House, for I do not acknowledge myself their Subject; if I did, then no question, I was bound by an Oath of their imposing. 'Tis to me but reading a Paper in their own Sense.

4. There is a great difference between an Assertory Oath, and a Promissory Oath. An Assertory Oath is made to a Man before God, and I must swear so as Man may know what I mean: but a Promissory Oath is made to God only, and I am sure he knows my meaning. So in the new Oath it runs, "whereas I believe in my Conscience," &c. "I will assist thus and thus:" that whereas gives me an Outloose; for if I do not believe so, for aught I know I swear not at all.

5. In a Promissory Oath, the mind I am in is a good Interpretation; for if there be enough happened to change my mind, I do not know why I should not. If I promise to go to Oxford to morrow, and mean it when I say it, and afterwards it appears to me, that 'twill be my undoing; will you say I have broke my Promise if I stay at Home? Certainly I must not go.

6. The Jews had this way with them, concerning a Promissory Oath or Vow; if one of them had vowed a Vow, which afterwards appeared to him to be very prejudicial by reason of something he either did not foresee, or did not think of, when he made his Vow; if he made it known to three of his Countrymen, they had Power to absolve him, though he could not absolve himself; and that they picked out of some Words in the Text.* Per

* There is a tradition to the purpose among the Jews. See the third part of Maimonides Jad. Chaz. lib. 6. de Seperatione. But

jury hath only to do with an Assertory Oath; and no Man was punished for Perjury by Man's Law till Queen Elizabeth's time; 'twas left to God, as a sin against him: the Reason was, because 'twas so hard a thing to prove a Man perjured; I might misunderstand him, and he swears as he thought.

7. When Men ask me whether they may take an Oath in their own Sense, 'tis to me, as if they should ask whether they may go to such a place upon their own Legs; I would fain know how they can go otherwise.

8. If the Ministers that are in sequestred Livings will not take the Engagement, threaten to turn them out and put in the old ones, and then I'll warrant you they will quietly take it. A Gentleman having been rambling two or three Days, at length came home, and being in Bed with his Wife, would fain have been at something, that she was unwilling to, and instead of complying, fell to chiding him for his being abroad so long: Well says he, if you will not, call up Sue, (his Wife's Chamber-maid,) upon that she yielded presently.

9. Now Oaths are so frequent, they should be taken

ler, who must have known Selden, as he was some time in the service of Lady Kent, thus refers to it :

The rabbins write, when any Jew
Did make to God or man a vow,
Which afterwards he found untoward,
And stubborn to be kept, or too hard;
Any three other Jews o' th' nation

Might free him from his obligation.

See the loose notions of the casuistical rabbins concerning vows in Lightfoot's works, vol. ii. p. 708. Parker's case of the Church of England, 1681, p. 48.

like Pills, swallowed whole; if you chew them you will find them bitter; if you think what you swear 'twill hardly go down.

Oracles.

RACLES ceased presently after

soon as no body believed them.*

Christ, as Just as we

have no Fortune-Tellers, nor Wise-Men,

when no body cares for them. Sometime you have a Season for them, when People believe them, and neither of these, I conceive, wrought by the Devil.

Opinion.

PINION and Affection extremely differ. I may affect a Woman best, but it does not follow I must think her the handsomest Woman

Milton, in his Hymn on the Nativity, of course poetically follows the notion that the Oracles ceased at the coming of Christ : The Oracles are dumb,

No voice or hideous hum

Runs through th' arched roof in words deceiving.
Apollo from his shrine

Can no more divine,

With hollow shriek the steep of Delphos leaving.

And about that time their credit apparently was shaken, but there were other causes, as Van Dale and Fontenelle have shown, which eventually silenced them at a later period. It takes a long time to eradicate any superstitious belief among the people; and the learned, even within the last century, have shown themselves sufficiently credulous of vaticinations, and supposed supernatural

events.

in the World. I love Apples best of any Fruit, but it doe's not follow, I must think Apples to be the best Fruit. Opinion is something wherein I go about to give reason why all the World should think as I think. Affection is a thing wherein I look after the pleasing of myself.*

2. 'Twas a good Fancy of an old Platonic: the Gods which are above Men, had something whereof Man did partake, an Intellect, Knowledge, and the Gods kept on their course quietly. The Beasts, which are below Man, had something whereof Man did partake, Sense and Growth, and the Beasts lived quietly in their way. But Man had something in him, whereof neither Gods nor Beasts did partake, which gave him all the Trouble, and made all the Confusion in the World; and that is Opinion.

3. 'Tis a foolish thing for me to be brought off from an Opinion, in a thing neither of us know, but are led only by some Cobweb-stuff; as in such a Case as this, Utrum Angeli in vicem colloquantur? if I forsake my side in such a case, I shew myself wonderful light, or infinitely complying, or flattering the other party: but if I be in a business of Nature, and hold an Opinion one way, and some Man's Experience has found out the contrary, I may with a safe Reputation give up my side.

4. 'Tis a vain thing to talk of a Heretic, for a Man

Good! This is the true difference betwixt the beautiful and the agreeable, which Knight and the rest of that Año äεov have so beneficially confounded, meretricibus scilicet et Plutoni.

Oh what an insight this whole article gives into a wise man's heart, who has been compelled to act with the many, as one of the many! It explains Sir Thomas More's zealous Romanism.-Coleridge.

for his heart can think no otherwise than he does think.* In the Primitive Times there were many Opinions, nothing scarce but some or other held. One of these Opinions being embraced by some Prince, and received into his Kingdom, the rest were condemned as Heresies ; and his Religion, which was but one of the several Opinions, first is said to be Orthodox, and so have continued ever since the Apostles.

them.

Parity.†

HIS is the Juggling Trick of the Parity, they would have no body above them, but they do not tell you they would have no body under

* Bishop Taylor in his "Liberty of Prophesying." Sect. 2. § 8. says, "it is inconsistent with the goodness of God to condemn those who err, where the error hath nothing of the will in it, who therefore cannot repent of their error, because they believe it true. *** For all have a concomitant assent to the truth of what they believe; and no man can at the same time believe what he does not believe."

† Parity.-H. Peacham in his "Minerva Britannia, or a Garden of Heroycal Devices," 1612, p. 171, says,

"There is a sect, whome Puritans we call
Whose pride this figure fitteth best of all.
Not such I meane, as are of Faith sincere,
And to doe good endevour all they can,
Would all the world of their religion were,
We taxe th' aspiring factious Puritan :
Whose PARITIE,* doth worse confusion bring,
And pride presumes to overlooke his King."

* PARITAS Confusionis mater.-August.