thousand of those among whom they
live; and are therefore virtuous of course, because everybody hates
them.

I answer, fourthly, that the most virtuous people in all ages have been
freethinkers; of which I shall produce several instances[24].

[Footnote 24: What follows is in ridicule of a long list of
freethinkers, as he calls them, with which Collins has graced his
discourse; in which he includes not only the ancient philosophers, but
the inspired prophets, and even "King Solomon the wise." [S.] ]

Socrates was a freethinker; for he disbelieved the gods of his country,
and the common creeds about them, and declared his dislike when he heard
men attribute "repentance, anger, and other passions to the gods, and
talk of wars and battles in heaven, and of the gods getting women with
child," and such like fabulous and blasphemous stones. I pick out these
particulars, because they are the very same with what the priests have
in their Bibles, where repentance and anger are attributed to God; where
it is said, there was "war in heaven;" and that "the Virgin Mary was
with child by the Holy Ghost," whom the priests call God; all fabulous
and blasphemous stories. Now, I affirm Socrates to have been a true
Christian. You will ask, perhaps, how that can be, since he lived three
or four hundred years before Christ? I answer, with Justin Martyr, that
Christ is nothing else but reason, and I hope you do not think Socrates
lived before reason. Now, this true Christian Socrates never made
notions, speculations, or mysteries, any part of his religion, but
demonstrated all men to be fools who troubled themselves with enquiries
into heavenly things. Lastly, 'tis plain that Socrates was a
freethinker, because he was calumniated for an atheist, as freethinkers
generally are, only because he was an enemy to all speculations and
inquiries into heavenly things. For I argue thus, that if I never
trouble myself to think whether there be a God or no, and forbid others
to do it, I am a freethinker, but not an atheist.

Plato was a freethinker, and his notions are so like some in the Gospel,
that a heathen charged Christ with borrowing his doctrine from Plato.
But Origen[25] defends Christ very well against this charge, by saying
he did not understand Greek, and therefore could not borrow his doctrine
from Plato. However their two religions agreed so well, that it was
common for Christians to turn Platonists, and Platonists Christians.
When th