The Analogy of Divine Wisdom: In the Material, Sensitive, Moral, Civil and Spiritual System of Things, in Eight Parts

For in proportion, as any other less honourable motive may be assigned for writing and publishing, so much less effect are religious books likely to have upon the human mind. Any reward which may exclude the principal one is very disadvantageous, and verily they are likely to have theirs, that is, merely a temporal reward, who either for the sake of applause, wealth, or honours, without evident proofs of a more noble spiritual motive, exhibit religious treaties to the world. The reader is at liberty to judge of the motives of this author, as he thinks proper: Was there any other method of publication equally feasible with the one he has used, to make mankind read, he thinks he would have used it; and therefore, left the submitting of his book to the learned judges, for the sake of the premium mentioned, might in any degree lessen the influence, by associating temporal ideas, too closely to spiritual works, he chooses to decline it.