ering
without lying.

Here is a society in London for propagating freethinking throughout the
world, encouraged and supported by the Queen and many others. You say,
perhaps, it is for propagating the Gospel. Do you think the missionaries
we send will tell the heathens that they must not think freely? No,
surely; why then, it is manifest, those missionaries must be
freethinkers, and make the heathens so too. But why should not the king
of Siam, whose religion is heathenism and idolatry, send over a parcel
of his priests to convert us to his church, as well as we send
missionaries there? Both projects are exactly of a piece, and equally
reasonable; and if those heathen priests were here, it would be our duty
to hearken to them, and think freely whether they may not be in the
right rather than we. I heartily wish a detachment of such divines as Dr
Atterbury, Dr. Smallridge,[6] Dr. Swift, Dr. Sacheverell, and some others,
were sent every year to the farthest part of the heathen world, and that
we had a cargo of their priests in return, who would spread freethinking
among us; then the war would go on, the late ministry be restored, and
faction cease, which our priests inflame by haranguing upon texts, and
falsely call that preaching the Gospel.

[Footnote 6: Dr. Smallridge, it will be remembered, was the gentleman
who indignantly denied the authorship of "A Tale of a Tub" (see vol. i.
of this edition). He became Bishop of Bristol in 1714, and died in 1719.
His style was well thought of at the time. [T.S.]]

I have another project in my head, which ought to be put in execution,
in order to make us freethinkers: It is a great hardship and injustice,
that our priests must not be disturbed while they are prating in the
pulpit. For example: Why should not William Penn the Quaker, or any
Anabaptist, Papist, Muggletonian, Jew, or Sweet-Singer,[7] have liberty
to come into St Paul's Church, in the midst of divine service, and
endeavour to convert first the aldermen, then the preacher, and
singing-men? Or pray, why might not poor Mr. Whiston,[8] who denies the
divinity of Christ, be allowed to come into the Lower House of
Convocation, and convert the clergy? But, alas! we are overrun with such
false notions, that, if Penn or Whiston should do their duty, they would
be reckoned fanatics, and disturbers of the holy synod, although they
have as good a title to it as St Paul had to go into the synagogues of
the Jews; and their authori