ccomplished wits who frequented the _salon_ of Madame de
Croissy, and he developed his skeptical system through the medium of the
French language, in a series of letters to M. de Pouilly.[130]

Bolingbroke accused the greatest divines and philosophers of leading a
great part of mankind into inextricable labyrinths of reasoning and
speculation. Natural theology and religion, he held, had become corrupt.
In view of these results of mental infirmities, he applied himself to
correct all errors. He proposed "to distinguish genuine and pure theism
from the profane mixtures of human imagination; and to go to the root of
that error which encourages our curiosity, sustains our pride, fortifies
our prejudices, and gives pretense to delusion; to discover the true
nature of human knowledge, how far it extends, how far it is real, and
where and how it begins to be fantastical; that, the gaudy visions of
error being dispelled, men may be accustomed to the simplicity of
truth."[131] The Scriptures, according to Bolingbroke, are unworthy of
our credence. They degrade the Deity to mean and unworthy offices and
employments.[132] The New Testament consists of two distinct gospels;
one by Christ, the other by St. Paul. The doctrine of future rewards and
punishments is absurd, and contrary to the divine attributes.[133]
Christianity has been of no advantage to mankind. "The world hath not
been effectually reformed, nor any one nation in it, by the promulgation
of the gospel, even where Christianity flourished most."[134] There is a
supreme All-Perfect Being, but he does not concern himself with human
affairs as far as individuals are concerned. The soul is not distinct
from the body, and both terminate at death. The law of nature, being
sufficient for the purposes of our being, is all that God has proclaimed
for our guidance.[135]

There were other members of the English nobility who used their
influence for the introduction of French infidelity, literature, morals,
and fashions. Some did not equal Bolingbroke in repudiating the spirit
of the gospel, but nearly all were willing students at the feet of their
pretentious Gallic instructors. The house of Lady Mary Wortley Montague,
at Wickenham, was the centre whither gravitated that large class of
acknowledged chiefs in letters represented by Steele, Pope, and the
Walpoles. They thought, spoke, and dressed according to the French
standard, which, in respect to religion and morals, was never l