Richard Baxter's dying thoughts upon Phil. I, 23 written for his own life and…

§ 1. II. That holy Souls shall be hereafter happy seemeth to be one of the common notices of Nature planted in the consciences of mankind; And it is therefore acknowledged by the generality of the world that freely use their understandings. Most, yea almost all the Heathen Nations at this day believe it, besides the Mahometans; And it is the most barbarous Cannibals and Brazilians that do not, whose understandings have had the least improvement, and who have rather an inconsiderate Nescience of it, than a denying opposition. And though some Philosophers denied it, they were a small and contemned party: And though many of the rest were somewhat dubious, it was only a certainty which they professed to want, and not a probability or opinion that it was true. And both the Vulgar and the deep studied men believed it, and those that questioned it were the half studied Philosophers, who not ⟨p. 34⟩resting in the Natural notice, nor yet reaching full intellectual Evidence of it by discourse, had found out matter of difficulty to puzzle them, and came not to that degree of wisdom as would have resolved them.

§ 1. II. That holy Souls shall be hereafter happy seemeth to be one of the common notices of Nature planted in the consciences of mankind; And it is therefore acknowledged by the generality of the world that freely use their understandings. Most, yea almost all the Heathen Nations at this day believe it, besides the Mahometans; And it is the most barbarous Cannibals and Brasilians that do not, whose understandings have had the least improvement, and who have rather an inconsiderate Nescience of it, than a denying opposition. And though some Philosophers denyed it, they were a small and contemned party: And though many of the rest were somewhat dubious, it was only a certainty which they professed to want, and not a probability or opinion that it was true. And both the Vulgar and the deep studyed men believed it, and those that questioned it were the half studyed Philosophers, who not ⟨p. 34⟩resting in the Natural notice, nor yet reaching full intellectual Evidence of it by discourse, had found out matter of difficulty to puzzle them, and came not to that degree of wisdom as would have resolved them.