Having thus shewn, from the internal evidence of things,
the cause that produced a change in the state of learning, and
the motive for substituting the study of the dead languages,
in the place of the Sciences, I proceed, in addition to the
several observations already made in the former part of
this work, to compare, or rather to confront, the evidence
that the structure of the universe affords, with the christian
system of religion. But as I cannot begin this part better
than by referring to the ideas that occurred to me at an
early part of life, and which I doubt not have occurred in
some degree to almost every other person at one time or
other, I shall state what those ideas were, and add thereto
such other matter as shall arise out of the subject, giving to
the whole, by way of preface, a short introduction.
My father being of the quaker profession, it was my
good fortune to have an exceedingly good moral education,
and a tolerable stock of useful learning. Though I went to
the grammar school,* I did not learn Latin, not only
because I had no inclination to learn languages, but because
of the objection the quakers have against the books in which
the language is taught. But this did not prevent me from

'French: " ce moine " (this monk) instead of " Luther, "-^^i/,,^.
» French : " la civilisation " instead of ' ' liberality "—Editor
* The same school, Thetford in Norfolk, that the present Counsellor Mingay
went to, and under the same master-^ «/^.^. [This note is not in the French
work. — Editor. \



THE AGE OF REASON. 63

being acquainted with the subjects of all the Latin books
used in the school.
