we muft ballance what mud be given in Lieu-
f this Lady's Wealth, betides the entire Lofs
of conjugal and domcdick Happinefs. It is
ruly (aid,, that Goid may be bought too dear ;
and 1 may fafely fay, that the deared Purchafe
now in England, is aWife with a great Fortune,
not excepting that of South- Sea Stock lad Year.
For every Thoufand Pounds the Lady brings,
fhe mud have a Hundred Pounds a Year, at
lea ft during her own Life, and often a Rent
Charge, which alone is worth the Purchafe
Money which fhe brings, if (he outlives her
Husband ; and then The brings nothing to-
wards the Iffue, which, modeftly fpeaking, are
as much hers as her Husband's ; and it is cer-
tain, that during her living with him, ihe
fpends more than the Intered of it : For, (be-
fides her private Expence) the Gay Furniture,
the Rich Beds, the China Ware, the Tea Ta-
ble, the Vifiting Rooms, Rich Coaches, &c..
muft be chiefly placed to her Account ; and
{he fhares equally hi the Table Expence, and
in that of the Children and Gardens : And yet
over and above all this, a Man mud fettle the
Remainder of his Eitate and Subftance out of
his own Power, and intail it upon whatever
Heir Chance and his Wife bring him ; per-
haps, upon an ungrateful and diibbedient One,
made fb by his independency upon his Fa-
ther j often upon a fooliili and unimprovable
One, and ibmetiaies, perhaps^ upon a ipurious.
One. I
C ATO's LETTERS. 37
I do not complain of this ufual Method of
Settlement, as thinking it reafonable that any
Man fhould give a large Sum ot Money In
Dowry with his Daughter, without taking pro-
per Precautions to provide for her atvci his own
Pofterity. But I cenfure the prelent great A-
bufe of giving and demanding fuch^ Fortunes,
which have inverted rhe very Ends of Marriage,
and made Wives Independent on their Hu
bands, and Sons on their Fathers ; Fortunes,
which make Men Bargain for their Wives, as
they would for Cattle ; and inftead of creating
conjugal Friendfhip and Affe6tion, and all forts
ofdomeftick Happinefs, have produced nothing
but Strife, Averfion, and Contention, where
there ought to be perfect Sympathy and Una-
nimity, and have brought into the World a
Race of Monkeys and Baboons, inftead of
Creatures with humane Shape and Souls.
\Vhy fhould Men of Fortune and Under-
ftanding bring themfelves, without any Motive
from Reafbn or Intereft, into thele unhappy
Circumllances ? Why (hould any Man, with-
out any Confideration, at leafr any valu-
able Confcderation, divert himfelf of the
greateft Part of the Property of his own
Eilate? Why make himfelf only Tenant for
Life, when he is in PofTeilion of an Inheritance;
and render himfelf by that Means unable to
provide againft the many Emergencies of Life?
Why fubjecl: himfelf to trie Infolence of an un-
grateful Heir, or be forced to leave it to an
unworthy one ? Why be obliged to bear the
Caprices and Diihonourofa wanton and peeviiri
Wife, perhaps made (6 by his Neglect, arifing
from
3 8" Giro's LETTERS. '
from his Averfion, the ordinary Effect of Mar-
riage againft Inclination ? when he might have
chofen onejevery Way fui'ted ro the fame; and,
by contenting himfelf with lefs Fortune, have
kept the greateft part of his Efbte in his own
Power, and with it the further Means of oblig-
ing her, and of making her future Fortune and
Expectations to depend upon her own Condu6r. 5
Complaifance, and affectionate Behaviour.
You have given me, Madam, a very preg-
nant and affe&ing Inftance of a Gentleman,
who, made falfe" by Avarice, has loft, and
wickedly Joft, a virtuous, prudent, and fond
Wife, while he fought Money more than Merit,
and cruelly broke his Faith, and with it a tender
Heart, for the infamous Sake of Lucre; which
may defervedly prove a Canker in his Soul and
his Subftance, and bring him a Lady with
Qualities proper to revenue the other's juft
Quarrel and barbarous Wrongs. And I,' on
my part, can give you an Inftance of a Gentle-
man of great Fortune and Figure, who, by
a&ing according to the former wifer Rules,
has made himfelf happy in an amiable, difcreet
and pbfervant Lady, and enjoys with her all the
Bleflings of mutual Confidence and tender Af-
feUon. He is complaifant without Art, and
ffie without Fear.
I am with pgrfeft %>-'#, Madam,
four mofl humble and mofl obedient Servant.
CAT O;
LETTERS. 39
s i H,
| Have, in feveral of my late Letters, ob-
ferved (ome Slips that have efcaped from
the Pen of the great and learned Dr. Pridenux^
but as I have done this with noDefignof ble-
mifhing a Character which cannot be blemifh'd,
I think my felf obliged to own once more, his
great Merit, the Service done by him to Man-
kind, the Honour to his Country, and the
Pleafure and Information which I in particular
have received from his worthy Labours.
It is poflible, that out of Deteftation to
Principles which fubvert and tear up by the
Roots all Liberty and civil Happinefs, I may
have ufed fome warm Expreflions agiinft thofe
that maintain them. Such Expreflions there-
fore can be applied only to thofe who have been
ever the avowed and active Enemies of every
thing lovely, valuable, or praife- worthy a-
mongft Men, But as to Dr. Prideaux, however
he is fallen into Prejudices, perhaps early im-
bibed, and not fmce examined by him with his
nfual Accuracy ; or however he might intend to
ferve a pious Caufe with adventitious Helps and
precarious Supports, which it wanted not :
Certain it is, from the whole Courfe of his ex-
cellent Performance, that he had iincerely at
Heart the Intereft of true Religion and Liberty.
A Spirit of Virtue, Piety, goo3 Senle and In-
tegrity, and an Averfion to U; pre/fion. Cruelty
and Tyranny, fhine through his whole Hiftory,
and animate the fame ; and neither he nor his
Hiftory can be too much commended.
But the Doclor is an eminent In (lance, how
little any Man ought to be guided by the mere
Autho-
40 CAT O's- LETTERS.
Authority of another ; fince one of the greater!
and worthiefl^Men living, is capable of falling
imo^fuch obvious Errors. From rhe Greatnefs
of his Name and Credit alone I was led to thefe
Animadveriions, and with Reluctance I mr.de
them. Faulcons donor prey upon Flies. Other
Writers, whofe Characters add no Weight to
their Miftakes, are fafe from any Cenfure of
mine. For this Reafon I (hall not trouble my
felf with the Party-Falftioods and pious Ribal-
dry, and Blunders of a modern voluminous
Writer of Englijk Hiftory. His Central and
Dialogue between Oliver Crcmwell and the De-
vil, is a harmlefs Piece of HiPcory, and as en-
tertaining as the reft. J nm &c;
AS my Defign in thefe Letters is to entfea-
vour to free and manumit Mankind from
the^many Impofitions, Frauds, and Delufions,
which interrupt their Happinefs- fo I (hall, in
this, and fome of the fucceeding ones, atrempt
to remove the popular ImprefTions and Fears of
Spirits, Apparitions, and Witches ; which more
or lefs afflict and terrify the greateftParr of the
\Vorld; and confequently it will conduce much ro
fheirEafeand Felicity, if I can lay thefePhantoms.
There is a ftrange Propensity in Humane
Nature to Prodigy, and whatever elfe caufes
Surprize and Ailonifhment, and to admire what
they do not unclerfrand ; we have immediate
Recourfe to Miracle, which folves all our
Doubts,
LETTERS. 4 r
t)oubts, and gratifies our Pride, by accounting
for our Ignorance, We are not affected by
Things we frequently fee ; or if \ve can trace
but one Link of the infinite Chain of Caufes,
our Admiration ceafes ; tho' we are then as far
from our Journey's End, as when we fet out;
for all the Works of Providence are miracu-
lous to us, who cannot do them our felves, or
know how he, who is the Author of them,
does them. And in this Senfe, every Thing is
a Miracle to us ; tho' we ought to be no more
furprized at feeing a Blaming Star, which makes
its Revolution but once in five hundred Years,
than in feeing the Sun every Day.
For many Ages, the Phenomena of Meteors,
Edipfes, and Comets, feemed unaccountable ;
and the Caufes of Thunder and Ligh-ning were
unknown to the World ; as they are to moft
People in it at this Day. Great Guns were
efteemed, by the Amcncan^ to be angry Deities;
Ships, floating Monflers ; the Sun to be God
of the World ; Watches to be living Animals;
Paper and Ink to be Spirits, which conveyed
Mens Thoughts from one to another : And a
dancing Mare was lately burned for a Witch in
the Inquifition of Portugal.
All Nature is in perpetual Rotation ; and in
the great Variety of Actions which it produces,
fbme muft appear very extraordinany and un-
accountable to us, by all the Powers of Matter
ad Morion which fall within our narrow Ob-
fervations ; and yet may, and undoubtedly have
as certain and regular Caufts and Effects, as the
moft obvious MechanickOperations.We fee into
the Bottom and internal Frame and Conciliation-
of
Giro's LETTERS.
of no one Thing in the World, and probably ne-
ver can do fb, whilft we continue in thefe frail
Bodies. We fee not into thfe Principles and
Contexture of Animal or Vegetable Beings ;
and confequently cannot know what Nature can
fpontaneouily produce, or how {he works. We
fee only the Outfide and Film of Things ; and
no more of them than what is neceflary to the
Prefervation or Convenience of our felves, and
not the thoufandth Part of what is fb. Almigh-
ty God hath hid all the reft from our Eyes, to
baffle our fool 5 (h Curioiity, toraifeour Admira-
tion of his Power, and to excite ourHomage and
Adoration to him the great Authorof all Things.
Nature (as is faid in Print elfewhere) works
by infinite Ways \ which are impenetrable to our
vain and fruitlefs Inquiries- The Loadfl one draws
Iron to it ; Gold, Quicl^filvsr. The fenfttive Plant
Jkrinkj from the Touch. ' Some forts of Vegetables at-
eracl one another, and twins together j others avoid
cne ancthcr, and grow farther apart. The Treading
upon the Turpedo, affccls, and gives raging Pains
to cur whole Bodies. The Bite of a mad Dog catifes
kladnefs. Turkey-Cocks and Pheafants fly at Red.
A Battle Snake, by fort of magical Power in his
Eyes, will force a Squirrel to run into his "Mouth.
Jdujjcl^ will cure the Bite of a Tarantula. The
Frights and Longings of Women with Child, will
flamp Imp c{fi:<ns upon the Bales within them. Peo-
ple, in their Sleep, will wa'\fscurely over Precipices
and Ridges of H ufes, where they durft not venture
whilft awake. Lightning will melt a Sword with-
out hurting ths Scabbard. And there are very
many other furprizing Inftances of the Powers
of Matter and Motion, which we every Day
f
lee.
CATffs LETTERS. 45
fee and feel ; and, without Doubt, there are
infinite others which we know nothing of.
If lome Men could follow Scents, like Dogs,
or fee in the dark, like Cats, or have the fame
Prcfages and Prognofticks of fair Weather or
Tempefts, which other Animals feem to have,
How many Things would they know and do,
unaccountable to the reft of Mankind ? If Al-
mighty God had thought fit to have bellowed
upon any Man, one or more Senfes above the
reft of the Species, many of his Actions muft
have appeared miraculous to them.
But if thefe minute and petty Works of Na-
ture caufe fa much our Surpize and Aftonifh-
ment, How ought we to admire and adore the
Author of all Nature, in rhe greater W 7 orks o
his Creation ? The Earth it felf is but as a
Muftard Seed to the vifible World ; and doubt-
lefs that is infinitely lefs in Comparlfon cf the
invifible one. It is very likely, that irs many
Fellow-Planets, which move "aboiy; the Sun as
we do, are filled with Inhabitants, and fome of
them probably with more valuable ones than
our (elves: And 'tis next to certain, that the
numerous fixed Stars, nightly feen by us, and
the more numerous ones frequently difcovered
by new and better Glaffes, are fo many
different Suns, and poilibly with each a different
Chorus or Syftem of Worlds moving about
them, and receiving vital Warmth and Nourifn-
ment from their Beams ; for 'tis impoflible to
believe, that the All- wife Difpofer of all Thmgs
fhould place fo many Orbs, many thoufand
times greater than this Earth, in the vaft Abyfs
of Space, far out of our Sight, and of no life
to
44 CAT tfs LETTERS.
to us, unlefs to ferve fuitable Purpofes of his
Providence.
We are not, nor can we be fure, that there
are not other Beings who are Inhabitants of the
Air or ^Either, with Bodies fubtle enough to
be fiiited to, and nourifhed by thefe thin Ele-
ments, and perhaps virh Senfrs and Faculties
fuperior to us ; for the Works of Almighty God
are as infinite as is his Power to do them ; and
'tis paying greater Deference ro him, and ha-
ving higher Conceptions of IT'S Omnipotence,
to fuppofe that he -aw all Tlv > which have
been, are, or ever (hall be, a f e View, and
formed the whole SyrVm of Nii^re with fuch
exquiiite Contrivance and infinite Wifdom, as
by its own Energy ancf Intrinfick Powers, to
produce all the Effe6b and Operations which
we daily fee, feel, and admire ; than to believe
him to be often interpofing to alter and amend
his own Work, \vh : ch was undoubtedly perfect
at firft, tho' in the Purluit of his eternal De-
crees, and in theCourfe, Progrefsand unbroken
Chain of his original Syflem, he Teems to us,
fometimes to a& occafionally ; when in Com-
pliance to our weak Comprehenfions, and in
Condefcenfion to our low Capacities, he (peaks
and appears to a<5t after the Manner of Men.
We have not Faculties to fee or know Things
as they are in themfelves, but only in fuch
Lights as our Creator pleafes to reprefent them
in to us : He has given us Talents fuited to our
Wants, and to underftand his Will, and obey
it ; and here is our ne p!us ultra. We may be
very fure that we are not obliged to know what
is^ beyond our Power to know , but all fuch
Things are as Non-emities to us. When-
C A TO's LETTERS. 45-
Whenfbever therefore we hear of, or fee any
fin-prizing Appearances or Events in Nature,
which we cannot trace and connect to their
immediate Caufes, we are not to call in fuper-
natural powers, and interefl Heaven or Hell in
the Solution, to fave our Credit, and cover olir
own Folly, when there are fb very few Things
in the World we know any Thing of, and of
thofe few we know but very little. We are not
to meafure the Works of God by our fcanty
Capacities ; and believe that he miracuioufly
interpofes in the Courfe of humane Affairs, but
when he pleafes to intimate to us, that he does
or intends to do fo ; much lefs ought we to
introduce Daemons into his Syftem of the Uni-
vcrfe, unlefs as Objects or Inftruments, and
Executioners of his Vengeance ; but not to in-
trude into his Government of the World, to
trepan and miflead his Creatures, and to thwart
and oppofe himfelf ; and every now and anon,
to cut the Chain, flop the Wheels, and inter-
rupt the Courfe of his Providence.
We are very fure God can do and impower
any other Beings to do every Thing which he
would have done ; but we are not obliged by
any Precept, Moral, or Divine, to believe e-
very Thing which weak, crazed, or defigning
Men tell us in his Name ; and the disbelieving
their foolifh and fantaftical Stories, is not
queflioning the Power of God, but the Vera-
city or Judgment of the Perfbns who tell them;
for fare there can be no OccaGon of recurring
to fiipernaturalCaules, to account for what may
be very eafily accounted for by our Ignorance
of natural Ones, by the Fraud or Folly of
others,
46 CATO's LETTERS.
others, or by the Deception of our (elves. There
can be no Wonder in a Man's telling a Lye, or
in his being deceived.
Which of our Senfes does not often deceive
us ? Strangling, or ftrong Preffure of the Eyes,
taufes all Things to appear on Fire; of the
Ears, makes us hear Noifes ; ftraight Things,
in the Water, appear crooked : Bodies, by
Refled ion or Refraction, appear otherwife, and
in other Places, than they are in Nature. All
Things appear Yellow to Men in the Jaundice;
and to thofe in Calentures, the Sea appears like
a green Meadow, and, if not reftrained, they
will leap into it ; Melancholly and enthufiailick
Perfbns fancy themfelves to be Glafs Bottles,
Knives, and Tankards ; Madmen often believe
themfelves Gods or Princes, and almoft always
fee Spirits; and a Reverend Divine, Ibme Time
fmce, thought himlelf big with Child, and
could not be perfwaded to the contrary, till a
Man Midwife pretended to deliver him of a
Falfe Conception.
In Fevers, and malignant Diftempers, People
fee Vifions r.nd Apparitions of Angels, Devils,
dead Men, or whatever eJfe their Imaginations
render moll agreeable or terrible to them : and
* * *
in Dreams, all Men fee, or fancy they fee, fuch
falfe Appearances. Their imaginations, in
Sleep, are ofren fb lively and vigorous, that
they can fcarcely be perfwaded of their Mif-
take when they awake cut of k, and would not
be fo, ! c they did HOC find themfelves in Bed ;
and therefore, if a credulous, fearful, and me-
lanch'.'i'y Man, flbould cavelefl;/ nod himfelf to
Sleep in his Ciol'jt or his Garden, and receive
a
LETTERS. 47
a vigorous Reprefentation of an Angel, Dae-
mon, or dead Man, (peaking to him, or de-
livering a MefTage, and afrer -ffake en n fudden,
\virnMp i ' ;.rving his own deeping (as often
happens) I cannot fee how he fbould diftinguifc
this appearing Ph or m from a real Vifioi- or
Revelation, and 1 (hould be glad to have a Rule
to do u by.
The Frame and Conrexmre of our Bodies
betrays us to thefe Delufions. For as all Ob-
ject? and Images from without, are let in upon
the Mind by the Windows or Conduits of the
outward Senles, and the Mind afterwards
ranges, methodizes, operates, and reafons upon
them j fo it can only work upon fuch Mate-
rials as it receive?, and cohfeguenfly when the
Organs of Senfation are wrong framed in their
Original Contexture, or depraved afterwards by
Sicknefs or Accidents, the Mind mtiftbe mifled
too, and often mlflake Appearances for real
Beings : When the Spies, Scouts, and Out-
guards, are feized, corrupted, or deceived, the
Intelligence will be fallacious, or none at all.
It is evident in a thoufand Inftances, that the
Mind and Body mutually a6t and operate upon
one another; both grow and encreafe by Age
and Exercife, both are impaired and enervated
by Diftempers and Accidents, and all the noble
Faculties of the former are often deftroyed and
extinguifhed by accidental Injures done to the
latter, and by other fortuitous Events and oc-
cahonal Strokes of Fortune. Common Expe-
rience mews us, that if Men aR born without
one or more of their Senfes, fo many Conduits
of Knowledge are ftopt; If a Child comes
into
4 8 CATO's LETTERS.
into the World without the Faculties of Seeing
or Hearing, he can have no Underftanding at
all, uniefs he afterwards acquires them ^ and if
he loofes them again, all further Progrefs is at
an End : The Vigour and Capacity of our
IVlinds depend very much, if not altogether,
upon ihe Organization of our Bodies, and are
altered, improved, and encreafed by proper
Diet. Action, or Education ; and opprefied,
leflened, and fbmetimes quite loft by Drunken-
nefs, Gluttony, Lazinefs, or Misfortunes. I
have often alrmft fancied, that Men may be
dieted into Opinions, as Experience (hews us
they may be educated into the mod abfurd ones
byCuftom, Converfation, and Habit.
Every Pailion or Affeclion of the Mind pro-'
duces vifibly a fuirable and correfpondent DJG
pofition of the Mufcles and Lineaments of the
Face, and confequently muft affect and alter
the whole MechaniGn of the Body ; and by like
Reafon every Thought or Motion of the Mind
muft do the fame in a leffer Degree (tho' net
equally fubjecl to common Oblervaticn) by
forcing or directing the Blood, Juices, or Ani-
mal Spirits, into peculiar Tubes, Conduits, or
VefTels -j and when by frequent Uie thojfe
Channels and Paffages become habitual to them,
they will often flow thither of their own accord,
or are eafily driven thither, and fo by working
backwards, will caufe thofe Paiiions and Per-
ceptions, which at firft caufed ihem, and in
Consequence the fame Impreiuons ana Difpo-
fitions of the Organs of Senfe.
If this Obfervatton is true, it will account for
our Delulions in Dreams, when exteriour^Ob-
LETTERS.
"je&s are flint our, which mull orherwife con-
troul and over-power the weaker and more faint
Operations of the internal Machine ; and this
too will account for the many pannick and un-
reafbnable Fears and Prejudices we are fubjecfc
to from Education, Cuftom, and Conftitution,
as well as for the Difficulty, if not Impoffibility,
of our fliaking off and conquering any other
Habits of Mind or Body acquired by early and
continued Practice.
1 1 (hall in my next apply thefe general Prin-
ciples to the Syftem of Spirits, and (hew that
Philofophy and Religion both contradict the
commonly received Opinions of them.
AS I have (hewn at large, in my lad Let-
ter, that ^ in very many Inftances, our
Senfes are fubje<5t and liable to be deceiv'd in
Objecls evidently material ; fb in this I fhall
endeavour as fully to fhew, that we can have
no poilible Ideas of any other. When we
call God a Spirit, we do not pretend ro de-
fine his Nature, or the Modus of his Exigence,
but to exprefs the high Conceptions we have
of his Omnipotence, ~by fuppofing him moft
unlike^to ^our felves, and infinitely fuperior to
every 1 hing we fee and know, and then we
are loft and buried in the Abyfs of our own
VOL, III, C Ignorance j
5 o Giro's LETTERS.
Ignorance ; but we can have no other pofiible
Conception of what we mean by the Word
Spirit, when applied to him.
' We cannot have even the moil abstracted
Images of Things, without the Ideas of Exten-
lion and Solidity, which are the Mediums :
conceiving all Things that we can conceive at
all. As the Organs of our Senfes are all ma-
terial, To they are formed only to receive ma-
terial Objets j and but a fmall Part pi thole
which are fo. The Ear cannot hear, the
Hands feel, the Palate tafte, the Note Imcl],
or the Eye fee Bodies, but of certain Magni-
tudes, Dimenfiqns and Solidity ; and thefe
vary too in different Men, and m the-
Men at different Times, and at different Ages.
There are Millions of Infers that cannot be
feen without Glafles ; and probably infinite
others, whicrf cannot be feen with them, The
jubtle Effluvia, or other minute Caules
of peftilential Diftempers, are not within the
Reach and Obfervation of any of our Senles/
We cannot fee Wind and common Air, much
Irfs pure ./Ether, which are too thin and too
fubtle Bodies for the Fabrick of the Eye ; and
how ihould we fee Spirits, which we are told
h-v?e no Bodies at all, and in the Dark too,
when the Contexture oF the Eye will not at-
ford us the life of that Organ ?
I cannot conceive why the Dreams oi
old Heathen Philofophers (hould be adopted
into the Chriftian Syftem ; or from what Prirr
cip'esof Reafin or Religion we 'ihould be told
that the Soul is totum In tcto ^dtotttmin^
libet Parrs', that is, that ail of it is dirtufc
through
Giro's LETTER.S.
through the whole Body, and yet all of it Is
in every part of the Body : That Spirits take
up no Place, and that ten Thoufand of them
may (land upon the Point of a Needle, and yec
leave Room for a Million Times as many
more ; that they may move from Place to
Place, and not pafs through the intermediate
iSpace; and that they are impenetrable them-
felves, and yet can penetrate every Thing clfe.
Is not this fine Gibberifb, and pretty Divinity ?
And yet it is efteem'd by fbme a fort of Atheilbi,
to disbelieve it ; but neither Philofophy nor
Scripture tell us iny fnch Matter. It is true
indeed, we are told, that Spirits have neither
Fle(h nor Bones ; no more have Wind, Air,
or ^Ether, and Thoufands of oiher Things,
which yet are Bodies ; but we are no where
told, as 1 remember, that Spirits have no Ex-
tenfion or Solidity: And if we were told fo,
we could underfiand no more by it than than
they were Beings of which we neither had, nor
could have any other than negative Ideas.
I think therefore, that I n:ay venture to af-
fert, that either God hath created no Beings
independent of Matter, or that they cannot be
Objects of our Fenfes ; but if there are any fuch,
they are of a Nature fo different from us,
and fo incomprehenfible by the Faculties he
has given us, that we can form no Proportions
about diem; and confequenrly are not oblig'd
to believe or disbelieve any Thing concerning
them, till he pleafcs farther to irfUm us.