"Since, therefore, the mind of man appears of so loose and unsteddy a contexture, that, even at present, when so many persons find an interest in continually employing on it the chissel and the hammer, yet are they not able to engrave theological tenets with any lasting impression; how much more must this have been the case in antient times, when the retainers to the holy function were so much fewer in comparison?"
The Natural History of Religion
At least 16 entries in the ESTC (1757, 1758, 1760, 1764, 1768, 1770, 1772, 1777, 1779, 1784, 1788, 1793, 1800)<br>
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See Hume, David. <u>Four Dissertations</u> (London: A. Millar, 1757). &lt;<a href="http://estc.bl.uk/T4011">Link to ESTC</a>&gt;&lt;<a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=tNcNAAAAQAAJ">Link to Google Books</a>&gt;