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OR A

RATIONAL ACCOUNT

OF THE GROUNDS OF

NATURAL AND REVEALED RELIGION.

TO WHICH IS ADDED

PART OF ANOTHER BOOK UPON THE SAME SUBJECT

LEFT UNFINISHED BY THE AUTHOR.

TOGETHER WITH

A LETTER TO A DEIST.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. II.

By the Right Reverend Father in God
EDWARD STILLINGFLEET, D. D.

LATE LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER.

A NEW EDITION.

OXFORD:

AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

MDCCCXVII.

CONTENTS

I. The Necessity of the Belief of the Creation of the World, in order

to the Truth of Religion. Of the several Hypotheses of the Philo-

sophers who contradict Moses: with a particular Examination

of them.
II. The ancient Tradition of the World consonant to

Moses; proved from the Ionic philosophy of Thales, and the

Italic of Pythagoras. III. The Pythagoric Cabala rather

Egyptian than Mosaic. Of the fluid Matter, which was the

material Principle of the Universe. IV. Of the Hypothesis of the

Eternity of the World, asserted by Ocellus Lucanus and Ari-

stotle. V. The Weakness of the Foundations on which that Opi-

nion is built. Of the Manner of forming Principles of Philosophy.

VI. The Possibility of Creation proved. [No arguing from the

present State of the World against its Beginning, shewed from

Maimonides.] VII. The Platonists' Arguments, from the Good-

ness of God for the Eternity of the World, answered. VIII. Of

the Stoical Hypothesis of the Eternity of Matter; whether re-

concileable with the Text of Moses. IX. Of the Opinions of

Plato and Pythagoras concerning the Preexistence of Matter

to the Formation of the World. X. The Contradiction of the

Eternity of Matter to the Nature and Attributes of God. XI,

XII, XIII. Of the Atomical Hypothesis of the Origin of the Uni-

verse. XIV, XV, XVI, XVII. The World could not be pro-

duced by a casual Concourse of Atoms, proved from the Nature

and Motion of Epicurus's Atoms, and the Phænomena of the Uni-

verse; especially the Production and Nature of Animals. XVIII.

Of the Cartesian Hypothesis, that it cannot salve the Origin of the

Universe without a Deity giving Motion to Matter. Page 1.

376133

1. Of the being of Providence. II. Epicurus's arguments against

it refuted. The Necessity of the Belief of Providence in order

to Religion. III. Providence proved from a Consideration of the

Nature of God and the Things of the World. Of the Spirit of

Nature. IV. The great Objections against Providence pro-

pounded. The first concerns the Origin of Evil. V. God can-

not be the Author of Sin, if the Scriptures be true. The Account,

which the Scriptures give of the Fall of Man, doth not charge

God with Man's Fault. God's Power to govern Man by Laws,

though he gives no particular Reason of every positive Precept.

VI. The Reason of God's creating Man with Freedom of Will,

largely shewed from Simplicius; and the true Account of the

Origin of Evil. VII. God's permitting the Fall, makes him not

the Author of it. VIII. The Account which the Scriptures give

of the Origin of Evil, compared with that of Heathen Philoso-

phers. IX. The Antiquity of the Opinion of ascribing the Origin

of Evil to an evil Principle. Of the Judgment of the Per-

sians, Egyptians, and others about it. X. Of Manichæism.

XI, XII, XIII, XIV. The Opinion of the ancient Greek Phi-

losophers; of Pythagoras, Plato, the Stoics; the Origin of Evil

not from the Necessity of Matter. XV, XVI. The Remainders

of the History of the Fall among the Heathens. XVII, XVIII,

XIX. Of the Malignity of Dæmons. XX, XXI, XXII. Pro-

vidence vindicated as to the Sufferings of good, and the Impunity

of bad Men. An Account of both from natural Light, mani-

fested by Seneca, Plutarch, and others.
Page 46.

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