imperfect.

Secondly, I shall show, in several instances, where some of the most
renowned philosophers have been grossly defective in their lessons
of morality.

Thirdly, I shall prove the perfection of Christian wisdom from the
proper characters and marks of it.

Lastly, I shall show that the great examples of wisdom and virtue
among the heathen wise men were produced by personal merit, and not
influenced by the doctrine of any sect; whereas, in Christianity, it
is quite the contrary.

First, I shall produce certain points wherein the wisdom and virtue
of all unrevealed philosophy in general fell short and was very
imperfect.

My design is to persuade men that Christian philosophy is in all
things preferable to heathen wisdom; from which, or its professors,
I shall, however, have no occasion to detract. They were as wise
and as good as it was possible for them to be under such
disadvantages, and would have probably been infinitely more so with
such aids as we enjoy; but our lessons are certainly much better,
however our practices may fall short.

The first point I shall mention is that universal defect which was
in all their schemes, that they could not agree about their chief
good, or wherein to place the happiness of mankind; nor had any of
them a tolerable answer upon this difficulty to satisfy a reasonable