# A Man — The Religion of Nature Delineated character guide > A Man in The Religion of Nature Delineated by William Wollaston. **Role:** major **Also known as:** a man, himself **First appearance:** 0003-the-religion-of-nature-delineated ## Snapshot A fallible, passionate creature who knows he should be ruled by reason and keeps discovering how violently he resists it. ## Who they are He is Wollaston's universal subject: endowed with reason, riddled with appetites, and caught between the two. His tension is intimate and unending — he desires happiness, yet his passions take wrong turns and his faculties falter, so every moral act becomes a test of whether he will govern himself or sink toward the brute. He matters because the book's entire argument about good and evil is proved, or disproved, in his own conscience. ## Relationships ### [Unknown](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/characters/unknown) _social_ A Man engages in frequent but unspecified interactions with an unknown figure, likely representing a general philosophical or rhetorical dialogue. ### [Clement of Alexandria](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/characters/clement_of_alexandria) _professional_ A Man frequently references or debates with Clement of Alexandria, likely as a source of theological and philosophical authority. ### [Isaac Abravanel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/characters/isaac_abravanel) _professional_ A Man and Isaac Abravanel are linked through discussions of natural religion and political theology. ### [Cicero](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/characters/cicero) _professional_ A Man engages with Cicero's works, using him as a key source for natural law and rhetorical arguments. ### [Herodotus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/characters/herodotus) _professional_ A Man uses Herodotus as a source for historical and ethnographic examples in arguments about natural religion. ### [Seneca](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/characters/seneca) _professional_ A Man draws on Seneca's Stoic philosophy to support arguments about natural law and morality. ### [Plato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/characters/plato) _professional_ A Man references Plato's ideas, particularly on the soul and the divine, in constructing a natural theology. ### [John Chrysostom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/characters/john_chrysostom) _professional_ A Man cites John Chrysostom as a patristic authority on moral and theological matters. ### [Aristotle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/characters/aristotle) _professional_ A Man engages with Aristotle's philosophy, particularly on ethics and natural teleology. ### [Cicero](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/characters/cicero) _professional_ A Man engages with Cicero's works, using him as a key source for natural law and rhetorical arguments. ### [Cicero](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/characters/cicero) _professional_ A Man engages with Cicero's works, using him as a key source for natural law and rhetorical arguments. ### [John Chrysostom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/characters/john_chrysostom) _professional_ A Man cites John Chrysostom as a patristic authority on moral and theological matters. ## In the story ### [The Religion of Nature Delineated](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/chapters/the-religion-of-nature-delineated) The central human figure through whose reasoning the religion of nature is delineated. ### [I: Of Moral Good and Evil](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/chapters/i-of-moral-good-and-evil) The central agent whose acts are evaluated for moral good and evil; capable of distinguishing, choosing, and acting for himself. ### [II: Of Happiness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/chapters/ii-of-happiness) The authorial voice reasoning about happiness, duty, and the nature of pleasure and pain. ### [III: Of Reason, and the Ways of Discovering Truth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/chapters/iii-of-reason-and-the-ways-of-discovering-truth) The primary rational being discussed, whose faculties and private judgment are central to discovering truth. ### [Of the Obligations of Imperfect Beings with Respect to Their Power of Acting](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/chapters/iv-of-the-obligations-of-imperfect-beings-with-respect-to-their-power-of-acting) The central subject of the chapter, representing any imperfect rational being capable of discerning truth and acting. ### [V: Truths Relating to the Deity: Of His Existence, Perfection, Providence, etc.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/chapters/v-truths-relating-to-the-deity-of-his-existence-perfection-providence-etc) The authorial voice reasoning through the existence and attributes of the Deity. ### [VI: Truths Respecting Mankind in General, Antecedent to All Human Laws](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/chapters/vi-truths-respecting-mankind-in-general-antecedent-to-all-human-laws) The universal individual used to illustrate moral reasoning and natural rights. ### [VII: Truths Respecting Particular Societies of Men, or Governments](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/chapters/vii-truths-respecting-particular-societies-of-men-or-governments) Referenced as the individual who, in a state of nature, may defend himself, and whose right to self-defense extends to confederated societies. ### [Truths Concerning Families and Relations](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/chapters/viii-truths-concerning-families-and-relations) The authorial voice reasoning about marriage and family duties. ### [IX: Truths Belonging to a Private Man, and Respecting (Directly) Only Himself](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/chapters/ix-truths-belonging-to-a-private-man-and-respecting-directly-only-himself) The central subject of the chapter, who examines his own faculties, passions, and circumstances to determine his duty to act according to reason and truth. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/characters/a_man - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_religion_of_nature_delineated_se/characters