Scarcely a metaphysical writer of eminence has escaped the
'imputation' of Atheism. The great Clarke and his antagonist the greater
Leibnitz were called Atheists. Even Newton was put in the same category.
No sooner did sharp-sighted divines catch a glimpse of an 'Essay on the
Human Understanding' than they loudly proclaimed the Atheism of its
author. Julian Hibbert, in his learned account 'Of Persons Falsely
Entitled Atheists,' says, 'the existence of some sort of a Deity has
usually been considered undeniable, so the imputation of Atheism and the
title of Atheist have usually been considered as insulting.' This
author, after giving no fewer than thirty and two names of 'individuals
among the Pagans who (with more or less injustice) have been accused of
Atheism,' says, 'the list shews, I think, that almost all the most
celebrated Grecian metaphysicians have been, either in their own or in
following ages, considered, with more or less reason, to be
Atheistically inclined. For though, the word Atheist was probably not
often used till about a hundred years before Christ, yet the imputation
of _impiety_ was no doubt as easily and commonly bestowed, before that
period, as it has been since.
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