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of man.

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training, by the ingenuity or contrivance Name me one, but man, thap has made use of reafon, to tranfmit, to..the latest times, by writing, hierogliphicks or tras dition, the different arts and fciences, or other useful knowledge, and whatever they judged requifite to tranfmit or hand down to pofterity. No animal, but man, was ever known to con trive or form inftruments of various forts for various purposes, to extend and affift them in the arts and fciences, and their other pure fuits and purposes. No animal, but man, was ever known to build fhips to transport themfelves in fearch of nations to them unknown, as Columbus and many others. Never was it known that the ape, parrot or any other animal, but man, carried their knowledge to the hea venly bodies, meafuring their diftances, confidering and marking out their motions and riodical revolutions. Myfelf have spent much time at sea, with fome improvement in naviga tion, which has communicated and improved my ideas. It is there, in a particular manner, by experience, we fee the wonders of the almighty and fuperior knowledge of man, travelling many thousand miles through an extensive and tracklefs ocean, having no guide but the kill of man, affifted with the fun and ftars for obfervation, compafs, and chart to direct, and log-line to measure his diftance, which infure him his defired haven. But in all my voyages never efpied one fingle veffel guided by mons key, parrot, dog, hog, or other animal but man. Let us now return to land, and take å

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view of empires and kingdoms, their regulations, laws, and government, both civil and military, general, and particular, offenfive and defenfive, politics, alliances, commerce, &c. manoeuvring and marfhaling armies; the laws of prudence in erecting fortifications, offenfive and defenfive, and a thousand other requifites, in a well-ordered government, cities, towns, architecture, of various forts and high finishings, and this regulated according to order, rule, and precifion. All this is peculiar to man and him alone; to him the world is put under fubjection. I do not exaggerate when I affirm, that both earth and heaven were made for man; who fees not, that all matters of ftate, commerce, or any other contract among men, are marked out and regulated according to the pe riodical movements of the Great Luminary? One half of man explore the vast bofom of the deep, bending to their ufe, fun and ftars, to efcort, convey, and guard them on their road. I am travelling in an inexhaustible ocean, of man's extenfion in power, glory, greatnefs, nobility, wifdom, knowledge, perfpicuity, and perfection, which labyrinth, to be properly fet forth, would require volumes, and for tran fcending my inability and illiterate conceptions. But thus far, for the honour of my fpecies, [ have endeavoured to fhew the abfurdity in advancing tenets the moft bafe and humiliating to man, that could be contrived by art, degeneracy, malice and folly; the whole acting against reafon and common fenfe..

Club.

Club. Your argument feems to carry weight, fortified with reafon, to thofe of little brains but to us feniors, who poffefs a full quantum, in measure, weight, and quality, is of no force. You cannot catch old birds with chaff, neither will you frighten us with frighten us with raw head and bloody bones, or any other fuch spiritual fnare, or artful contrivance, that imprefs and feduce weaklings and children; but we that have fprung and got quit of your faares, ftand fearlefs free from remorse or ftings of heart, we were heretofore affailed with, after feafting ourfelves on the good things of the earth, which was and is rivetted innate and clenched in the inner receffes of our hearts, from which glut of pleasure, like the bee, we will never recede until for want of breath we can hold out no longer, when we fhall return each element its proper gift.

Hoft. This membrane, or web, that I now produce, was all the contents contained in a Imall cavity, in the head of a fea toad, or tortoife, the head being all to the cavity folid. This creature weighed one hundred and fifteen pounds, without brains or marrow, the bones being folid as the head, all but the aforefaid cavity.

Club. What you advance reminds us of the furprifing latitude travellers affume and think yourfelves entitled to be credited.

Hoft. What I advance is known to several that will testify the fame, and yourfelves will be pleased to examine and give teftimony that

it is nothing but a web confifting of nothing

more than fibres.

Club. What you produce refembles tarantula fheath or web, free from brains or other matter or contents.

Haft. The fingular inftinct of the tortoise, in her care at the time of her depofiting her eggs, to prevent the vigilance of her adverfary (the turtle) from robbing her neft, or making a prize of herfelf, brings her the nearest to man of any other animal. Rabbi Mofes, whose character you are no stranger to, will give the furprising inftinct and many particulars relating to this animal, and this from his own infpection, in the Weft-Indies, where they are produced.

Club. Rabbi Mofes is a character of diftinguifhed merit, on whofe veracity we are agreed. We would think ourselves happy in making feveral enquiries from fo worthy a character, who, according to report, has been in search of truth to all quarters of the world, from his youth, poffeffed of whatever is worthy praife, in fortune, goodness, refined fentiments, and strong understanding; but there arifes a doubt his being of the Jewish perfuafion, who are a people not eafily deluded or drawn from even error, as they are ridiculoufly fo, moft abfurdly. We will, caft in our minds the utility of feeing this good and intelligent man, and if we fuppofe it not hurtful to our light, raifing doubts that there is a God, and fpiritual intelligences, who watch our actions with an eye far more clear and penetrating than the fun at noon-day, and that man is composed of two substances; one

piritual, which they call foul; the other earthly, the body. The foul, being the intellectual and fuperior part, is to rule and keep the body in a state oppreffive to the fenfes, and oppofite to the pleasures and allurements of this life, to confider this life and pafs through it, a pilgrim, ør man of sorrows, expecting pleasure and eternal comforts when death feparates our twofold All blemishes, which they term fin, are to be rigorously accounted for, and punished in the next life, if we were convinced that giving him a meeting might not caft some blemish or fhade our enlightened and bright philofophy, we should be difpofed to fee him to make enquiries.

nature.

Hoft. You were all inftructed, when young, in the religion of your forefathers, 1 fuppofe, chriftians.

Club. We acknowledge your fuppofition, though we are of different countries, and were of different branches of chriftians, to be true; but being men inclined to various powerful paffions, which could not be gratified without remorfe and stings, we were not difpofed to fuffer, embraced the Enlightened Bleffing, the brains, in a torrent of light, poured on the head of man, in this our enlightened age and northern hemifphere. O my, what a blaze!

Hoft. I will hold you a rump and dozen, as the faying is, that you are twelve, but not one trained Calvinift.

Club. None.

Hoft. Prefbyterians are inftructed to render life comfortable, by Aaying the old man with

the

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