In Anfwer to this, you oblige me with another Specimen of my Reasoning: "God "and my Soul are," according to my Way of Arguing, "each Being; but not Beings, "because they do not exift separately. And is this a Specimen of my Reasoning? Surely you could not think me fo fenfelefs. My Soul is actually divided from God as He exifts in Heaven; and as to that particular (I was going to fay numerical) Substance, in which I live, and move, and have my Being, I am capable of being removed from That, confidered as particular, to any Other, (call it Portion or Whole) of the Deity. Whereever I go the Deity is ftill. But then it is the Deity as locally diftinet; and by Annihilation I am entirely caft out of his Prefence.

But this is not all. Another Ingredient of Unity is, that the Substance be of the fame Kind, or homogeneous.. Now though God is a Spirit, and my Soul a Spirit; yet Spirit does not fignify one determinate Kind of Being; but is one of your negative Ideas. And though we call every Thing Spirit that is not Matter; yet it is as improper a Divifion to range Beings into Spirit and not-Spirit, as it would be into Horfe and not-Horfe. As my Soul is of a quite different Effence from the Table on which I write, though they are both Subftance; fo God tranfcends .my Soul infinitely more (though they are both my Soul can this Table. Homogeneity

Spirit) than

Hh3

Homogeneity therefore, or a Negation of Mixture, being to be taken into the Account of Unity, as well as Indivifibility; it is plain my Soul, however clofely united, cannot be strictly one with God.

To conclude. Whatever Being homoge neous, is effentially united, is one, whether the Scheme of Extenfion, or Non-Extenfion takes Place; nay, if you fhould reject them both, it will ftand collected in itself upon the fure Bottom of common Sense. The Trinity is Subftance and Subftance effentially united- -Therefore the Trinity is One.

You will find this Letter very confufed: But having had fo many Proofs of your Candor, I am under no Apprehenfion upon

that Account.

I fhould be dead to all Sentiments of Friendship, if unaffected with your last very affectionate Paragraph. I cannot equal it; and therefore will not attempt it.

That you may long continue happy in the Poffeffion of an eafy Fortune, a clear Head, and a generous Heart, is the fincere Wifh of,

SIR,

Your most affectionate Friend,

And humble Servant,

JER. SEED.

To the Rev. T. H. relating to a Paffage in one of the Author's Sermons.

I

DEAR SIR,

AM obliged to any Perfon, who will point out to me what he apprehends to be a Fault in any of my Writings.

As to the Paffage which you mention, Vol. II. p. 95. my only Fault is, which is a great One, that I have not expreffed myself as I fhould have done. My Meaning was, that "the Number of the Damned will bear no "more Proportion to that of the Bleffed "throughout the whole Univerfe, than, etc." not confining myfelf to the Inhabitants of the Earth: Accordingly, in this very Sermon, Page 125, Line 19th, I exprefsly call the Damned a few incurable Members of the whole ftupendous Body of the Universe; not meaning that they were abfolutely few, but comparatively with the whole Body of intelligent Beings. If the worthy Gentleman, whofe Name you do not mention, had thought my Words capable of this Conftruction, I dare venture to fay, he would not have made any Objection against them. H h 4

But

But fuppofing my Words will not bear this Sense; give me Leave to observe, that they are not a positive Affertion, as you feem to think; they are only a charitable Prefumption. If I had had fufficient Authority from Scripture, I would not have faid, it may be prefumed; but, it is certain. The Reafons for fuch a Prefumption (for they are not strong enough to found any Doctrine upon) are as follow. First, If I am not miftaken, one half of Mankind are cut off before they come to the full Use of their Reafon, or have their Senfes fufficiently exercifed to difcern between moral Good and Evil. Thefe, if baptized, are undoubtedly in a State of Salvation; if unbaptized, they may be faved by the uncovenanted Mercies of God; at least, they will not be made miferable in a future State. Secondly, If you add to these all thofe who live and die in a State of invincible Ignorance, or a State that makes very near Approaches to it, (furprizing Inflances of which you may meet with even in our own Country) the Number rifes greatly above one half of Mankind. Thirdly, Among Adults, (who have, or may have clear Ideas of their Duty) for one that lives and dies a hardened Criminal, there are Numbers who do not allow themselves in the habitual Practice of any deliberate, known Sin. Inftances of Bafenefs, Villainy, and malicious Wicked

nefs

nefs are still furprizing; which they would not be, unless they were rare and uncommon. But enough of this, that I may not enter on a beaten Topick.

It has been proved at large, that there is far more moral Good than Evil even in this Earth; and confequently, one would think, far more good Men, in a qualified Senfe of the Word, than bad: Confequently, there will be more happy than miferable even among Adults, who have, or may have juft Apprehenfions of their Duty. And for those who have not, and perhaps cannot have, God will accept them according to what they have, and not according to what they have not. Thefe laft, however, I take to make up the Bulk of Mankind in all Ages. For the Prevalency of moral Good, fee Archbishop KING on the Origin of Evil, efpecially Note (AA).

Laying all thefe Things together, viz. the Cafe of Infancy and Childhood, the Cafe of invincible Ignorance, the much greater Number of good Actions than bad, I think there are fufficient Grounds for a charitable Prefumption, and I meant nothing more. A great many other Things might be taken into the Account, as the Strength of fome Men's Paffions, which I have hinted at in the fame Paragraph. As for the Scripture Texts which feem to say, that the Number of the faved will be few, I beg Leave to

refer