; since there are some mysteries, which at the best advantage of expression are not easy to be apprehended, and whose explication, by reason of our imperfections, must needs be dark, sometimes weak, sometimes unintelligible : and lastly, since those ordinary means of expounding Scripture, as searching the originals, conference of places, parity of reason, and analogy of faith are all dubious, uncertain, and very fallible ; he that is the wisest...