ANSWER to a Piece, Intituled, Several Reasons, proving, that Inoculating or Transplanting the Small Pox, is a lawful Practice, and that it hath been blessed by God for the saving of many a Life. By Increase Mather. D. D.

THE Practice of Smyrna and Constantinople, is not a Rule either of Faith or Manners, and therefore I shall dismiss that Parapraph, and pass on to your next.

II. You say, We bear that several Physicians have re­commended Inoculation to his Majesty, as a Means to save the Lives of his Subjects.

Reply. The Question is not, Whether it may save their Lives or not, but rather, as you affirm, whether it may be lawful; which you must prove, or you do not what you have undertaken to do. The matter was not disputed by the Pharisees, whether their Children did cast out Devils by Beelzebub; the Reflection that our Lord cast upon them was, that they did it unlawfully. The King and the Prince have accepted of it as a Means to save the Lives of the Subject: But yet I remember, they have not proved what you have undertaken to do, to [Page 6] prove it lawful; neither was the Question propos'd to them.

Again, You say, If wise and learned Men from En­gland, declare their Approbation of this Practice; for us to declare our Disapprobation, will not be for our Honour.

Reply. All that I shall say at present is, If wise and learned Men from England should declare their Appro­bation of worshiping God in the Episcopal Way, with all the Ceremonies thereof, (which is a matter of Faith as well as this) for us to declare our Disapprobation will not be for our Honour. I chuse at present to set Honour against Honour, that being view'd a while, and brought home, they may see each others Similitude.

III. You say, God hath graciously owned it, and ma­ny Scores have lived and recovered, and not one died, except Mrs. D—l▪ but she had the Small Pox in the common Way before,

Reply. I believe you cannot know that; for her Hus­band told me she was inoculated, and that it came forth at the Time appointed: Now you may take Notice, that Mr. D—l and I had some Talk before. Mr. D—l had said to me, that he thought it a good Pro­vidence, the Discovery of this Inoculation. I answer­ed him, I believe rather that it is a terrible Delusion. I said, You know my Mind, and I know yours; now is not a time for us to talk of it: I will see her and you, as Mrs. D—l and Mr. D—l, and not as People that love Inoculation; and he said, So do. Accordingly I went. At first the Pock looked likely; but it grew on to be very bad, and she was brought exceeding low, but afterwards there was hope of her recovery, and she was taken out of Bed once or twice, I cannot tell which. In the mean time two of her Children had it unknown to her a little before, so lightly visited, that I think one was not abed one hour; and I heard say in the House, they kept the other abed because he should not run in to disturb his mother: And the Children being brought in to her, she received them with surprising Joy, and soon fell into a Fit. We know she was a thoughtful Woman, and the neighbours said, she could not bear the reflecti­on, [Page 9] how lightly they had it in the common Way, and how bad she was in the new way. Had it not been a time of great trouble with Mr. D—l, I should have had more discourse with him about it, but had not. I sympathised with him, and do believe that his loss is her gain. This is a true relation of that matter.

But I pass on to consider some of your other Reasons. You say, That the known Children of the Wicked one are generally against Inoculation, which is [...] you a weighty Consideration.

Reply. Wicked men have moral light as well as be­lievers. I have heard you quote heathens to have Excel­lent morals. 2. They have the light of the Gospel, which they may and do understand with respect to the letter of it, and cannot see grounds for Inoculation, [...]. 2. 14. For when the Gentiles which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law; those having not the Law, are a law unto themselves. v. 15. which show the work of the law written in their hearts; their Conscience [...] so bearing witness, and their thoughts the [...] while ac­cusing or excusing one another.

Again, you should be loth to have any hand in opposing I­noculation, because of the sixth Commandment. For my part I cannot see that there is any grounds for it in the sixth Commandment.

Again, yet it may be some might [...] minds, if they would but advise with [...] are [...] them Scripture light.

Reply. Where do these Men dwell? As for all [...] I have heard or seen treat of Inoculation, they have not [...] Scripture light for themselves, otherwise I believe we should have heard of it long ago.

And now much honoured Sir, with respect to your great Age, especially seeing you are found in the Way of righteousness, I desire you may have all those supplies of Grace that your old age needs, till you come to receive the Reward.

I Come now to consider another Author upon the Small Pox. The Title is, Sentiments on the Small Pox Ino­culated. I have just finished an Answer to one whose Age obliged me to intreat as a Father. Pray take it not amiss, if I rebuke you when you deserve it; I believe your Age will bear it, Sir.

Your Argument is, A most successful and allowable Me­thod of preventing Death, and many other grievous Mi­series, by the Small Pox, is not only lawful but a Duty, to be used by those who apprehend their Lives indangered by the terrible Distemper. But, The managing and govern­ing the Small Pox, in the way of Inoculation, is a most suc­cessful and allowable Method of preventing Death, and many other grievous Miseries by this dreadful Distêmper. Therefore, it is not only lawful, but also a Duty to make use of it.

Sir, You tell me, None but very foolish and very wicked People will deny the Proposition. How can you tell that? Are you only capable to tell a Man what he must not do▪ and if he doth that which you think not good, must you enter into Judgment, and pro­nounce him very foolish and very wicked.

Sir, Whatever you think of your Proposition, I think it a poor and a beggarly thing, to take that for grant­ed which is denyed, to put into your Proposition.

I shall first tell you, that the Word Allowable is am­biguous, and shall distinguish and enquire what you mean by it: If you mean humane Authority, I shall take no Notice of it. To the▪ law and to the Testimony, and if they speak not according unto that, it is because there is no Light in them. But if you mean an allowable Way by the Law of Physick, then I deny your Proposition. And now let us see who is the Fool. Your Proposition is, That it is a most successful and allowable Method of pre­venting Death. Now we fear there are many in the Grave the More for it; therefore we cannot believe that it is a successful Way of preventing Death.

And now I deny the Consequence of your Minor Pro­position, and say, that cannot be accounted a safe way, which hath an evil Tendency, and a bad end, (eventu­ally [Page 11] Death) of more than it hath saved alive; not to be allowed, except God says Amen to it. You go on to say, The Testimonies that our People have been frighted with, are not worth a Straw; no Man of Sense that con­finers them, can lay weight upon them. Answer: If you are a man of sense, if you consider my Argumnets, they will bring you upon the Care [...]n.

Again you bid us ask you not why you say so: But I hope you will not take it amiss, if I ask you, why you bid us not ask you, & if you will not answer me, suffer me to draw natural Conclusions; as first, because you could not. 2. because you affect a Dispotick Power, and would have us pin our Faith upon your sleeve▪ But hold, Sir, you are not so high now, but that there is more ways than one to come at you; and our Faith cannot be swallow'd up in your belief, unless you tell us a reason why you say so. In the next place you say, Experience will tell us that their was never a more unfailable method amongst the Children of Men. Hold Sin, suppose I tell you of two as successful, to wit, to cure Agues. The first is to wear a Spell about the Neck, next to the Skin; I can tell you too how to make it, and what Words are used in it. 2 dly, The writing the Persons Name that hath the A­gue, by the hand of a Seventh Son, and he slitting the Rine of an Elder-Tree, and opening it, and putting the Piece of Paper in, will cure the Ague: And they tell you of much Virtue in the Seventh Son, and also of the Elder Tree; and they, do not say ask them not, but tell us the Reason why they say so, to wit, because Judas hang­ed himself on it. I could tell you of many more such Things, with respect to the Event, which are good to a Person or People; but that does not prove it to be law­ful, which you should have done, if you understand your Argument.

I will load Success a little further, it may be you may think too far. It was good that Satan should be dis­possessed of his Habitation which he had taken up in Men in our Lord's Day; but it was not lawful that the Children of the Pharisees should cast them out by▪ the help of Beelzebub: We must always have an Eye to the Matter of what we do as well as to the Result, if we in­tend [Page 12] to keep a good Conscience towards God.

From the Means and End of effecting the Action, it is well or ill disposed. 'Tis a Duty to go to hear God's Word preached, but 'tis unlawful to steal a Horse to ride to hear it. 'Tis lawful to preserve Life, but it must be in a lawful way. All Circumstances must concur to make the Action good: The failing but in one Circumstance doth make the Action evil. See Hag. 2. 11, 12, 13, 14.

Arg. That which cannot▪ be performed with a confor­mity to that Rule in Phil. 4. 8. Finally my Brethen, what­soever things are true, whatsoever things are just, whatso­ever things are pure, whatsoever▪ things are lovely, whatso­ever things are of good Report; &c. is not lawful. But, Inoculation cannot be performed with any Agreement unto that Rule, as being neither true, nor honest, nor just, nor pure, nor of good Report. Therefore, it is not lawful.

Now it appears to me to be but a Delusion of Satan, covered over with more Cloaks than the Doctor's; under which he carries not only the poisonous Venom of the Small Pox, but also perverse Disputings of Men, every evil Work, as Strife, Hatred, Back-biting and Lying▪ which is no Wonder, if we consider who was the first Inoculator, Tim. 6▪ 3, 4, 5, & c.

Again, you say, The Objector must say, That it is un­lawful for a Man who would preserve Life and Health to make himself sick in a way that would constantly tend unto Preservation.

Reply. I distinguish between doing that which may preserve from a Disease, and doing that which may bring a Disease; and if I may be suffered to speak my mind of your Thoughts, you inoculate the Small [...] into Men, on a Supposition that it shall be lighter to you in this Way, than God hath designed in his Provi­dence to send it you. How read you in Isai. 46. 9, 10. I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, [...] from ancient [...] the things that are not yet done, say­ing, my Counsel shall stand, and I will do all my plea­sure.

[Page 13] Again, you say, Suppose here was a mortal Sickness in the Town, as the Bloody-Flux, and a Physician is Master of a Purge, which whosoever takes, is in an ordinary Way▪ delivered from the Danger of that Distemper. An Arti­ficial Purge saves him from Death by the Natural Purge which he is exposed unto. Will any scruple the taking of this Artificial Purge, Surely none but such as want a Purge of Hellebore!

What aileth thee, O man, that understands not your own Argument. I must tell you, had you taken a Purge of Hellebore to have cleared your Brain, your Argument might have been better drawn with respect to the Figure and mode.

Your Argument is drawn from an Artificial Purge to stop a Natural Purge, which no body denys; but this is foreign to the Case in Hand.

But you should have said, (if you had spoke to the purpose,) suppose the bloody Flux prevail in the Town where I live, and a Physician goes to one of their houses, and takes a Bottle of that fluxical bloody Excrement, & put it into a Man, (by a Clyster Pipe or any way else,) and gives him he Bloody-Flux, which whosoever takes, is delivered in an ordinary Way from the danger of that Distemper. And now, if you please to take a Pinch of Hellebore, to clear up your Senses, you may draw this natural Conclusion, which is, Sir, That your Argument do Stink.

I am not mistaken, as will appear, if you go back to the beginning of the Paragraph that he is now upon, which runs thus, That this is an allowable Practice is plain, (faith our Antagonist) because their can be no ob­jections brought against it but what will lie against all the preventing Physick that is used in the World. Now it was Inoculating of the small Pox our Author was talking of, and not the preventing of the Small Pox, which if it had, his Argument had been more even in [...]er Feet, and of a straiter add handsomer Leg.

Again, you say, many good People being sensible how weak their own Judgments are, will be much advised in a Case of Conscience, by the Judgment of the most able Divines in the Country.

[Page 14] Reply. Sir, we are deterred from that for several Rea­sons. 1. We know that the ablest Ministers in the Country are but men, and are failable as well as our­selves. 2. They bring not their Arguments from scrip­ture, but from the History of Places where it was practi­ced, and plead the lawfulness of it from the event, which we believe is no safe way for Christians to argue; and if it should be allowed of, I could give instances enough to fill your ears, Hos. 7. 11. Ephraim is like a silly dove without heart; they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria (to help them to Arguments.) 3. Because God's Judgments was threatned against Israel for learning of the manners of the Heathen, Ezek. 11. 12. (which I cast forth before you.) 4. Because the Ministers are very generally re­volted from the good old way, and have set up a way that their Fathers knew not of, neither entered it into their Hearts; to allude unto Jer. 5. 23. They are revol­ted and gone. 5. It's very natural for men not to be sen­sible of their own weakness of judgment; from hence it is (as I suppose) men have so great an Opinion of their own Works, although there is no Beauty nor comeliness in them: from hence arises a desire to impose. And others think they know as much about Inoculati­on as they desire, and they think the Scripture is silent, in this matter, the rather, because that is the Key which you must unlock Cases of Conscience by.

Again, They say you have no Scripture for it, for if you had, you would have told us so, and directed us where to find it; but you have not done either, there­fore you have none:

Therefore they could expect no advice from you; for you have no Arguments but such as you fetch out of History, and we desire to learn none of their manners.

They daily see what Work Men make when they in­termeddle with any thing they do not understand, or was not prentice to. Suppose a Taylor should go into a Cobler's Shop to work; his Tools are not fit, neither hath he skill to use the Coblers tools, and so he makes but cobling work; and then his ware lies upon hand, and he derided and scoffed at, and that for his work; [Page 15] when it is possible the man is proper and comely, and of a good genius, when imployed in what he understands. Hence it was that the Serene States of Holland made a Law to prevent Ministers medling with State Affairs, because their Work was not Temporal but Divine, and the inter­mixing of them not safe for the common wealth. The Law was, That if a Minister intermeddled to dictate Peo­ple about State affairs, the Government was to provide him a pair of new Shoes and a Staff, and lead him to the outside of the Town, and let him return to his pulpit no more. So for Ministers to be able to answer this natural question, we think is too hard for them; for we think that every thing is beautiful in its season, or to that which it is adapted to. Now Ministers work is divine, and for that they are paid for, and for any thing else they are not thanked for, nor indeed (say some) are not for any thing else thank worthy.

In the next Place, I shall take no notice of your Con­clusion which will be victorious you say, (but I think it is against your self) That when People have their lives indangered by the Small Pox hovering about them, they may not only use the method of Inoculation to save their lives, but they even ought to do it, if they can: they keep not in good Terms with the sixth Commandment if they do it not.

Reply. It is the first time that I need answer the con­clusion of an Argument; for having answered the major or minor, the Conclusion submits quietly unto the Fate of the former. But Sir, here seems to want more Gram­mar Learning, or more honesty, I cannot divine which. You brought in these words into your Conclusion which was not in your Major nor Minor, They keep not in good Terms with the sixth Commandment if they do it not. Sir, I tell you your Argument is lame; its feet are not equal, and pray take it home again, and inoculate or graft on three pieces more to your sophistical Argument, or else it will not be able to stand, and must fall to the Ground unavoidably. Here is such sophistry that none but my Antagonist is able to answer for. As we would keep in good Terms with the sixth Commandment: He dare not say [Page 16] we should break the Commandment, lest then it should be asked for a Reason why he do say [...] Good Terms! Faith in what is commanded, and a Principle of Obedi­ence thereto is it he means? This we may do without holding the Doctrine of Inoculation. Or does he mean, that except we believe the Doctrine or Inoculation to save our Lives, we break the Sixth Commandment? Surely he means something or other: It may be he would make it a Bug-Bear to fright us into it; which seems most likely to me: For if you look upon his Ar­gument again, from Head to Foot, you will find it is so lame, it can neither go nor stand, it hath two Tails; it is so over-charged, that its Belly is monstrous big; and his Head is so small, for want of some of that which is in his two Tails, that it looks no ways hand­some; neither hath it Hands strong enough for War.

Sir, You having taken Liberty to put more into the Conclusion than was in the Premises, (which is very dishonourable if not dishonest) you infer several Things, which are so mean, that I shall answer but part of them.

Inf. That when some desire to save their Lives by Ino­culation, those who have the Care over them, should not hinder them, lest they should have Cause to repent of it.

Reply. I do not like this Word Lest. I have seen it somewhere else before now. I take it to be in Gen. 3. 3. Lest ye dy. I suppose our Antagonist learned it there. I know what Improvement was made of it then, to wit, Ye shall not surely dy. I know the Equivocation of the Word, there was a Willingness to be deceived; but I fear, the Equivocation of the Word here was a Willing­ness to deceive.

Sir, I shall answer you by a Similitude, and yon may judge. I have known Children that have had the King's Evil, and have desired their Governours to let them go and be touched by the King, who lays his Hand upon them and says, I touch, and God heals: Whether or no if Parents or Governours are satisfy'd that it is not law­ful, or that there is no Physical Means in it, they ought not to deter them from it, lest the Disease may not go off, and they have sad Cause of Reflection. The like [Page 17] Cure the Seventh Son performs, which you may con­sider.

Inf. III. That a People should not be too hasty in Re­solves that would forbid their Neighbours to do what God has made their Duty, for the Preservation of their Lives in this Method, lest they do in Effect forbid Obedience to the Sixth Commandment.

Now I hope the Reader may see what our Gentleman aim'd at, when he put forth his Hand, as the Effect of a covetous Mind, and stole these Words into the Con­clusion, which were not in the Major, to wit, they keep not in good Terms with the Sixth Commandment if they do it not. And now I suppose, from the Com­mandment he infers, that God hath made Inoculation a Duty. The Syphistry of this lies here: His Argument should have run thus:

What God hath made a Duty, and a most successful and allowable Method of preventing Miseries by the Small Pox, ought to be practis'd. But, God hath made it a Duty. Therefore, it ought to be practised.

Now, had he put into his Major proposition, What God hath made a Duty, we might have come at his Minor Proposition, which must have run thus, But God hath made it a most successful and allowable way to pre­vent Death by the Small Pox. Then his Conclusion might hove run thus, Therefore it ought to be practised. And we might have come at his Minor by denying it; and till he had proved it, his Conclusion would have stood tottering, but if he had proved his Minor, his Con­clusion would stand good: But how he would have proved it, I cannot tell, except he made a Trip to Smyr­na and Constantinople, and to many wise and learned Men.

Again, you say, To call this a Work of the Devil, &c. is a shocking Blasphemy. Pray who told you so? They say it is of God or the Devil; but 'tis not of God, because it is not contained in the Law of Physick, either Natural or Divine. What shall we do but draw the na­tural Conclusion, seeing there is no Limbus Patrum nor Middle, between the greatest Good, and the greatest Evil one. Jer. 5. 30, 31. A wonderful and horrible thing is [Page 18] commited in the Land. The Prophets prophecy falsly, and the Priests bear rule by their means, and my People love to have it so? And what will ye do in the end thereof?

Sir, Had the Discourse been Verbal, and Moderators chosen, you must not have dared to intrude upon the Rules of Disputation: If you had dared to have ventu­red your Case to the Censure of the People, I should have indeavoured to have made you ashamed; but I suppose you chuse rather to stand by your self, and keep your own Maxim, Ask not why I say so.

I have observed Hints from the Pulpit of new Means discover'd, and that we should be thankful to God for his gracious Providence in discovering it to us. But I think it is denyed to be Means that is lawful, and till it is proved lawful, it is but begging the Question, to tell me I should be thankful for it: But I will tell you what came into my Mind, More Grammar, less So­phistry, some Scripture Proof, less Delusion.

Quest. Whether it is not our Duty to pray, that God would bless the Means of Inoculation, to those that are under its Operation: Phil. 4. 6. Be careful for nothing, but in every thing by Prayer and Supplication, let your Requests be made known unto God.

Reply. This word Every Thing must be restrained un­to those Things which God hath made our Duty, and so far as we are found in our Duty. Now for Persons to undertake any thing without Satisfaction from God's Word, looks like Jehoshaphats agreeing with Ahab King of Israel, to go up to Ramoth Gilead before they had enquired of the Lord, May we not think they were left of God to follow their own Imaginations, 1 King. 22.

Sir, I shall take my leave of you, leaving the follow­ing Question for you to consider of, to wit, Whether in Inoculation, it is barely and simply the Small Pox that is conveyed in at the incision, or whether the distempers of them from whom the matter was taken▪ be not con­veyed also, to wit, the Gout, the Stone, the Gravel, the Rheumatism, yea the great Pox also. I suppose the Drs. Modesty will not admit him to ask them whether they [Page 19] have either of these aforehand upon them) and so ino­culated Bodies be made a Cage to hold complicated Di­seases.

ANSWER TO A Late Letter in the New-England Courant.

O Wonderful Champion, what art thou? If I knew who thou art, I would treat thee according to thy merit. Art thou Dr. B—n's Champion? or art thou some Knight of the Post, to swear what is told thee? or art thou some Mountebank's Boy, to tell more of the Virtues of thy medicines in one hour, than ever was found true in a thousand Years? Or art thou one that loves to be of that side of the Hedge the Sun riseth? Or art thou one that art a setter forth of strange things? Art thou a Scholar and wicked, or a poor man and ignorant? Or art thou for Stoical Destiny, that eve­ry thing is moved by its Center that is next to it, that something begets something? Art thou an old Man and grown Childish? Or art thou one that had never much Wit (a fool?) Or art thou a young Man, and boasting­ly would show that which thou never hadst, or that which thou always hadst.

Sir, you say, Our Age is favoured with a wonderful and are discovery, more worth than a World! What World do you mean Sir▪ that which is in the Moon? And was you ever there to know the worth of it?

Again, you say, That none [...] Infatuated People [Page 20] would reject and clamour against it. Hundreds of Lives are lost, I say Lost, because they would not come into the Practice of it. Sir, I perceive you have great Con­fidence, Sir, can you read, did you ever learn your Cate­chism? did you ever learn the answer to that question, What are the Decrees of God? Ans. The Decrees of God are his Eternal purposes, according to the Counsel of his own will whereby for his own Glory be hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass. How do we read, Dan. 4. 35. And all the Inhabitants of the Earth are reputed as nothing: and he doth according to his Will in the Army of Heaven, and among the Inhabitants of the Earth, and none can stay his Hand, or say unto him, what doest thou. And is there not an appointed time for Man upon the Face of the Earth? I am sorry to see any in New-England so ig­norant.

Never one dy'd in this way, and 'tis probable, more than probable, never will. Sir, is there a degree of difference between more than probable, and certain. You say, ne­ver one died in this way; Dr. M—r indeed did within this three Weeks say, that there was no question to be made of a man's Life when inoculated, which is short of this: But be it so, if they will have it so▪ I know their way well enough, if any of theirs are bad, yea very bad, to be sure, say they, they had it in the Common way be­fore, and so to clear themselves lay the blame at God's Door; but I read, Let God be true and Men lyars. Prov. 26. 5. Answer a Fool according to his Folly, lest he be wise in his own Conceit. See Mat. 5. 19.